Chapter Three Hundred And Eighty Three – 383
Stone Shaping is level 79!
Rime Shaping is level 29!
Green Shaping is level 28!
The Cursewinds had well and truly fled by the time Felix finished his protective enclosure. The wild, chaotic Mana had dissipated and run out of energy, fading into the blazing midday sun. Here and there Felix could make out withered pieces of the Dustwights, but otherwise there was no sign of the undead that had assaulted them for the past eight hours.
They'll be back.
He was certain of that and told his people to keep their Perception flared. The Primordial behind the undead was not done with them. Even in that brief taste of its Will and Intent, Felix knew it was being drawn to him, like iron to a magnet. He suspected it had to do with his Primordial nature, but that was unlikely to be the sole reason.
It didn't want to eat me like the Maw would have, but it definitely sought me out. That Wraith spoke of a Need..just like the Whalemaw and I, he grimaced. And it ran when I shrugged off its touch. Why? Felix pondered atop the stone enclosure, hair blowing in the hot breeze. It felt old and rotten. Withered. A lot like the undead it ordered around, I guess. Is it an undead Primordial?
Felix shuddered at the thought, thinking back on the necromantic spirit he'd fought in the Haestus Temple. That thing had been weakened by its long imprisonment and was still a force to be reckoned with...he had no interest in facing down a Primordial version, too.
He stood up, his Body slick with sweat beneath his restored Garment, and surveyed his work. While Pit had retired below, Felix had spent his Mana, over and over again, building a massive stone shell over the Leviathan skeleton, encasing them all in protective layers. Like the walls of his Stronghold, Felix utilized all of his relevant shaping Skills as best he could. If nothing else, pushing himself did wonders for the Skill. However, without the framework of his Stronghold to guide him, combining the three shaping Skills was a task beyond his current abilities. He achieved something approaching his goal, but it wasn't nearly as strong as the wall back home. The Leviathan's shape was covered in a mountain of muddy gray stone veined with glimmering red. At least it didn't stick out in the crimson desert.
Rime Shaping was especially hard to manage here in the arid desert. He leaped from the rounded top of his enclosure and let gravity take him. Mana becomes ice as I manifest the Skill, but the environment clearly affects what I can do. Conjuring ice and water in this place feels like being squeezed by a vice. Ugh.
Felix landed, flexing his knees to absorb the impact and scattering sand in all directions. A lone opening existed in his conjured defenses, and as Felix passed through it he erased even that, allowing the stone to close over it all. His peopleand the Yttinswould be screwed if Felix wasn't around to open it back up, but he felt it was a necessary precaution. At least this way, everyone could get some rest without any more looming threats.
He descended the winding paths, deeper into the Warren.
The pressure from the Leviathan was meagre at the higher levels of its skeleton, though that might have been because he was more acclimated to it. The few Legionnaires he passed had strained looks on their faces, even as they attempted to sleep. Felix decided it was good for them.
A little strain will help them develop their Willpower.
Aside from the Arclights, few of his followers had a sizable Willpower stat. The Blades, Bones, and Fists all focused on Strength, Agility, and Endurance with a minor focus on Vitality. Warrior stats, as Harn had explained. They patterned themselves after Felix, but all viewed him as a warrior first and a mage second. While Felix wouldn't claim himself a wizard, he was a powerful magic user, and the stats related to it were a large part of his success. Without his Willpower, he would have failed too many times to count.
The Legion and Henaari, and Risi were clustered all within the first few chambers. All of them were laid out on the ground or leaning against the walls, exhausted enough to drop off despite the Leviathan's pressure. A good portion of their Health Potions had been consumed in the aftermath of the extended battle and its unexpected conclusion, but Felix wouldn't have it any other way. He'd made those to keep his people safe. If it weren't for the potions and his Chthonic Tribute to pull the Dustborn Curse from their Bodies....
As it was, there hadn't been a single death this time around.
That's fucking progress, he thought with a pleased nod. Maybe they hadn't fought as well together as they could, but they listened to Harn and Darius' instructions for the most part. They were growing stronger and more capable.
He walked further along the Warren's crooked corridors, finding Palin and her team busy making food. Yttin hovered around her, helpful in their own strange way. Palin flinched from their bandaged hands, but her Dwarven assistants smoothly accepted them into the process. Some sort of stew was boiling over an open flame and it smell good. Pit was there, poking his oversized beak into pots and pans and being chased away by angry Dwarves. Felix smiled, continuing to walk as the sound of chopping knives faded to nothing.
Atar and Evie were still recovering, he'd been told. Atar was awake but not moving much, while Evie was still in a deep sleep. Zara had told him the both of them had depleted their internal stores, and would require an extensive rest before returning to battle. That made sense. Tempering one of his Aspects had Felix down and out for six hours, after all. Luckily they had plenty of time before the sun set and they needed to move once more.
Hopefully Darius is in fighting shape by then as well. The Hand had lost a lot of blood during his battle with the Wraiths, but most of the damage had been due to stacking instances of the Dustborn Curse. Once Felix had eaten those up, the man had begun to heal.
Harn had been similarly damaged, as had Vess, but the both of them were already back in top condition. A little tired, but able to fight if the need arose. Felix had no plan to involve them in any fighting that might occur that night, however. Everyone had put in plenty of effort getting to that point, but with them so close to Ahkestria, Felix planned to handle the rest of the fighting alone. He could have devastated the Dustwights before they'd ever posed a threat, leaving everyone to fight the Wraiths en masse. Felix wasn't about to deny the benefits they had reaped, but he had no interest in delaying themselves any longer.
We still haven't even run into the Paladins out here, and that concerns me. Felix had figured he'd be happy to not see their plate-covered forms, but not seeing them only made him worry about their intentions. The shaman indicated they were east of here, but headed to Ahkestria, chasing the Unbound. Will we find them inside the city? Is that vision correct? Are they attacking the city even now?
There was no way to know, and not knowing was driving Felix a little stir crazy. A part of him wanted to head out right then in a mad rush to beat the Paladins to the city. It was stupid, he knew, the Paladins were likely already there and travel under the sun was a good way to attract another Cursewind. So he stewed in his stress, Primordial and Paladins relentlessly picking at his attention.
So Felix decided to distract himself with training.
Further along the path was another antechamber, similar to the one he'd faced down the cursed shaman within, but at a higher level. He hadn't nearly traversed so deep as to feel the Mind-numbing pressure from before. Now it was a vague, unpleasant tingle in the back of his head, easily ignored. As he approached the antechamber, he heard the sounds of combat. Felix was surprised to realize that Alister had preempted his own idea, and was fighting against a small cadre of Dawnguard.
Huh. Hell yeah. Go Alister.
The mage was wielding his force Mana in powerful bursts, driving back the hooked spears of the Dawnguard before diving forward with his rapid Agility-based rapier Skills. The Henaari were fast and strong, but their stat advantage couldn't quite overcome the oppressive advent of Alister's pillars and shields. Their interchanges were snappy and bright, neither of them able to find purchase on the other in the long minutes Felix observed them. That alone was impressive, as Alister wielded his Mana Skills with increasing ability, and the Dawnguard refined their edge with every misdirected blow.
At the first break in their composure, Felix stepped into the room properly.
"My Lord," the nearest Dawnguard said to him. Ryel, Felix recalled. The other Henaari all pressed their fists to their heart and bowed.
"Hey there Ryel," Felix said, waving at them all as casually as he could manage. His body was aching to fight, and the last thing he wanted to do what scare them all off. "Alister. I see you've been sparring."
The force mage nodded, his mouth a grim slash across his face. "Attempting to, yes."
"You seemed to be doing quite well," Felix said. "Not everyone can hold over five Dawnguard at once."
Ryel and his people puffed their chests in pride. "Mage Knacht is a formidable opponent. He asked that we test out his Skill, what was it?"
"Pillars of the Domineering Sentinel," Alister provided. "I have been using it as a barrier and attack in one...but I think it can be more. Grand Impetus too, though that is less faceted."
Felix nodded. "Good. Using Skills in new ways is always a great idea. I've noticed it drives those Skill levels higher at a reliable pace, especially if you press yourself while in danger." He grinned, and his Garment shifted until his sleeves vanished and his pants gathered up at the knees, just above his silver greaves. "Why not let me join in?"
"Ah," Alister looked at the Dawnguard, but they merely nodded excitedly. "Any team you join will have the advantage, Felix."
"Then I'll be on my own team. Everyone versus me. How about that?" Felix asked, swinging his arms to loosen up his shoulders.
Alister and Ryel traded looks, the latter far more enthusiastic than the former. The noble cleared his throat. "Well, if you're certain..."
"Great!" Felix clapped his hands. "Let's begin."
"Grand Impetus!" Alister shouted, and a foot-thick lance of blue force Mana blasted off his rapier.
Relentless Resolution!
Felix flowed around the attack, evading its howling edge by inches, and tore through the bindings around his arms and legs with sheer Strength. Several of the Henaari grunted in shocked pain as their Blessings were torn apartthey looked like tiny bird claws attached to ropes, all made of shadow and metalbut the others of their number manifested speed that matched him. Ryel charged, twin short blades weaving in deadly arcs, before sparking off Felix's scaled flesh.
"Blessing of Stolen Light!" another Dawnguard gasped.
Felix felt the Urge-based Skill sizzle over his Body, like a wave of burning feathers. A Status Condition tried to root into his eyes, and he grinned and let it.
You Are Blinded For 1 Minute!
Status Condition: Blinded (Severe)
The room vanished from his standard vision, and immediately Felix felt the bite of two spears into his gut. They didn't pierce his scales, but they didn't feel great. With Sovereign of Flesh activated and plenty of Essence to fuel it, he had told them to let loose with their most powerful Skills. Alister had hesitated at first, but the Dawnguard had followed orders with gusto. And now he was blind, pummeled on every side by force Mana and cold blades.
Blind Fighting is level 45!
He caught one of the hooked spears, snagging it blade-first and yanking it out of the Henaari's grip. The Dawnguard shouted in surprise, but Felix only flared his Perception. His eyes might have been blinded, but he could feel everyone around him. A combination of his Skill Blind Fighting and ridiculous stats.
Another sword thrust for his face, and he jerked out of the way, utilizing the momentum to bash his skull into the fist of a separate attack. Warmth splashed against him as bone and skin split, and Felix laughed.
Blind Fighting is level 59!
Journeyman Tier!
You Gain:
+5 DEX
+5 PER
+5 AGL
Armored Skin is level 78!
Dodge is level 70!
Somewhere around the third hour had them all run out of gas, and despite numerous attempts to rest the majority of the Dawnguard could no longer muster the will to fight.
"I suppose we can call it there," Felix said. He was feeling good, mostly. In fact, it felt as if his edges were being honedhe would have happily fought for another few hours despite the weariness that had started to dog at him.
The others groaned in mixed sentiment, relief the most evident emotion of all. Alister himself was clearly spent. He was slumped against a Stone Shaped obelisk Felix had conjured to counter one of the mage's Pillars of force. Felix was impressed though. He had set a loose rule in his head about not using his more advanced Skills in the fight, but Alister had pressed him enough to force the issue.
Now, however, everyone was exhausted. Quite apart from their fight, the pressure the Leviathan put off was straining their Aspects, making Skills harder to utilize. As far as Felix was concerned, that was just additional training. His Mind and Spirit felt mostly finethanks to their recent Temperingbut his Body certainly felt the abuse he'd just put it through. The efforts of the Dawnguard and Alister weren't something that should have given him pause, but the combination of their fervor and the Leviathan's dominating pressure strained him. He was sweating, which hadn't happened in a while.
As the Henaari slowly picked themselves up off the sand, Felix nodded to them. "Thanks for keeping up the Status Condition like I asked. Really helped me out."
"I am pleased to be of service, my Lord," Ryel said with a shaky bow.
Felix grinned and walked over to Alister. The man was holding his head in his hands, clearly suffering from extremely low Mana. Felix took a small vial from his pouch and flicked it at him. "Here."
The vial pinged off Alister's head, moving too fast for him to catch it. "Oww."
Felix fought down a laugh, scooping up the vial and handing it to the mage. "Sorry. Here. It's a Mana Tonic. Should take the edge off that headache."
Alister wordlessly peeled the wax seal and drank the meager vial.
Felix sat down, leaning against the same irregular obelisk as the mage. "You did good out there. Surprised me a couple times."
"You were literally blinded," Alister said. "You had Ryel reapply that Blessing so many times that you shouldn't have been able to fight any of us." He laughed, a tinge of bitterness in his tone. "But yes. I surprised you twice."
The Blessing of Stolen Light stripped his vision at first, but each subsequent application had the potential to muffle your other senses as well. Felix could have easily shrugged off the effectactivation was a matter of contested Wills and Vitalitybut he let them stack up. Each lost layer of his senses had only heightened the strain of his Blind Fighting Skill, and Felix had given himself over to its use.
It had been more than enough.
"Well, I have a Skill for that. I have a Skill for most things, now that I think about it," Felix said, contemplative. He snapped his fingers. "I don't have a Skill for cooking though. Is that a thing? That's gotta be a thing right?"
Alister snorted. "It is. Cooking is a Common ranked Skill, but surprisingly hard to advance beyond Apprentice Tier. My father..." He sighed. "My father once had a man with the Chef Skill. Uncommon ranked. Made the most marvelous dishes."
Silence fell over the both of them. Alister was clearly working through something, and Felix was happy with waiting. The man had been a steady friend for months, but he'd never had a chance to just sit and talk with him. There were always more...important things. God that sounds shitty.
"I miss them. My family," Alister said at last. "My parents and I never got along well, though they cared enough to fund my entrance to the Guild. Cared about the status, at least."
"Are they back in Haarwatch?" Felix asked.
"In a sense. They died after the Eyrie fell. My old estate was swarmed by those Revenants." Alister looked up at the bone-buttressed ceiling, and a weary ache rippled across his Spirit.
"Jesus, I'm sorry Alister. I didn't know."
"I don't talk about it," Alister said with a dismissive shrug. "My family and I had been lost to each other for years before that, the monsters only cemented it. Still. It aches to know that they died while I was still unconscious. If I'd been hale, perhaps I could have...perhaps."
Felix didn't know what to say. Sadly he didn't have a Skill for painful, emotional conversations. He could only remain silent and listen.
"Atar is my family now. All of you, really. It's why I've put so much of myself in bettering your Stronghold, in improving myself. But today...today I failed. Those monsters would have killed us if you hadn't driven them back."
"That's why you're pushing yourself so hard? Alister, those Wraiths are strong, and you held them back for what? Thirty seconds? A minute?" Felix shook his head. "Atar and Evie would have died if you hadn't been able to do that."
"It doesn't feel like enough, though. I'm good with sigaldry and my blade, but Atar is better at the former and Vess or Harn could best me on my best day. I've not worried at that much, happy instead that you are all my allies. My rapier and meager magic were enough." He grimaced. "But when I thought death was coming for us in that chamber...Felix I realized I need to be more. Stronger. I need to protect him."
"I get it, believe me," Felix said after a lingering moment of silence. The torches along the chamber were burning a bit low, and the shadows pooled deep in that place. "I spent a lot of time fighting monsters by myself, even before I met Pit. Getting stronger was my way to survive, to push through. Sometimes strength isn't enough by itself though, not when you're alone. But you're not alone, are you?"
Alister blinked at him. "No I don't suppose I am."
Felix handed the force mage a couple Mana Potions and a Stamina potion from his satchel. "Here. Drink up and then we go again."
"What?"
"Replenish yourself and then we spar again." Felix stood and stretched, feeling his spine and joints pop pleasantly. "I'm not gonna hold back this time."
Alister grinned and downed the potions one after the other. His Spirit fluttered, a song stretching between anxious drawn out notes and a fluting, frenetic piping. He stood. "I can do this."
"Prove it."
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