Unchosen Champion

Coop was lounging in Ghost Reef’s citadel, seated on a comfortably contoured bench while waiting for Balor to arrive at their scheduled meeting. Coop savored the relaxing moments while he could, doing his best to ignore the nagging stress at the back of his mind. The civilization shard hovered in the center of the enclosure, emitting a subtle glow that mixed with the filtered sunlight emanating through the edges of the ceiling and the skylight above. Coop had a newfound respect for the sturdy bunker-like structure after his trip abroad.

Previously, he had admired the intricate details that made the final bastion of their settlement an inviting and comfortable place for casual recreation without sacrificing its rugged sturdiness. The decorative brutalist style was reassuring without being oppressive. Even as he relaxed, another group of phantoms held a casual conversation in one of the outer enclaves, letting their sporadic laughter spread into the central chamber, and proving that the place was a pleasant retreat during one of their breaks. They picnicked in one of the gazebo-like exterior bunkers surrounded by trellises that were covered in leafy plants that flourished in the partial sunlight. Elevated angled windows let a soothing amount of golden radiance into their area while lower pillbox slits provided sightlines onto the slanted entranceways.

The disguised protection of the citadel was welcome, but the fact that it was a charming location within their fort was what Coop had always valued the most.

Now that Coop had witnessed the final fate of a civilization shard, he better appreciated the extra security provided by the construction. Losing the shard was less of a hypothetical worst-case scenario and more of a real possibility that would be better avoided. When the Lich destroyed the Yucatan settlement’s shard, it had been like tearing the heart out of the territory. It was a tangible loss that materially impacted everyone interacting with mana.

Coop had previously believed that Ghost Reef could live on without the civilization shard and the settlement territory that it provided. Though his feelings hadn’t completely changed, he understood that the loss would result in more than a simple escalation in monster development. There were all sorts of knockdown effects caused by losing the territory that wouldn’t be evident unless experienced.

He and Jones discussed the details of what had transpired in Central America while they waited, diagnosing the events that had ultimately concluded with power being centralized in the Cult. The archaeologist was keen to delve into the topic.

Jones continued his proposition, like an academic presenting a thesis. “Each settlement is operating in a vacuum, removed from the rest of the world, since pre-mana connections were destroyed. Without broader human institutions, settlements have effectively devolved into isolated primitive societies.”

Coop scratched his head, doing his best to keep up. “But why devolve?”

Jones shook his finger like it was a good question from his favorite student. “The adults have left the room.” He answered with a disappointed shake of the head. “We are reinventing governance and civility as if the existence of a broader universe has reset human morality. The fact that power dynamics had been thrown out the window with mana effectively resetting hierarchies means that a wide range of new arrangements are possible, and unfortunately, many have taken it as an opportunity to embrace their more ignoble characteristics.”

Coop thought his friend’s theory was all very Lord of the Flies with humanity facing a loss of innocence on a galactic level, but given the zeal that many enemies had fought him with, it didn’t feel completely far-fetched. The idea did little to alleviate his concerns for the rest of the planet.