13-25. The Corrupting Influence of Absolute Power
The Upper Veil was very different from what Elijah had experienced down below, but that could be said for each of the four districts atop the plateau. Though his contact – Naika – had maintained her insistence that she couldn’t help him access the Branch, she had no problems getting him topside.
The first part was the easiest, and she’d given him a crystal pendant that would allow him to access the lift. However, that only got him to the middle reaches. To go further, he’d needed a disguise. Which was why he was wearing the most ridiculous outfit he’d ever donned.
It was even worse than when he played the prince in his middle school rendition of the Nutcracker. The embarrassment of that outfit – with epaulets the size of dinner plates and a padded vest that made him feel like a walking sofa – had put him off drama altogether. Something similar could be said for his current attire.
Conical pads jutted from his shoulders, as tall as his eyebrows. Tassels twitched with every movement, while golden embroidery glinted in the light. Upon his head was a flat-topped cap in the same, velvety material, while a ruffled shirt peeked out from under his ostentatious coat. Tall, heeled boots rose to his knees, where his gaudily colored pants flared at the thighs.
And then there was the belt.
Wide, and with a jewel-encrusted buckle that would’ve made any cowboy jealous with envy, it was the definition of ostentatious. The same could be said for the multitude of bracelets, necklaces, and earrings he wore.
Completing the outfit was pale, white makeup that made him feel like a clown.
Or maybe that feeling was the only sane psychological response to such bizarre attire.
Whatever the case, it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever worn. The most surprising part was that it almost seemed understated compared to some of the outfits he’d seen while walking through the Gilded Reach. It was like every resident was determined to outdo their neighbors in a contest of absurdity.
But beneath those clothes and under all that makeup, the truth lurked. With Soul of the Wild, Elijah could sense the deformities and mutations they tried so desperately to conceal. Some were barely more than birthmarks. Others were far more severe. He even felt one woman who’d bound a vestigial arm with a tight, corset-like garment that made it nearly invisible.
There were Illusionists, too. People who concealed their mutations via magic. And according to Naika, almost everyone in the Gilded Reach had gone to the Cosmeticians – followers of the demi-god Tessarion – to have their flesh molded and the evidence of corruption removed.
It always came back, though. And a qualified Cosmeticians’ services were extremely expensive. Even the low-leveled ones down in the middle reaches charged exorbitant fees to practice their craft.
For his part, Elijah would have preferred to wear a different disguise. Or to continue his exploration under the cloak of stealth. According to Naika, that just wasn’t possible. For one, every single building atop the plateau was equipped with anti-stealth enchantments that were powerful enough to strip the concealment even from Vaedren himself. And considering he was a demi-god known as the Silent Crown – and the Assassin King – that was more than enough to cancel Guise of the Stalker.
So, with stealth off the table, Elijah had no choice but to hide in plain sight. And residents of the Gilded Reach were far more numerous than in any other district. The elaborate – and ridiculous – outfit would also serve to conceal the slight differences in Elijah’s physiology.
Still, Elijah wished he could have worn just about anything else.
The only solace came from the fact that it had worked. During his ascent to the surface of the plateau – and what Naika referred to as the Old City – he’d garnered barely any attention. No one had looked at him twice.
And after reaching the top?
He was just one other painted face in the crowd.
Of course, there were people from other districts as well. White robed figures from the Veiled Spire, red-clad men and women from the Cinder Towers, and comparatively subdued people from the Verdant Halls – they were all represented.
Elijah took the time to tour each district, as well. And as he did so, he found that their names were appropriate. The Veiled Spire was dominated by a single, grey tower surrounded by single-story buildings, and it played host to the same silence that pervaded the lower levels. According to Naika, Daelith and Vaedren both lived at the very pinnacle of that spire, which was cloaked in a cloud of illusions that made it appear almost invisible. Without Eyes of the Eagle, Elijah wouldn’t have been able to see it at all. Instead, it would’ve looked like the tower simply faded out of existence.
The Cinder Towers were the exact opposite, in that they were meant to be seen. They rose from the surface of the plateau, jagged and black and connected by narrow bridges that looked too delicate to support the weight of a single person, much less the flow of traffic between the towers.
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The moment Elijah had entered that district, he’d been assaulted by the smell of sulfur and smoke. Not surprising, given that it was the home of the Flame Warden, Lurien. A demi-god tasked with keeping the corruption at bay. He did so through the red-robed priests that called that district home. They were devoted to purity and had been given the authority to burn anyone or anything they deemed corrupted.
They weren’t alone, though. They were protected and empowered by the followers of Orvelis, the Unblemished. Her people were known as the Unscarred Legion, and they were the second-most powerful martial force within Ithalon.
The strongest fighters belonged to the Emerald Guard, though. At the lowest level, they were the green-clade men and women Elijah had already encountered in the fields. They also stood watch on every corner. However, in the middle reaches, they wore green-enameled armor that concealed every inch of their bodies. And finally, on the surface, they wore armor made from faceted emerald.
And last, Elijah had visited the Verdant Halls. It was there that he felt most at home. And the most out-of-place. It was an ocean of greenery, a curated garden with nothing but the finest and healthiest plants. No expense had been spared, and the result was a botanical garden – not unlike a city park – attached to a series of vertical farms that produced nothing but the best produce.
None of that ever made it down below.
Was that fair?
Not in the least. That was one of the reasons so many people had fled the city to found towns and villages like Dravkein. Most never made it. Either the corruption got them, or the Silent Hunters tracked them down so the army – comprised of Emerald Guardsmen and the black-armored Fist of Ashes – could destroy them.
Elijah wasn’t there to right the wrongs of inequality, though. Instead, he’d come to Ithalon for one reason – to access their World Tree Branch. Nakai had confirmed its existence, though she’d also informed him that access was heavily restricted. Only those in favor were allowed to use it.
And as an outsider, Elijah definitely wasn’t in favor. He wasn’t certain how they would react if he revealed himself, but his instincts told him that it would not be positive. Naika had all but confirmed that suspicion.
But he’d finally reached his destination.
The building was white, with trim that looked like green marble. The architecture was similar to the columned tower he’d seen months before, but he’d been assured that he wouldn’t find a corrupted Branch inside. Naika herself had used it to advance her class when she reached ascendency.
What’s more, its surroundings lacked even trace amounts of corruption – a good sign if ever there was one.
However, the building was well-guarded, with sentries posted at every entrance. Each of them felt like high-ascendents, which meant they had the means to root out potential infiltrators. To counter their abilities, Elijah had donned a bracelet loaned to him by Naika. Like his Ring of Anonymity – which he’d left back on Earth – it allowed him to assume an alternate identity. In this case, it was one chosen by Naika.
Still, Elijah couldn’t help but hesitate.
If it didn’t work, he would no doubt find himself in a fight. And he refused to leave without getting what he wanted. Even if it meant tearing the entirety of Ithalon down, he would reach the Branch and evolve his class.
He just didn’t want it to come to that.
Not if he could help it, at least.
With a barely audible sigh, he squared his ridiculously clad shoulders and mounted the wide stairs leading to the entrance. With every step, the density of the ambient ethera climbed until, at last, he reached the first set of guards. He didn’t even look at them. Instead, he acted like he was meant to be there.
Because, according to the identity he’d assumed, he was.
The guards didn’t even blink.
The plaza on the other side of the entrance was just like the one he’d seen in the other city, though the building housing the Branch was slightly different. For one, it actually had walls between the columns. And for another, it was much, much larger.
Elijah could feel the Branch inside, though its signature was muted.
He strode forward, then joined the line leading inside. No one spoke. Instead, they reverently waited for their turn, and slowly, the line progressed. Inside, Elijah felt a mixture of anticipation and boredom as he shuffled forward.
And at last, he arrived.
The second he stepped inside was when everything went wrong. He only had a brief chance to see the glinting form of a crystalline tree – more than a hundred yards distant – before the local ethera solidified all around him. He paused mid-step, his strength draining with every passing second.
He’d felt something similar before.
And he berated himself for not expecting it this time.
Clearly, he found himself within another’s domain. This time, though, he had more than simple willpower on his side. Without hesitation, he deployed his Mantle of Authority, funneling vast amounts of energy through the branches of his soul.
He stumbled forward, released from the domain.
But he knew it wouldn’t last.
Even as he looked up and saw a tall, thin woman with perfect features striding toward him, he felt the rapid degradation of his mantle. In only a second, it had shrunk by more than half, and the pace of destruction was accelerating.
When it finished, he would once again find himself at the mercy of what he assumed was the Branch Envoy.
And given her expression, he didn’t think he would survive that.
In that moment, Elijah chose to flee.
He threw himself backward with such force that he bowled the responding guards over. They went tumbling to the ground, where they skipped across the paving stones in a clatter of metal. Meanwhile, Elijah was already transforming.
His wings sprouted, and his body elongated.
Even as the transformation continued, he leaped high into the air, sprang off a Cloud Step, then flapped his forming wings to gain even more altitude. Finally, he plunged through the boundary of the Envoy’s domain, and the agony of having his soul ripped apart faded to a dull burn.
By that point, he’d taken on the Shape of the Sky.
He didn’t hesitate to use Lightning Rush.
Elijah became a bolt of rushing electricity, streaking across the sky. He clipped a surrounding building, blasting through as if it wasn’t even there, before ramming through the bubble-like shield protecting the upper city.
And then, he was free.
By the time he returned to his normal shape, he was battered. Bones were broken, and he was hundreds of miles away from Ithalon. But he had escaped.
He could heal his wounds. He could mend his bones. And his mantle would recover. However, what he couldn’t do was overcome a demi-god’s domain. And if he couldn’t do that, he would never reach the Branch and evolve his class.