BECMI Chapter 64 – Marked for Greatness
“Be seated.”
They could feel it now, the onus of command. They had chosen to believe, and that meant when I commanded, the compulsion to obey was there. Wondering just what they’d gotten into, everyone returned to their seats, but their interest was still keen.
Having faith in me also meant that if they didn’t belong, they had no doubt I would release them, as I had the dragon!
“Your next step is to choose a Mark, something I offer only to my Vassals. But before that, the powers of the Oath of Allegiance.” They all straightened up fractionally. There were BENEFITS to such a thing?
“The first benefit is the Monarch’s Mantle. This varies by the Monarch, but you should all be able to feel it, radiating from me. In my case, this is the Focus of the Faithful, an increased ability to concentrate on tasks, remain focused, and ignore distractions, temptations, diversions, irrelevancies, pain, and emotional surges, drives, and trauma to focus on what you need to do. You will find it easier to remain in control, to discipline yourselves, and overcome your own tendencies towards slothfulness, greed, gluttony, and other forms of moral and physical weakness.
“I have a standard, I expect you to adhere to it, and to pursue rising above the petty distractions of lesser people. If you follow me, you will be the best you can be, because I will accept no less.” I regarded them all, some comprehending just how useful this could be, others wondering if I was just enslaving them somehow.
“The second thing is that you are In Allegiance. Attempts, magical or otherwise, to compel you to do things that you would not do as a member of this Allegiance are going to crash right into your Oath and you will bloody know something is up.” The ice in my stare had physical form, like a cold wind blowing across them. “Magical charms, possession, quick tongues and clever speech, attempts at seduction, distraction… YOU WILL KNOW. And the choice will be yours, not theirs, as to how to respond.
“Being In Allegiance means you must also, by rote, trust the Vassal next to you. If they are In Allegiance, they are your brothers and sisters, and you can trust them with your lives, your wealth, and your lovers, and they will have your back in battle or in peace.
“As I am bound by Truth, so you are bound by Truth among our own. You will find it impossible to lie successfully to a fellow Vassal!
“As I am bound by Hope, you will find yourselves wanting to work for a better day! If one of us needs help, we will come! Hope beats eternal, and we work for that moment!
“As I am bound by Valor, you will find your doubts and fears easing! You will find the strength and will to continue on when once you might have faltered! Your brothers and sisters will have your backs, and they will also lead you where you need to go!
“You stand in an Oath of Allegiance under Heaven, as the Company of the Free, and you will not squander this right!”
They all swallowed, at the same time as their hearts seemed to surge and beat more strongly. Aspirations and inspirations, self-doubts, anxiety, guilt… it didn’t so much fall away as become instantly identifiable as what it was, and so could be pushed away, purpose restored, direction become clear, and doing what needed to be done become apparent and something that could be achieved, not just ignored or turned from!
“If you have magic, it is possible to speak to any member of the Allegiance with the equivalent of a Message Cantrip.” I let my gaze rest upon all of them. “That is one of your objectives as a Vassal. To gain enough magic to call for help, or aid, or merely to check up on one another, to speak in battle without words, to convey exactly what is meant with no chance of misinterpretation among our own. We will be addressing that with Marks.
“I can speak to any of you, and all of you, as is my right as a Monarch. I will not abuse that right, but I can and will inform you all of what the Allegiance is doing.”
I let all of that sink in before continuing, “The last is unique, something I gained from a friend and ally, and which I now pass on. That is the benefit of a Mark.”
I waved my hand, and the various patterns of the Marks arose behind me. “These are magical Runes, which will be applied as Tattoos. You may only choose one of them, although that choice can be changed at a later time if your goals and objectives change.
“These Runes are powerful enough to break mortal limits on your Stats.” I swirled up the familiar array, and all of them stared at them with burning intensity. “When I apply the Runes, they offer only two things: communication, and +1 to the Stat you’ve chosen.
“However, you can feed your Rune with victory and Karma, and it can eventually go to +4.”
The sight of Stats popping from 18 or 19 to 22 or 23 had all of them leaning forwards in grave interest.
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“This is akin to a magical item placed upon the body. You cannot have more than one, as it will destabilize the others.
“However, a Mark also works with an Allegiance Oath to form an instant telepathic communication channel that can reach across infinity and even other dimensions, but not across Time.” I chin-pointed in the direction of the Portal. “What it means is that you will be able to speak with any of your fellows, at any time, in any location, as you need to… and if there are no other telepaths around who might want to listen in, so be wary of that.
“Furthermore, I will be able to Sing to you across the world if needed, and I believe you all know the benefits of Heartsong by now.”
How could they not? Even if I only had the most basic Bardsong benefits, Song of the Heart and Words of Creation still increased that to a powerful +4/+4 bonus and protection against fear in combat, the effects of which were incredibly apparent in any fight.
“I will give you time to think on which Mark you wish to receive. The Tattoos will need to be placed upon you by myself or by one of my Sims.
“The second matter we are going to consider is Named Weapons, the next advance in Warrior’s Magic.”
If anything, they sat even further upright.
“Throughout the history of warriors, fine weapons and fine armor have always held a favorite position in their hearts.” I waved my hand, and a progression of blades, from crude stone daggers all the way to a magnificent two-handed sword, formed in the air behind me. “More to the point, the quality of weapons have increased, and then magic is applied to them, and everything, everything gets upgraded.
“A warrior and his Weapon can grow together. You bring them together, and you feed the Name of your Weapon with victory. It and its legend grow with yours. For the Northmen, this should be quite familiar among your Patrons. Every Immortal was a warrior with a Named Weapon, and they needed to wield no other.”
Making the connection, their eyes lit up.
“The key to this is having a fine Weapon. If you want a truly powerful Weapon, it must be fine enough to bear the weight of the Name and power you are going to fill it with.
“You all are wise enough to know that I am not going to be around to enhance your weapons with spells all the time, and you must make your Weapons strong enough on your own.
“Well, it can be done, and it can be done with a fine Weapon in hand, giving your Weapon a Name, and filling it with victory.
“If you are also a Smith, you can Name and improve your Armor as well.”
All the dwarves had to restrain themselves from jumping to their feet and cheering.
“Our rescue of the king of Darkmoor from his captors will doubtless earn some additional rewards for us… and, I have a feeling, there will be some lucrative and valuable mercenary work available to all of us in that era. However, we can tally up the value of our loot and allocate it all now.”
A larger table grew up in the middle of everyone, and the appropriate Disks moved in, long carrying a great deal of loot, and what had been burned off in the death of an Immortal Avatar had been replaced from my own excess gold. With the mess were a spread of magical Weapons and Armor, and other miscellaneous devices and things that could be useful.
The awarding of gold and magical Gear was about to begin, and everyone gathered around in pleasure.
I would inform them of my goals and aspirations for them later.
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Darkmoor…
There was a wall being built up in front of the Portal in the Inn. It had not been there in the future, meaning it was obliterated in the explosion and not considered part of the Inn at best.
It wasn’t my concern, although all the workers hopped to attention when I came through the Portal.
“Lady Edge!” the officer in charge shouted… the same one we’d overpowered so easily before. He put up his crossbow smartly, and even offered a salute to me. “The King said to expect your return, my Lady! If you would please follow me!”
I glanced at my Detect Time, and found it precisely one day after I had last departed here, as it should be. Enough time for the King to get some rest, no doubt issue a flurry of orders, and prepare himself and some of his comrades to interrogate me.
“Lead on, Sergeant,” I replied evenly. The fact I was actually wearing skirts and a lot more fluff this time lent a completely different air than before, although I still had Dread in my hand.
My arrival was noted, and the guards and nobles present all stood aside and bowed polite greetings to me. There were a lot more civilians around than before, although they all looked to be government functionaries staying busy with scrolls and messaging for the short term.
The king was upstairs in the gaming room, which had been altered from its normal smoking and drinks format to the tables and set-up suitable for playing at cards or dice.
The room went silent as I walked in. Some eyes were respectful, some were covetous, some envious, and some resentful… like the big barbarian who was obviously still sore at how I’d neutralized him. Why a Steel Gray soul completely obsessed with his own goals was hanging around with the Silver of the king I didn’t know, and didn’t ask. He was doubtless extremely skilled in his limited array of abilities, leaning on his protective magical devices, so I assumed he was overvalued as a skilled warrior and left it at that.
“Lady Edge!” the king greeted me warmly. He was looking quite handsome and proper in his preferred black attire, this time cut to fit him. Diamonds and silver were his accents, and went well with the silver at his temple and in his beard.
“Your Majesty,” I curtsied formally back to him, keeping things proper. That the men all enjoyed the view and movements was a given. “I apologize for disrupting your meetings, Your Majesty. I am sure that your jaw is near to falling off for all the talking you’ve had to do since your return.”
“Such matters are done for the moment.” He didn’t even need to look around, and the functionaries and men who were not needed took the hint, picking up their scrolls and drinks, giving their nods, and heading out the door in a quiet file of men.
Even the barkeep no doubt keeping the king’s throat libated left his station, firmly closing the doors behind him.
Who was left behind were the king, Ketcher Kociba, two mages of fairly impressive power, a skilled warrior dressed all in blue, a paladin in somber charcoal and whites, and a powerful priest in the robes of an order I was not familiar with.