Runeblade

Clustered in the tiny room, they sat in silence, waiting for Rieker to marshal himself. It only took a few moments. Looking at each of them, Rieker sighed and gingerly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Ro flashed to his side the second he moved, helping him up gingerly. She treated him like he was made of porcelain.

“Right, I’m not dead yet,” Rieker grumbled, batting Ro away — though he did give her a loving smile. “I don’t like putting shit off — what happened with the Tyrant? Last thing I remember is the twisted bastard up to the elbows in my guts, then being lifted into the air.”

His words soothed the knot of anxiety in Kaius’s stomach. Rieker was still his old self — whatever damage lingered, they’d be able to figure it out.

“Well, remember how we were waiting for it to overcommit before I used my Warp?”

“Aye.”

“I cut off both of its arms. Ended pretty quick after that. The beasts dispersed immediately — it’ll be a nightmare to deal with them, but that’s a long term problem.”

“None of them tried for the walls?”

Kaius shook his head. They were close enough to the main front that he would have heard. From the wild calls he’d heard, none of them had even approached the city. He wondered if they remembered the slaughter.

Sighing in relief, Rieker’s head slumped back onto the wall behind him.

“Thank the gods,” he whispered. A moment later, he looked at Ianmus, a wary frown on his face. “This…soul mangling business. How bad is it?”

Ianmus hesitated.”It’s damaged, and there’s still Essence lingering in your soul. None of us have the expertise to dare attempt removing it — hells, I'm pretty sure you’d need an elven soul mage to do that. Healing even minor soul injuries is delicate and tenuous at the best of times, we didn’t dare do more.”

“Permanent, then?” Rieker said with a wince. He was stoic, but Kaius didn’t miss the way he gripped Ro’s hand to the side.

Ianmus shook his head emphatically. “No, from what we could see, you’ll eventually clear out the foreign energy yourself. Madrigal, or another mage from her spire, will need to treat you as it clears. Without that, there’s a risk the damage will…calcify, for lack of a better term.”

Rieker blinked in surprise, looking at Ro. She nodded.

“You’ll need to abdicate. Madrigal and the earth mages will stick around for the clean up of the city, which will be long enough for us to get our affairs in order. If you need something to do, I’m sure there will be something administrative we can find at the Mystral branch.”

To Kaius’s surprise, Rieker only let out a groan.

“I have to work with Blackfist? You know we’re oil and water.” He said to Ro pleadingly, before he switched his attention back to Ianmus. “How long?”

“Five years, give or take. Depends if the rate at which you clear the Essence slows or accelerates as it diminishes, and if it will start to degrade by itself after enough time. You’ll be weakened until then, and using your class Skills or any significant amount of your Resources will likely worsen the injury — potentially permanently.”

Rotten roots! Five years? The news hit him like a slap. He almost couldn’t believe that Rieker could just be put of out commission like that. Even if he would recover, stagnating like that had to burn.

To his surprise, the Guildmaster looked utterly unbothered.

Seeing Kaius’s shock, Rieker laughed. “What? Five measly years? Boy, that’s half of a standard guild posting. An enforced rest in Mystral is hardly the worst of fates. Not being able to get in a proper workout will bite, but it’s hardly a death sentence. Besides, I'm sure we’ll learn a lot more about Essence in the future.”

Kaius searched the guildmaster’s face for any sign that he was being stoic to put them at ease, but no. It genuinely seemed like he was relatively unbothered by his injury.

He didn’t get it — five years? That was more than double the time it had been since he’d first gotten his class. More importantly, he would be vulnerable.

At least he would be in Mystral. It was a major city, and, with the Spires, likely one of the safest places Rieker could be.

“Gods’ blood, stop looking at me like that. I’m fine! While I would obviously prefer to not be temporarily crippled, it is far from the worst outcome. Fights like the one we just had? People die. The four of you are young, but Ro, Arc, and I have had long careers — all of us have lost comrades in arms to situations far less precarious. The fact we escaped with only one of us getting temporarily injured is a better outcome than I expected.”

“This one agrees,” Arc added stoically. “From the moment we first felt the Tyrant’s Authority, this one fully expected both Rieker and this one to perish.”

What? They’d fought expecting to die? He’d known the battle would be dangerous — that any slip up might kill them, but he had never thought the outcome was a given. Not after everything he had experienced. Though… it would explain why Ro kept clutching Rieker like she expected him to dissipate on the slightest wind.

“Oh, to be so young and hotblooded again,” Rieker said, sighing. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to see what I have gained — don’t spoil it for me.”

Kaius blinked, remembering the notifications that were simmering at the back of his mind.

Rieker looked at him and his team in disbelief. “You didn’t check them?”

“Don’t be rude,” Ro said, slapping him on the chest. “They thought you might be dying.”

“A sentiment enough to warm my shrivelled heart — shall we?” Rieker said, giving them a questioning look.

Not waiting a moment longer, Kaius pulled up his notifications.

**Ding! Runeblade Helion has reached level 241 > 249!**

**+6 Int; +5 Con, Str & Will; +2 Vit & Dex; +1 Free - from Class & Racial Traits!**

**Ding! Moderate Feat of Strength performed under Observation. You have been awarded an Honour: Tyrannomachia**

**Ding! Class Skill Notifications Consolidated!**

** Infused Glyph of Drakthar has reached level 256 > 264!**

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**Hellblade Investiture has reached level 217 > 223**

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**Infused Glyph of Felmenia had reached level 203 > 211**

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**Mercurial Reversal has reached level 189 > 194**

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**Runeblade Hymnfocus has reached level 143 > 167**

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**Latent Glyph of Muthryn, Throat of VOS has reached level 145 > 151**

**General Skill Notifications Consolidated!**

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**Rapid Adaptation has reached level 232 > 254!**

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**Liturgical Bladeform: Primus Ordo has reached level 267 > 282!**

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**Sergeant’s Insight has reached level 238 > 243!**

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**Tempered By Dissonance has reached level 227 > 232!**

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**Truesight has reached level 232 > 236!**

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**Tonal Weaving has reached level 224 > 231!**

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**Spellblade’s Harmonic Control has reached level 234 > 240!**

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**Greater Regeneration has reached level 250 > 266!**

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**Moment of Flow has reached level 231 > 238!**

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**Brotherhood of Ichor and Animus has reached level 221 > 229!**

**Ding! Growth Weapon - A Father’s Gift has been sufficiently tempered! Provide a compatible Tier II (Epic) material to initiate advancement!**

Kaius sucked in a breath, shocked at the level of growth the single fight had brought him. Eight levels. For a creature that was only a bare twenty or so higher than him. The additional experience the System had mentioned for fighting an Essence user must have been substantial.

His skills too — they’d grown almost as much as they had in the entire week of the siege.

There was one thing more important than that mundane growth, though. A Father’s Gift pulsed in satisfaction on his hip, a phantom of almost-hunger awakened within it. His blade was ready. That, more than anything was a boon.

Finding a material it liked would be more of an issue. An Epic would be tough to find alone, and he knew his sword wouldn’t accept just anything — it had to fit with what his weapon had already absorbed into its being. He’d hoped he might find something worthwhile from the Tyrant, but not even the material Kenva had hidden away at the end of their fight had spurred a reaction.

He’d find something — even if he had to Delve for it. Regardless, he couldn’t just pull something else out of thin air now, and he still had more notifications.

The Honour he was less surprised by. If anything, he would have been shocked not to receive one for besting a challenge the System had directly named during the progression of the Integration phase.

Kaius pulled up its description quickly, eager to see if it held any surprises.

Tyrannomachia:

Honour

The old ways are dead; they have been dead for a long time, some just wanted to pretend. Not anymore. We can never go back; never regain what was lost — all we can do is struggle to build something new, and remember the innocence that we lost.

Awarded to those who meet a Tyrant of equivalent tier on the field of Challenge and emerge victorious. Provides a Minute bonus to resisting foreign Authority. +5 all stats, +3% all stats.

Bonus: For being in the first five groups in your cohort to achieve this Honour, bonus Authority resistance is increased to Slight, and the stat bonus is increased to +8 all stats, +4% all stats.

The epigraph made him wince with its accuracy. The old ways were indeed dead. There wouldn’t be a soul remaining in Deadacre that would forget this siege for the rest of their damned lives. One thing had been made clear — walls no longer guaranteed safety.

As for the effects of the Honour itself…more resistance to Authority was never a bad thing. Especially since he doubted there was only one Tyrant on Vaastivar. No doubt there were more lurking, and as more people managed to successfully ignite their Aspects, or reach for Refinement, they would come.

“So,” Porkchop said, breaking their contemplative silence. “What are the odds there’s another Honour for killing three, or nine, or something.”

“High, I would say,” Ianmus muttered. “It follows the loose pattern we’ve seen elsewhere.”

“Just the one Honour for you lot, then?” Rieker said, a wry grin on his face.

“What?” Kaius said, surprised.

“I got two, I assume Arc did as well.” The guildmaster replied.

He gave them a quick run down when Arc nodded. The Old Guard Stand. To Kaius’s surprise, it was for surviving a battle with a Tyrant of the same tier when they lacked Aspects themselves. Additionally, they’d gotten a bonus for winning.

From prior experience, it was likely they were the first to achieve it as well, but the System seemed to prioritise displaying other eligible bonus conditions. As if it were a consolation prize for those breaking new ground.

It was also likely one of the reasons that Rieker was still alive. It conferred a slight bonus to resisting the toxicity of hostile Essence.

“That condition is unusually generous for an Honour,” Kenva muttered.

It was. While the Tyrant was tough, they could have still earned that Honour by losing. Was the system dangling a carrot? An attempt at encouraging others to keep pushing, even when the risks are dire? Whatever it was, Kaius felt uneasy thinking about it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Ro frowning.

“That’s not the only thing,” she whispered. “Almost everyone else in the city got an Honour. I heard half a dozen different people talking about it when I was running for Madrigal. It was … similarly generous.”

They what? He hadn’t exactly been paying much attention to his surroundings as he’d raced after Rieker, but how in the hells had he missed that? He’d thought the commotion had been because they’d won, and the general frenzy as the guards had rushed to prepare for the fleeing beasts.

“What did they receive?” Arc asked, leaning forward in interest.

“Baptism of a New Age. Anyone in the first tier who participated in the defence got it — and a first bonus. Though, I heard a few whispers that those who were under level fifty received that as a bonus instead.”

That, if anything, seemed to confirm the System was trying to encourage people to strive. It almost seemed insidious — in a situation any less desperate, those below level fifty should have never been near a fight. How many would be tempted?

Still, it did confirm a few other things. “At least we know we were the first city to come under assault. We can share what we’ve learned. Others’ll be able to prepare, and keep a look out for any signs of missing beasts.”

The beast migration had happened months before the Tyrant struck; it was a hell of a giveaway.

The others in the room nodded.

“I can already see the endless meetings I’m going to have to sit through,” Rieker muttered, before Ro swatted him. “Regardless, we should prepare for the clean up. Even if I'm out of commission, I can help direct others — and get the word out through the Guild. I believe the four of you have a trip to plan? If you’re heading to the Dukedoms, I can send word ahead of you — it’ll smooth things over when a Silver team suddenly turns up at the gates.”

Kaius nodded, though they wouldn’t leave immediately. It felt wrong to skip the clean up, and they had people to check on before they left. Hensch, mainly, though he needed to find Niles and see if he was genuine about joining them on the first leg of their journey.

“We’ll head towards Baanswell in the next few weeks. It’ll be a bit of a circuitous route, since we’ll be heading north to swing through Dawntown. Might be taking Niles with us, he managed to pick up both an Honour and an Attunement Skill when those grubs attacked — I suggested it might be a good place for him to find a team.”

“Good,” Ro replied, nodding. “I’ll give you documentation of the Guild’s Skill and Honour release, and some form of communication artefact for Yanmi. I know it’s unlikely that they’ll be inviting the Guild to found a branch any time soon, but they’re large enough that they should have some sort of direct line with Deadacre’s branch. Especially if they’re cultivating delvers.”

Rieker let out a slow breath, shaking his head. “Going to be a bloody busy few weeks, doubt even getting stabbed through the soul is going to be enough to let me skip out on it. Anything else we’ve yet to cover? I’d like at least one good night's rest before everything goes mad again.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kenva hesitate.

“There’s one thing. After the Tyrant died, I spotted something. It’s Essence, and a bit of everything else, coalesced.”

Waving her hand, she summoned a rough orb the size of her fist to her hand. It was jagged, more like an artificially grown crystal than a polished and shaped gem. Deep red, essence swirled in its semi-transparent depths like a whorling hurricane. It almost looked liquid, shifting slightly with Kenva’s every movement. She clutched it like she was worried it would disappear.

“You wondered if there would be more Honours for killing extra Tyrants?” Kenva said to Porkchop, a deep frown on her face. “I worry we might have some competition for that.”

Kaius analysed the crystal immediately.

Droplet of Tyranny:

Legendary - Tier II

Affinity: Soul, Essence

The very essence of potential.

The condensed remnants of a Tyrant. Consuming this droplet will reverse soul crystalisation in individuals lacking Aspects, allowing their formation and ignition. For those who have risen past the second tier, increasing numbers of droplets are required. It may also be used to directly force the ignition or embodiment of a single Aspect, or be used to forcibly advance one's stage of Refinement.

Be warned, forced progression of the Path is fragile in comparison to the fruits of one's own efforts, though any progress is better than none at all.

Natural Treasure