When Nyx eventually came to, they were still suspended upright as they had been when they blacked out. However, instead of remaining in the midst of the assembly’s main chamber, Nyx was somewhere else entirely…
Pillars of dark stone lined the edges of the empty circular room, standing over thirty feet tall where they came together and formed a simple domed ceiling. Some sort of off-black crystalline material with tiny specks of prismatic coloring covered much of the floor.
Two entrances were visible bordered by more dark stone accenting, one clearly leading down a corridor and the opposite exiting onto a wide balcony. Nothing stood out from the corridor whereas a bright afternoon sky filtered in from the balcony, suffusing the room in a warm glow.
Nyx was positioned centrally amidst the chamber, hovering above a wide basin of dark liquid. Wisps of light reminiscent of the void space Nyx had observed within themself twinkled faintly within the viscous midnight substance.
This environment is emulating the characteristics of my domain. Nyx realized. Yet this still seems like the tower, I’d assume one of the higher floors. Why can’t I- wait, my status!
[ Status accessed. ]
Name: Nyx
Level: 1
Attunement: Spatial
Primary Classification: Civilization Core
Secondary Specialization(s): N/A
Resources:
Health: 100/100 ( 0.08 * 1 minute)
Mana: 1300/1300 ( 1.7 * 1 minute)
Essence: 142/10000 (N/A)
Tableau: 0/- (N/A)
Core Stats:
Durability: 10
Resilience: 8
Intelligence: 13
Willpower: 17
Title(s): [ Aberrant ]
Awakened Abilities: [ Inner Void I (Unique)(Passive/Active) ], [ Beacon of Civilization I (Unique)(Passive/Active) ]
Learned Skills: [ Reclamation I (Rare)(Active) ]
Domain(s): [ Shroud of Nyx (Innate) ], [ Tribute to Mortality (Claimed) ]
Domain-based Entities: [ Basin of Fated Origin (domain manifestation) ], [ Vost of the accursed wish (physical construct) ]
----------------------------------------
More than I expected to learn… Nyx thought after skimming through their status. It was nice to finally confirm some things about one’s own nature despite being a little overwhelming at first. So I have a Spatial attunement? Nyx muttered, recognizing a faint sense of connection to the concept. What do some of these other details even mean?
While much of the content was self explanatory or at least somewhat intuitive, other parts just left questions waiting to be asked… For example, what was a specialization and when did it come into play? Also, Nyx was somewhat familiar with the concept of the Inner Void, but what the hells did Beacon of Civilization do?
As for resources, the mention of mana and health obviously held parallels to the core resource pools of many mortal races. However both essence and tableau were beyond the limited information Nyx had come across since awakening.
Most confusingly, who or what was ‘Vost of the accursed wish’? The only logical conclusion, since Vost was located under entities, was that whatever caused Nyx to forcefully claim this ‘civilization artifact’ resulted in the entity Vost being claimed in tandem. There didn’t seem to be a conceptual link like there was between the Shroud of Nyx and the Basin of Fated Origin; which Nyx concluded they were currently floating above. Vost may have been labeled as a physical construct, but that could take many forms. Was it conjoined with the building itself, or did it reside in a secluded chamber like Nyx now did?
Only once Nyx thought about seeing if there was a way to take stock of their new domain mentally did they suddenly remember Valencia and the hysteria that must’ve been left in their wake. Feeling around for the mental link to Valencia, Nyx was surprised to easily locate and seize it. The resulting connection felt as clear as if she were touching their surface like when they first met.
“Valencia?” Nyx asked, subduing the small bit of guilt they had about not trying to reach out immediately upon waking. “Can you hear me?”
“Nyx!” Valencia exclaimed, relief evident over the link “What happened? Suddenly you were dragged to the center of the assembly and after a few tense moments just disappeared! Things have somewhat stabilized since then, though for a moment many were concerned an evacuation was in order. It’s a mess to say the least.”
“From what I’m now understanding” Nyx began, “is that the sensation I perceived was due to the proximity to the tower itself. The system has referred to it as a civilization artifact. Do you know anything about what that means though?”
“I can’t say that I do. I’ve never seen records of an artifact by that classification before…” she said trailing off “-You are still in the tower, at least?”
“Somewhere near the top, assuming it’s actually the same structure I’ve been placed within.” Nyx stated “but Valencia, some of our plans may have been thrown to the wayside with this development. I may be irreversibly bound to this tower now, I- with our agreement, I mean- I don’t even know what to make of this all yet.” Nyx sighed over the link.
“It’s not your fault, we both made a false assumption about what your senses were telling you.” Valencia said resolutely “I suppose no one ever uncovered the nature of this place. For now I’ll see if I can-“ She cut off as the entire structure shuddered.
The initial quake was followed by a lesser hum that could be felt through the stone for far longer. From the current limited vantage Nyx could not tell what was happening.
“Nyx, the tower it’s- it’s changing.” Valencia said with more curiosity than concern in her tone.
Nyx mentally pressed against the edges of their domain which encompassed the entire chamber. After a moment of strain suddenly the edges all but disappeared. No, not disappeared; Simply redefined themselves to the contours of the structure. Now Nyx could grasp the newly claimed domain, the tower itself.
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Nyx pushed their focus out and down, finally able to see where the corridor connected to a wide set of stairs that immediately descended. Following the stairway down opened into an empty floor plan that spanned the width of the tower. This was evidently a fairly standard layout since the subsequent floors under were essentially the same, aside from the alternating positions of the stairs.
This pattern spanned ten floors before finally coming together with the vast entrance chamber at the base of the assembly. Immediately Nyx realized that the grand staircase wasn’t the original that had been there prior to the quaking movements that signaled the moving components of the tower itself. Instead, the steps had split into reflections of each other that now flowed along the curved walls to opposite ends of the chamber.
One side led up to Nyx’s domain where a set of large doors barred the way, the other…Well, the other was evidently a mystery as Nyx could not sense where it went. Logically it should’ve ascended to the same floor as the mirrored flight, yet there was no second opening from above... Trying to reconcile those contradictory observations was itself mentally straining, so Nyx let it go for now.
Aside from the layout of the stairs, the stone surfaces had darkened considerably and subtle crystalline accenting could be made out. It was apparent that the visual changes were an extension of the same environment Nyx observed at the top of the tower, representing their domain.
There were a good amount of people still scattered about despite the recent events with more rapidly filling the space. Some groups looked reinvigorated by these new developments and relished the speculative gossip, while others were clearly disgruntled and awaiting some official statements to be made. From their perspective, some arcane incident played out in the center of the entrance chamber only to cause the tower itself to be modified as a result? They needed answers.
Valencia could be seen amidst a particularly dense crowd made mostly out of those who’d witnessed the start to this entire debacle. Her attention could not span the whole room though and soon enough there were those who peeled off and began rushing the stairs to sate their curiosity themselves.
Nyx became a bit concerned, not wanting people to rush through the floors and end up at the defenseless core.
“Valencia, the mirrored stairs lead to my domain.” Nyx urged through the link “I need to stop people from just waltzing on in while I’m vulnerable.“
The first group to reach the top paused at the heavy crystal doors a moment and appeared to be looking at some system notification, before they pushed on and into the first floor of Nyx’s domain with hunger in their eyes.
What a divine pile of shit I’ve found myself in. Thought Nyx, rapidly scanning their status to find anything they could call upon to stop them from progressing further. Perhaps it’s time to experiment…
----------------------------------------
Today must’ve been Yestin Copanelli’s lucky day. At first things played out as normal, with Yestin lounging about the city assembly waiting for some easy marks. You’d be surprised by the interesting sorts of trinkets many of these foolish young magi kept in the loose pockets of their robes.
Things had only gotten easier since most of the senior magi skipped town to join up with the expedition.
Fools of a different kind. Yestin chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
No one who’d left had returned to Strahaim, and the updates had suddenly stopped coming in a few days back.
Not my problem, they left their precious tower practically unguarded in the meantime. Yestin thought.
That realization had opened up new possibilities. He’d been planning to activate stealth and slip through the central corridor into the minimally guarded mage quarters.
From there he could slow down and play it by ear. Whether he walked away with the contents of someone’s personal trunk of magic junk, or just some pertinent details on ongoing research projects, Yestin could profit. Not enough to quit his day job by any means, but one of the guilds would pay up at least.
That was when the freak spectacle took place and caught everyone in the assembly off guard.
Everyone except Yestin.
Frankly he didn’t care about whatever magical vase had been smashed on the other side of the hall, or whatever the hells had caught these buffoons unaware. He recognized an opportunity when he saw one.
Acting like he got shoved in the commotion, Yestin got handsy with some bald headed merchant type before slipping back into the crowd, pocketing a new coin pouch. Before he could eye up another schlub to rescue some wealth from, the entire building started shaking.
“Fucking hell…” Yestin muttered nearing the edge of the room, where some stone steps began sliding to connect with the floor from a new angle.
Whatever was going on was bigger than some broken vase.
That’s when he saw the faintly shimmering doors atop the newly oriented staircase in front of him, and it was looking rather grand if he said so himself.
With a few curious glances between some of the more eager folk in his immediate surroundings, he forwent whatever crowd was forming in the center of the chamber and ascended the steps.
When he reached the top and placed his hand against the entryway a system message popped up in his periphery.
[ ALERT: You walk the path of mortality, will you pierce the Shroud of Nyx or pay tribute with your life? (2 / 5 party limit) ]
“Blind divines, this some sorta system trial…?” said some yokel with a battered longsword who’d reached Yestin’s side by the door.
“You wanna find out?” Yestin smiled cooly, ”first three bastards to join us at the door can get in on this here premiere trial run.” He said loud enough for some of the chumps that had run up behind them to shove forward for a spot.
The looming doors slowly swung open when they confirmed their choice as a party, only to reveal a dark corridor before them. Whatever awaited within they could probably handle, and if not Yestin would just find an opportunity to serve someone up as a distraction and slink back into the assembly.
Someone threw up a weak magical light to hover above them and they plunged into the corridor. The crystal doors closed behind them with a muted crash.
“Not ominous at all…” one of them muttered.
Go ahead. Yestin chuckled internally. Get yourself jumped by some creature from within the gloom by joking out loud. Amateurs.
“Spread about” the sword using yokel whispered harshly “speak up if ya see somethin’ of worth”.
A couple of the others nodded and walked forward, where the corridor opened up into a wide room. They couldn’t see more than twenty or so feet in any which way, so they didn’t know the exact dimensions. So far it appeared fairly plain and empty.
Strange. Yestin thought, before the scraping of something heavy sounded against the stone floor.
The dark open expanse created reverberation which distorted the source of the sound. The rest all unconsciously stepped back into the range of the floating magelight and positioned themselves in an outward fan.
Yestin had other plans, activating stealth and slipping into the gloom like it was his birthright.
Poor idiots. He sniffed. They’ll serve as a good distraction.
He paced backwards a bit and split off to the left, leaving the glowing beacon far behind. The gloomy space was absolutely barren, and after eighty or so paces Yestin took a break against a pillar to listen for anything moving.
There isn’t a godsdamn thing- He paused that thought, feeling the pressure of the air suddenly change.
He dove into a roll around the side of the pillar to avoid the incoming presence he knew was there, only to slam face first into another pillar that had suddenly appeared.
Yestin slid to the floor but quickly overcame the stunning blow, only to turn and scramble towards the entrance.
Suddenly the pillar moved and struck Yestin too fast for him to react while on the ground, knocking him sideways in a daze where he struggled to crawl further away.
No, they hadn’t been pillars all along; They were giant godsdamn legs.
Yestin flipped over just in time to see the sole of a bare bronze foot larger than his torso crashing down on him with such force that a tank twice his level would probably be knocked on his ass. Yestin was far from a tank.
“Shi-”
A sickening wet crunch was the only thing the rest of the party members heard from beyond the light.
“Back up to the corridor, we can narrow down the enemy’s approach” one of the party members said, the fear evident in their quivering tone of voice.
Before the group could get far, slow booming steps sounded out until the bottom half of a massive man could be seen in the fringe of the magelight. The upper half was shrouded in darkness. Identify provided little actionable insights.
[ Vost of the accursed wish, ?? ]
“Run ya stupid bastards!” The swordsman roared as he reversed momentum “it's a metallic construct, we’d need elemental mages ta' stand a chance.”
They dropped all pretenses of delving further and sprinted with all haste back to the entrance. It wasn’t until they blasted back out through those heavy crystalline doors that they’d begun to still themselves, breathing frantically after the short ordeal.
“Well then” said a regal robed woman who was waiting at the landing atop the stairway with an icy glare. “I hope you’ve sated your curiosity for now.”