Dinner was great for Poi and Jane had cooked well, but dinner was also a tactical level discussion of what had happened today, both in Candlepoint, and in Erick’s workshop.
There were around 4,850 people in Candlepoint. 1,100 shadelings, now known as originals. 2,950 former shadelings, now known as returners. And 800 people who had chosen to stay. There wasn’t any particularly dominant race among those who were staying. The minotaurs had all chosen to stay.
The major players of Candlepoint were the same people who had been there months ago.
Mephistopheles, the red incani shadeling mayor. The other actual-shadelings in town were fiercely loyal to him, and he appeared fiercely loyal to Erick, which was either a problem or a boon.
Justine Erholme, the white incani priestess of Koyabez. She was the only representative of a god other than Melemizargo in town, and she had quite a flock among the returners. Not so much among the still-shadelings.
Ava Jadescale, the snake shifter sewermaster. She had already cleared out the slums under the city, and all those people were now above ground and moving into homes abandoned by those who left.
Valok Greentalon was still a shadeling, and still working well as the master farmer of Candlepoint’s farms. He and his people provided much of the food that fed Candlepoint.
Daetroi Ooragh, the cattle rancher father of Apogough Ooragh. Apogough had been the only survivor of the Farmer’s Council back when the Farms still existed at Spur. His father, the cattle rancher, had not survived, and had suffered a fate similar to Valok. Daetroi was the other half of Candlepoint’s food solution. He raised cows on the southern coast of the lake, south of Candlepoint. He was expanding into other meat markets, but had nearly been shoved out of those markets by the other people. Now that all those other people had left, Daetroi had a lot of extra product on hand, and barely any way to control it all.
Zaraanka Checharin. Human woman, but still a shadeling, Zaraanka was the current matron of the Pink Houses, and she had opened gambling dens alongside her brothels. She had been bringing in a lot of money for the town. She had also opened up healer huts, and had been trying to prepare the town for branch offices of the Adventurer's and Mage’s and Wayfarer’s Guilds. If it weren’t for Candlepoint’s odd nature as a Melemizargo plot, then those three guilds would likely have already moved into town, but because of Candlepoint’s nature, those Guilds had not moved in yet, at all. Zaraanka had lots of irons in the fire, though, so the cold feet of the Guilds were not a large problem right now. Zaraanka was the social butterfly and one of the major captains of industry of Candlepoint.
Almost all of her fledgling industries had been broken by Erick’s announcement of Wizardry.
And then there was Slip, Captain of the Guard. The captain remained a shadeling of black skin, black horns, no hair, and with the brightest white eyes of any comparable people. Everyone thought he was a Shade, but no one spoke that thought aloud, or at least not in his presence. The Guard of Candlepoint was perhaps the only institution which remained strong and secure in the wake of Erick’s Wizardly declaration, with all of the Guard’s instructions dutifully followed. Even before Erick’s announcement, the guard easily caught any criminals who made their criminality known. Mostly, those criminals were exiled. Very few cases demanded execution.
Erick said, “I’ll be checking up on that, though.” He frowned. “I hope he isn’t actually a Shade, but… From what I’ve seen out there today, he seems happy with and good at his job, and yet he’s also fine with just fishing all the time.”
Poi said, “His suspected status as a Shade is what makes others see him as a true threat.”
“Could he be brightening his eyes on purpose?” Teressa asked.
“Theoretically, yes,” Poi said.
Erick had a question about that, but he knew it was a long shot to get an answer about this particular question, since it would put Poi in an ethically dubious position with regard to Mind Mage protocols. Erick asked anyway, “Does Slip have a mind presence? Or whatever you call it? Thought slime?”
“I can answer this one, Erick. Yes, he does, but that doesn’t mean anything. He could be faking his mind-presence. Shades are capable of this.”
Everyone at the dinner table was surprised both by Poi’s answer, and by his elaboration.
Erick moved on, saying, “I discovered a few things about [Gate] I wish to impart. To begin…”
He had to stretch to make his [Gate] reach more than 50 meters across, and 100 meters seemed to be the maximum size. The most common, and easily castable size, was around 3 meters in diameter. If he were just ‘pointing and willing a [Gate] into being’ and literally nothing else about it, 3 meters diameter is how big it would be. Erick always stretched the [Gate] a bit bigger, though, for Teressa, so she didn’t have to touch the lightning ring.
Touching the ring was like touching a fog of fake lightning. The ring looked and acted like lightning, but it was also soft like light. Touching those discharges would cause plants to grow upon any clothing caught in the effect, but the Benevolent Lightning would not cause growth upon bare skin.
The [Gate] opened from a spark and spread outward in a flashing instant.
It closed the same way, but in reverse.
If one looked very, very closely, at the front side of a [Gate], they could see a faint lightning fog, but only near the ring itself; like smoke on water, and the ‘water’ being the flat plane of the [Gate]. Mostly, though, the view from the front side of a [Gate] was perfectly clear.
When the ring closed on anything, it caused a reality recombination, which was Erick’s tentative explanation for what he was seeing—
“Wait wait. I don’t understand that at all.” Jane said, “You’re telling me it doesn’t snap something in half when it’s caught in the middle? I mean. You already said that with Sitnakov’s arm and the kidnapping, but I want to see this in action.”
Erick smiled at Jane’s enthusiasm, and then he cast two small [Gate]s atop the dinner table, about half a meter in diameter and a meter apart. Both were parallel with each other, with their backs facing each other. Erick [Conjure Weapon]d a white staff, and stuck it through the portal. His hand remained outside of the effect, but the staff was now halfway through.
And then he canceled the portal.
Silent lightning crashed inward, slamming onto the staff. Just beyond Erick’s hand, the staff gained a ring of lightning. On the other side of the table, the part that had been poked through, also gained a similar ring of lightning. The now-floating staff poking out of the exit, continued to hover there for a brief moment.
Two things happened at the same time. Lightning flashed up the upper half of Erick’s staff, vanishing it from sight. That same lightning zipped up the staff where Erick held it. As that lightning-light fully flowed down the staff, it vanished, revealing the staff to the world, unharmed.
“What is happening here is something similar to what happens when one goes through the backside of the [Gate],” Erick said. “I imagine there is a way to put some sort of spellwork into this sort of intrusion, onto the staff itself, or onto one’s own body, in order to keep the [Gate] open. Whenever Sitnakov decides to show up I’ll ask him how he did that.”
Jane narrowed her eyes at the staff. She was trying to figure out how she might accomplish the same thing as Sitnakov. “Do that again. With the staff. Again.”
Erick smiled, happy for Jane’s enthusiasm even if it wasn’t for the magic of it all; she was more interested in vulnerability testing. And that was fine. Erick was happy to share this with her.
Eventually, he got back to the other facts he had figured out about [Gate], like how he had no passenger or weight limit, and how [Gate]s could not be moved after cast. He stressed there was likely a lot more to discover in the coming months, but he tried to tell them all the nuances which he had seen so far.
And then dinner was over, and it was time to meet with the representatives of Candlepoint.
- - - -
The sun had set long ago, vanishing beyond a glowing Yggdrasil on the horizon. The city of Candlepoint was not that dark, though. Starlight, wardlights all around, and the moons above provided ample lighting, but there was still lots of room for shadows all around.
And then there was lightning. Bright, flashing brilliance, banishing the night.
That lightning crashed open, forming a portal, linking the eternal light of Yggdrasil with Candlepoint. Erick stepped out of that portal to stand upon the top of black stone stairs. Poi and Teressa flanked him. The three of them all wore white conjured armor. Teressa and Poi had adjusted their own mana color as necessary, but that was not necessary for Erick. His color was already white, though it was a bit more iridescent these days, if one looked close enough.
Ahead, Guard Captain Slip and several other members of Candlepoint’s Guard flanked the wide open double doors of city hall. Slip was dressed in immaculate black armor, along with the rest of his people.
There was an obvious dichotomy there, in the colors of their clothes. Such an arrangement of cloth and color might be a thing in the coming years, if Erick saw fit to enforce such an arrangement, but perhaps something less combative was in order. Something less black versus white. With a simple recast of [Conjure Armor], Erick changed his armor from full white, to white with black trim.
Slip gave a tiny grin, showing off his white teeth beyond the full black of his lips, and his skin. And then he steeled himself. It was time for a bit of ceremony. It was easy enough to see that they had prepared some stuff for him; that was why he had chosen to come in this way, and to allow this ceremony to happen. If the ceremony proved to be unwelcome then Erick would dispense with it, but he doubted it would get too out of hand.
Slip took one step forward and smashed his gauntleted hand against his chest, announcing, “Archmage Wizard Erick Flatt, Fire of the Age! Savior of Light. Welcome to Candlepoint. Welcome home. We hope you approve of your new lands.”
Earnest. Strong. Hopeful. And yet Slip was testing Erick in a way he thought necessary to test.
There was an audience for this event, after all. City hall had been cleared of every single person except for a few, and all those cleared-out people (and more besides) all stood at the base of the stairs, outside of close range, watching. Some prayed. Some worried. Some schemed. There were at least a thousand people by Erick’s count, and about half of them shadelings; almost 50% of all of the shadelings left in Candlepoint. The rest were probably returners. A few of them were spies from other lands, or something along those lines.
Erick saw a princess from the Wastelands and her two guards standing in the far back. He only noticed the woman was a princess by the thin band of gold around her head, and the heraldry she shared with her two guards. There were other important people here to notice as well, but if Erick stood here thinking about all of them he’d never get anywhere.
He saw no threats though, and the crowd was mostly silent save for a few whispers, so Erick continued.
“If I don’t approve of what you have done, then I will make of these lands what I must.” Erick gestured forward, “Guard Captain Slip. Lead the way.”
As Erick had guessed, his answer had been the proper answer for almost everyone in attendance. Without giving away that Slip was inordinately pleased to hear Erick speak like that, Slip struck his chest again, bowed, backed up, and turned toward the open doors. He led the way.
Erick followed.
As the guards of Candlepoint moved to stand guard across the top of the stairs, to prevent the crowd from following, people in the crowd began whispering, ‘Welcome, Archmage!’ or ‘Blessings upon the Fire of the Age.’ or in even smaller words, ‘Wizard.’
Erick and his people passed into the building, and the doors closed behind them, sealing away the sounds of the world outside.
City Hall was different. It had the same black stone walls and floor and ceiling as before. The same large, white crystal lights for sconces and overhead illumination. The same crystal runners down the sides of the main walkway, giving off the same levels of illumination.
But now the hallway had a white carpet laid down the center, and the back end of the hallway had been changed; Shaped into something new. Instead of a desk where people could direct visitors, it was empty, and the wall beyond had been transformed into an archway with a large set of double doors. Those doors were wide open. And that was their destination.
Slip led them into a room that had not been there before now.
A throne room.
Spacious. Pillars to the sides. White cloth hung like decorative, blank banners here and there.
A dais of black stone further in, with a white throne sitting upon that dais.
To the left and right of the walkway stood the heads of Candlepoint. Mephistopheles, Ava, Valok on the left. Zaaranka and Justine on the right, and then Slip, too, who joined them on that side. At a glance, Erick suspected this specific split of people could have been decided in any number of ways, but Erick’s first instinct was that the room had been split based on actual infrastructure on one side, and influence over population on the other side.
Erick did not take the throne. Instead, he stood there, on the carpet, and asked, “So this split is based on infrastructure concerns and population concerns? Or what?”
Mephistopheles, who had been standing just a bit forward, now stepped fully forward, but he did not block Erick’s path to the throne nor did he step onto the carpet. He said, “Greetings, Archmage Flatt. Yes; this split is based upon control of infrastructure and influence of persons. If there is a different way you wish to organize your lands, then we will of course abide.”
Erick looked past Mephistopheles, to the throne.
Here now, was a fear.
The calamity of all of Erick’s previous choices was upon him. All his power and purpose, aligned to this action here, now. Today. Tonight. This night, near midnight.
A split.
A direction that needed to be chosen, and chosen well. A path diverging, but only briefly.
If Erick sat on that chair then things would continue as they had been set up to continue. Erick would be a king. He would have absolute power over these lands, and people. He could organize everything, any way he wished. When war inevitably came, he could respond with his own power, and with the power of his people.
‘His people!’
And not just Poi, and Kiri, and Teressa, and Jane. All of these people. All of Candlepoint. That fact would put them at risk. They were already at risk, but until now that risk had been ambiguous. They were shadelings and a few more, and they were shunned by all the rest of the world, but Erick’s presence and power had forestalled the hammer that hung over this city, ready to fall at a moment’s notice. Now, Erick’s presence and power were like a lodestone to the threats out there, and yet, he could withstand that [Strike], if he prepared. His people could withstand that [Strike].
… If Erick did not sit in that chair, then there would be confusion, and then some other system of governance would arise out of that confusion. There would be a return to what had been happening already, but it would be messier, and disorganized. Weak.
And war would still come, only Erick would not be meshed in with the current workings of Candlepoint, and it would be disastrous. A lot more people would die.
It was possible that a lot of people were going to die anyway.
There was no real choice here when all things were considered—
Well.
No.
The choice was the same as it always was.
To remain part of the world.
Or to run and hide.
Erick breathed deeply, then made the same choice he had made a thousand times before. He would not be a hermit. He would not run. He would not hide. He was a part of the world, and by his actions, he would make the world a better place for all. If these people wanted to enshrine Erick as a true power, as a king, then…
He could do that.
He strode past the now-lesser powers of Candlepoint, toward the dais, to his throne.
Small intakes of breath. Squared shoulders. Stern faces. Some truly happy faces. Some worried faces. All emotion kept locked up as tight as it could be, but Erick could still see those emotions.
Erick stepped up the short black stairs that composed the throne’s dais. And then he was there. He had arrived.
The throne was white and solid and fit for a king of no-nonsense strength. No cushion. Not even a comfortable divot for the butt, or a back that allowed any sort of leaning and relaxing. A throne wasn’t meant to be a place of rest, but Erick wasn’t going to be sitting here for any length of time without some sort of comfort.
Perhaps something small? Yes. Something small. Something that respected the gesture these people were giving him, and yet announced to all that this was his spot, now.
With a quick cast of [Fairy Item], which doubled as a way to detect if anyone else was using Fae Magic in the area and to disrupt that other active Fae Magic, Erick conjured a thin cushion for the butt, and then he sat down upon that cushion, upon his throne.
Poi and Teressa watched Erick take his throne, and they were both strangely happy. It took Erick half a second to understand that Poi and Teressa’s happiness had surprised even them, for though they could see what was coming, now that it was actually here…
It was surprisingly good.
Poi and Teressa both trusted Erick with their lives, and now they knew that Erick was actually willing to take up that responsibility in a serious way. Nothing would ever be the same, but ‘nothing would ever be the same’ had happened several times before already. Now that they were here, everything that had come before made perfect sense. Both of them had signed on to be an archmage’s guards, but they had adjusted with the times, and the tribulations. And now they were here, right beside Erick.
Poi and Teressa stood to Erick’s left and right, on the ground outside of the throne’s dais.
Erick looked to the people of Candlepoint.
The six representatives of Candlepoint met Erick’s eyes with their own.
Mephistopheles was beyond thrilled, his glowing white eyes seeming brighter by the second. Slip and Justine were happy for the possibilities that this event finally represented, but they were a bit more reserved than Mephistopheles; they had specific goals they wanted, and not just the goal of security. Zaraanka was well practiced in not showing her worries, but Erick could tell that she was worried about everything that was to come, and she was also worried about Erick shutting down her Pink Houses, or some other such ‘restrictive nonsense’ that only existed inside the Wizard’s head. Ava was both resigned and relieved in equal measure; maybe she could finally get the beautiful life she always wanted now that power had come to town.
And Valok was angry. Erick wondered why, but before they got to that—
“So.” Erick began, “This is odd. I never meant to take this place of power among you. I meant to be an assistant to help you help yourselves. And you did. You did great things while I wasn’t here. You kept the city growing, Mephistopheles, despite the collars upon your power. You kept the faith and the proper path, Justine, despite the many tribulations of this land. You kept them safe, Slip, even though you were collared just as much as anyone. You secured the sewers, Ava, the part of the city that is always capable of being the most dangerous, even though no one respected your laws. You healed people, and brought about the starts of the various Guilds, Zaraanka, even though none of those Guilds saw fit to come here and truly establish themselves. You maintained the food supply for the city, Valok, even though the economy here is in shambles and I have suddenly made it a lot worse.
“None of you have been honored for your work as much as you should be honored, and I am sorry for the dishonor I have caused by announcing myself to the world.
“I intend to help fix all these problems encountered prior to my arrival, or created by my own actions, or the actions of others. Candlepoint will be a metropolis. I have created the first of the Gates which I plan to plant in the ground to the north of Candlepoint, right after this meeting. That Gate will connect those lands north of Candlepoint to the lands near Stratagold’s embassy. From there, trade will flow. Slow, at first, but as people see that I am neither to be trifled with, or that much of a danger, I suspect trade will flow faster.” Erick said, “I have secured alliances with the wrought of Stratagold, and Kirginatharp at Oceanside, and the dragons of Ar’Cosmos, all of whom know about me already. I have secured alliances with various gods, including Rozeta, Koyabez, Phagar, Atunir, and, though I am hesitant to say so, I believe I am doing what Melemizargo wants, too.
“I believe Candlepoint will grow strong and prosperous, but there are no doubt some physical problems and other similarly solvable issues which will prevent such prosperity. Therefore, I will endeavor to solve these problems for you.” Erick said, “I expect physical problems will be easy enough to solve quickly, such as housing and external security. Political and organizational problems I will leave to you, until they actually need to be brought to my attention. Such attention will probably result in massive changes that might not be what you want them to be. As for my personal wants, I will be creating House Benevolence, to oversee the lands already staked out north of the lake, where the Gates will go. House Benevolence will be working with the city of Candlepoint, in what I expect to be a king-mayor-elites sort of relationship, with Mephistopheles remaining mayor, and the rest of you becoming elites, or whatever sort of monikers you desire. I do not wish for nobility to form here in Candlepoint, but if that is what it takes to make this work, then I will do that.
“Now that all of that has been said...” Erick asked, “How can I first help Candlepoint be all that it can be?”
The movers and shakers of Candlepoint listened to Erick and felt several emotions most keenly.
Mephistopheles was vindication personified. Justine held hope like a beacon within her heart for all to see, and feel. Ava relaxed; everything would be alright. Slip was ready to go fishing, knowing that everything would work out fine here on land. Zaraanka had been worried, but she was ready to move on with her fears, and to make the most of a rapidly improving situation.
Mephistopheles stepped forward, saying, “Za—”
“This is cowshit, Erick!” Valok exclaimed. “I do not want to be involved in another war.” The other five elites of Candlepoint stepped backward, and Valok was briefly alone. Valok briefly looked to his compatriots for support, but he found none. He ignored the others and stepped onto the white carpet, to stand directly facing Erick. With a calm, yet furious sort of tone, he spoke, “I do not want a war.”
“With any luck and a bit of foresight,” Erick said, “Any soldiery visited upon this land will be met with utter annihilation. I expect assassination attempts long before I expect—”
“Assassinations then! Label it whatever you want!” Valok said, “The last war you brought to my house ended up with me murdered and turned into a shadeling! They almost killed Delia! My daughter has finally started talking normally with me again, and now you come back into my life with this shit! I’ll be lucky if I’m not killed by tomorrow, and my daughter has to suffer through all that all over again.”
Emotions poured out of Valok like pus from a wound. The man almost started crying but he held it together. His anger was too unfocused to allow crying, for he was also sad, and worried, and a whole host of lesser feelings.
Erick offered him an out.
“I have made the spell [Reincarnation].” Erick offered, “You wish to leave this land behind? To step away from the war, and what is to come? You can. I can offer the same to your daughter. New faces. New race, if you want. Such an offer will set your level back to 0, among many other smaller nuances. It would have the same effect on your daughter. I can help you two to regain level 20 or higher through killing crystal mimics, to help set you on a path of your own choosing. I can set you down anywhere in the world. There will be no way for anyone else to know who you were. To track who you were before. I will not openly offer this power to any who ask, but to you, I offer this, freely and without reservation or attachments.” Erick said, “For if you accept, you will be out of this life forever.”
Valok had been too stunned by the offer to speak yes or no, so Erick had explained what such an offer would entail, and now, with Erick’s explanation over, Valok still had no answer. Erick kept his own countenance even and unworried, but inside, he was breaking up over all the ways that he had failed Valok already. Erick probably wouldn’t offer this option to most people, but Valok was still a shadeling, and Erick needed to do right by him.
Valok’s milky white gaze glanced left and right, looking for answers and finding none. Poi and Teressa met his gaze, but his own people would not. And then Valok looked to the ground. He stepped back, saying, “No. Not… Not that. Not yet.”
Into the deep silence of the room, and to get over what had just happened as fast as possible, Erick asked, “Then is there anything else that is most pressing?”
Mephistopheles squared his shoulders and then stepped forward, but not onto the white carpet. “Zaraanka wishes to ask about the possibilities of getting a few major Guilds to bring offices here. Specifically, Adventurer’s, Mage’s, and Wayfarer’s.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“… Is there no physical need right now? Housing? Walls? Stuff like that?” Erick said, “I understand the need for the guilds, but…” His voice trailed off.
Mephistopheles happily announced, “We are a physically sound city, King Flatt, and as stability returns, then all physical needs will be seen to in the order in which circumstances require. I dare say it will be quite easier for us to manage with fewer people, too, and if Stratagold works out, then we will have lost nothing too important.”
Erick winced a bit when Mephistopheles said ‘King’, but he let that go.
Mephistopheles continued, “But the presence of the guilds will bring a legitimacy to this land that is unlike most other forms of legitimacy. We need that legitimacy, more than anything else right now.”
“Very well. I’ll work on that first, then. When I install the first Gate to Stratagold, I will have words at their embassy down there. Or something. I’ll see what I can get done.”
Except for Valok, there was a great deal of relief all around. Zaraanka was most relieved of all.
Mephistopheles smiled, saying, “Then now, we would ask what you would like to do with Candlepoint? Do you have any visions for the future? Some direction for which we can align?”
Ah?
Well.
Okay?
That was fast.
Apparently they didn’t need him for much? And they wanted to know what he wanted? Erick supposed this was fine. Expected, really, now that Erick had a chance to think about it. Of course they wanted to know what he wanted out of all this.
“Have any of you been to Songli?” Erick asked, “How do you all feel about widespread Denials? Was what you experienced today good, or bad?”
Looks of confusion passed around.
Justine was the first to speak up, “Stone Denial is useful. I would appreciate that one cast on a general basis.”
Ava rapidly objected, “Perhaps Denials cast upon specific buildings will be useful. I still need to be able to work the land and I cannot do that with your Stone Denial soaking into everything, King Flatt; no offense meant.”
“I don’t take offense at this at all. In fact, I am very happy that you are pushing back on my thoughts, and molding them to something more useful for all. I am not a tyrant, and I don’t wish to be. To that end:” Erick smiled, and then he reached forward and conjured a [Fairy Item] table directly onto the white carpet, before his dais. Six smaller casts created six chairs. The table and seats were a match to the stone table they had in the meeting room upstairs. “Let us have a discussion of magical improvements to Candlepoint, for I have high hopes to make this city both the most magically advanced land on this planet, and the most educated. Therefore, magic will eventually be rampant. Prismatic Denials might be necessary to maintain a sustained peace. But first, emplaced Denials and the capability to cast them without needing to know that magic yourself, is one of my first magics I wish to spread wide. I plan to do this through rune work and [Renew]. Please sit.”
Mephistopheles was the first to take his chair, barely missing a beat between Erick’s request, and accepting that request as though it were a command. Ava, Justine, Valok, Slip, and Zaraanka, took their chairs.
And the discussion began.
… ‘Discussion’. Mostly, Erick spoke, and ‘his elites’ objected or offered advice in some ways, and Erick adjusted his ideas. It was still ‘discussion’ enough to be called that, though.
Maybe it was more like an interactive lecture.
They spoke for little more than an hour, with Mephistopheles speaking second most, Justine offering words here and there, and Ava following up in fourth place. Valok wasn’t comfortable talking at all. Slip was reactive, speaking on security when the topic came up, but not offering much beyond ‘the guard can handle all normal problems, and this is how we do that’. To Erick, it seemed that Candlepoint’s Guard ran the same as any Guard anywhere else in the world, which was a bit surprising, but great to discover.
Zaraanka wanted to talk a great deal, and Erick felt that she would talk a great deal eventually, but not right now. Not while she was still figuring Erick out. She was freaked out about the Wizard thing, and had little idea how to handle that. Zaraanka did speak up when Erick asked over her dealings with the guilds, though, and she was receptive to a compliment about getting healer huts up and running.
“Thank you…” Zaraanka had no idea how to address him, so her voice just trailed off. She realized something, and said, “Your shadow kaleidoscope has been… It’s been one of the few ways to heal us shadelings. Properly. I mean.”
“I’m glad it has helped, Zaraanka. I don’t have that spell yet myself, so I will have to figure out how to make that spell and produce more of them. That sort of magic will become a part of what I eventually want to teach here, but those secrets of light will be a long time coming.” With a light, friendly tone, Erick said, “Including the requests for the Guilds, so far you’re the only one to offer me actual work.”
Zaraanka’s eyes went wide as the vaguely-pink woman’s face paled almost to white, as though she was facing her own execution. “I did not mean to presume upon your—”
Erick shook his head, and Zaraanka stopped. “You seem to know a lot of what needs to be done, and which I can do to get those things done. I approve.”
With a tight look, Zaraanka nodded quickly and quietly. She did not speak again for the rest of the meeting. Erick was not happy about being this feared, but he was used to it by now.
Eventually, the meeting ended. Everyone stood from their various chairs, while Erick had an Ophiel cast a [Prismatic Ward] upon the throne. No one could sit there aside from him.
Erick simply dismissed the conjured table and chairs, though.
And then he put an Ophiel on the throne, and had the little guy puff up a bit. Erick turned to… His people? Yes, these were his people now.
Erick turned to his people, and said, “If you have an emergency of any kind, feel free to tell Ophiel here, and I will hear it. Otherwise, there is lots to be done, and we need to all get back to it. I will be placing the first Gate and welcoming Stratagold to the Surface in the next hour. From there, with any luck, I will be able to build upon the paperwork Zaraanka has already lodged with the Mage Guild in order to gain a Mage Bank in town as soon as possible.”
Mephistopheles bowed, saying, “We welcome the benevolence of your reign, majesty.”
Mephistopheles had been trying out several different variations on title for Erick this whole meeting, and Erick had not liked any of them. Mephistopheles caught on to this, but he kept trying to find something that fit. ‘Majesty’ was about as inoffensive as he had managed.
He had tried calling Erick ‘Wizard’ once. Perhaps Erick’s instinctual grunt of displeasure had been too much; he probably wouldn’t be using that word again around Erick.
The others bowed as well, following Mephistopheles’s lead, saying, “Majesty.”
Erick stood there for a moment, taking it all in, then he left through a portal of lightning. Poi and Teressa followed close behind. Ophiel remained upon the throne, sized to a child, and yet empowered with a double cast of [Unbreakable Form] and a thorny, floating silver shield at his side.
Erick pulled his Sight from that room, though Ophiel remained in attendance.
Let them discuss whatever they wanted to discuss without him.
He had other worries right now.
- - - -
Yggdrasil glowed upon the southern horizon, upon the darkness of the lake. The coast was quiet. The dober dogs slept in a warm pile in their stone houses upon that coast, having eaten their fill of many rats and other small animals also trying to make their homes in that new, green land. To the north of that, lay the wall that ringed all of the lake. It was a massive stone wall; a solid construction ten meters tall and about that wide at the top, while being slightly wider at the bottom, to provide stability. Nothing could actually climb up either side, which was by design. No one wanted crystal mimics to invade the lakeside. It actually went about twice as deep into the ground as it showed above ground, too, to prevent tunneling.
Here, though, just north of that area on the wall, there was no crystal forest, or crystal mimics.
Kiri stood beside Erick on that should-have-been desert land, while Poi, Teressa, and Jane stood a bit apart. For fifteen kilometers in every direction, the sand had been transformed carefully and purposefully into a flat space of solid, interlocking stone blocks, upon a foundation of gravel and sand. Even further toward the north lay another wall, similar to the one that encircled the lake.
Erick happily said, “It’s impressive, Kiri. I like the blocks, too. Around four meters cubed and hourglass shaped. They should hold up rather well for a long time to come.”
“It’s the same sort of flooring that they use for martial tournaments and basic foundations.” Kiri said, “Of course you’d want to remove the bricks and build proper foundations if you’re going to make anything taller than two floors, but I dug down five meters deep all across this land, shoring up the sands to something solid. There were a lot of surprises down there.”
“People? Or just animals?”
“Animals and monsters. Lots of different types. Mostly shadowolves.” Kiri waved a hand toward the land and continued with her explanation, “There are sand holes and drainages placed here and there, so this place won’t fill up with rain water, but there are no proper drainage systems. I didn’t make a sewer. There will be some undermining if it remains like this for a long time, but a sewer system will need to be made anyway, and that will have to be the permanent solution to water drainage concerns. This is what you wanted?”
Erick smiled brightly. “Yes. It is.”
Kiri smiled, too, giving a soft, relieved chuckle. “Good. I’m glad.”
Erick nodded and opened up a very large [Gate] in the air before them. Ophiels came through upon wings of lightning, carrying a large square of white wood.
- - - -
Far, far away, deep, deep below the Surface of Veird, in a cavern that was as bright as daytime and near to Stratagold, another [Gate] opened. Another Gate passed through that lightning portal, carried by Ophiels, to come to rest upon a beach that was no longer a beach at all. That sandy land had also been transformed into a wide, stone surface. Almost no one was there.
There were two wrought guards on duty by the tunnel that led to the embassy, of course. One was a young copper human, all bright shining orange. The other was a grey iron incani man. They saw the Gate coming and the copper boy ran off, while the other just stood strong, watching as Ophiel moved the large wooden Gate around as Erick desired.
Ophiels centered upon the wide stone area, opposite of the tunnel, in the designated spot already discussed. And then they [Stoneshape]d a portion of that floor into a divot. Erick slotted the Gate into the ground, making the bottom, inner lip of the Gate end up a decimeter below the surface level of the stone square. A few more Shapings carved out some space on the open side of the Gate, and secured the Gate into the ground. It would not move without a lot more Shaping, but there would be magic Denying such Shaping soon enough.
By the time he finished with placements, other wrought began to show.
Geode Guardian Tasar. King Alfonin. Archmage Riivo.
They waited; concerned, hopeful, and a little angry.
Anger was a normal reaction to big stuff happening without warning, so Erick did not blame them for that. Oh well. It was better to seek forgiveness than permission, and anyway, they had already discussed much of what a permanent [Gate] would look like between both lands. Still, though, it was better to unruffle feathers while they were ruffled.
Ophiel floated forward with a letter. Riivo took the letter, read it, handed it off to the other two, and the three of them lost some of their concern and anger. Erick had explained everything about how this particular Gate would work, so hopefully whatever they wanted to talk to him about was not all of that, though he would no doubt be discussing what he had already written down, anyway.
It was time to get this show on the road! Ophiel linked a tendril of light to the runic web inside the Gate, and Erick personally cast [Undertow’s Edge] through his [Familiar]. Ophiels settled down into the Abysses around the Gate to provide some starter mana.
And then Erick cast [Gate].
- - - -
Upon the lands north of Candlepoint’s Lake, lightning flashed.
The [Gate] opened. The light of Yggdrasil’s Underworld cavern split the darkness of the night all around. On one side was the Surface, on the other was Stratagold.
But before that diplomacy could happen, an Ophiel appeared on Erick’s side with a very large rustless steel plate, large enough to completely fit in the five meter width of the [Gate], which is exactly what he did. That plate went into the [Gate] and slipped into the grooves carved on both sides, forming a solid steel bridge between here and there.
There was no way to easily move the Gate now.
Denials of all sorts occupied the area around the Gate. Ophiel had had to use his Benevolence sunform in order to move that metal through those Denials, and it had not been easy.
Other people could surely break whatever Erick put down today, but those people were few and far between; Domain holders, mostly. He knew that those sorts of shenanigans would happen, someday, but these Gates weren’t that hard to make. It was the magic inside them that was hard to duplicate, and that stuff was all Erick.
The wooden Gates glowed a brilliant white, while Abyssal Undertows held to the space behind both of them. Erick had opted to change out the ‘corridor of shadows’ effect that he had first created. Now, it almost looked like the Gates were set into a barely-visible wall of shadows that stretched up and out for twenty meters in every direction.
Erick looked through the [Gate], now that everything seemed to be working as intended.
Erick saw the wrought, and the wrought saw him.
Erick stepped forward, to stand atop the edge of the steel platform that straddled both sides of the Gate, saying, “Welcome to the Surface, Stratagold.”
King Alfonin stepped forward, to stand on the part of the steel platform that rested in his lands. “We accept your welcome, and welcome you to Stratagold in turn.” A bit more seriously, and quieter, “Though I question your open declaration of Wizardry.”
Alfonin had known what Erick was going to do, but this was a bit of a ceremony anyway.
“I’ve never been good at lying, so I’m not about to start now.” Erick put on a smile, saying, “Not here, not at this most momentous of changes.”
King Alfonin stood tall, and reserved. “Very well. Then that is how it will be.”
“Would you care to come through? Check out the place?” Erick offered, “I don’t have any structures set up on this side yet, so perhaps I can come through to that side and we can talk there? Also: Have you seen Sitnakov? I keep waiting for him to show up—”
The air flickered about a hundred meters behind Erick, on the edge of the prismatic Denial, and then that black wind resolved into a person. Sitnakov walked this way, holding his head high. He could have walked closer while using active magic, for his Domain could easily break the Domain Erick had cast into the Gate, but he had chosen not to. He had chosen to be royalty, it seemed. Which was fitting. The Second Prince was a near perfect physical match for his father on the other side of the [Gate].
“—I spoke too soon.” Erick turned back to King Alfonin. “Still not sure what’s actually going to happen with Sitnakov, though.”
King Alfonin glanced past Erick, then turned back to the Wizard, saying, “He’s to set up a waystation on that side of the [Gate], and to see to some troops positioned on that side, in whatever lands you designate as officially belonging to Stratagold. As to that subject: this cavern on this side is still yours, but we ask you to officially relinquish this beach and this side of the Gate to us.”
“Done and done. That beach is now officially your property, once again. The rest of the cavern remains mine. Now as for gate fees: As we agreed? For now, a 50/50 tax split based on rates already discussed. In addition, I will charge 1 gold per person crossing, either coming or going, to be paid to me; and you do not get that money.”
Alfonin said, “Agreed. As previously agreed, we will be conducting this business on your side.”
Erick nodded. “It should be easier for you, too. This side has a lot more space and the Denials I put up extend for a hundred meters in all directions. They only extend ten meters on your side, but on this side, people will have to come in from much further away in order to enter and transfer to Stratagold. Much easier to catch any people who might try running through.”
“We will have ways to deal with such an occurrence, but I am glad to hear of these Denials. That makes it much easier for us.”
Erick nodded, then moved on to business that had not been discussed before. “We have no Mage Bank here, though, so moving such monies around might be difficult. I plan on including the Wayfarer’s and Adventurer’s Guild here as soon as I can, as a supplement ‘last mile’ part of the Network, and as a matter of course, respectively, but Mage Bank needs to happen sooner than those other two. Can you make that happen?”
Alfonin looked at Erick, and offered, “We have Geode Bank. Would you care to switch banks?”
A deeply political question, actually.
The vast majority of Veird switched to Mage Bank over Geode Bank many, many centuries ago, because when the wrought did not like you, they could shut off your money at any point in time. Thus, the Mage Guild opened up their own banking system in order to get away from that oversight, and now Mage Bank was the largest banking system on the Surface, while much of the Underworld actually ran on both systems, though Mage Bank was still prevalent down there, as well. From what he knew, Erick had a rough guess that Mage Bank controlled 85% of banking on the Surface, with smaller banking chains open here and there, and roughly 60% of banking in the Underworld, not counting intra-Geode commerce. Geode Bank oversaw 99% of intra-Geode banking, and 40% of Underworld banking outside of the Geodes.
But if Erick accepted Geode Bank up here, at Candlepoint, at the center of the Gate Network…
A lot could change.
Erick wanted to keep most people happy, but he also wanted to keep most things the same. As much as possible, anyway.
“I will accept both.” Erick said, “I want to make this a land for everyone, so I might as well accept both. If you can get Mage Bank here, then I will accept Geode Bank as well. There is lots of land up here on the Surface, after all. Just gotta turn some of the desert back into livable land.”
“But through which one will you accept payment?”
Alfonin was glad to see that Erick was willing to host Geode Bank up here, for he wanted Erick to accept Geode Bank. He wanted control over the money that flowed through here, if he could get it. Erick expected nothing less from a king; to [Strike] when the iron was hot was a necessary skill in this sort of governance.
Mage Bank would eventually be very annoyed that they decided to hold off on accepting Zaraanka’s proposal, for waiting this long. But Erick wasn’t going to subject himself to that much Geode control.
“I have an account at Mage Bank, so I will accept money through them, here for this part of the Gate Network. Everything through Surface Gates will go through Mage Bank.” Erick said, “When I establish more Gates in the Underworld, then I will accept that money under Geode Bank, though the discussions surrounding that arrangement will need to come at a later time.”
Alfonin eyed Erick. “… Not as disruptive as you could be.”
“I’m trying.” Erick gestured behind him. “Care to pick out some— Ah. Hello.”
Sitnakov had been walking this way the whole time, but now he was three meters away, and so he stopped his approach. He nodded to his father, who nodded back, and then he turned slightly to face Erick. He gave a head nod, that was almost like a minor bow. “Archmage Flatt.”
Erick returned the gesture. “Prince Sitnakov.”
“In addition to my normal duties, I’m to be a knight for you for a while, wherever you will have me.”
Erick relaxed a little, then said, “I expect to be putting out paperwork soon, for people to come to me with monster kill requests. Would you be interested in that? Or in something more stable at a single location, like here on this land? I still need to build my House, but that shouldn’t take more than several hours. After which, I can grant you a room there. Or on Yggdrasil?”
Erick was throwing everything out there to see what stuck. He didn’t want to make Sitnakov unwelcome, but he honestly did not know what to do with the guy.
“I will be helping Stratagold to create our embassy here, and I will be comfortable with lodgings there, but I would prefer to be near you when you are out and about. Perhaps, in time, I will move into this House of yours, if you move in there as well, but I will not be moving into Yggdrasil. If you continue to room in Yggdrasil then I will remain out here.” Sitnakov continued, “Plainly: I will be a guard. Not to Crit the [Strike] too hard, but now that you are a publicly declared Wizard I’d prefer to have you in my Sights, for I am tasked with your safety… As much as anyone can be tasked with the safety of a Wizard. I fully expect an assassination attempt in the next day or three, at the very least, and I want to be there to prevent it.”
“… Okay.” The thought of assassinations so soon threw Erick for a loop. Of course he was worried and prepared, but to have other people preparing for such an event was vindication for Erick’s paranoia, and that was an uncomfortable feeling. What assassination attempt would this next one even be? His… Fifth? Assassination attempt? No? Erick said, “You know, I’m not even sure how many assassination attempts I have weathered now. Does war count as an attempt?”
“Yes.” Alfonin spoke from across the [Gate], “Assassination attempts in war count, unless you are on the battlefield yourself.” And without any preamble or further preparation, King Alfonin stepped through to Erick’s side of the [Gate]. “You’re in good hands with my son, Archmage Flatt. I look forward to this partnership.”
Erick looked up at the very tall black metal orcol, and at his son, and said, “I look forward to this, too.” He gestured toward the lands ahead. “Anywhere you want.” He pointed to a central space. “I believe I will put my House there. It will likely end up as a minor mountain, like what you would see in Songli.”
“Acceptable.” Alfonin gestured for Tasar and Riivo to come forward; they were both still on the other side of the [Gate]. Now, though, they strode forward at their king’s command, stepping out of the light of the cavern, and into the dark of the night. Alfonin turned outward, to view the darkened land. He narrowed his eyes, and then he asked Erick, “Could I get some light? And some ideas of what you envision for this land.”
“Of course.” Erick sent Ophiels flying high to cast wide scale wardlights, bringing the sun back to the stony land. Then he started adding lightsculptures, beginning with the shell of what would one day become House Benevolence; right now it was just a very large holographic blob of light. Illusionary Gates showed what this place might look like in the future, while streets and fences demarcated the land into lots. It had taken Erick less than a minute to do all of that. Then he said, “All of this is subject to change, of course.”
Tasar and Riivo looked across the land, impressed at the speed of Erick’s conjuring. Sitnakov tried not to be impressed. Alfonin succeeded in not being impressed. For everyone else, such a conjuring was old hat.
Alfonin walked forward, judging the land and considering what would come next. “It doesn’t look like you have a city planner, but you at least have a competent stone mage to make this flooring.”
“My apprentice, Kiri Flamecrash, constructed the stonework.” Erick gestured to Kiri. “I’m very lucky to have her.”
Kiri went rigid and still, and then she bowed deeply. To the sides, Jane smiled a little at Kiri’s reaction, while Teressa and Poi stood resolute, and yet relaxed.
Alfonin nodded at the young girl, then continued forward. “Would you accept a city planner? Or do you wish to do this [Cityshape]ing yourself?”
“If you’ve got suggestions, I’ve got ears.” Erick said, “I assume that you’ve been at this city-thing for a lot longer than most anyone out there.”
Alfonin smiled a little, and said, “I have been at this city-thing for a long while, but I have support structures as well. I’ll have some of them contact you, if you wish?”
“I’ll take that help. What’s the going rate for a city planner?”
“I have one very insistent architect who demands I offer you his services, and who is willing to drop his usual price to free for the honor of working on the Gate Network Hub.” Alfonin said, “I would suggest you pay them a fair price of 2.5 million gold, though, and give him your apprentice for the heavy lifting. O’Lark is a difficult man to work with, but he is very, very good at his calling. He built the White Palace of Eternal Light. He’ll build you something similarly unforgettable here, if you’ll have him.”
“I’ll take him.”
“O’Lark will be thrilled.” Alfonin smiled a little, then said, “He’ll be the one finalizing our outpost…” Alfonin looked around, and said, “And I’ll let him decide where to put it. Probably over there?” He gestured to the left, then he turned to Erick. “This looks good, Archmage Flatt. We look forward to working with you. It was good meeting you again, but I must be off. I’m sure you’re busy as well.”
Erick stood straight, and said, “I am. It was good to see you again, too.”
Alfonin was trying to play off his deep interest in everything that was happening here as nonchalance, and Erick was happy to play along with that deception. But Erick made no mistake. King Alfonin was thrilled for this happening, and what was to come. Riivo and Tasar were of a similar mind.
And that boded well.
The King of Stratagold thus took his leave, with Tasar and Riivo following close behind. While the king vanished when he got back on the other side of the [Gate], Tasar and Riivo bowed to Erick, and then vanished as well.
A few soldiers then came through from Stratagold to Candlepoint, bowing deferentially, both to Erick, and to Sitnakov.
Sitnakov said, “We’ll be setting up the temporary base, if that’s alright with you.”
“It is.” Erick said, “If you need assistance with anything, don’t hesitate to send a message through to Poi, or to me. I don’t have a secretary yet to deal with the vast increase in messages and contacts that I expect to field soon, but I’m working on that. You can also flag down Ophiel. I’ll keep one of him fluttering around here from now on.”
Ophiel chirped from Erick’s shoulder.
And then Yggdrasil’s [Scry] eye bounced, and then another iridescent eye appeared hovering beside the first. He wanted to be included.
Erick gestured to the second eye, saying, “Or you can flag down Yggdrasil.”
Sitnakov nodded to Erick, then to Yggdrasil’s [Scry] eye, and then he got to work with several other wrought, building a temporary base northwest of the Gate.
They parted ways.
- - - -
Once again safe in his [Fairy Stronghold], and with his people around him, Erick smiled brightly, saying, “That went really well!”
“Well done, King Erick,” Poi said, smiling.
Erick scowled. This was really happening.
“Seeing Sitnakov was weird. He looked just like in the stories.” Teressa said, “And King Stratagold looked the same, too.”
“The King of Stratagold knows me now!” Kiri happily said.
“That’s so weird, Kiri,” Jane said.
“What? Why?” Kiri said, “It’s important to know important people.”
“I know that. It’s still weird.” Jane said to everyone, “It’s all so weird. I expected more fights, and then for… I don’t know. For something to happen. And then for dad to solve those fights… Which would put us right back here in this same situation. And apparently there will be actual assassins soon, but we’ll get them, I’m sure.” Jane looked to her father. “And then the world would still change as my father demands.”
For a short moment, there was silence.
‘Demand’ was a big word there, Erick wanted to say.
He wasn’t demanding anything. He was trying to appease all sides and prevent war, to navigate the various troubles coming his way, because his original ‘demand’, if you wanted to call it that, was that the world should be better tomorrow than it was today. That people should have easier lives, more opportunity, and less hardship.
That was a perfectly reasonable ‘demand’.
Mostly, Erick was making this demand of himself. He wanted to help people, and he was going to help the entire world. The dragons were getting a new world, parallel to this one. It wasn’t a cure for the Curse, but it was close enough to a cure for now. Particle Magic was continuing to spread. That stuff was continuing to cause problems the world over, mostly in the form of toxic byproducts and accidental deaths, but maybe Elemental Illusion or Mystical would hold the secrets to less of those side effects, and then people would begin to learn what this world was actually made out of, instead of the Elemental learning carried over from the Old Cosmology. And learning was good. Monsters were getting beaten back, and the world was opening to habitation. The Forest of Glaquin was the safest it had been in a thousand years. Erick would continue to support that direction of change for as long as he was able.
He would raise kingdoms out of the sand himself, if he had to, for the growth of civilization was the growth of opportunity for all, and the surest way to weather any storm was with a neighborhood at your back.
And [Renew] was coming out soon.
All things that Erick was doing in order to make the world a better place.
It was, therefore, perfectly reasonable to demand that people not assault him, and securing a base of power in order to secure that basic right… Seemed reasonable. Erick was not going to be a hermit. And since he wasn’t going to be a hermit, that meant he automatically chose the other option, which was to participate in society.
For all his life, Erick had been working systems of people and government to ensure good outcomes for the lowest common denominator, but now, he had the option to be the system.
Or at least the base upon which all the rest was built.
From there, Erick could create all the good things he wished to create. If people wanted to flock to him to participate in that bettering, then he would ensure those people were treated well, and had good options in their lives.
And so, here now was another responsibility to get right.
A responsibility to his daughter, who never asked for her father to be this way.
Erick said, “It’s an adjustment. I’m not sure if I like being in a kingly position, but… You weren’t there for the meeting with Candlepoint, Jane, but if I didn’t accept this, then there would be a great lot of confusion. I don’t want confusion. No one wants confusion. Everyone wants stability, and I want stability, too. Such stability will come with sweeping changes to how the world works, yes, but the main thing is the creation of stability. Which is a bit of a paradox, I admit, but that’s fine.” He breathed deeply, and said, “So if my acceptance of a crown is what it takes to make this world a better place, then I’ll be a king for a while.”
“Apparently,” Jane said, giving him an unsure look.
Teressa nodded, saying, “The Apparent King.”
Erick looked to the large woman. “Really?”
Teressa shrugged, saying, “If you don’t pick a name they’ll pick one for you.”