“Get up, Isaac. You’re making me uncomfortable. I accept your offer, I can give you many opportunities to kill gaunts. I’ll claim the crown, but I would like to know what to expect from the process.” Lanek said, gesturing for the kneeling spirit to rise.
“Thank you, I will do my utmost to keep you safe. There really isn’t much of a process once you claim the crown, you will simply feel a connection to me and we will be able to converse within your mind. Unless I manifest or you order me to appear, no one will be able to see me, including you. However, you will always be able to sense my exact location around you. Also, since it is my duty to train and protect you, the crown will not let me leave your vicinity.”
“I see. Are you okay with this arrangement? If I could find some way to destroy the crown and release you, would you not prefer to go to your rest?” Lanek asked, somewhat disturbed at the thought of having another being’s existence tethered to him. Maximilian, Kazuma, and Sanguineus were all bound to him, but they had the freedom to go where they wished and would go to their rest when Lanek died, whereas Isaac would continue to be trapped in the crown.
Isaac smiled and shook his head. “Whenever the bearer of the crown sleeps or when the crown is unclaimed, I go somewhere else. Please understand that all I can say is that where I go, I am happy and at peace. I am not permitted to say anything else.”
“That’s a relief. I do have one more question to ask before I claim the crown. I don’t like the idea of not having an end to this arrangement stated beforehand. I have several companions bound to my soul that will all be allowed to move on when I die, would you like a similar arrangement? I could also arrange for the crown to be hidden so no one could wake you up or for someone to find you a new host.” Lanek offered.
Isaac thought for several long moments before responding. “At this moment, I would like to be released or hidden away so that I may rest for eternity. However, if we have not avenged Laethon, I would like to be free to find another host once you are gone.”
“Obviously, I cannot make any promises in case I die in battle, but I will do everything in my power to accommodate your requests. I have to warn you as well, I don’t know how long I will live. I don’t know how my classes, stats, titles, or race will affect my lifespan.” Lanek said.
“You have a lot of holes in your knowledge, Lanek. I’m curious as to why, but that can wait for a moment. Classes, titles, and attributes can all affect your lifespan. If you reach a high enough level or get the right class or title, it is possible to essentially stop aging altogether. There were several well-known immortals like that in my time. As for the race, obviously certain races naturally have different lifespans, so I’m curious how you don’t know about your own race.” Isaac explained.
“I didn’t start out as this race, I was human not too long ago and evolved into a dranrid. I’ve never met another member of this race or found any information about them. Even Wurgoth and Eldros don’t seem to know anything about them.”
“Ah, that makes more sense. It’s not common, but humans have been known to evolve before, although the trigger for it seems to vary in every instance. When it does happen, they do tend to evolve into races that are exceedingly rare or extinct. Can’t say that I’ve heard of a dranrid, though.” Isaac responded.
“I’ll figure it out someday, hopefully. For now, let’s get this over with so I can get some sleep. We can talk some more in the morning.” Lanek said before calmly dropping the crown on his head.
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You have claimed the Crown of Laethon.
The instant the crown was claimed, Lanek felt the presence of Isaac within his mind. It wasn’t intrusive and felt very similar to his bonds with the furballs. He focused on the bond, noticing the trickle of mana that was traveling along it. Not too long ago, he wouldn’t have been able to tolerate that drain on his mana, but with his increased stats and equipment, the drain on his mana couldn’t keep up with his regeneration.
Wow, that’s a lot of mana regeneration. I knew mages that would kill for whatever your secret is. Isaac’s voice whispered into his mind.
It came with becoming a dranrid. Lanek responded. Now, enjoy your rest, Isaac. We’ll speak in the morning.
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The next morning, Lanek proceeded further north, this time riding Maximilian so he could focus on training with the floating orbs and speak with Isaac. His control had come a long way, to the point where he felt confident that he could use the skill from Maximilian’s back, possibly even while the demigryph was running.
Throughout the morning, Lanek spent time answering Isaac’s questions. Lanek told the spirit about how he was transported to this world but had no clue who was responsible for it and described his adventures thus far. He shared his plans for Caelis and the information he had collected about the gaunt invasion and the Void threats. It was a rather depressing conversation, but it seemed to only make the spirit more determined when it came to helping Lanek destroy the gaunts.
In return, the spirit spoke about the origins of the crown and how his wife Bianca had come up with the idea after he expressed concern about Laethon’s future. Isaac had looked proud and happy as he spoke about the fact that his wife had been one of the most powerful magic users of her time, a power that their daughter had inherited. Isaac himself had apparently been known as a prodigy of the sword, but it was like pulling teeth to get him to admit it, the man was quite humble when it came to his own accomplishments.
The crown had been meant to ensure that his talent could be used for all time to safeguard Laethon. However, Isaac’s wife had not known that her creation would continue to get stronger from generation to generation as she had passed away before Isaac. Bianca would never know that the accumulated skills and techniques would be absorbed into Isaac with the death of each host.
Although, I suspect that when I sleep the “somewhere else” he goes is to his family in whatever afterlife awaits him. I mean, there clearly is an afterlife here based on my class, literal gods, and spirits. Hell, Pharaoh’s System description specifically mentions that his race is often a guide to the afterlife. In all the times that Isaac returned to his rest, I can’t imagine that he never mentioned the abilities of the crown to his wife.
However, what really intrigued Lanek were the feats of Isaac’s children. While his eldest son had become the king of Laethon and became the crown’s host, his daughter had decided to study and refine the enchantments on the crown. During the son’s reign, he led the forces of Laethon against numerous foes in the defense of Caelis as multiple forces attempted to seize the newly found city for their own uses. This had greatly depleted the quality of soldiers that Laethon could deploy, leading to the army being comprised mostly of fresh recruits.
By this time, Isaac’s daughter had managed to decipher her mother’s work, but did not have the power to replicate it to the same scale. However, what she could do was create a dozen lesser versions of the crown that were handed to the best warriors Laethon had at their disposal. These individuals would then pass on their artifacts, rings rather than crowns, to their children. However, these lesser versions were only able to absorb the skills and techniques from each host and pass that accumulated knowledge to each new bearer. The rings did not have a sentient spirit residing in them, just a simulacrum that would teach the bearer. The simulacrum was not able to materialize or control the host’s body.
In the end, this had led to the fearsome reputation that Laethon’s legions were known for. Generations of accumulated knowledge held in twelve individuals that would then train and lead the legion quickly made the soldiers of Laethon into the stuff of legends. However, no one outside of those twelve individuals and the royal family knew of the existence of the artifacts or the secret behind the power of Laethon.
As he rode north, Lanek couldn’t help but wonder if the rings were scattered among the remains of the city. If so, he had to do whatever he could to get his hands on them and issue them to new hosts that could help him prepare Caelis for the future. I can only imagine what someone like Talwarg or Liv could do with that kind of knowledge.