The results of his latest AR test surprised Hunter. It was his first time seeing his score since before they’d arrived at Skyhold. He smiled as he jotted down the result in his personal journal, imagining the look that Aera’s face when he revealed it.
Trey assigned him to temporary quarters near the workshop, ordering him not to leave without permission. Confinement to his quarters wasn’t so bad. Trey knew Hunter would revel in the time alone, with all that uninterrupted time to research and tinker to his heart’s content.
The intention, despite it being punishment, was to give him time to rest and reset. After spending so long in a state of stress and various stages of exhaustion and etheric possession, a time for contemplation and focus on his passions was what he’d needed.
He had gotten his hands on the design schematics for the prototypical mobile shaped-field generator they were hoping to use as a personal shield device. He found the designs complicated, among the most advanced glyph networks he’d ever seen. It proved that the consumer grade products paled compared to what the corporations had played with behind closed doors. They were decades ahead of what they were releasing to the public.
Another game they must be playing amongst the council. Who was the furthest ahead? Who would dare to reveal their hand and risk someone else releasing a more advanced product which worked better, and cost less?
There came a knock came at the door. It was Aera, there to inform him it was time for an official debrief about what happened during the beastwave.
He’d felt a moment of dread, but once the meeting started, he realized that there was nothing to worry about.
Regarding what had happened, all he had were hypotheses, and he didn’t know how to reproduce it. He found no dormant aspect of his psyche or internal etheric system that explained the incident. He couldn’t pinpoint the cause. And he’d checked for hours, focusing on his aura, prodding at his channels.
Nothing. Whatever had happened to him remained a mystery.
He’d had a dream once, over a year ago. Back when he was at Barnum, recovering from Pippen’s attack. The world had turned into a shifting mirage, a montage of worlds and ideas and memories which felt like they were his, but couldn’t be.
The giant maw, that figure walking fearlessly into it.
Be not afraid, it had said.
And something about a formless shape. Or was it a shapeless shape? He couldn’t remember. But it felt important.
The dream had made sense to him after he’d had it. But now he was wondering if there was something more to it.
He’d elected not to share this information with Trey or Aera or the psychological specialists summoned to help him understand what happened. But he told them what he believed to be true.
Reproducing what happened to him back at the outpost wasn’t possible at the moment. He didn’t even know where to start. If there was some entity watching him, then it was also helping him. As far as he could tell, it was on their side.
It had lifted Aera to safety based on his refusal to let her die. It had protected the Guardsmen that it could, intercepting debris thrown by the enemy. The only thing he could confirm was that there was a deeper stratum of ether that was active here, and he could only guess at its nature, intention, or purpose.
Hopefully, as he progressed, and as Oberon’s understanding and utilization of etherium matured, they would have more answers.
Hunter got the intention that those who had gathered, including the military representatives, were far from satisfied with his answers. But Hunter was Trey’s heir, and his relationship with Trey and Aera had only grown stronger over the last year.
They were powerless to offer anything but their thoughts and worries about a potential threat. Hunter didn’t take it personally. It was their job to assume a threat, so that if time came to defend themselves, they would know what to do.
As a compromise, Hunter elected to agree to speak with their experts whenever he felt that something might happen relating to this mysterious phenomenon. He didn’t know what their experts could do about it. This was an etheric mystery, and if he had no idea what was going on, why would they?
Then again, his previous handicap had been due to psychological trauma. From what he could tell, that was different to whatever had happened and the outpost. His trauma had been born of pain and separation. The outpost was something else: power, compassion, and profundity.
He felt that it was more a matter of advancement. It was up to him to train diligently, to advance, and be open to the discoveries awaiting him. Theoretically speaking, it was just a matter of time before he had a better idea of what had happened.
Once the debrief concluded, he went back to his temporary quarters to get back to work. He was pressed for time before the Sabletown meeting, so he made the most of his solitude to become fully engrossed in his work.
----------------------------------------
“That is the most impressive beast core I’ve ever seen,” June said. His eyes were wide as he gazed at the stone they’d found at the centre of the guardian avatar’s body.
“So it is a beast's core?” Hunter asked. That had been his assumption, but there was no way for them to know for sure. Compared to the others they’d scavenged from Class-1 and 2 beasts, this was a giant.
He might even say it was an anomaly.
“How much for it?” June asked. “What is your expertise regarding the use of these things? With all due respect, you haven’t much of an idea about what to do with these things. It would go to waste here. My people will put it to good use. I promise I’ll give you a good deal for it. What do you say?”
“Until we’ve finished studying it, I’m afraid we’re going to have to insist on keeping it,” Trey said.
Hunter hadn’t watched the extraction in person. Before his assignment to temporary quarters, he’d been ship bound while the rest of the fleet arrived and a leadership summit took place. They’d discussed the new plans for the backup colony location and picked a spot around 50 miles away from where the outpost was. It was much closer to Lake Striptease, and it was also closer to Skyhold’s namesake.
While all of this was happening, teams of artisans and engineers were hard at work extracting what they could from the creature, as well as whatever was still salvageable from the Cloud.
This was his first time seeing the beast core in person. He held up his hand to it, studying the etheric effects he was sensing. It felt almost like an etheric battery. A hardened bio-matter shell encased the core. It had the effect of blocking most of his sensitivity. All he could make out was that there was some intention behind what the etherium within the core was doing, but he couldn’t feel anything specific beyond that.
Catching Trey’s eye, Hunter nodded, and Trey continued.
“We would welcome Sabletown’s help in understanding the practical applications of beast cores. It’s true that our own understanding is lacking.”
“Would you feel open to something like a mutual exchange in our understanding of the world?”
Trey pursed his lips, seeming to be impressed with the idea. Hunter wanted to beg the man to accept.
“I’d be open to it. I believe that we both have a lot to learn from each other.”
“Wonderful! I’ll task Aruon with negotiating this deal. He’s far more interested in the specifics of technic sciences and how they compare to our own than I am. I’m much more interested in martial matters. In fact,” he paused, looking up to the sky which was brimming with what seemed to be the entire Oberon space fleet. Small shuttles zipped around it, like fleas amongst beasts.
“I believe we are both past due for a demonstration.”
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Guard Captain Niklaus straightened. Trey snorted at the man’s reaction.
“You’re right. We’ll need to schedule a new time for it, which might be troublesome, given how busy we are going to be for the foreseeable future.”
“Sabletown is also willing to hire out some of our skilled labourers to assist you. You’ll find that they are hardworking, and stronger than most foundation level men and women. Tell me, how do your people measure power?”
Trey smiled at Hunter, letting him answer.
“We rate our power based on our affinity to draw—” he paused, realizing he was about to reveal something critical. “Um, based on our ability to use our etheric tools. I mean, Vital tools.”
“And what is your ability level ranked as, young master Hunter?” Aruon asked from June’s side.
“80,” Hunter said. Aera inhaled sharply, looking at him as if he’d just insulted her. He smirked.
Her reaction was perfect. The rest of the Oberon delegation accompanying June during his visit stared at Hunter with surprise. His surprise had been almost as great as theirs. His AR must have increased from the episode at the outpost’s wall.
“I assume that this is impressive?” June asked.
“Unprecedented for his age,” Guard Captain Niklaus said. “By a very large margin.”
“What would be average, then?”
“For a gifted youth of his age, you would find them to have an AR in the high 20s, and rarely in the 30s. Until recently, Aera here had held the record for having the highest AR for her age,” Trey said.
“Fascinating. Who would you say has the highest AR amongst you?”
Guard Captain Niklaus answered this time.
“Lieutenant Bradshaw here,” Niklaus said, grabbing the shoulder of one man standing beside him, “has an AR of 120. His was probably amongst the top 100 ratings worldwide, if I recall correctly.”
Hunter whistled. 120 was impressive, given that the man wasn’t even an artisan, at least from what Hunter could tell.
“I see. Then if I am to assume that Hunter’s foundation is mid-stage, this lieutenant is likely at the peak, about to become an Elemental Initiate.”
A common frown marked the faces of the Oberon party.
“Perhaps this is another question we can answer during our upcoming exchange. For reference, when we first met, I was at the peak of the Elemental Initiate stage, but have since broken through.”
“Oh,” Trey said, to a round of polite nods from the Oberon delegation, “Congratulations on your, er, upgrade?”
June barked out a laugh.
“It’s a novel experience to be around those who don’t have the requisite understanding to fear my offending me. I assure you, I find it endearing and refreshing. I gained a critical insight during the fight with the guardian avatar, and while I was in recovery, that insight blossomed into a breakthrough. The mayor had beaten me by a mere few days—ah. That’s one reason I visit you today. What I have to say will impact our relationship in the future, for the better.”
“I want to know more about what you mean by this breakthrough. Just how much stronger is an Adept compared to an Initiate? Or, how much stronger are you now compared to how you were before the battle?” Guard Captain Niklaus asked.
“At the earliest stages of Elemental Adept, it’s like the difference between a toddler and a mature, well-trained adult. This gap widens exponentially with each phase of advancement.”
“Huh,” Guard Captain Niklaus said, giving nothing about what he was feeling away. “Interesting. And how many phases of advancement are there?”
“For most stages, it suffices to say that there are three phases. Early, Intermediate, and Late. Some will add a fourth phase, the peak or half-step, indicating that they are on the threshold of a breakthrough. The phases can change based on the path, and the path’s specific lineage. My path through Adept-hood will be a bit more winding than most, but that’s because the origin of my path is exceptional. I’m sure we can talk about this more at a later date.”
The two parties of delegates moved to a more officious setting. It was the reception hall built into the new command centre near the colony’s town square. On the way, they passed an obelisk marked with the names of all the fatalities from the battle for Skyhold. They set Captain Gregor’s name near the top, right under the small stone replica of the O.S.S. Merciful Cloud.
They dubbed the Obelisk the Founders Memorial. It had a nice ring to it. Hunter sighed away the sadness he felt whenever he saw all the names up there.
It still didn’t feel real. He kept expecting to see Captain Gregor there with them. His demise felt like a poor joke. Hunter expected that he’d wake up from a dream, still aboard the Cloud on the way to Skyhold for the first time.
They had paused before moving on from the memorial, sharing a moment of silence. Once they sat down around a large wooden desk in a private room which reminded Hunter of Trey’s old home office, June continued.
“That you honour your dead means a great deal to me. It is a sign that you all share a common heart. A respect and love with which Sabletown would be proud to connect with. Perhaps we may one day show you a heart of our own.”
He cleared his throat and continued. “Regarding those matters I spoke of; the previous mayor of Sabletown perished during the encounter with the guardian avatar. I’d known him for decades, and although we weren’t the closest of friends, we had a great deal of respect for each other,” June said.
“I’m sorry for your loss. Given what I know of your culture, you’re led by the strongest?”
“Indeed, or whoever the strongest of us can all agree to be led by. As it was, Greaves and I were on par with each other for as long as we’ve known each other. If he’d survived, the conversation we would have right now would be under far different circumstances,” June said.
Aruon and Galan shifted. Aruon even gave Hunter an awkward smile and shrugged. Hunter didn’t know how to interpret that.
“Different how?” Trey asked, his eyes narrowing. He seemed to have picked up on some threatening undertone that Hunter hadn’t been.
“The old mayor was far more conservative than I am. In fact, if I hadn’t forced a peaceful contact with you, he would have done so under far more threatening terms if your risk assessment put you at a disadvantage. We did not see eye to eye in how to handle our new neighbours.”
“And as you both had a similar amount of strength, he didn’t protest your actions too loudly,” Trey said.
“There was some small protest, but he trusted me to handle the situation to Sabletown’s advantage. Which, of course, I still intend to do. Just as I am assured that you will pursue the advantage of your people as well.”
“So, if I’m understanding you correctly, the old mayor would have attempted to take us over through force. Whereas you have another vision altogether,” Trey said with a scoff. His jaw seemed tense. Everyone in the room had worried about this very scenario.
“More or less. He believed you would have acted the same way if your roles had been reversed. It’s an attitude we’ve inherited from our old homes. But that is no longer relevant. As of the moment of his death, I have inherited full authority over Sabletown. And as Sabletown’s leader, I declare that Oberon Enterprises is far more useful to us as an independent ally, with full creative and authoritative autonomy. The way you won a fight which we couldn’t is enough proof of this. Trust me, I have no intention of turning Sabletown into a conquering kingdom. You are safe to develop as you wish, but we will have to settle on a border.”
“That goes without saying, and I thank you for clarifying your stance. I believe we should negotiate border issues before beginning official trade talks. I — What’s up, Nik?”
Guard Captain Niklaus was muttering into his earpiece. He paused for a second and waved over one of the Guards near the doorway leading to the meeting space.
“A ship appeared; outworld. It doesn’t fit any known Council profile. We have analysts picking apart the recording,” the Guard Captain said. The Guardsman at the door walked over and, after a short word with Guard Captain Niklaus, rushed away at a jog. Hunter could hear the man running up the stairs towards the command centre.
June was cradling his chin with a couple of fingers. He narrowed his eyes in concern. Aruon whispered something to him, and Galan seemed confused. June shrugged and replied, but Hunter couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“We’ve confirmed it’s not a Council ship,” Guard Captain Niklaus said. “It’s made of mundane materials. Wood and iron, based on a preliminary spectral analysis. The ship appears electronically dead, but its sharp acceleration and deceleration curves imply an etheric power base.”
“What else did they say about the vessel?” June asked, “We have some familiarity with nearby peoples. Those with the capacity to travel the worlds in this sector of space are rare.”
“You wouldn’t have a list of such peoples handy, would you?” Trey asked.
June tilted his head and then shook it.
“I’ve nothing like that on my person, but I’ll see what I can do for you. In Sabletown, we have people whose job it is to keep in touch with our outworld contacts. It takes a certain proficiency with formations which I do not possess.”
“Formations?” Hunter couldn’t help but ask.
“One of our oldest means of manipulating Vita,” Aruon said. June held up a hand to interrupt his disciple.
“There will be time for that later,” June said. “We have a more pressing matter at hand.”
The Guardsman reappeared with a laptop computer and handed it to the Guard Captain. Niklaus spent a moment typing, and then showed the screen to Trey, who frowned and beckoned June over. The man materialized behind them before Hunter could blink. A soft breeze was the only sign of his lightning-fast passage.
Trey startled as the man appeared behind him. June smirked and the Guard Captain muttered something to himself, which caused June to raise an eyebrow, but he made no further comment until his eyes met the screen.
Then his eyes widened.
“Bandits,” he said, standing straight and glancing at his disciples.
“You know them? Are they friendly?”
“Ha! No, not friendly at all. They call themselves Peacekeepers. They are slavers and killers, the lot. That is a scout vessel. It means there will be a task force nearby. If they’re here and they know that this world is populated, they will come in force.”
Guard Captain Niklaus and Trey exchanged frowns.
“Call Bell, I’ll call Admiral Bellinger and General Marko. They need to hear this. June, I want to hear more about these Peackeepers.”
“Soon, Senior Oberon, soon. I must notify my people. We have some plans for this eventuality, and we will brief you, but time is of the essence. I will be in contact. Before I go,” June said, his hand extending towards Hunter and a ring appearing within.
“When you have some time alone, feed a drop of your blood to this ring. It will bind it to you, and you will have access to its contents.”
Hunter frowned at the instructions and hesitated to grab it. The mention of blood had caught him by surprise.
“Blood is an effective medium for binding objects.” Aruon said. The ring’s design allows it to identify its owner. Only the owner can open it, unless they die or intentionally sever their connection.”
It was one of the most fantastical things Hunter had ever heard. He grabbed the ring, still unsure about how he should feel.
June said, “I’m sure you’ll enjoy what you find stored within. Now it is time for us to depart.”
Hunter blinked, and June appeared between his disciples. He blinked again, and there was no trace of them remaining but that same subtle movement of air, and a feeling that he’d narrowly dodged the edge of a blade.