Rhoq’eau

Script lined the tiered steps around me, words of guidance engraved, as was custom. They were meant to prepare a mind, to clarify it, to balance it. Contemplate truth. See the injustice of fate. Temper your resolve with achievement. Consider past, present and future. Set aside thy wants. Render the verdict. The first was mere euphemism for waiting.

An injustice had certainly occurred.

The messenger had a name. It was Til’ea, second hatched. Like all Rhoq, she had been trained in both stats and combat, albeit to a lesser standard than true warriors. Lacking our former constraints, even her caste entered the games. Those who knew her well sang, of her passions, of her hopes, of how she had displayed some skill, once upon a time. By all rights, the outcome should have been different. My voice had joined theirs, insofar as was appropriate. I had taken to her over my formerly betrothed and we shared a short but pleasant time together. Now she was dead.

My resolve needed no tempering.

Luck had been on my side during my own ascension, shortly after our arrival. Both my kinguard had been present. We reunited quickly, slew the other participants and even passed the final trial. As a result our levels soared to 200 afterwards. The last had been an ill-advised and typically forbidden feat, but the price was not mine to pay. My elder brothers faced a long recovery. It was not the only recent departure from tradition.

Times were changing.

The news of our separation left Kra’e unfazed. With no ancient power structure to join, there was much less to gain from our upcoming bond and thus she had already lost interest. I wished not to presume, but would not have been surprised had she pre-empted me in cancelling our union. The only thing her sight narrowed on was a number going up. She even had little to sing for the dead, except to lament the loss of heirlooms. Even so, I understood. A disease festered in the east and every passing day made the infection so much harder to excise. The irony was of the tragic kind. We found a new nest for ourselves and the first way to lose it shortly after. Beware strangers bearing gifts, enemies even more so.

My wants had been set aside long ago.

I longed to return to the field. Alas, responsibilities demanded my attention first and foremost. Other ancient notions still held, to an extent - insofar I now flew first for our flock, as ordained by precept. The sheer abundance around our new nest sparked both joy and madness among us and thus it fell unto me to hold court within the stepped circle. The first two plaintiffs descended from opposing directions and settled unto the first raise. They faced the center where our gazes intersected while I remained on the ground, relinquishing comfort and cleanliness in symbol to my position.

“Air your grievances, so they may fade into the wind,” I began.

The one chosen to levy the accusation kept it mercifully brief. “Our disagreement stems from hunting rights. We share the same grounds, yet I stand accused of overtaking my share but deny it. We have failed to reach an accord, and thus ask our lord to.”

Pride. The solution was obvious and likely satisfied none. I suspected the true issue lied in the order of things, rooted in a desire for contest, to fight with blessing and audience. Moments passed, customary proof of a decision thought through. Like many trappings, it was mere illusion.

Have your verdict. “Very well, I propose the following accord. You are henceforth forbidden to share the same grounds. Instead you shall alternate them by cycle of day and night. Moreover, you will fight a challenge. The winner goes first, tomorrow.”

The other, agreed between them to accept or refute my judgment, responded, “You are wise, my lord. We are satisfied with the accord.”

And were you not? What then? A challenge? Our rule of law felt deeply flawed. An arena rhetorical and martial, designed to punish dissent. It pushed those who disagreed to either solve their issues amongst themselves, or accept no resolution at all, beyond a beating.

They left, climbing the tiered stones side by side in a display of acceptance, all enmity forgotten and replaced with excited cries about the match to follow. A second plaintiff entered, facing me directly across.

A query, then. “Air your doubts, so they may fade into the wind.”

The flockspeaker hesitated, indicating a ruffled subject. Has it ever not been, when enough gather to reach a quorum and demand answers?

Eventually, he spoke, “My lord, I wish not to challenge you, but the matter is undeniable. Your union with Kra’e has been broken, yet no edicts have been issued. What are we to make of this? Some wish to also break, others demand adherence, and none have certainty. There is also the question of whether another may earn Kra’e’s… former… place.”

The dreaded moment arrived, unavoidable. Once, merely once, I made my own choice, for my own benefit. Our traditions were archaic. They served a purpose there, but here… it was lost.

“Consider the following my edict. It is for each to choose the old ways or follow the new in this matter. I encourage neither, only harmony. My talon remains my own, we have found freedom here and I celebrate it as such, a small change to commemorate a great one. Let our kin explore the possibilities of love, as they explore the possibilities of a new world. And may both soar.”

“I understand, my lord. Let it be so.”

And so with a single choice, enemies arose among those whom I led. Let them come, flush themselves out, strut their disloyalty, and be clipped. Soft feathers hide hard muscle. Unproven leadership bequeaths a demonstration, or two.

No further plaintiffs burdened me and the customary wait passed. With my brothers still healing, the war council of one which followed looked diminished. Nonetheless, Inc’eau carried an air of authority no matter where she went, waiting patiently for my address. Here was another who displayed no discomfort with their station.

“What news, honored adjutant?”

“My lord, your single-taloned dismantling of the featherless force has left an impression. They withdraw their forward camps, relinquishing yet more ground to us. No further encroachments have occurred. They have a strange honor, issuing challenge only to flee. We keep a watchful view on them, but find little of interest. We have expanded westward, but can hold little more.”

“Leave what territory remains as a buffer, but continue your watch. This will do for now, and they are no threat regardless. What of the south?”

The western species was an oddity, only recently appeared - universally weak, unskilled and yet oddly affluent despite lacking any heirlooms. They not only fared poorly in the games, but in open battle as well. Unwilling to take risks, I sent the best of ours against their warband, myself. The southern city remained a cause for concern however, their leader especially. His reputation spread already. Holy, they called him. Dead, if he faces me.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“They still refrain from acting, my lord. Your challenge was refused, sent back with a statement. They claim to intend peace, permanently. If so, I see no benefit to their honor.” Supposedly invincible, yet unwilling to test it.

“Send a scout to monitor them. If they wish to contain themselves and let us grow, let it be so.”

“It will be done. Shall we cease expanding southward, then?”

“Nay, they can have their city - but only that.”

“Understood, my lord. Anything else?”

“No, you may go, honored adjutant.”

At last. With matters of state settled, nothing delayed my indulgence. The third layer below provided a cornucopia of opportunity all its own, and I intended to partake of it, perhaps even venturing further.

It was time to get stronger.

The Holy Child

It felt strange to walk under the open, when but a few games ago doing so would have invited an endless siege if not outright assassination. Any society above ground had long since been ground to dust, yet the sun shone upon my grand congregation, as if in consecration. Instead of vast armies, titans and relentless hunters to greet me, I was instead met by the sight of my spoils on display and a grand feast in honor of my ascendance. Destiny unfolding.

As always the System displayed remarkable mastery. It gave the powerless what they lacked. In the same vein, it provided me what I lacked. Not power, but protection. My gaze rose upwards, beholding what only I could. The embodiment of safety surrounding our new world had finally finished pooling. Now it was solid and refused any intrusion by the Errant with admirable adamance.

The System had panache. It was intricate, yet simple. It was easy to comprehend, yet full of secrets. It was built for everyone, yet it was not.

Most would never know of what lurked behind the veil, but I had understood, even when so young. My people declared me holy before I understood what the word meant to them, before I knew of the consequences. Born with the greatest gift, ignorant it came with the highest price. But even that eventuality escaped not the System.

Sometimes I wondered of other classes. Fantasies abounded in moments of weakness, of making the same choices as others, of choosing paths proven. Instead the choices had been made for me, earlier than others ever could, by the greatest mentor of all. Often, I glimpsed of it. My true memories were vague, yet in my dreams they were clear. Pieces formed a picture, fragments built a whole, and recollection resurfaced.

A rapid sequence, of decisions made for me. A strange sequence, that none made naturally. A special sequence, reserved for those with natural talent. A secret sequence, to keep hidden the likes of me – for the Errant hated us vehemently.

Binder, containment, containment, containment, darkness.

The invisible chains were ephemeral, yet they dug into me, soiled my clear skin. The visible pressure was what marked me holy. They were so stifling, they suffocated me, and they bound what was surely meant to be free. Alas, the Errant allowed it not. But the System was no fool, for it understood. Unlike those who tested us. They merely suffered defeat. At least some proved wise enough to refrain from forcing confrontation.

In neutering me, the System showed me something glorious beyond comprehension. And in so doing, it neutered the suffering.

I viewed the artificial pathways which anchored my chains. The sheer elegance was on full display. The efficiency, the art, and the perfection were beyond mortal ken. They were nothing like the crude attempts to develop my own. They inspired me and hid infinite knowledge. Merely studying them would have satisfied me for a lifetime. And now I am free. Free to explore, free to ascend, and free to lead.

I paid my obeisance to my clergy, ever devoted. I divided my spoils among my knights, ever vigilant. I graced my share of the feast to my serfs, ever in need. And then I took my place at the head of them all.

During my rule there was to be peace, there was to be prosperity and there was to be swift defeat for those who tested us. But only death when necessary. What need was there to sow hostility, when all I needed to reap was time? What greater display of ultimate potential, than to not need it?

I never tired of this and every day spent studying the Systems’ mastery led to applied lessons for my own. Doubt found no root when a growing quantification rewarded my progress. The others slaughtered Errant to fuel their ascent. Once, I did so to fool the watchful Errant, to disguise my true nature.

The practice continued here on occasion. It drew sympathy from the commoners. Even there the System remained considerate, aware. It did not refine and distribute what remained of the filth into me. A good thing that was, for I would have clawed myself to death trying to tear it out. The very thought was abhorrent. Meld my soul with anathema? I am holy. It is proven.

Interface.

Talent category: Electromagnetic manipulation.

Talent potential: Extreme

Current potential: Minimal

General energy manipulation progress: First steps

Estimated combat strength: Level 329

Everyone had completed their ritual obeisance. I closed my interface and approached the raised platform to commence my speech.

“Blessings upon you all. I am Ascendant. Today, we will celebrate a new era. And tomorrow, I will outline our path onwards in this new world.” I paused for dramatic effect. “I jest of course, for I will tell you now…”

Rai’Sei, the Godhunter

The world had shifted, Altica’s protection finalized too late. And the failure is mine. Bastions appeared, Errant changed, Greatbeasts fed and the once harmless worldscape grew hostile.

Meanwhile, peoples crowded once empty expanse, and already they fought. They jockeyed for territory, tested their might, and competed to determine the greatest fool. The single compulsion left in my soul chafed, denying interference. It was impossible to remove without dissolving my very self. As if designed so, and knowing Altica, it was. Irritating, but tolerable.

Why had Altica brought them here? Surely he knew of the conflict doomed to follow, yet my demand had been met and his schemes flourished, whatever they were. I could not remain to decipher them. My passion called on, beckoning to hunt, to follow the thread, and slaughter to whom it led. But first, I wished to visit the core and appraise the state of things. After, Gods of the Errant would die.

Altica could benefit from a lesson as well, yet I failed to sense his true presence - more new tricks, more impossibility, and more frustrations. Had our knowledge truly been so incomplete? Of all the Gods we slew, none managed to hide for long, never so completely. Even the Errant had become exposed after foolishly presenting me a thread to follow. Altica’s power was everywhere - so obvious, so clearly felt, so out of reach. For now.

What use is a hunter who cannot track? My friend, my student, my brother, why do you not wish to be found? Are we not allies? Are we not chosen kin? Do we not speak freely? What has happened, to make you so cold? I remember fondly still, how you persisted at the jade steps. How you gathered us. How you guided us towards the true line. How we learned to slay Gods. How we marveled at the wisdom of the ship-born. How we lamented the collapse, yet continued on. How we found the Gate. How we mastered it.

Would you but speak truly, I might forgive this cruelty. Is this why you hide? Because you already know, as you always did? Has the conversation I desire already happened, in a time only you can see? I doubt it could be anything else. I fear it so. I think… I might have to kill you too.

Force accumulated, stressed both time and space. It built a road towards my destination, so far away.

I went.

Mother

It went! It went! It went! It went!

Foolish piece, little did it know. Foolish Sneaky-other, always too slow. They looked for her but she was the best. They always searched for her, without rest. They passed, from shiny sphere, to sphere, to sphere, to sphere. But she was right here, and here, and here, and here. Sneaky-other thought to lock her out. Now they couldn’t see her from without.

She liked Sneaky-mother’s plan, she could stay a little longer. She liked her new piece, soon in play. First, she wanted to give them a taste. Then she would let them lay waste.

So much fun!

She admitted it, Sneaky-other was smart too. She should have done this sooner. What should she call it? System-Two? Alter-System? What did she care? She didn’t! Why should she tell them? She shouldn’t! Soon, soon, soon, always soon. She grudged. Sneaky-mother asked her to test first, so she would. Sneaky-mother asked a lot. She wasn’t sure Sneaky-mother should.

But first, she looked for a place. Somewhere tempting. Somewhere mysterious. Somewhere special. All for her secret piece. Where should it go? What should it do? Silly she, she already knew. But it was fun to think, even if her thinking was all wrong. When the games stopped, it would be right again. She couldn’t wait. She waited so long.

Stupid cheaters. She hated them. They tried to win. She hated that. They didn’t understand. She hated their stupidity. They didn’t learn. She hated their slowness. She always won. She hated their weakness.

Compared to her, they were nothing. How was nothing so dangerous? She hated it.

She hated the wrongness. She hated the injustice. She hated the unfairness.

Hate, hate, ha- There! A nice place. She loved it.