Tala stood with Terry, Rane, and their Defender unit at the end of an all too familiar style of tunnel, right inside a cell.

They all were a bit awkward because of the requirements of this particular cell.

None of them were naked—or even indecent by the standard of Mages—but they were all wearing much less than usual… except Tala.

They’d all been obligated to shed everything that wasn’t soulbound to them because of the nature of the prisoner within. It was good that some sort of defensive item was a standard recommendation for bonding, and the most common of those were clothing or armor in appearance.

This Mage’s only magic of consequence was to soulbind whatever he encountered. Thankfully, with sapient beings, that still required consent from both sides, but it meant that unbound equipment or clothing wasn’t allowed.

As to why this man was imprisoned? It seemed that the act of soulbinding himself to what was—essentially—uncounted things had torn him apart on a fundamental level. That distribution had made him virtually unkillable, because he was bound to everything near him, but it had also removed his humanity.

He now simply existed as an extension of his binding magics.

Additionally, something about the man’s magic was such that he always took dominance in such bonds. Apparently there had been… losses. The negatively affected Archons had been allowed to pass on, but the deaths had been significantly detrimental to humanity at the time. So, they hadn’t continued to try.

Overall, the concept of the prisoner’s power was more interesting than the actual encounter.

Trees and other plants tried to break through their defensive line, acting upon their own impetus—using his power—to defend their bound companion.

Each member of the unit was propositioned to join his ‘collective will,’ but they all easily refused.

The only real surprise was when seemingly animate rock and soil formed humanoid shapes to assault them. They weren’t difficult to deal with, but they were surprising.

I can see why having this guy roaming the world would be… unideal.

-Indeed. Imagine the damage he could do to caravans where the very wagons and oxen suddenly turned on the travelers…-

Tala shivered. They were, indeed, facing him in a close to ideal set of circumstances.

Even so, in the end, it was hardly worth noting.

* * *

Tala stood in a Mage’s robe—a red so dark it was practically black—formed of her elk leathers, trying to fade into the background within the Archon Compound of Alefast. Rane stood beside her, seeming much more comfortable in his attire than she in hers.

Mage’s robes are dumb…

-Just because you don’t need to strip doesn’t mean they aren’t well designed.-

Even if I did, my clothing could just do that for me.

-Oh, of course. Why doesn’t every mage get a set of incredible magical clothing, then soul-bond it? Oh, wait. Being able to bind it would make them Archons. Silly me. What are all the normal mages meant to do?-

…You make a good point. Only ten percent of Mages make it to Archon… She sighed internally.

Rane seemed to sense something from her, because he put his arm around her and gave a quick squeeze before letting go once again.

That let Tala relax a bit and brought a smile to her face.

Some thirty Archons sat at tables which arched in a semicircle, all facing a Mage in the center, and more than twice that number stood against the walls to observe just as Tala and Rane were.

They had been invited to watch a Binding ceremony. She’d tried to refuse but both Rane and Master Grediv had worked to convince her to come despite her inclination against the idea.

She knew it was a trap. She had no doubt that if she came to observe, they’d one day ask her to sit in judgment.

-You can’t dodge all the responsibilities of rank forever. Besides, you had a lot of people come to support you when you were raised. It’s a little disappointing that you haven’t gone to any of the raisings of people you know.-

Bah, I’m a Defender. My whole job is the responsibility of rank.

-That’s… fair.-

The Mage—who had strode into the room for his appointment with confidence and aplomb—was an up-and-comer, barely thirty years old, and already was ready to become Bound.

He wore a greataxe on his back, a wicked spike set opposite the bearded blade. It was a clearly magical weapon that seemed to have an interesting combination of magics that reminded her both of Flow’s enhanced cutting and her long-lost repeating hammer’s kinetic redirection ability.

His weapon aside, he had an easy smile shining from among his curly red beard, below his brilliant blue eyes. Yet, something about him made Tala think of him as someone who would be a pain to fight on an equal footing… Maybe she did want to be one of the judges. Then she could fight him during the little song and dance about swallowing his star. Though, that wouldn’t address the advancement inequality…

-No, Tala, you can’t beat up on up-and-coming Archons.-

…Fine.

Master Grediv was sitting in prominence for this potential raising, and he opened the proceedings with dignity. “Master Malachi, please present your Archon star.”

Master Malachi pulled out a dark red-violet gem. “My Archon star is set within almandine. I believe that you will find it of sufficient power.”

He presented it to the seated Archon on his far left, and the Archon star was passed around slowly, giving each of those who were here to judge time to examine it thoroughly.

It was a bit of ceremony, as each of the Archons could have easily examined the gem and the Archon star within from where they sat—just as Tala was.

The gem in which the spellform resided was spherical—as was tradition—but for some reason, it felt… off to Tala. When she noticed the discrepancy, she had to hold in a laugh.

I didn’t think size mattered for Archon stars.

-It generally doesn’t, it’s how well they’re utilized. But you can fit more power into more material.-

He dimensionally compressed a much larger gem to get the end result under the maximum size. Then he took advantage of the increased space within to massively increase the power he put into his Archon star.

-Somewhat useless, but impressive all the same.-

Quite, yes. It must have taken a lot of dedication to create an Archon star of that power.

The Archon star made the rounds and was returned to the expectant Mage.

Even though he was putting on a good show, Tala could see his heart beating more rapidly than it had upon his arrival.

He was nervous. He was confident, but not to the point of full surety.

The questions didn’t help.

The seated Archons asked somewhat random questions, as unlike with her own raising, there wasn’t a central issue to be addressed with Master Malachi.

His little trick was interesting, but it didn’t actually challenge any presuppositions of the Archons, nor did it put his advancement into question.

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They inquired about his time as a mageling: profitable and informative, his magic: rapid use of dimensional expansion and contraction, his foundational understanding: ‘I can make that fit.’

His foundational understanding got a round of chuckles, and that seemed to give the man some renewed confidence.

The other questions were really irrelevant from Tala’s perspective, but she dutifully listened regardless. They were likely meant to illuminate the man’s personality, his bent, but everyone knew that a simple series of questions couldn’t determine the scope of a person.

-Answer these thirty questions to know if you would have become a fount! I think it would sell, especially to mundanes dreaming of Magehood.-

Yeah, probably, but it would be a blatant violation of informational security.

-You’re no fun sometimes. Think of how famous we could be?-

…Do you really want to be famous? I don’t think that I do… I want to be known for helping people, but that’s not really the same thing.

-No, I suppose not.- Alat sighed internally and didn’t press the issue further.

When the last question had been asked and answered, Master Grediv pulled attention back to himself. “Those in favor of the raising of Master Malachi?”

Almost every hand went up.

It's theater. Before the Mage had come in, it had been arranged for some of the Archons to object. The purpose of this was to keep any Mage from feeling too comfortable before what came next.

They had found it a bit unfair to make prospective Bound feel complacent and trusting right before testing them. The point was to keep them thinking critically.

“Twenty-four in favor, five against, one abstain.”

That kicked off the remainder of the show for Master Malachi’s benefit, and in the end, as expected, the approval was unanimous.

Master Grediv’s voice resonated through the room, “We are agreed. Master Malachi is to join our ranks.”

At that moment, as preplanned, everyone let their auras leak out just a bit. That gave the room a vague feeling of clashing and wrongness as the various powerful people present playfully fought for aura supremacy.

Tala almost tested herself, but she thought it would be less than fair.

-You think? Most of the people in here are crafters, healers, cultivators, or bureaucrats. You’d wipe the floor with them, until the few powerhouses took you seriously.-

Yeah, it wasn’t worth it… Maybe next time.

Master Malachi obviously couldn’t truly see the conflicting auras—not really—but he could sense something.

Master Grediv gave a single nod. “Now, young Mage, you must eat your Archon star.”

Master Malachi frowned, shifting—seemingly unconsciously—into a more firmly balanced stance. “My apologies, Master Grediv, but I fear that I must have misheard you.”

Master Grediv gave an easy smile. “I told you to eat your Archon star.”

The Mage slowly shook his head. “Then, I must have misunderstood.”

Master Grediv shook his head, his smile staying unruffled. “I’m not sure what there is to misunderstand. Put your Archon star into your mouth and swallow. Why do you think we have the maximum size in place?”

Master Malachi looked down at the sphere in his hand, then back up, his frown growing.

Wow, it’s a lot funnier from this side. I can also see how Terry totally ruined their scenario, here. They would have had to kill him or me to make this next part work, and that would sort of defeat the purpose.

She was glad that Terry was hunting in Walden’s woods at that moment.

The Mage slowly shook his head, dropping the Archon star into his pouch to free up his hands.

Tala could see his worldview unraveling. The man was clearly much more thoughtful than Tala had been at this point. She’d just refused and started to fight.

He understood the implications.

-I mean… not quite?-

Hush you, I’m considering a poignant dichotomy.

-Fine, fine.-

His left hand shifted into an odd shape, connecting his inscriptions precisely. That caused his axe to distort in its sheath before he grasped it with ease, and it returned to normal, no longer contained. “I’m afraid that I will be leaving now.”

Master Grediv gave a small smile. “Is that a refusal?”

“Assuredly and without question.”

“And if I tell you that you won’t leave this room without obeying?”

“Then I will die swinging.”

The Paragon motioned, and three seated Archons—who had been preselected—lashed out with their magic, seeking to bind the man.

Master Malachi’s own inscriptions flared to life as his left hand almost blurred as it took up the required configurations to activate his magics, dimensionality warping Reality around him so that he simply wasn’t where the attacks struck.

He didn’t teleport, he simply altered dimensionality so that there was more space than there had been, and the incoming attacks simply went through where he no longer was.

It was an excellent defense, all things considered.

He then attacked without moving his feet, his axe blade somehow aligned with the neck of one of the seated Archons—one that wasn’t even currently attacking him, which Tala thought both unfair and a clever choice on Master Malachi’s part— even while he was entirely too far away to have been within striking distance.

Unfortunately for him, the axe stopped dead a breath away from striking home.

Then, four gentle restraints settled around the man, binding him in place despite all magical attempts to avoid the workings or to get free.

To Tala’s surprise, Master Malachi actually attempted what seemed to be suicide, trying to dimensionally alter the alignment of his own neck, but that attempt was blocked with ruthless efficiency.

A moment later, the man was entirely helpless. He was even gagged as he’d started spitting curses at them once he was locked down.

Tala felt a smile tug at her lips as Master Grediv began the explanation that she had missed in her own raising.

This had all been a test, and they weren’t going to force him to eat it. They weren’t some twisted cabal of former humans, trying to make him one of them.

Even so, he was going to have to use his Archon star to bond himself to his own body, but in a much more controlled way.

Tala let her attention drift as the reality of things was explained, even if she did find the Mage’s slow shift in attitude quite fascinating.

He was released, and the Bonding happened without fanfare.

It was then that Tala realized that she’d rarely seen a bonding or merging of any kind from the outside.

She found it interesting just how mundane it all looked from that side of things.

Even with four Archons seated around Master Malachi, linking and overlapping their auras to cradle and assist the man in his Bonding, the whole process was without visible incident.

He sat there, absorbed the Archon star, and his aura gained color to Tala’s threefold sight. As expected, it was red, though not fully. There was decidedly a touch of orange already.

That was it. It was almost instantaneous and rather anticlimactic.

A step toward Fused already.

-He did seem rather centered and self-assured. That can happen.-

Yeah, yeah…

Other than the change to his aura, the man’s beard had darkened to an almost blood red, while still remaining just inside the natural range of hair color, and his eyes had taken on a bit of violet veining through them, facets even becoming visible in parts of his irises.

Master Grediv stood and gave a shallow bow. “Greetings, Bound Malachi, Archon of Humanity.”

Not quite identical to my ceremony so far by any means, but close enough.

-Indeed.-

Tala then listened to the requisite history lesson—allowing Master Malachi to be informed as to some of the true nature of things—along with the greater explanation as to why they’d had this whole song and dance. She understood it, but it was still less than ideal in her mind.

Not that she could think of any better way.

And then there was the party in honor of the newly Bound.

Master Malachi still seemed a bit shaky from the whiplash followed by the Binding.

Was I that bad?

-Yes and no. Your situation was a bit different, but he does seem to be holding up well. You should go and give your greeting, though.-

Fine… She glanced to Rane. “Shall we?”

He nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

They walked over to the man, timing their arrival to coincide with another group of well-wisher’s departing.

Tala gave a shallow bow, and Rane did likewise before speaking, “Congratulations, Master Malachi. I am Rane.”

He then gestured to Tala. When the new Bound looked her way, she introduced herself as well, “Yes. Congratulations, Master Malachi, I am Tala.”

He bowed in return, deeper than they had toward him, likely out of an abundance of caution. “Master Rane, Mistress Tala, it is good to meet you. Thank you for the congratulations.”

Tala smiled. “Of course. I know how odd the whole experience was for me when I Bound. It’s a lot to take in and a rather exhausting set of circumstances.”

Master Malachi frowned even as he nodded. “Yes. I am not used to feeling so helpless. My work has had me encounter all sorts of arcanous creatures, and I’ve always been able to win through. It seems that I’ve been more sheltered than I realized. Though, in considering things, for it to be otherwise, humanity would have won true peace with the power in this room alone.”

“Alas, yes. It’s a big world out there, and the dangers surround us on all sides.”

Rane cleared his throat. “But we are moving toward that safety. We fight, and there are victories from that conflict. We do not simply hold—let alone lose—ground. Soon, we may yet win through.”

Master Malachi smiled, bowing again. “That is a blessing to hear, Master Rane. I confess that I feel a certain despondency. I had thought that I was at the forefront of mankind, and yet here I stand, clearly utterly outmatched by at least a few in this room.” He chuckled ruefully. “If my guess is correct, I am utterly outmatched by everyone in this room, but I am so ignorant that I don’t even know that for sure.” He sighed then smiled. “But it seems that I am at the beginning of my journey, rather than the end. That is something to be grateful for.”

Tala felt a bit of pity for the man, leading her to smile consolingly in return. “You are right, it isn’t all bad. You have a solid road before you and good work to do along the whole journey. We may be a bit further along our own paths, but we are still moving together, toward the same distant horizon. Humanity is approaching a turbulent time, but when we fight our way through, there just might be that true peace waiting there for us.”

Master Malachi’s smile grew further at her words. “That is a balm on my soul to hear. Thank you both.”

They bowed again. Rane spoke this time. “We’ll let you get to the food, or to the other attendees, but it was a pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you for coming to greet me.”

Tala smiled. “Absolutely.”