— Keira —

Antheia returned to her house to find her work clothes, whose enchantments would lead them to hold up to ravages of time better than her departed robe. Likewise, Mesalin and Alasdair planned to see if any of their own clothes were in decent shape and then seek out the rest of the council and meet her at the village hall. Before splitting up Alasdair gave her simple directions to the aforementioned village hall.

As she made her way towards it, she studied not only the village itself but also the awakening inhabitants. She knew the Village Interface would give her more details but even a cursory examination revealed none of the structures had been entirely spared from damage or passive degradation. The roads of the town were packed dirt paths with wooden walkways along the buildings. Time and disuse had done neither the roads nor walkways any favors. The wood was spongy and rotten and the roads were heavily overgrown. The bones of the occasional viper or villager that hadn’t reanimated peaked out of the plants and debris.

The buildings were clearly built more with durability than aesthetics. That and the effects of the Village Interface system were likely the only reason most of them were still standing. From what Keir could see from the street, they were built with thick planks, heavy beams, and quarried stone. Even disregarding the general degradation, the invasion and occupation of the vipers had not been gentle. Many of the buildings had sections of wall or roof that had collapsed.

Of more immediate interest to Keir was the villagers. There were a few obviously more exotic undead. Most of them, however, were zombies and skeletons or their racial equivalents like Alasdair. The majority of them were obviously too caught up in their own problems to pay any attention to her. The few that paid any attention to her seemed to decide that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to interfere with a woman dripping with gore and holding a pair of unsheathed swords.

Just in front of the village hall was a courtyard with a number of broken planters and a slightly battered well. A few stones were knocked loose from the well’s rim and most of the shingles from its little roof were scattered around it. Fortunately the bucket and rope were rough but still functional, so she began pulling up water. After dumping a few buckets of water over her head she managed to get the worst of the gore off her and moved on to cleaning her blades. By the time she approached the building proper, she was dripping wet but at least most of the water running off her was clear.

The village hall was one of the few two story buildings she’d seen in the village. Or perhaps more accurately, one and a half stories. Fully half of the second story had collapsed in on itself. Fortunately as she approached the front door she saw the rest of the building was structurally sound. The entire first floor and most of the second was crafted from sturdy blocks of stone. The exterior of the building was covered in moss, and a few creeping ivy were making a start. That aside there were almost no other signs of deterioration. The large double doors were not in such good shape. The door on the left was hanging on by a single bent hinge and the right hand door was laying split in half in the entryway.

The door led into a decent sized lobby with a waiting area and a reception desk. If she was remembering her lessons correctly, the fact the village was governed by a loose council meant they were still a tier one village. The layout of the village hall on the other hand showed they were in the process of getting it ready to advance to the next tier.

Keir was tempted to seek out the core of the Village Interface and establish her link to it. Depending on how close the village had been to advancing, it would either be in the office set aside for the eventual village leader or in whatever room they held council in. With the authority granted to her by her quest reward she didn’t actually need to wait for the council to begin. Her half remembered training on the subject as well as common courtesy was enough to make her wait regardless.

To take her mind off the temptation, she instead decided to finally examine her old sword. She set aside her fang blade and laid her sword across the reception desk so she could examine it properly. While most of the gear used by the Steel Coast Tide Carvers were standard issue, including that of the officers, each blade was custom forged for the one who would wield it. Its basic shape was unchanged by both the time spent in the eye of the serpent and the upgrade it received. It was exactly as long as Keir was tall with a cross guard that was only a few inches wider than the base of the blade. The blade barely tapered over its length from as wide as the length of her hand and only tapered down to a point over the last few inches. It was mostly the details that changed. The blue tinted silver steel of the blade was now a deep black that almost seemed to swirl as she stared at it. The gold steel cross guard and pommel were swirled with the same hoarfrost-like patina as her breastplate. As she cleaned the handle the brittle rusted wire wrap fell away to reveal a layer of gold steel snake scales.

“The Blinding Tide” The fire of battle and the carnage of shattered shield walls tempered this masterwork blade alongside its wielder. When it was used to strike a telling blow on a foe two tiers higher than its wielder it was slowly forged anew by the will of its wielder and its ongoing struggle against its foe into an Artifact class weapon. (+10 STR +5 Dex +3 WIL Soulbound - Increase to the effect of blood and tide based attacks - When fed mana the blade produces a coating of Ancient Viper Matriarch venom)

Keir was only able to kill so much time inspecting her sword. Even if she’d had her pack, an Artifact class weapon didn’t require mundane maintenance. Instead she shifted her attention to dredging up the lessons she’d had that might be relevant. She may have been more interested in combat and tactics but as a royal, even one with no claim to the throne, she was expected to learn how to govern and grow a settlement. Eventually she was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching the door.

Keir half expected one of the three people she’d already met to be the first to arrive. Instead, a very peculiar minotaur woman walked through the door. Like most minotaurs she stood around seven feet tall with impressive curved horns. What Keir could see of her fur as well as her shoulder length hair were dark brown and her horns were ebony. Her skin was likely a bit paler then it was in life but was still heavily tanned. She was dressed in sturdy work clothes that were heavily stained with old dried blood. She barely noticed those more normal aspects of the minotaur, however. Instead her attention was immediately drawn to the four inch wide hole through her chest. Instead of the viscera she would have expected such a hole to reveal, there was a fist sized sprouting seed. From the shifting beneath the woman's skin, it appeared the vines sprouting from the seed not only filled her chest cavity but at least grew through if not fully replaced all of her original muscles.

The minotaur walked over to Keir and held out her hand as she said “The name’s Lindel, I run or maybe ran the main village grocer. Do undead even have a use for produce?”

Keir took Lindel’s large calloused hand and said “I’m Keir, and hopefully it’s that you run rather than ran it. I’m not an expert in the undead, fighting them aside, but I suspect some form of produce will still be needed. At the very least as an export.”

Before Lindel could respond a mothkin woman and gnomish man entered within seconds of each other. While mothkin were relatively rare, the form of undead she’d been raised as was not. From what Keir could tell, the woman was likely a Hollowed; which was simply the skeleton equivalent for races with an exoskeleton. Even from across the room, Keir could see the woman’s white and gray exoskeleton was empty aside from a pale luminescent blue mist. Like most mothkin, the woman was wearing only a number of sheer strips of cloth wrapped around her like a dancer.

By contrast gnomes were a fairly common race but she suspected he was not a basic undead. If the waves of magic rolling off of his small frame was anything to go off of she suspected he was some form of lich. As he approached, the first thing she noticed was that he was unusually tall for a gnome. The thick soles of his boots made it hard to be certain but she suspected he would stand almost four feet tall without them. Perhaps even stranger was the fact his metallic electrum hair was at most an inch and a half long and he was clean shaven. Most gnomes both male and female, grew their metallic hair and facial hair into extravagant styles. The fact that what were likely his work clothes, judging by the protective enchantments, could have been mistaken for the court attire of another race was the most typical gnomish trait he displayed.

A few steps into the room, the mothkin woman said “I’m glad to see you also chose to return Lindel.” Her voice was clearly audible across the room despite sounding like a stack of dry parchment learned to speak. As she approached Keir she held out her lower right hand and said “You must be Keira. Mesalin requested I inform you that the former captain of the guard, such as it was, is among those who have remained deceased. That being the case, the only member of the council not accounted for is the head of our fledgling construction guild branch. Literally her body is up and about but her head is apparently buried somewhere in the wreckage of the gate.”

The gnome chuckled and said “You remembered to deliver the message, but you forgot to finish your introduction.” His voice was as dry and dusty as his mummified flesh. Well most of his flesh. Up close Keir saw that his eyes were indistinguishable from a living gnome's, aside from a ring of glowing green around his pupils. After a second’s pause, the gnome gave a courtly bow and continued “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You may call me Ahti. I am an alchemist.”

Keir noticed the pale blue glowing mist inside the mothkin shifted to a greenish blue as she said “Oh, my apologies. I’m a tailor by trade and my name is Celylia Dustweaver.”

It was about thirty somewhat awkward minutes of small talk before a few sets of footsteps and a slithering sound announced the approach of the last of the council. Mesalin, Alasdair, and Antheia entered the lobby alongside a female cyclops.

The cyclops woman was dressed in sturdy if slightly damaged workman's clothes. Like most cyclops she had dusky skin though the pallor of death was still evident. As she got closer it was clear that she would be a head taller than Lindel if she weren’t holding said head in one hand. Her neck ended about halfway up in a ragged stump that burned with an almost metallic silver fire. The pupil of her single large eye was ringed with the same fire but otherwise normal. Keir wasn’t sure if she was surprised when the cyclops woman said “It's good to see most of us are here. So you are Keira. I’m Ismini, good to meet you.” Her voice sounded like the crackle of a campfire mixed with the distant howl of the wind.

When she shifted her attention from the cyclops after introducing herself, to the council members with her; Keir saw their hunt for better clothing had largely borne fruit. Mesalin and Alasdair were dressed in similar clothes as the last time she saw them aside, only clean and intact. Antheia was wearing a pristine heavily enchanted dark blue short robe.

As a group they moved on to the council room, Keir was not surprised to see the prismatic crystalline core of the Village Interface set in the center of the circular table. When everyone was seated Keir said “Okay, before we start dealing with the System, how much do you know about the transition between a tier one and two village?”

For a few seconds the members of the council all looked around at each other. Each clearly hoping someone else was going to be the one to answer. Eventually Antheia hissed softly to herself and said “I likely know the most out of all of us. I wasn’t ever specifically taught about Village System mechanics but I was raised and trained in “The Library of Stone and Tide”. The viper situation put our discussions on hold but truth be told we were already at a bit of a standstill. Aside from none of us particularly wanting to take on even more of a leadership position, I do know that the options that will be available during the transition will be determined by the Title holder.”

Alasdair shifted a bit in his seat before speaking up “Aye, Tha plan was to send one a us to do a bit a lookin’ into it once the area was a bit safer to travel through. Ya know to figure out out what options we each may’eh opened up, and decide based on that.”

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When no one seemed to be about to add anything Keir said “Okay, that should be enough to get us started. Normally I might have wanted to go over a few other things but with the amount of damage the village has suffered I suspect this process may be a bit nonstandard. That's not even getting into how the whole undead thing may affect it. As far as I know there are no other settlements consisting of free willed intelligent undead.”

With that said, Keir sent a trickle of mana and will into the core set into the table. With a sound between the hum of resonating crystal and the cracking glass the prismatic crystal spread across the surface of the table and formed itself into a three dimensional model of the village and area around it. After the model was finished forming the color shifted. Every structure was some shade of amber or red depending on the amount of damage it had suffered. When that process was completed a system window opened in front of her and from the way the others were looking they each had one of their own.

Still-Leaf Village Interface: Notifications Pending

Multiple Structures damaged/destroyed (Expand for full list)

Village awarded to Keira by system quest reward.

Appointment of Village Leader by system has caused Still-Leaf Village to advance to Tier Two

Tier Advancement Selections Pending (Continue)

Keir ignored the list of damage for the moment and focused on the option to continue the tier advancement.

Step 1/5

Please choose Archetype

Archetype

Rarity

Source

Focus

Description

Forest

Basic

Location

Lumber

Like all Location based classifications a Forest Village is defined entirely by its location within a forested region

Elven

Common

Leader Racial

Local Resources

Diplomacy

Enchanting

Elven villages are often intertwined with their environments. They seem to prioritize form over function but the prevalence of enchantments ensure they last as long as their inhabitants.

Steel Coast (Citizen)

Common

Leader Nationality

Steelwork

Maritime

Trade

While not all aspects of the Steel Coast Archipelago are available to every village led by Steel Coast native, the core features of steel, ships and trade are universal.

Steel Coast (Royal)

Uncommon

Leader Birthright

Enchanted Steelworks

Maritime

Trade

Martial

Villages Led by the Steel Coast Archipelago royal family have full access to the Steel Coast Archetype. Local Mines gain access to silver steel, gold steel, ect. Village forces gain access to specialty classes i.e. Tide Carver, Wave Breaker, Sea Spray Bowmen ect.

Frontier Fortification

Rare

Location

Recover from Monster Occupation

Martial

Defense

Monster Hunting

Villages located between civilization and dangerous wildlands who have survived or recovered from Monster Invasions often stand as a bulwark against the wilds. Frontier Fortifications gain unique access to powerful anti monster defensive structures and classes.

Chosen of Mortis

Exclusive

Divine Gift

Undead

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

…

The goddess Mortis has, after uncounted eons, chosen to give her blessing and create a people of her own. Even the intelligent undead born through her gift are subject to the needs their nature entails. An undead village gives access to means to satisfy those needs without becoming monsters themselves. While taking on the attention and will of mortis may bring unknown challenges it also carries her favor and rewards.

Most of the options Keir found were what she expected. Frontier Fortification wasn’t something she was certain would be available but she wasn’t terribly surprised to find it. Everything about the Chosen of Mortis option was unexpected however.

With a thought she shared her system window with the council members and said “If not for the last option I would say choosing the Frontier Fortress option was an obvious choice. As a general rule of thumb unless a choice is either antithetical or contraindicated by the location of a village the value of a choice is well summed up by its rarity. The steel coast options are a good example, as the uncommon version has access to the unique steels that give the archipelago its identity. An exclusive option gifted by the goddess of death is something I don’t even know how to react to.”

The room was literally deathly silent as the council read over the choices before Mesalin took a deep breath and said “I wish there were more details about Mortis’ gift. I also think it is our best option regardless. I don’t know what needs a corpse bound banshee has, and I suspect I would rather not find out.” Her voice held the dispassionate almost emotionless tone Keir had come to associate with the skills scout classes used to distance themselves from their emotional reactions.

Anthia sounded less detached and more interested as she said “Well most undead tend to feed on the souls, blood, or flesh of sapient beings. Avoiding those requirements would certainly be beneficial. Even more so though I'm interested in what unique resources and buildings only undead blessed by Mortis have access to.”

After a brief susurration the rest of the group voiced their agreement with one or both of the perspectives on the choice. Keir was glad that there was a clear consensus that agreed with her own opinion on the matter. With an effort of will she focused on and selected “Chosen of Mortis” and her window shifted

Step 2/5

Please choose Village Council

Keir didn’t even bother reading the options before passing the decision over to the village council. She could have determined the nature, role, and power of the council herself but that seemed like a bad start. Instead she set those decisions to a vote but retained veto power on the off chance they tried to take advantage of her. Fortunately, it soon became clear they had stepped up to do their best to make sure the village thrived rather than any desire for political power.

After some debate they choose a form of council unique to the Chosen of Mortis, The Chthonic Council. They also took the opportunity to officially codify their council seats. Mesalin and Alasdair had already mostly alternated so they combined their seats into the Counselor of Hospitality. Antheia’s position became that of Counselor of the Arcane. The role of Counselor of Agriculture went to Lindel. Celylia and Ahti took on the positions of Counselor of Commerce and Counselor of Medicine respectively, also Ismini became the Counselor of Infrastructure. Finally they created the position of Counselor of Defence but left it empty for whoever replaced the deceased Guard Captain.

The last thing they decided on was how the council would operate. On a day to day basis they would essentially act as advisors on the subjects that fell under their individual seats, as required. The exception would be a full council on the night of every new moon. During those council sessions they would review the choices made over the preceding month and if necessary any counselor would be able to call for a vote to repeal them.

It allowed them to act as a check to prevent tyranny but even more so it was the easiest way to refund choices made. Under normal circumstances altering choices made through the Village Interface was a costly and complicated process. With their role in the process largely finished for the time being the members of the newly established Chthonic Council trickled out of the meeting room. While they would not be able to access the village model function, most aspects of the Village Interface they might need were now accessible from anywhere in the village now that their connection was reestablished. They would likely do more good for the village in the short term by being out and about among the villagers. They also had to start putting the pieces of their own lives together, as well.

Now alone in the room Keir returned her focus to the window in front of her.

Step 5/5

Please Choose Leader Title

Title

Title Source

First Evolution

Description

Mayor

Universal

Lord Mayor

Regardless of who and what you were before you now lead a village and as such you may take the title of Mayor.

Baroness

Royal bloodline

Viscount

Your bloodline gives you access to the path of nobility. If you walk it to the end you may make a throne of your own.

Captain

Military Officer

Major

As a military officer who retired in good standing you took your rank with you. Choosing to link the battlefield to your office may affect how you are viewed by other polities.

Warrior Lord

Martial Class

Royal Bloodline

Warrior Princess

Trained in both the way of a royal and a warrior you are as at home on a throne as a battlefield. If you can walk the razor's edge between the pen and the sword you may join the ranks of the legendary Warrior Emperors and Empresses

Death Knight

Blessing of Mortis

Death Lord

You have drawn the attention of the goddess of Death. As such she has offered you this path. This path is long and winding for it is the path not simply to legend but divinity.

When Keir had been taught about village leader titles as a child she’d hoped that if she ever led a settlement, she would receive the title of Warrior Lord. Alongside its equivalent titles like Merchant Lord and Arcane Lord it led to the Legendary Rank assuming its holder could reach it. Her tutor had mentioned the possibility of a higher tier but only as a myth, she certainly never expected to be offered one. Let alone be offered one by the goddess of death who never offered any blessing to mortals other than safe passage to the realm beyond life.

She focused her will and mana on choosing Death Knight. Instead of the nearly effortless process she expected it felt like trying to punch a hole through the side of a full wineskin. As her will and mana burst through and the choice was made, she felt a vast power begin flowing back though the connection into her. The power was ice cold and molten hot as it crashed into her like wave with no end. As the power washed her mind and awareness deep into herself the world faded to black.