It was morning, and the sun had barely crested the horizon when Felix, Zara, and the rest crowded aboard Vilas Tern's personal skiff, headed for the Violet Tower. At first, Felix had been nervous. They had spent the night strategizing on the best way to approach the Tower and achieve their objectives. The preparation, however, was not as soothing as Felix had hoped.

Now, he drummed his fingers within the confines of the skiff, a relatively small Manaship, designed for only a handful of people. The five of them were seated in a cabin with only a few benches. Felix sat next to Zara and Vilas, while Alister and Atar occupied their own bench. The two of them were huddled next to each other, engaged in quiet conversation that Felix had no desire to eavesdrop on. If Vess were there, he'd want his privacy, too.

The trip proved boring and far longer than he expected. Much to Zara's credit, the traffic in the skies above Levantier was awful, worse than even the worst rush hour back home. The skies were packed with ships, most of which had large hulls, no doubt bulging with passengers and items to trade. At many points they came to a standstill, but even when they were advancing across the sky, the skiff itself was quite slow, owing in part to construction but also its weight. Though it was a small ship, its hold was packed with all of the items Tern had taken away from the Tower months prior.

In the distance, unavoidable and obvious, was the beam that rose up from the very center of the city. The color of the beam was hard to pin down, shifting between hues and yet not. The best descriptor Felix could come up with was “colorless,” though even that fell short. It rose up from the heavy fortress down below, rising through its center to impact the series of floating islands far above. Those islands housed the Violet Tower and its many outbuildings. It was still small with distance, but Felix’s gaze kept returning to it as the sun slowly lit up the city below.

"It is quite majestic, is it not?"

Felix sat back from the window. "It is. Do we know why the Vent is releasing undifferentiated Mana?”

“Instead of a specific type like fire or air?” Tern’s expression faltered for a second before he shook his head, as if shaking off a chill. “It has been studied, but no. We’ve never learned why.”

“Hmm.”

“What do you think of the Tower?”

“It’s amazing. All of the Towers are, really. Where I come from, they don't have many floating buildings.” Felix laughed. “You know, I see some of the most beautiful things when I'm in the worst sort of trouble.”

"What a strange life you must have led so far. Unbound. Torn from your home. Cast upon the Continent's shores. How wonderfully strange."

"It’s certainly been strange. Wonderful…well, yeah.” Felix smiled out the window. “It's changed my life for the better, in a lot of ways.”

“That is something I've always aspired to."

"Changing your life?" Felix asked, looking back at the mage.

"Not my own. I’m a teacher at heart, Felix. I want to better the lives of my pupils and those who come after me. That's why I've spent my life researching and writing, recording my thoughts down in tomes and paying printers to mass-produce as many copies as I could afford."

"Oh, that's right! I've read one of your books."

"Really? Which one?"

“The Vicissitudes.”

Tern was positively delighted. His wrinkled face transformed with joy, looking instantly a dozen years younger. "Ah! One of the banned books. What did you think of it?"

"Well, I agree with your findings. Power is responsibility. Full stop."

Tern nodded, his delight fading just a touch. "Indeed it is. Were it not, I'd be somewhere far away, enjoying my retirement from all this. But enough about me. You seem a normal enough fellow. How do you feel, being Unbound and perceived as an unholy terror?"

Felix bared his teeth. It was as close as his nerves would let him get to a smile at that moment. "The legends I've heard of the Unbound don't do justice to the kinds of things we can do. I've ripped Primordials to pieces and torn the legs off of gods. I know another that has slaughtered entire cities for opposing the Pathless. We are dangerous, there's no doubt about that. But we're not demons. We're just people—with all the same failings."

"And yet you read my book. Moreover, you liked it." Tern clucked his tongue. "You'll ruin your bloodthirsty reputation if that ever got out."

This time, Felix did smile. "I hope so."

"Hmm." Tern sat back. "Primordials and gods, eh? This is quite the interesting pairing. I will admit that when Zara told me of the battle against the Pathless, I could not quite believe your hand in things. Only a Master Tier and capable of a Core Manifestation solid enough to match a god? Weakened by another Divine or not, that is... alarming. And not how things should be.”

Felix shrugged. “I don’t have anything to compare it to. How are things supposed to be?”

“Quieter, certainly.” Tern smiled. “You spoke of another, the servant of the Pathless. Do they still serve?"

"As far as I know, yeah." Felix clenched hard at his Void Sanctuary before it roused. An instant later, his emotions bucked hard in their confinement. "I'm working on fixing that."

"You will have to, if you are to face the Ruin together." Tern shook his head. "I still cannot believe the madwoman had the audacity to summon the Ruin herself. I cannot comprehend such folly.”

“She also summoned us.”

“Indeed she did. Perhaps she expected that facing it down would be easier—she might very well have been right, had someone not thrown a wrench in her plans."

At the other end of the bench, Zara bared her sharp teeth.

Tern waggled a finger at her. "I know why you did it, but by the blind gods, I fear the consequences. Even with all nine Unbound properly trained, is it possible to face down a calamity such as what is coming?"

"Yes," Zara said, her smile wiped away. The sound of conviction escaped the tight clutches of her Spirit.

Felix wasn't so sure. He also wasn't going to voice his doubts. Not now, or ever, perhaps.

"We're figuring that part out," he admitted. "Part of it is advancing. I'm at Master Tier, and the other Unbound I've met are getting close. The rest…I don't know what to expect.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“If Elowen is truly Unbound, as you say, then she is powerful. A Pagewright is second only to the Tower Master in strength, and even then, they could be more potent but not have the proper political mindset to run a Tower. My memory is fuzzy around her most of all, but she was strong. Stronger than me, even.”

“So we're potentially facing a Grandmaster Unbound, controlled by Siva? The goddess who hates you, in particular, Felix?" Atar laughed. "Oh, I forgot how fun it is traveling with you.”

it will be a challenge worthy of our might.

"Good attitude, Flame.”

“Don't encourage him, Alister."

Felix stared back out the window, noting their slow progression as the skiff edged forward in the long line toward the Tower. "Since we have a moment, I have some questions about shaping magic in particular."

"Oh." That caught Tern's attention, perhaps more so than the discussion of Unbound and the Ruin. "I can tell you what I know. I hadn't considered it, but an Unbound is uniquely positioned to learn shaping magic. You're free of the fetters that bind us to the system," Tern smiled impishly. "Oh, the things you could accomplish!”

“I've actually already learned some shaping magic."

"Truly?" Tern leaned close. "Would you be willing to show me?"

Without further prompting, Felix sounded his Sonata of Dominance. The Mana in the skiff stilled, seized by his Will. Somehow, Tern noticed the change immediately, and his eyes widened.

Huh. Interesting.

Felix grasped a piece of Mana, his scaled hands clutching at the air before he set his Intent spiraling forth. He turned his hand up just as it congealed into a small whirlwind, contained entirely to his palm. Just for fun, he grasped at the water that lingered in the early morning chill and added it in. Soon enough, a ring of rain whirled above his outstretched palm, dousing him with tiny, cold droplets.

"You can shape air and water together," Tern said, grasping Felix's arm and lifting it so that his palm was level with his eyes. He peered curiously at it, and Felix felt the man's Will poke at the elements, like a small child tapping him on the shoulder. "I can't seem to affect it. Is this all the Skill can do?"

"Not quite.” With a gesture, Felix sent Tern the Skill description.

Sonata of Dominance (Transcendent), Level 116!

You have discerned a depth to the elements that few have ever noticed, and you tread closer to Ruin. Stake a claim to the elemental Mana around you, seizing a radius of increased control. All other Mana types are sensed and controlled at half strength. Requires Mana and Essence to use. Sing, Ascendent, sing and let rage the ancient threnodies of war.

Tern looked over the Skill description in disbelief. "A Transcendent shaping Skill! That's..." He met Felix's eyes, and the Elf looked even more flabbergasted than when he had learned of the Unbound. "The versatility alone is unmatched by any shaping Skill I've ever heard of. Every elemental Mana type?"

"Every one that I could figure out," Felix said. "Air, earth, water, fire, even shadow and light. Things like sound, ice, or lightning are separate, and I don't have as firm a command over them, but it's still possible to grasp them, technically."

"That is incredible. You've the great golden goal of etheric researchers everywhere. A flexible shaping Skill. Though, I admit, requiring Essence as well as Mana to fuel it would be a problem for most."

"That's not really an issue for me," Felix said.

Flexible, huh? It certainly was that. Yet flexibility hadn't been enough when the Elderthrone Sanctum challenged him. "I'm still in the early days, but it's been very useful, even if it's harder to access the other types of Mana."

"Skills grow with time," Tern assured him. "I wouldn't worry. Tell me, do you find it easier to weave air and water together, as you did just now?"

"It was easy enough, yeah.”

“Can you shape one element for me?"

"Oh, um, sure." Felix pulled air in again, and it was like compacting a snowball. It hardened into an orb that fell into his hand. It felt like cold glass, yet when he squeezed it, the orb burst into a puff of wind.

"Hmm. Now, repeat your little rainstorm."

Felix did. Shaping the two elements together once again took less time than air alone. Immediately, Felix felt the difference. "Why is that easier?"

Tern shifted in his seat excitedly. "This is only conjecture, but based on the description, your Skill claims an area of influence. Isolating a single element from the others is a greater strain on your power and Will than utilizing all of what you have laid dominance over."

Felix looked at the rainstorm in his hand, and with a tinge of effort, added a trace of earth to the working. The rain congealed, turning slowly to mud that twisted and spun inches above his palm. It did feel easier to hold together.

"Skills will find their greatest growth by understanding them. Only by understanding them, to their cores, can you express what the Skill is truly attempting to achieve. In this case, domination."

Felix frowned.

"Not a kind word, I'll give you that." Tern drummed his fingers against his knee. "You have Authority, do you not?"

"A bit."

"Then, you know its feel. Authority is dominance. It is a resource doled out by the System itself. Some believe it exists in order to teach us mere mortals about self-governance, but that is idiotic drivel. Authority is us enacting our Will directly on the world around us. It is commanding the realms themselves, and the System ensures our words are obeyed." He shrugged. "Within reason."

"So, by following the cryptic description of the Skill, I'll be able to unlock its true power?"

"Precisely."

Felix looked over the Skill description again. It mostly went on about treading closer to ruin and seizing control. "Any suggestions on where to start?"

"I would say to continue to manipulate Mana in pairs or more. Your path forward is there, I would think, and you will no doubt find more efficiency by engaging in multiples."

"Well, it's worth a shot." It was better than brute-forcing the Skill. Felix had done a lot of that throughout his time on the Continent, and while it had been proven effective, he couldn’t deny that he’d faced some pretty harrowing challenges to push his Skills to the next level. With so many of his Skills getting closer to Grandmaster Tier, gaining even a single level was becoming incredibly difficult.

"We're approaching the Violet harbor," Zara said, peeking out of the curtains on the side of the skiff. "Remember to stick to the plan, everyone."

Felix focused, and his black jacket and pants changed, the Garment rippling until it resembled an off-white battle robe. It was common garb for mages without a Tower affiliation or unranked assistants. Aside from Tern, they all wore the same outfit, and the plan was to accompany the mage as his assistants, carrying the stuff he'd brought back into the Violet Tower. The elderly Elf was going to pretend to want back in and request a meeting with the Tower Master, Hiraan Tiir, in order to get his position as senior Pagewright back.

"Do you have the key?" Tern asked him. Felix pulled it from around his neck, flashing the thick iron object at the man. "Good, keep that close to you. It must touch your skin at all times, or else the wards won’t recognize you."

“I remember.”

The skiff bucked, the hull grinding against the air docks outside as a tingling warmth washed across Felix.

"Detection wards," Zara warned.

“They are passive, meant to keep actively harmful enchantments from being brought into the tower. None of your belongings are enough to trip the ward. You will be fine."

Before they had left, Tern checked over their belongings exhaustively to ensure they wouldn’t trip any alarms at the Tower. Felix's Inheritor's Will had flown right under the man's attention. He'd barely even noticed it, other than to marvel at a blade made entirely of Crescian Bronze. He hadn’t considered it dangerous, but Felix knew otherwise. Still, the wards didn’t start blaring, and there was no sudden platoon of guards coming to kick them out. Soon enough, the warm sensation passed, and from outside the skiff, they heard a deep voice.

"Be welcome to the Violet Tower."

"We're as ready as we can be for this mummer's play." Tern stood. "Let the curtain rise."