The feeling of having your impact rise naturally through rank up was odd and hard to describe. It was interesting, and even notable, but it wasn't exceptionally dramatic in the grand scheme of things. It was something people were designed to do, a natural part of our evolution, and you had the stat points to act as a foundation for the Impact. It was like building a tower. You had a level of stats, then Impact to act as support for the next section.

Having Impact added independent of that was MUCH more intense. The lightning storm coursing down my throat spread like wildfire, singing through my veins and out into my muscles. My body felt like arid ground, hungrily consuming the energy as it spilled out, rolling through me and somehow filling every individual cell. I could feel the change to every single atom of my body, but not consecutively. All at once, like I was a million people at the same time, each completely perceiving a change to a single cell.

My cells were singing to each other, belting out operatic harmonies as they ascended to a greater state, to a higher plane of existence, and carried my million brains along with them. I couldn't tell if I was screaming, or crying, or if I'd never make a sound again. I was in unbearable agony, and suffused with the most exquisite bliss I'd ever felt, and hollow and empty and so full I was about to explode.

And then it was over, and I was just me. Just standing around as a single person, heart pounding, body coated with sweat, muscles twitching as I fell against a tree, wheezing and panting. "That." I gasped breathlessly. "Was so fucking weird. Gods, is it like that every time? I...don't even know how to describe that. Did I hate it? Did I love it? My brain hurts."

Callie groaned from next to me. "Yeah, I was getting some of that through the bond. I think it was worse because we were sharing it. I was getting the highs as well as the lows simultaneously because we were alternating."

I paused, thinking it over. "That...shit, that might have been happening to me too. It was so hard to tell, everything was confusing the shit out of me." I cocked my head at her. "You doing ok? I'm starting to settle down I think. Or maybe I'll never settle down again? I can't tell if I'm wired or exhausted."

She let out a bark of laughter. "I feel that." She looked at my cousin, Abel, and Valk. "How about you guys? You feeling ok?"

Abel shrugged. "That was weird, but I've had worse. I'll be fine in a minute, just need to get my head on straight."

Nat shuddered. "I'm less sanguine about the whole thing. I can't really say it was awful. But also I can. It was definitely the best worst experience of my life. As little sense as that probably makes."

"As much as anything else that just happened to me." Valk croaked hoarsely, standing to his full height from where he'd been hunched against the dark bark of a silver tree. "I feel like a wrung out toothpaste tube made of chewing gum stretched between the two ends of a sporting field."

"That!" Said Nat excitedly. "That's exactly how it feels. Like...to a T." Weighing the words I nodded, as did Callie. He was right. Like I was empty and stretched in a weird way that I couldn't exactly put my finger on.

Anna-Marie looked interested. "That's fascinating. I suspect I'll want to space out my consumption in that case. Who knows what multiple drops at once would do to a person. Do you feel well enough to continue?" The princess had been watching us like a hawk since I'd mentioned what I was going to do. Her eyes were wide and focused, desperately trying not to miss anything.

If I had to guess, the king wasn't the kind of guy to do something as risky as dropping Moonglow Dew in front of his kids, or pretty much anyone barring his most trusted guards. This was probably her first time seeing the process up close, and given how big a part of her life it was going to be, I was guessing she wanted to know as much about it as possible. She wanted every detail before her first drop, though I was skeptical we'd been helpful with our descriptions.

"Jessie." I said calmly. "How about you hit us with a little pick me up?" My teammate had been a bit quiet since her time as a teddy bear, but not upset exactly. She seemed more pensive than anything, and at the sound of her name her eyes jerked up to me. She shook off her thoughts and nodded.

"Sure. I can do that." She sounded as chipper as ever, so I wasn't too worried. I was sure she'd talk to us when she was feeling upto it. She stepped forward, her hand on me as she flooded me with green lifegiving energy. I felt my body fill with power and vitality, and it synergized well with the wired feeling the drop had left, leaving me bursting with energy.

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She did Callie next, then Nat, then Abel, and Valk last. The big bearded man looked a bit more jittery than the rest of us, so I think she wanted to give him extra time to settle before she shoved a live wire into his brain, so to speak. Once that was done she smiled widely at all of us, stepping back to lean against Lily, her wolf, as the other puppies surrounded her. Energizing all of us had taken it out of her, and I could see the sweat on her brow, but she'd be at the back with us all surrounding her so I wasn't worried.

I bounced in place a bit, letting the energy flow through me. I felt amazing. Not just vital, but...more. The recovery and the extra Impact really were a hell of a combination.

"I think we're good to go." I glanced down at Jin. "Take care of her will you? You and the others." My wolf gave me a deadpan look and a sniff of disdain, as if telling me not to make stupid unnecessary comments. I got no respect.

The puppies circled up around Lily, making a triangle formation as Jessie rode on her wolf's back. Oddly, they seemed more...maybe not intelligent, but more aware. I suspected Jessie's rank up had allowed her power to boost them in a less restrictive way.

We headed back out to the path, following it along to where the city waited. There was a huge black stone wall around the perimeter of the place that I hadn't been able to see from further away. There was an iron gate cutting the path off from entry, and two guards stood waiting there for us to approach.

To my surprise, Anna-Marie didn't just wave them aside, stepping up and pulling out a cerulean token carved from some kind of gemstone. "We seek entry into the Spiral Grove." I could literally hear the capital letters on those last two words. The guards took the token and there was a surge of energy that caused it to light up. A pattern shone on the dark wall, and the guards stared interestedly at the patterns for a minute before nodding and stepping back to allow us entry.

As we walked in, I couldn't help but comment on the token. "That was pretty cool. What was it? Some kind of light key or something?"

Anna-Marie smiled. "Royal seal. Every member of the bloodline gets them. They're made of a special type of living crystal that shifts randomly over time. The guards here and on the royal chambers have samples of the crystal that shifts in the same randomized pattern. Anyone outside the bloodline has to go through a careful vetting process when entering or leaving the Spiral Grove."

"That's awesome." I said appreciatively. "Probably the best security system I can imagine. I guess they check the patterns daily to make sure they know what each seal is supposed to look like?" She nodded in amusement and I put a pin in the idea for later. Might be a neat idea for my own faction later down the line. "So, I take it this is the Spiral Grove?" I said, waving around at the massive city we'd only just entered. Buildings festooned the area, some on the ground, some in trees with walkways between them. I could see some of the walkways leading up to the islands in the air I'd seen before, too thin to have been visible at a distance.

She grinned. "The heart of the capital. All our highest ranking officers, nobles, and even foreign dignitaries hang their hats here." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air. "One of my favorite places in the world."

I could see genuine fondness on her face as she opened her eyes again. It was always so strange to see the dichotomy of how much she cared about her country and how little she seemed to care about the people. The idea of Ladrigan, the places, the construction, the culture, it seemed almost sacred to her. But the citizens were almost an afterthought, like they just got in the way of all the things she loved. Like they were just unpleasant additions to the kingdom itself.

As we strolled down the main street from the gates though, I couldn't say I didn't understand at least the first part. While the rest of the castle was utilitarian and brutal, the buildings down here were beautiful. Carved stone etched with bas relief scenes of ancient battles and heroic deeds, all set in the forest and inset with silver to give it depth and impact.

It was beautiful, and I couldn't help but notice that the Spiral Grove, hell the cylinder in general, was almost a mirror image of the rest of the castle. It was like they took all the beauty they were forced to forgo elsewhere and shoved it all in here so they could enjoy it in private. She walked us along the path, showing us buildings and sculptures and parks that were a feast for the eyes.

Finally we came to one large but fairly squat building with massive silver doors. Anna-Marie strode up to it and shoved the doors open, leading us into a huge marble foyer with a large desk on the opposite end. The desk had windows along it, and the whole thing was heavily reinforced. A bank.

Strolling up to the bank window she withdrew her seal and slipped it into a gap in the window. "I'd like to withdraw ten hundred-coin markers. Infused, not blank." She turned to me. "I'm offering two hundred heartstone coins per drop, along with future considerations. The infused coins are worth more, obviously, and a thousand is plenty for the deal we've made so far."

I glanced to Celine, who nodded. She'd been looking into the economy here during her downtime, while we'd been working on trade deals and such. The banker nodded, passing over a dark wooden case. The princess opened the case to find a series of long thin tokens made of dark stone with red glowing cracks running through it. "Each of those can be traded for one hundred infused coins. Just bring them to the bank to trade them in, or spend them as is."

That worked for me. Carrying a thousand coins would be substantially more trouble, and since we'd probably be spending in bulk the markers would do for now, plus we could always swap if we needed to. Once I received the markers, she gave me a wide grin. "Now. You can hand over the drops and then I'll take you somewhere to eat before you start shopping for the longer trip." I chuckled at the forwardness, but didn't disagree. That sounded like a plan.