Years Since Creation: 3993

Location: Significance Plane, Elemental System, Sanguine

It’d been a week since Saria had arrived, and already Darvon could tell they made a great team. Once she had gotten over the stress of being kidnapped she quickly caught on to the culture and was always open to going out and exploring. She had barely needed an afternoon to completely devour the introductory codex as well as all the books in Maroc’s house which mostly focused on history and biology. At this point Darvon was fairly sure that she knew more about the way the base Zhra body functioned than he did. Yet as amazing as she was as a person and companion, what really had Darvon’s blood pumping was when she told him that his nanites would replicate and within a couple months of using his passive resources he would be able to match her processing power. Sadly, he couldn’t speed it up by eating a bunch of meat, which, to his embarrassment, Saria only deigned to tell him after she found him stuffing his face late at night. After that debacle he turned to Alchemy and unsuccessfully attempted to infuse the nanites with dozens of different essences before giving up for the time being. He would need to reach at least Paragon to influence such tiny machines, which had pushed him to focus on his research while leaving Saria explore the town on her own.

He locked himself in the lab that Maroc had attached to his house in Sanguine, which was filled with nice steel tables, piles of different essences, and a meditation mat. It was there that at seventeen he had surgically implanted the Bolt Shoulder and become amongst the youngest Doyens in the plane. Darvon found it quite appropriate that he would begin testing Quintessence, a barely understood force, in the same place he proved his genius.

He started by sitting on the mat on the floor and diving into the significance realm to focus on his Image, taking in the massive grey hand covered in glowing implants which had a set of five puppet strings dangling from them. He tried to have the Image twitch in order to affect the strings and failed. He tried to use the surrounding essence to influence them and failed. He tried having Maroc influence the string and failed. He tried dozens of methods before rather stupidly realizing that the strings were not actually part of his Image but simply where they stayed. He needed to treat them like they were foreign objects outside of the typical system of power.

With this mindset he touched on the smallest string hanging from the pinky finger with his mind and tried to directly order it to twitch to next to no success, though he did see a faint image fill the string for a brief second. Grasping onto that fact he changed his tactic and sent a continuous order at the string for it to detach, which filled it with an image of it doing so as it did so. Once it was unlatched the image faded and it merely floated completely still in front of his hand waiting for new orders which Darvon sent as he tried to have it interact with various parts of the world around it. He moved it through the Image of the table, the mat, the essence stones, and the bolt to no change to either object. It was only when he brought in a live fist sized blood elemental from outside to test on that he found some success, with the string attaching to its blood drop Image and slightly altering it to twist a little. He repeated the success another five times turning the image into a weird red squiggle that did nothing to alter the power of the beast before giving up as he had already burnt through a quarter of the strings essence for a mere cosmetic result. He had a much better, more cost-effective way of testing Quintessence anyway. The Invader Runes that every Zhaber was born with.

When Harvon had tricked Qrumin into being chained to the plane, he had asked for four things: Supreme power for himself, for it limit itself to Sybil while dealing fairly with the Zhaber, and for a power that would help in planar invasions to be passed down his bloodline. That’s how the Invader Runes were born, upon birth every Zhaber would find a green chain made out of runes coiled up within their Image. The runes were capable of isolating a single Law from reality and allow for its use in other planes through one of two forms. Either you used it as a sort of addition, wherein you would get a feel for what adding the law to the plane would do, or you completely separate it into a unique law system. Small scale invasions rely on the latter, while long term conquering’s use the first. It was a wonderful power which had allowed them to bring in another four Laws after Harvon, but as Darvon dove into experimenting with the chain he quickly ran into two problems.

For starters it seemed the chain itself was made out of more energy than ten of his strings, which was quite intimidating considering Qrumin made at least a thousand of them a year. The second problem, which after a bit of interacting is that the runes themselves didn’t do anything, they were merely cosmetic, the chain completely relied on Qrumin’s visualization and intent. Arrogant Darvon may be, but he was well aware of the vast distance between him and Qrumin, he had learnt that long before actually meeting it, when he was still taking lessons in the Academy. Qrumin was not only above Darvon as a being, but above the plane itself.

When he had been in the Academy of Aso studying Alchemy, he had taken a few classes on Qrumin due to his interest in Extranar powers, and it was there that he discovered the simple fact that had pushed him to the point of deciding to pursue his grief plan. Qrumin was not a single dimensional creature, he and all other Old One’s existed in every plane that had the Old One law in it. They would gather QE from an almost infinite number of planes and use it in a multiverse spanning competition against each other. The only reason Harvon had been able to chain Qrumin to Sybil was because he had been helped along by its competitors, and Darvon had little doubt that it had been planning its escape ever since. While all Zhaber’s worshipped the ground Harvon walked on, and had trusted him implicitly, Darvon had always been skeptical of Qrumin being THAT powerful. Even after meeting it he still doubted it could be that strong, but the moment he dove into the chain he was sure Harvon spoke the truth. The Invader Runes were full of such a profound understanding of the basic power of Laws that it overwhelmed his mind to even look at it for too long, it was as if they represented the condensation of every single aspect of reality into one single thought. It was genius, wonderful, and sadly completely impossible for Darvon to replicate on his own. He needed more data and research around it and would likely have to sacrifice some knowledge to Qrumin in order to even attempt to expand on it. In short he needed the help of a lot of researchers, and while he didn’t have all that many contacts in the field, he did know a war hero who could call on a few favors. Sadly, the only way to ask for a favor was to give one, and that was how he found himself reluctantly agreeing to go hunting with Maroc in the Eno wilds.

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A massive landscape of red tinted stone filled his vision, with hundreds of deep blood ponds in every direction. Mixed in with the mundane liquid were small darting elementals, most in the shape of small waves of red gelatin, but occasionally there would be a few towering titans of crystal blood on par with Vortex which would rumble by, shaped into whatever creature they had most recently eaten. While the majority of the creatures near him were blood elementals, there were a couple of marrow, water, and even bone elementals lumbering by. It was a terrifying sight that should have dominated Darvon’s mind with the danger, but it simply couldn’t.

He was thinking on how he could copy the intent, and what it would require as a sacrifice. He doubted he could merely lose something as simple as his knowledge over flowers in exchange, no it would likely be much more valuable, like his knowledge of his base language itself. He might need to exchange his knowledge of Spatial law, which wouldn’t be as big a loss if Saria focused on it. But that was a big If. It could well–

With his mind wandering he fell straight into a pool of blood, his mouth filling with metallic taste as dozens of small elementals tried to dig into his body. He started desperately struggling against their growing mass to no success and would have likely drowned if not for a whip of blood grabbing his leg and dragging him out of the pond gasping.

“How many times do I have to tell you to keep your eyes forward, and your mind on the task.” Maroc barked out, as he had Vortex devour the blood covering Darvon.

“I’m sorry sir” Darvon coughed out as he vomited out blood, with his enhancements making sure to note the small glob like elemental included in that spew. “Won’t happen again.”

“It better not.” Maroc said in his military voice as he dragged Darvon up by the collar of his robe. “Now make yourself useful and find a Doyen elemental to fight.”

“Yes sir.” Darvon said, hurriedly turning to look out into the field of dull red before him, only to find every elemental more than a hundred meters away perfectly camouflaged due to the red dirt covering them. He spent a few moments blindly trying as he was still rattled due to the fall, before remembering that he actually had a tool that could help him.

Darvon closed his eyes and cleared his mind of all thought before sending out a signal to the nanites in his brain to highlight movement above a certain degree. Once done he opened his eyes to see that the vague moving shapes in the distance had been highlighted in white, letting him see dozens of different elementals perfectly outlined. After a couple of minutes of using his eyes to zoom in and out on the different beasts, he located an appropriate target.

“Found one. A bone elemental a kilometer out.” Darvon said, pointing forward. “It looks to be a Doyen, though I can’t be sure as Saria’s eyes can’t sense significance.”

“That works.” Maroc said as he led the way, his eyes constantly flashing red as he used some sensing skill. “Is Vigil ready for combat?”

“He’s prepped, though still pretty bummed to have lost access to my grief.” Darvon said while poking at Vigil with his Image sense, coaxing him to coil up around him in a protective purple shell. “I’ve been trying to keep him entertained by constant interaction, but he’s still annoyed.”

“That’s normal. Just make sure to keep feeding him grief essence every couple days, and he should calm down soon enough.” Maroc said, Darvon nodding along.

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‘I know, though I am not that worried. He’s already too deeply bonded with the Elemental Binder to even think of running away.” Darvon said with some pride. “It has worked so well that I’m considering getting a second elemental, preferably a physical one to shore up that weakness.”

Maroc nodded at that, still focusing his eyes on the path ahead. He crushed the few small elementals that would get in their way using a small whip of blood, while going around any larger specimens.

“Don’t choose any just yet, I have been meaning to give you a present for your ascension.” Maroc said, sending him a brief smile. “I have also had a few breakthroughs in merging Abyssal spells with elementals that might produce an interesting result.”

Darvon got excited at that, knowing that his uncle wouldn’t bring it up if he hadn’t already succeeded in creating something new. While Abyssal was a weaker law, with only two branches, it was still one of the most violent powers in the plane. If Darvon could have an elemental based on that, his combat abilities would skyrocket.

Maroc slapped the back of his head with his hand, snapping him out of his daydreams. “Don’t lose focus now, we are still in the field. Plus, it seems we have reached your target.” Maroc said as he crushed a dozen marrow elementals, their putrid bodies squelching into mush. “I will clear the rest of the elementals in the area, but you will have to deal with your target on your own.”

Darvon nodded and opened up his grey robes to show the two holes leading into his Bolt Shoulder. He then, through some careful manipulation of artificial muscles in his chest, loaded the appropriate bolts and focused ahead. The elemental was easily eight feet tall and shaped like a bear, its pale white bone covered in red dirt with only its sharp claws and teeth clean.

Darvon approached the target who casually looked at him, its ivory head glowing with an eerie white flame. Most powerful elementals were not aggressive, being too smart to get into pointless fights, which let Darvon get an advantage.

Once he was a dozen meters out he pressed down on a muscle in his chest, shooting out a bright green bolt shaped vial, which shattered into a puddle of acid on its head. Within moments its whole skull dissolved, but being the elemental that it was it immediately reformed its head, shrinking slightly as it did so. The bear then let out a roar and started sprinting at Darvon, its every step sounding like a dozen bones snapping, covering the distance in seconds. The moment it was within reach it clawed out at Darvon, its nails raking across Vigil who let out a writhing scream into Darvon’s mind and jumped straight at the bear, ignoring the Alchemist’s command to stay put.

“Shit! Get off it Vigil” Darvon yelled out as he quickly backed away, prepping a new bolt. “I can’t shoot with you on him!”

Vigil ignored him and continued attempting to tear into the bone creature using crystal tendrils to little effect. All the while the bear ineffectually pawed at Virgil who would keep turning immaterial before it could connect. After couple seconds of the useless battle the bear grew annoyed and with a rattle sent its outer layer flying off into the distance with Vigil still attached.

In a panic Darvon turned to run towards his companion only to be stopped by the stomping of the bear drawing closer.

“Focus on the battle Darvon, I’ll keep Vigil safe!” Maroc yelled from the side, Vortex already pouring out of him to stream towards the grief elemental who was being swarmed by tiny waves of blood.

Darvon turned back around, taking a few panicked breaths as the bear started running forward, before shooting out a pair of potion bolts which shattered against the bear. One covered it in an oil substance which seeped into its insides, and the other glowed with waves of heat which sparked as it landed. The bear was now on fire, its bones rapidly charring as the mass it was made of shrunk down. It only managed to go forward another couple dozen steps before collapsing. Darvon let out a sigh of relief, before whirling around in panic as a hand smacked down on his shoulder, only to find a stern faced Maroc clutching onto Vigil.

“Remember to always be aware of your surroundings, never razor in on one opponent at a time. And don’t try to keep materials well if your battle capabilities aren’t strong enough.” Maroc said as he handed Vigil over, the moody blob diving straight into the Elemental Binder on Darvon’s spine. “You need to train him more; he should know better than to attempt a physical attack.”

“Yeah, I know. I just haven’t really had the time to train him in combat these last couple of months.” Darvon said while rubbing his neck where he could feel the sorrow coin still sending out waves of stabilizing emotion into his mind. “Though honestly he isn’t the only one who needs to reup on combat training, my arsenal of abilities feels a little lacking now that I am further along my path.”

“You should try to see what Saria will focus on before making anything new, wouldn’t do to have conflicting paths.” Maroc said as he released Vortex who jumped out to patrol the area. “Though it might be better to try to convince her to follow a path that aligns with yours instead of having to mold yours to hers.”

“I will talk to her about it eventually, right now she is still a bit raw about the whole being kidnapped thing. I don’t want to make her think I view her as a tool.” Darvon said while taking out some grief essence to send to Vigil.

“You still haven’t convinced her to take the oath?”

“Not yet, though I have been thinking of asking tonight at dinner. While I don’t want to rush her, I don’t have much more time before Busari reaches out.” Darvon said before taking a shaky breath as he glanced at the relaxed Maroc. “On that note, I was hoping to talk to you about something he asked me to do, and whether I can get your help on it.”

“You can always rely on me Darvon, you know that.” Maroc said, rubbing Darvon’s black hair. “Though seeing how serious you are, I assume this isn’t some small ask. What exactly did he ask of you?”

Darvon took a breath, and looked around to make sure there was no wandering elementals nearby. He then stepped back from Maroc a bit, and braced himself for the shitstorm he knew was coming.

“He wants me to participate in the competition to conquer a new plane under his sponsorship.” Darvon said, wincing as Maroc went from calm to furious, his eyes going red as a burst of power swept out into the surroundings.

“Why the fuck would he ever ask you to do that?!” Maroc asked as the whip he had been casually controlling smashed into the ground next to him. “Forget respecting my obvious wishes, why would he ever risk someone with as unique a power as yours?! You could potentially revolutionize the Zhaber way of life!”

Darvon took another step back as the wave of power around Maroc grew stronger, his eyes now glowing with abyssal energies alongside blood. He raised his hand to calm him down to little effect, as the blood whip turned into a corrupted tentacle which coiled into the air and split into a wave of a dozen strands which pulverized a ten-foot-tall wandering rot elemental with ease.

“Uncle calm down, he had some very valid reasons, and it’s not like I wouldn’t have gone off on planar explorations without him pushing me.” Darvon said. “I always told you my dream was to conquer a new plane; I don’t know why you’re so surprised.”

‘I don’t have a problem with your dream, I would have been more than happy for you to follow it since I could always tag along to help you as I likely would have been sovereign by then.” Maroc said as the whip spread farther into the field smashing down on any movement. “This competition is different; you can’t receive any outside help for at least a year in order to prove competence. You would be going at this alone! That piece of shit would risk you just to use your talent on something this dumb!”

Darvon winced at that. He had hoped Maroc wouldn’t know about the specifics, but he wasn’t all that surprised, the Legion made it a habit to keep him up to date on all important decisions regarding the invasion.

“Look I know you’re mad at Busari, but he hasn’t forced me to do anything, I decided to do this on my own. Honestly the only reason I haven’t signed up for this earlier is because I didn’t hear about it until Busari told me.” Darvon said, relaxing a little as Vortex had rushed back to his master to merge back with him, forcing Maroc to calm down a little. “Plus, it’s not like I’m alone in this. I have Saria, someone equally if not more talented than me, and Busari promised me a Ratking who would be an expert on all matters of war. I have two years to acquire a new branch for my path, and I have dozens of ideas to boost my strength tenfold. You really have nothing to worry about.”

Maroc went to yell again, the tentacle above him growing even larger, only stopping because Vortex poured out from his pores to coalesce into a mirror in front of him. Maroc stared at himself for a second, his eyes gradually returning to normal before closing his eyes and taking ten seconds to just breath. As he did so his body untensed, the tentacle above him collapsed back into blood, and Vortex pushed himself back out to continue patrolling. Only once he fully calmed down did he open his eyes and turn to Darvon with a pained smile.

“I’m sorry for blowing up on you Darvon, you don’t deserve that.” Maroc said, raising his hand to stop Darvon from saying anything. “No, there is no excuse for me to let myself be so controlled by anger. That emotion has already led to me destroying too many parts of my old life, I will not let it affect my new one.”

Maroc than went up to Darvon and gave him a hug, before pulling back and staring him up and down with a smile.

“You are an adult now Darvon, and I don’t have the power to control your actions. I regularly forget that, and for that I’m sorry.” Maroc said with a proud smile his eyes misty. “You have grown to be a smart and talented man, one that I am sure your parents would be proud to call a son.”

Darvon’s own eyes grew misty at that, his Grief Transformer sending out a wave of sorrow at his command to let him feel again. Maroc than shook his head and stepped away, his face going serious.

“Yet that doesn’t mean I will freely help you without some assurances.”

“Of course, I wasn’t expecting anything less.” Darvon said, his own face going serious as the coin stopped sending out sorrow.

“My demands are simple.” Maroc said raising his fingers to count off. “You need to form a partnership oath with Saria by the end of the week, you must master a portion of QE before you go, and you will need to train your combat skills with me for at least a couple months.”

Darvon nodded at that, feeling internally relieved it wasn’t so bad.

“That works great, and honestly goes in hand with what I was going to ask you for.” Darvon said as he pulled out the tiny blood elemental he had been experimenting with. “I have managed to accomplish a little with QE, like altering this guy’s Image, but I haven’t been able to do much more. I was hoping you would know someone who is knowledgeable on Old Ones.”

Maroc stared at the elemental, his eyes shining red for a brief moment before falling into thought. After a couple seconds, he snapped his fingers with a smile.

“I know just the family; they have a couple powerful research Paragons who would be more than happy to help you with this.” Maroc said. “They would also be more than willing to train Saria once they know that it’s for you.”

“Who is the family? Are they military? How did you meet them?” Darvon asked.

“They are the Azeta family, the relatives of honored Scout Arana.” Maroc said with a faraway look.

“The tech genius who went on the final mission with you?”

“The very same.”