Unbound

“Well…that’s new,” Evie said.

Before them was the same floating conglomeration of wood, stone, and crystal as he’d created before, just as large and strange as the first time. Living wood shaped into the form of a huge, four-winged whale covered in moss, flowers, and crystals. Masts shaped like tree trunks rose up into the featureless dark of the Passage, their branches uniformly wrapped around a thick, glowing crystal so that it resembled nothing so much as a magical blimp.

“We call it the Sailwhale,” Pit chirruped.

“No we don’t.” Felix rolled his eyes, stepping clear of the soldiers as they marched aboard. “Stop telling people that.”

Somehow, despite his beak, Pit made a raspberry noise before trotting up the gangplank.

“Kids, right?” Evie gave Felix a sympathetic pat marred only by her Cheshire grin. “C’mon Beef. Let’s go find a place aboard.”

The Minotaur regarded the ship with hesitation. “Is there space for Hallow’s Bodies?”

“Yeah. Have the Multipede go below decks. There’s a hatch near the center of the ship. Her other Bodies can go wherever. Just keep the Skink away from the rigging, please. Those wings are sharp.” Felix watched them join the procession, Evie leaping ahead of everyone else while Beef and his Risen waited patiently at the rear.

“A strange creature, that lizard,” Yintarion said, floating just to Felix’s left. His own serpentine body undulated through the Manacurrents that coiled across the dark landscape. It wasn’t quite air or shadow, but a mixture of both. “Its wings are quite remarkable.”

“It’s a nasty fighter,” Felix agreed. Back when Beef had been looking for more Risen, he’d been the one to point him toward the colony of Skinks that was located between the Stronghold and the Bitter Sea. The teen had found a whole lot of them, including a Skink Matriarch that was twice the normal size. He had ended up defeating it and using Hallow Raise on its corpse. “I had to survive them in my early days on the Continent. They’re agile and can spit acid too.”

“Hm. A pity that your subordinate took the only one worth killing—it would have made a fine snack, considering its prior attunement to air Mana.”

“You can tell that?”

“You cannot? Its Body might be flooded with necromantic Mana now but its essence is still stamped by its original nature. That is how that Hallow creature is able to access their original Skills, like the acid spit you mentioned.”

Huh. “I didn’t know that,” Felix admitted.

“Happy to be of service,” Yintarion said. “Come, little Dragoon. I wish to rest upon something softer than your armored shoulders.”

Vess followed, mouth quirked with a grin as she leaped past Felix and onto the deck of the Sailwhale.

Oh great, now I’m doing it too.

They were on their way within minutes. Folks settled in with little issue, the majority of the Claw retreating below decks to rest during the short journey. Everyone had been briefed on what to expect in the two Dark Passages they had to traverse, as well as the short jaunt in the middle. They had taken in the strange environment with considerable ease, though notes of fear tumbled through their collective Spirits. Felix could sympathize—the dark mountains, black on black skies, and endless clouds were intimidating.

How would the Claw feel had they been able to sense the creatures that lurked below?

“I think it’s the light,” Pit said.

Felix looked down at his side, where the horse-sized tenku was curled up, his bushy tail wrapped just over his hooked beak. “What about the light?”

“It’s why they’re not afraid. The crystal makes me feel…safe.”

The big crystal above them was a bright source of blue-white light, and it cast a wide corona around them as they traversed the expansive dark. Felix supposed the light would be calming in such a situation, though he checked his Status Conditions to see if it had any real effect. It didn’t.

“It feels like you,” Pit added.

Felix looked up again. “Huh.”

He stood at the helm, a large, spoked wheel that seemed ripped right from Felix’s old storybooks. He wasn’t entirely sure of the mechanisms within the ship or if there ever were any—Felix hadn’t designed any when he had shaped the vessel—but when he turned the wings flapped and the tail-like rudder shifted. The midnight feathers fluttered with each adjustment, undulating more akin to swimming than flying…but it was effective.

While most of the Claw were below decks, there was a small contingent stationed around the railings, posted there as lookouts and guards. Harn was big on vigilance, and Felix appreciated it. He couldn’t flare his Perception all the time, and piloting the ship took a bunch of his concentration. A few lingering gazes from them was a small price to pay.

Thankfully, those gazes weren’t so bad anymore. Familiarity went a long way toward making them comfortable with him, it seemed, but perhaps it was also a matter of power. All of the soldiers with him were at least Journeyman, and a few were well into that Tier already. It was widely known that Felix was an Adept Tier, though the particulars were fairly muddled. The divide between Journeyman and Adept was great…but maybe the Claw had learned some confidence along with their discipline.

Either way, Felix was happy about it. Familiar faces abounded, people that Felix recalled traveling alongside him through the Scorched Expanse. Some were older acquaintances, one of whom was standing nearby, staring with naked terror over the edge of the ship.

“You alright, Mervin?” Felix asked.

The man started, but managed a sloppy salute. “Of course, sir. My Lord, I mean.”

“Felix is fine.”

“Yes, my Lord.” He hesitated, opening his mouth twice before blurting out his words. “It is good to see you again. Thank you for including me in this journey.”

“Everyone here earned their place.” Felix smiled. “And it’s good to see you too.”

Mervin gave a nervous grin. “You remember me?”

“Course I do. You helped me find Haarwatch.” Felix adjusted the wheel, tipping the ship ever so slightly. “Plus you covered for me, back with the Inquisition.”

“That all feels like a lifetime ago.”

Felix agreed with that. “Sorry, by the way. For how we met.”

“For—you saved my life from those Skinks. You’ve nothing to apologize for.” Mervin shuddered. “I still can’t believe Lord Hammer has one as his helper.”

“Oh, that. No, I meant leaving you behind at the gates. With the Inquisition.”

“After you ah, blasted one of them with lightning?”

Felix laughed. “Yes. Again, sorry. It was…a bad day.”

“For me as well.” Mervin’s Spirit lifted, pulling away from the terror that had been boiling just under the surface. “But…I survived. Same can’t be said for everyone else.”

“We’ve been lucky,” Felix agreed. “I noticed you were staring over the rail.”

“Ah. Yes. The dark is just…unnerving. My father used to say only evil dwelled in the shadows. Saw plenty of monsters on the homestead, and few of them ever came around in the daytime. I–well it’s foolish, I suppose.”

“It’s not foolish. But I’ve been stalked by things in the daytime as much as the night.” Felix adjusted the wheel again. “Light or dark—too much of either is blinding.”

“I can’t argue against that, sir. Only—the Pathless was a beacon to us farmfolk. After what they’ve done…”

“Hard to feel too excited about a god that sends goons to kill you.”

“Yeah.”

Felix didn’t press the kid. He had a lot of problems with the Pathless, but it wasn’t the time. He let things lapse into silence, but Mervin was all but squirming.

“My Lord, I am concerned. I have a Perception Skill and it keeps telling me that something is down there. I swear I saw something move in the clouds.”

“That?” Felix could feel them, creatures trailing after the ship just as they had on his last journey. “Don’t worry about them. I think they’re chickens.”

“Chickens, sir?”

Felix restrained a sigh. It’s not his fault that chickens don’t exist here. “Cowards. They’re afraid to come after us.”

Mervin looked askance at the black beyond the ship’s light. “If you say so, sir.”

The ship pulled slightly to the left and Felix adjusted the wheel, applying his Willpower and Intent to his strange vessel. “What Harmonic stats have you unlocked, Mervin?”

“O-oh, uh, I have Resilience and Might unlocked. They have proven invaluable. I’m told they aid with recovery as well as feats of Strength—”

A Half-Orc in robes hustled forward before giving a sharp salute to Felix. “Pardon me, my Lord. Might I borrow Mervin?”

Felix flared his Eye, letting his senses roll across the ship’s deck. “Sure. Is something wrong, Loquis?”

“No, nothing. Lady Aren is,” he cleared his throat, as if the words were hard to say. “Bored. She wanted to spar with a few of us. If you don’t mind, my Lord.”

“I see.” Felix didn’t feel anything amiss, so we waggled his free hand at them. “Fine with me. Just tell Evie to leave enough of you to keep watch. Otherwise Commander Kastos will have you all running laps for the rest of the trip.”

“Aye, sir.” For some reason, the Half-Orc blushed before saluting and pulling Mervin along with him. They fled to the foremast, where Felix could see Evie had gathered up a gaggle of folks, all of them with their weapons bared. She was limbering up, her chain secured around her waist.

Let her have some fun. She knows not to get carried away. Felix checked on everyone else. Beef and Hallow were below decks, Harn too, while Vess was sitting quietly at the prow of his ship, dangling her feet over the black. The glimmer of metal around her neck was Yintarion, like a golden stole. Apparently the ship didn’t have any beds so Vess was his next best option.

Stop stalling, he told himself. He was avoiding his Skills list, avoiding having to make a tough decision. Status Screen. Skills only.

The System responded, pulling up all of his Skills just as he’d seen a thousand times. There were…a lot, and a long time ago he’d organized them into general Body, Mind, and Spirit categories. Beneath that were things like Resistances or Mental Enhancements that further divided what the Skills accomplished. But as time went on he’d noticed the list was less and less useful—the designations seemed almost arbitrary, but the System had obeyed back then.

What would it do now?

System. Organize my Skills by what Aspects they affect.

The blue window vanished, and after a moment Felix thought the whole thing had just glitched out. He’d seen that before, too. But no, because there was a droning noise just at the edge of his hearing. It grew, growing more tumultuous with volume, as if it were a landslide of percussion instruments bearing down on him. Notes and chords twanged and plucked, squeaked and hummed, pulsing across his senses without sense or pattern.

Until it stopped.

BODY - Chthonic Ascent (Adept)

MIND - Fiendforged (Adept)

SPIRIT - Eldercrowned (Adept)

The blue window reappeared, showing only his three Aspects, along with their Tempered names. The Skills were gone.

“What is this?” Felix reached out and pressed against the first Aspect. His Body.

BODY - Chthonic Ascent (Adept)

Dodge (C), Level 83

Heavy Armor Mastery (C), Level 15

Armored Skin (R), Level 88

Blind Fighting (R), Level 78

Illusory Double (R), Level 45

Mantle of the Infinite Revolution (E), Level 74

Labyrinthine Wing (E), Level 1

Wild Threnody (E), Level 86

Chthonic Tribute (L), Level 97

Etheric Concordance (L), Level 84

Hand of Calamity (L), Level 71

Relentless Resolution (L), Level 95

The Song of Absolution (L), Level 94

Last Cry Of The Chthonic Host (M), Level 5

Adamant Discord (T), Level 91

Sovereign of Flesh (T), Level 95

Fiendforge (Un), Level 68

NOTE: Some Skills Listed Fall Under More Than One Aspect. Do You Wish To Display Them?

Felix grinned. Yes.

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