Unbound

Felix trapped the two surviving Paladins in a room of his own making, five foot by five foot composed entirely of opalescent Fiendstone. He bound their hands too, just to be safe, though neither had much of a chance of escaping. But they would live, just as Felix had promised.

"So the Priests are doing what to an altar?" Pit asked.

"I'm not sure I understand either, Pit.” Jav had said the Priests were defacing an altar in order to empower their god. “I have to assume it's a Shrine, and considering where we are, I would have to assume it's a Shrine to Siva."

"Why Siva?" Pit asked.

"Because of Vess. She said her family worshiped Siva in secret, while publicly worshiping the Pathless. Seems right up that douchebag's alley to take out a hidden Shrine in an area he’d claimed."

Felix wasn’t too upset about the Pathless messing with another god. He certainly had no love for Siva, and the feeling was mutual. He’d gotten the impression that the Pathless was hurt in their last interaction through his Vessel—through Gabby. Not by much, maybe, but he’d put a dent in the bastard’s power over his sister. Yet if the Pathless could absorb the power of another god like Felix could snack on his enemies, how much stronger would he become?

“We need to stop them,” he said. “Jav over there didn’t give us much, but we know the altar is below us.”

“And the Hierei is above us,” Eagin said.

“Right. Shit. I need to end those Oaths before things go sideways for us.” Felix ran his scaled hands through his hair. “Maybe I can use my illusion magic to send a double down—no, that won’t work. I can’t interact much through it. Or—”

"Pit.”

“Don’t ‘Pit’ me,” the Chimera scoffed with a doggy bark. “You don’t need me to fight a Grandmaster Priest. You know that. Let me do this.”

"No, you—”

“Don't you dare say you're worried about me," Pit warned, the fur on his back bristling.

Felix held up his hands. "I'm not, but I want Eagin and Telys to go with you."

Egan rumbled discontentedly. "Colossus, what of the Hierei?”

“I know what I'm getting into there. What we don't know is what's going on in this altar. He could need you more than I will."

Pit huffed an offended breath, but Eagin hummed in thought. "Very well, Colossus. We know that you are strong and you wish triumph over our enemies. Lord Pit, lead on."

“Abyssal Skein us, if you please,” Pit asked, blinking big gold eyes up at him.

“Thought you said your Shroud was better?”

“What? When did that happen?” Pit coughed. “Sides, they need it too.”

Felix channeled his power through his hands and across the rock solid connections between him and his friends. They all shivered, even the Eidolons, and their edges started to smoke as if bleeding away into their surroundings. "You be careful, all three of you."

"We shall return victorious, Colossus."

"You know me," Pit said. "I'll take him down."

He held his emotions silent, clutching tightly at his Spirit as he watched Pit and the Eidolons speed down the hall toward a distant staircase. Pit had earned this trust, but worry rode shotgun in his heart. Felix closed his eyes and took a single, fortifying breath.

Time to find the Hierei.

The clock was ticking.

Archie only managed to slip partway through the wall before it violently rejected him. Something buzzed against his senses, pushing back against his Body as if he'd run into another wall within the white stone. A current ripped through him, blasting him backward out of the stone surface.

Into the open air.

“Thief!”

Archie had a moment of utter freefall before talons caught the back of his jacket and jerked him to a merciful stop. He looked up into a pink and purple eye that considered him from above a jagged frown. "What happened?" the Drake demanded.

"I can't get through. It's not the rock. There’s something else in there and it’s keeping me out."

Yinterion growled, not at Archie, but at the prison cell itself. Vess lifted her spear, but Yinterion was faster. He set Archie onto the landing and slammed into the wall in the same fluid motion. His claws sank into the white stone and he pulled down like a cat marking a piece of furniture it loathed entirely. The stone around the gate shredded, parting beneath the Drake’s Strength like wood to an axe. Chips of white stone fell to the ground before they were joined by larger chunks that shattered under Yin’s onslaught, until he tore a hole to the left side of the orichalcum-bound gate…and exposed a framework of tight orichalcum bars buried just beneath.

“Of course it’s more of that stupid metal,” Archie grumbled. Orichalcum was beyond his Skill, even after its evolution.

Beyond the bars was a man, bound by chains of mithril and wearing an elaborate collar that encased his neck and shoulders. His beard had grown wild, and his hair was poorly groomed, but the cell was clean. He had sat up from his bed, clearly staring at where they had been ripping through the wall, and his eyes locked on Vess.

"Vessilia?"

"Papa, I'm here.” The fearless warrior woman clung to the orichalcum bars. “Archie, I need your help!”

She stepped back and set her glaive’s blade against a gap in the bars before applying leverage with all of her Strength. Her glaive trembled and slowly began to flex…while the bars remained unharmed. Arcanite was an alloy of orichalcum and mithril, but it clearly didn't hold a candle to the original. Her blade skittered across the smooth surface, losing what little purchase she’d had.

"Archie, please!"

At a loss of what to do, Archie grabbed her spear and pushing his Primeval Drift through the weapon. He'd done it before with his own weapons, clothes, and other people, which is what normally allowed him to shift his entire body through the elements. The arcanite conducted his Mana easily—far more easily than anything else he'd touched before—but it still couldn’t pass through the red-gold bars.

Vess’ Spirit trembled, packed tight with intense emotions that swirled in a mixture that Archie found heady to simply stand near. Her emotions swept across his senses, infusing them, drowning them even, as her father watched them all with bated breath.

God damn it. Why won’t this work?

Archie focused, pressing his Skill as he had in the swamp when he’d learned to shift through algae. As he had when he’d pulled all those people to safety in Fenwald. He gritted his teeth and hurled all of his thoughts into one command: Modulate!

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Modulate," he muttered furiously to himself. "Modulate the control! I can't move through this, but I can... I can get there. Come on!"

The spear in his hands shook, flexing again as Vess’ Strength flared…before vibrating rapidly in place. Sparks shot outward from the tip of the glaive like an arc welder—right where the blade met the bars. Archie’s breath caught in his throat.

The bars deformed.

Scalebreaker Citadel spread out around him in all its glory. It was rich and expensive looking—a good deal more than Elderthrone—but it was almost austere when compared to places like Ahkestria or Hinterlord Red Shield’s palace. Its one concession to ostentation were the many elaborate mosaics depicting heroic Dragoons in what Felix assumed were important historical battles.

It was big and sweeping and a distraction. Felix put it out of his Mind, same with his worries for Pit and the Eidolons. He flared his Agility and ran, keeping the Void close as he slipped through the halls like a ghost, unseen and unheard.

Abyssal Skein is level 99!

Felix’s claws were out and ready to end any Paladin or Priest that came his way...but the further he traveled the less he saw of anyone. No servants. No messengers. None of the many moving pieces of a functional head of state.

It was as quiet as the grave.

Skein of Fate.

Despite their similar naming schemes, his stealth Skill and this one had very little in common...save perhaps the manner in which they altered Perception. Abyssal Skein faded his targets into or perhaps out of the world itself. Skein of Fate, however, drew the threads of Oaths into the visible spectrum. He could see them now, pulsating all around him, like a spider's web of incredible complexity.

Skein of Fate is level 82!

One of the Oath lines was thicker than the rest, a rope compared to thread, and the Skill told him what he already surmised: it would lead him to the Hierei.

He followed it, turning here and there as the route grew more labyrinthine than before. When the thread lead him to a wide antechamber filled with Priests, he slowed to a stop and ducked behind the wall. Stealth Skill or no, he couldn’t underestimate his enemy.

Beside him, the thread abruptly thickened, joined by silver lines reaching up from each Priest in the room, until it resembled nothing so much as a ship's mast plunging through a set of tall double doors.

I could pull them open at a distance and rush them. The Priests couldn't stop me, but then I'd have them at my back. He grimaced at the thought. He didn’t know the capabilities of Priests as well as Paladins and Inquisitors, and he’d rather not be surprised.

He leaned over again, watching the Priests mill about somewhat aimlessly. What are they supposed to be doing? Guarding the door? If so, they were bad at it. Most were chatting in small groups, and others were settled into plush chairs and reading. Their white robes were pristine and almost glowed against the polished floors and intricately carved statues. Every one of them looked young and athletic, and his Emperor's Vigilance put them all at the Adept Tier. I could—

"Autarch Felix Nevarre. Be welcome here, in this house of Order."

The voice boomed through the antechamber, ripping open the double doors and hurling the Priests' vestments into disarray. They were quick to recover, however, as all of them hurriedly formed into a double line across the antechamber. A gauntlet of fluttering white robes leading to open doors and the darkness beyond.

Felix licked his lips. Did the Hierei really sense him? Even through Abyssal Skein? Did that mean his friends were in danger? No matter the answer to any of those questions, there was only one solution.

He stepped out and dropped Abyssal Skein from himself.

Several Priests sucked in a startled breath; it was clear they hadn't spotted him previously. Felix walked forward as nonchalantly as he could. He was head and shoulders taller than the majority of them, but putting them behind his back made his skin crawl as he approached the dark rectangle beyond the antechamber.

Up close it was much less dark, as beams of slanted moonlight filled the chamber with what looked like pools of silver. Those bounced off the polished floors and onto a number of fluted columns holding a tall, vaulted ceiling replete with even more windows. Yet the columns, patterned stone flooring, and soaring windows made of colored glass and brass fittings were all secondary to the raised dais and the simple wooden chair upon it.

There was a man seated on the ducal throne.

He was bald, rounded, and nearly as wide as Beef, yet no less imposing for it. The man filled up the space with more than his physical presence, and his pristine white robes practically shone in the moonlight.

“Hierei Tal, I presume,” Felix said into the silence.

The bald man smiled and inclined his head. A bow of peers. Yet that was minor compared to what truly dominated Felix’s attention: the priest was surrounded by the most complicated knot of Oaths he’d ever seen. It was blinding, the silver so bright and twisted that it was impossible to tell where it ended or began. Felix was told a long time ago that each Oath you carry was a weight on your Spirit, and that someone could only hold so many before it affected your core space.

By Felix’s estimation, the man before him should have fallen over, his Aspects ruptured by the sheer weight of his Oaths. Yet he sat tall on the throne, his back straight and an easy smile upon his lips.

"Welcome, Felix Nevarre. I am pleased you decided to pay a visit."

"A quick one," Felix said. "I don't plan to stay for dinner."

Emperor's Vigilance!

Name: Mivun Tal, Hierei of Levantier and the Ghreldan Hills

Race: Human

Level: 1143

HP: 50631/50631

SP: 66488/66488

MP: 91224/98143

Lore: Head of the Priests of the Pathless, Mivun Tal is a devout man and a former warrior of great renown. Devoted to Order, he is one of the Hierophant's original companions and is considered her closest ally.

Strength: High Strength, high Willpower, Blessings of the Light

Weakness: More Data Required

"Oh?” Mivun laughed outright. “Bold of you, to Analyze me so blatantly. Some might consider that a challenge."

"High Grandmaster Mivun Tal," Felix said aloud. "I imagine you're used to bullying people with your Temper."

"We all have our place, Nevarre. From the lowest worm to the highest god. All that I have is due to the Light. It is Order incarnate." Mivun leaned back, revealing a thick neck beneath his round head. Tendons corded across his throat. "Chaos holds reign over this world. Order must be instilled."

"By you, of course."

"Who else but servants of Order itself?"

Felix narrowed his eyes, contemplating. If he cut the silver thread that floated near him, he could eradicate a significant portion of the Hierei's Oaths...but not all of them. He had no clue which ones were connected to the Dragoons. I have to get closer.

"Is that what this is? The zealots of the Pathless, come to inflict their beliefs on others, whether they like it or not?"

"What is life, but asserting your convictions upon the world? We are all walking our own path, are we not? It is the Light's purpose, our duty, to bring the Pathless' Tenets to the Continent. Strength, Purity, and above all—"

"Order, yeah. You said." Felix stepped forward, slowly. "I don't really care for your boss or his teachings. Far as I'm concerned, you're ghouls ripping out the hearts of normal people, just trying to live normal lives."

"Without the Pathless, the Continent would descend back into savage butchery once again." The man's smile faded. "They would turn into you."

Eat Him.

Working on it. Felix took another step, refusing to rise to the bait. "What's the point of taking over Pax'Vrell? Aren’t they already part of the Hierocracy? And don't give me that shit about rebellion.”

"Surprising. All our reports claim you to be a muscle-bound fool. Talented at battle, yet limited in the Mind. I will have to update our assessment."

"How kind of you."

"Pax'Vrell was to be punished, that much is true. But the Hierophant's designs are beyond mere mortals, for she sees the patterns behind the world." There was a fervent, almost feverish gleam in the Hierei's eyes. "To save this world, Pax'Vrell is a necessary sacrifice."

Felix took another step. They were separated by only fifty feet now, but it could have been miles. If the Priest fled before Felix could reach him... "Sacrifice?"

"Ah but you're a curious creature. Insatiable. However, I fear I do not have time to answer all of your questions." Mivun chuckled. "Oh dear, I believe I lied to you. I am not afraid at all."

From the moonlit pools emerged figures clad in sleek white armor, their forms materializing out of thin air.

Where the hell—? Felix hadn't spotted them at all. Each of them bore a bracer inscribed with glaring crimson sigils that sent small aches through his eyes. Profane Sigaldry?

The same script developed by the Archon.

"Do you think that your arrival in my Territory would go unnoticed? That you could slip into my city without reprisal?" The Hierei stood, revealing a height that rivaled Felix's own. "We are ready for you and your rebel army, Unbound. The Light has revealed all.”

Eight members of the High Guard stepped out of the moonlight, their armor now glowing with lines of golden light. A complex, multi-layered array formed across their chest and limbs before trailing off their backs like cloaks of gold.

“Your allies.” Mivun spoke slowly, as if savoring the words. “Are already dead.”

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