Unbound

"Okay, go get it!" Beef said, unable to keep the syrupy sweet tone from his voice as he threw a broken brick across the yard. The Risen Hatchling trundled after it, a tiny shape no bigger than a new kitten and just as awkward. More, considering the number of times she tripped over her own wings.

Wonder why she won't fly? They were in the courtyard of Beef's house, so there was plenty of room. The Hatchling just preferred to walk everywhere, it seemed.

Located in the fancy area of the Foot, it was a two-story dwelling half built into the cliff face and constructed entirely out of Fiendstone. He'd had it for a while, but Beef had only really made use of one room for all his stuff. He’d never had much. Now, though, he was spreading out.

He had guests.

Hallow's Risen were with them, those that had survived their recent journeys. The Paladins and Inquisitors had all been torn apart back in Pax'Vrell, but he had the Multipede and the Sharpwing Matriarch back, finally. The big insect was a bit beaten up from its long journey with the Legion, but less so than the lizard queen. Apparently, they’d run into a few dangers on the return trip, but the Claw had said that the Matriarch had thrown herself against every threat. As a result, she’d required quite a bit of Hallow's attention over the past day.

Thankfully, the magic of Hallow Rise was growing. It hadn't evolved, but it had earned a new facet. They could heal the Risen now, though it took a while, and the injuries couldn't be too terrible. They couldn't save a Risen that had been chopped into pieces, for instance, but a lost limb or two? Given a few hours, they'd reconnect it or replace it with something new. In this case, the Matriarch had her tail replaced entirely by a chitinous construct that Beef had designed. He hadn’t done a bad job of it, either. It was longer by a foot, but it was still as flexible as the old one. He’d even added a few spikes to the end, and Hallow said she could make use of those in battle.

Still, for all his Risen, they were just part of him. Beef sighed and looked around his empty courtyard. The snow had all melted and, combined with the recent rise in temperatures, it had firmed up the mud into very damp dirt. Aside from the Hatchling, the Matriarch buzzed off to his left while the Multipede curled around the courtyard like a coiled snake. Hallow was to his right, sitting proudly in her Graven Aegis form.

He was surrounded, but he hadn’t seen a single living person in hours.

After lunch and following Beef around while he played tour guide, Archie had grown increasingly antsy. They’d walked up and down the Scale, then into the Wing District, where Beef had shown him all sorts of things. A cool fountain that some metalworker had made. The Henaari arches, all carved with birds and feathers. Even his favorite park near the southern edge of the district. None of it had been enough to keep Archie interested for long, and eventually he’d left to “explore on his own.” Which was stupid. Why not explore with a friend?

As for Isla, she’d barely lasted through lunch. Claimed she had some meeting or something. With the Chanters, Beef was pretty sure, but he didn't ask. She did agree to meet up with Beef later for dinner, though.

That was nice.

Isla had become...relaxed wasn't quite the right word, but it was something approaching it. Beef had spent a long time with her—well before he even knew her as Isla—and she'd always been possessed of a sort of intense smugness. That was still there, but something else was, too. He couldn't put a finger on it, though.

She's changed. He reached down for the brick, and his hand dwarfed the thing. His whole Body was bigger, enough that fitting through doorways was becoming a pain. I've changed, too.

A sharp keening came from the ground, where his Hatchling wiggled her tiny Body around. She snapped her jaws at him, releasing small puffs of blackened-green vapor.

"She wishes you to throw it again," Hallow said.

He did. The brick went sailing through the air, but the Hatchling sprinted after in a sudden display of Agility. She leaped, tackling the brick before it hit the ground.

Where'd that come from?

The Hatchling rolled in the muck, claws sunk into the brick as she dragged it through the dirt. Her wings beat at it, and her tail lashed, curling up against the far end like a fifth limb.

"Bring it back," Beef called out.

The little monster clamped her jaws on the brick and chewed.

"That can't be good for your teeth. Stop it."

The Multipede craned its huge, centipede-like head down toward the Hatchling. The little beast hissed, spread her wings, and blew vapor outward like a tiny plume of fire.

The Multipede clacked its mandibles at the Hatchling, startling her with the sound, but she was fearless. She puffed up even more, tail stretched out, and took a lunging swipe at the giant insect.

Hallow chuckled. "She is a fighter."

"So odd that you aren't controlling her, though," Beef said.

"She is a fighter," Hallow repeated. "She fights my control. Try it yourself. You require the practice."

Beef lifted his hand. "Hallow Call.”

Necromantic Mana surged around the Hatchling's hatchet-shaped face. She looked up, locking bright green eyes with him.

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Bring the brick back to me.

She quirked her head, like a confused dog and, with a snort, broke off their connection. Beef winced, a brief but sharp pain slicing through his Mind, as the Skill failed.

"See? I've noticed this about Vess' living Hatchlings as well. Though they aren't yet true Dragons, they all contain a powerful Will."

Beef scratched his chin. The fur there had been growing longer. Not like a real beard, but...tufty. Hallow Rise was his Skill for creating new Risen, which was just a fancy term for undead puppets. They were filled with necromantic Mana, a sort of opposing force to life Mana, and obeyed the most basic of orders.

Hallow Call, the companion Skill to Rise, allowed him to summon his Risen to himself and take over direct control of them. The summoning wasn't teleportation or anything like it, though that would've been super cool. Instead, it was just a compulsion to return to his side, something he only really used when the Risen ended up too far afield in a fight.

The control part was a tricky thing. Beef wasn't very good at it, but his Companion was—her mere existence greatly amplified his capabilities with the Risen, letting them do more complicated tasks without involving Beef's direct attention.

Well. Hallow is me just...not. She was his Spirit that had been excised from the rest of his Aspects during a confusing time in his life. He still couldn’t remember the events properly, but it had been traumatic—he wasn’t sure he wanted to recall it. Felix had called her a “focal point” for his abilities. And I call her my friend.

Beef tried one more time to use Hallow Call on the Hatchling, but it fizzled out against her rock-solid Will. "Let's practice other Skills," he suggested. "I'm not really good at that one."

"Do you wish me to continue training Hallow Call myself?"

Beef smiled with relief. "Yeah, please. Oh! I've been thinking about my upgraded chitin Skill, and I have an idea. Can you have the Sharpwing sit perfectly still?"

"Of course." Hallow waved a crystalline hand, and the Sharpwing Matriarch settled onto the damp soil.

"Perfect. Just have her stretch out her limbs a little, but don't move the wings."

Hallow tilted her head at him, all four of her eyes narrowing. "Beef, what are you attempting?"

"Something awesome."

Entropic Paradigm!

There wasn't nearly as much entropic energy around them as there had been in the swamp, but there was always some. Beef could feel it like a second heat against his skin, separate from the sun's fading warmth, and it clouded around the ground like a low fog. He drew on it, pushing some of his own Mana into the working to supplement it, and shaped it carefully.

Lines of dark green material formed across the head of the Matriarch, tracing the edges of her skull and jaw before expanding. Thick plates connected to one another, growing from the framework inch by tedious inch. He went slow, trying to keep it from intersecting the Risen’s skull—that would be bad. After two minutes, though, he’d done it.

“Hah!” He cut off the Skill and stared proudly at his work. A layered helmet sat snugly atop the Sharpwing’s head.

Hallow blinked and peered closer. "Armor?"

"Pretty cool, right?"

Hallow gestured, and the Sharpwing Matriarch flew upward, turning its body this way and that as it rose, but the helmet was secure. "It is a little lopsided, but it seems well-made. How does it handle a blow?"

"I haven't really tested—"

The Matriarch dive bombed the earth and smashed head-first into the dirt.

"Whoa!" Beef half stood, reaching out toward the Risen.

"Hm," Hallow said, striding over to the Sharpwing. She reached down and righted the Risen, inspecting the helmet at the same time. "No cracks, and the Matriarch is still at full Health."

"Oh. Good." Beef swallowed. "After the fight in Pax’Vrell, I noticed the Paladin armor made those Risen last a lot longer than the Priests and Inquisitors. If I could make armor like that, and cover all of my Risen with it, we’d be unstoppable.”

“Hardly, but the idea has merit. Could you make them weapons, too?”

Beef brightened. “I could!”

"Hm, many of your Risen have...uncommon shapes to them. I foresee that being a problem."

"Maybe, but Harn said he'll teach me. And besides, that helmet isn't bad, and I've only practiced it a couple times. Here." Beef squinted and marshaled his power once again. The Multipede's nearest leg was instantly clad in a tube-like shell, connected by small pins. It was lumpy and uneven, but it looked like it'd be functional. "I can make it work. I just need to practice."

"It is a powerful way to use your Skills. I approve," Hallow said.

Beef beamed.

Off to the side, the Hatchling gave a tiny hiss.

Beef looked at her. "Hey, little one, do you want some cool armor? I'll need you to get away from that brick, though, so I can get a clear look at you."

The Hatchling clung to the gnawed masonry, glowering at him.

"Allow me," Hallow said. Her crystalline eyes glowed, and the Sharpwing Matriarch buzzed down from a ledge above. She landed next to the tiny Dragon and nudged her—in a blur, the Hatchling lunged, slashing the Sharpwing across the snout.

Hallow gave a small 'eep' and backed the Matriarch away. "She does not seem eager to give up her brick."

The Hatchling clutched to the piece of masonry like it was made of gold, even spreading her thin, batlike wings across it—as if she were protecting it from them. The Mulitpede clicked and leaned forward again, but she only hissed again like a leaky balloon.

"Stubborn. Are you sure that’s because of what she is? Or what we made her?"

Hallow sniffed. "I think it's entirely her own nature. Yintarion is quite prideful himself."

"It's like she's—wait." Beef reached into a pouch at his side, thick fingers jangling through bits and bobs he'd collected. After a moment he extracted a single golden coin, thick and slightly bulbous. "You think Dragons have an instinct to hoard things?"

He flicked the coin toward his Hatchling, and it buried itself in the soft soil. The tiny Dragon was on it in seconds, clutching at the coin with her small claws and abandoning the brick entirely.

"Greedy little thing." Beef smiled. "Let's call her Fafnir."

"Fafnir," Hallow said slowly. "Named after the Norse myth?"

"A dwarf so greedy he became a wyrm. Seems appropriate."

"Indeed. Let's not start the armor process with Fafnir, then. I'm eager to see how the Multipede looks fully encased in your chitin."

"Alright!" Beef clapped his hands, and Fafnir jumped before hissing at them both. "Let's make you all invincible!"

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