Unbound

Felix stood inside the old Shrine once again, this time with Vess’ father, Roland, at his side.

They stood at the center of the ancient Seal while just outside, servants were busy gathering food and water into sizable piles in the ruined study. There was little else they needed. The trip would hopefully be just a short one. The others were off settling their various situations and packing up their meager belongings.

Felix had expanded the whitelist for crossing the Seal, but not by much. If the Seal had automatic defenses activated, he had to assume it was for a reason, so he only allowed the people that needed to cross over into the Shadowgate and a few of the servants and Drakengard. They were there too, lingering just outside the once-hidden doorway into the Shrine, wearing armor ornamented with silver and sapphire. They bore spears, just like the Dragoons, though they were considered a lesser order by many and unable to learn the same Skills as “real” Dragoons.

Politics, he scoffed.

His friends would soon be there as well, but for now Felix was busy showing his new Chancellor the upgraded features of his Territory.

“So all of this was here? This entire time?” Roland asked.

“Yeah. The ancient Seals give real Authority compared to what the Hierophant’s been feeding everyone, and each Territory has some unique options.”

“Like the Janus Hydras.”

“Exactly like that, yeah.”

"They do." Felix called up a portion of the Seal, which rose from the ground and into a display. The city unfolded in lines of silver and gold like a wireframe model. "There's a sort of resting bay for each one of them, nested between the gaps in sigaldry that are evenly spaced throughout the wall. The fifty I activated during the battle were only half of what the city had…but the others were too damaged.”

“Those blips, they're the Dragon cores?"

"Yep. From what Yin tells me, Dragons would will their cores to the order when they died.”

“And the cores power the Hydras as well as the city defenses?”

“They do.”

Roland was tall and dark of hair, clean-shaven and square-jawed. Felix could see a bit of Vess in him, especially in the way his dark eyes considered the Seal's display. "Do their Wills remain?" he asked.

Felix recalled the sunshine-yellow Dragon spirit that had raged from the hydra he and Pit had defeated. "I'd say so, yeah.”

“And they still fight on our side." Roland clenched his fists and his square jaw went taut. "That should be proof enough for the Marshal that my daughter speaks the truth.”

“Will it be, though?"

"No," Roland sighed. "The man and the order itself are too set in their ways. We will need more to shake them up. It is good that you're taking the Hatchlings away from this place. I fear I would not be able to keep them safe.”

“Pax’Vrell has too many things to worry about to tend to a hundred newborns they don't much like. For instance," Felix gestured and the display expanded, turning into a three-dimensional model of the territory. "You need to arrange for the retaking of the Dragoon fortresses. Then you can expand your defensive net across the Territory. I'd suggest those to the west should be your primary concern. Amaranth," Felix trailed off, thinking on what he had to accomplish. "It's going to get rough in that general direction pretty soon.”

“Where do you go from here?"

"Home, to Elderthrone. Then we'll have some tasks to handle and little time to do so." Felix closed the map, letting the sigaldry sink back into the floor. "It’ll be a challenge, but we're up for it.” “And Vessilia will be accompanying you?"

Felix met the man's gaze. "If she wishes to, yeah.”

“What are your intentions with my daughter?"

Felix blinked. That’s a gear shift. "Uh, what do you mean?"

Roland folded his arms across his chest, and his gaze got sterner somehow. "Do you plan to marry, or is this a dalliance for you?"

"Oh, uh, marriage is kinda... we just started seeing each other a month ago—”

Roland held up a hand. “I understand that you are not from our lands and do not abide by our customs. Perhaps I overstepped myself, but I would not rest easy if you left my city without knowing your heart.”

“Listen, Roland, I don't have a plan here, and it's still evolving, but I like this. Full stop. And she likes me. We're just looking to see where that goes."

The man matched Felix's gaze for several long, silent seconds before he dropped his arms. "I've long been taught the Unbound were horrors from beyond the stars, but you have not only saved my people, but my daughter as well–countless times by her own reckoning. The path you walk is not one of safety, I know this. Once upon a time, I followed my wife despite the violence before her, and I do not think less of you for that." He licked his lips. "But I ask you to consider Vessilia. And me. I need her to come back to us. Can you promise me this?"

"I... I can't promise anything. What we're up against... it's not something that respects things like that.”

“I am not asking what the Hierophant, or the gods, or even what the burning Ruin itself will do. What will you do, Felix Navarre, when my daughter is in danger?"

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Felix frowned. "I'll trust her to save herself.”

“And if she cannot?”

“Then I'll be there."

Roland's gaze lingered on Felix's, and a bevy of emotions surged across his Spirit. Anxiety, fear, anger, and a deep, cutting sorrow. "I hope that is true, Autarch."

Their team gathered at the Seal, all of them eager to activate the Shadowgate and depart. For her part, Evie was more than ready to leave, despite all the great food. She had never really liked staying in one place too long, and her stint in Haarwatch had soured her on overstaying her welcome.

Now, she was ready. She’d polished her armor and was wearing a heavy travel pack laden with gear that Harn had forced her to pack.

Not like we'll need it.We're running through the Shadowgate and back to Elderthrone, where all my stuff is anyway.

She adjusted the pack to make it sit better on her shiny red-silver armor. Vess was nearby, clad in her own arcanite plate, though the Dragon helm was hanging from a hook at her waist. Yintarion was beside her, murmuring something to the Hatchlings as he floated above their writhing mass. They, meanwhile, curiously inspected just about everything.

"This place is starting to feel pretty full," Evie said, eyeing the Hatchlings and Yintarion, not to mention Beef and his crystal armor and the four Eidolons. Harn, Archie, and the Chanters were stuffed in there too, somewhere. A couple colorful Hatchlings flew over her head, forcing her to duck.

"Is the Shadowgate running yet? I'd rather jump into the Void than deal with all this."

"Come now, they're just excited." Vess had a little crimson Hatchling on her shoulder and a bright green one in her hand. They were small, like tiny kittens mixed with snakes, and their eyes were huge in their small, wedge-shaped faces.

"They're cute in a slimy kind of way," Evie said, poking her gauntleted finger at the green Hatchling. It rammed its head at her, clinking solidly off the metal. "Stupid, though. Didn't that hurt?"

"Hush, Evie. They are precious."

"I suppose." The little green snake curled up against her finger, trying to crush her with its body. "Aren't you just a little murder worm?" It hissed at her.

"I apologize, Lord Pit, but the king's inquiries have slowed down our efforts. We are bringing in the royal servants to aid us, however, and should have the rest of the libraries in the Citadel cataloged in the next thirty glasses."

"I suppose that's good enough," Pit said with a sigh. "Get it done."

"Of course, my Lord."

As the robed librarian scurried off, Evie laughed, still holding the green Hatchling in her hand. "Lord, huh? When'd you get so fancy?"

Pit opened his mouth in a doggy grin, tongue lolling to the side. "It's great, right?"

"Seems like a pain. All that bowin’ and scrapin’ would get in the way."

"Lord Pit, your meat cart is here," said a liveried servant with a bow.

"Oh, awesome. Yeah, pull it in here." A trio of servants pulled a sizable cart filled with freshly butchered slabs of monster meat into the former shrine, topped by what smelled like dozens of perfectly cooked haunches, loins, and ribs dripping with sizzling juices.

"I mean, I suppose I can see the benefits," Evie amended.

"Yeah, I can just ask for whatever. I've never eaten so well as here." Pit pulled off one of the haunches with his teeth, lifting a massive piece of meat that was easily twenty times his size. He dropped it to the ground with a dull thud and started eating. "Want some? Most of it’s for the little ones though."

Evie curled her lip. "I'll pass."

"Thank you all," Vess said, moving smoothly up to the servants by the cart with a practiced smile. "I do appreciate you getting this done on such short notice."

"It was no trouble at all, my Lady. It is our honor to serve."

Evie forgot sometimes that Vess had lived in Pax Varel her entire life. Night, she had grown up in these very halls. She probably even knew all the servants by name.

"...please say hello to your father for me. He was always kind when I was younger."

"We will, my Lady. We will."

"Show off."

Vess ripped open several of the packages, revealing bloody meat that varied from bright orange to a deep green. "Come, little ones, food is here."

A flood of colorful snakes scurried across the Seal, each one swimming through the air in a violent rush. The green baby in Evie's hand gave her one last chomp before taking off as well, landing in a flash on the nearest open patch of meat. None of it lasted long. In what felt like moments, the Hatchlings devoured the cart's contents down to the bones and paper wrappings.

"Hey, that's mine," Pit complained as a half-dozen gem-colored babies latched onto the grisly remains of his lunch. With tiny, ferocious growls, they tugged it away from him.

Yintarion landed among them, shooing them away. "Listen, younglings." The babies just came back, latching back onto Pit's food. "Leave it alone,” he demanded imperiously.

The Hatchlings only attacked it with greater ferocity, several hissing at the big Drake.

Evie winced as light flashed across the room. Pit the puppy vanished, and in his place was an immense beast of fur and feather, with four wings that barely fit inside the walls as he spread them outward. "Enough!” Pit screeched. “SETTLE DOWN!"

The Hatchlings froze all at once, staring upward at the Storm Tyrant before lowering their serpentine bodies to the ground. Pit looked at what was left of his meal and sighed. "Have the rest, then."

The nearest Hatchling screeched and fell on the bone, devouring it all. Yin bared his teeth at Pit and his mustache tendrils wriggled in the air. "They like you."

Pit tilted his head to the side. "What's not to like?"

"All right, it's time to go," Felix said from across the chamber. People shuffled, moving about as servants left the Seal to stand back in the study. Everyone else formed a somewhat orderly line leading toward the Shadowgate. More supply carts were hitched up, this time affixed to Pit's harness. Beef took another, hauling it behind himself with ease. Water and food were piled in them. Anything else they had already transferred to the beacon and into Elderthrone's storage facility.

"Vessilia, my darling.”

Evie turned to find the tall and admittedly handsome Chancellor Roland. Vess came up to him and gave him a tight hug, and he gripped her just as hard, just as fiercely.

"You be safe,” he said, holding her at arm’s length. “Promise me.”

"I will, Papa. I will.'' They broke apart, and Roland met Evie's eyes.

"Ah, Evie Aren, is it not?”

She waved awkwardly. The former duke took her hand and bowed over it. "We haven't had many chances to speak, but I would like to thank you. My Vessilia says you have been a great friend to her.”

Evie didn't quite know how to respond, so she settled with her default. “It's no big deal.”

“To me, it is.” Rowland bowed again. “Thank you, and safe travels.” He straightened and backed up, until he stood just outside the Seal again, just ahead of some of the more regal-looking servants and those stuffy Drakengard.

Evie hummed to herself. "I ain't had much experience with ‘em, but that seems like a good dad.”

"The best,” Vess agreed. Ahead, the Shadowgate rippled and roared as Felix activated it. "Are you ready?”

“Born ready.”

They entered the dark together.

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