Unbound

"Pyreform, huh?" Evie asked, reading the Skill descriptions that hovered in front of her. "So you're an elemental now?"

"It's complicated," Atar said. "Suffice it to say that I am the same as ever, with an occasional radical change."

Felix looked at the Skills himself. It wasn't just one that Atar manifested, but a set of paired Skills that worked in tandem.

Pyreform Revival (Unique), Level 1!

Harness the fire and heat Mana around you, channeling it into your core space in order to transmute it into flesh and blood. Restores your living Body after the eruption of the Urge of Undying Flames. All bonuses associated with Pyreform Undying are ended, as are any Status Conditions or wounds gained in that form. Due to a custom array inscribed on your bones, the absorption of this Skill has increased by 35%. Absorption increases by a small amount per level. Speed of the process is increased per level. Pain of the process is decreased slightly per level.

Pyreform Undying (Unique), Level 1!

Unleash the Urge of Undying Flames! Erupting from your core space, the Urge burns away flesh and blood to render you a suitable Vessel for its power. A shroud of flame surrounds you, granting you incredible control over fire and heat Mana as well as immunity to those same types, as well as a minor resistance to cold and ice Mana. Control over fire and heat Mana increases slightly per level.

"This didn't combine with your Astrum Revelation, did it?" Felix asked.

"No, I still have that. Why?"

"Just curious. I suppose you could combine them and really get a boost to your control over fire Mana."

"I could." Atar grimaced. "There's a danger there, though."

“Mhm.” Felix remembered Atar's change of behavior whenever he used his Astrum Revelation. "You know, I have a Skill with astrum in the name now, too."

"Really?" Atar said. "What does it do?"

"Ah, kinda hard to describe. It's fire-based, but it’s mostly an enhancement for my shaping Skill."

"Shaping Skill?" Atar said, emphasizing the singular. "What happened to the others?"

Felix grinned.

"You combined them all? Damn Unbound."

“Hey, man.” Felix held out his hands in a helpless gesture. "Archie, Beef, and Vess all evolved Skills out there. Interesting stuff happens when you leave home."

Atar clucked his tongue. "Happens at home, too, whether you like it or not."

Felix sobered immediately. "True enough."

Vess stepped closer, looking at Atar like he was a particularly offensive bug. The mage swallowed nervously. "Can I help you, Vess?"

"I am concerned for you, Atar.”

“I'm fine, I assure you. The Skill rebuilds my body completely. It's incredible. Look!" Atar pointed to a scar along his collarbone. "I got this when I was thirteen, after someone dared me into the crystal mines. The Skill put it back exactly where it had been.

"And I feel good, too," he added, releasing the collar of his robes. "My Health is topped off, and I feel full of energy."

"Seriously?" Archie asked. "No side effects?"

"Oh, my Mana is damn near gone, but it's rallying. I'll need to conserve my spells for now, but give me another day, and I'll be back in top shape."

"I am happy you are doing so well," Vess said, a smile breaking through her concern. "Truly. To see you in such a state, well, it pained all of us. I just do not trust the Urge that is hiding inside of you."

"Trust me, then. I know how you feel. I haven’t had the best of luck with Urges in the past. However, Flame and I have come to an understanding.”

we will dominate our enemies!

“I will fight," Atar agreed, "but we are not here to burn everything to ashes.”

we will dominate all who oppose us!

Atar sighed. "Close enough.”

"Why can I hear him? And why does he sound like that?" Archie wiggled a finger in his ear.

"Like what?" Beef asked. He had a large mug of something foaming as he walked up to the edge of the antechamber. "What are we talking about?"

Archie glanced at him but kept speaking. "Sounds like someone that chews on a pack of cigarettes a day."

"Cigarettes?" Atar asked.

"Oh my god—pipe weed. Does that translate? It’s like he's eating pipe weed daily."

"Ah. Well, you can hear him because he's no longer hiding. As for his voice, that's entirely on you. He sounds nothing like that to me."

"It crackles like burning leaves for me," Vess admitted.

"Sounds like a rat in a drainpipe," Evie said.

i dislike you, tiny killer.

“Right back at cha, Ratso."

"Beef, that isn't beer, is it?" Felix asked, pointing at the teen's mug.

Belatedly, Beef put it behind his back. "Um, no? Hey!"

Harn walked from around the Minotaur, tutting and holding the oversized mug in front of him. "You might have the Body of an adult, but this ain't something you need before a mission."

The man drained it in a single long pull. "Ah, it's still ice-cold. Delicious."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Aw, Rafni gave that to me." Beef frowned. "I thought it wasn't good before a mission."

"For you." Harn tossed the mug aside. "So, what are we waiting for?"

"Now that you and Darius are here, we're waiting on the Chanters," Felix said. "You've selected the best Legionnaires to come?"

"Aye, none below Journeymen. Reed and I have trained them as much as we can. They're ready."

"I hope so." They shifted their attention to the Legionnaires filtering into the wide antechamber outside his Seat and Seal. Despite its enormous size, it was starting to fill up. Hundreds of men and women of all Races wore the blue cloak and jackets of his personal army, fronted by a smaller collection of soldiers clad in purple mantles. Dangerous as this mission promised to be, they were nearly emptying the city of its defenders, which made Felix nervous—but they had little choice. If they were to accomplish everything in the time they needed it done, they needed to move fast and strong.

"Yin?" Felix asked.

"He is spending these last moments with the Hatchlings," Vess said, glancing up at the distant, rocky ceiling.

"Will it be a problem getting him away from all the babies?"

"For the Hatchlings?" She shook her head. "No. They enjoy our attention, thrive on it, even, but do not seem to require us. They have been spending most of their time flying in your Spirit Tree's branches, hunting small game, and eating those fruits."

A spike of alarm shot through Felix's gut. "Spirit Fruits? They can handle them?" The last person to try eating a Spirit fruit raw was Pit, and it took them a while to correct that mistake.

"They can. Apparently it has to do with the density of their cores, even at such a young age in their first Evolution. They've been eating even more recently, and the Tree has started dropping the fruit for them directly."

Felix turned his attention to the roots that spread across the far end of the chamber. Good job, Atlantes.

A slow strum hit him, reverberating through his chest and teeth. It was a confusing slew of impressions, from the feel of sunlight on newly budded leaves to the growth of thick moss along sheltered roots. They weren't images so much as sensations, layered with a weird, tart emotion he couldn't name. His Master Tier Mind sorted them into something approaching sense, though it took a minute.

It was a sense of new growth and pride, like a father looking at his children, but far less sentimental.

More like a farmer growing food, Pit sent.

Don't joke.

I'm not. I don't think the Tree wants to eat them, though.

Felix huffed a breath. What a relief. Where are you?

Up with the Henaari. A’zek and the others are coming through soon.

Excellent.

"Felix? Felix, look!" Beef pointed up the stairs, where white magelight sparkled from hanging ivy, and the spiral staircase descended from the levels above. "The Chanters are here."

The Sorcerers came down the steps with a sort of regal pomp, as if they were kings and queens being led into a chamber of their lessers. That might have been projection on his part, though, as every single one of them held their Spirits tightly. For Felix, it was a throwback to when he'd been deaf to his Affinity, and it was almost nice.

If only some hadn't tried to overthrow my city while I was gone, I'd be happy not to hear their emotions.

It took a full five minutes for them to make their way to the very bottom, led by the bent form of Mauvim. He spotted others he'd come to know, such as Tzfell, Laur, and even Isla among those directly behind their leader. He’d been told they had caught all the bad seeds. He hoped they were right.

Felix looked to Zara at his side. I'm trusting you.

"We're just about ready to begin," she said to him.

Felix nodded and took a breath he hoped was subtle. Judging by the squeeze Vess gave his hand, it hadn't slipped her notice. He met her gaze and smiled.

"Speech time," he said, but stopped short at the sound of swiftly rolling drums coming from his favorite fire mage.

Panic.

"Wait," Atar said, looking around. "Where's Alister?"

Down the long, winding steps beneath them, in the prison Felix had only just become aware of, Alister stood outside Lilian's cell.

"You know, I've been working up the courage to come down here," he said, fiddling with the hilt of his rapier. Lilian had been startled to see him approach, but she hadn't yet said anything. "When I returned, Zara told me everything that had occurred. She didn't tell me you were here, though. Perhaps…she was protecting me."

His cousin simply stared at him, a veil covering her face, and the mage lights above casting her eyes into deep shadow.

"Nothing to say? Really?" Alister pressed closer to the stone lattice work that served as the bars of her cell. "Nothing in your defense, nothing to justify your attack on thousands of people? On Atar?”

“You cannot possibly understand."

Alister very nearly bit off the tip of his tongue, holding himself in check. The rage boiled in him, on the edge of a teakettle’s whistle, but he tempered it. "Understand what?"

She ripped off her veil, revealing scarred features across half her face and neck. He'd been told of her injuries, but it looked far worse in person, and the harsh lighting above made deep shadows crawl across her face.

Alister swallowed.

"When Felix let the tower fall, it cost me everything. My family. My future. My face!" She spat. "None would accept me like this. Children ran from me in the streets while they praised the man who unleashed those Revenants."

"We both lost family, Lilian," Alister shot back. "And then I thought I lost you when you tried to kill us in the square."

"Teine was the only one trying to rebuild what was lost," she said. "Then and now, had we gotten that Nest, the Guild would have been re-established. At the very least, we could have salvaged a piece of what Nevarre destroyed."

"A Domain break brought down the Eyrie," Alister snapped, his rage getting the better of him. "And Teine wouldn't have gotten the Nest because of the redcloaks. How blind are you?"

Alister was almost screaming now, his pulse racing so hard that he felt like he was standing atop a high ledge. He wanted to rip the lattice from the wall.

"Nevarre certainly benefited, didn't he? Claimed a Territory on the back of his deceptions. Teine promised action, and yes, vengeance. I wanted what I was promised!"

Alister clenched his jaw.

"You survived," he said. "I thought I'd lost everyone, Lilian. You never once found me.”

“And do what? Beg for your mercy? Lick the boots of that pretender? When we joined the Protectors Guild, we had dreams, cousin. We were going to claim seats on the council and rule Haarwatch. I gave up my inheritance for that dream, and at the first opportunity, you threw our chances away for a pretty face."

She sneered. "He's not so pretty now, is he?"

Alister's rapier was out of its sheath before the last word left her mouth. Its tip, struck through the latticed cage, a whisper from splitting her scarred neck.

Lilian's eyes widened, but her mouth twisted sourly.

“Do it."

"Lilian, no!" a voice cried out from a nearby cell.

"Quiet, oaf!" she turned her eyes back on Alister, and there was something in them that unsettled him, a light that wasn't being reflected from the magelights, but from somewhere else.

"Be the man you always claimed to be, cousin. End this!"

Silence stretched between them, and Alister heard rustling from the other cells farther in, but Dabney didn't speak again. A terrible ache settled into Alister's chest. It felt like someone had torn out his core space, leaving him hollow.

He lowered his rapier.

"The Autarch will decide your fate. I’m done with you.”

Alister turned to leave.

"What was the point of this then?" Lilian asked, her voice devoid of emotion as she spoke to his back. Alister could only feel exhaustion. Whether it was his or hers, he was uncertain. "To come and gloat that you've won yet again?"

Alister tried to muster even a shred of the rage he'd once felt, but it was as if he were clutching at sundered armor. It fell apart.

“Won?” he asked. "All I've done here is lose the last bit of family I had.”

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