Unbound-Chapter Nine Hundred And Eighty Eight – 988

"You have brought war to us!" the Elders condemned. The earth quaked as roots crushed the soil of the meadow in the Giant's Grove.

Felix held out his hand. "I have brought nothing to you that was not already on its way,"

“The Creature speaks true,” one of the other Elders said.

“Truth cannot sway us. He and his people must leave!”

“The Shadowgate cannot stand open. It is a Threat we cannot ignore.”

Felix lifted his hand, and the Elder all stilled. “Kick me out if that makes you feel better, but that’s not gonna save you when it all falls apart.”

“We will endure the Ruin. To be Lost with our people is not a curse.”

“And if the invaders get to you first? What then?” Felix glared around him, making sure to include every Elder. “When they burst in here with axes and fire, intent on destroying you in a very normal way, what will you do?”

“We will not allow it. Aeonis is inviolate. It will remain—”

“I can tear these walls down myself,” Felix growled. “The gods can do much worse.”

“The Divine remained chained to their moons.”

“I’m not so sure. Ever since Noctis fell, something has been different.” He shook his head. “I can feel them…tugging at their bindings.”

Silence met his words, which made Beef’s small intake of breath sound all the louder.

“The Divine cannot break their own chains,” the female Elder said, but her voice was far less assured than usual.

Felix’s eyes flashed as Adamant Discord flared through him. It was through that Skill that he could feel the faintest impression of the chains, far above them. Having laid his eyes on them up close only a day ago, he couldn’t mistake them for anything else. “The gods have an annoying habit of surprising me. I don’t know what’s happening up there but it’s not good.”

“Could it be the Ruin?” Hallow asked.

“Stupid comet,” Pit grumbled. “How would it do that?”

Hallow didn’t have an answer and neither did Beef. Felix would’ve been surprised if they had—what didn’t surprise him was his sister. She was sweating.

“They’re almost free?” she asked.

“No. Maybe. When the Ruin lands, I don’t know what will happen.” He squashed the concern he had for Gabby and turned back to the rent in the earth. He spoke into its crimson steam. “And neither do you. Together, we could live long enough to find out.”

Another stretch of silence spread across the Giant’s Grove, but this one was punctuated by a distant rumbling. It was like thunder rolled through the soil, far enough away that Felix could only barely feel it through his teeth. All at once, the trees swayed, and gold leaves rained down on them. The Elder spoke and it was all of them at once, their voices braided together across octaves.

“We have decided, Creature. Emperor. Unbound. We still allow you access to our Shadowgate, and the hallowed passages clinging to the edges of our Territory. As before, that is all.”

Felix inclined his head. “That will be enough. For now.”

“Run, Emperor Nevarre. Face down this Threat to your rule and vanquish it—perhaps then we can speak of what may come.”

Somehow, Felix could feel their attention shift from him. Gabby could too, because she straightened abruptly.

“We hope by then you will have proven that the Gigas…and the true Exults, should endure.” 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Fine.” Felix mounted Pit with a casual leap, and his Companion spread his mighty wings. Beef and his sister joined him with a bit more jostling. "I'll do just that."

Without further words or parting niceties, Pit took off, his Ouranic Dominion blazing as they shot through the Grove. In seconds they were back in the tunnels, wind roaring in their ears as the dark terrain flew past almost as fast as his Mind whirled through possibilities.

“We won that, right?” Beef asked. “We got the Shadowgate working, right?”

“I count it!” Pit chirruped.

"Nevermind any of that: what the hell is happening?” Gabby asked as they outpaced the Sprites. Pit’s wings beat down heavily, throwing back those that remained close. “That notification. We're at war now?”

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Hallow hummed and Beef groaned. “Again? We just ended a war!"

“What did you think ‘invasion imminent’ meant?”

Beef gave an aggressive shrug.

"Invasion doesn’t necessarily mean war,” Felix corrected. “It just means that it’s strong enough that it could be a Threat, as judged by the System and its Authority. The fact that it’s a ‘foreign Authority’ is more concerning.”

“Why?” Beef asked.

"It means the Threat is coming from the Interior," Gabby said. "Marzul spoke of it often, as did the Hierei. They were in a constant arms race to keep the Interior out of the north. For a long time, the backing of the Pathless was enough until the Hierophant built up her three Orders. But she's gone now. Which means that it's open season on us."

Pit barked, a high pitched noise of pure annoyance. "Are you kidding me? Don’t they understand that the Ruin’s coming?"

Felix’s hands tightened on the reins. "I'm not sure what people know, or whether it even matters to them. Maybe they have some way to avoid it.”

“Maybe they're just stupid," Beef said.

"I vote that one," Pit added.

“Mm.” Felix grunted before seizing his Inheritor's Will. "Karys. You saw the notification, yeah?"

"I was just about to reach out to you, my Lord. The Authority map indicates a sizable force has entered the southeastern jungles of Jaast.”

“How sizable?” Felix gestured, bringing up his maps while the sword at his side buzzed with his Chancellor’s words.

“At least six thousand have crossed the Territorial boundary. They're currently on the very edge of the southeastern border, but they are spreading. Rather erratically, I might add.”

“What’s just outside of Jaast there?” Felix pointed to the map, making it visible to everyone on Pit’s back. Where the green jungles of Jaast ended it turned beige flecked with what looked like massive rocks.

“The Shifting Sands. Unclaimed Territory left fallow after a great deal of war. It’s riddled with remnants of a thousand battles and the resultant etheric detritus such conflicts generate.”

“Unclaimed…” Felix moved his map, shifting it further south. It grew fuzzier and less detailed as he went. “Beyond them? The map doesn’t show much.”

“Knowledge has incorporated what we could from the Librarium, but few maps exist of the Interior. At least in the north. What we do know is that the empire to the southeast is known as the Khadan Imperium, a primarily Dwarven nation led by the Dead Empress.”

“Wow,” Beef said. “What a cool name.”

Pit dove beneath an archway, still flying at breakneck speed. They’d exit the tunnel shortly. Felix leaned forward. “Dead Empress?”

“A Title, and a Legendary one at that. I know little else about them, save that what they lack in resources they make up for in sheer strength. Most of the Imperium is poisoned, and only the hardiest survive. Power is what they prize above all else.”

"That's everyone on the Continent," Felix muttered.

Without warning a Geist flickered into appearance right next to them. Gabby jerked backward from the silvered flash, and Beef nearly fell off Pit’s back.

"Emperor Nevarre.” Its robes stood unruffled by the winds that tore at them. “I have information.”

“Go ahead.”

"You requested that I track Ocalla Marzul, formerly known as the Hierophant of the Hierocracy.”

“I did.”

“I have found her.”

Felix closed his eyes for a moment. "Let me guess. Southeastern edge of Jaast."

The Geist tilted its head. "If you knew, why would you ask me to look? Ah, yes, I see. The notification of an invasion. It wasn't her."

With a rush of sunlight, they burst free of the tunnel. Pit soared above the layered mountain of Aeonis, and the close-rush of constrained wind opened up into a vast roar that pressed all of them back against the Chimera’s feathers. The bright sunshine banished at least a bit of Felix's darker mood, but it couldn't help the consternation that colored his words.

"If it wasn't her, then who was it?"

The memory construct flickered, a tell tale sign that it was reaching for information. "As Karys suggested, it was the Khadan Imperium. An army of at least thirty thousand had assembled in the Shifting Sands. They also imposed a series of temporary Seals on the Unclaimed Territory and extended their power. Those two facts alone indicate that they planned to invade.”

“You’re using the past tense. Why?”

“They seem to have come into an altercation, if my readings of the etheric flux is correct. There was a swelling of power and a fraction of the Imperium’s forces splintered off, rushing across the boundary and into the jungles."

Great. Felix held back a groan through a clenched jaw. "Can you identify its origin?"

“I told you.” Knowledge tilted its head at him. Felix couldn’t help but get the impression that it thought he was dim. "Ocalla Marzul."

"And how do you know that?"

"I traced elements of her path through the jungles and backtracked once I had identified the surge of Mana."

"Light Mana, I assume."

“No. Quite the opposite.”

Felix’s skin prickled, like ice water rolled down his back. “Fuck.”

“What’s that for?” Beef asked nervously.

“The Hierophant’s alive. That’s enough reason to start swearing like a sailor.” Gabby leaned closer. “What’s she done now?”

“I’ll explain it all soon,” Felix adjusted his grip on the reins. “But I don’t want to do it twice. Pit, head to command.”

“Got it.”

“Knowledge, I appreciate the update. Keep an eye on Marzul. I need to know if she starts moving in my empire again, alright?”

“It will be done.” The Geist flickered and vanished. Pit banked, spiraling now toward the outermost district.

"So what are we doing?" Beef asked.

Before Felix could answer, Gabby spoke up. "War meeting."