Unbound

"Are you certain about this, my Lord?"

Felix glanced at Master Tier walking beside him. The man was in his forties, with a splash of gray salting his brown hair at the temples, but he was tall and broad shouldered beneath his dark brown robes and chain of office.

"Did you have somewhere better to go, Caron?"

"Er, no, sir."

Felix made sure to smile. "I know you're nervous, but this’ll work out. It is just so unlike what we've done before. When Grandmaster Umber still lived, he was dead set upon claiming the Violet's throne."

"And you didn't agree with that?"

Caron shook his head. "No. How did you know?"

Felix shrugged. "Just a feeling. The same one that makes me sure that you and your mages will be a great asset to Wellspring Keep." He gestured to the armored guards behind them. "The Umber Hulks, too.”

Since the Umber Tower contained the Shadowgate, Felix was intent on incorporating it into Wellspring Keep. He could have simply forced the issue. After all, he had lifted the Tower from its resting place and attached it to the Keep already. There was little the Umber mages could do against that, mainly because the Umber Tower had no Grandmaster—Not since the Violet Tower assassinated him. Master mage Caron had been running the day-to-day operations ever since.

The mages would also be responsible for the care of the Spirit Tree, and Felix took that very seriously. Ourea's primary attunements were to earth, shadow, and life, so Felix saw it as a natural fit. The various Grandmasters, of course, had been fussed about the appointment, but now that they had all agreed to unite as a singular entity under Wellspring Keep, their objections rang hollow.

Those negotiations had been mostly one-sided.

The rest of the Towers, while technically under the auspices of the Warden as well, were to answer to Chancellor Vilas Tern. The old Elf had fought the appointment, but he was clearly the only person for the job. Felix trusted him more than any of the other mages in town, and Tern had a reputation that commanded respect even from rival Towers.

Formally rival Towers, he corrected himself.

In the end, the negotiations had been the easy part. The managing of the day-to-day factions and tensions, however…that was Tern's problem now.

Hopefully I scared them enough to make his job easier. Eating all of their remnant Oaths right in front of their eyes had gone a long way to quelling their attitudes.

It had also boosted his Skein of Fate.

Skein of Fate is level 129!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:+300 RES

+200 REI

+200 FEL

Felix sighed, reveling in the sensation of Aspects that didn't feel explosively tense. He felt so much better and relaxed, his stats more or less under control, that even Tiering up with another Skill into Grandmaster didn't upset his internal balance.

They kept walking, Caron silent at his side, while mages and guards followed behind. They moved together through the Keep's halls, winding through the labyrinthine passages as they made their way toward the fully incorporated Umber Tower. As they went, they passed quite a few other mages. Masters and Adepts of all colors were eagerly checking out the architecture and wards inscribed into the halls all around them, while Apprentices streamed by in long lines carrying boxes and bins of personal items. It was moving day.

All of them noticed Felix as he moved through, some bowing awkwardly as he passed, while others scurried away to hide behind arches and towering columns. Felix didn't care much either way. The only thing he didn't want was people coming up and talking to him. Thankfully, Caron was great at being quiet.

It was nice, even if it wouldn't last.

As Felix approached the vault beneath the Umber Tower, a Legionnaire captain hustled up to his side. "Sir?”

"Captain Tellen. What’ve you found?"

"Sir, as you expected, the other Towers have given some resistance on acquiring their libraries."

"Which ones in particular?"

"Carmine and Aquamarine, mostly, but Cadmium and Verdant have proven reluctant to allow us into their archives as well."

Felix wasn't surprised. He expected pushback when it came to their long-held secrets, but knowledge was something that all of them needed. "I'll make sure to have the Chancellor speak with them. Caron. Can I rely on you to provide backup to the Chancellor, if need be?"

The master mage saluted. "Of course, sir."

"Good. Once that's done, Captain Tellen, you need to make sure that the Legionnaires focus on getting the mages to process the books through the Beacon. It will take a while."

"Of course, sir. Are we looking for anything in particular?"

"Any mention of Cardinal Beasts, Primordials, or the gods. That is the focus. If you find anything with that, coordinate with the head librarian at Elderthrone. She's in the Beacon now."

"In the Beacon, sir?"

"You'll understand when you pass through it."

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Ever since Felix had added the last update to his Librarium, he’d received the ability to generate a liminal space of his own. A library within his Primary Beacons, accessible by every Territory and containing copies of every book that passed through it. The Librarium was utterly cool, but other than visiting once, Felix hadn’t found the time to really explore it. However, it was where they were gathering all the knowledge they could. Felix hoped that, aside from hunting down answers to his questions, that it would be a balm…in case the Ruin won.

Felix shook himself as visions of dark skies and bleak flames poured across a phantom landscape. He banished the memory, locking it behind the doors of his Void Sanctuary. He didn't have time to delve into that again. Not now.

With sharp salutes, Caron and his Umber mages left with Captain Tellen. They were all eager to be about their business, and so was Felix.

He stepped into the vault.

The portal in the basement of the Umber Tower was quite secure, seeing that it was formerly a treasure vault for the mages that lived there. Now that it had been incorporated into the Wellspring Keep, the Ourea's roots had wrapped nearly every inch of the vault in dark obsidian tendrils. Emerald leaves sprouted all over, trailing down structures and shelving like ivy the size of dinner plates.

Darius and a contingent of Legionnaires were busy within, most busily moving various items in the storage away while they cleared up a staging ground before the Shadowgate. Now that the shelving was mostly down, the space could easily hold a half battalion as it moved in or out of the Shadowgate on assignment, exactly what they would need in the coming days.

Felix frowned. He had spent too much time resolving his issues in Levantier, and he itched to reunite with his friends. Thankfully, everything was nearly wrapped up—there was only one task left.

He approached the Shadowgate, feeling at the carved edges of the massive circular portal. Power thrummed through its structure, a tangible vibration that almost stung Felix’s fingertips. That same quaking transmitted through the darkness that gathered deep in the construct’s hollow, like a rippling sheet of pure shadow. It was a stark contrast to the gate itself, which was a work of art made to resemble the landscape around Elderthrone.

Everything looks good. I—Felix paused, hand hovering just over the yawning darkness. A quiver ran through his Spirit. What the hell?

Dread poured into his heart, so thick and cold. Icy claws gripping his lungs, squeezing at his chest from below…where the spinning accretion disc surrounded a dark abyss. Hunger…or the Beast—one of them resonated with something beyond the Shadowgate.

There was only one thing that might resonate so well within himself.

Whalemaw.

Was he ready to face it yet?

For some reason, despite having two gods under his belt, that felt a touch too far. Was it fear? Felix checked his own Spirit, and yes, there was fear in there. But far more concerning was the amount of eager bloodlust that was knocking at the gates of his heart.

The idea that the Whalemaw could be within his reach, a source of Primordial power that would easily dwarf the Tenebrous Aeon. What could he accomplish with that power? What could he become? Felix swallowed again, unwilling to follow that line of thought.

I was barely able to defeat the Tenebrous Aeon, and that was only at the start for Paragon Tier. What chance would I have against the Whalemaw? Felix had an advantage against the gods, but Primordials weren't Divine. His Call of Defiance title didn't work against those less than Divine advancement, which put him on a back foot, as it had with the Tenebrous Aeon.

He wasn't ready for the Whalemaw.

Would he ever be?

Felix shoved the doubts away. He would be, eventually. He had to. For now, though, he needed to return home.

So first I need to reinforce the way. I have the Crown, and the Pool of Halcyon Oaths, and Atlantes—Felix hesitated, looking to the obsidian roots that clung to the walls. Could that work?

Ourea, do you wanna help? He mustered up his recall for the same process he'd undergone with Atlantes, and held it out to the Spirit Tree. This is what I’m asking.

The mental communication passed through into the roots, and all around him, the tendrils of the Spirit Tree creaked alarmingly, wiggling as if in a breeze that was not there. A sensation of swiftly blossoming flowers filled his Mind, while a new type of eagerness brushed against his Spirit.

I take it that means yes.

More blossoms, this time reaching out toward the sun.

"I'm sorry to say that we'll be reaching through the dark before we see the sunlight." Felix put a hand on an obsidian branch. "It will hurt."

That eagerness did not abate by a single iota.

Felix smiled, "Then let's begin.”

Authority Recognized!

Elder Spirit Tree Acknowledged!

Do You Wish To Bind The Ourea Anima To Your Heart Of Darkness?

WARNING!

This Binding Is Irrevokable.

All Choices Have Consequences.

Y/N

Yes.

The notification vanished with the sound of screeching violins and shattering stone, while in the vast distance, cymbals rolled like thunder. Felix gritted his teeth and needles tore at his skin, pressing into muscle and bone before an arctic chill clung to his marrow. Sharp pain bypassed every resistance he had, and as before, Felix welcomed the agony. It drilled through the center of him as the Shadowgate pulsed.

A high pitched creaking came from all around him, alarming Darius and his men almost as much as the black vapor that poured off of every root.

“Felix!” Darius bellowed. “What are you doing?”

He ignored them all. Instead, Felix’s attention was consumed by the dire sensation of stretching, as if a piece of himself was pressing down deeper through unyielding stone. It broke—him or the stone, Felix was unsure—and his awareness was shaken.

He was not the only one.

Smoking, obsidian roots leaped from the walls, growing fast across the vault before latching onto the edges of his Shadowgate. Black lines on darkness, they grew past the textured gate and into the vast beyond.

There was a sensation across Felix's Mind, Body, and Spirit that felt like compaction. Roots delved into the Shadowgate, into him, like deep, dark soil. They spread through the liminal tunnel that was the Shadowgate, pouring power through root and connection like hands reaching across a vast distance.

A flash of light caught Felix's Mind.

Opalescent, it mingled with obsidian like fingers intertwining, that dark soil pressed tight, bound fast by innumerable roots from both sides. A flower bloomed, dew collected on its petals. A soft breeze sent its fragrance wafting through verdant halls.

Atlantes. She wants to help.

Affirmation filled him like water through parched stalks.

The Atlantes Anima Accepts!

The Ourea Anima Is Now Bound To Your Heart Of Darkness!

The Atlantes Anima Is Empowered!

Your Heart Of Darkness Has Been Reinforced By The Green Wilds!

The Song Resonates!

The Way Is Held Firm!

I…think that means we succeeded.

The pain vanished, and Felix found himself on his knees before the Shadowgate. That was a little bit concerning. He had no recollection of ever falling. He stood and found the Shadowgate…changed. It was still a work of art carved from many precious stones and covered in sigildry, but now it was wrapped up in obsidian roots that bound it to the walls and floor. They melded with the stone so well that even to Felix's eye, it looked like the Shadowgate had been hewn from the Tree itself.

"Thank you," he murmured to the Tree. He reached out and patted one of its obsidian roots, and a sensation of warm sunlight rolled across his face. "Yeah, you did good."

"That was quite the show," Darius said from behind him. His voice had an edge that matched the sword propped on his shoulder. "What in damnation did you do?"

Felix turned away from the dark gate and smiled. "I cleared the way home. Gather everyone up. We're leaving."