A Choice of Import
A Choice of Import

After a long slumber, the Apocryphal Curse arises in glory once more! What shall be its fated challenge for our unworthy hero!?

You're here to cause interesting times and chew bubblegum, and after several embarrassingly long failures misadventures you are finally out of bubblegum. Choose two with weakened impact (20% additional effective mitigation for the first, and 10% for the second, how disappointing!), or one as-written. Be careful not to spread your power among too many sources and dilute the IMPACT of your glorious, terror-resounding return!

[ ] Two - Feint with the jab, then catch 'em with the right hook!
[ ] One - You've got some power stored up, despite that buzzkill of a Nullity Sorceress. Land a real haymaker.

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[ ] Wait and Hope - The Apocryphal Curse shall merely bide its time, waiting and hoping for a perfect opportunity to introduce delicious complication! A perfectly cute and prudent decision. Patience is a virtue for a reason, you know! Fighting, Apocryphal~ !

*Dramatically increases the power of the next Apocryphal Curse-induced Event!
*Biding your time results in extra power, but an anticlimactic return, how boring...
*Let the Hero stew in fear of your dreadful contingencies, mwa ha ha!
*The Hero has advanced beyond many of the simpler challenges you can muster right now. Best to strike during a better opportunity! Delightful pandemonium may only be a star in your eye, but properly nurtured it can spawn unending havoc.
*That said, the ones below still present some opportunities of not-insignificant promise!

[ ] Republic Kill-Joys - The Elixir Sovereignty attracts all manner of wandering adventurer and aspirant petitioner seeking relief and regeneration at its famously potent healing springs. Among them, this Republic Kill-Team, armed to the teeth with devastating battle-augs and equipped with top-of-the-line Republic military Armor Prototypes! Embrace the power of L.U.L. and show these imperial bootlickers traitors that only the Free(tm) know truly how to party!

*Itchy trigger finger. Wouldn't the Sovereignty love to get their hands on the equipment these boys & girls are packing?
*Thus, righteous paranoia and relaxation are the order of the day! And there's that mage they're trying to smuggle out...
*Add a Tyrannical hero with no inclination to obey Republic authority into the mix and ka-blam! A sure-fire recipe!
*It'll be interesting to see how they fare against the Surges of the itinerant band, even more so when the high schoolers join the fray!
*A marvelous free-for-all of rollicking Free(tm)-spirited destruction!
*Our hero might be able to claim one of those top-grade Armor Prototypes with the help of his Sorceress friend! Artifice, how gross!!

[ ] Prestige Classing - Looks like poor Bearic has fallen behind! Still two weeks 'till he hits level cap and our hero is almost stronger than even that! Well, that simply won't do, looks like our friend Bearic needs an extra leg up. Something to really fire up his mettle and make him an opponent worthy of our dastardly Ring-Lord! You call it cheating, he calls it haxx; bust out your best Santa cosplay, 'cause Christmas is comin' early and Apocryphal Claus is going to be very, very nice to one particularly undeserving gamer. Cheer up Ber, your System may not be up to the task, but you've a far greater friend in your corner and she's coming through in the clutch! Avenge Seralize and all the others, and take back the title of Blue Swordsman from that one-eyed brooding hack!

*Conservation of antagonists, an important skill to learn for any budding Curse!
*Wouldn't you like to see Ber reach massively exceed his full potential? No matter who's defeated, the winner's going to get an absolute truckload of Experience...
*He still won't attack until he hits level cap. What a fruitfully assiduous boy! Could take a bit.
*Oooh, we just can't wait to see his disgustingly overpowered new capabilities brought to light! Make it a showdown worthy of the ages!
*With how fast 'Lord Hunger' grows, it might be possible for him to still outscale Ber after all this, if he steers his build optimally...
*Pfhaha. Like that's going to happen.

[ ] Keepin' it Simple - Yyyuup, we're just going to dump the perfect buffing-type Surgecrafter into the Rotbeast's clutches and have it roll on out! With its Rank and general parameters substantially increased, its mountain-range sized bulk will finally achieve full mobility and rain destruction as a walking charnel tide upon the poor Sovereignty! Let's show this Hero who's boss (hint: it's not him!!).

*KAIJU. GUD.
*Another boring Kaiju event... surely you can do better than this, Apocryphal... ! But even if you can't, we all still love you!
*Work down that ablative population, baby!
*This'll totally screw up his Rank-gaining ways...
*...As long as he doesn't save them.
*But if he does, maybe you can spin him as an enemy of the Empire!
*You're a genius! There's no way to lose.
*Will probably offer him a lot of "picks" if he does win. Like, three or four. Yuck.

[ ] Lucent Thorn - The deadly A-class blade which hunts Ring and wielder alike has set its eyes on Miss Gisena Allria, wielder of the Azure! Lest the horrors of unbound Artifice be loosed upon the universe again, Justice Blade Lucent Thorn is here to punish you in the name of the True Moonlight! Will the evil Sorceress-Queen Gisena finally be felled? Or will her contract with the devastating handsome and also evil Ring-Lord Hunger allow her to cling to unseemly life!? Find out next time in several dozen more episodes!

*Lucent Thorn has its own agenda and sees fit to chart its own course, defying recommendations despite your nigh-omniscience and sound judgement! Hmph!!
*It's also slow af. Gotta work its way from wielder to wielder alllllll the way across the Voyaging Realm...
*But once this good boy finds a Fairbright worthy champion, ohhh boy. You won't be ready. The world won't be ready. And Hunger's body certainly won't be ready! Unless he works on the Praxis a lot...
*Strength matters not! The nigh-limitless power of Hope, Love, and Determination shall strike down the cruel Rings, implements of naked Power made manifest, right where they stand! This time, a two-for-one special...
*In Realm Voyaging, 5-pick fight runs at you! Let's hope our hero doesn't just outpace this one, though it can tangle in the Human Sphere if it has to!

[ ] Ring War - That's a nice Ring you got there. Would be a shame if someone... ruled it.

*Have Asterios experience a truly massive and unjustifiable breakthrough, starting the contest of Primacy!
*Our Hero must war, lest he bow to the new king among Rings!
*Force him into the Human Sphere where all manner of complication awaits!!
*Especially the thing with Letrizia's - oops, can't think about that.
*Requires [ ] One. There can only be one Ruling Ring.

And that's a wrap! Remember, your goal isn't to kill him directly, though a tragic (or unexpected!) death is quite fine. But rather it's to make him say, your most favorite and dearly-desired phrase, Fuck these so-called interesting times!

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EFB - Blurb Previews
Here are some parts of the blurbs (Curses and Remittances) that would have been offered to the Nameless Prince in Even Further Beyond! The full uncut version is available for subscribers of Foremost+ tier on the patreon!

[ ] Geas of the Sanctum - Within a fairly brief window from acquiring this Curse (exact time depends on your capabilities; for an average human, thirty minutes), you must claim a volume of space no larger than 15 feet to a side as your Sanctum. You must be able to credibly defend this claim, whether by means legal or physical. Failure to claim your Sanctum will transform this Geas into the Apocryphal Curse. You may spend no more than 1% of your time outside your Sanctum.

All forms of power projected beyond the Sanctum, including divinations, ranged attacks, and even the deployment of your physical body, decay increasingly with distance from the Sanctum, from a minimum of 10% for the immediate vicinity up to total depletion when halfway across the world. On a world as large as this playground of the Fates, you may travel up to 1000 miles from your Sanctum with only...

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[ ] A Mirror Brightly - Power compounds itself.

You receive power slightly below that of an average beginner Combat-type Cursebearer, in the form most suited to the realm you currently inhabit. In this world you would become a Cultivator at the higher third of the Grand Solipsist class. This power is considered separate from your own selfhood, allowing you to pursue Cultivation of a separate Dao on your own, and preventing your Remittance-granted Dao from unduly influencing your decisions. However, it also compounds perfectly with your own cultivation; attaining two Ego Barrier stages might grant an Ego Barrier geometrically more powerful than the sum of its parts, while the favorable interactions inherent to wielding two Daos need not be explicated.

Choose your Mirror Dao. This Dao has considerably less influence on your psychology than that of an ordinary Cultivator's, rising to no more than a moderate impetus:

-[ ] Dao of the Cursebearer - Your Dao is that of a loyal vassal to the Accursed, who advances his lord's agenda while also setting aside a healthy amount of time to tend to his own interests and quality of life. You possess a suite of Reality Effects appropriate to your Curses; for example, the Geas of the Sanctum would empower you within its bounds, allowing you to subtly but powerfully influence spirit, matter, and energy within, while the Curse of Hubris would...

The more you mitigate your Curses, the mightier your Reality Effects will become, as if stealing their very power to augment your essence!
 
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now

The hour is dire.

Aeira reports that the Rotbeast has awakened and begun to move onto Sovereignty territory at a terrifying pace. While Hunger & Co. are reasonably within range to intercept, time will be tight, especially if they want to deal with Mizuku's situation as well. What is Hunger's plan? The Rotbeast is currently advancing directly upon the Elixir Springs and will reach population centers within a few hours. The tide of Rotspawn has already begun to pour over existing defense lines.

[ ] Full Court Press - The Rotbeast must be the priority here. The damage Mizuku can do alone as a moderately-giant abomination of immense speed is nothing compared to the casual country-leveling might of the Rotbeast and its innumerable legions. Straightforwardly deploy the full party directly to the front lines against the Rotbeast. Verschlengorge has been healed to Rank 6.9 and can provide an adequate anchor against its aggressions, while Hunger goes for the throat.

*Doesn't expend any further resources
*Guaranteed to save many lives in the Sovereignty
*The Apocryphal-boosted but 10 + 20% mitigated Rotbeast is only a three-pick fight with a ~1% chance of death, now that your liver is mostly healed. Pretty good for an Apocryphal proc.
*Mizuku will be allowed to scale unbounded with countless Rotspawn to feed on, massively accelerating his rate of growth. There is an effort by the Sovereignty to bait him into the Rotbeast's path but you doubt it'll work.
*Mizuku could end up being a three- to four-pick encounter, but the scope of damage he can inflict is considerably smaller than that of the Rotbeast.

[ ] Do it All - Acquire Refinement of Quickness or Place via pick debt, then speed over to Mizuku. Convert him, talk him down or slay him, whatever is needed to neutralize the threat. If forced to slay him you will be refunded 1 Arete. Use the picks from Mizuku (and possibly the Armor itself, though Hunger doesn't know of it yet) to power up against the Rotbeast, then move swiftly to end the Rotbeast as well. The rest of the party will attempt to hold the line against Rotbeast & spawn, as with Full Court Press.

*Quickness is recommended as it's more useful for this specific situation, offering great improvements in Hunger's individual travel time as well as combat capability.
*If successful, neutralizes the major immediate threats in your vicinity.
+/- Forces you to spend your Praxis picks now
*Gisena may have to expend her Ultimate, or Letrizia use one of Verschlengorge's more unsavory attacks, to defend the greater portion of the Sovereignty from swarms of Rotspawn. Especially in the case of the latter, collateral damage may be severe.

[ ] Needs Must - Exhaust yourself to burst heal Versch to Rank 7.395, vastly increasing his parameters and strategic-scale unique attacks. This is literally what he was made for, but you won't exactly be covering yourself in glory. It's time the Rotbeast picked on something closer to its own size. You will be Exhausted for a while.

*Guarantees victory against the Rotbeast at the cost of moderate collateral damage to the Sovereignty's outlying provinces. Hunger and Aeira will do their best to organize the high schoolers to evacuate civilians but it's unlikely he can get them all even with his speed.
*Gisena will need to be with Versch to close Astral portals during this critical combat window.
*You won't gain any Rank from this fight, but there is no chance of death for Hunger personally.
*Mizuku will likely be crippled or die if he's in the AoE of Versch's unique attack. Otherwise he'll rampage unchecked as per Full Court Press, but Versch can always deal with him later. It's nice to have an Armament.
*For doing the prudent thing, gain +1 Arete and +1 pick to your next spending point. The benefits of a Rank 7.395 Armament well outweigh the other gains you could acquire from this fight, at least in terms of overall power to your party. Letrizia will also get a chance to shine, and you'll get to see a cool cutscene!
*Collateral damage inflicted via Versch's attacks can be psychologically distressing to those who witness it and survive.

[ ] Reverse Allotment - Hunger will rush to kill the Rotbeast while Letrizia, Versch, Gisena and Aeira move to deal with Mizuku. They'll do their best to reason with him or disable him nonlethally, but it's quite likely Versch will simply have to eat the Armor and its unfortunate occupant. Should that occur you'll be refunded one Arete.

*Maximizes Rank gains against the Rotbeast. The Reckoner returns for a solo performance.
*Comes the king in direst hour. Discounts [Once and Future] by 1 Arete.
*Fighting the Rotbeast and all intervening Rotspawn without Versch's help is a bit more troublesome. Chance of death >2.5% unless you purchase Artful Thorn, Refinement of Place or Refinement of Quickness.

Do you wish to bring Stenallon with you? He can accelerate your travel through the Voyaging Realm with his Rank and offer material aid with his city-shaking strength, but he's mentally unstable and his temporary absence could endanger the much more populous Temple civ. What if Apocryphal procs again and hits them with something while their mightiest guardian is absent? Sten's aid will reduce Sovereignty casualties by at least an order of magnitude with most plans, but is that worth the risk?

[ ] Bring Sten - Stenallon will travel with you to provide aid. He can't use his Soul Evocation anymore, but he has plenty of Rank and Might to put up a fight against even the mightiest Rotspawn. You may also write-in for him to deal with Mizuku himself, which will kill Mizuku but handle the problem.

[ ] Leave Sten - No need to open up another front for the Apocryphal Curse to threaten. Leave the Temple resolved as it should be, you don't want them to perish after all the effort you went through to save them.

Through your diligent advancements, the Apocryphal isn't able to generate direct events with more than a low-single digit chance of death for Hunger, even when he uses the most reckless plans in response! Good job, but don't expect this state of affairs to remain forever, unless Hunger maintains this punishing pace of growth.

Do you wish to acquire any Praxis techniques?

[ ] Save
- Recommended with Needs Must. Allows you to continue your Praxis greed.

[ ] Artful Thorn - Of obvious utility against a mountain-range sized enemy. Accelerates rate at which Rotbeast is felled if Hunger is fighting it directly. Also useful against Mizuku, carving away strategically relevant components of his Armor! Maybe using Praxis technique directly on it will awaken something.

[ ] Refinement of Quickness - Mandatory with Do It All unless Refinement of Place is taken. Massively increases Hunger's burst potential and evasiveness in combat, but only for a few decisive moments each fight.

[ ] Refinement of Place - Mandatory with Do It All unless Refinement of Quickness is taken. Massively increases Hunger's mobility and battlefield control, but only for a few moments each fight. Not as directly powerful as Refinement of Quickness.
 
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Eidolon of the Grand Travail
Eidolon of the Grand Travail

At last Hunger had finished augmenting those members of Temple society which Stenallon, overseen by Gisena's perceptive judgement, had deemed most suitable for the 'Ring-Lord's' plan.

When not training the Praxis, Hunger had also invested a considerable amount of power into healing Verschlengorge, restoring it via the Ring of Blood to some faint semblance of its former majesty. Now the Elder Implement glowered before him with a soul-deep thrum, menace so palpable he could feel it against his bones, the looming shadow of predation before which all things living scurried and fled.

As they prepared to set out from the Temple of the False Moon, Aeira received a communication from the Sovereignty. The news was dire: the Rotbeast had awakened in a monstrous surge of power, emerged from its lair and was steadily picking up speed as it advanced directly upon the Elixir Springs.

In addition, Mizuku Seiran, one of the Sovereignty's strongest Elementalists had gone missing, believed to have been neurally hijacked by a Foremost Armor-Prototype he'd discovered while exploring. The resulting abomination had begun a devastating rampage in the provinces adjacent to the Sovereignty, and was projected to reach outlying population centers within hours.

This could be a coincidence, but was most likely the Apocryphal Curse. Hunger sighed.

There was no way he could allow the Rotbeast to annihilate the Sovereignty, but this matter of the Foremost Armor was extremely urgent as well. These two dangers would only compound if left to feed off one another; whichever emerged victorious, the Sovereignty would most assuredly lose. Loathe as he was to divide their forces, it seemed they had little alternative.

"Okay," he grumbled, addressing Aeira. "We'll do it this way. Give me the Sovereignty's tracking data on Mizuku, I'll intercept him and try to get the Armor off. Failing that, I'll give him a clean death. In the meantime, you, Letrizia and Gisena will move to hold off the Rotbeast."

"Versch can deal with some knock-off mountain monster easily!" Letrizia said, "Especially now that's he's (kinda) back in fighting shape. You can just send me! Bring Gisena with you in case she helps disable the Armor."

"Perhaps," he replied, "but the Rotbeast is a monster the size of a mountain range. If we're wrong about its threat level then it could depopulate the entire Sovereignty within hours. If Gisena's Ultimate can hold it off for even a few minutes more, her presence there could be incredibly critical."

Gisena pouted. "I do hope that you'll take better care of my unconscious body this time. Letrizia told me she made soup, and you saved me none! This is no time to be conserving resources, but if I am forced to use the Sea of Nullity again, I may not be able to call it forth a third time - at least not for several months."

He grunted. "You're a genius, you'll figure something out."

"I'm touched by your faith in me! Truly, I've trained you well."

"Is this where I bark like a dog?"

"Not in front of the kids, hun."

His eyes widened innocently. "But... that's not what you said last time."

Gisena giggled. "Oh my! It seems even a genius can't overcome your skill at playing dumb."

"I'm sure you can do anything if you try."

She tossed her hair. "Hmph. As long as you don't expect me to beat the Rotbeast by myself."

"Of course, that'd be Letrizia's job."

"Verschlengorge will help too!" Letrizia chirped.

He gave her a single nod. "All right. If everyone's clear on the plan, let's move. The semi-healed Armament should be able to make it to the Sovereignty before the Rotbeast reaches the capital. I'll deal with Mizuku as soon as possible and then move directly to link up with you three. The manuals I found in Versch's arm yielded a technique that should improve my battlefield mobility, so you shouldn't be deprived of me for long."

"But we'll miss you terribly nonetheless," Gisena sniffled, wiping away a tear.

"Miss Gisena's ability to cry on command is almost disconcerting..." Letrizia whispered.

"Would you like to learn?" Gisena said happily, turning to her. "Come, I'll show you on the way there. Aeira, you should study this too, it's perfect for an infiltrator!"

And so they departed. Hunger twisted his blade as he ran, carving a rune of supernal blue into the firmament before him. Upon completion the world shifted, blurred lines of the landscape thrown into sharp relief, plunging endlessly forward towards a point of uttermost light which receded also endlessly. Again he invoked the rune as the burst of speed began to fade, sprinting through a corridor of endless lights, and in less than half an hour he was there: a desert of grass and sky-choking mist, utterly empty of animal life.

He fell to a knee, winded by the exertion of even that single rune cast twice. It was power drawn forth from the totality of his self, deeper than physical endurance or even the strength of his will. He would have to ration the runes of his Praxis carefully, for though they portended unfathomable might the cost of over-use was ruinous. There were techniques of the Art which were less expensive, or persisted for greater time, but they lacked the sheer power of the rune he'd pursued, the so-called Refinement of Quickness.

For a single action it could elevate his speed to deific levels, crossing over into the realm of ideals, enabling feats that no level of simple physicality could attain. This was not infinite speed, but it was the power to contest conceptual magics with quickness alone; to strike through an impenetrable guard or dodge an all-encompassing attack, to escape even the spiritual gravitation of an enemy's manifest Pressure.

His neck prickled. The abomination was close. On instinct he swerved to the side, narrowly dodging an outthrust tentacle that would have speared him cleanly through the head. Such a wound was hardly lethal against him now; Hunger's stolen Soul Evocation, the Outer Shadow of Sten Worldkeeper, could hold together his life-force through anything short of total annihilation. Yet losing his eyes and ears would certainly have been inconvenient, and so he responded in kind, his blade flashing upwards to truncate the tentacle at its stem.

The abomination was quick, a hair quicker than Hunger himself, withdrawing the appendage before he could shear off more than a strip of flesh. But he offered it no room for respite, Ring of Blood flaring as he brought Crimson's power to bear; the enemy trembled and slowed, allowing Hunger his first good look at this foe. It was tall, nearly six meters in height, gaunt and pallid of limb, covered in overlapping growths of gray that resembled bare muscle but with the texture of plate. Golden eyes ringed its brow, six in total, each focusing independently like a monocular lens. In place of a mouth was smooth flesh interspersed with bars of flashing color, casting its face in eerie shadow.

It regarded him cautiously, feinting once, alien limbs snapping forth like a struck whip. Ignoring its ruse, he did not react. Hopefully it would yield as Verschlengorge had.

"Praehihr," he said, pointing to himself. "Stand down. Yield."

It cocked its head but did not cease, advancing upon him steadily. The mist around it congealed, increasing enormously in density, dulling his instincts and blotting out sight as it sprang forward, its lower claws to tear out his chest while its reaper-arms struck at the back of his head. In response he simply extruded the Outer Shadow, a stained-glass tide that buried everything in its wake, the monster struggling furiously against the syrupy substance but unable to extricate itself. He glanced down to find himself bleeding; such was its speed that it'd successfully eviscerated him, despite everything. But the wound was already closing courtesy of his Ring, and now the monster's mobility was sealed.

He reached forth and ripped off one of the grey growths, whose bottom half was covered in stick tendrils that wriggled and flailed in the open mist. The monstrosity twitched, convulsing in pain as a new growth quickly covered the vulnerability. He grimaced.

"Come on, kid. If you're still in there, tell me how to save you."

No response was forthcoming.

There were three relevant possibilities. First, that it didn't care whether or not he was a Praehihr and would never acknowledge his commands regardless. In that case his only hope was to cut or tear off the armor piecemeal and hope the process failed to kill the kid or drive him insane. Second, that it would yield to a Praehihr but had no way of confirming that he was one. And thirdly, that it would yield if confirmed, but had no way of detaching from the boy even so.

Only in the second case was rescue practical, but how to communicate his nature in a way that it would believe? He could perform the Praxis rune again, but that would drain him for the upcoming Rotbeast fight, and would prove nothing if the Foremost had ever encountered an enemy also capable of utilizing the Praxis.

Best to make clear to the Armor that it was at his mercy regardless. "I'm going to disable your body," he spoke to the boy. "My powers will keep you alive, but it's going to hurt. If this works you'll be free."

The abomination never stopped thrashing. Of course there was no way for the Elementalist to communicate to him with their entire nervous system puppeted, not even so much as a desperate nod of assent.

There was nothing for it but to proceed. He sliced twice, cutting off the creature's arms and legs, and flipped it on its stomach, making surgical incisions across its fleshly-ridged spine, slashing across the tubelike veins in its back through which Elementally-charged mist seemed to flow endlessly. The Outer Shadow pooled around and atop the creature, holding it in place, but still it struggled against him with neck and head, throes so violent he worried for the brain of its host. There had to be some way to get through to it, something he'd overlooked; if he failed to find it soon then he'd have no choice but to execute boy and Armor both.

His eye flickered to the slowly-stilling tendrils of the growth he'd pulled free. Aeira had said they believed Mizuku to have been neurally hijacked by the Armor. If it could pervade the host's biology so deeply as to have access to the contents of the brain, then perhaps...

No time for hesitation. He peeled away the central growth atop the Armor's spine, leaving its back half connected to the greater mass of the armor itself, and stuck his head directly into its tendrils.

It was risky to the point of absurdity, but the Outer Shadow ensured that he no longer needed his physical brain, and his spiritual essence was split between Ring and Blade anyway. In the worst case he could slay his physical body with the Ring of Blood and escape in ghost form.

Icy coolness spread from the points of contact as it interfaced with his skull, branching past and into the matter of his brain. Despite himself he shivered. He felt the mind of the Armor: a capable, questing intelligence, young and exuberant as it rifled through his thoughts, greedily absorbing the facts of his life.

As it finished it trembled once; then bright curiosity turned to despair, self-loathing like a stain of blackness spreading through its data-circuits. The Armor began to turn on itself, neural pulses flowing backwards as it sought to revert the changes it'd made to Mizuku, flesh necrotizing and curling away to slowly reveal the Elementalist underneath, his reverse-mutated features a hasty but functional caricature of the boy's face. Within moments it discorporated fully, muscle and plate knurling and passing into dust; its final fleshly remnants blown away in some invisible breeze, the petals of a flower long-slain.

What had it learned, that it would choose self-annihilation over its other fates? Was it mere abhorrence of the terrors it'd inflicted upon its host, self-destruction as atonement for its crimes? Or had it seen something in Hunger's mind so terrible that death was preferable to that knowledge?

No time to dwell. The boy was alive, if horribly disfigured; it was far from ideal, but he couldn't reasonably ask for a better outcome given the circumstances.

He hoisted the boy and set out again, this time to handle the Rotbeast. It would be a pleasant change of pace, facing an opponent he was allowed to actually kill.

---

The winner was [X] Do it All with [X] Refinement of Quickness and [X] Leave Sten. You have somewhat over 7.2 Arete.

You have received net 1 pick and +.1 Rank from Mizuku. You may earn another +.1 Rank if Mizuku survives to tell his tale, and the Sovereignty to hear it.

[ ] Echo of the Forebear (1 pick) - The ninth Echo of the Forebear. At this encounter point, unlocks Tenfold Echo.

[ ] Tenfold Echo (7 Arete, 0 picks or 3 picks, 0 Arete) - Adds ++++++++++AGI, ++++++++++Might. This is considerably more efficient than you would normally get for 7 Arete, and likely to be highly relevant against the Rotbeast, allowing Hunger to fell the monster in near-absolute safety with far fewer casualties. Only available when one performs a feat worthy of the Forebear; in this case, the selfless regard for one's vassals no matter what rains may come.

[ ] Outer Sky (7 Arete, 1 pick) - Merges the Outer Shadow with the Evening Sky, resulting in a combined substance with the strength of both. Only available when one performs a feat in which victory was dependent on the Outer Shadow. Dramatically improves the anti-magic capabilities of the Evening Sky and allows the merged Outer Sky to be launched in waves as the Outer Shadow was. When manifesting properties of the Outer Shadow, the Cloak of Evening takes on its stained-glass tincture; else the Shadow resides invisibly in the darkness between stars.

*Improves the Attribute-related bonuses of the Outer Shadow by 20% (+70% Might, +70% Protection, +420% Health)
*Dramatically improves Hunger's overall magic resistance
*The Outer Sky can be launched to trap foes for brief periods with no risk of reduction in Wits, Int or Wis.
*The majesty of starry Evening haloed by the stained-glass glory of the Outer Shadow. ++Protection, ++Cha, +Progression (Outer Sky)

Outer Sky Advancements are only a small subset of Evening Sky Advancements. Do not expect Pearlescence and the like to be upgraded by this. Should you acquire a form of general Progression of ++ or greater, +Progression (Outer Sky) will be removed and you will be refunded 2 Arete.

[ ] Forebear's Blade - Titan-Felling (2 Arete, 1 pick) - Fivefold Power of Ruin against foes whose Might is at least 1000% greater than yours. Refunds Arete cost if Monster-Defeating or All-Defeating Stance are taken.

[ ] The Ring of Power - Hungry Vim (2 Arete, 1 pick) - Some fraction of the Armor's talent for battle. +++AGI, ++Wisdom (Combat).

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[ ] Frontal Assault - Attack the Rotbeast from the front, where everyone can see you. Risks your life, but reduces casualties and improves Rank gain from the fight by 20%.

[ ] Ambush - Don't worry overmuch about visibility or speed. With careful, calculating blows, dismantle it from the sides, striking from ambush to evade any chance of retaliation. No personal risk.
 
Endless Tides
Endless Tides

The sky was mouldering dark, charcoal-grey and studded with cloud, stark grim horizon all but swallowed up by the world-subsuming mass of the monster before them, the titanic Rotbeast whose tread sent thundering quakes into the feeble earth underfoot.

Hunger stopped at a rooftop outpost, leaving Mizuku in the care of Sovereignty militia as he observed the oncoming enemy. It was one thing to see the Rotbeast pointed out as geography on a map, and quite another to witness that uprooted landscape literally marching upon you, mottled grey flesh high, high, high like an apocalypse wave, towering so high it was vertiginous even to contemplate. Around it milled countless millions of its pestilent spawn; teeming legions dwarfed by their forebear whose sheer mass and bulk literally boggled the human mind, its uppermost ridges ringed with cloud, glacier-plates like armor shining in the dusk.

Of course, he thought numbly. Snow and cloud were not some intrinsic property in mountains made of stone. A mountain made of flesh and just as immobile would attract the same, until it began to move.

Though he'd gained a considerable portion of strength from 'defeating' the Foremost armor, Hunger could not help but feel a touch of apprehension at the magnitude of the foe opposing. It moved slowly to his perceptions, muscles the size of city-blocks steadily undulating across its form, but this was an enemy which demanded a terraformer's tools, not a hunter's. Ahead he could see Verschlengorge anchoring the Sovereignty's lines, a thin vertical speck of grey-and-red against the paler grey of the advancing flesh wall.

Half a heartbeat and he was there. Gisena waved from Verschlengorge's shoulder as the Armament bellowed, issuing challenge which no Rotspawn dared meet. Letrizia and Verschlengorge worked in vigorous harmony to stem the flow of spawn, a steadily-growing radius of smashed corpses the growing proof of her handiwork. Around them Sovereignty forces fired endlessly into the streaming horde, Aeira alongside her classmates, shadow-ensconced Elementalists dispensing enormous gouts of flesh-scorning steel and contagious flame, their few beleaguered Armor Prototypes working furiously to stem the holes in that rapidly-faltering defense.

Driven forth by their master and creator the Rotspawn only multiplied as their progenitor took another step forward, the world roiling under that colossal impact as an ever-denser tide of monstrosities bore down on the lines. An Elementalist groaned in exertion and Space itself shifted before the monster, giving the Sovereignty half-a-mile of distance more before the Rotbeast was atop of its fearfully-evacuating populace.

Hunger fired a few spheres of Edeldross into the stronger Elementalists, earning a chipper nod from Aobaru as he passed. Then he was in among the ranks of the enemy, and swept his sword in a broad, brutal arc, the strength of Stenallon Worldkeeper infusing this opening salvo, a single crescent of wind that scythed outwards depopulating every Rotspawn in its path. Like a freshly-cut field the plain before him flattened, and he wasted no time sprinting forward, arc of his blade carving a furrow more trench than divot as he harnessed the terrible weight of the Forebear's technique, swinging now upwards and outwards at the Rotbeast itself, impossible blue cleaving everything betwixt in twain.

The ponderous beast showed no reaction to his attack, even as a mile-high wound flashed across its side, the Power of Ruin splintering and crumbling its flesh as the cut deepened. Hunger leapt atop its surface and began to scale the face, sword held behind him to part its flesh as he ran. The beast shuddered, trembling musculature in waves ten feet high hurtling towards him, and then inhaled, the 'ground' beneath hollowing downwards as it sucked in. He attacked savagely, carving wide ruinous strokes into that retreating flesh, scooping out a tunnel into the beast's interior. Before he could finish it finally exhaled, a nacreous mist of silver-green expelling from every pore, poison in clouds so massive and so virulent that the Rotspawn surrounding it writhed briefly and went still. The Evening Sky wrapped around his face, its tatters boiling away around him, nonetheless he continued his excavating advance, the power of his Ring holding back the immensity of the Rotbeast's toxin for the moment. This was the Tiller Wurm writ large and he sought a similar means of bringing it low.

He plunged forward into the poison and dark, burrowed until he was entombed within a semi-solid sea of dull grey flesh, a great tremulous ocean bereft of blood or vigor which receded endlessly before Ruin's might only to reveal more and more of its seemingly-infinite depths. There were no nodes of power or neural clusters to target, nothing but an undifferentiated mass all of which was equally vital and equally useless to the organism comprising. For long minutes he cut and cut, each fall of his blade conjuring wounds the length of high towers, yet finding no respite from this vastness unending.

The power of his regeneration began to fail, Blood faltering before such profundity of poison, tips of his fingers grown numb and slowly necrotizing as he worked his way through the beast. Madly he circulated Edeldross, seeking to refine and purge all impurity from his body, but even those toxins expelled seeped into his pores a moment later, for there was nothing here that was not poison. The air was poison, the sky was poison, the walls were poison, the slick-molded impressions of his footsteps pooling poison; his whole world was poison, rot encroaching steadily and without cessation, not unlike the advance of its eponymous Beast.

He could still escape via the tunnel he'd cut; even weakened the Refinement of Quickness would easily allow him to dart out and back behind Sovereignty lines. But what then? Would he achieve anything by withdrawing now and allowing the Rotbeast to roll over the Sovereignty lines? Was there some secret, some technique or methodology that would allow him to actually fell this monster? Or was there truly no viable alternative to simply cutting through?

If that was so, then so be it. Hunger was no stranger to simple resolve. He had endured far worse against foes more torturous than this. But even if he reached the far side, what would that accomplish? Would putting a hole in the creature have been worth all this effort and time? Every minute wasted was a thousand, ten thousand lives spent, implicitly on the altar of his strategy. Such was the burden of all who presumed to call themselves heroes.

---

[X] Save with [X] Hungry Vim has won.

Drawing from increased Wisdom, Hunger does have quite a few plans he believes are promising, but none are without cost:

[ ] Get Gisena - It's regrettable to call upon the Nullity Sorceress' Ultimate once more, especially as that will preclude its use for several further months, but Hunger doesn't see an easy way out of this. Answer the Sea of Rot with the Sea of Nullity; perhaps a detonation of nulldross deep within its center will hollow out the beast. Subject to mere physics it would certainly collapse, unable to withstand its own tremendous weight. The main difficulty is evaluating whether even Gisena's ultimate attack would reach far enough to affect the greater portion of the beast.

*Death Chance: Almost none
*Condition Chance: Very High
*Gisena Condition Chance: Very High
*Estimated Odds: Great
*Collateral Damage: Medium

[ ] Thousandfold Shears - The answer is to Cut Through; merely adjust the angle of your cut. Shear away the portion of the Rotbeast closest to the Sovereignty at any one time by cutting in great horizontal strokes across its anterior. For every step forward it takes, carve off enough flesh at the border that it will be as if it had never advanced at all!

*Death Chance: Very low
*Condition Chance: Guaranteed Exhaustion, Low of other wounds
*Estimated Odds: Good, with near-guaranteed chances of at least partial victory.
*Collateral Damage: Minimized. By literally shearing away those parts of the Rotbeast closest to the Sovereignty, it can't actually advance at all!
*Hunger will be unable to use his Rank for several days afterwards; the exertion of this task will be crippling even for him.
*A small price to pay in order to retain the utility of Gisena's Ultimate for a more difficult foe.

[ ] Delve Deeper - Surely there must be an opening somewhere in this gargantuan mass. It has muscles near the exterior which implies other organs further in. But without any means of discerning such, and with his senses crippled by the poison, is there any way for Hunger to actually find them?

*Death Chance: Low
*Condition Chance: Very High
*Estimated Odds: Decent
*Collateral Damage: Variable
*A luck-reliant strategy that could slay the Rotbeast quickly, or squander precious minutes with no substantive results.

[ ] Cut Through - The answer is to Cut Through; further your mastery in a single transcendental moment of supreme effort and acquire the power needed to end this monstrosity once and for all.

*Acquire one of the following: Monster-Defeating Stance or Artful Thorn for 7 Arete (+1 pick debt for Artful Thorn) or Refinement of Battle for 25 Arete (+1 pick debt)
*Improves Rank from this encounter a further 30% as Hunger achieves a dramatic and narratively fitting victory against this immense monstrosity, this shadow of dire fear that has blanketed the Sovereignty in this thrall for well-near a decade.
*Death Chance Minimal, No Major+ Condition Chance, Minimal Collateral Damage, Great Odds.
*Expends your Arete in greater or smaller portion without granting Trinity.
*You may only choose Refinement of Battle if you have at least 24 Arete. You currently have somewhat over 11.

---

Should Letrizia use Verschlegorge's Grand Decimation Attack? At his current relatively meager Rank, this will affect the combat on the ground against the Rotspawn, but not the outcome of the battle with the Rotbeast itself.

[ ] Unleash the Devourer - Will clear away the Rotspawn in enormous numbers, but inflict considerable collateral damage upon the military (and outlying civilian) elements of the Sovereignty. Could breed resentment even if it saves more lives overall. Some Elementalists will die; however Aeira and Aobaru, having been enhanced by both Edeldross and Vigorflame, are guaranteed to survive.

[ ] Hold Back - There is something to be said for not attacking one's allies even if vastly greater numbers of the enemy would fall. Still, this means the Rotspawn will almost certainly breach Sovereignty lines and rampage amongst the civilian populace. They are likely to be surrounded and destroyed given time but thousands of civilians will surely die. A small fraction of the casualties projected should the Rotbeast itself break through, but it seems Lord Hunger has that matter well in hand!

[ ] Sea of Nullity - Have Miss Gisena use her Sea of Nullity attack instead. Achieve the same as Unleash the Devourer with much lower loss of friendly life, but cannot be used in conjunction with Get Gisena and may seal Gisena's Ultimate for several months. Knocks Gisena unconscious for a number of days.

---

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A Fire Woken
A Fire Woken

Hunger repelled another wave of stifling, noxious poison and adjusted his grip. The path the Forebear would have taken was clear. If he could not find a path, he would simply have to cut one. The natural evolution of the Forebear's technique. The purpose of his cut was to murder; if he could not murder simply by slicing through what lay before him, then that was a failure of execution, not of the path itself... For surely the Forebear had faced foes more terrible and esoteric than merely this.

He gathered it once more, the despair, rage and sorrow of his long and ruinous path, the barely-kindled hope of his new life as a Cursebearer, and most of all his unswerving determination to avenge all who had suffered at the hands of the Hidden Ones. The Blade sang true; there was no foe in all the wide breadth and span of this universe, that could resist the Forebear's Cut placed properly. All that barred him from the realm of that strike were the simple matters of aim and reach.

It was not a concept he was unfamiliar with. If one could not aim at the body, then target the mind. If one could not aim at the mind, then target the spirit. He'd done just that against the Tiller Wurm, and had entered this monster with the intention to do so as well. Would he be stymied by a mere lack of nerve clusters?

The Light of the Praxis had opened his eyes to new levels of endeavor, speed that could elude the unerring and race the untouchable, speed to match or exceed Vanreir's inescapable strike. His initial epiphany against the Prime Rotspawn had already elevated the offensive techniques of his blade to that level, but without the means to travel beyond mere space his Cut had been trapped within its coordinate plane. The Refinement of Quickness provided the solution, movement elevated to a conceptual level, power enough to slip the bounds of physicality, to intrude upon deeper realities for an action's fleeting span.

Long enough to dodge one strike, or to perform one.

All he had to do was use those techniques in unison.

Hunger scoffed. The drain of such an exertion might well kill him if unmitigated. The Forebear's Cut demanded enormous conviction; the Refinement of Quickness depleted him on a fundamental level. In combination they could render him an insensate vegetable. He could not allow irrational exuberance to dominate practicality, not utterly.

He'd not been idle as he thought, steadily plunging deeper into the Rotbeast's unchanging core. But neither had his opponent, the virulence and density of its poisons ever-increasing, now an opaque fog that bore down upon every inch of him with terrible ferocity, not just his extremities but his body entire a gruesome weeping sore. Even the protection of the Outer Shadow was steadily wearing away, though it'd outlasted the Evening Sky by many long seconds.

Time was running out. He wracked his mind for a solution, firing a pillar of Edeldross into which he curtly stepped, outputting as much of the element as he could possibly withstand. The strain was enormous, his reserves quickly depleting; he would pay for it later, but later he'd be dead if things did not change. Too much depended on him. He absolutely could not fail now.

Cut through, even if it cannot be cut. Cut away all that was extraneous, strip the Refinement of Quickness of all components except those necessary for a single attack, committing forthrightly as the Forebear's Cut demanded, technique matching intent in form, then in function...

He blurred, blade twisting sparsely, executing just a fragment of the Refinement, less than one-fourth the entire invocation, and felt the world shift into the chasm of speed that portended its activation. He stepped forward just so, destination already in mind, not an act of movement but the opening step of an offense, a charge whose purpose was not any transition of space but merely to meet the enemy.

Yes. In this place, halfway to the Realm of Forms, the Rotbeast was not just its physical morass but all-that-was-the-Rotbeast, its form and essence, its mind and spirit, and further 'beneath' the fuzzily-coherent mass of its core concept and ontological basis. No time to gawk; only to strike, blade cleaving indiscriminately at mind and form and essence, fading back to physicality halfway through the stroke, sinking softly into mere flesh once more.

Beneath him the titan shuddered, trembling slowly. The ground its flesh began to list, ever so slightly off-balance.

Hunger braced himself again and gripped the hilt firmly with both hands, again performing the truncated rune, again barely managing a cut. The Rotbeast's listing worsened, tipping like a ship in rough seas.

Each repetition was exhausting. To be safe, he could do no more than three in total; until he had a chance to rest, the damage to his own essence would scale up exponentially with each performance.

Again. And that was three. The Rotbeast paused, density of poison beginning to dissipate, the gray morass around him slowly melting away. But instinct told him this was only a feint, so he clenched his grip and forced himself to cut...

Again. Now the dissolution accelerated, vast swathes of grey flesh peeling away like a discarded rind, tissue become air like frost at dawn's coming. The Rotbeast was reeling, but even this it could survive, if it left, if it escaped to recuperate-

He did not strike again, though it would have been the fatal blow.

Instead he rushed backwards and outwards to the Rotbeast's surface, where the poison was thin and clear enough to see through, and from there began methodically to hack away at the monster, separating great chunks of its mass and steadily destroying them. It wriggled helplessly, furiously beneath him as he destroyed it, hounding it to the last, but was powerless to escape, powerless to resist, incapable even of a final suicidal thrust against the Sovereignty as he prioritized those pieces of it closest to the line of defense.

He was drained, and bitterly so, but even operating at half strength he was more than capable of dismantling this hapless prey. Some flicker of reassurance curled up from the Forebear's Blade, half-remembered instinct of the Forebear himself who had pushed this far in countless battles without hint of fatigue or hesitation. If he'd made the fifth Cut things would not have been so easy, but he'd refrained from that exertion and preserved the vast majority of his power.

As the final fleeting dregs of grey fell to the Power of Ruin embedded in his Blade, his Ring kindled bright and blinding with crimson light, a victory-flare over the battlefield as the shadow of the Rotbeast was wiped away at last.

That was the end of the war, but not the battle; many Rotspawn still remained and had breached into the city proper, rampaging among the civilian populace and slaughtering them by the thousands. No longer occupied with the Rotbeast itself, Hunger was freed to hunt down these stragglers alongside the Sovereignty forces, and made short work of the monsters that remained.

Afterwards they lauded him, pointlessly lionized him, asked him to be their champion, their general, even their King. He managed a smile, half-grimace, and said little to their pleas.

"Three cheers for the Reckoner!" They acclaimed him. He was too exhausted to do more than twitch at the unwelcome title.

"The Reckoner of Rotspawn!"

"The Rotbeast's Reckoner!"

"LORD HUNGER!!"

This, too, was the burden of he who would call himself a hero. But he doubted strongly that Letrizia had been entirely uninvolved in setting up this display.

And he would be avenged.

---

"Hunger!"

As he departed the celebrations in search of Verschlengorge's pilot, Aobaru caught up with him on the road. The redhead was panting heavily, face pallid; it was clear he'd never used his Vigorflame as intensely or as extensively as he'd been forced to today.

"Aobaru. You fought well out there."

"Heh. Nothing compared to you, though! Hey, I know you hate wasting time so I'll cut to the chase: take me with you as a mercenary."

Hunger raised an eyebrow. "Aeira was hired to provide a specific support ability. We don't need another primary combatant, even one as relatively capable as you."

Aobaru winced. "Eh. You don't mince words, huh? Well, I'm fully capable of filling a support role as well. My Vigorflame can enhance the physical durability of objects, or the overall physical ability of living beings. It's quite versatile and should stack with your Edeldross. Even if it only makes you ten percent stronger and faster, that'd be totally worth it, right?"

Hunger frowned. The boy had clearly given it some thought. "And you want Aeira's rate as well? What brought this on?"

"My dad was an Armor Commander in the corps. He fell during the fighting. My mom's stay-at-home and he was our only source of income. I've got five brothers, so..."

Hunger grunted. "It's dangerous to travel with me. I'll pay you a bonus. You helped train my Edeldross, more so than any of you classmates. It should be enough to keep your family comfortably for a few decades."

"T-that's really appreciated, sir, but it's not the only reason I want to join up!" Aobaru raised his fists. "I can already see it. If I stay here, I'm only going to stagnate. Slaying the Rotbeast has brought us a reprieve, but that'll only last a few years at most. Bigger and bigger threats are wandering across the Voyaging Realm and none of us are going to be ready when the next one hits. The Rotbeast isn't even the tip of the iceberg and it would have annihilated us without you!"

"So, you want not only to join my party, but to be taught by me as well."

"If it's not too much trouble. And only when you have time. I can pull my weight, I promise!

"...And you want to be paid for the privilege."

"Yeah." Aobaru gulped, but kept his eyes focused and gaze level. "But my services will be well worth it, I can definitely make you stronger! Actually I'm planning to ask for a bit more than Aeira's rate. I am the strongest Elementalist here and I'm confident I can maintain that. If I ever fall behind, you're free to dock my pay however you like!"

---

The winner was [X] Cut Through. Hunger has acquired [X] Artful Thorn. You have exactly 19 Arete, but may spend as much as you can generate this update.

What to acquire from the power of the Rotbeast?

[ ] Sovereignty (all picks, 20 Arete) - Feat: Reckoner and Silver of Evening. After multipliers increases your Rank by .375. It seems only fitting that, in felling the Elementalist's bane, Hunger's own Element would be elevated by ascension into the pantheon of Evening...

[ ] Outer Darkness (all picks, 25 Arete) - A rare Advancement. The supreme sublimation of Outer Shadow and Evening Sky, night unimpeachable as a saint's halo and inescapable as darkness itself. As the Outer Sky was not acquired, the cost in Arete is not discounted, and the cost in picks has increased. It seems only fitting that, in felling a titan of shadow and rot, Hunger's own command over shadow should be supremely magnified.

*You may now communicate with eldritch and gargantuan monstrosities, who will treat you as peer, subject or superior depending on your relative levels of ability.
*+++++Willpower, diminish all Sanity-targeting attacks on the wearer by one step along the Infinite Singularity Husk.
*+200% Might and Protection
*+2000% Health
*The Outer Darkness automatically defends allies within its reach, vastly improving their survivability.
*Fuses the Outer Shadow and Evening Sky as per the Outer Sky, providing magic resistance of a similar form, and permitting the lossless use of the Outer Shadow for offensive maneuvers.
*Qualifies for Trinity.

[ ] Elixir (all picks, 20 Arete) - Feat: Reckoner, adding .375 Rank and upgrades Edeldross to 25-point version. A rare Advancement. Sufficient refinement of Edeldross can create a substance ontologically equivalent to findross in potency but different in character: fairer, nobler and brighter, a power not for shining paragons but for heroes of legend; not the pristine beauty of the stars, but the blinding incandescence of the Sun itself!

*In conjunction with the Ring of Blood, allows Hunger to induce the Fairbright Bloodline in himself once his effective Blood Rank exceeds 8.0. If successful, mitigates the Apocryphal Curse by one half-stage.
*Vastly expands the space of possible Graces and enormously expands their potency.
*Does not disqualify Hunger for Trinity later, as Arete spend towards his Element is not classified as belonging to any one Artifact.
*Edeldross can now heal Hunger's eye, liver, and lung. Discounts Final Form by 7 (!) Arete.
*Hunger will learn what the Fairbright Bloodline actually does. --Heartlessness.
*Lucenthorne shall seek you as an ally, for any who wields the Fairbright Essence cannot be its enemy. You need not wield it personally; it has resided in the hands of ruler and champion both.

---

Do you intend to take Aobaru with you?

[ ] Yes - Pay 10 Currency units per quarter, vote on his Element Strength, below.

[ ] No - It's not safe, no matter what he claims.

Aobaru's Element, Vigorflame:

[ ] Vigorflame - Vigorflame is treated as a 2-Arete Element. Currently grants +10% to Physical Attributes and causes targeted substances to explode if overloaded. This can be resisted.

[ ] Grand Vigorflame - [2 Arete] - Vigorflame is treated as a 7-Arete Element. Grants +30% to Physical Attributes and causes targeted substances to explode if overloaded. This can't be resisted if overloading is successful, though beings not reliant on physical corpus may survive.

[ ] True Vigorflame - [7 Arete] - Vigorflame is treated as a 25-Arete Element. Grants +70% to Physical Attributes and scales upward without limit. Can eventually elevate targets by fractional amounts along the Infinite Singularity Husk. Can be safely imbued into targets for extended durations (up to one day). Causes targeted substances to explode if overloaded. This can't be resisted and works on substances with conceptual or abstract parameters, though training and practice are required to utilize this effectively.

---

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Sovereign Jewel
Sovereign Jewel

Dusk had come to the Sovereignty, the sky clearing slowly of its invader's cloud-carrying shroud. Wide fingers of sunlight dappled the mountains and springs, bathing reconstruction crews and emergency staff in their warm, fleeting glow.

Hunger walked into their celebratory suite at the Kaguya and wearily deposited himself into a plush armchair. Behind him, Aobaru peeked hesitantly into the room and carefully walked in.

"Hm? Aobaru, what are you doing here?" Aeira rose to greet him. "Are you okay? Should you not be recovering from the battle?"

"I'm gonna be joining you guys," he said, smiling tentatively but with a glimmer of his usual confidence. "Hunger's accepted me as kind of a... squire."

Hunger grunted. "Don't push it. You're here to buff us for combat operations. Everything else is secondary."

"Heh," Aobaru winced, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll do whatever it takes! Gotta support my mom and brothers. I'm hoping to learn and grow like you have, Aeira. From what I saw, you've already gotten a lot stronger since we last sparred. Still not as strong as me though!"

Aeira giggled. "We shall see about that. Care for a spar after you have finished recovering?"

"You're on!"

Letrizia skipped into the room with a plate of fruits. "Ah, the mighty Reckoner of Rotspawn returns! And... Aobaru?"

As the two Elementalists explained the situation again, Hunger blearily reached forth and stole Letrizia's tray.

"H-hey! That's special commemorative fruit from-"

"Don't care." It was especially delicious, a step up even from the Kaguya's extraordinary fare. The frost-limned skin of the delicately cut peaches perfectly surmounted their ice-cold flesh, which was plump with juice, bursting in the mouth with a richly substantial sweetness. The berries were firm and tart, their interiors ripe but not mushy, yielding the perfect amount of give against his teeth. The grapes were succulent, thickly skinned orbs nearly an inch in diameter, with a bright subtle flavor that meshed perfectly with the peaches.

In truth it was a spectacular harvest, better even than the fruit he'd consumed on their last trip here, the Ring glowing brightly as he savored every bite.

Hunger consumed each and every piece before the others had time to react, then set the platter down, glaring diffidently at Letrizia. "That's just the opening act. You'll rue the day you decided to popularize that title, Miss Artriez. The only one to experience a reckoning here... will be you."

Letrizia pouted. "The class thought it was cool! Did you really have to steal my fruit like that..."

Hunger crossed his arms, unmoved and unmerciful. "Friendship and enmity are both returned a thousandfold. This you know well."

Aeira bowed politely. "Then please also enact your vengeance on myself as well, Lord Hunger. For I was fully complicit in Letrizia's maneuvers and helped to spread your title as well..."

"Uh, yeah. Punish me too!" Aobaru said, raising a fist. "What's wrong with the Reckoner? It's a great title!"

"Aw, you guys..." Letrizia dabbed a fake tear from her eye.

"Very well. You'll all be punished just like Letrizia is, though I won't be going any easier on her for it. The crime of horrible taste must be expunged, and I know just the person to do it."

Aobaru slumped. "That, that backfired pretty heavily, huh... Well, nothing for it but to push through! Trial is just another form of endeavor, after all!"

"Gisena," Hunger called. The Sorceress peeked out from the master bedroom, her Ring shining brightly. A half-dismantled cell phone was in her hand.

"Yes, hun? How may I assist you on this most marvelous of days?"

"Our Elementalist mercenaries have decided they want to be punished alongside Letrizia in a show of solidarity. Could you whip something up for them to eat?"

Letrizia paled. "Hey, now that's going way too far!"

Gisena blinked. "Goodness. Letrizia, did you cry like we practiced?"

"Of course! I even roped Aeira into it!"

"And it still didn't work? Well, I suppose I must honor my Lord's request, he so rarely asks me for anything..." Gisena smiled dreamily.

"Stop joking around," Letrizia said frantically, "this isn't funny! Hunger, I'm super sorry and I promise I'll never do it again!"

She adopted a pleading positing, both hands raised as if in prayer.

He grunted. "You were the instigator?"

"Yes, it was only my fault, they didn't have anything to do with it!"

"Hm..." He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

The power of the Rotbeast had been slow to digest, only fitting for a creature of such Brobdingnagian proportions. There was a direction it wanted to be pushed into, some facet of the Evening Sky that would tremendously augment his Element - perhaps appropriate for the power gained by overcoming the nemesis of all Elementalists. But to unlock that capacity required some further action of his, something he was right now capable of doing but had been distracted from...

"I'm going to visit the hot springs," he said, rising to his feet. "Decide on an alternate punishment before I get back. If I find it acceptable, we'll go with that instead. Gisena, care to join me?"

"Hmm? ...Making a date of it? I happily accept!"

He shook his head. "Can't leave them with a genius to come up with the solution. If selling my body is the price I must pay, then so be it."

"If that's the case, I'll take full advantage!" Gisena said. "I am giving up valuable artificing time for this, after all. To start, how about a princess carry to and from the springs in question?"

"I'd love to, but my back is tired from carrying the party for so long. Best I can do is a massage."

"But we already did that," Gisena whined, tightening her grip on his arm. She laid her head on his shoulder and looked up at him with softly pleading eyes. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Hmph. I can carry you one way... If you build me an Artifact worthy of the name. My Ring tells me that yours has been slacking."

"Consider it done!" Gisena said happily, jumping into his arms. "Onwards, my noble steed! ...Perhaps I should build you a bridle? Or maybe an ornamented choker!"

"The things I do for vengeance. Don't get used to this."

A small crowd attempted to flock to them as they appeared on the Hot Springs terrace, but with his vast speed and the Evening Sky serving as obstruction, they managed to lose all pursuers, ducking into a private bath off the beaten path. Gisena made a happy exclamation as she sank giddily into the waters, still fully dressed as Hunger whipped the Evening Sky into a bath towel.

"Ah, I missed this." She closed her eyes and adjusted her posture languorously, stretching her legs and smoothing the flare of her dress. "These waters were amazing last time, but they're even better now that the Rotbeast's gone. Its power of contamination had failed to corrupt them, but it'd weakened their palliative effects significantly!"

"Is that so?" Hunger mused, dropping into the waters himself. "I wonder if that was its target all along. If the magical density has increased now, perhaps they'll be able to keep it going past sixty years."

"Maybe if no other monsters decide to venture here," Gisena murmured. Cutely she held back a yawn. "Can't expect us... to save them every time..."

"Mm," he replied, the warmth of the invigorated springs seeping deeply into his bones. It was a restful, formless energy, softly scouring all impurity from his form. There was no comparison to the waters from before; he felt even the wounds on his lung and liver beginning slightly to respond. If he had time to bathe here for a few months on end, it was likely his body could be healed in its entirety.

If this substance was capable of vastly greater feats at such densities, could the same be achieved with Edeldross? Weeks ago he'd integrated the Mire Wolf's ghostflame by projecting it as light from his Cloak of Evening; incorporating it into his panoply had enormously enhanced his influence over its effects.

Edeldross was too vast and too potent to be similarly contained, but perhaps the solution was sufficient density, no diffuse radiance but a single brilliant jewel, a star of shining Edeldross set amongst the heavens of his Mantle. Experimentally he expanded the mantle so that it was a cloak proper again, covering the entire span of his form, and began to focus.

He directed the incipient power of his triumph over the Rotbeast, expelling all his reserves of Edeldross to form a blazing ingot first the size of a melon, then a fist, a knuckle, and finally a glittering nucleus no larger than the jewel of his ring. This he placed atop the Evening Sky, and directed the cloak to encompass and contain it, to fuse the Element as indelibly into his panoply as the power of Blood afforded by his Ring.

---

The winner was [X] Sovereignty with [X] Yes and [X] True Vigorflame. Aobaru is excited to travel alongside the mighty Reckoner himself!

You have attained the Special Advancement, Trinity -

In a faraway world, in an innocent time, before the boy became a man and the man became a hero, the Oracles of Fate dictated the contents of his arsenal:

Treasures numbering three,
Ought hero's panoply be.
Crown, Saber and Orb,
Shield, Symbol and Sword,
Blade, Mantle and Ring;
Aloft to murder a king.

Blade, Mantle, and Ring all assembled, their powers brought to the fore. But what was the product of their powers in unison, the trinity that arose from them, but was not of them, the promise of the prophecy at long last fulfilled?

[ ] Threefold - Triple the wielder's AGI, MIGHT, WITS, PROT and CHA. They automatically win contests of primacy involving their Artifacts, but may never expand their panoply beyond these three items of power. This does not stop them from integrating expansions into their items, such as Silver of Evening or Outer Sky.

[ ] A Promise Kept - The power of Fate rides besides you once more. It will twine the strings of destiny to bring about favorable and interesting outcomes for you, independent of Apocryphal activations. While it cannot directly negate the power of the Apocryphal Curse, it can grant serendipitous encounters, boons at least somewhat commensurate to the risks of Interesting Times. Boons offered are roughly half as potent as Apocryphal activations and are not guaranteed to occur concurrently with activations of the Curse. This in no way diminishes the danger of the Apocryphal Curse, but Hunger may enjoy at last the good alongside the bad, even if in limited degree.

[ ] Core Panoply - The treasures of a Tyrant may expand without limit; why then not the treasures of a hero? You may buy your next Defining Advancement piecemeal, placing Experience towards it even without an enemy of qualifying scope. By default, will buy Stranglethorn. +1 Defining Advancement Slot, +2 Accretion Panoply Slots, +.3 Rank (+.6 with modifiers).

---

What is Hunger's next priority? Choose carefully.

[ ] Continued Errantry - His Astral Rank has advanced at a blistering pace compared to the brutal slog of his war against the Tyrant, but he is still far from the heights of his former glory. Time to rectify that. There is no substitute for power when dealing with the Tyrant's Doom; if Hunger is incapable of enforcing his will, he may be baited into a fight he cannot win. To live, he must grow strong.

[ ] Huntress' Moon - Best to seek out another target capable of mitigating the Decimator's Affliction. Hunger must stay on top of this lest he endanger all around him, and potentially provoke justifiable aggression from any magus capable of detecting his nature. It's a bit premature, but Hunger doesn't know how long such a hunt may take and it's best to take proactive measures as aggressively as possible when handling something as dangerous as this Affliction.

[ ] Depart for the Human Sphere - Time to research some means of safely extracting a few mages from the Voyaging Realm. Events continue to develop in the Human Sphere proper and Hunger has already gained a substantial measure of power from the Voyaging Realm. It would be unseemly to dawdle any further; a mercenary's pride demands that he deliver Letrizia as requested now that both Temple and Sovereignty are resolved.

[ ] Slack Off - Slack off a for few days. ++Mental Stability. Gisena will have time to create Artifacts.

---

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Dawn and Thereafter
Dawn and Thereafter

With his Evening Sky granted dominion over Edeldross, both the magnitude of Element he could summon and the precision of his control over it had improved immensely; so much so that the physical component of his Edeldross-boost could nearly match Aobaru's specialized Vigorflame. They sparred lightly the next morning, Hunger restraining himself to one-twentieth speed and without the aid of his Blade or blood augments. Aobaru was a sweat-drenched mess by the end of the first hour, his weavespun shirt soaked entirely through as the red light of dawn illuminated field and clouds.

"It's, okay," Aobaru heaved, one hand held up to forestall Aeira's intervention. "I, can, keep, goiumpfh-"

Hunger had struck in the interval, burying two fingers into the boy's solar plexus. He carefully laid down the staggered Elementalist and turned to Aeira and Letrizia. "That's enough out of you, let the others have a turn. All right. Who's next?"

Aeira stepped forward determinedly, cloak of shadows enfolding her like the distaff counterpart to Hunger's own. "I shall be your opponent, sir. Do not worry, Letrizia. I will tire him out so he must go easy on you!"

He could feel his attention sliding off the girl, natural instincts telling him she was no more relevant than the mists and dew of daybreak around her. But his Rank had increased immensely after felling the Rotbeast, and with a pulse of Pressure he repelled her Element's effect on his senses.

"My hero!" Letrizia cheered, "Time to earn that pay!"

"The person paying you is me," Hunger groused, raising his palms in a fighting stance. "Ready?"

"Always, sir!" Aeira bounded forward, a passing shadow the color of midnight, whipping her blades around to catch him from the side. He stepped back easily, creating distance as his Pressure ramped up - an invisible barrier pressing against everything she was, constricting all routes of action until only his victory remained. Even the flashing sharpness of her daisho seemed to flatten and dull in the wind of that all-eclipsing Pressure.

Though their speed was equalized, still the shadow-wreathed mercenary stood little chance. Her ambushes were sealed, her attacks predicted, countermeasures slotting into place before she'd even thought to attempt the act that they nullified. She swept and he ducked, firing bursts of edeldross to propel him into a spin-kick against her torso; she thrust and he deflected into a clinch, overpowering her with superior mass and reach. Retreat saw her backing into a wall of solidified Edeldross; striking out with her Element, she was countered by a perfectly-timed blast of his own.

Fighting only with finger-jabs and the fundamentally non-lethal Edeldross, Hunger was quickly able to disable her, leaving Letrizia the last opponent standing.

The young Duchess gulped as she stepped onto the proving grounds. "W-why don't I go get Verschlengorge and you can face someone your own Rank? It's fine to use equipment in battle!"

Hunger impatiently tapped his side. "You should be glad we're doing something so productive as your punishment. I had half-decided to make you do lines on a chalkboard."

Letrizia cocked her head. "Lines... on a chalkboard? People actually did that in your time?"

He shrugged. "Who cares? It looks miserable enough."

"Using your position as the Reckoner of Rotspawn to procure such ancient artifacts! This is truly abuse of power!"

So saying, she flared her own Pressure, its whipsaw force colliding with his own, blanketing the field with dust as she charged. Like her erstwhile 'classmates' Letrizia favored an offensive style, though her personal combat skills were nowhere nearly as refined as Aeira's.

Her Elemental-infused Pressure lent her an intuitive grasp of the tactical situation, but lacked the sheer power necessary to contest Hunger's own. She wielded her Rank with keenness and brilliance, but could not fend off his avalanche force.

Hunger deflected her initial forays with a wall of sheer edeldross and effortlessly outflanked her, poking her mercilessly in the side with index and middle fingers.

Letrizia yelped, spasming uncontrollably as she twisted away, but he was already on her opposite flank. A series of swift jabs had the Duchess nearly in tears; knees buckling, she stood resolutely through the assault, swiping wildly at him but catching only air.

"I'm not going to give up so easily!" She exclaimed, fists bunched as she launched a focused shard of her Pressure directly into the swelling tide of his own, the greater density of her power forcing open a wedge through which she poured a torrential blast, equalizing their effective Rank for just an instant. This she followed-up with a proficient series of melee strikes, a swift combination of arm-bars and lashing kicks that nonetheless faltered before Hunger's vastly greater martial skill. Easily sidestepping the main line of her attack, he targeted the back of her calf with a strike, forcing her to her knees as he locked her arms behind her.

Defeated, Letrizia hung her head. All her efforts had only briefly neutralized his advantage in supernatural power, while his speed and skill both were still vastly the greater.

This surprised neither of them, but it was one thing to know a thing and another to see it so harshly demonstrated. "Okay, now I give up!"

Hunger laughed and let her go. "Don't think you three will get off so easily. Training tomorrow as well, and the day after that, until you're all up to par."

Letrizia grimaced, holding back a shiver at the thought of what Hunger's definition of 'up to par' meant. "Don't you think this is a bit over the top, Lord Hunger? We helped spread your legend! According to you that even contributed to your huge improvement in Rank."

"And you're to face that same Rank on the field of battle," he rejoined. "Fitting, isn't it?"

Aobaru staggered up to him, toweling the sweat from his face. "I'm, up for, another round, sir!"

"Not yet," Hunger said. "We need to get some calories into all of you. But only half portions, since you're still being punished. I heard the Kaguya has laid out a spread of shaved ice and sundaes..."

---

Letrizia hummed merrily, legs swinging beneath her as she dug into her ice cream sundae. Her entire body was sore, battered into submission like dough for the baking, but the prospect of delicious fare had pain and exhaustion melting away like the airy cream in her mouth.

Halfway to her mouth the spoon stopped. Eugh, what was she thinking, evaluating this moderately capable cuisine as anything near delicious?! Trapped in the Realm her standards had truly fallen. Her house chefs alone were ten times more skilled, and Lord Hunger's Fish half a step above that. Perhaps he would be more accommodating of her prank if she flattered those fishing skills of his... but Letrizia saw no such opening today.

Aobaru ate with frantic speed, peppering Lord Hunger with questions, while Aeira diligently worked on an Elementalism primer for some of their less-talented classmates. They were both such hard workers, as she'd been, once upon a time.

Uncowed by their example, she luxuriated in another bite of fluffy whipped cream and rich vanilla, sucking the flesh off a rum-dipped cherry to twirl pit and stem against her tongue. It really was best to eat cool dessert after a nice, heavy exertion in the morning. After Hunger was finished with his torments maybe she would take a dip in the hot springs.

Letrizia frowned. She couldn't help but think she was forgetting something, however...

"Ah!" She exclaimed. "Lord Hunger."

"Hm?" He turned to her swiftly, taking the offered lifeline to deflect the relentless Aobaru.

"The Decimator's Affliction." She popped the cherry pit out of her mouth and set it down. "It'll be coming back soon, right? You said you'd dealt with it for a month, and that was three weeks ago. I know you... absorbed... Verschlengorge's portion, but were you able to mitigate it any further with the opponents you've fought in the Realm? Several were extremely strong, especially in the Temple, so..."

He shook his head grimly. "Unfortunately not. It's my top priority after we're finished here. I don't believe the Decimator's Affliction is concerned solely with the strength of foes beaten. Searching for a suitable target may take weeks, so we'll be departing as soon as the political situation is stable."

"Hmph," Letrizia laid her head on an upraised palm. "They should just declare fealty to the Crown and be done with it. Or I can take them in as a fiefdom under my House Lands."

"Y, you can't just trample all over our sovereignty like that," Aobaru exclaimed. "Our ancestors came out here and braved the dangers of the Voyaging Realm precisely to escape Imperial tyranny!"

"What, 'no taxation without representation?'" Letrizia scoffed. "Might as well just defect to the Republic if you're going to pay lip service to empty ideals."

"Enough." Hunger put a slightly heavy palm down on the table. "We'll let the people of the Sovereignty make their own determination as to their political state."

He held up a forestalling hand. "...So long as it doesn't involve making me King."

Aeira giggled. "But you are considerably wiser than our current rulership, my lord. Even if that is not a very high bar to clear."

"Rulership's tough," Hunger replied easily. "You're blamed for everything, but only have a finite span to redress it with. Not a job I'm looking forward to any time soon."

"Maybe you should consider it!" Letrizia said brightly. "I'd support your Imperial claim. As long as you maintain the framework of Empire, there's nothing wrong with putting someone both well-meaning and capable on the throne."

"Still able to think such kind thoughts of me," Hunger grumbled. "Either you've the patience of a saint... or I've been too easy on you in training."

Letrizia pouted. "You can't punish me for voicing my political support! Just think of the precedent that would set!"

"Maybe I'll put Gisena in charge. That would show all of you..."

"As long as she is not also in charge of cooking," Aeira said worriedly.

---

[X] Core Panoply with [X] Huntress' Moon has won. Hunger now has 6.375 Astral Rank, or 6.575 with Hero-Defeating Stance up.

What was Gisena building at the time?

[ ] Decimation Lens - A simple but powerful Artifact that halves the time needed to locate Huntress' Moon targets. Highly relevant to your immediate situation! Offers no combat utility.

*Do I really need to argue for this?

[ ] Clarion Grenade - A weapon inspired by an old friend of hers, made possibly by collaboration with Letrizia. This one-use detonating munition, currently in the form of a grenade, transmits a pulse-wave of iteratively-refined light and force that penetrates any form of physical protection, explosively pressurizing, then shredding the contents of its not-inconsiderable radius. Can be safely used by anyone with active Pressure of 3.0 or greater, or WITS of no less than ++++++++++++.

*A ranged, durability-ignoring area of effect attack could have many applications, especially with Hunger's current high-offensive arsenal limited mainly to melee...
*May unlock further developments in this tree
*Single-use items seem to provoke less scaling from the Apocryphal Curse

[ ] Firmament Reinforcement 1/5
- Gisena makes progress towards an infusion of supernal substance, reified space and time woven through the loom of the Azure to provide reinforced structure for the Evening Sky. Yields additional Protection, health, conceptual weight and regeneration to the Evening Sky when completed.

*Gisena can make more progress if given more time
*Directly enhances Hunger's combat abilities, applying multiplicatively with his other sources of superhuman durability.

Which Huntress' Moon target did Hunger catch the scent of?

[ ] The Contest of Ages - The Republic-sponsored trade city of Valenheim is hosting its biannual fishing contest. A long-time trade partner of the Sovereignty, Valenheim boasts a cosmopolitan gothic appeal and several of the most dangerous fish species known to Voyaging man.

*Huntress' Moon Target: Triumph. Hunger must achieve victory in the Biannual FIshing Contest, which attracts all and sundry from a large swathe of Voyaging Realm civilizations. Note this may entail following rules, or somehow overcoming them; short of catching the unambiguously most impressive fish, the subjective judgement of arbiters could also be a hurdle, as Hunger is not the most personable of individuals when subjected to the demands of others... to say nothing of the potential for politicking and sabotage.
*Errantry potential: Modest. May yield up to .1 Base Rank upon completing, depending on actions taken.
*Distance: Near. Estimated 7-10 days to completion.

[ ] The Opalescent Tower - Deep in the fastness of a hidden valley at the furthermost reaches of the Voyaging Realm is a kingdom whose princess was imprisoned in a tower of opalescent sky by a Tyrant of unfathomable malice. The magic of this place is the stuff of foundational myth, its lidless Arcanist's walls piercing earth, cloud, firmament and vastness to sunder its borders clear of the greater Realm. Yet to a voyaging warrior of Hunger's legend, even such obstacles as these may be overcome.

*Huntress' Moon Target: The Tower of Sky. Neither princess nor Tyrant must be slain, but the tower itself destroyed, ground into earth and rendered into ash and dust.
*Errantry potential: High. May yield up to .175 Base Rank upon completion, depending on actions taken.
*Distance: Far. Estimated 14-21 days to completion; half that with the Decimation Lens.
*May encounter additional magic systems or legendary Artifacts worthy of being wielded by one's self or one's allies.

---

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Realms of Myth
Realms of Myth

The winner was [X] The Opalescent Tower with [X] Decimation Lens. A very close vote on multiple fronts, and well-fought by both sides!

With the Decimation Lens pointing Hunger towards a valid Huntress' Moon target, the group prepares to set out from the Sovereignty. But what is Hunger's attitude towards the governance of the Sovereignty itself?

[ ] Laissez-faire - Hunger is unconcerned about the internal politics of this remote Voyaging nation. They've given him plenty of free stuff and there's neither the time nor the inclination amongst most of his party to remain entangled here for long.

[ ] Intervention Mk. I - Aeira's family has some experience ruling this nation, right? They should be in power. Two allied civilizations are better than one. [+1 Arete, Starts Elixir Sovereign sub-plot. Should be fairly brief]

[ ] Be the Change - While the Decimation is a pressing concern, no less so is the governance of this nation on which turns the lives of millions. Given the power and versatility of these High Elementalists, the Elixir Sovereignty is sure to be relevant in greater Voyaging Realm affairs going forward. With Stenallon occupied in the Temple, it falls to Hunger to marshal the courage of his convictions and bring to these people what he failed to in his second world: a well-functioning society, with reasonable laws and free of excessive burdens on its populace. How hard could it be? [+1 pick to next experience point, unlocks a Defining Advancement if successful]

*There isn't time to overhaul everything so he'll have to keep the general framework of their civilization, but there's nothing wrong with an amendment that makes Hunger the constitutional monarch with theoretical veto power over the ministries of government.
*He can then wield this authority to root out corruption and make sure everyone is doing their jobs properly within the bureaucracy, no flagrant abuse of power is occurring, and so on and so forth. Those who Gisena and Aeira vets, he will Ennoble, granting them a near-insurmountable tactical advantage in office politics.
*With the help of his well-feted reputation, and a certain renaissance woman, this task goes from improbably difficult to merely challenging.
*Will saddle you with some modest responsibilities to the governance and protection of the Sovereignty, potentially escalating to major responsibilities should the Sovereignty be endangered again.
*However, you'll also receive massive potential benefits in time, such as an army of High Elementalists with a dizzying away of capabilities...
*Could take a while OOC even if IC it's the whirlwind effort of a few days.

---

Venturing to the lands enclosed by the Walls of Myth, what is Hunger's primary destination?

[ ] The Walls of Myth - It's a long trip to get there, so why not take a slight detour to examine the fabled walls themselves? There is sure to be high magic in plentiful supply here by the lidless cloud-piercing battlements that have successfully severed all they enclose from a domain as formidable as the Voyaging Realm. Do they wield Foremost magics themselves, or arts of a school of comparable power? Or are the Walls themselves merely some form of trick or exploit, failing to match the Foremost in puissance but superior to their unattended works in treachery? Either way, there is much to learn.

*Detour means your journey will tend towards the longer side of the estimate (closer to 10 days than 7 for the entire trip)
*Magics, artifice, ancient lore - who knows what awaits buried within the Walls of Myth?

[ ] The Tower Itself - Straight to the Tower, all else can wait. Perhaps it's reckless to charge in without an overview of the lands' magics but Hunger wields both the Praxis and the power of Ruin and is assisted by the wielders of Nullity and True Vigorflame. There are very few supernatural threats he would lack an adequate answer for.

*Somewhat riskier, but swifter.
*May generate more picks
*Gain beneficial condition, I Am The Danger for the duration of the Tower hunt.

---

Finally, Hunger has gotten some experience from slaying Astral Beasts attracted by the healed Verschlengorge these past days. 2 picks were acquired; what shall they be spent on? You currently have 10.9 Arete. Choose only one.

[ ] Towards Stranglethorn
- Commits you to Stranglethorn, but also gets you halfway there! It's a potent Defining Advancement that suits Hunger well and scales greatly with All-Defeating Stance, while the power of Establishment gives Hunger a source of passive power in most timeskips. Doubled Willpower +s are also tremendously valuable given Cut Through's Willpower modifier to physical stats.

*If you don't commit to Stranglethorn now you may be distracted by other options in the future
*Stranglethorn's good, no need to overcomplicate things!

[ ] Honing (2 Arete) - Take Honing and unlock the Blood Advancements beyond it! Combat intelligence and more Agility are rarely bad. It's good value for your Arete and substantially improves Hunger's tactical acumen for most fights.

*Cheap and good, what's not to love?
*Efficient and unlocks future efficient picks.

[ ] The Ring of Power - Pitiless Maw (7 Arete) - A Conjunctional Advancement that requires the Forebear's Blade. How can hunger perish from this world? So long as there is one hungering thing, it will emerge again and again to feast upon this realm of mere phenomena. Passively restore health equal to 100% of the damage you deal in melee combat, and triples the Power of Ruin associated with melee strikes.

*Stacks additively with All-Defeating Stance
*Grants a fairly major combat upgrade, as you already have high Strength and Strength-scaling Ruin
*Increasing your rate of healing works well with your high Health pool from Inherit the World
*You can also take one Echo alongside this ability, increasing your Strength even further!

[ ] Feat: Crown (12 Arete) - Requires Be the Change. Unlocks the potential for Feat: Saber and Feat: Orb. You may find an opportunity to acquire this Feat again, but it is rare and dependent on circumstance...

If you survive, no power will be beyond you.

The Accursed had told him that. These three short weeks have felt like a lifetime, filled with harrowing challenge, foes and travails over every horizon. He has never worked so hard or so furiously in his life, even against the world-pervading crush of the Tyrant's presence. But the reward of discipline is power, and power has been attained at last. Power enough, in some ways, even to eclipse the Hero who stood against that Tyrant of yore, all those long months ago... power to triumph where he failed.

Now, child of Earth. How will you use that power?

At last attain the outcome that Hunger died for, what he set out to do before age and treachery taught him what may have been his final lesson, but for the intervention of the Accursed. Gain +.25 Base Rank; +.5 with modifiers. Rank gain may be reduced (with partial Arete refund) if reforms are not successful. This Feat would normally put you into pick debt, but Be the Change covers the difference.

*That's a lot of Rank.
*A lot of Rank.
*But it's also a lot of Arete...

---

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If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with the questers, you're welcome to join us on the AST Discord! We encourage substantive posts still to be made in the thread, and shitposting within the Discord.
 
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On the Crown
On the Crown

Public opinion had shifted enormously in the wake of the Rotbeast's defeat. The powerlessness and apparent incompetence of the government stood in stark contrast with the single-handed valor of 'Lord Hunger,' who had ventured alone into the depths of the Rotbeast and put down that primeval monster for good. Many called for a re-organization of the Sovereignty at the highest levels, and the renunciation of such policies as the mandatory conscription of Elementalists.

"The people are effectively unanimous," Aobaru said quietly, eyes wide. "They sincerely want you to be their king."

Though there had certainly been misrule and corruption, Hunger empathized slightly with the current government. They had simply lacked the power to address their people's troubles, and Hunger had not. That was no accident of circumstance - they had strived relentlessly to reach their current heights - but neither was it some great moral or intellectual victory for himself and his party.

Hunger sighed and rubbed his eyes, while Letrizia gave him a commiserating back massage. "It's okay, Lord Hunger! As we say in the Empire, noblesse oblige! Elevating nobility to the position of sovereign occasionally is merely what's done around these parts."

"Oh really?" He scoffed. "And when was the last time that occurred?"

Letrizia hummed and paused the massage to tick off her fingers. "Hm... I suppose it was a couple minutes ago!"

"I'm glad you find this so amusing."

Aeira tentatively gripped a stack of paper held against her chest. "Um- sir- If I may, I have a few suggestions as to the administration of this province, once you undergo your accession..."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Hunger grumbled.

"It's not like you want to be their king or anything, stupid!" Gisena sang cheerfully, sweeping by with, of all things, a duster in her hand.

"You did say you'd go with what the people want," Letrizia pointed out. "And this is what they want. Hail to the king!"

"It's impossible for me to stay here and rule."

"They're well aware of that," Letrizia rejoined. "That's part of what makes them so willing to elevate you to that position! Vacant yet uncontested at the same time - who could challenge such a throne?"

"The dangers of supernatural charisma," Gisena tittered, laying a hand on Hunger's shoulder. "What'll it be, my Lord? Learn to say no or take up this burden upon yourself?"

"If they really only desire an absentee monarch," Hunger sighed, "I suppose it's an opportunity to do some actual good with the power we've gained."

Letrizia cheered, pounding him enthusiastically on the back. "The seat of our sub-Empire rises! I'll make sure you have favorable trade terms with my fiefdoms. There are a couple of planets that would really benefit from even a few Elementalists!"

"We'll have to be careful that our reforms don't end up doing more harm than good," Hunger continued, "Especially with the populace so zealous. If we were to emigrate Elementalists on top of that, provoking the Voyaging Realm... Aeira, you've mentioned that your family are not the biggest fans of the current government. I trust you to give an objective evaluation. Is this mostly a matter of factional strife or is there truly considerable abuse of power in the current regime?"

Aeira considered carefully. "Certainly there is a great deal of corruption in the system, though I do not know if it rises to malfeasance on the level of, say, the Republic. But our education on the matter has likely been skewed. Our sources are mostly Imperial, and the Republic has long been embroiled in a rivalrous contention with their border Houses."

Nothing for it but to decide. He contemplated deeply for a moment.

"A constitutional monarchy," Hunger finally said. "With technical sovereignty in theory, but limited powers of appointment in practice. The main objective will be an overhaul of the current government structure emphasizing the elevation of officials that are both capable and well-meaning. We can skimp somewhat on the former as long as we prioritize the latter; at my current Rank I can permanently augment them with Blood enhancements. All of you will pitch in and assist with both the design and execution. We've only got a week and a half before the Decimator's Affliction returns, so we can budget no more than five days here."

"F-five days," Letrizia blanched. "To overhaul their entire apparatus of state? That's-"

"What the people want," Hunger said, eyebrows raised. "And we're going with what they want. Isn't that right, duchess?"

---

Afterwards, as Hunger retired to his room, Gisena dropped by with her newly completed Artifact. "This will make hunting for Decimator's mitigation much easier! You may praise me now."

"Truly you are a genius among geniuses," Hunger said dryly. "A star of grace come to earth and enlightening us by your presence. I simply don't know what we'd do without you."

"Ah~ wonderful!" Gisena fanned herself. "Praise me more!"

He took the Artifact from her to examine, a lens comprised of red quartz that could be placed before the eye. Already two figures were apparent on the display, potential targets with a high probability of replicating the phenomenon he'd tapped into against the pirate captain. Gisena had indicated that the first was most promising, a faraway tower woven from ancient magics that held some connection to his cloak of sky.

"How does it work?" He mused. That the Artifact was capable of interfacing with his Curse was no surprise - Gisena had always demonstrated keen insight into the nature of his afflictions - but he hadn't expected it to be capable of pulling such volumes of data from the world itself.

"It's connected to our Rings," Gisena explained brightly. "Among the lesser domains of my Ring is the Domain of Truth! Gathering a limited subset of data from our semi-immediate vicinity weighs against its ontological budget, but removing the Decimation's Affliction is absolutely a worthy cause!"

He smirked at the Azure. "Trying to escape our accusations of slacking? It's an ingenious design. I expected nothing less."

"Naturally," Gisena feigned demureness. "But let's talk politics. Are you sure about this, hun? You've got a mission to follow and it doesn't involve this Sovereignty, charming as it may be!"

He nodded seriously. "If we can make things better for these people, then we should at least make the attempt. Their society has been structured around Rotspawn defense for nearly two decades now. I don't want to see this place collapse into a military junta when their armed forces try to reclaim political relevance. Imperial culture places a fairly high regard on martial valour, from what Letrizia has told me. Edifying in times of war, but in peacetime..."

"This has been an odd turn of events," Gisena mused. "I'm surprised the powers that be allowed their official organs to broadcast such results! It's all but tantamount to treason."

"The groundswell of organic support put too much pressure on them," he said, "According to Aeira. I wonder if her family pulled some strings. They were previously discredited... but now their daughter is one of the only Elementalists confirmed to associate with our party. It wouldn't surprise me if some of their old contacts suddenly rediscovered their affection for her dynasty. Aeira herself seems earnest enough, but I don't know far to extend that trust..."

"Always trying your hardest," Gisena said fondly, resting her head against his shoulder. "Cursebearers deserve vacations too!"

"If only we all got what we deserved," he deadpanned.

"Exactly!" She rejoined, eyes wide. "So much acclaim would come my way! Perhaps I should be Queen instead?"

"Aren't Sorceress queens the very stereotype of jealous evil? But if you want the job, I wouldn't be opposed. My strengths trend more towards matters military. Not everyone can be a truly all-encompassing genius."

"Sorry!" Gisena chirped. "Flattering as the position would be, a genius knows never to take direct responsibility when she can instead deflect it onto others."

"How cruel, baiting me with false hope like that."

"Aren't you a master fisherman? For shame."

"I'm but an enthusiastic amateur. For a genius of your calibre to bully me is truly reprehensible."

She giggled. "My apologies! Let me make it up to you."

"Sure thing, I'll make you regent in my stead. You can do the hard work of vetting and selecting all our appointments."

"So long as it isn't Queen Regent. I'd hate to be a stereotype!"

"Princess Regent, then."

She batted her eyelashes at him. "How about Princess Consort?"

"How about another three Artifacts? We've Curses to be mitigating."

"Yes, your Majesty!"

---

[X] Crown with [X] Be the Change and [X] The Tower Itself has won. Where now shall Hunger focus his efforts? The option selected will be prioritized with the majority of his and Gisena's attention directed towards it, while the other option will be largely delegated. As both are major undertakings, it would be most efficient to direct their time to fully understanding one facet of the task before them.

[ ] Constitutional Design - There's not much time, so Hunger will have to work within the limits of the Imperial framework to some extent, but he's popular enough that major revisions are feasible. People are impermament, but a structure of government can outlive generations both great and timid. Focus on establishing the soundest possible foundation for the long-term stability of the government, guaranteeing basic civil rights and balancing the arms of government while maintaining enough of a continuity with the prior semi-Imperial system to maintain legitimacy in the eyes of the powerful traditionalist faction.

*A powerfully encompassing, but adaptive document can rein in the excess of would-be tyrants and clearly delineate the lines between public and private interest.
*A sufficiently well designed system of incentives, cultural norms and ingrained checks/balances can create aligned values from departments that would otherwise devolve into factionalism and internecine strife.
*This is a tremendous undertaking and not guaranteed to succeed, but may translate into effective rule at greater scales by use of similar systems.
*People go where their incentives lead them. How many evil viziers only turned out so because the system failed them at some crucial point? If officialdom rewards the pillaging of public coffers, even the staunchest idealist might find himself compromised.
*It is one thing to conquer, quite another to rule. Success here would ensure a steady foundation in both arenas.

[ ] Finding Capable Administrators - The intent behind any given document matters little in the face of its implementer. What's most important is to find people who share Hunger's vision and are reasonably capable at their job. Genuine well-meaning combined with a modicum of judgement should suffice to advance the public interest in Hunger's absence.

*An effective, but likely temporary solution to the problem of governance.
*Given Hunger's power of Ennoblement, very unlikely to fail
*If Hunger's hand-picked administrators are assassinated or otherwise indisposed, the system is vulnerable to collapse.
*Formal systems tend to be patched and compromised countless times in the process of actual rule. What matters most is that the people doing the patching are as competent as possible, with values strongly aligned with your own. Let the rest be sorted out empirically.

---

What faction will Hunger emphasize the interests of? This will affect the benefits you may receive from ruling the Sovereignty. That said, any tithes from the Sovereignty to its monarch will always be modest enough to minimize damage to its long-term prospects, except in situations of exigency.

[ ] The Elementalists - Ultimately the military and utility value of the Sovereignty lies in its Elementalists. Though naked advantage is not the purpose of Hunger's rule, it would be blithe idealism not to maximize the benefits of conquest in order to defray its considerable cost in time and attention.

*Strongly incentivize, but do not require, the training and advancement of powerful or useful Elementalists into coteries loyal only to the throne.
*May occasionally produce Elite-tier Elementalists such as Aeira and, more rarely, Super Elites in the vein of (though not quite reaching the heights displayed by) Aobaru.
*Many applications in battle and outside of it.

[ ] The Traditionalists - The Elixir Springs are the core of their eponymous Sovereignty, and its resorts the beating economic heart. Encourage cultivation and stewardship of the Spring waters and their healing powers, even at the cost of reduced Elementalist numbers.

*Great economic benefits; reliable and powerful healing magic of this scale is somewhat rare, and the Sovereignty sits at a Voyaging Realm crossroads where travelers are likely to stumble upon it.
*May acquire artifacts or sophisticated technology via trade.
*+50% to Gisena's Artifice crafting speed while within the Sovereignty
*You may be able to research further the properties of this water...

[ ] None - Seek only the welfare of the nation. You've no interest in self aggrandizement on such paltry scales. [+1 Arete]

*Selflessness is commendable, and your power is vast, but is this really the time or place for such sentimentality?
*You will fail to receive any concretely relevant (on your level) benefits from rule even as you spend blood, treasure and sweat defending the Sovereignty from all comers.

---

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