Vendetta
Hunger frowned. Losing Verschlengorge was a possibility they'd only briefly accounted for, the Armament of all things considered more than capable of taking care of himself. Their lack of knowledge of the Lord Protector's true capabilities was crippling them in this contest. Without any data on the limits of his sorceries, it would be risky to proceed further.
The Cloak of Sky had given him dominion over sorcery, and its theoretical power over magic was as vast and encompassing as the heavens themselves. The prototypical arcana it'd provided were the means by which he'd transported himself and Gisena to the location of the Armament-Fish. Could he draw upon those predecessor magics to bring forth a solution to this matter? Conjure some Astral Entity with knowledge of the Lord Protector?
Focusing his Pressure, he channeled it through the Cloak of Sky as he had the Ring, when first he'd drawn forth those tatters of shadow into the Mantle of Evening. Pulled through that vestment it was no anglerfish lure, but the maw of the abyss itself, the Void Above like a reflecting pond mirroring the void below.
It was uncertain, even at so mighty a Rank as his, to achieve exactly what he sought with so vague a methodology. The Cloak flared around him, encircling his impromptu ritual grounds, a halo of rushing darkness that formed runes into the earth. Directed by his will it enacted some primordial sorcery that matched the form of his desires, the stars of its pattern arranging themselves in the forgotten language of that magic.
He felt some internal reservoir deplete, possibility itself caged and reified; it would be some time before he could call upon the Cloak for arbitrary tasks beyond this. Teleportation and Astral Summoning were the sigils it had adopted, and boons of a different flavor were now past its remit. The constellations, once set, could not be trivially shifted.
Had he been careless, to exert his mastery so totally, adhering the Cloak to a purpose towards which it was now fixed? But with its basic abilities unaffected, he did not find himself overly perturbed by this. For its power over sorcery to be employed, it first had to be delineated, and a tool unused was as good as useless.
Even with the Cloak facilitating his spell, the process of summoning was neither quick nor easy. It would take an hour or more to call forth a being of appropriate power and stature, runes of the sigil like a starry net interposed between the Astral and the maw of his Sky, harmlessly sifting and releasing those beings inadequate to his purpose, ensuring the spell's potency was not expended on an irrelevant subject.
"I'm going to summon something that can help deal with the Lord Protector," Hunger said, hand upraised to stabilize the array. "It'll consume the majority of my Pressure and attention, so fight defensively until I'm finished."
"Understood!" Aeira said, intercepting a straggler before its suicide charge reached Adorie. "Your arrival has cleared out most of the enemies in the vicinity. We should be able to hold on from here."
Adorie bowed. "I apologize for relying so heavily upon you, Hunger. I'm usually a bit more useful than this! When you go to confront him, let me come along to help. I can lend my Pressure to your own to bend matters in our favor."
"I'm not one to turn down assistance, but you'll be expected to take care of yourself," Hunger said. "If all of you are in danger, I'll prioritize saving my companions over you."
"That's only to be expected," Adorie said simply. "I wish there were more I could tell you of his capabilities. The Lord Protector has always been a mysterious figure, and his Patron Spirit even more so. I'm afraid none of my followers have successfully infiltrated the inner circles of his... cult. He is a powerful sorcerer, but even the laws of magic don't seem to apply to him!"
"Sounds like a challenge for my Nullity!" Gisena said happily. "I've always wondered at the limits of the Maidengrace. Perhaps here it will finally meet its match!"
"Magic for me, but not for thee?" Hunger raised an eyebrow. "I see Lady Nullity lives up to her reputation."
"It's Princess Nullity now!" Gisena corrected him.
"Don't make me regret giving you that title."
"Do you regret not doing all that paperwork by yourself? Perhaps I should defect to a nation where my services are better appreciated."
"Ah," Adorie raised a hand. "I'm sorry, but Nilfel cannot afford bad relations with the Elixir Kingdom at this time. We're too dependent on our military alliance at the moment..."
Hunger grunted, feeling strength drain rapidly from his limbs. "Someone get Aobaru over here. He needs to refresh our Vigorflame augments."
"On it!" said Aeira.
---
The mask and robes of the Lord Protector weighed heavily upon her.
Her present form was protean, a protoplasmic mass of cells with strength enough to core mountainsides; and yet, they weighed heavily still, for the fact of their heft did not arise from mere mass. Finally the last of her advisors departed her command tent. She slumped quietly in relief. Dispelling the transmutation she assumed her true form. A strand of hair fell across her eyes, candyfloss-pink against the mask of iron.
Augustine shifted uncomfortably below the robes, sweat of her body drowned out by the smoke and soot emanating from her form. Field work was onerous as always. It was unproductive to dwell upon the merely physical, yet she felt uncharacteristically hesitant to contemplate her plans. But she could not afford to lose sight of the bigger picture. Her vengeance had been forestalled but this latest obstacle would fall like every other. She had come too far to fail now.
Her half-sister's forces had crumbled beneath the initial assault, but the arrival of the Interloper had halted their momentum completely. According to her scouts and telescopic observation, his power had grown considerably since he'd departed.
Was it a consequence of consuming the Opalescent Tower, or had Adorie's dreamt-for hero completed some monumental quest for strength? His Rank alone now brushed full Legions aside like dust from his linens. What abilities unrevealed could the Interloper boast in addition? The very prospect was unsettling.
Specifics mattered. His immunity to divination cast a pallor of uncertainty upon all her calculations. Even the minds of his companions were secured against the possibility of profile-building, and the Purple Bitch was properly immune!
For the first time in twelve years she felt the possibility of defeat looming. What mattered guile or adroitness in the face of such power, such sheer unfairness, as this?!
Augustine steadied herself, breathing deeply of the smoke that wreathed her. The taste of ash settled her mind and calmed her racing heart, as always. Her memories of the crucible were not dear to her, but they were familiar, and familiarity was the anchor of her vengeance.
From the age of eight she had ruled the greatest nation in the world with a fist of iron. She would neither falter nor yield. She would buy off the Interloper with the Armament her hostage, or banish him into a void beyond time, or catch his remaining companions in a trap, send him chasing phantasms and increase her leverage.
Even in the face of overwhelming power, there were always options. There was always a way forward, even if the path did not run straight. To disguise the form of her strength she'd invented Claumngor. To conceal the form of her weakness she'd created the Lord Protector. All things were possible with ingenuity and will.
She would delay, distract, obfuscate, demoralize, play dead - do whatever it took to buy time, then develop a solution to this latest challenge.
Never forget what they took from you.
The House of her father had paid in blood, Adorie the only innocent spared. But the clan of her mother was more culpable by far, and she could not rest until her siblings were avenged. It was regrettable that her father had slain himself before she could extract all pertinent information. Had he truly been ignorant, mere unwitting accomplice to her mother's experiments? A hapless genetic donor ensnared by her seduction?
Despite his faults she still wanted to forgive him, to make excuses for his ineptitude. As if her mere posture of good-will would somehow bring forth a parent that cared for her. As if that would alter the situation in any way.
It didn't matter anymore. She had had her vengeance on him. He was the past. She could only look forward now.
Forward, but her view was clouded by the Interloper's presence. Nothing for it but to work on further contingencies.
Spells to strengthen her Legions in case his strength was not truly insurmountable. Spells to conjure attendants to observe and ambush any companions undefended. Spells of layered protection, to shield her from all manner of power and displace her beyond his reach. Spells of illusion and concealment. Spells of destruction and disjunction. Spells of influence and contamination targeting vectors beyond the spirit and mind. Spells to stretch the moment, thread of time spun clean from the aether. Spells of noxious poison. Spells of virulent flame. Spells of impossible color. Spells of malice undying.
Smoke filled the chamber, ash and fibrous dust, bubbling molten steel as work after work emerged from her forge. Her power was to Build, shadow of a shadow that it was, and if her mind saw no path forward at least she could occupy her hands. Would it be enough?
She would not hope. Hope was the province of the powerless, the falsely-sweet daydream which sapped the will to action. The mighty had no need of hope. They simply enacted their designs.
The power of her father's blood was the abatement of all waning. The power of her mother's, was the very sorcery that once had raised the Walls of Myth. She was no trueblood, her awakened strength but a fraction of Adorie's potential, but some part of her was Foremost still, and no Interloper would stand against her vendetta, no matter how conveniently placed-
All at once she made the connection. The presence of a hostile Armament, the Interloper's impeccable timing, his improbable immunity to divination, the Purple Bitch's
resemblance to her mother... She could scarce see the skeins, the barest outlines of the plot, but this was very possibly one of her mother's schemes.
Had the monster regained coherence enough to plot again? Was the Purple Bitch one of her avatars, steering the outcome towards her ends, breaking Augustine's grip on Nilfel so that the 'Lord Protector' could not consolidate all the Realm of Myth behind 'him'?
Despite herself, she smiled. If that were true, then her mother had finally acknowledged her as a threat. A worthy opponent.
Spin your wheels, monster. Stand against me if you dare. And if you dare not, then run and hide. It will all come to nothing in the end.
---
The winner was
[X] Oblique Means with [X] Take Adorie. You've also purchased Undying Vanguard.
Hunger actually had to
use a re-roll here to save Versch, Augustine almost decided to liquidate the Armament to empower herself during her prep. You have a few re-rolls left, but do not count on them! On the bright side, you rolled well with your re-roll and may choose the benefit of your summon:
[ ] Glimpse - Hunger receives IC information of the Lord Protector's interlude and may act accordingly.
Cost: the spark of one mind can be traded for another. Be glad that ingenuity is a renewable resource.
[-2 Arete]
[ ] Shelter - An Astral being capable of
shielding Verschlengorge from the Lord Protector's machinations for the span of twenty-four hours. Your hostage 'saved,' nothing now prevents you from Crushing Them, though his Legions will have received the benefits of his preparation. For all the Lord Protector's tricks, you judge it unlikely he can stand directly against 10.4 Blood and 9.4 Military Rank, else he would have simply crushed the rebellion without preamble, as Hunger himself could have.
Cost: it is no easy thing to hold back the tide, much less a tide of Iron. One day this being will call upon you to defend one thing it holds dear for the span of twenty-four hours, and you will not be able to deny them.
[ ] Might - To Might alone, is given, the power to decide who shall rule. A formidable Astral janissary will assist you in any task that does not involve directly rescuing Verschlengorge, providing enough firepower to hold back a Legion or neutralize a good percentage of the Lord Protector's magics. Hunger will be freed up to pursue other tasks, such as directly rescuing Verschlengorge, while his enemy is suppressed or his allies defended.
Cost: It just wants money. Lots and lots of platinum, enough to reduce your wealth to a mere fraction of its current level. As Verschlengorge was carrying most of your platinum, Adorie will have to pay it from her family treasury, impoverishing her temporarily.
---
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