A Simple Transaction I

[Rihaku]

Promenade of Glories: II

Who was the individual assigned to handle the R-type calling himself "Lord Hunger?"

[ ] Gondar Hrsillimas

Gondar Hrsillimas is a man on a mission. Not only did this presumptuously-named "Lord Hunger" brutally dismember his apprentice and slay his best (and only) friend, he has all but disappeared from the Temple environs, presumably on some form of training trip. Given his demonstrated speed of advancement (or hidden powers), this can only bode poorly for the society in the Temple. The Inners have always favored a passive strategy, their well-regimented lives of luxury leaving their minds feeble and lax. For all that the administration is worthless, however, ten million innocent lives are at stake. Gondar can do nothing less than his utmost; to forsake his path would be unconscionable dereliction of duty. Now that Chief Coordinator Thran has passed the matter of the R-type to him, he will do what he does best: hunt.

Gondar is hostile, but socially inept. He could be convinced of your sincere desire to defect, but would not be happy about it. This will bias him against you; he will shoot first and ask questions later. Unlike the others, Gondar will not wait for Hunger to return to the Temple; he is actively hunting you within the Voyaging Realm, and depending on how much time you spend outside, may ambush you while you are traveling.

*Rank 4.5
*Defensive Rank
*Physical Parameters: Slightly superior AGI, vastly inferior STR and CON compared to Hunger.
*Soul Evocation: The Arrow. Gondar is an unparalleled master of the ranger arts. His skill with a bow is second to none among all ten million souls of the Temple's civilization. He is a terrifyingly proficient tracker, hunter, marksman and survivalist. His arrows can produce countless offensive exotic effects; rare is the foe he cannot fell in one shot, though none of these individual effects can match Vanreir's thrust in potency.
Enthusiasm: Fanatical. Gondar is determined to end your life.

[ ] High Marshall Avecarn

The world-weary High Marshall served seven decades in the outriders before finally retiring to the Inner Ring. A mighty warrior and tactician beyond compare, he is resentful at being summoned out of his now-idyllic life to steamroll some uninteresting R-type. That the Council considers itself unquestionable does not mean it can expect the enthusiasm of its hunting hounds when it would deny them even basic knowledge of the entity they face. He suspects, perhaps rightly, that the Council's divinations were defeated by this R-type's protections and they have decided to drop the hammer, employing massive overkill in lieu of more direct solutions.

Avecarn wishes only to get this over with as soon as possible. He would much rather be tending his gardens and spoiling his grandchildren than have anything to do with you. His expansive experience and formidable Rank make him difficult to deceive, however.

*Rank 6.5
*Active Astral Rank
*Physical parameters: Generally below Hunger's. A battle would not be as suicidal as your respective Ranks would indicate, though his Soul Evocation, below, does further advantage him against beings of lower Rank.
*Soul Evocation: The Administration. While he fights best alongside a group of underlings, Avecarn has a broad and deep enough well of effects to comport himself well in personal combat. Order and hierarchy in all their forms are his weapons. Authority equals asskicking, after all.
*Enthusiasm: Minimal. If he can be convinced of your sincerity, motivated reasoning would ensure he would have no problem accepting that you've turned your coat. One does not grow to be a solider of Avecarn's age by taking undue risks in battle. Who is to say you do not have some sort of trump card that could narrow or overcome the apparent harrowing gap between you?

[ ] Selune vi Tries [Cost: 4 Arete]

As you may have guessed from her name, Selune is actually a very, very distant cousin of your very own Letrizia von Artriez! She is excited to meet another member of her family, especially from Outside - and positively ecstatic to witness their family legacy, the legendary Devouring Armament, in action herself!

This is her first major assignment. She politicked herself onto the post due to going stir-crazy from the circumscribed lifestyle of an Inner Temple heiress. Though she is powerful for her age, her techniques are unrefined, having never been exposed to the fires of true battle. Surely this misunderstanding between Hunger and the Temple can be quickly resolved now that she's on the case!

Selune somewhat resembles Letrizia, though her Soul Evocation grants her superhuman Appearance and Manipulation. She thinks Hunger is totally awesome and could be convinced to escort him past all manner of security checks, waving off the concerns of her fellows by virtue of her Council-granted privilege. Selune sits the Council as a junior member and her authority cannot be countermanded by any Outrider, bureaucrat, military commander, or non-Council nobleman or woman.

If unselected, the vi Tries family does not exist on the Council of the Inner Temple. They may not exist at all...

*Rank: 3.5
*Bodyguard's Rank: 5
*Defensive Rank
*Physical parameters: vastly below Hunger's, but her bodyguard is almost a match for him.
*Soul Evocation: The Lunar. Selune possesses superhuman grace and shapeshifting capabilities, and can call upon a number of moon-based evocations to blast, banish, confuse or disorient her foes.
Enthusiasm: Friendly. Selune could care less about stuffy concerns like Temple security. She will no doubt be exceedingly distraught if her easily-proffered trust is betrayed. Should her suspicions be roused, her superhuman social instincts will ferret out deception instantly, but she is far too careless to be overmuch concerned at this juncture.

---

The winner was [X] Edeldross Adept, though this vote was very much closer than it looked. A number of good arguments & omakes were made for Shadowlord.

Long-term Planning!

You may choose one of these Advancements or Advancement Plans to unlock and deposit 1 Arete in. If 0 picks are required, Snap Purchasing is permissible.

[ ] The Ring of Power: Crimson Flare - 25 Arete. (0 picks, but requires Chief Dominion)

Call'd the ring in direst hour;
Azure's brethren faces turned.
Yet came the Lord its cause to flower;
then saw its keepers, to ruin burned.

Forgotten not, the debt of Time
when all its kind had turned their backs;
Not Hunger ring, its steed to ride,
brought Temple low, rapine and sack.

And debt unpaid shall not abide.

The crimson jewel blazes with a hallowed, piercing light, its glory to outshine sun and stars, all made abject by its presence. This is attainment of a height that disdains mere power, the Jewel of Blood unveiled in truth.

Elevates the wielder's Rank by a variable amount [Currently: to 5]
+2 Rank for purposes of wielding the Chief Dominion.

If the Azure Ring is saved:
Further increases the scope, power, and control of the Chief Dominion, beyond even the limits of the Ruling Ring.*
Obsoletes and refunds: Augment Dominion: Blood, Sublime Transfusion, Ennobling
The Azure Ring will submit to the Crimson in the next contest of primacy.

*Example effects: Individuals can be Ennobled in hours, small populations in days, large populations in months. Levels above Ennoblement can be researched and acquired, potentially without Arete expenditure. Verschlengorge can be healed to Rank 6 in hours, to Rank 7 in days, to Rank 7.5 in weeks. Enemies of Rank 4 or lower can be rendered comatose with a gesture; those of merely equivalent Rank (5) would suffer crippling disadvantage.

[ ] Evening Sky: Silver of Evening - 25 Arete (1 pick)

Inset in the crown of evening is a star of purest edeldross; its wearer becomes swift as nightfall after the sun's passing, beautiful as the naked stars, and sacred as midnight itself. For all spheres of magic in Evening reside: its wearer their master, and champion besides.

Double the Magnitude of present and future Edeldross enhancements.
+100% to the value of AGI and Charisma +s
+1 Defensive Rank
Once per sidereal month, perfectly defeat any one hostile effect to which the wearer would otherwise be subject. Applied against a Curse, grants two stages of mitigation for one day and one night. May apply even to the Doom of the Tyrant.

[ ] None: Do not invest Arete into long-term planning right now. You simply need every Arete you can spare.

---

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[Rihaku]

Force of Nature

They convened at an Elementalist training grounds the next day, Letrizia alongside her ostensible classmates and Hunger with Gisena. The grounds themselves were no more than a rectangle of densely packed dirt, but there was an almost celebratory air to the proceedings - the high schoolers gawked at the two of them, turning to bombard Letrizia with questions, while Gisena set up a one-person cheer section.

Letrizia temporized, deflecting the interrogation with a mysterious flip of her hair, then began to explain the rules of engagement. There would be one warm-up and one serious match per challenger. At stake was, on part of Hunger, both a considerable sum of money and a substantial amount of time; on the part of the students, a massively smaller sum.

All involved understood that the main objective was to familiarize Hunger and Letrizia with their Elements; to facilitate this, a bonus payment would be made at the end, amount depending on Hunger and Letrizia's own assessments as to how they performed. Letrizia had assured the children that Hunger would score them generously.

"Alright, guess I'm up first! Nice to meetya, mister! Heard you killed a lot of Rotspawn yesterday." The first contender was a loud-mouthed redhead by the name of Aobaru, whose Element of Vigorflame could increase the strength of an person or object up to a set point, after which it caused them to explode. He was notable for his iron control over the Element, capable of inducing explosions seemingly without the intermediate step of strengthening his foes.

Hunger carefully set aside the Forebear's Blade and walked to the center of their makeshift arena. Aobaru offered him a fist bump which he neglected to return, but gave the boy a nod of acknowledgement.

"Er... okay! Well, you've got a buffing-type Element like me, right? I've got some tips and tricks I could show ya."

"That's right."

"Hm... okay, so if yours is anything like mine, it helps anyone that touches it, which is the main problem. You've got enemies in melee that would love to steal your buffs and equalize."

"Exactly."

"I've got a couple ways around that... but telling you would be boring. Best if I just show ya."

Hunger smirked. "Be my guest."

They retreated to opposite sides of the arena, and the first spar began. Aobaru immediately launched a pillar of Vigorflame at the ground, which bounced up and struck his body: the quantity of Element summoned was no less, but by focusing it into a vertical emission, enemies outside touch range would fail to benefit. Clever.

Hunger immediately tried the same, even as Aobaru rushed him. The boy was a surprisingly capable warrior but no match for Hunger's speed. He dodged the child's strikes, blasts, and grapple attempts easily as he tried to figure out how to make the pillar technique work. His first attempt had merely sent Edeldross into the ground, hurling himself skyward. Subsequent attempts spilled out into an explosive dome, nothing like the precisely controlled column of energy that Aobaru had manifested.

He frowned. Perhaps the warm-up spars were a mistake. The stakes were so low his Ring was unsatisfied. No power to be gained from such conflicts.

He fell to a hundredth of his normal speed and finally the boy caught up. They briefly exchanged blows and Hunger allowed the boy to prevail, hopeful it would entice more tricks out of him when they fought the second time.

"Well done. I concede."

The boy looked shocked for a moment before an overjoyed expression came across his features. "Holy shit, I won! I beat the Reckoner!"

"The Reckoner?"

"Yeah, the Reckoner of Rotspawn! It's what we've been calling you, Lord Hunger."

With mental reflexes capable of tracing a bullet in mid-flight, Hunger stopped himself from cringing. This... was a good thing. Notoriety could only improve his Astral Rank when he accomplished substantial feats, though he suspected his fight against the lesser Rotspawn did not qualify. "I see. An interesting name."

"Wo-hoo! Go Lord Reckoner!" Gisena called from the sidelines. From somewhere she'd produced white cloths that she and Letrizia had tied as headbands. His name was written on them in bold red ink. "Good match, have a drink?"

He rolled his eyes and took the proffered water. "It was a tough match, but I'm confident I can come back in the second round."

Aobaru was walking boastfully among his compatriots, fielding them questions with indifferent aplomb. "No big deal, I'm sure he was holding back like, massively..."

"Why'd you throw the match?" Letrizia pouted. "I had good money riding on you, Lord Reckoner!"

"Oh yeah? Is it for the warm-up or the fight itself?'

"Both!" She grumbled.

"I see. Then, if you don't want to lose the rest, I suggest you drop both parts of that title when addressing me in the future."

"H-hmph! Whatever you want. 'S not like I think it's cool or anything..."

"Good." He smiled, took another sip of water and returned to the field.

Before Aobaru returned, Hunger spent a long moment in contemplation. The Ring would disqualify any contest that was insufficiently challenging or lacked real stakes. In that event, he couldn't use his full power, or even one-tenth: the greater his chance of actually losing, the more quickly he would learn. One-fiftieth power ought to give him an edge while still retaining that essential element of risk. If he miscalibrated, so be it. Even this method would likely fail if he repeated it too many times against a given opponent. Luckily there was quite a variety here.

Aobaru walked back from the stands, his cocksure swagger replaced by serious determination. "Alright, let's do this. I've got a month's worth of part-time wages on the line, so don't expect me to go as easy as I did previous."

Hunger nodded, taking a low stance. As Letrizia's arm fell to indicate the match's beginning, Hunger immediately sprang forwards, catching his foe in a grapple before he could fire anything. He then emitted a thunderous blast of edeldross, saturating them both; with his speed and strength much the superior of his enemy's, the absolute difference in parameters merely grew. If Aobaru attempted to summon any of his own Element, Hunger could defeat him with a submission lock fairly trivially. His Ring flared slightly, a steady trickle of power which he fed into his mantle, willing it to increase his proficiency with Edeldross.

Before Aobaru could tap out, Hunger released him and withdrew to the edge of the arena. That had worked well, but it was a tactic to be kept in pocket against a physically inferior opponent. For general use he needed to master the pillar technique.

"That... was fast..." Aobaru said shakily. "Hm, guess you could beat me at any time, so my only chance is to get a great bonus. Alright, well, I think I see the problem in your technique."

"Oh?" Hunger waited patiently.

"Yeah. Looks like you have a force-based Element. Usually those can be solidified into a semi-inert state. While inert, they'll lose most of their unique properties and act as a generic solid. What you really want to do is form a lip of solidified Element at the bottom and sides of your blast. That way it'll bounce off the earth and hit you instead of seeping in or spreading everywhere. Why don't you give it a shot?"

"This isn't fair, you're getting all the instruction bonuses yourself!" Another boy heckled from the sidelines.

Aobaru made what appeared to be a rude gesture in response.

"I learn best under pressure. Take me out while I'm attempting it."

"Are you sure? I mean, that's-"

"Yes, and don't hold back. Otherwise it won't work as well."

Aobaru leapt forward, streams of fire launching him at radically higher speed. Hunger barely ducked out of the way, forming a frantic shield of edeldross that deflected the boy. Ah. The solidified edeldross that he used to make shields. That was what the kid was talking about. If he produced a thin amount to contain the pure Edeldross, the "pillar" technique was much simpler.

He fired downwards again and was gratified to feel a nearly-vertical column of his Element surrounding him.

"You've got it. Sheesh, that was fast," Aobaru panted, 'spent' after going all-out. Hunger raised an eyebrow. The kid was a good actor, but had a ways to go before he could fool Hunger. "Alright, the next level is density control. The pillar technique's good if you want to fire off a blast to buff one of your companions, but for solo buffing you really need to master density. Almost all buffing Elements have greater effects at higher density, so if you can compress an orb of it and hold it in your chest, you should see some noticeably improved effects. The boost will be strongest wherever you hold the orb, but should radiate out to the rest of your body."

"How do I compress it in the first place?" He frowned.

"Well, the best way is to just summon it compressed. Takes a few tries but that's the safest to avoid enemy-buffing. You have to summon lots of Element at one time, right?" He called forth a torrent of flame. "But there's nothing saying you can't summon a lot of Element in one space, as long as your fundamental control's good enough."

Aobaru gestured with his open palm, summoned an orb of searing brilliance. "Like this!"

He swiftly launched the orb at Hunger, following up with a spirited charge. Hunger ducked the orb but felt a line of boils form along the exposed side, the flesh bubbling up as if on the verge of eruption. Terrifying.

He attempted to do as his opponent had done, summoning an orb of concentrated edeldross. Though his sphere was much larger than his enemy's palm-sized orb, still it ended up considerably smaller than the tank-sized blasts he normally produced. Tucking it into his body, it melted seamlessly into his chest; a steady, glowing warmth that vivified and exalted every fiber of his being.

Firing wide columns of Edeldross to deflect his opponent's attacks, Hunger charged in again, only to be forced back as Aobaru finally stopped holding back. The boy produced a broad, deep wall of livid fire, crackling golden tongues stretching full to sky. Aobaru emerged from the wall similarly coated in flame, a set of densely focused orbs whirling about his head. One by one they flew at Hunger, who was forced to endure two blows to the leg and one to the torso, flesh rupturing raggedly as it exploded.

Shocked at the gruesome display, Aobaru faltered a moment, and Hunger sent him to earth with a quick chop to the back of the neck. He placed his palm gently but menacingly upon the boy's head. "Do you yield?"

"Uh, yeah, I yield. Holy crap that was hardcore. Do you just like, not feel pain?"

With the spar over, his other magics were unsealed. Hunger quickly repaired his wounds. "I do, but you learn to ignore that in combat. Perhaps my sense of pain has dulled over time."

"Jeez. As expected of the Reckoner, I guess. You're pretty cool for an old guy!"

"..."

Aobaru got up. "Anyway, there's one stage of enhancement beyond even density, but I haven't mastered it yet. We call it suffusion. You create a highly-dense construct of your Element in the exact shape of your body, and move it exactly as your body moves. That gives the heaviest augmentation of all, even better than just saturating yourself with a pillar of highly-dense Element, but it's really hard and requires continuous maintenance. The orb method is a lot stabler."

Interesting. He wondered why that was. Intuitively, a 'highly-dense pillar' ought to offer the greatest exposure possible to one's Element. Perhaps it was psychokinetic in nature, some aspect of the concentration itself focusing the Element's effect? "Good to know. Thanks."

"Hey, don't thank me. Just pay me well! I gotta make up for this lost lunch money." Aobaru grinned cheekily and handed over a pitiful sum.

"YEAH!!" Letrizia cheered wildly. She fired off a column of Pressure into the air. "I'm the best! I love gambling!!"

After that came a succession of considerably less impressive 'High' Elementalists, though Hunger's self-imposed restrictions nearly caught him out from time to time. Nonetheless by the end of the day he had gained an impressive competence in Edeldross manipulation without having lost a single (real) bout. Happily he paid out the students' bonuses, and was just about to leave when one final student arrived at the grounds.

She was a girl of about Letrizia's age, pretty and slender but not as tall as the Armament pilot, with eyes of dark violet in a similarly dark outfit. In her left hand she carried a slightly curved sword in a scabbard of polished wood. Her dark hair was drawn up in a ponytail spill of ink, stark contrast to her unhealthily pale skin. Her stance was light, alert; a fighter of professional skill, despite her nervous demeanor.

"Hope... I am not... too late," the girl said shakily, as Letrizia came over to greet the newcomer.

"Aeira!" Letrizia said happily. "I didn't think you'd be able to make it. Did your parents give you permission?"

"Ah, yes." Aeira replied. "It took much of the night, and today as well, but they have finally agreed to allow me to become a mercenary!"

She bowed deeply to Hunger, and then to Gisena. "Lord Hunger and Lady Allria, please permit me to travel alongside you! Letrizia has informed me of your mission and I would bring much in the way of novel capabilities. My Element, Shadowcord, dims light and deflects attention, allowing me to cloak you from detection even against automated systems. I am also a capable fighter with the sword, and can defeat most Sovereignty Armors in direct combat."

"Fascinating," Gisena remarked. "The information-theoretic implications of that attention-deflecting ability..."

"Aeira's really strong!" Letrizia gushed. "Maybe not as powerful as you, Hunger, but we could really use her stealth capabilities, and we've got plenty of money left over to pay her! Her family could really use it, and she can definitely take care of herself!"

---

The winners were [X] Ring of Power: Crimson Flare and [X] High Marshall.

[ ] Fine - She can guard Letrizia while you're away, and the outrageous output of every experienced Elementalist means she can even cloak Verschlengorge from detection. Perhaps it'll even work on Astral Beasts? If necessary, she may also be able to take the field against some weaker foes, or support Hunger from a distance with supplemental stealth. [7 Currency units / month]

[ ] Unacceptable - Proficient as she might be, it's nowhere near safe for her to adventure with the likes of you. Hunger is a Progression-type Cursebearer, Gisena is a (soon to be) High Sorceress with an extremely powerful and broad anti-supernatural defense, and Letrizia is a superweapon pilot. There's no room for an ordinary High Elementalist among your ranks, no matter how talented. [+.8 Arete, +1 pick to upcoming Experience]

---

As you will likely be facing the High Marshall soon, you may wish to pre-buy Stances, ensuring availability for the entire encounter. He outranks you significantly and has a powerful Soul Evocation. An abundance of caution would not be remiss here; Rank gaps of such size are dangerous to contest directly.

Tactics can also help, of course, but his Rank makes him difficult to deceive. You have 18.7 Arete with 1 put towards Crimson Flare.

[ ] Maximum Safety - Buy Hero-Defeating Stance and Guile-Defeating Stance (below).
*Combines high Charisma with a Rank nullification effect, vastly reducing the effectiveness of his greater Rank upon yours. Safest social option.
*Hero-Defeating Stance feeds into Foe-Defeating Stance, whereas Guile-Defeating Stance feeds into All-Defeating Stance. Not very synergistic in the long run.
*Expensive, but minimizes death %.

[ ] Somewhat Safe - Buy Guile-Defeating Stance and World-Defeating Stance (below)
*Both feed into All-Defeating Stance, so this is considerably more efficient than the above at the cost of reduced safety.
*You can only have two Stances active, so it won't make sense to buy Magic-Defeating Stance with this arrangement until you can afford All-Defeating Stance or have 6 Rank...
*Still expensive.

[ ] Kinda Safe - Buy Hero-Defeating Stance.
*It's not really that safe, but way better than Maximal Greed.
*Hero-Defeating Stance is almost always pretty good.

[ ] Maximal Greed - Don't buy anything.
*You will probably get rekt. He's 2.2 Ranks higher than you, literally everything you do will experience massive pushback from the universe itself.
*However, getting rekt does not mean you will necessarily die. You might still be able to retreat and limp away.

Guile-Defeating Stance - 7 Arete

A martial stance of the Forebear. Where comes the craven, who by shadowy pacts, scheming and circumstance seeks to undermine the wielder's unquestionable authority, they will find that age and treachery have already usurped that domain, and were lying in wait all the while. There can be no power behind the throne but he that sits the throne itself, if that sovereign is wise enough to adopt this stance of the Forebear. A pre-requisite for All-Defeating Stance.

++Wits, ++Wisdom, ++Charisma.

+2 Rank, ++++++++Manipulation for purposes of detecting, subverting, and overcoming hidden schemes, illusions, and deceptions. Apply the Power of Ruin against such efforts if hostile to the wielder. Be it a rapier feint or the meticulously calculated plot of eons, all forms of mistruth are laid bare before the Forebear's gaze.

World-Defeating Stance - 7 Arete

A martial stance of the Forebear. Forces natural and premeditated; forces unnatural and obscene - it matters not to the cause of the Forebear, whose march is steady and inevitable, carrying all before it. A billion realms brought to heel and countless more razed to ash, systems of the world in kaleidoscopic arrangement and all bent to his will. Meaningless as escape may be, more futile still is dissent: an enemy is just a future subject, and though they may forget the face of their fathers, the Forebear's visage is burned indelibly into their spirits.

If the user possesses all of the other [Type]-Defeating Stances, upgrades into All-Defeating Stance.

+.2 Rank, ++Luck, ++Intelligence, ++Protection

++++++Protection further against environmental harms, including from incompatible or hostile physics and metaphysics.
*Shelters wielder's powers from suppression or negation, even that resulting from a lack of magic or magical structures within the world.
*5x Power of Ruin against non-supernatural foes or phenomena beyond a human's ability to defeat.

---

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[Rihaku]

A Wind Full of Knives

"Fine," Hunger said, after a moment's thought. "If you've thought through the logistical implications, you can come with us, though we won't provide any guarantee of safety. This path is dangerous and will only grow more so."

He would trust Letrizia's judgement on this matter, at least for now. The young duchess was in many ways naive. It was sometimes hard to remember that she was a veteran warrior entrusted with her nation's greatest superweapon. He believed she had the wherewithal to consider matters objectively when truly serious decisions, like this, came about.

"Thank you so much!" Aeira bowed again, even more deeply than before. "Yes, I have set up an account for an escrow company into which you can deposit funds now and remotely. The money will be released to my family on a time-delayed basis, assuming you intend to pay upfront with cash, and returned to you if my service is not satisfactory. One of my classmates has an Element that allows for limited-throughput communication across the Voyaging Realm. It's not totally reliable, but we should be able to get signal at least one day in ten. That will also enable me to slowly navigate back to the Sovereignty if we must part ways. I can bunk with Letrizia and will bring my own supplies in terms of food and toiletries."

"You're prepared, that's good. We'll finally have someone responsible on the team." Hunger smiled lightly.

"That means she'll have to rein us in, hun!" Gisena grabbed his arm playfully. "How shocking! Now what will we do for fun?"

"Training," he deadpanned. "Speaking of which, Aeira, would you care for a spar? If I win, you'll give us a 10% discount, and if I lose, we'll double your pay."

Aeira made a startled noise and raised her hands. "I-I am sorry, but I do not think I can accept those terms. Even though you are being unconscionably generous, my family needs this money and I cannot accept anything less than the asking price."

"Hm." Hunger frowned slightly. "I hate to pry, but may I ask what your family is using the money for? If there are any points of leverage against you, we need to be informed in advance. We're trusting you to watch our backs against foes that are very capable and resourceful, often with varied supernatural capabilities."

Letrizia bit her lip. "Shoot. I hadn't considered that..."

Aeira smiled gently at her. "It is fine. Yes, my family is greatly in debt to government of the Elixir Sovereignty... we used to be on the founding council, but my grandmother and grandfather made several critical errors in business, wiping out our fortune and exposing us to our rivals. The back taxes alone have been crippling... All my life, my mother and father worked tirelessly to extricate us from debt, but their political enemies ensured they would never hold high station. However, I do not believe that such petty affairs in so remote a society as ours would hold much interest for your enemies."

"I see." There were a few ways such a vulnerability could come to bite them down the line, but it seemed unlikely for now. Something to keep an eye on, but it wasn't disqualifying. The main issue would be... "Your friend, who allows you to communicate across the Voyaging Realm, how does her Element operate? Do you trust this person?"

"Yes, absolutely." She nodded. "Her Element manifests only partially in the physical realm. The other half is bound not by space, but by emotional association. Only if we trust each other mutually and implicitly would the function work correctly."

"And she is diligent enough to keep you regularly updated on matters here?"

Aeira nodded again.

"In that case, welcome aboard." He reached out a hand for her to shake. Hesitantly, Aeira extended her own, pausing in the midst to remove her fingerless gloves. Her grip was firm but rigid, palms sweaty. Anxious beneath the mask.

"I know it may not seem like much to you," Aeira said, smiling timidly. "But this is truly a small fortune for my family. It will make our interest payments much more bearable. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you again!"

"Don't thank me. Just carry your weight," Hunger admonished gruffly, but returned her smile with one of his own.

"You did it! I'm so proud of you!" Letrizia leapt over and grabbed Aeira in a hug.

"Mhm!" Aeira nodded happily.

They set out on their journey to the Temple once more. This time Verschlengorge was blanketed in a cloak of silken shadow which, if one were not looking specifically for him, diminished the salience of his presence in one's mind. It was an odd effect, the colossal machine seeming almost to fade into the background... not invisible nor inaudible, but unimportant, like a cliff or hillside, the clangor of his movements like construction noises far away.

This was the power of Aeira's Element, Shadowcord, which could be garrote or spear or binding weave; an assassin's Element which, aside from its attention-negating properties, also enhanced the agility of its wielder and nulled all sound by touch. Killer and victim would conclude their business in absolute silence, unnoticed even in busy crowds.

Gisena welcomed their newest party member warmly, though Aeira seemed powerfully intimidated by the superhuman Sorceress, unable to raise her voice above a whisper when addressing Gisena directly. Most of the time, Aeira stayed with Letrizia in her cockpit, the two teenagers chatting happily about Imperial society and the differences in its Elixir offshoot.

"That poor darling," Gisena smiled sadly, sitting alongside Hunger on Verschlengorge's shoulder. With the aid of Aeira's shadow, the number of Astral incursions targeting Verschlengorge had indeed decreased, though oddly not to zero. Thus there was no pressing need for comprehensive surveillance from its shoulder-side staff.

"She looks up to you," Hunger said, "She just can't express it very well."

"I know," Gisena replied airily, "But if it's that bad now, just think how tongue-tied she'll be after I finish my meditations! And your own force of presence has been steadily increasing as well. Soon it'll be difficult for either of us to speak plainly with ordinary people."

"Needs must," Hunger said. "The Apocryphal Curse will not stop escalating, so neither can we." This small sliver of inhumanity was a trifling price in the face of vengeance, though it did unsettle him slightly. But what was to be done about it? He frowned. Perhaps there was something to be done.

"Though," he continued, "as the Nullity Sorceress, one would think you would be most equipped of anyone to bring us back down to earth."

"And surrender this beautiful visage?" Gisena gasped. "I would never do that to you. Worry not, my captain, I could hardly bear to deprive you for even a moment! The teeming masses shall just have to withstand it."

Was she referring to the reduction of her presence, or his own? Down either path lay a trap, and if called out directly she would feign obliviousness, thus framing his observation as paranoia. Hunger shook his head amusedly.

"You're too clever for your own good, Gisena. What if you applied that genius to actually finishing those meditations of yours?"

She idly kicked a slender leg, leaning against his shoulder. "I can't, Aeira took the spot in the cockpit I was using to meditate! Don't worry, I'll be finished up and completely evolved by tomorrow morning, ready to help you take down the Temple. So enjoy my delightful presence while you can!"

"Good. You can keep watch while I take a nap."

Already they could see the Temple at far remove: the towering spires of its moon-clutching claw, the ivory swell of its dome against the wavering blue horizon. As before, they would have to navigate around to reach the front gate, a trip of several hours more. Hunger leaned back, settling in for the final leg of their journey.

Soon, he promised mentally, addressing the imprisoned Ring, willing his own to act as conduit. He did not know if the Rings could actually speak to one another, did not know if it was merely a futile gesture, but sought to offer whatever hope he could: the strength, perhaps, to resist for one day more, to deny its exploiters whatever power it could, here in this final hour. One way or another, your suffering ends soon.

---

The winner was [X] Fine. In light of your new Arete total, the build vote will be concluded below.

You have about 27 Arete. You may spend up to 28 with Arete debt.

[ ] Forebear's Blade: All-Defeating Stance - 28 Arete

Woe to he who would presume to resist the Forebear, for neither spell nor song nor storm of swords would find purchase against his impervious guard. Bowed kings, bowed wizards, bowed warriors of legend and worlds themselves, for there was no chance of triumph without knowing the form of victory, and to stand against the Forebear was to know only defeat. Consumes and replaces its pre-requisite stances.

+++++All Stats
5x Power of Ruin against all targets.
Powers deriving from the Forebear's Blade are perfectly defended from nullification of any kind, even that stemming from a lack of fundamental metaphysics.

All-Defeating: All external effects natural or supernatural which would harm, impede or negatively alter the wielder must contest the amplified Power of Ruin or be destroyed before reaching the wielder. Effectively the character automatically applies an incredibly powerful conceptual-level counterattack against all hostile effects.

In practice, this mitigates all Curses as per Magic-Defeating Stance and renders the character nigh-immune to most forms of harm, as all attacks are intercepted by an imperishable well of ablative Ruin. Only the mightiest of effects can even hope to pierce through, and often with severely reduced outcomes. Even the effects of enemy Pressure are largely nullified unless that Pressure is substantially mightier than the wielder's Pressure and Power of Ruin combined.

Holy Shit: To stand against the wielder is to know only defeat. The wielder's enemies know when they are beaten. Double the wielder's Charisma and Manipulation against characters individually weaker than him. Innate awareness of the character's strength penalizes any attempts to form organizations or conspiracies opposed to him.

*In light of this capacity, Hunger will pursue a military-based strategy against the Temple, discarding his earlier plans. Events such as this occur sparingly if at all, but changing circumstances are inescapable, and needs must.
*Hunger can defeat Avecarn with only moderate difficulty and has decent odds of soloing the entire Temple himself.
*A highly synergistic build: You've taken lots of +Might (and +Willpower, and the Stance grants both), which is multiplied by Edeldross, which scales the power of Ruin, which is quintupled by the stance, which reflexively opposes all hostile effects. Hunger becomes a nigh-invincible juggernaut for his power level, and his offensive might is tremendous due to that Ruin itself. He can safely focus on developing esoteric capabilities with Cut Through.
*There are situations where one might prefer to have Guile-Defeating Stance instead of All-Defeating Stance, and taking the latter does consume the former.

[ ] The Ring of Power: Crimson Flare - 25 Arete. (0 picks, but requires Chief Dominion)

Call'd the ring in direst hour;
Azure's brethren faces turned.
Yet came the Lord its cause to flower;
then saw its keepers, to ruin burned.

Forgotten not, the debt of Time
when all its kind had turned their backs;
Not Hunger ring, its steed to ride,
brought Temple low, rapine and sack.

And debt unpaid shall not abide.

The crimson jewel blazes with a hallowed, piercing light, its glory to outshine sun and stars, all made abject by its presence. This is attainment of a height that disdains mere power, the Jewel of Blood unveiled in truth.

Elevates the wielder's Rank by a variable amount [Currently: to 5]
+2 Rank for purposes of wielding the Chief Dominion.

If the Azure Ring is saved:
Further increases the scope, power, and control of the Chief Dominion, beyond even the limits of the Ruling Ring.*
Obsoletes and refunds: Augment Dominion: Blood, Sublime Transfusion, Ennobling
The Azure Ring will submit to the Crimson in the next contest of primacy.

*Example effects: Individuals can be Ennobled in hours, small populations in days, large populations in months. Levels above Ennoblement can be researched and acquired, potentially without Arete expenditure. Verschlengorge can be healed to Rank 6 in hours, to Rank 7 in days, to Rank 7.5 in weeks. Enemies of Rank 4 or lower can be rendered comatose with a gesture; those of merely equivalent Rank (5) would suffer crippling disadvantage.
*Hunger will try diplomacy first before moving onto combat
*He can offer them much, though it would still be a difficult task to sunder Avecarn from his civilization: stability is worth more than promises written on wind, and Hunger does not really have much interest in taking care of the Inner Temple society.
*Good odds in combat, very good odds of survival.
*Build towards the Trinity Special Advancement.

[ ] Renaissance Woman - 28 Arete

Not merely a genius of one generation, nor of one era; hers is a greatness of mind and spirit that arises perhaps only once in the lifetime of a species. All-conquering talent that bestrides all fields and masters them beyond compare: only this genuine polymath can be said to embody the complete essence - the true quintessence - of humanity in the Maiden's image. Only so exalted a paragon can glimpse the mortal facings of Heaven's Lathe and depart with mind unshattered.

A singularity of findross births a Sorceress. A meta-singularity of findross, births a Maiden.

*Gisena immediately acquires the Maiden-level Graces: True Perfecting Blade, True Nullity, and True Quintessence.
*Gisena, through observation of the mortal-perceptible components of Hunger's Progression, replicates the effects of the Lesser Remittance, Retinue, for up to one cardinality of infinite escalation.
*True Perfecting Blade: Massively improves Gisena's STR, AGI, CON, WITS and APP. Her physical parameters are modestly superior to Hunger's own. Her Wits and Appearance are tremendously superior to Hunger's own. Parameters will continue to increase over time.
*True Nullity: Gisena applies the effects of Grand Nullification upon all of Hunger's Curses; her nullity strikes with absolute force. This may improve over time.
*True Quintessence: Gisena is treated as if possessing the Total Eclipse Advancement.
*Her outrageously superhuman Appearance, Charisma and Wits can be classified as a high-grade memetic hazard, making infiltration of the Inner Temple quite trivial.
*Does not build towards a Special Artifact Advancement but also does not commit you to a path.

---

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[Rihaku]

Interlude: The Star-Forge

The Encampment of the False Moon. A riotous whirl of sandstone facings and colored tents, teeming with moon-mad adventurers whose desperation and fearsome need for distraction have birthed one of the foulest dens of sin and iniquity to mar the Voyaging Realm. Among the vaudeville festivities and direst-hour purveyors of food and lodging lie those few mighty peddlers whose business is neither fare nor fortune but power itself.

Sigil and secret, objects of power or sentimental value to the Residents Within - these are their stock in trade, among them a cache of papers distributed by the Ministry of Information For the Inner Ring. Secured by supernatural locks and surrounded by guardian spirits, the contents of these bloodstained pages are known to few within the Encampment itself. Do the peddlers fear the loss of their prey, should the true sophistication of Inner Temple society be made known to them? Or are they merely content to hoard and bask in their hidden knowledge, lording it over the ignorant?

But the party was ignorant no more, for Aeira was able to secure these on a brief excursion to the Encampment. She made no attempts on the greater, more heavily guarded treasures within, noting that Lord Hunger seemed content with the current state of his panoply, and having no wish to call down mightier contingencies than she'd already provoked. Still, the lithe assassin made little secret of her satisfaction at having given her pursuers the slip, though she was shocked to find Hunger dissatisfied at the lack of enemies to subdue. The information within is neither complete nor entirely decipherable, but its contents are illuminating nonetheless, especially should Hunger wish to infiltrate the Temple in person. Though he will never be bound to obey their customs, still it is better to be aware of them, so that evasion is possible.

- The Star-Forges of Plerion -

CONFIDENTIAL - GRADE O-5 AND ABOVE ONLY
FOR DISSEMINATION TO OUTRIDERS PROMOTED TO MARSHALL-CLASS AND ABOVE

From the Sayings of Plerion:
Ignorance is no excuse for disobedience; nor liberty, for disorder.

Named for their long-deceased inventor, the Star Forges are crucial to the stability and prosperity of our regimented Inner Ring. The dome of blue that surrounds the Ring appears impenetrable to outsiders, but within you shall find it is near-wholly transparent, reflecting both daytime and evening sky in mirrored harmony, with night on the outside become day within.

You have likely long wondered at the purpose of the Star Forges whose auditory emissions are deflected into the Middle Ring. Crystallized possibility can be extracted from the stars of the False Heavens, tearing them from the nighttime sky to forge into numinous energy, which can then be repurposed for any number of applications. Empirical observation has long confirmed that extraction via star-forge is the most efficient and least unpleasant means of exploiting the priceless Treasure at the Heart of the Temple, though many have raised the obvious question: what happens when the stars run out?

To which the Council notes that the number of stars in the night sky is very nearly innumerable, and the current rate of extraction will see our civilization through for many millennia to follow, far beyond the circumscribed lifetime of any Inner Resident save the Immortals themselves. While the visible eye may not be able to perceive every star, our mighty astronomical arrays have indeed confirmed that the blanket of seeming darkness above is home to countless stars below the range of human perception.

Fewer, more heretical minds have proposed a different question - what if the Forges were turned to the harvest of the moon itself? The Council, as befits its dignity, has not seen fit to answer so ludicrous a query. Star-stuff suffices to power all but the most esoteric applications of Inner Ring society, from power and lighting to the time-twisting Calendar Engine and even the carefully regimented Dimensional Vortex upon which the Inner Ring sits.

Marshall, imbibe dutifully the information contained above, and take heed as to the tenor of questions that the Council will and will not countenance. Such is crucial to your harmonious existence within our Inner Ring.

- At Temple's Heart -

CONFIDENTIAL - GRADE O-7 AND ABOVE ONLY
FOR DISSEMINATION TO NATIVE-BORN RESIDENTS WITH AWAKENED SOUL EVOCATIONS OF MILITARY GRADE

From the Sayings of Plerion:
No False Moon is this, but the anchor of the world itself! Come now into mine grasp, that my descendants may flourish evermore.

It is well known that the Treasure at Temple's Heart is the source and guiding light of all magics practiced by its attendant civilization. As the vast majority of practitioners are Soul Evokers, an understandable confusion arises: will the Light of one's Soul itself be extinguished should the Treasure ever be depleted?

The answer is more complicated than a simple affirmation or negation would reveal. Rather, without the Treasure's empowering light, most Soul Evokers would be incapable of directly manifesting their own Light in so concrete a manner as they do nowadays, with all but the mightiest relegated to effective mundanity.

This would be only one of the many catastrophic consequences to follow if the Treasure were ever to depart its hallowed perch, but rest assured that its longevity as a power source is effectively infinite! That is why the treasure must be impenetrably defended, not only by the citizenry of the Temple, but by the Immortals of the Council themselves, whose imperishable might is the sole and necessary justification for their continuance beyond the prescribed lifespan of one thousand years.

Do not envy them their eternal vigilance, and mourn not your finite hours, for it is by their tireless regard that the Treasure which shelters us all is kept secure for the generations to come. Theirs is not a privilege but a duty, no reward but an onerous and ceaseless burden, which is why any Councilor elevated to the Rank of Immortal is stripped of all commissions and departmental roles, and their voting power further cut by half.

While Inner Ring residents benefit from regular exposure to the Treasure's directly refracted glow, Middle Temple outriders must make do with the second-hand light that emerges from their Sigils. The worthy are elevated to join us, but do not concern yourself with pity for the other residents of the Middle Temple. Existence itself is a boon to them who live beyond the prescribed ten million. They are defended in large part by our largesse, with a not-insignificant fraction of our star-stuff re-directed to power the Ritual Grounds.

- Ritual Grounds: Maintenance Report e79#CXXXXVI -

CONFIDENTIAL - GRADE C-3 AND ABOVE
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, HONORED COUNCILOR
MEMETIC CENSORSING ACTIVE (The third line is burned off and barely readable, replaced by a series of runes which glow like dull embers)

Groundskeeper Prelairn is missing in action, assumed slain at the nexus of a high-valence anomaly in Sector X. Forensics indicate magic-negating power of up to Class S was deployed at the epicenter, roughly five meters from the last recorded transmission of his Sigil. Tiller Wurm activity is substantially reduced in his absence; the Wurms are agitated for lack of their 'father.'

Knight formations have been disrupted in Sector X, presumably by the same Incursion which slew Prelairn. Preliminary divinations reveal cognitohazard status - Marshalls Farseer and Oracle were burned out, and Marshall Vicissitude slain, by the (assumed) entity's ontological perimeter. Further divinations are not recommended at this time. Speculated typing: S-type 35%, O-type 41%, X-type 11% (!), R-type 14%. NOTE: The irony that Sector X should produce the first potential X-type is not lost upon us. Given the defenses in place we can only speculate as to the apparent coincidental nature of this Incursion, but more deliberate machinations cannot be ruled out. Caution is recommended until further information becomes available.

UPDATE: Patrol activity in Sector X-M has revealed four Incursions of notable strength in this period, including two R-types and Fairbright. We now believe the chance of X-type incursion to be <.1%. For details, please reference patrol log c43#MMXI. Further information is beyond the scope of this report.

Given these and many lesser disruptions in Ritual activity, containment efficacy has fallen calamitously, down 8% in the last 72 hours. Recommend re-commissioning of Star Forge #27 to begin extraction of sub-quadrant F5 to compensate. We have informed the Chief Coordinator that incursion activity may spike as uncontained Power is released into the greater Outside. In light of this limited containment breach, termination or subversion of all major Incursions is the utmost priority. Recommend that High Marshalls Administrator, Capacitor and Wyvernford be elevated to Alert status. We again petition the Council to review the Immortal Deployment Act.

As always, time burns.

Your faithful servant,
Crowelenarch

---

The winner was [X] Crimson Flare by a hair. This was a hotly contested vote and could easily have gone to any of the three options given the early turnout and high quantity of arguments made.

What was the focus of Aeira's training?

[ ] Stealth - The classic. The power to go undetected opens up enormous avenues of possibility for the enterprising operative. Improves survival rate during reconaissance, extraction, combat and many other missions. Improves the effectiveness of Vershlengorge's stealth cloak, and that of stealth cloaks given by Aeira to others. Does not substantially improve the resistance of Stealth cloaks to high-density blasts of Nullity. Grants +++Element Magnitude, ++Element Control, +++Agility, ++Wits.

Bonus: None. Stealth is the default arrangement for Aeira.

[ ] Combat - The assassin. This involves not only direct martial expertise but all aspects of the killing arts, including a poisoner's expertise and the logistical peculiarities of infiltration and murder. With this specialty, her control over the raw physical component of her Element improves to the point where it's safe and relevant for her to contribute in combat as an ambush / buffing asset. Also improves her rate of growth overall, making it feasible for Aeira to keep up with Hunger if properly supported and invested in. Grants effective +Progression (Combat), +++Element Control, +++Agility, ++Might.

Bonus: Antitoxin - Aeira's comprehensive understanding of Voyaging Realm-native plant life allows her to produce the cure to Hunger's damaged liver. Healing is slow, but even a first-stage treatment reduces all penalities (and amplified damage) by half.

[ ] Business - The support. Instead of focusing solely on her skills as a mercenary alone, Aeira studied the dismal science in an attempt to better understand and possibly extricate her family from its dismal situation. While this isn't immediately relevant, it would substantially improve her value to Letrizia as a magus-advisor in the Human Sphere, providing a form of long term income that isn't as vulnerable to abrupt termination as her current line of work. Grants +++Wisdom, ++Intelligence, ++Charisma.

Bonus: Apocalypse Later - Vastly reduces the risks of taking Aeira out of the Voyaging Realm. Without this, complications will almost certainly ensue.

---

You guys are at 7.4 Arete! Would you like to buy a Stance? Your chances against Avecarn are quite good without one, but not guaranteed.

[ ] No - S A V E.

[ ] Hero-Defeating Stance - Does not build towards All-Defeating Stance, but the best for your current situations. Improves both diplomatic and combat outcomes, all but guarantees survival in combat. Improves Rank, physical stats, effective Defensive Rank and odds against multiple opponents, all great qualities to look for in an Advancement!

[ ] Magic-Defeating Stance - Somewhat improves combat outcomes in most scenarios. Lowers Apocryphal risk in the long run. Grants superior defense against most esoteric attacks, useful in potential future engagements, and improves synergy with Gisena in battle.

[ ] Guile-Defeating Stance - Strongly improves odds of diplomatic victory. Somewhat relevant in combat against intelligent opponents.

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[Rihaku]

To Battle's Close

Soon, he promised mentally, addressing the imprisoned Ring, willing his own to act as conduit. He did not know if the Rings could actually speak to one another, did not know if it was merely a futile gesture, but sought to offer whatever hope he could: the strength, perhaps, to resist for one day more, to deny its exploiters whatever power it could, here in this final hour. One way or another, your suffering ends soon.

He hadn't expect an answer of any kind, so Hunger startled when the Imprisoned Ring replied: first a trickle, then a steady stream, and finally a torrent of numinous power, transgressing space and time, raw potential like a livid thunderbolt flowing into the blood-red jewel of his own Ring. Crimson flared and blazed, a star risen from earth, such fearsome majesty that he staggered to contain it, the power of the jewel threatening to overcome and unbalance the Ring as a whole.

Gisena sheltered the girls as he forced down its catastrophic might, compressing that all-piercing radiance until it was safely contained. Now the jewel glittered with translucent fire: final remnant of the Imprisoned Ring's defiance, all its hope and joy of life, all its remaining will to resist, given over to him.

The Call of the False Moon faded from his mind, and he knew instinctively that it had faded from every other. This was the final sally of the Imprisoned Ring, one last desperate act of trust when all else had failed.

Hunger closed his eyes, frowning.

"You're our only hope."

How many times had they told him that in the campaign against the Tyrant? That he was it, that there was no other, that if he shirked his duty, or faltered, or failed, then it simply would not be done - only misery everlasting for the peoples of the world, clawing feebly at the yoke as it tightened and tightened.

It seemed he was not free of such duties. Perhaps would never be free. People fell into the patterns of their lives because of what they were good at. This was what he'd done all his life; was it such a surprise to have duty thrust upon him once more? Moreover, for something he intended to do anyway.

Even so, fuck these so-called interesting times.

He understood the sorrow of the Imprisoned Ring, the depths it must have been driven to, not only to ask a rival for aid, but to beg, and to invest everything in that begging. He understood its shattered pride, the egregious disgrace of its situation, the sheer hollowing agony of its every moment.

For that reason he did not resent the Ring for casting this burden upon him. The power it had gifted him would make its salvation easier. But he would freely resent the universe, and the Apocryphal Curse that guided it, until the end of his days.

No, he shook his head. Until he overcame them both. That was the promise of Progression, after all. Live, and grow strong. So long as he took care of the former, it would ensure the latter.

Live, and rescue the Ring, and grow strong.

He rose from his seated position. "There's no way they didn't notice that. Tomorrow morning may be too late."

Lucky that Aeira had gotten them the intelligence she had. He could only hope his present strength was enough to deal with the Immortals of the Temple. The Imprisoned Ring had given him little choice.

Gisena laid a gentle hand on his arm. "Hey. This isn't your responsibility, no matter how it may make you feel. You can still walk away. Always."

He smiled bitterly. "That may be the smart thing to do. And likely the wise thing as well. But only one of us here is a genius. Find me when your meditations are complete."

So saying, he leapt off Verschlengorge, making for the Temple directly.

The gift of the Imprisoned Ring had tremendously augmented his own Chief Dominion. Blood rushed and thundered in his ears, an ocean of awareness that stretched for miles: vein and capillary, pulse and heartbeat were naked to him, from the birds in the air to the beasts of the earth, and all the humanity of the Encampment in-between. It was a deluge, too much to process, and he hurriedly tamped it down, focusing the power as it solidified, directing it into his immediate vicinity alone. A greater concentration of power was more suitable to his purposes.

He accelerated, world a watercolor blur. There was the Temple.

In through the gates, then quickly across the grasslands, up over the mountains and into the Middle Ring. Edeldross-infused, he pushed forward, faster than he'd gone before, the accumulated power of recent days like thunderheads gathering in his wake. Outriders tried feebly to intercept. Those who could not keep up were ignored, the others slaughtered. The Inner Temple loomed, dome of matte blue like still deep waters, a globe stripped bare of land.

A man strode out to meet him, a solid brick wall of muscle, his face creased and cragged, hair streaked with gray. He wore a uniform of gray and black, a marshal's baton strapped to his side, eyes like coals flecked with bronze.

Hunger flared his Ring and felt the man's blood quail before him, even as the greater portion stood strong. Even with all his newfound powers, this would not be an easy fight.

He stopped, addressing the man directly. "Care to live more than a thousand years?"

The man chortled, a low, bleak rumble. "Hah! Ask me again in seven centuries."

No urgency. Unfortunate. "You people must have known this day was coming."

"Confident, aren't you?" The man frowned, eyes darting to Hunger's finger. "Maybe that's justified, you've got a Ring all to yourself. Some might say it's greedy to go looking for more."

"Are you going to pretend ignorance of what's inflicted on your own?"

"A Ring is not a person," the man shook his head, frown deepening. "Seems you've forgotten that, or maybe never knew it in the first place. Fail to master it and it will master you."

"Perhaps," Hunger shrugged. "But that doesn't justify what your society has done. Let your Ring rest at last. Turn it over voluntarily, or help me secure it, and I can empower you and yours with my own."

Again the man shook his head. "Sorry, kid. I've got a family that depends on that thing to live. Putting everyone's lives into only your hands? That's not happening."

And so Hunger struck, the power of his Ring pressing down upon his foe, blue of true reality outlining his Blade as it descended with cataclysmic force. The marshal reacted quickly, interposing his baton, but could not resist the power of Hunger's cut, and lost half his hand before he twitched out of the way. A spike of fired Edeldross adjusted the vector of his charge, stifling the marshal's evasion. The Forebear's Blade pierced through his foe's shoulder even as the man howled, plunging his free hand through Hunger's guts.

Meaningless. With the elevated Ring of Blood such wounds were nearly immaterial. He clenched the muscles of his core, trapping the man's arm for an instant, and twisted his blade downwards, carving through shoulder and breast. The marshal grunted, blood seeping from his mouth as he fell to a knee. With a desperate surge of energy he exploded backwards, tearing his shoulder free of the trapped arm, extending the distance between them.

Relentlessly he pressed the attack, pouring blade-winds towards the retreating figure, sharpness like a humming shrike screaming towards him. The marshal twisted, inhaling deeply, accepting a blow to the chest in order to counterattack, a roar of pure stygian force that upturned the earth in its wake. Ripping free his foe's embedded arm, Hunger hurled it at the blast, deflecting enough of the energies that he could weather the remainder with the Evening Sky, though the cloak was torn to bits around him.

This battle was nearing its end. A seal of blood closed around the hole in his torso, while his enemy's wounds bled liberally, a ceaseless arterial spray. Still the marshal rallied, lunging at him, a second Pressure-infused bark ripping through Hunger's remaining blade-winds, driving towards a final confrontation.

But there was no room here for honor, no spirited duel of ideals. Hunger dove to the side, focused shamelessly on evading, simply falling back and giving wide berth to the marshal's dying rampage, his magnificently pointless death-throes. The Jewel of Blood did the rest.

Mighty as the marshal was, greater than Hunger in Astral strength, he was not Vanreir whose body was as a blade. This was a champion among men, with all a mortal's failings. Liter by liter the marshal bled out until not even the iron wall of his Pressure could stand him upright any longer. He fell, eyes blank, his blood and his life expended utterly in service of his nation, and Hunger did not look back.

---

The winner was [X] Guile-Defeating Stance with [X] Combat.

Onwards.

[ ] Cut - The state of disarray and relative confusion induced by the Imprisoned Ring's final surge of volition will not last much longer. While the defenders are still poorly-organized, push for the Treasure At Temple's Heart. With the surge of power gained from the marshal's defeat, bring an end to this at last. +1 pick below.

*The defenders are scattered and disorganized. Many Immortals and relevant combatants may be at home or otherwise occupied. Free the Ring and finish this.

[ ] Foment Rebellion - These Immortals are likely a tier above even the marshal, in which case Hunger cannot be confident of his odds even against one, much less a group. Attack, but do so in a way that demonstrates your power and the inevitability of your victory. Secure what allies of opportunity you can from the repressed, the downtrodden or the merely resentful.

*Your intelligence reports have revealed the potential cracks in Inner Ring society. It would be a shame not to exploit them and improve your odds of victory in the long run.
*Lose the momentum of your sudden assault and be virtually guaranteed to oppose the full complement of Immortals gathered in their place of power.
*As you have the Guile-Defeating Stance, the chance of your collaborators successfully betraying you is low.
*Prolongs the battle enough for Gisena and Aeira to join you, though this may endanger them.

---

You have 2 picks, or 3 if Cut was chosen, and about 3.2 Arete.

[ ] Forebear's Blade - Echo of the Forebear - Cloud-shadow of the Forebear's might.
Legendary strength and speed, and the resilience to exert them. Can be taken multiple times. [+Might, +Agility]

[ ] The Ring of Power - Dominion - 2 Arete
A ring of power does not exert influence casually. It has its own will, its own preferences, and if that will should be inseparable from its owner's, its sway thereby shall be greater for it.

The available domains for Hunger are: War, Passion

[ ] Fierce Quickening - The absurd violence of Blood unleashed. Let all that falls within its dominion be spilled, if it be in service to the Ringbearer. Adds [++Agility, +Wits] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.

[ ] Augment Dominion: Blood - The world-wielding will of the Ring.
Treat the wielder's Rank as if it were (.5 Low/.25 Medium/.1 High) higher for purposes of the [Ring of Power] effect applied to the Blood domain, increasing its potency and versatility. Repeatable, but costs 1 more pick each time.

[ ] Evening Sky - Opalescence - The soft light of evening before which all attacks falter.
+Protection, improving defensive parameters.

[ ] Evening Sky - Iridescence - 2 Arete - The sharp light of the stars before which all malice is lessened.
+Protection, +Charisma. Expands the range of effects subject to the Evening Sky, allowing it to passively weaken almost all forms of magic. Even Nullity itself can be once withstood before the Sky recedes. Requires Opalescence.

[ ] Evening Sky - Pearlescence - 7 Arete - Woe unto they who would stand against the bearer of Evening, for all the stars in heaven are their enemies, and the moon above as well.
+++Protection, and the protection granted by the Evening Sky now automatically scales to its wearer's power; effectively, the wearer is granted an additional Experience modifier whose output is automatically applied to the Evening Sky. Requires Iridescence.

[ ] Vigor Incarnate - 2 picks, 2 Arete. The glory of Blood triumphant. Let those who would stand against him cower, or be undone. A simple but exceptionally powerful option.

Adds [+++Might, ++Charisma] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions.
Add your Charisma to your Protection.

[ ] Ennobling - 2 Arete (2 picks)

Ambition's work is conducted atop the shoulders of giants. Raise up one's servants to appropriately towering stature.

The process of comprehensive elevation of all positive attributes of the blood. Applied continuously over a long period, boons may become permanent and expand in scope, enhancing all qualities of the target and their future offspring. Applies up to +++All Stats to the target, Lifespan improves by fourfold. Elevates the target by .5 Rank to a maximum of 3.5. Does not work on yourself or on species whose native Rank is higher than 4.5.

Effects become permanent after a few weeks focused on a single target, or a few years focused on a small population. Further Advancements may improve both the scale and speed of augmentation. With a thought, the original bestower may retract any boon so given, so long as they possess the Ring of Blood.

[ ] Feat: Shameless - +.25 Rank (2 picks).

Yields +.325 Rank with Uttermost bonus.

[ ] Forebear's Blade - What Rains May Come. (3 picks)

To strike at him would arouse his disdain. To strike at his loved ones, would arouse his ire. Once per month, transfer wounds caused by the hand of another from an ally to yourself. Reverse wound penalties, except from those inflicted by your own hand.

Chief Dominion (Blood): You are treated as if benefiting from the highest qualifying wound penalty received this fight, even if said wound is healed.

[ ] The Ring of Power - Arisen Blood (7 Arete, 3 picks)

Blood learns swiftly how best to be spilled.

While at full HP, benefit from the following:
+++++Protection
+++++Agi, Might, Wisdom (Combat)
All Attacks deal double damage, stacking multiplicatively
You are treated as if in a form with corporeal blood, even if you would otherwise not be.

---


Thanks to all my subscribers on Patreon! The amount of support these past days has been completely stunning! Patrons receive access to patron-exclusive content, including early updates, Discord roles, and bonus chapters. Blurb Library III was released today!

If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with other questers, join the Discord! We encourage all substantive posts still to be made in the thread.

 

[Rihaku]

The Provinces, Roused

The winner was [X] Foment Rebellion by a heavy margin with [X] Vigor Incarnate by a hair. Hunger's hunt was exceptionally successful (rolled a 97!), granting 3 additional picks and 1 additional Arete, though no single enemy yielded more than 2 picks.

What was the nature of the potential allies Hunger encountered? Choose one. The options unchosen may not exist in-universe.

[ ] The Silver Horde - Those who near the end of their allotted span are placed under heavy surveillance, their ability to organize gradually curtailed and denied the light of the Ring. This greatly-suppressed band of malcontents-by-necessity has found each other in the chaos and would like nothing more than to overthrow the regime that mandates their death. Their motive is purely (enlightened... ?) self-interest, but they will fight ardently all the same, for their very lives are literally at stake.

Combat Strength: Modest. Denied the light for some years, their powers are on the wane.

Cost: 0 picks. Hunger did not have to waste any time picking up this force. They found him and volunteered.

*You get what you pay for. Literal geriatrics are only relevant due to their Soul Evocations.
*They can maybe distract one or two Immortals temporarily.
*Modest knowledge of the Inner Ring.

[ ] Who Walked Away - Even in the sheltered Inner Ring, there are those who discovered the truth of the Ring's torment, especially among they who have had extensive contact with former Outriders. While most were capable of ignoring the moral implications of the Call, some principled individuals could not help but take a stand. They were swiftly crushed and imprisoned, but Hunger diverted his hunt to open these holding cells, releasing these idealistic dissenters. While many are barely better than chaff in the face of the Marshalls, they are lead by Lady Aristeia Fairbright, whose might even contained was the stuff of legend. Though her powers have been drained by the Council's horrific experiments, she remains a force to be reckoned with, capable of matching a High Marshall in single combat.

Combat Strength: Significant. Aristeia Fairbright is only moderately weaker than Hunger himself. Blood enhancements can augment her significantly. Her followers are useful for causing general pandemonium, though they are hesitant to employ violence against the innocent. One or two might be Marshal-level.

*Another f**king Fairbright
*Very good value for what you pay
*Fairbright Bloodline can buff Hunger, temporarily increasing his own effectiveness in combat as well
*This squad of naive fools is focused on doing what's right to an almost impractical degree, but Hunger can respect that. +Mental Stability.
*Minimal knowledge of the Inner Ring, but a few strategically valuable pieces of data.

Cost: 1 pick, 1 Arete.

[ ] Larissa of House Alynne - Mighty House Alynne has been marginalized by recent maneuvers in the Council. Their leader, Lady Larissa, was enraptured by Hunger's brooding magnetism and threw in with him after some convincing. In a fit of opportunistic spite they have raised the flag of rebellion alongside Hunger's incursion. Though she is not personally formidable, Larissa Alynne commands House forces numbering dozens of Marshals, as well as High Marshal Wyvernford and two additional Soul Evokers of equivalent power used to conduct off-the-books operations.

Combat Strength: High. High Marshal Wyvernford alongside the remainder of the Alynne forces might be a match for one to two Immortals on their own, should they receive blood enhancement. Additionally, House Alynne is well-acquainted with the infrastructure of the Inner Ring and would be most suited of the allies on offer to organize an evacuation in the event of Dimensional Rift destabilization.

Cost: 2 picks. Convincing Larissa was not difficult, but it was time-consuming, and not killing Wyvernford leaves Ring-granted power on the table.

*An option unlocked by having 10+ Charisma
*Setting a bad example for Letrizia
*Larissa might get clingy before she is inevitably crushed by Gisena
*House Alynne can spearhead reorganization in the wake of the Ring's departure, making exfiltration smooth and easy, and civilian casualties minimized
*Extremely in-depth information of existing Inner Ring defenses, including (outdated) tactical data on some of the Immortals themselves.
*They also know where the Temple's cache of precious metals & other resources is located, and can save them in time for the Rift. Plenty of currency for everyone!

---

You have 3 picks and ~6.1 Arete, minus any picks and Arete spent above. You may spend up to 2 extra Arete, entering Arete Debt if the amount generated does not cover that. As a reminder, you should only take Augment Dominion: Blood if you want to save the picks now and spend them later, as it does not stack with Crimson Flare's Rank bonus to Blood manipulation. Note that the high number of available Stances means you may not necessarily need picks here to get a substantial improvement in combat strength.

- 0-pick options -

All Martial Stances cost 7 Arete.

[ ] Magic-Defeating Stance - A Martial Stance of the Forebear. Grants high-grade defensive effect nullification against all hostile effects of supernatural origin, and quintuples the power of Ruin for purposes of cutting through enemy magics. Mitigate all Curses an additional half step beyond the first. This Stance is permanently active until switched for another [Type]-Defeating Stance. One of the pre-requisites for All-Defeating Stance. You may have [Rank/2, rounded down] Stances active at one time.

[ ] World-Defeating Stance - A martial stance of the Forebear. Forces natural and premeditated; forces unnatural and obscene - it matters not to the cause of the Forebear, whose march is steady and inevitable, carrying all before it. A billion realms brought to heel and countless more razed to ash, systems of the world in kaleidoscopic arrangement and all bent to his will. Meaningless as escape may be, more futile still is dissent: an enemy is just a future subject, and though they may forget the face of their fathers, the Forebear's visage is burned indelibly into their spirits.

If the user possesses all of the other [Type]-Defeating Stances, upgrades into All-Defeating Stance.

+.2 Rank, ++Luck, ++Intelligence, ++Protection

++++++Protection further against environmental harms, including from incompatible or hostile physics and metaphysics.
*Shelters wielder's powers from suppression or negation, even that resulting from a lack of magic or magical structures within the world.
*5x Power of Ruin against non-supernatural foes or phenomena beyond a human's ability to defeat.

[ ] Weapon-Defeating Stance - A martial stance of the Forebear. He who would presume to wield force of arms against the Forebear dooms himself to inescapable plight, and well-deserved. No blade that crosses the Forebear's can help but shatter before its unbound might; neither fist nor bolt nor meteor strike can impel its steely aegis. A pre-requisite for All-Defeating Stance.

+++++AGI, +++++Might
5x Power of Ruin to sunder, intercept or destroy all weapons, natural or constructed
+++++Protection against all weapons, natural or constructed

[ ] Hero-Defeating Stance - A Martial Stance of the Forebear. ++Might, ++Agility, +Wisdom, +0.2 external Rank. Halve the effects of enemy Rank if it is greater than your own. Halve the effects of being outnumbered, if you are outnumbered. This Stance is permanently active until switched for another [Enemy]-Defeating Stance. A pre-requisite for Foe-Defeating Stance. You may have [Rank/2, rounded down] Stances active at one time.

- 1-pick options -

[ ] Forebear's Blade - Echo of the Forebear - Cloud-shadow of the Forebear's might.
Legendary strength and speed, and the resilience to exert them. Can be taken multiple times. [+Might, +Agility]

[ ] The Ring of Power - Dominion - 2 Arete
A ring of power does not exert influence casually. It has its own will, its own preferences, and if that will should be inseparable from its owner's, its sway thereby shall be greater for it.

The available domains for Hunger are: War, Passion

[ ] Fierce Quickening - The absurd violence of Blood unleashed. Let all that falls within its dominion be spilled, if it be in service to the Ringbearer. Adds [++Agility, +Wits] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.

[ ] Augment Dominion: Blood - The world-wielding will of the Ring.
Treat the wielder's Rank as if it were (.5 Low/.25 Medium/.1 High) higher for purposes of the [Ring of Power] effect applied to the Blood domain, increasing its potency and versatility. Repeatable, but costs 1 more pick each time.

[ ] Exalted Spirit - 2 Arete. Conjunctional [Hunger, Evening Sky]. Mind made vigorous as the body. Gain +Int, +Wits, +Wis, +Cha, -Heartlessness, while in a form with physical blood. Allies under blood enhancement gain +Int, +Cha. Blood enhancement requires physical blood.

[ ] Evening Sky - Opalescence - The soft light of evening before which all attacks falter.
+Protection, improving defensive parameters.

[ ] Evening Sky - Iridescence - 2 Arete - The sharp light of the stars before which all malice is lessened.
+Protection, +Charisma. Expands the range of effects subject to the Evening Sky, allowing it to passively weaken almost all forms of magic. Even Nullity itself can be once withstood before the Sky recedes. Requires Opalescence.

[ ] Evening Sky - Pearlescence - 7 Arete - Woe unto they who would stand against the bearer of Evening, for all the stars in heaven are their enemies, and the moon above as well.
+++Protection, and the protection granted by the Evening Sky now automatically scales to its wearer's power; effectively, the wearer is granted an additional Experience modifier whose output is automatically applied to the Evening Sky. Requires Iridescence.

- 2-pick options -

[ ] Forebear's Blade - Iron Maelstrom - 2 Arete - In the storm of war he was as a cloud-piercing pillar.
+++Protection, ++Might to yourself and your allies so long as you stand undefeated. Extremely useful in group combat. Unlocks additional options.

[ ] Heartpiercer - 7 Arete - Blood tells. The Ringbearer listens.
+++CHA, ++AGI, +++++Strength. The wielder embodies the glory of blood, and the savage beauty of its dominion sets hearts to beating. He gains an unusual affinity for striking weak points, and his bloodsense is refined to the degree that he can predict the movements of his enemies by the shifting of their capillaries. Grants a major effectiveness boost in physical or romantic duels (1v1) against beings with corporeal blood, and a minor bonus in physical and romantic conflicts of any kind against such beings.

---

Thanks to all my subscribers on Patreon! The amount of support these past days has been completely stunning! Patrons receive access to patron-exclusive content, including early updates, Blurb Library, Discord roles, and bonus chapters. Even more content coming soon!

If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with the questers, join the Discord! We encourage all substantive posts still to be made in the thread.

 

[Rihaku]

Day of Independence

The Marshal slain, Hunger pressed his blade against the dull blue surface of the Inner Ring itself. The substance of the barrier was heavy but ductile, like hyperdense rubber, and resisted the force of his cut, even regrowing parts sheared away. With one leg he anchored himself against the dome and began to saw away in earnest, the blue of his blade-edge and the power of Ruin slowly eroding its resistance.

Where the unveiled Inner Ring met the outside world, a howling torrent of air rushed free, heat and fury as to hurl a normal man from the opening entirely.

With his superhuman constitution Hunger was barely bothered. It did not appear to be a specific defense mechanism, merely the property of some disequilibrium between the Inner and Middle Rings.

At last a man-sized passage was carved open, and he quickly leapt through, the wound in the barrier sealing shut behind him. Inside it was day, the sky within nearly the opposite of the star-shrouded night he had walked in under. Hunger blinked away the glare of their false sun and took in his surroundings. This was a vast and orderly space, countless rows of precision-crafted towers marching to the horizon, their walls inset with runes, interiors aglow with faint blue light. Shops and residences, offices and farms, all were contained within the neatly-arranged structure of this city-spanning grid.

He took off, moving at a pace invisible to the human eye, headed directly for the Temple's center. The power of his Ring had absorbed some measure of the old marshal's fearsome grit, amplifying the force of Hunger's presence alongside the power of his form. The bow-wave of his commands left the common citizens thunderstruck, helpless but to answer his questions despite the obvious intent.

It became clear that the Immortals maintained at least a half-strength guard of the "Treasure" at all times. If they were each substantially above the Marshal he'd slain, then a direct assault would be unfeasible. However, Inner Ring society as a whole was in disarray following the Call's cessation - star-forges across the Temple had to be re-calibrated by a small army of engineers, while investigators dashed frantically about, futily attempting to ascertain the cause behind their "Treasure's" drastic shift in attitude. As for the military forces the Inner Temple, who were divided unequally among the Noble Houses, many were halfway to each other's throats among the chaos and uncertainty. It was every House for itself until the dust settled, but Hunger's arrival presaged a storm.

He moved to harvest what power he could from worthy opponents before he challenged the Immortals. Perhaps along the way he would find some allies of opportunity by exploiting the fault lines in their society; surely there were factions disgruntled by the absolute rule of the current leadership?

Ideally he could defeat the Immortals in detail while half were still scattered, then bait the Ring's remaining guardians into splitting their forces before he executed the decisive strike. Gisena's presence would be critical in suppressing the presumably mighty Soul Evocations of the Immortals themselves, so he had several hours still to ply his deadly trade.

The Houses of the Nobility were obvious to the naked eye, each an artistic masterpiece, frequently of towering scale, their grandeur unbound by the strict orderly lines that contained the common folk. Opulent gardens, personal lakes, or even snow-dusted cliffs surrounded their sprawling estates, within which sheltered mighty families with Marshals and High Marshals in their collective employ. Presented with such obvious targets, Hunger could not help but feast. Before he attacked he offered his terms: submit to his dominion and accept the Imprisoned Ring's departure, or be destroyed.

To his surprise, a few marginalized Houses - including one of substantial influence - actually agreed to raise the banner of rebellion alongside him. The others he put to the sword; surrendering civilians spared and remanded to the custody of his allies. Things went swimmingly, Hunger himself constantly one step ahead of the Inner Temple's Marshals; he reaped a healthy bounty from House security forces and counter-ambushed the Marshals when he was finished. Unfortunately the Immortals had some swifter form of communication and withdrew quickly from the outlying estates, concentrated within the Innermost Temple where they could not be picked off piecemeal.

Larissa Alynne was by far the most influential of the nobles that now sheltered under his banner; her House was primarily motivated by their hatred of the current ruling faction, but she herself had taken to the cause with nearly unseemly valor.

Among mortals she might have been considered beautiful, with rich black locks framing a heart-shaped face, but even her striking eyes of emerald green seemed utterly pedestrian compared to Gisena's own. Longtime exposure to the Sorceress' superhuman beauty had utterly inured him against the mundane.

Undeterred, Larissa pressed against him as they surveyed a map of the situation, her eyes wide and doting.

Hunger grimaced. This particular noblewoman had been won over by his superhuman presence; her assistance was invaluable, but her advances unfortunate. It gave him no pleasure to take advantage of an unrequited infatuation for logistical aid, especially when he'd lectured Letrizia for similar acts in the Sovereignty. Still, the lives of over nine million relative innocents were on the line. He knew well that the the Imprisoned Ring cared not one whit for the welfare of its torturers, but Hunger the man could hardly allow those merely born into this society to die preventable deaths.

"When I remove the Ring, the Dimensional Rift that contains the Inner Temple will destabilize," he said gruffly, detaching his arm from Larissa's grasp. "Before that happens, your forces need to evacuate as many of the civilians as is practical. We have a few hours still before my allies get here. That should be more than enough time for your mightier Soul Evokers to open the way. Organize a steady but efficient evacuation leveraging the superhuman abilities of your troops, and we should be able to extract the vast majority of non-combatants before hostilities begin."

"Of course, dear, it's well within the power of my House," Larissa said, batting her eyelashes at him. "But I'm more concerned for your personal safety! Those tedious Immortals could gang up on you while my personal Marshals are deployed afield."

"Unlikely," he shook his head. "They don't have a good grasp of my capabilities and overall power, knowing only that I've slain every foe presented so far. If they move out in force, it's possible I could evade their net and strike at the Ring directly. Thus they must maintain the majority of their strength at the Ring itself. From what you've told me, many of the Immortals dislike one another. None will be eager to volunteer for an expeditionary force against an enemy of unknown strength - not while their rivals stay behind in relative safety."

"Hm..." Larissa pursed her lips. "You truly are a masterful strategist, my lord. Now more than ever I believe our victory is inevitable! If you'd like to draw out a fraction of their forces, however, I have a suggestion. You'd do well to strike at what they care most."

She laid a ruby-painted fingernail against one spot on the map. "House Verachen. Home to the extended families of two Immortals. There's not enough space in the Innermost Temple for their clans to accompany them. We could seize their precious grandchildren and great-grandchildren and hold them hostage to provoke a response."

He closed his eyes. On the one hand, emotional anguish of this magnitude was trivial compared to the aeons-long hollowing that the Imprisoned Ring had been subjected to. Were it absolutely necessary, perhaps he might consider a bluff in that vein, but to actually carry out such a sentence was abhorrent. The Tyrant at times had forced him into such compromises, but the power of Progression had allowed him to rise above measures like that.

There were those who said that power corrupted. They were not wrong, but the obverse face of that saying simply went unobserved: sufficient power, impunity, could also prevent corruption. Strength enough not to rely on unsavory means was the freedom to do 'that which feels right' instead of always 'that which was optimal.'

"That won't be necessary," he finally replied. "We'll take the Inner Ring in its entirety and encircle them conventionally. If they try to break out, the forces guarding the Ring will be depleted. Continue the evacuation. Once my companions arrive, we'll mount a direct assault with the entirety of your forces as well as all our allied Houses."

"As you wish, my lord," Larissa demurred, lowering her eyes. "Your heart is truly too noble for such tactics. I feel embarrassed even to have suggested them; it was a slight against your power. Forgive me my overzealous support. I wish only for you to prevail, regardless of the cost!"

Hunger cleared his throat. "Fine. Keep in mind that I won't countenance such means going forward. How goes the diplomatic front? Have our overtures to the reluctant Houses landed at all?"

"Very much so, my lord!" Larissa said happily. "You needn't worry, I'll keep those foul harridans and dirty old men far from your august presence. After witnessing your power, more and more are beginning to fall in line. They understand that times are changing and that the nobility must change with them. At this point only the Core Houses are still recalcitrant. We're unlikely break them until the Immortals fall. Worry not, our allied forces will be more than sufficient the evacuate the great majority of the Inner Ring before sundown - or sunrise, I suppose, in the world Outside. I'm ever so excited to witness it with you!"

"Survival is one matter. But those who would accompany me must earn their place."

"Oh, of course! House Alynne will do its utmost to be deserving of that honor!"

---

[X] Larissa + Weapon-Defeating Stance has won.

With Alynne's assistance, civilians should be mostly evacuated by the time Gisena arrives. In that event, what will be the offensive strategy?

[ ] Scorched Earth - The Ultimate Emanation of a High Sorceress represents a power of Nullity far beyond even what Gisena demonstrated against the Groundskeeper. By shrouding himself in a comprehensive shell of Edeldross, Hunger can retain the majority of his powers in the wake of such an attack, though the Evening Sky will likely be fully depleted as well. Still, his enemies will likely be in no state to resist him for a few crucial instants, allowing him to cut down a substantial fraction of their number while they are relegated to mortality. Whether it will be enough to rescue the Ring is another matter. [+1 Arete]

*A highly effective strategy; all you need to do is get Gisena safely into position while Hunger is shielded, Aeira can very much assist with the former.
*There may be Immortals with non-supernatural speed and strength, though it seems unlikely that such would be remotely capable of matching Hunger's magical augmentations.
*Of greater concern is those Immortals who might possess some level of defense against the Nullity itself, though they will likely experience at least a partial severing of their capabilities given Gisena's new power.
*Knocks Gisena unconscious and weakens her for several days following. Could be risky in the medium-term with the Apocryphal Curse spinning up again.
*Accelerates the rate of dimensional collapse. May further weaken the Imprisoned Ring, setting back the potential benefits it can grant its Ringbearer.

[ ] Full Frontal - A conventional frontal attack with Hunger, Gisena, and the allied forces. A challenging fight to be certain, though a clean victory here means an uncomplicated aftermath with a liberated Ring. Hunger will focus their combined efforts on the weakest Immortal first and try to slay his way up the ladder, while allied forces attempt to distract the Immortals and prevent them from bringing their combined might to bear against Hunger himself. Given that they are encircled and pinned to the Ring's location, this is more practical than it would usually be; even a Marshal can seize a wholly unguarded Ring. [+1 pick]

*A decently effective strategy, though with lower win% than Scorched Earth
*Even if defeated, death is not always the outcome. Retreat is possible given your control of the territory.
*Face your enemies head-on and overcome them with the sheer might of your Cut and the broken power of Nullity.
*If successful, prepares you well for the Apocryphal Curse.

[ ] A Thousand Cuts - A Ring of Power is nigh-indestructible. All the infrastructure around it, and its guardians themselves - not so. Bleed them by darting into range, hurling a full-strength blade wind into the Innermost Temple, then swiftly darting out of range. From your intelligence reports, the number of Immortals capable of countering this strategy can be numbered on the fingers of a single hand, whereas you can attack from any angle. Slowly whittle down their fortifications while consolidating power in the meantime. You'll have plenty of downtime to work on developing additional pseudo-Graces to increase your power, and if they actually sally then their forces will be divided and can be defeated piecemeal. [-2 Arete]

*Very high native chance of success, but...
*Very slow. May verge into Apocryphal Curse reactivation territory, which can complicate matters.
*Arete penalty for taking unnecessarily long to rescue the Imprisoned Ring
*May get the chance to develop a pseudo-Grace or work on Praxis in downtime.
*Slow pace means all civilians can be evacuated without fuss, though food supplies and general discontent may become an issue.
*Possibility of forcing the enemies to surrender, allowing for a diplomatic solution.

---

Happy Independence Day to my questers from the States!

A huge thanks to all my subscribers on Patreon! The amount of support these past days has been absolutely stunning! Subscribers receive access to patron-exclusive content, including early updates, Blurb Library, Discord roles, and bonus chapters. Tomorrow night, there will be a bonus chapter exclusive only to current patrons. This is a special bonus for early-bird subscribers and won't be available those who sign up after it's been sent.

If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with the questers, you're welcome to join the Discord! We encourage all substantive posts still to be made in the thread.

 

[Rihaku]

A Farewell to Arms

He sat idly by as Evangeline and Clarissa discussed strategy. How to deal with this latest R-type, who had pressed their society to its uttermost limits? What disposition of forces would fare best against its demonstrable strength? Where to arrange the order of battle as to achieve that?

But as we did without clergy, let us do without soldiers.

As always, he had no say. He preferred it that way. His was not to wonder why. His was but, to do and die.

Perhaps they all might finally die today, they who had lived so far beyond their allotted span. Some had taken to their stolen time with joy, fulsomely extracting every ounce of enjoyment from their triumphal procession of millennia. But he had not; he was simply tired. Long had been his vigil, and now that the world had finally threatened its close, he could not help but feel a sense of relief.

Sten let his mind relax. These days it was always relaxed, but he could relax it further. The world changed color, slightly. He looked blankly at Evangeline. She was pretty. Clarissa was pretty as well, but he'd always thought Eva was the prettiest. Fair and golden and bright.

"Sten," Evangeline addressed him, not unkindly. She beckoned. "Come here, would you?"

"I'm not to move," he grimaced.

Still, he shifted slightly, the stained-glass spill of his Outer Shadow shifting alongside him, casting the Innermost Temple into starkly different hue. The world trembled, groaning with the strain of even that modest exertion. Atlas... shrugged, he thought to himself, and could not help the smirk that overtook him at that familiar joke.

"You may need to," Eva said seriously, "And take back in the Outer Shadow. This R-type has grown with unprecedented speed. Not ten days ago he was barely at the level of a Knight, now he's grown to surpass the High Marshals. Potentially he could challenge some of our number directly. Clarissa says her youngest grand-niece has joined him, and the civilians are under his thrall. Unlike other R-types, he won't lack for support. You... you may need to fight again, Sten. I'm sorry."

"Was always willing to fight," he said slowly. "Just... didn't want to hurt them. The small ones." Trouble with mice is you always kill 'em.

Evangeline laid a gentle hand against his brow. "Oh, Sten. You most of all deserve to live. I wish we could give you a thousand years, a million years more."

"Kind of you to say," he replied, "But I'm already half-dead."

He had been more, once, more than this sad quiet spectator with the weight of the world on his Shadow. Had ruled, had been the velvet glove and the mailed fist, Plerion's hard right hand and then his successor. Sometimes he regretted the look in Plerion's eyes, the light fading slowly as he strangled him. Et tu, Brute?

He regretted the look, but never the strangling. Motherfucker. Slow as his thoughts had become, he would never be so weak, so contemptible as to regret that. Sten shivered. It hurt to remember, live knives in his marrow.

He dissociated again, Eva and Clare and all the others dimming, fading into light; the world sloughing away to reveal the beautiful past once more. His Shadow cradled the Ring in Plerion's Vise and it screamed at his grotesque clumsiness. But then, it was always screaming. What were his ministrations atop of that chorus.

Show me more, he demanded. Show me old Terra again. Tell me a story, Ring of Time. Make this have all been worth it.

And it did, for he was not its master, but he was its gaoler, and that was enough, power enough to matter.

Sten smiled brightly, for this was a story it hadn't told before. A story it had kept from him, but no longer had the strength to conceal... or, perhaps, a story that pleased the Ring to reveal to him. He could feel a semblance of contentment, of bitter powerless hope, between its screams.

Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo.

For a while he lost himself in the reverie, the dreamlike fugue of old Terra, candlelight and discarded scraplings, a sheaf unmoored in time. It was a thin, pale substitute for a life lived fully, and yet in some ways more wonderful, brighter and truer still.

The tale came to its conclusion. The world revisited him.

"-Sten? Sten!"

"I'm back," he nodded blearily, and his Shadow did not move.

"Sten," Evagenline said, "I'm afraid we'll need to call upon you. The real you."

"I know," he said. In a way he'd always known. Not the date, but the time.

"We need him back. Not Quiet Sten, but Stenallon the Eldest, Stenallon the Worldkeeper once more. Just for a little bit. Just to take care of this R-type. And then you can go back to your stories."

He smiled, and for the first time today his smile was cold, and bitter, and wise. "Is that what you think they are? 'My stories?'"

She took a step back, swallowing slightly. Why did they all pretend at humanity, when the inhuman lay at their heart? Was it possible they heard not?

He frowned. No, there was another one, better suited to this situation...

"Flowers for Algernon," he finally said.

"I'm sorry?"

"Forget it," He shook his head. The Outer Shadow began to recede, color and friction crawling back into him, kaleidoscope sprawl compacting and condensing until all of it was wrapped up around him once more, sharp blades of armor like a destroyer's wreath entombing him.

And with that compression came his mind, his full mind, thoughts far-flung no longer, yolk and white spun together and returned to the egg unharmed. A miracle.

The light of one's soul was not meant to exist so far from the form, and certainly not for so long. All the tiresome lucubrations of his well-oiled mind sprang back into motion. Despite his vaunted cleverness, he'd never been much of a strategist, but even base cunning was handy in a brawl. They'd needed it all - Plerion's artifice, Evangeline's foresight, his quickness of body and mind - to bring down the Ring-Lord and his unnatural reign. To build anew in the ashes of that carnage, transmuting life and joy from the terrible font of its power. But a Ring of Power could not be contained without cost. Time, with a gift of tears.

With his shadow retracted, the Vise was unstable. Three of the Immortals moved together to replace him, each at one vertex of a triangle around the Vise. Already the strain wore at them. They were too young and would succumb before long. Should have taken it easier on you. After all, I'm only fighting women and children.

No matter. He closed his gauntlet into a fist, felt the fluted glass scraping and grinding against itself. It could not come close to drowning out the scream, not with his mind returned, but it was a different tenor of sound, one he found he'd long missed.

Despite it all, it was good to be back, though he knew the scream would soon have him regretting it. Gods, I was strong.

The Immortals clustered around him, waiting with bated breath, eyes eager but wary. Stenallon gazed back in disbelief. He'd looked at them often enough these past centuries, but with his mind in that wretched state he'd never really seen them. These so-called immortals. They'd known what they were doing, asking this of him. They knew the risks involved. How dire was the hour that they would do so anyway? What had come rapping at their chamber door?

A single R-type, that was slightly stronger, than some of them.

He ran his eyes across them once more, saw their hesitation, their craven wills, the pitiful depth of their cowardice, their desperate clinging to life, and wondered why he should save them. Do not call up.

"Well?" He barked, and half their number stepped back in fear. "Who am I to kill that none of you were worthy of the honor?"

Eva trembling approached him and softly took his hand. "Sten... I'm so, so sorry. We need to wait for it to attack. We can't split our forces against this foe. He feeds off the beaten, each victory propelling him higher. If we're not careful, he'll be a match even for you. We just need to-"

"Wait and hope," he cut in, smiling miserably. Of course it had waited until the pivotal moment to show him that particular tale. What perfect timing. It actually thought that he was going to lose. He, who with Plerion had brought the Ring to heel. Perhaps he would capture this R-type, give their poor Faria a Dantes of his own.

"Wait, and hope," he repeated. "And I'm to listen to the scream the whole while. Because all of you are too weak to do what must be done. And what if the R-type waits as well? Waits until the scream grinds me down and the only ones left are," he scoffed, "you lot?"

"They don't know how the scream affects you," Clarissa said pertly, "And they've been evacuating the civilians with some urgency. We believe they're on a timer as well-"

"You believe," he sneered. He grabbed her by the skull, ignoring Eva's protestations, and began to squeeze. She whimpered but it was nothing compared to the scream. She marshaled her soul and struck at him but it was like beating fists against stone.

He dashed her against the ground, Temple trembling at the force, and barely held back from finishing her.

"You believe that I'm your salvation. You believe that my strength still has purpose. Did I dement myself for no reason? I can hardly stand the sight of any of you, let alone myself!"

"I believe," he enunciated carefully, "that we deserve this. In fact we deserve much more. I just have to hear the scream and I can barely tolerate myself, let alone the likes of you. Have you thought about the one that's actually making it?"

"Even so," Eva said. "Even so, you'll protect us. Just as you protected us from yourself. Because it's what you've always done. It's who you are. You saved us from Plerion and all the trials that came after. If you want to take our lives, you're wholly in your rights to do so. But-"

"YOU'RE FUCKING COWARDS!" He roared. "One R-type, not even as strong as Eva, and you're cowering here in the Innermost? Did Plerion die for this?"

Silence. One man spoke up at last, words sharp and rapid. "One does not live to ten thousand years by taking undue risk-"

He grabbed the speaker by the neck and wrung him until he went still. Who was this? One of his children by Eva? Someone else?

It didn't matter. He placed the man's head beneath his greave and pressed. The coward flailed at him. Unusual strength - one of his spawn after all. He pressed slightly harder and the coward's head popped.

Stenallon sighed contentedly. One torturer dead.

For a moment the scream seemed to abate, though it would return later with twofold force. The only solution was to keep going, but he could not.

Eva swallowed tightly, eyes red. "That was our-"

"Our son. One of them. Whatever, we can always make more."

Cautiously she met his eyes. "So... you'll do it? You'll protect us again?"

He pulled her beside. It made his skin crawl, but the familiar warmth was good, as well. "I can only ever be what time has made me."

---

[X] Scorched Earth was the victor. What is Hunger's priority when the Sea of Nullity hits? Strength will return quickly to all those affected so it won't be practical to cut down all foes, especially those few still standing.

[ ] Clear the Chaff - There appear to be two Immortals only moderately affected by Gisena's ultimate outburst, and both standing close to the Ring. That portends an unenviable situation for you - two foes of power noticeably greater than your own. Plans fail, it happens. Run a single ring around the perimeter, killing all the others, leaving the remaining two stranded and alone. Then retreat, regroup, and consider your further options.

*Kills off all the support / miscellaneous Immortals hanging around the Innermost. These would normally have been able to at least majorly inconvenience you.
*Gain 1 pick for free, but Gisena will be unconscious for the next several days.
*Minimal risk.
*If you can wait out the cooldown, Gisena might be able to ultimate them again.
*Alternatively, you could bluff and try to reach a negotiated settlement [-1 Arete].

[ ] Clarissa Alynne - The Grand Analyst of the Inner Ring who foolishly punished her family by stripping her descendents of their rightful places on the Council. She appears to have already been incapacitated. As Larissa would say, good riddance.

[ ] Evangeline Worldkeeper - Grand Oracle of the Inner Ring, and one of two opponents who appear to have retained some measure of their power in the face of Gisena's Ultimate. By far the most competent of the foes you will face, though not the most powerful. Eliminating her while she is weakened will remove a dangerous thorn in you side. Even if she cannot predict your actions directly, those of your subordinates and allies may be vulnerable, and she seems the only one capable of properly directing Stenallon's violence.

*By slaying her quickly, you'll still have to deal with Stenallon, but his mental instability looms large without her assistance
*She's not a trivial fight, even under the effects of the Sea, and Stenallon will protect her actively.
*Killing her will grant 3 picks which can be used before you fight Stenallon and the remaining Ring guardians.
*Once she's dead, you may be able to direct Stenallon's wrath against his compatriots, or even persuade him to give up and accept judgement for the torment he's perpetrated.

[ ] Quiet Sten - The soft-spoken, dull-witted and humble but quietly powerful final guardian of the Ring, whose Outer Shadow wreathes the Vise of Plerion itself... but that does not appear to be the case here? 'Quiet Sten' has eyes that are furious but alert, pained by years of agonizing vigil but only more resolved for it. The aura of power emanating from him is immense but roughly controlled; in short, he's rusty. His might cannot be challenged directly, but under the magic-suppressing effect of Gisena's Ultimate, perhaps you might have a chance...

*It will surprise and unnerve all present that you would dare to attack Stenallon first
*Even with his powers reduced by Gisena's supreme onslaught, Stenallon is on a different level, and so long as Eva remains, he will comport himself with a reasonable degree of sanity and tactical acumen.
*You are slightly faster than him, though no match whatsoever in direct strength
*Killing him will grant 4 picks with which to deal with the remaining Immortals.

[ ] Go For the Ring - Go for the Ring directly. Select this alongside any of the other options. This changes Hunger's true objective this fight. Instead he will pretend to focus on his chosen target as a feint and go for the Ring directly when an open presents itself. Considerably riskier than just killing them, but securing the Ring will weaken Quiet Sten and cripple all other Immortals, rendering them irrelevant to you.

---

A huge thanks to all my subscribers on Patreon! The amount of support these past days has been exceptional and breathtaking! Subscribers receive access to patron-exclusive content, including early updates, Blurb Library, Discord roles, and bonus chapters. Tonight, in about 4-5 hours, there will be a bonus chapter exclusive only to current patrons. This is a special bonus for early-bird subscribers and won't be available those who sign up after it's been sent.

If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with the questers, you're welcome to join the Discord! We encourage all substantive posts still to be made in the thread.

 

[Rihaku]

The Ultimate Price

The last few hours had been a whirl of activity; they'd consolidated control over a full nine-tenths of the Inner Ring, with many of the last holdouts falling to his direct assault. The activity had reminded him of his Geas task and the vast swathe of time it portended: fifty years to rule, twenty-five hundred years the limit, and that vast span less than an eyeblink compared to the full scope of the Geas itself, nine hundred thirty-seven octillion years of service. He'd been shaken from his contemplations by the arrival of Aeira and Gisena herself, the latter at last complete with her meditations.

Her evolution into self-proclaimed 'High Sorceress' had certainly augmented her powers; there was a nearly-tangible current of findross in her wake, a shimmering presence of something greater than mortal life. There was a capricious yet graceful quality to even her slightest movements, her beauty now almost cruelly captivating, every feature unbearably shapely and clear. Her sparkling green eyes caught him and she winked, daintily skipping over as the troops of House Alynne watched.

"Hey hun, did you miss me?" She asked sweetly, arms behind her back.

He frowned. "Stop showing off, we've got a Ring to save. Is that going to be permanent?" He nodded towards her aura of findross.

"Aww," Gisena pouted, extending her arms and twirling around. "Can't a girl celebrate just a little? I haven't had a makeover in ages! We've been traveling in such grueling conditions, too. And you needn't worry about the aura, it's just a side effect of my transformation! Should go away in a couple hours."

"Yes yes, you're the fairest of them all," he said dryly, forcing himself not to be distracted by her now-transfixing exquisiteness. He had parlayed with Lords and Ladies of the Fae that were nearly as beautiful, though that had been at the apex of his former might.

"Good, praise me more," Gisena said happily, coming around to take his arm. "So hun, what's the plan? Have you met any of the big, bad, Immortals mentioned in Aeira's papers?"

"No," he shook his head, "You're going to deal with them for me."

"Hm? I've just shown up and I get handed all the work?"

"That's right. It's the reward for a job well-done."

Gisena giggled. "Then I suppose I can't complain. I did ask you to praise me more!"

Aeira was apparently too flustered to say anything to either of them, taking instruction quietly and acknowledging their directions with a shaky nod. With the Immortals entrenched in the tiny Innermost Temple, Hunger would wrap himself in a shell of dense edeldross and transport Gisena to one of the outlying buildings on the border of the Innermost. From there she would unleash her Ultimate Nullity, the "Plan B" that had wiped all wonder and magic from the world. With her powers recently enhanced, the radius of effect would be more than enough to cover the Innermost Temple - and a good fraction of the Inner as well. No Immortal would escape the effect.

He expected to lose the Evening Sky temporarily, even with his maximal edeldross output, but the Immortals should suffer far more greatly than he. Aeira would cloak them in shadow before they went; none expected her Element to overcome the perspicacity of the highest Immortals, but every bit could help.

Initially all went as planned, his edeldross cocoon and the cloak of Evening below both withering before Gisena's onslaught, but leaving his body untouched. With not a moment to waste, he sped towards the Innermost at forty times the speed of sound, a lightning blur springing unimpeded towards the final prison of the Ring.

At last it came into view, the charge he'd pursued with unswerving determination these past weeks: caught, in artful symmetry of the Temple itself, within the pale ivory fingers of a precisely-manufactured vise, each point of contact alight with crackling agony, spilling siphoned power in thunderous bolts.

Surprisingly, two Immortals still stood, their powers undepleted by Gisena's attack. One man and one woman standing unfortunately close to the Ring. The man was dressed in plain tunic and pants with rainbow wisps fading about him, while the woman was clad in more conventional plate, bearing a broadsword whose steel flashed clarion blue. If Larissa's description was correct, these were Evangeline Worldkeeper and Quiet Sten, two of the mightiest Immortals, though she hadn't expected either to withstand the bomb of Gisena's Nullity unscathed.

Without hesitation they leapt at him, swiftness nearly the equal of his own. The man hunched forward like a dog taught to kill, his limbs colossal, barrel-like arms near twice the width of Hunger's own. He was a broad bear of a man, though he stood only half a head taller, nowhere near the old marshal's stature who had confronted him at the boundary of the Inner Temple. The woman tacked to the side, sword held defensively, examining Hunger's figure with a critical eye. Buoyed by the imminent prospect of its kin's rescue, his Ring flared crimson, and he felt their blood falter and tremble before him. Let it be enough.

He feinted at the man, committing hard to an attack on the breastbone; then switched last-minute to half-sword, shifting the angle of his strike down towards the man's groin. His opponent reacted with admirable speed, stepping sideways to avoid the cut, but Hunger released his Blade with his left hand and punched him in the face. The Power of Ruin infused in his strike left a crater of splintering skin and bone, but Hunger's own fist rebounded harshly, bones shattered by the terrible sharp tenacity of his opponent's flesh. It was like punching a cliff crag of pure adamant; and though his foe seemed equally surprised that the Ringbearer had hurt him, Hunger fell back, jaw gritted in frustration.

He knew his time was limited. It would not take long for the other Immortals to recover their powers as the Groundskeeper had. He had to finish these two great threats and steal their strength before then.

Only brief instants to think as his hand healed. Neither opponent had used their Soul Evocation; Gisena's attack had at least disabled that. He might be wrong but he was doomed anyway if that were the case.

Going for the Ring was too risky while it was flanked by both defenders. They clearly wanted him to duel Quiet Sten, so it was best to take out Evangeline first. The Forebear's technique had not failed him yet; he could only hope it would suffice to cut through these final guardians. But best not to rely on uncertainties when possible. He leapt backwards again, blade lashing out to send sword-winds screaming across the bare chamber of the Innermost. In all directions they curved and hummed; impossible for a foe of equivalent speed to intercept them all. The intent was clear: at least one enemy would have to close the distance or be worn down at range.

Evangeline clicked her tongue. Quiet Sten spread wide his arms and charged into the mass of the blade projections, the swarm scoring his torso but failing to deal more than superficial damage. Evangeline leapt back and parried with her blade, each sword-wind carving a tiny but perceptible nick into that clarion saber. A single stroke made it past her guard and slipped beneath her armor, carving a broad deep line through her lower torso.

And then Stenallon was upon him, blotting out all sight, hands crooked like claws as he descended like a falling sun. Hunger blasted the ground with edeldross, hurling himself back and away, bouncing off the curved chamber wall to spring towards Evangeline. Sten bellowed in rage, leaping with thunderous strength straight upwards to intercept him.

Shit. The man was so strong that even a slight twitch of his foot sufficed to propel him at awesome speed. He'd waited until Hunger was midair to spring his trap.

No time for fancy work. Hunger struck one-handed with the Forebear's Blade directly at Sten's center of mass. Swiping with a single paw, Sten tore Hunger's arm off at the elbow, and reached out with his other hand to trap him within a crushing grapple.

As expected. Hunger recalled the falling Forebear's Blade towards his left hand, summoning it point-first into Sten's right kidney. With the same gesture he conjured a last-ditch wall of edeldross: far from enough to withstand the charge but sufficient to break Sten's momentum. The grapple fell short and Hunger recalled his Blade again, driving and twisting it in Sten's obdurate flesh as the weapon sought its master.

Evangeline had by this point recovered some portion of her Soul Evocation; she pointed at Hunger and bright bolts of gold issued forth from her finger to strike at him. Where they touched, they seared and boiled his flesh, scouring down to the bone. But that bone remained untouched, and free of Sten's reach Hunger fired another burst of edeldross, propelling him like a missile into Evangeline. She hopped back, dodging the impact crater, but the Ring of Blood brought him unnatural resilience. Recovering in an eyeblink he simply leapt forward, jamming the razor-sharp shard of his amputated elbow into her chest wound. Hobbled by that same wound, Evangeline could not dodge, choosing instead to skewer him on her brilliant flashing blade; the metal parted Hunger's flesh easily, punching clean through his shoulder, but force of that magnitude could hardly stop him now. Finally in knife-range he slammed his forehead into hers, shattering her face; sent reeling, she did not see the Forebear's Blade tear itself free of Sten and leap contentedly into Hunger's left hand.

A battle of two extremes. Sten with overwhelming strength and fortitude but whose technique and instincts were rusty, and Evangeline whose wits and blade were quick but could not match Hunger's own physicality. Just as the battle would be over if Sten grappled him, so too was it over if Hunger grappled Eva. He hooked her leg with his own and brought them to the ground, shrugging his shoulder back to prevent her retrieving her sword. Blindly she struggled but his strength was by far the greater. Whipping them to the side he dodged Sten's last desperate charge and brought his Blade around to cut through Eva's neck. Its edge flashed harrowing blue as it slid across her jugular; one clean stroke to take off her head. The Ring of Blood pulsed only once in triumph, as if reminding him that this battle was not yet complete.

Hunger leapt back as Sten extricated himself from the chamber wall. Assessing himself, he finally realized that his Ring was still with his severed right arm; though diminished, he could feel its presence strongly. Was this a general property of the Ring or merely its depth of resolve to save its sibling? Perhaps their connection had grown so that, like the Forebear's Blade, it could come to him when called?

Hunger smirked to himself as Sten faced him again. No, the Ring was not the Blade; it held a different sort of power and could not affect the world in so gross a way. Sten glared at him with eyes devoid of hate; gray obligation filled those dull eyes, a tireless duty that had never once wavered.

It was no easy thing, to bear a Ring, but far harder still to contain one unwillingly. And yet he could not bring himself to pity this sad thundering jailer. This was the chief architect of the Azure Ring's torment. He would pay nothing less than the ultimate price.

---

The winner was [X] Evangeline Worldkeeper.

Hunger's power over blood is weakened with the Ring of Power severed from his body, but Sten is half-blind and eviscerated, his eye and lower torso cored by the power of Ruin. The other Immortals are beginning to recover. The Ring of Blood cannot maintain its vehemence forever; eventually Hunger's blood-based enhancements will start to falter as his external influence has.

Even so, Evangeline's defeat has lead to a considerable rise in strength. Choose 3 picks below. You may spend up to 9 Arete (currently ~6.8). Arete spent but not generated will lead to Debt, with 2 or more leading to instant death.

- 0-pick options -

[ ] Hero-Defeating Stance - A Martial Stance of the Forebear. ++Might, ++Agility, +Wisdom, +0.2 external Rank. Halve the effects of enemy Rank if it is greater than your own. Halve the effects of being outnumbered, if you are outnumbered. This Stance is permanently active until switched for another [Enemy]-Defeating Stance. A pre-requisite for Foe-Defeating Stance. You may have [Rank/2, rounded down] Stances active at one time.

This is the only stance that can be recommended to swap Guile-Defeating Stance out for in your current situation.

- 1-pick options -

[ ] Forebear's Blade - Echo of the Forebear - Cloud-shadow of the Forebear's might.
Legendary strength and speed, and the resilience to exert them. Can be taken multiple times. [+Might, +Agility]

[ ] The Ring of Power - Dominion - 2 Arete
A ring of power does not exert influence casually. It has its own will, its own preferences, and if that will should be inseparable from its owner's, its sway thereby shall be greater for it.

The available domains for Hunger are: War, Passion

[ ] The Ring of Power - Preeminence - 7 Arete

It is no small thing, to master a ring of power; and for those few who have braved that height, at its peak they shall only glimpse the true jewel which lies even further beyond.

Choose a domain you have already purchased. While acting within its purview, double its effective Rank modifier and gain +All Stats. You may select this advancement multiple times, choosing a different domain each time.

The available domains for Hunger's Preeminence are: War, Passion

[ ] Fierce Quickening - The absurd violence of Blood unleashed. Let all that falls within its dominion be spilled, if it be in service to the Ringbearer. Adds [++Agility, +Wits] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.

[ ] The Ring of Power - Hateful Might - Conjunctional [Forebear's Blade]. For whom death is too kind; curdle the blood and shred the soul's essence. Requires Preeminence: Passion.

Against foes for whom Preeminence: Passion is or would be active, the Power of Ruin applies to their blood and soul directly, twisting and corroding the design of their body and ravaging unprotected spirits. Those without immense superhuman will or other esoteric protections will find themselves quickly deteriorating before the character's strikes. Physical durability matters not, though those without corporeal blood are only partially affected.

[ ] Augment Dominion: Blood - The world-wielding will of the Ring.
Treat the wielder's Rank as if it were (.5 Low/.25 Medium/.1 High) higher for purposes of the [Ring of Power] effect applied to the Blood domain, increasing its potency and versatility. Repeatable, but costs 1 more pick each time.

[ ] Exalted Spirit - 2 Arete. Conjunctional [Hunger, Evening Sky]. Mind made vigorous as the body. Gain +Int, +Wits, +Wis, +Cha, -Heartlessness, while in a form with physical blood. Allies under blood enhancement gain +Int, +Cha. Blood enhancement requires physical blood.

[ ] Evening Sky - Opalescence - The soft light of evening before which all attacks falter.
+Protection, improving defensive parameters.

[ ] Evening Sky - Iridescence - 2 Arete - The sharp light of the stars before which all malice is lessened.
+Protection, +Charisma. Expands the range of effects subject to the Evening Sky, allowing it to passively weaken almost all forms of magic. Even Nullity itself can be once withstood before the Sky recedes. Requires Opalescence.

[ ] Evening Sky - Pearlescence - 7 Arete - Woe unto they who would stand against the bearer of Evening, for all the stars in heaven are their enemies, and the moon above as well.
+++Protection, and the protection granted by the Evening Sky now automatically scales to its wearer's power; effectively, the wearer is granted an additional Experience modifier whose output is automatically applied to the Evening Sky. Requires Iridescence.

[ ] Feat - Knife - 2 Arete. Adds .15 Rank, .2 with Uttermost.

- 2-pick options -

[ ] Honing - 2 Arete - The swift sharp blade that frees blood from body. Requires 3x Fierce Quickening (presently have 2x).
+++Agility, ++Wits. Add half your Wits to your Intelligence for purposes of combat.

- 3-pick options -

[ ] The Ring of Power - Avenger - 7 Arete - Power to exact the ultimate price.
When opposing an enemy that has severely wronged either himself or one of his kin, double the wielder's physical Attributes and halve enemy Luck, Wisdom and Protection. The latter effect may be resisted. In addition, every attack, physical or social, that the wielder successfully lands, is considered a critical hit (triple effectiveness) against such targets. Can be upgraded into Blood Price for 21 Arete.

[ ] Forebear's Blade - Headsman - 7 Arete - Who passes the sentence...
Seals the ability to launch blade projections and blade-winds. While the Forebear's Blade is as light as it ever was to the wielder themselves, its effective mass is multipled tremendously for other purposes. In addition, the Blade casts a shadow of potential around its wielder, impossibly increasing the margin of error for deflection.

+++++Strength, ++Int (Combat), ++Wisdom (Combat), ++Wits
Double the value of Str +s for use of the Blade
+50% to the value of AGI +s when blocking and parrying
+.2 Defensive Rank when blocking and parrying

---

Finally, what strategy to pursue against Sten himself?

[ ] Age - Cut him down as the span of years ought have.

[ ] Treachery - Talk him down - or attempt to drive insane. Physical force is his domain, but your mind is the stronger.

---

If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with the questers, you're welcome to join the Discord! We encourage all substantive posts still to be made in the thread.

A huge thanks to all my subscribers on Patreon! The sheer amount of support these past days has been staggering! Subscribers receive access to patron-exclusive content, including early updates, Blurb Library, Discord roles, and bonus chapters.

 

[Rihaku]

Forefront

Letrizia glanced down at her recipe book and carefully stirred the pot once more. The rich, savory scent of deep-stewed potato-and-bone broth wafted up to meet her. Taking a cautious sip from her spoon, she winced at the heat and pursed her lips thoughtfully.

What was she doing, cooking unassisted? With a flare of nebulous energy she immersed her form in personal Pressure, focusing it outwards in torrents upon the pot. Because she did not intend it to tip over it did not, and inspiration struck like sudden lightning. Yes, a pinch of that spice and a dash of this one and then a fine dusting of salt & pepper - that would do the trick! She stirred in the swirl of condiments, added a few cubes of freshly diced Elixir-fed steak, then put lid on pot for it to slowly simmer. No searing necessary with this recipe, the core feature was sumptuous meat that fell apart in clumps and melted swiftly in the mouth. Contentedly she inhaled, taking in the delectable odors of their upcoming meal.

She just knew Lord Hunger was going to love this soup! He always had a soft spot for clear, fragrant broths.

Yet without food to serve as distraction, her gaze was pulled to the Temple once more. Letrizia glowered. The damned thing was like a magnet for her attention, moon clutched helpless in its grisly claws. Lord Hunger had sped off so suddenly, and a few hours later Gisena and Aeira had departed as well, leaving her alone as usual in the cockpit of her Armament. Verschlengorge was with her, of course, but it just wasn't the same as company of her own kind. She was used to the swiftly changing tides of the battlefield, but wholly unused to doing nothing in response. Was it not her obligation to stride forth into anarchy and bring order by fist and maw? All her instincts screamed at her to act, to seize glory and thereby protect the tenuous vantage of her house...

Her stomach fluttered as she thought of the countless trials and dangers Lord Hunger must be facing in the Temple. How many times had she done this now, waiting powerlessly besides while the others delved deeper for power ever-increasing?

Maybe this was what mission control felt like, Letrizia thought, and smiled wanly. She would have to buy Yui a gift of some kind before they departed the Voyaging Realm. Maybe a magical plushie to add to her collection? The crown jewel of stuffed joys!

She shook her head. Best to be focused on the here and now. Her shining hour was just on the horizon! Lord Hunger had grown terribly strong in these past two weeks, his frenetic pace unceasing even when he'd declared them to be on vacation. Soon Verschlengorge would be healed and they'd depart for the City once more. She would prove herself to be worthy of inclusion right alongside Aeira and Miss Gisena!

Vigorously she pumped her fist and channeled her Element again, hair fluttering in summoned wind. The sharp bright sword that brings physical law to heel. She would master it, force it to acknowledge her as wielder, and stride then across sky and stars - not merely as that sacrifice, the Devouring Armament's Pilot, but as Arch-duchess Letrizia von Artriez, Hero of the Empire!

Verschlengorge cleared his throat. Letrizia patted it happily. She adored her Armament, it was her greatest ally and friend, but everyone knew its appetite was insatiable, for foe and friend alike. Such were the things with which one put up for the company of one's friends.

[ ] Oops, the Soup - Letrizia knocked over the soup while in the midst of her Sharpbright-empowered fantasies. No soup for you. [+1 Arete, Letrizia is sad, Verschlengorge is amused]

[ ] Peerless Grace - Letrizia coincidentally effortlessly dodged the soup, as a properly-trained pilot and ballroom dancer ought! Soup for Hunger, should he live. [Verschlengorge is bored & hungry]

---

[X] Treachery has won, please choose one of the following for your final build going into the battle with Sten:

[ ] The Avenger - The nature of reciprocal debts is this: pay back friendship and enmity both ten times over. As friendship unanswered will soon lie fallow, so too do wrongs unavenged invite further exploitation. The obverse face of the cycle of vengeance is the gormless victim upon whom injustice heaps endlessly. This man subjected the Ring your sibling to exhaustion without surcease, an unending forced march that would be torment by the first day, let alone the millionth. Let him reap even a fraction of what he has sowed. Dismember him in mind and body until his shattered husk can resist you no longer. All shall know that to profane a Ring is a crime beyond reckoning, and fear the consequences thereof.

*Avenger (3 picks, 7 Arete)
*Exceptionally powerful when it can be invoked, granting enormous physical speed and strength alongside a truly devastating critical hit frequency.
*Good synergy with Stats when active, doesn't restrict future build options much
*Does not yield any benefits when inapplicable, but 2 Arete cheaper than other builds!
*Will likely be inapplicable 70-80% of the time, fair warning
*The very safest option, though only modestly safer than The Blade

[ ] The Eminence - Let this insect be destroyed. We do not recognize him; neither the form of his self nor the strength of his dignity can persist in the wake of our judgement. Torment of a Ring is tantamount to atrocity. Let him be twisted until not even a scrap of his selfhood remains; until he is no husk but a horror grotesque, a scream without a mouth as the Ring was for so long; let all his direst fears come to pass and then be a thousand times surpassed by the transfigurations we shall inflict upon him. Only then will satisfaction be paid to the Azure, who was bled so cruelly and for so long by this gnat of a being.

*Dominion, Preeminence: Passion, Hateful Might (3 picks, 9 Arete)
*The dread power of hateful might which twists one's foes into a cruel and powerless mockery of themselves, their blood curdling like spoiled milk, their essence rotting out from under them
*A horrible way to go that should only be reserved for one's direst foes, if that
*A single spectacular burst of cruelty may placate the Azure Ring, reducing its future hatefulness
*That said, hatefulness can be reduced in other ways
*Builds towards Ruling Ring, though you are unlikely to get Ruling Ring anytime soon
*Though chances of success are pretty good, the riskiest of the options here

[ ] The Blade - Let this business be done with. Quickly, cleanly. Complete the objective and go; dwell not on the past which is beyond your power (yet) to change, but cut onwards and through into the future. Sever the Ring from its tormenter, its tormentor from his life, and the profits of that torture from the society he upheld.

This reckless hate is beneath your dignity, Azure. You are a Ring of Power, not some mewling simpleton of mortal span. Eternity lies before you; why dwell on enemies already buried? 'Slays Keeper, ruins town, and beats high temple down.' Let him be one hero more whom time has felled; let that be enough.

*Knife, Fierce Quickening, Echo of the Forebear, Hero-Defeating Stance - 3 picks, 9 Arete
*A strong, safe build that offers comprehensive power in both the present and the future, though obviously weaker than the Avenger while Avenger is active.
*Versatility of Rank, point-effectiveness of AGI in your current situation, and synergy with Crimson Flare
*The build that raises the best foundation for the mid- to long-term, though the influence of any one decision point is relatively small
*Reduces hatefulness but not by as much as The Eminence. Aims for a quick, clean kill or surrender.
*Great chances of success, but not guaranteed.

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While victory is likely no matter which build you pick, it is still not certain for 2/3rds of the builds. That said, in order to avoid an overly complicated vote in the event that you do win, please now decide on Hunger's disposition towards utilizing the Azure Ring:

[ ] Let It Rest - While he will assign it a Ringbearer, there is no imminent need for massive amounts of power. Whatever energies it can spare in the course of its 'psychological' recuperation will be harnessed, but care will be taken to strain it minimally.

*Massively reduces hatefulness
*The Ring will provide roughly 5 Arete worth of benefits to Hunger personally, and an initially modest but steadily scaling amount to its Ringbearer.
*The Azure Ring will mostly be silent, but grateful. Perhaps the rivalry of past Ages is a matter not to be conducted endlessly, but rather to be risen above...

[ ] Ruler & Vassal - Rescue for leal service, that was the bargain and he shall see it fairly enforced. Freed of its unnatural vise the Ring Azure will be entirely capable of exerting its energies to a typical degree without undue suffering. A Ring's psychology is not a man's; the agony inflicted by Plerion's vise dealt not true lasting damage to Band or Jewel. Let it do as it promised and offer the full complement of powers in commission for freedom from harm.

*Modestly reduces hatefulness
*The Ring will provide roughly 7 Arete worth of benefits to Hunger personally, and an initially modest but quickly scaling amount to its Ringbearer. In time the difference between an active and resting Ring will reveal a large gap in effective capability.
*The Azure Ring will see that relations between it and the Crimson are right and proper, fairly conducted as agreements should be. Neither laxity on part of the vassel nor malice on part of the superior ought be accepted.

[ ] Subordination - Take what is yours and show no mercy, as no mercy was shown when Azure reigned across far epochs past. There is no room for sentiment in the game of naked power played between Rings. Superior and subordinate, master and servant: that is all you can or ever will be. Mistake not the light hand for weakness, or the heavy for cruelty - such things are the product of a human mind and irrelevant to the dealings of Rings.

*Hatefulness unaffected
*The Ring will provide roughly 10 Arete worth of benefits to Hunger personally with additional benefits over time. These benefits will be specifically calculated as to maximally increase Hunger's power in a synergistic fashion. For example, a free 7 Arete Advancement combined with a 3 Arete discount towards the Evening Sky 25-Arete option of your choice.
*The Ring will provide an initially significant and rapidly scaling amount of power to its Ringbearer, though some small fraction of its hateful nature may come to infect its wielder. Those skilled in the magical arts, or possessed of superhuman Will and cleverness, can throw off this influence and stand vigilant against it.
*It will be made clear to the Azure that there is only one Lord of the Rings, and he does not share power.