There are plenty of interesting possibilities for this plot.
One is that the plot really is a fairly simple attempt at hurting the Royal Family's grip. Assassinating the first prince is a severe blow to his reputation and could force him onto the back foot politically. Remember, the Kings control is at least in some measure the perception of his control. If he cannot protect his publicly beloved and favored son then what can't you get away with if you're careful enough? There might be plenty of space for the enemies he's put in check and stripped away property from to unite against him as a whole.
Secondly and somewhat relatedly this could be fishing for a reaction. Whatever his other flaws Dakata genuinely loves his children and places his pride and hopes in them. He would choose to die in Daji's place given the option. Successfully killing his favored son who's the rising star of the kingdom and not a spoiled brat with more treasure then sense will almost certainly make him react with properly tyrannical rage. Anyone even obliquely involved will be executed. Their families out as many generations as he can find will be executed. You could pretty reasonably expect such a man to tear his kingdom apart looking for the traitors hidden in it. He is a man of many rivals who would be more then willing to exploit the death of a child to see him tear down what he's built. Some of them don't even work for the same boss he does.
Thirdly this plot was set cooking some time ago. It was definitely in motion before the death of Tiberian and the world shaking shift in the political tides that brought. This could very easily be a very clever and very precise plan that is continuing despite some very different facts being at play. Killing the kingdoms rising star and one of the better young Underlord prospects in Akura lands may have been a much better idea before the next Uncrowned King Tournament went from the usual monarchical dick measuring to a life or death show of military force. It would certainly be very funny if the Black Flames or some other group trying to get one over on the Seishen had this plot going past the point they could recall it right as that flipped from a show of clever ruthlessness to breaking Akura Malice's property.
It feels a tad naive to think the whole plot is out of a sense of anti-Monarchism and class movement. Something tells me they just want to be the ones with all the resources instead.
Oh yeah not all of it is that for example I suspect the Criminal aligned people and likely the Sects are like that on average in wanting resources for themselves and even the "better" ones still want resources. I was just thinking about the motivations and rhetoric of the conspiracy.
From what we've seen of them, the people involved are probably not unified in their goals. I'd bet you have both of these types in the organization, along with several other motivations, though we lack enough data to guess at how many of each.
There are plenty of interesting possibilities for this plot.
One is that the plot really is a fairly simple attempt at hurting the Royal Family's grip. Assassinating the first prince is a severe blow to his reputation and could force him onto the back foot politically. Remember, the Kings control is at least in some measure the perception of his control. If he cannot protect his publicly beloved and favored son then what can't you get away with if you're careful enough? There might be plenty of space for the enemies hes put in check and stripped away property from to unite against him as a whole.
Secondly and somewhat relatedly this could be fishing for a reaction. Whatever his other flaws Dakota genuinely loves his children and places his pride and hopes in them. He would choose to die in Dani's place given the option. Successfully killing his favored son who's the rising star of the kingdom and not a spoiled brat with more treasure then sense will almost certainly make him react with properly tyrannical rage. Anyone even obliquely involved will be executed. There families will be executed. You could pretty reasonably expect such a man to tear his kingdom apart looking for the traitors hidden in it. He is a man of many rivals who would be more then willing to exploit the death of a child for power. Some of them don't even work for the same boss he does.
Thirdly this plot was set cooking some time ago. It was definitely in motion before the death of Tiberian and the world shaking shift in the political tides that brought. This could very easily be a very clever and very precise plan that is continuing despite some very different facts being at play. Killing the kingdoms rising star and one of the better young Underlord prospects in Akura lands may have been a much better idea before the next Uncrowned King Tournament went from monarchial dick measuring to life or death show of military force. It would certainly be very funny if the Black Flames or some other group trying to get one over on the Seishen had this plot going past the point they could recall it right as that flipped from a show of clever ruthlessness to breaking Akura Malice's property.
Effecting his illusion of control and/or making him lash out would definitely help the conspiracy's goal of wrecking the status quo. I hadn't considered the possibility of getting rid of one of the Uncrowned King Candidates given that Kiro isn't an Underlord yet but it's a possibility.
Effecting his illusion of control and/or making him lash out would definitely help the conspiracy's goal of wrecking the status quo. I hadn't considered the possibility of getting rid of one of the Uncrowned King Candidates given that Kiro isn't an Underlord yet but it's a possibility.
Going after an Uncrowned candidate is a bit of a stretch admittedly. He is a talented young true gold with lots of resources poured into him by his doting Overlord father so it's not entirely crazy to suspect he'd make it into the tournament. Underlord's under thirty aren't common and the plotters know he's going to be advancing soon.
The greater point that this could be an attempt to weaken a fellow vassal going forward just as messing with a fellow vassal goes from Malice letting her subordinates sort out their own hierarchy to making her look weak.
===
Anyway putting together some more thoughts I've had while binging through this whole quest. This time on Keras and their odd relationship to the hardest challenges of their life.
One of the more defining events of their life so far was Kyeol's arrival in the village. While always a little fishy, Keras was a young child and frankly not that interested in the weird rude adult who had shown up and would occasionally get in the way of them playing with their friend. This almost got their friend killed and they saw their friendly school teacher decide to take a life then do it. From a very early age they've had that first hand experience of politics and ambition spiraling into violence.
At the same time this was one of the best things that could have happened to them as a sacred artist. Kyeol's interference was a push forward. Keras always wanted to be stronger but the pressure of a duel sharpened that desire. They had a rival to overcome and went to extraordinary lengths to do so. Keras is always a hard worker but that goal imposed on them by a rival brought out ambition and proactive seeking of strength.
The next major turning point in their life were the assassins coming into town. Again violence. This time far less expected and constrained. People really trying to kill someone had a knife to their throat. Their father nearly died in their arms and was injured for life. And at the same time it was an opportunity again. They played the hand they were dealt well, made allies, saved their father's life, and were pushed to higher heights yet.
So far Keras has managed to draw strength from opposition. Always managing to turn tragedy to oppurtunity and scrape together gains from it while losing little of their own. They have become (relatively) powerful, rich, and influential by picking sides and tilting themselves against a foe. While always hard working and moving towards their goals of freedom to travel and explore the world they seem a bit diffuse in their interests without that clarity of opposition.
Which isn't nessecarily a bad thing, they're far more well rounded following their interests where it takes them. Left to their own devices Keras wants to learn everything, to do everything, to make up entirely new things just to try doing them. There growth along the path isn't as explosive but it flows out and braids back together in unusual ways. Keras is a healer, and a refiner, and an arborist, and a death artist, and all four seem like they feed into each other quite naturally. If you can't knit them back together make a pill for it, if you can't make the pill grow the plants you need, if what's there will only feed on life and sustenance then kill it. With the nessecary refinement of control and precision for each heightening the other skills in turn.
They then turned around and used the refinement of control and precision they learned from pursuing these very refined arts to get really good at putting an axe into other peoples bodies to kill them. They may be the first in history to convince a sword artist that reading is important. Keras can probably name all the various bits of anatomy they're trying to chop off with an axe by now.
So as real life or death conflict draws back into their life again I think they'll face a question of what they want to define them. Do they want to follow a path defined by the obstacles they face, one with focus and goals that they strive towards constantly and deeply, or do they want to follow a more winding path of their many interests and talents combining and compounding into something unexpected even if they never really go as deep into any of them individually. Both seem valid and I'm sure they could hit the same heights overall but I imagine they'd end up with very different paths in the end.
Going after an Uncrowned candidate is a bit of a stretch admittedly. He is a talented young true gold with lots of resources poured into him by his doting Overlord father so it's not entirely crazy to suspect he'd make it into the tournament. Underlord's under thirty aren't common and the plotters know he's going to be advancing soon.
The greater point that this could be an attempt to weaken a fellow vassal going forward just as messing with a fellow vassal goes from Malice letting her subordinates sort out their own hierarchy to making her look weak.
He is pretty much slated to being one of the Underlord candidates due to being a talented Truegold and politically important, sure it isn't guranteed to become an Underlord no matter how much resources you pour into it but given his talent and resources Kiro becoming an Underlord in time for the Uncrowned King tournament is near guaranteed.
It could be a plot by the Blackflame Empire but honestly I think it's internal with maybe some foreign aid to mess with Malice's vassals.
Anyway putting together some more thoughts I've had while binging through this whole quest. This time on Keras and their odd relationship to the hardest challenges of their life.
One of the more defining events of their life so far was Kyeol's arrival in the village. While always a little fishy, Keras was a young child and frankly not that interested in the weird rude adult who had shown up and would occasionally get in the way of them playing with their friend. This almost got their friend killed and they saw their friendly school teacher decide to take a life then do it. From a very early age they've had that first hand experience of politics and ambition spiraling into violence.
At the same time this was one of the best things that could have happened to them as a sacred artist. Kyeol's interference was a push forward. Keras always wanted to be stronger but the pressure of a duel sharpened that desire. They had a rival to overcome and went to extraordinary lengths to do so. Keras is always a hard worker but that goal imposed on them by a rival brought out ambition and proactive seeking of strength.
Kyeol basically introduced the concept of Sacred Arts as a way for hungry people to gain power, the gap between the strong and the weak and the ruthlessness of Sacred Artists. Kyeol's death was also the first real fight and death that Keras ever witnessed which was a huge shaping moment for them. Also it's one of the things that made Keras fascinated with Death madra and securing the means to defend themselves. I agree that Kyeol ironically enough had an extremely postive impact on Keras as a Sacred Artist between showing them the nature of power, the rivalry and giving Keras motivation to grow.
The next major turning point in their life were the assassins coming into town. Again violence. This time far less expected and constrained. People really trying to kill someone had a knife to their throat. Their father nearly died in their arms and was injured for life. And at the same time it was an opportunity again. They played the hand they were dealt well, made allies, saved their father's life, and were pushed to higher heights yet.
So far Keras has managed to draw strength from opposition. Always managing to turn tragedy to oppurtunity and scrape together gains from it while losing little of their own. They have become (relatively) powerful, rich, and influential by picking sides and tilting themselves against a foe. While always hard working and moving towards their goals of freedom to travel and explore the world they seem a bit diffuse in their interests without that clarity of opposition.
The assassination forced Keras to see that their family and community where little fish is the world and that even the strongest person in their life could falter and die. This was the final thing that made Keras choose to act on their curiosity to see the world and grow and they used the means available to them to do so.
Which isn't nessecarily a bad thing, they're far more well rounded following their interests where it takes them. Left to their own devices Keras wants to learn everything, to do everything, to make up entirely new things just to try doing them. There growth along the path isn't as explosive but it flows out and braids back together in unusual ways. Keras is a healer, and a refiner, and an arborist, and a death artist, and all four seem like they feed into each other quite naturally. If you can't knit them back together make a pill for it, if you can't make the pill grow the plants you need, if what's there will only feed on life and sustenance then kill it. With the nessecary refinement of control and precision for each heightening the other skills in turn.
They then turned around and used the refinement of control and precision they learned from pursuing these very refined arts to get really good at putting an axe into other peoples bodies to kill them. They may be the first in history to convince a sword artist that reading is important. Keras can probably name all the various bits of anatomy they're trying to chop off with an axe by now.
Keras is a very curious soul and loves to learn everything they can, due to that they're kinda a polymath as mentioned they have a lot of skillsets and they've managed to bring them together to work in harmony. They're also pretty well educated given being taught by a Dragon and by the Luxe school, plus Keras has skills as a warrior. The theme of control and precision is something they've decided to dedicate themselves to in their Sacred Arts, Refining and combat and it's worked out really well for them.
So as real life or death conflict draws back into their life again I think they'll face a question of what they want to define them. Do they want to follow a path defined by the obstacles they face, one with focus and goals that they strive towards constantly and deeply, or do they want to follow a more winding path of their many interests and talents combining and compounding into something unexpected even if they never really go as deep into any of them individually. Both seem valid and I'm sure they could hit the same heights overall but I imagine they'd end up with very different paths in the end.
These moments do have a tendcy to shape and define Keras. Personally I want this to be a kick in the ass for Keras to up their work ethic but still follow their passions, like it'll be extra motivation to train further in combat and Advance but they'll still do stuff like learning refining, healing and botany and about nature because they have fun doing it. Also it's not like Keras doesn't enjoy combat it's just that they don't seem to enjoy it as much as the other stuff they do and changing that may be a good thing since being passionate about fighting could benefit them.
I think that the wide skillset both in terms of skills, stats and techniques has been something that has benefited Keras immensely. They've been very consistent with their growth and are above average in most things, the interests having crossovers and synergy is something that has served Keras well so far.
Something to note is that after this Keras is going to have a lot less control of their schedule so they may not get a full choice in how they handle their growth at least to the degree we've had so far. Plus there's the fact Keras will likely grow through facing challenges and fighting.
Going after an Uncrowned candidate is a bit of a stretch admittedly. He is a talented young true gold with lots of resources poured into him by his doting Overlord father so it's not entirely crazy to suspect he'd make it into the tournament. Underlord's under thirty aren't common and the plotters know he's going to be advancing soon.
The greater point that this could be an attempt to weaken a fellow vassal going forward just as messing with a fellow vassal goes from Malice letting her subordinates sort out their own hierarchy to making her look weak.
You've got a lot of really interesting thoughts in these two posts! I loved reading them over. Most of the time I don't comment much on if speculation is accurate or not unless it's putting something together that I think is completely obvious once it's laid out.
This is really the only thing I can comment as generally not accurate, though it requires canon book knowledge more than quest knowledge. The Blackflame Empire and the Seishen Kingdom are generally not considered to be worthy of competing in the Uncrowned King tournament. Charity has to dangle a lot of opportunity before them to get them to the necessary level, and it's implied to be the first time they've ever had the chance. So specifically targeting Kiro because of the Uncrowned King tournament would require someone who can predict some things that even most Sages wouldn't.
You've got a lot of really interesting thoughts in these two posts! I loved reading them over. Most of the time I don't comment much on if speculation is accurate or not unless it's putting something together that I think is completely obvious once it's laid out.
This is really the only thing I can comment as generally not accurate, though it requires canon book knowledge more than quest knowledge. The Blackflame Empire and the Seishen Kingdom are generally not considered to be worthy of competing in the Uncrowned King tournament. Charity has to dangle a lot of opportunity before them to get them to the necessary level, and it's implied to be the first time they've ever had the chance. So specifically targeting Kiro because of the Uncrowned King tournament would require someone who can predict some things that even most Sages wouldn't.
That makes sense the Blackflame Empire and Seishen Kingdom are ultimately minor powers in the end. They're enough of a non factor that it took significant investment from Charity to push them up to the level they could operate in the Uncrowned King tournament.
That's acutally going to effect how I thought Keras would join the Uncrowned King Tournament. I thought they would join up by virtue of being one the few Underlords in the Seishen Kingdom that would qualify for the Uncrowned King Tournament as well as due to connection to Cheng and the Luxe. That is still going to be what likely happens. But it's also possible if Keras starts helping with Heaven's Facade that may attract the Akura's attention to Keras and they'd keep an eye on Keras as part of their intelligence work, Charity may even make sure that Keras is part of the Seishen Kingdom's team when that happens due to Keras being one of the best potentials.
Believe it or not, this is the third anniversary of Rock the Cradle! Over these quarter-million words, we've covered more than six years of Keras' life, managed three advancements, and seen Keras find both opportunity and danger. We're getting close to a major story climax, but the details are yet to fully crystalize for Keras. However, I like to commission a little bit of character art as we get to milestones like this, so:
A depiction of the exhibition match between Lord Ju Dao of the Brightflare School and the Lady of the Night Sky of the Luxe family, courtesy of Renu:
(see more of their art on Tumblr or here on SV; I know they commented recently about having an empty commission queue)
And a depiction of our gay dragon schoolteacher Thantiriiz, by Moiderah:
(see more of their art on Bluesky or Tumblr, whom I tend to comm when I have a kind of weird art request like this one)
Winning vote:
[] Take it to the Lady of the Night Sky
There's really one option that stands out to you. You don't feel like you can do nothing, and there's one person in the city who knows and trusts your spiritual sense, at least somewhat. The Lady of the Night Sky tested that. It may or may not have been the main reason she employed you as a courier, but it certainly was a part of it. She knows you took in the Remnant of one of her oracles, since she's commented on it.
With Cheng out of the city, she's unquestionably the strongest single sacred artist in Great Crevasse, and she has a personal stake in dealing with someone who attacked her people. "We need to move quickly, partner," you tell Beti as you hop down from your usual perch in her boughs to get the atrium open.
She creaks in reply, a willingness to follow your lead. Once you've locked up Cheng's mansion behind you, she sweeps you off your feet to set you in her branches and sets off full-tilt towards the Luxe-mesa elevators.
Beti usually prefers a gentle amble that's still the pace of a decent jog for you, but that doesn't mean that that's as fast as she can go. It means that that's a comfortable pace she can keep up for long distances while still watching everything around her. Her pace now would be a full sprint for you: she is Truegold, so she is faster. Lowgolds and even the occasional Highgold duck out of the way or pull to one side when they realize that the ambulatory tree is not particularly interested in joining the usual flow of traffic, and you make it to the elevator banks in record time.
You recognize the elevator operator as you approach. You take them most days, so you've gotten to know the usual workers. It's plump old Rojer, today, who usually wants to share cute things his cats have been doing as you ride. "Is everything okay, Keras?" he asks as Beti slows and stops on the elevator platform. "You look worried."
How much should you say? How much can you say? After a moment, you nod. "I am. I'm sorry, I need to get to the top of the elevator as quickly as you can get me there."
Rojer scratches at his sideburn with one hand, the other tucked into his fancy vest. "I don't know I can. It was one thing when you had the Underlady's token. That's different."
You sigh, looking at the dozen or so other people who are waiting for the elevator to go up. Not all of them are trying to go all the way up: there's plenty of things to stop for along the way. Great Crevasse is built into every available space, at this point. "I know. Sorry!" You point at Beti. "A Truegold insisted. That won't get you in any trouble, right, not if a Truegold tries to bend the usual schedules?"
A couple of the people waiting throw up their hands and get off the platform, planning to wait for the next one. A couple others look frustrated but don't go anywhere, and at least one brightens considerably. She probably has business at the top and now has a shorter wait.
{You're kicking over a small ant's nest already,} Etaja comments. {I hope you were right about knowing how to contact the old gal quickly.}
"I need to get in to see the Underlady," you say again to the Luxe guard, who doesn't seem likely to be moved by you. "It's very important, and she'll want to hear about it right away."
"Out of the question." That's technically a slight improvement from 'no', you guess, but she's not looking particularly worried about Beti despite being only Highgold herself, and it's clear that this isn't something she's going to bend on. "Put a respectful request in with her aides and maybe she will see you sometime in the next three months." You don't need your spiritual sense to understand 'and you'll be blown off if I have anything to say about it'.
This was as close as you could easily get. According to Etaja (and implicitly by the guard here), the Lady and Mireya are in a training chamber. And you are not allowed in.
You swallow. You aren't looking forward to this next part, and you'd hoped you wouldn't have to do it, but you hadn't been lying to Etaja: you do know how to get her attention.
You'll get it the same way you flagged down Miss Venkata and Mekedo when they were flying into Hinterville. You take a deep breath and cycle your madra as expressively as you can, the exact opposite of a polite veil. It's the spiritual equivalent of shouting loudly and jumping up and down in a quiet theater. You accompany it with an actual shout. "Underlady! I'm sorry, Underlady, but I need to talk to you! Please, Lady of the N—"
The guard jerks back in surprise, leveling her spear at you, but she hasn't more than opened her mouth to tell you off when the sky falls on you.
Your breath stops for an instant and you uncontrollably fall to your knees. The pressure doesn't let up. The flagstones you're on crack with the weight of a Lady's focused attention and displeasure. You tremble, trying and failing to hold yourself up with all the strength in all six of your limbs. You fail, and your jaw hits the ground. Pain blossoms from a split chin.
Beti tries to wrap her branches and vines protectively around you, but fails. Black strings seize each of them and pull them back, Forged from the Luxe matriarch's madra.
And then she's there, in front of you. There's anger, but there's also the clockwork behind it, the constant assessment of functions and results that her clan is expected to meet. Hard eyes glare at you, but she lessens the pressure just enough for you to pick yourself up. You know, implicitly, the danger if she is not immediately satisfied by why you have interrupted her. She says only one word: "Explain."
You need two seconds to suck in enough air to speak. "Underlady, I have seen a vision of the person who attacked your peacekeepers the day of the elevator collapse. I know where they will be for at least a few minutes more. One of Cheng's assistants was investigating something that's pulled the attacker out."
"Where?" You quickly give the address in the Remnant Market. The Underlady's look is no less hostile, but at least it slides off of you at that point. She snaps her fingers, and the aide who always gave you the Grand Duchess' directions before rushes up. "Retrieve my war equipment," she says. "Bring it here. Then, get Priyanka and Javed. They are to join me at this establishment immediately. All other family Truegolds in the city are to be placed on full alert." One goldsteel-shod finger stabs at you. "The child stays here."
The guard who stopped you is kneeling, as well. "Lady, I apologize that I did not know you would—"
The Underlady's grunt cuts off the apology. "You followed the letter and spirit of my directions."
Remelyn keeps up her restless pacing for the fifteen minutes or so it takes for the trap to fully spring, Fendi watching her with concern. He's trying to get back to work on tinkering with the prosthetic, but his heart clearly isn't in it.
This is still a ticklish moment, Remelyn knows. Her entrance was meant to allow only one response, to trigger whatever contingencies the conspirators have in place. There could be no chance to respond rationally, to consider and plan and implement something intelligently. To do that would allow them to withdraw and retreat. What Remelyn needs is to find the thread that will unravel the whole thing. This, hopefully, will be that. She can't be sure, but the hope is that, regardless of what level Fendi is in within the operation, he will have a panic button to call the big dogs. Even if he doesn't directly have that, her observers hopefully can catch the next link up, which is almost as good.
There is a shriek of overstressed metal and the door opens. Fendi and Remelyn both turn to look as someone half-dead almost staggers in, dragging something. Their visitor didn't bother to knock or try to open the lock. The door just gave way. "Oh, oh, sorry for the mess." Nearly bald, skeletally thin, the newcomer pauses a second to cough, but their voice is equally soft before and after the cough. "Something the matter?"
Remelyn watches as Fendi tries to sort this out: there's no flicker of recognition, so this isn't Fendi's usual contact. That's a good sign, indicating that the alert went high, to trusted ears. "Welcome to Daurus and Son's. I realize you may be lookin' for—"
"Yes, yes, stars below and all that. Did you know this was a set-up?"
"What?" Fendi is halfway out of his seat, glancing between Remelyn and the newcomer. "I assure you, I'm just a—"
"—A loyal servant of the crown, yes, yes, yes." The visitor throws the thing they'd been dragging into the middle of the floor. Remelyn is glad of her Goldsign's ability to suppress certain responses as she realizes what it is.
It's the body of a woman in the king's colors. Lyn realizes that she can see another ruin of a body in the street. That would be the flying serpent itself. "Four watchers. I cleaned them up."
Remelyn had only had three watchers. The other either must have noticed something was up and kept their eyes open in case there was something going on that might be worth looking into, or they'd just been a wholly unconnected bystander who just happened to look suspicious.
Fendi looks a little ill. Remelyn is not surprised. Whatever else he is or is not involved in, it does not normally bring death to his actual doorstep. "This woman said she had given the king's people the slip," he says. "I guess she didn't get away as clean as she thought."
The newcomer nods amiably, then suddenly swipes in Remelyn's direction. A Striker technique lashes out, breaking on a circular shield of force that appears in front of her. "I know, I know all the people above Lowgold we have," they whisper. "She's not with us."
Remelyn throws wide her outermost robe. Beneath it, constructs: a defensive piece that is already whining after deflecting just one Striker move. Communication and recording constructs are cunningly worked in, the better to be hard to notice. What she retrieves is the size of a small apple, and she throws it at the attacker's feet.
They do their best to avoid it, but aren't quick enough. Forged chains of earth and binding banks of thick cloud madra try to smother the killer. "Expensive, expensive toys. But forgive this lowly one. Bonds meant for a tiger will never hold a worm."
A vague apparition seems to embrace and surmount the killer: a skeleton, its bones thickened to serve as overlaid armor. It appears to be an Enforcer/Forger technique, and when it springs forth, the construct meant to lock down a Truegold for hours lasts for less than fifteen seconds as clouds thin and stone chains crumble.
She has more of a chance to see what the Striker technique is, this time. It's shaped like a screaming skull. The shield construct on her hip cracks in two, and the technique hits her hard enough to throw her into the wall. She barely notices the impact: all attention she still has is on her body, trying to fight off an attack that is still trying to kill her.
Fendi is less fortunate. He probably does not even realize that he's been attacked when he dies. This killer has no desire to leave behind dangerous loose ends.
The Underlady doesn't do anything so crass as announce herself. The first sign she gives the killer is a javelin of light hurled at the back. They twist at the last possible moment, slamming a fist overlaid by a skeleton hand into the Striker technique. The radiant bolt is barely slowed or deflected. It brushes past the killer's sunken chest, and flecks of madra open tiny cuts all over their body. Most of it sails past, where it strikes the back of the shop and explodes with enough power to shatter half the building.
Farzana steps off her cloud at that point, falling the last dozen feet to the street, a Ruler technique bringing clinging darkness to the establishment, limiting visibility. A cloak lies across her shoulders, woven tight with scripts of protection and concealment. In her hands, she holds a pair of straight swords, one shining white and one a deep black.
Since the killer has survived, she speaks. "Lay fully prostrate on the ground and still your madra." There is no offer of clemency for obedience, nor a threat for defiance. It is only a bald command, for she is the Underlady.
The killer throws themself into a perfect kowtow, forehead almost on the ground as they grovel in the darkening twilight. "Forgive, forgive this least one, kind Underlady."
A pause, only for an instant, as Grand Duchess Farzana processes if this qualifies as compliance, and then she leaps aside as the ground under her feet dissolves into a sinkhole.
It was a Destruction-aspected Ruler technique, projected through the ground to try to make her lose her footing, but she sensed it just in time. The killer is up again, swiping a hand to launch another screaming skull at her, but her technique is faster, faster in the way that only light can be. The skull misses, but her javelin of madra strikes the killer square.
With a grunt of effort, the killer blocks the impact with both hands, and weathers the incandescent explosion that briefly brightens the artificial night. Shaking, they look up as that temporary star fades again, and have to dive to the side to avoid a sword through the eye.
Still, it was a near miss. Near enough. The Underlady's left hand seizes up, and the black blade falls from numb fingers as the killer's armor of Forged death strikes back.
Hissing, they leap for her, long bony fingers curled into claws, and the little Lady engages a movement technique, taking her well clear, though the edges of Destruction rend gashes in her cloak.
"Dear me, dear me," the killer says, panting, looking in her direction through the darkness. She's only a few dozen feet away, but still hard to see directly. "I thought... you'd be too proud to flee from me. A terror you are, a terror."
"You can weave soulfire." It's not a question. A Truegold who lacked that skill would have crumbled the first time she landed a blow, though it is also apparent they cannot use it properly.
"I can, I can. But this mewling one has not yet learned the greater secrets. If I am to be a Lord myself..." They stare at her frankly. "I expect I can learn the knowing from your Remnant."
Numerous skulls arc from behind the killer's back, a barrage readied and then unleashed together. Farzana lets go of her remaining sword, and sweeps the cloak off her shoulders.
The sword dances on its own, intercepting and striking many of the skulls, until the power of destruction is too much, and a dull lump of metal falls to the ground, spent. The others Farzana sweeps up with the cloak until it is consumed, needing to contest only one Striker attack with the power of her spirit as it hits her in her already-injured left arm. She winces as she pushes back against the deadly technique.
But the killer is not free to keep attacking. Both of them had used their brief exchange of words not as a reprieve, but a chance to ready attacks. The black blade also rises under its own power, then spears for the killer. They don't notice for a crucial instant, then instinctively try to block the attack with their right hand.
The hand comes off, halfway between elbow and wrist. The Enforcer technique corrodes the weapon even as it flies, but it almost pierces the Truegold's eye before the weapon crumbles. They barely notice, clawing for their missing arm with their left hand. They howl, but even this is little more than a whisper. "My... my haaand."
"Lay fully prostrate on the ground and still your madra."
Disbelieving, the killer's wide, bloodshot eyes go to the Grand Duchess, who is approaching again. Wounded, her equipment obliterated, and still alone, she nonetheless is unshaken, and it is now apparent the killer is getting the worse of their exchanges. Madra and soulfire still surge in her as she readies her next series of attacks, points of starlight glittering bright in the vast darkness. Only instant obedience might be fast enough to allow her to abort her blow.
They reject it. They raise their remaining arm, and pour every bit of madra into the skeletal armor technique. When an oversized fist of bone appears, they slam it down on her, recklessly trying to force soulfire into the technique, practically begging for it to enhance it as they need.
It wobbles, it comes apart, but it blazes with power as it does, and it catches the Underlady's right foot. She grunts in pain as death and destruction wash over her limb.
Another luminous javelin hits the killer, and it sends them flying. Trembling, the Enforcer technique failing at last, they pick themself out of the wreckage they hit, not noticing or caring what it had been before, panting, bleeding, weak.
Panting... too much, they realize. Through one of the now-numerous holes in the wall, under cover of the midnight lighting the Underlady has cloaked the battlefield in, the killer spies the script circle of Forged shadow madra the Duchess had laid before attacking. It's a complex script, commanding the power of air, demanding it weaken, thin, deliver nothing to breathe.
Groggy, the killer shakes their head. This might have gone the other way if they could do the ambushing, but today the Lady of the Night Sky had left nothing to chance. She had not trusted to advancement alone and attacked arrogantly: she had prepared the battlefield so she could not lose. The hidden script had ensured that, no matter what, the killer would have eventually choked, while soulfire control meant that the Lady would not be so inconvenienced. Clutching at numerous injuries as best they can, they call one more skull, this last bit of power disrupting the delicate balance of the temporary script circle.
As clean air finally pours in, they take a deep, gasping breath... and sense more light and shadow power behind them. They don't turn to look, they just flee, blindly, into the depths of the city.
Surely the Lady's injuries will prevent her from following. Surely.
{I'm losing 'em,} Etaja confirms, grimly. You're not surprised. He warned you of that as he relayed the fight and the outcome, as soon as you discovered that the person who was death was fleeing. They hadn't spoken to anyone else, just fled to some storehouse where they'd grabbed a flying construct, some kind of birdlike thing, and set out at top speed going mostly east, though zig-zagging here and there to throw off pursuit. Etaja's top range for this, it seems, is a few hundred miles, and a high-ranking sacred artist's full-power flight can carry them far enough away to disappear in just a few hours. It's one thing to sense a Monarch's full power an ocean away, but a single Truegold who wants to go to ground is far harder.
You sigh, looking around. There's a lot of people here, now. You and Beti were herded into a secure conference room thing, along with Mireya, while the Underlady and her Truegolds went off to fight. Javed and Priyanka got there only a few minutes after the Duchess, but the fight was already over as they arrived. There was just the Lady of the Night Sky, standing there. She hadn't had much choice: one leg couldn't support her weight. By either happenstance or intent, Remelyn had survived, and both of them had been rushed to the Bronze Serpent place for urgent healing.
Most people don't have an Etaja to tell them what's going on, though, so the conference room has become a nerve center, with Luxe officers of various ranks and advancement all ferociously arguing with each other about what's going on, what to expect, and what they need to do. Various scouts and couriers come and go. There are movements across the city as various Brightflare agents make strikes of opportunity against the Luxe. Nothing major, as far as inter-sect struggles go, but a few businesses and warehouses have had a sudden change of management. There was a concern that some broader riot could break out when word of the Underlady being hurt got out, but that, at least, doesn't seem to be happening.
Mireya has sat next to you for most of it. No one is too worried about you right now, because you're kids, but it's getting to Mireya. She started by projecting a cool calm, but as word has gotten back through normal channels, she's not quite holding it together. Her upper lip is quivering, and the feathers of light on her wings shudder slightly, now and then.
When you come out of your own funk enough to notice, you turn to her. "Miss Mireya? Give me your hands." A little uncertain, she complies. "Follow me," you say, and use an exaggerated example and a little squeezing of her hand to prompt her. "Breathe in, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. Breathe out, two, three, four. Hold, two three, four. In, two, three, four."
After a couple cycles, she's visibly more in control of herself. "I know a little about how scary this can be," you tell her, quietly, while the adults all continue their complex dance for prestige and power and money all throughout the city. "My dad was the strongest sacred artist I knew for years, and I had to see him hurt, too, without knowing how it would turn out."
"Thank you," she says. "I will be fine. My honored mother has many contingencies, and some of them she has shared with me. I will serve her will, and the Luxe will continue to thrive." She glances to one side for an instant, checking if anyone is paying attention to you two, then says, in a quieter tone, "But... thank you. All the time, everyone needs me to be the perfect daughter. Everyone else."
She's not allowed to show vulnerability, to show weakness. The Luxe need her to be the perfect scion, the servants see only a noble's child, their rivals need to see calm power... Mireya is often lonely, but today she is a little less so, because you're here.
And so, just for a second, she gives you a small, friendly smile, and she looks so like Venkata for that moment, both of them with a good soul that gets buried too much of the time under a necessary presentation and a belief that they have to claw for every advantage they may ever have the opportunity for.
Now, Mireya stands and, more confidently, approaches some of her family officers. "Pardon. May I be assigned a Highgold guard? I believe that it will help if I am seen at Central Station, with—"
Now you and Beti are alone. Beti hasn't really kept up with the news today. As far as she can see, you needed to hurry over here, and then... everyone is running around for no clear reason. She didn't get a treat out of it. Not every hunt is successful, so that's not a problem, but it is still confusing for her.
For you, eventually Javed comes up. You're still a little nervous about him, since he's the person who was verbally smacked by his mom for questioning your ability, but you don't see any sign he even recalls who you are. "You're... Keras, right? The Underlady has requested you join her at the Bronze Serpent compound."
"Okay," you say. Honestly, just sitting here isn't easy for you, either. "Beti and I can get over there pretty quickly."
His eyes go to Beti. "Oh. You're the miracle tree kid." Apparently you just never rated high enough for this Truegold to know the slightest things about you. "No, we have a Thousand-Mile Cloud. It will be faster. Your... tree... can wait here."
It's not up for debates as far as he is concerned. "Okay," you say. "Can someone feed Beti while I do that, then?"
"Feed?"
"Truegold sacred beast meat, if you have any. Highgold, if you don't. She technically belongs to Underlord Cheng, and he's been making good use of her."
Javed looks like this is one more issue he doesn't want to deal with today, but he doesn't complain.
You're in the same room you saw Erusine work on Dad. The Bronze Serpent and her animal familiars are working on the Lady of the Night Sky, who is looking pale but otherwise mostly hale. Off to one side, Remelyn, who doesn't look conscious. There's one other person you don't recognize here, wearing Luxe colors, standing close to Erusine and the Underlady. He's a thirty-something guy with close-cropped hair. He keeps shifting as if he is uncomfortable being here.
Erusine beckons you close with a toss of her head, so you approach the three of them. The Underlady speaks first. "I found an unusually potent Truegold. They escaped me. Do you have any other useful information about who they are or where they have gone?"
You shake your head. "I don't think so. My... today's vision showed me an underground thing they were in, and I know they flew away east. I don't think I could do anything to track them. I don't know anything else."
The Underlady grunts. "My daughter should have forced you to learn proper oracular methods. Be that as it may, confirmation they fled the city is still of some use. If you ever interrupt me again like you did today, it must be both this urgent and this important to my interests. Do you understand?"
"I will obey, Underlady."
The Underlady grunts again. When she opens her mouth to say something else, Erusine clicks her tongue once, and even the Underlady subsides in the face of a healer doing her work. Erusine looks at you. "The attacker's madra is still in the Underlady's spirit, and that of the other woman." That means Remelyn. "It is death and destruction madra Forged tightly together. In order to get it out, I will need help from both of you." For that, her gaze shifts to the squirming Luxe man. "I would be surprised if there are even a hundred people in Great Crevasse that use death madra. I would not be surprised if it is fewer than a dozen. You are here because there are no alteratives, Keras, although this is no task for a Lowgold. Destruction madra is not as rare, but Keras at least has been trained in healing techniques and I have never yet met a healer who uses destruction. Siddiq, that means you are the weakest link, here. I will lance the foreign technique with my own power, and then both of you are to draw the relevant portion of loose madra out to vent. The Underlady's potent spirit will assist us."
When Erusine gets a round of nods, you feel her spirit stir afresh, and cast your own senses into the Lady of the Night Sky's body, and sense her allowing your intrusion. At three points in her, you can sense tiny, squirming nuggets of immense power, the same as you felt when you saw the victims after the elevator attack, but far more potent. Nonetheless, when Erusine's Ruler technique seizes and lances the first one, it unravels. It changes from a technique that is trying to hurt to... shapeless power, no longer effectively striking at the person it is in. You sense Siddiq doing his best to gather up and siphon away the destruction, and your own technique gathers the death. It's a strange, delicate task, partway between normal healing and drawing in external madra for your cycling, but you do it.
A cold, empty power feels like it fills your madra channels. A reckless part of your mind considers trying to actually cycle it, to take this foreign madra in and make it your own, but the rational side evaluates that you can't and that it would be a bad idea. This isn't loose, undifferentiated aura: it's the specific path and power of someone else's spirit, so it wouldn't respond to your usual cycling and you have no idea how to change that. Even if you succeeded, you might draw in... more of the wielder than you would like. You don't want to be death embodied, not like that person is.
A second technique is broken up, and again you draw a chilling, awful power out of the Underlady. Your teeth are chattering and your body shaking as the third breaks at Erusine's command, and you draw death away from the old woman.
You shiver as you come back to yourself, your channels full to bursting with foreign death madra. You need to vent it before it permanently warps your own spirit, but flooding the room with death would be counterproductive.
Luckily, the Bronze Serpents are prepared. There's a scripted container near you, set while you were in the healing trance. "Empty the power into these," Erusine says, and you realize Siddiq has one of his own. You comply, forcing the alien madra out of your body and into containing scripts. The container fills all the way, and the cap automatically closes and seals. Even that's not quite enough, but the remaining death madra you push out into the air to let dissipate. It's not as much, so it shouldn't be a problem: it's the difference between breathing only smoke or smelling a distant campfire. It still takes on the faint appearance of a screaming skull before it fades away. You shake your hands as the numbing feeling of this madra fades.
You see Siddiq shaking his head as he does the same for the other madra, his Highgold spirit better able to handle his portion than you were. The leftover power he can't fit in the container falls to the floor and eats away at a quarter-inch of bare rock before it is spent. "Leave the hazardous waste containers where they are," Erusine commands. "We'll gather them up once it's safe and dispose of them. Underlady, you still have a long healing process ahead of you, but it hopefully will not be complicated."
She grunts. "Even more than that, I need answers. Heal that assistant."
Erusine shakes her head, but moves to Remelyn, beckoning for you and Siddiq to follow.
There's only one slug of deadly madra in Remelyn, and it's not as strong as any of the three the Lady of the Night Sky had: if it was, she would be dead right now. There is a qualitative difference between a Highgold and an Underlord.
You repeat your process, slowly leaking the death madra into the air and getting a horrible, sustained wail from doing so, but even if it kind of hurts your ears, it won't do anything worse to anyone like this. Erusine gets an ugly granite statue about two feet tall for Siddiq to spill into. If anything, it feels like she's slightly relieved to have a justified reason to lose the tasteless statue.
Remelyn finally gasps and opens her eyes as Erusine begins healing her more normally. She tries to sit up, doesn't quite manage it, and settles for looking around to see where she is.
The Underlady, still receiving the ministrations of Erusine's familiars, is the first to speak. "You started quite a mess in my city," she says.
Lyn shrugs, staring blankly at the ceiling. "You were under suspicion until today," she says.
"I was, was I?" There's a sharp anger to the Lady of the Night Sky's response.
"You were." Lyn is unmoved by the anger. With a wince, she cycles her power, revealing... something?
There's a notch in Lyn's spirit, a signal of some sort that you don't recognize.
The Lady does, it seems. "That isn't easy to forge. So you're with the King's Own Eyes. Haven't I proven my loyalty enough over the decades?"
Lyn stops cycling. "My duty to the king is to run down all the possibilities. Someone has struck at promising Highgolds and Truegolds in the Luxe, Rao, and Seppelin families, as well as the Bloody Bayou sect. The Luxe's scion survived it, and then advanced. How better to allay suspicion? But it's clear you weren't part of it. Even if you almost asphyxiated me."
"This is my city." And, implicitly, that means she can do what she wants with it. Even choking Lyn as she does.
"And you hadn't yet managed to run down the assassins who attacked your daughter, nor had the others done the same for their attackers. The king is not blind to the threat to his loyal servants, and set people like me to try to gather information or infiltrate any local organization behind it. From various pieces of evidence, Great Crevasse seems like the epicenter of the conspiracy. I just hadn't gotten more than one level of their main recognition code until yesterday."
All this is immensely confusing for you. You can understand most of the outline of things: Remelyn's with a secret police sort of group. You haven't heard of the King's Own Eyes before, but even without knowing the name, that's clear enough. Looking like the Winter's Blade—whether she's actually from them or not—is a cover that makes her a more potentially appealing target to recruit, and to be perceived as less likely to be part of the king's loyalist forces. She was investigating Risshon, but hadn't gotten deep enough into the conspiracy to act until you gave her an opening; she strongly suspected Risshon, but did not have enough to go on. Meanwhile, the Underlady probably had even less, so she couldn't know where to start.
And you just got swept up in it.
For the first time today, you see a little bending of the Lady of the Night Sky's normally inflexible projection of power and control. She actually slumps slightly where she sits. "If you can help me settle the score with all the people who dared try to kill my favored daughter, then the resources of the Luxe are yours to pursue that trail."
Lyn continues lying where she is, staring up at the ceiling. "You have my word, Underlady. We will get them all."
You think they've mostly forgotten you and Siddiq are here at all as they talked.
Risshon is the other known major member of the conspiracy. He will shortly be apprehended. However, he will have a talk with Keras, colored significantly by how things changed with Keras' new understanding. It will be a talk that Keras learns from and takes thoughts away from.
When do they have it?
[] Before the arrest
Risshon is currently with an Underlord with very little respect for authority that doesn't do what he wants. This need to work around Cheng means that you have a discussion before he fully knows what will happen, but that you hear the most of what he has intended.
[] After the arrest
Risshon will be imprisoned, but he will be allowed visitors. You can't help but visit him, now that all the cards seem on the table, and Risshon will give a franker explanation for some things, giving you the most understanding of where he has come from and why he felt this was necessary.
[] When he escapes
Risshon will not be imprisoned long. When you speak with him, it will be while he is at his most desperate and dangerous. Not everything has been uncovered yet, and your uncanny ability to be at the right place is proven again, as he is found when he hoped not to be.
I'd rather not have to maneuver around Cheng in the Before option, especially since it seems likely that we'd be doing so specifically as a distraction to catch Risshon and so in the Underlord's perspective would tie us even further to the clusterfuck that just disrupted his highly-trusted assistants midway through his masterpiece.
Of the remaining options, I could honestly go either way; but I feel like finding him in the middle of his desperate escape has the most potential - there's no way that we'd be able to outright stop him, sure, but neither would he be able to casually brush past us when we've got Beti backing us up. The mindset he'd be in at that point would be interesting to see for a better look into his character, since up until now he's been almost completely composed, and either his actions or words might let slip some very juicy information about his goals or opinions that he wouldn't have released with more control of the situation. I'm also interested in what Keras would be thinking in that situation - sure, Risshon's part of a murderous conspiracy, but he's also been their main teacher and the friendliest face in Cheng's manor for years, and there are definitely hints that he's genuinely fond of us in turn. That's a potent mix of conflicting emotions ripe for the writing, especially when set in a situation like this where both participants are aware he's about to disappear offscreen for a long while and only return to try and do more damage to their life in Great Crevasse.
Thanks for the chapter, and happy three years of RtC!
