Icarus Awakens

Your Dexterity is now 20! You have gained Ability: Hover Object and Feature: Silent Movement. You are no longer suffering from Level Disparity connected to this Attribute. Features you have previously awakened from dexterity may be heightened to Level: 2.

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Hover Object (Ability, Dexterity, Spell, Domain: Universal, Level: 2):

You possess the Power to passively fix unliving objects in place. The duration of the effect scales with the amount of Mana infused, and inversely scales with the target’s weight, effect of gravity, and other forces on the object that attempt to move it. This is a Magical Ability that does not function in an area of Magical Suppression.

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Silent Movement (Feature, Dexterity, Domain: Illusion, Level: 2):

You possess the Power to move silently, reducing the effect of enemy senses and detection Powers reliant on sound. This feature is acquired at level 2 and receives no additional benefits at this level.

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Balance; Level 2: Increase resistance to Magical Hazards that may trip or otherwise physically disorient you for a minor Mana cost.

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Graceful Fall: Level 2: Gain damage resistance to Damage: Ranged while falling for a moderate Mana cost.

…

Moving any large amount of people is a difficult task. Simply pointing in a direction and shouting isn’t the worst strategy, but it’s also one that will quickly fall apart. Those that moved faster would tend to the front while the injured, young, or old would find it difficult to keep up. In an area where monsters had already been shown to prowl behind mass convoys, protection would need to be spread around the mass. Add to this problem food, supplies, possessions both communal and personal, carried or in carts, formations to maintain, and teams within those trying to stick together, and you got a headache.

The aura of anticipation and fear shifted like water in a slowly shaken box, passing in waves. It would be today. Setting up a camp for so many people was just as challenging as moving them, not to mention suicidal so close to where the dragon lay in wait. Better to get it done and to get clear of the mountains. Once on the other side, no one knew for sure what would happen. That hadn’t factored into any of the discussions so far.

Ringing the moving people were mortals clad in gold. The most common armament was either a weapon or a small defensive item usually worn on the wrist. No shields, lightning link didn’t apply to it, but armor for just the arms got by on a technicality. Even the gestalt could use them to a degree because the important part wasn’t blocking hits but carrying the dragon’s lightning away from them.

There were only four full sets of armor. Murdon’s, Lograve’s, Daniel’s, and most recently, Hunter’s. There were only a few modifications needed for the ringcat following his, for lack of a better word, awakening, but they were important. Concealing one of his various changes prevented people from noticing the obvious contradiction to normal ringcat biology.

Daniel forced himself to stop thinking about that. It’d been bad enough in the days after, almost unbearable. Tak at least had volunteered to answer any of the questions Daniel couldn’t or wouldn’t touch. That was the other thing. For his part, the avianoid was mostly unshaken by what happened up to and including the newly formed bond.

Tak was walking nearby, close enough that Daniel could privately converse with him if he wanted. The range seemed to be the same as the original Telepathic Link with Hunter had instead of the kilometer he had now. This did vary at times though, and Daniel suspected another factor was at play. Daniel didn’t elect to talk though. He couldn’t shake the thought that, in some way, Tak was intruding on something special.

Hunter’s uniqueness had been Daniel’s as well. The ability to mark creatures at range, now back in force with the ringcat’s leveling, had made him somewhat famous in Roost’s Peak. If he was honest, a part of him missed that. More so, Hunter had almost always been with him. A confidant, the only person, for Hunter was now inescapably so, that Daniel had told everything. What Tak had done wasn’t an intrusion. Tak hadn’t even done anything other than be a friend to his friend. He should be grateful or at the very least curious about what could be done with this new bond, but at the core of Daniel’s thoughts on the matter was a shallow bitterness that lingered no matter how much he scooped away.

“Your steps are softer now,” Evalyn commented as they kept walking. She was there, as were Thomas, Khare, and Tlara. The latter was only present as a haunting spirit that forewarned of what was to occur in the upcoming battle, but there she was. In a physical sense, Tlara was riding her wyvern as she always was and receiving some glares for a change.

“One of the last powers I got.” Daniel glanced at his feet. He wasn’t consciously moving differently, and it didn’t seem like he was either. “Silent Movement.”

“A stealth power? Doesn’t sound right for an Artificer.” Thomas, the most relaxed of the group, watched Daniel’s feet too and almost tripped when he took his eyes off of his own.

“Maybe. I have a guess about the kind of powers I’m getting. They fit a common trend.” What trend that was, he couldn’t say exactly. Another Earth videogame parallel.

“Evolution?”

“Ah, nice, have you figured yours out, Guy?” Thomas clearly understood what Khare had meant, and Daniel had an inkling. He came to the classic conundrum, feign not knowing or ask a question about something that might be common knowledge.

“Maybe? I don’t know what other Artificers can do.”

“So what is it?”

Daniel scratched his head as he looked at Evalyn. “Some kind of monster hunter focus? It feels like I’m halfway between fighting and enchanting.”

“Think you’ll keep hunting after all of this, Guy?”

“He should. I would join him. Especially now that Hunter is-”

Don’t! Daniel thought quickly to Tak and winced as the Totem Warrior looked sharply at him. Those not part of the conversation wouldn’t have caught it, but for those that were it was obvious something had happened. He’d only told Lograve about Hunter’s development after it happened and getting ejected from the library only emphasized the importance of keeping it secret. Thus, why Hunter was wearing his new armor all the time now, just in case. Too many secrets, he thought to himself.

“Now that Hunter’s what?” Thomas asked, uncertain of who he should be looking at. “Something feels off here Guy, and now’s the last time to be holding back.”

“Nothing to worry about,” Tak said somewhat meekly.

“Grafted?” Khare’s followup question was a painful reminder of Kob’s.

“No. I don’t think so. He just got stronger.”

“Is that all it was?” Evalyn didn’t seem to need Thomas’ lie detection power to cue in on Daniel’s evasion.

“You don’t want to know,” he answered with complete sincerity.

…

At the front of the column marched Murdon, looking far different from the headman elevated to Commander at the beginning of the disaster. Bright gold armor encased him, far outshining the darkness of the straps he’d hoped would counterbalance the garishness. One of his axes was also golden, but only one. Slung across the other side was the other enchanted ax he’d already possessed. Then, there were the wings.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?” Lograve asked innocently, somehow keeping the grin off his face.

“You should be more serious.”

“How long have you known me, exactly?”

Murdon rasped, which under the helmet made the noise turn into something closer to a soft roar. “Too long. That’s the problem. I’m burning this armor after today.”

“I think it makes you look noble.” The helmet turned towards Lograve. “In a ‘rich in wealth but poor in taste’ way. I don’t think Daniel could have made you any more ridiculous if he tried. Did he actually try? And enough of that nonsense about burning the armor. We’re selling it after this.”

“Who would buy armor that explodes?”

Hearing this, several people in the draconoid’s immediate vicinity slowed slightly to distance themselves. “Someone looking to sell a suit of effectively level 5 armor without mentioning that fact? No, I see your point. What a waste.”

“You’re the one who gave the heliorite to him.”

“Technically, I never touched it.”

“Right. I-”

A human with a respectful voice interrupted him. “Wing Commander, we are an hour’s march from the lake. Should we fortify the civilians now or continue?”

Murdon caught on to the title Gadriel used and frowned. “What did you call me?”

“I was informed that, oh.” He stopped when he saw the grin on Lograve’s face. “I see ascension to level 4 has not dulled your puckishness, Sir Lograve.” Gadriel was equipped with heliorite as well, though only with a bracer and his own set of wings. To Murdon’s draconic ones that only amplified the gaudiness, these looked avian with sleek feathery patterns in the metal. If asked, Daniel might answer that he’d chosen an angelic design, which wouldn’t have meant anything to anyone here.

“We might as well. Move to the back and start informing those groups to make final preparations. Everyone to their assigned group. We cannot rule out the possibility of being attacked on the way to the lake.”

Gadriel nodded sharply and began sprinting around the mass to the back of the moving throng, shouting as he went to prepare. For his part, Murdon took one look at the break in the mountain peaks up ahead and firmly gripped his heart so that his voice would not be anything but controlled. His helmet amplified his voice in every aspect. The smallest of hesitation would broadcast fear into the minds of his warriors, losing the fight before they even saw the scaled monstrosity. He stopped walking when Gadriel was halfway down the line. This would be where he parted ways with those he was bound to protect.

“You can still see the ruins,” Lograve said distantly. The buildings they’d passed were destroyed, distinguished most by the clearings made in the fading grass and random spots of scattered wood.

“One last time.”

“What?”

“One last time!” Murdon repeated, turning to address the crowd in front of him. “Turn, and see what we have lost. Even from here, Eido could be seen. From anywhere in this valley, you could see it. But Eido was taken from us! Its people were taken from us. Now, after this tragedy and everything that has come since, I stand before you with your trust and ask not that we stay and preserve what they have died to make. I ask you to follow me into the jaws of a monster even an army would hesitate to face. I ask, is that reasonable?” No one answered him. They were hoping for the words that would make everything ok. Waiting for Murdon to reveal that they’d been wrong, that someone had noticed the dragon wasn’t here anymore.

He wished he could tell them that. “All of you know survival here is impossible. There is no sense doing in stubbornness what would only be futile. We have but this one chance for escape. You know this, but I speak not to the people of the present. I speak to those who will walk with me into death, who will see friends die and feel powerless against the inevitable. To you, I say what I cannot when the dragon is in our midst.”

Murdon drew in a breath, the action copied almost a thousand times in front of him. “I will stand until the way is safe. Until those we leave here may pass without fear. I will stand until the last of my blood is spilled and my body is broken. There is nothing I would not sacrifice for those under my ward. I know-” His voice slipped for just a moment. “I know I have failed you before, but my spirit this day will not break. I say this to those who would follow when they are at their lowest. I say to them to look back one last time! And then push forward to the future!”

He raised a fist into the air, the classic signal that the speech was at its end. Cheers broke out, but they weren’t universal. Most of the noise came from those who wouldn’t be fighting, but that was ok. Murdon saw something more important in the faces of those who would be at his back; resolve.

You didn’t practice that, did you? Lograve didn’t ask the question out loud, not daring to break the silence himself.

Ability.

Gods damn it I forgot! That’s cheating.

I don’t think they care. We’ll need everything for this. Every last trick.

I figured that out when you asked the Bards to play together. I can’t believe they ever agreed to that.

Small miracles. Just what we need, Murdon thought, looking up to the sky.

…

“I don’t care what Murdon says. No heroics.”

“It’s fine, I’m not going to be in the front.”

Quala narrowed her eyes. “Do you think a dragon will care about formations, Thomas?”

“I don’t think it’ll notice me. Too many people wearing glowing armor like Guy.”

“Won’t you be standing next to him?”

“Well.” Thomas adjusted the bracer on his arm. “That’s the point, right?”

“What have I told you about arrogance?”

“It’s not arrogance, I just-”

“You aren’t immortal, Thomas. You are favored by the Hand, but all that means is that you need to survive this. Promise me you will.”

“Fine, I’ll be safe,” Thomas sighed dramatically, glad Quala had pulled him away from the others for this conversation. He wasn’t fully ruling out the possibility of something happening with Evalyn, but those chances would be ruined if she saw him getting mother henned. “I’m more worried about after this. That thing, Quala. Hammer’s people need to be warned, ours too.”

“Leave those thoughts be for now. We have discussed it.”

“Who’s we?”

“Not now. Hand, why wouldn’t they…” She shook her head. “I need to get those staying behind ready and then return to Sigron.”

“We drained the pus this morning, he should be ok for now.”

“He’s not getting better Thomas. Whatever disease this is is spreading, and there is not much distance from the joint to his heart. He won’t last long if it reaches there.”

Thomas grabbed the back of his neck and thought for a second. “We can’t just amputate more?”

“We’ll have to, eventually, but only when we can regrow the tissue without exacerbating the disease. This gets immeasurably harder if they also have to tend directly to his heart or other organs. The toxin.”

“Right. And I think he still has some of those orbs on him too. Damn Guy, do you even know what they do to people?”

“He does oddly. At the very least Daniel understands how blood flow works. I suppose his class is based on intelligence, but he understood more of anatomy than I would expect.” Quala glanced sideways, then continued, “I can keep Sigron alive for now. To be honest, I’m more worried about Claire. At least Sigron’s case is straightforward. Hmm. No matter, focus on yourself today. That shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Peh, right.” Thomas walked back to his assigned group. Squad. Whatever the more tactical people had been calling it. His steps weren’t any heavier than they were before any of this. He didn’t mind that each one carried him closer to certain death. He didn’t mind that his mentor wouldn’t be there, the only level 3 chosen not to fight the dragon. Thomas knew his chances of survival were slim, but that didn’t matter. He believed and that was enough.

Thomas walked into a far tenser atmosphere. Tlara had joined them, having dismounted and summoned her large spider-like thing. He didn’t know what it was called but it freaked him out ever so slightly. It was the two upper arms that just looked too humanoid, though to be fair all large bugs unnerved him. Oh no, he thought in realization. I’m going to have to deal with duskers again, aren’t I? Looking away, Thomas realized the tension sprung from an argument.

“You made that thing armor? What happens when it dies?”

“Hunter’s not going to die. If you wanted armor for your wyvern, why didn’t you ask anyone?”

Tlara didn’t wrinkle her nose in disgust, because she didn’t have one. Otherwise, the rest of her face mimicked the expression. “The hell would I waste that much on it for? You should have made armor for me!”

“If you’d asked for it, maybe I would have.” Thomas listened with interest as the debate continued. Tlara complained about not having been given anything, and Daniel tried to avoid the fact that he’d received the most magical items out of everyone. The Artificer was different around the Beastmaster. He knew most of their history and had heard all of the rumors, so that wasn’t surprising.

Hunter was a different matter. There was no denying in Thomas’ mind the ringcat’s intelligence. Especially now. There was a difference in his bearing, easy to spot for one that had traveled with the beast from almost the beginning. Moments that could be considered thoughtful pauses, and how the eyes contained depth to them. It was very easy to tell the difference between Hunter and other monsters brought to heel by Tlara by just looking at the eyes. Steeling himself, Thomas looked up to the massive beast by Tlara and frowned.

“What is it?” Evalyn followed his gaze. “It’s on our side, even if Tlara is a pain.”

“Something’s wrong with it.” Thomas looked away. “And it’s hideous. I mean, why’d she have to pick that one?”

“From what I’ve heard, it’ll help make sure we aren’t shocked to death.”

“Yeah, assuming we’re not ambushed.” Thomas pointed to the heavy instrument slung across Evalyn’s back while Tlara brought up what Daniel owed her for saving Hunter. “You’re going through with it? I mean, I know all the Bards have been splitting off for ‘practicing’ the last few days, but-”

“Whatever’s happening in your head right now is more exciting than hours of bickering, trust me. But it’s worth it, despite the constant headache I’ve had since we started.” Something approaching awe entered her voice. “I can’t describe it. Even my words wouldn’t do it justice.”

“You’re talking this up. I’ve heard your stuff before, how different is it?”

“I just told you I couldn’t, hm. It’s more than just there being more instruments. I project myself into my music like every Bard. Playing near one another does not involve much extra effort, but what we’re going to do today? It’s more than just playing together. It’s carrying the same fire, knowing your heart beats to each other’s as much as the music. We can’t just keep the same tune, that’s not how it works. It has to go deeper than that.”

“You make it sound beautiful. Almost as much as you?”

Evalyn rolled her eyes. “I have no idea how what passes for your charm works on others.”

“I’ve been told I have an innocent smile and honest eyes.”

“You certainly don’t hide anything with your gaze. You have some deft touches, but I can see through them. I don’t know if I’d prefer you with more or less practice. Not that I’m encouraging you.”

Thomas gestured openly with one hand as the other conversation began to cool. “Let’s make a deal then. We both keep our heads straight today, and if we’re alive tomorrow we revisit this?”

Evalyn cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not the one with the problem.”

“Come on. Give a man something to hope for.”

“You don’t even know if we’re staying in the same group after this.”

“So the risk of holding up your end is less, right?” Thomas gave her what most would call an honest smile, but not an innocent one. Evalyn did have to admit that the Cleric either had a higher charisma than average for his class or was just naturally charming.

“If we stay together, and if we survive…” Evalyn spun a little lilt on the end.

“Yes?”

“Then you’ll just bring it up anyway!” Evalyn said, exasperated.

“You could just say you’re not interested.” There was a leading tone in Thomas’ voice. A challenge. This was a tactic Evalyn herself had used on rare occasions. Maybe Thomas had some kind of charm power? It would be unusual but not unheard of.

She looked at him again with a more assessing gaze. He noticed and didn’t quite pose, stopping just short of doing so. Well, if we do need every advantage we can get, maybe some encouragement wouldn’t hurt. “I’m not sure if I am. Let’s see how you handle yourself today.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“It’s a maybe.” She grinned again, then turned away.

…

“Assume from this moment that we may be attacked!” Murdon shouted as his group began to split off from the villagers. “In that case, your squad leaders know what to do. Keep in formation!”

Further back, Tlara looked confused. “The fuck? I didn’t hear anything about this.”

“That’s because they spoke to me,” Evalyn responded, keeping cool under the sudden dark gaze directed at her from Tlara.

“You!?”

“Yes.”

“So what should we do?” Daniel asked, trying to defuse the situation.

“Can’t say unless it happens. You’ll probably want to hear what he says next though.”

Indeed, Murdon was already midway through the rest of his instructions. “-for the lake should our approach be uneventful. The dragon may be there, which our scouting force will alert us to. If we reach the lake and have time, your primary orders are to be followed. This is it, everyone. Stay focused.”

“Not much to that,” Thomas commented when Murdon didn’t say anything else.

“I guess not.” Evalyn shrugged. “He only told me what to do if we were attacked on the way.”

“And why-”

“Scouting party?” Daniel cut Tlara off, shifting the focus of her ire. “Why weren’t Hunter and I part of that?”

“Guy, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but even with that new power of yours both you and Hunter are glowing. They probably wanted people that wouldn’t immediately draw attention.”

“Rogues,” Khare confirmed.

“Didn’t know we had any of those fuckers with us.”

“I think that’s the point of their class, Tlara.” Both Daniel and Thomas admired the Bard a little more for her ability to completely take the Beastmaster in stride. “If you’re done being annoyed at the world in general, we should be watching out for death from above.”

“I could kill you if I wanted to,” Tlara doubled down, making her hostility overt.

“You know, I don’t mind your glares. You have lovely eyes.”

In the minute or so it took Tlara to catch up after she froze midstep, there was silence as the males took a moment themselves to consider what had just happened. Tak spoke first after clearing his throat. “Interesting.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“All I should say,” he replied thoughtfully.

“Should you be using mana? I assume that was an ability.”

“It’s fine Daniel. I’m only going to need Valor Song, and I could tire out my hands before I exhausted my-”

“Hey!” Tlara almost screamed. “What the fuck was that?”

In their midst, Khare shifted slightly. They didn’t say anything in a spoken language but felt the attention of the other earth gestalt in the area turn their way through the communal connection they all shared. It was like the Empathic Link between Daniel and his beast. A vestige of their origins, and one of the reasons gestalt didn’t rely as much on language. Still, language was a part of them now, and Khare did say something to themself in the private way of their kind. Were a certain Druid there, she would have roughly translated this to ‘I regret being the sole gestalt in this group. We are to face a strong enemy, and this is what they chose to discuss?’.

That barrier made it hard for gestalt to form true friendships outside their kind. They just worked differently at a basic level, both biologically and mentally. The other races could mix to some degree, especially at the edges of the world where people needed to rely on each other. It was different for gestalt. That being said, if Khare had to describe what they had with Daniel with one word, which they would have to in discourse with him, they’d say ‘Transactional.’ It wasn’t the best word, it didn’t describe the nuances and the fact that Khare didn’t mean it in a detached way. It was just the best they could do. Their relationship was defined by give and take, and the human had more than made up for his promises.

Khare took a moment to inventory their personal space. It was entirely contained within them, a space that was both physical and slightly larger than their mass. The power that created it wasn’t unheard of among the gestalt, but it was regarded as rare. Let’s see, they had just over a hundred daggers, ten of which had been enchanted. Daniel had been more than generous, saying something about how daggers were a good way to train smithing, though Khare probably hadn’t heard him right. Misunderstandings were common whenever gestalt had to figure out what people were telling them.

Also, two tridents. No one else had wanted the original. Khare had additionally requested a lightning based variant just in case, and the Artificer had obliged him. A dozen various swords. Three bows, two to use at once, and one backup, with a decent amount of ammunition. Khare was practically a Mobile Armory, which fit as that was the name of their power. There was also something else. Something had happened the day their progenitor had died. Something that Khare still needed to think about.

Burrowing into the earth was how gestalt rested and advanced. Each of their castes had their own way of doing it, varying wildly from each other and other mortals. It was another way to distinguish themselves. It was also what Khare had been doing for the most part when they’d returned to the village. There was something in them, some new power they couldn’t quite grasp the details of. Meditation or trying to forcibly activate the unknown power were the normal ways to discern these things, but both were failing Khare. Whatever this power was, neither they nor other gestalt could figure it out. Something that only time would reveal, perhaps.

There were powers like that, hidden ones that activated under specific circumstances. Sometimes, a being could have acquired one years ago and not have fully realized its potential until the right moment. It was just one more thing that weighed on Khare’s mind as they prepared to face a creature kin to the one that had struck fear and grief deep into the depths of their soul, held more fiercely there than any of the weapons, supplies, or secrets they contained within themself.

…

One last note on the small army approaching the dragon’s lair. Not of those themselves, but the watchers from above. Of them, the shavi Fate Silora was the only ignorant of the others by merit of her level, but also the only one able to interfere. This was a special assignment. Aughal had cleared her entire day and as much additional time as she needed to track the escape attempt.

How the city had known it would be today, or that she was able to find them was beyond her. To her instincts, it spoke to greater powers at play. Rikendia, perhaps, or even Hammer himself? Someone had arranged for a bounty of mana potions to sustain Farsight at this distance. Her new assistant, she’d forgotten their name already, was applying the potions at her command.

Satisfied there was no immediate danger to the group that would require her abilities, she focused on the one she was interested in most. Her orders hadn’t mentioned the prize she’d found. He’d revealed himself for only a moment, one she’d found by chance. The discovery was hers alone, she was certain. Her prize. Her way out of the city that had become a nightmare. She would do everything she could to make sure he survived.

The second observer was a group led by Mavar Helioc, back in the scrying chamber of his collective. No one spoke, this wasn’t what they were here for. With but a moment Mavar could open the way for these mortals, though he stayed his hand. The decision driven as much by Foresight as secrecy, based on projections made long ago. Things had gone wrong, but the big picture hadn’t changed too much. Were it just his predictions Mavar may have still done more than create a chunk of heliorite in the path of the Artificer, but the circumstances of the mortals’ escape were dictated in an agreement with one beyond the Illustrious. The mortals had to get through this alone, without knowledge of any intervention on their part, or not at all. What’s more, one of them in particular had to get through this. The world was at stake. More importantly, the plans of Mavar and the Illustrious were at stake.

As for the last observer? It had no restrictions, only a burgeoning hatred inspired by those arrogant enough to think they could escape it. Time had given it another fraction of consciousness, but there was no real power left to it after spawning the fire dragon and the design it had appropriated. The old mortals thought they were clever but had neglected that anything done within its domain was work it could access.

The mortals had had a chance to kill the wild dragon of the pass through numbers alone, but after what it had laid in store? No one would escape. The god in the mountains called Origin Beast by some had made sure of it. Once they were gone it would continue to collect itself and prepare for the coming apocalypse.