The Power of Ten

Baltimore was an hour or two down the road.

Technically, it was further than that, but only if you obeyed speed limits. Sleipner set his own pace, and cars were just shadows on the road he was traveling along the Veil. I was sure we were doing 200+ mph, but such is life.

“Given that we’re coming out of Philly, is there any reason it wasn’t made the new capitol?” I asked, leisurely watching the shadowy landscape of the East Coast stream past at ridiculous speed.

THE LANDBOUND SAID IT WAS GOING TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY. THE CHURCHES AGREED THAT WAS BEST, AND THEN THERE WAS A SAHAUG INCURSION IN GEORGIA. SUDDENLY EVERYONE THOUGHT THAT BEING NEAR THE WATER AND BETWEEN TWO SHROUDZONES WAS A STUPID PLACE TO HAVE A CAPITOL, OR SO I HEARD TELL.

I snickered despite myself. “You work with the Norambound?”

THEY TEND TO BE RATHER RADICALLY BRUTAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS WITH OUTSIZED EGOS AT HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE CONVEYING THE WISHES OF THE LAND. He paused thoughtfully. IT IS IMPORTANT, AND IT ALSO GETS A LOT OF THEM SHOT. THEY KEEP FORGETTING THAT THE LAND ISN’T GOING TO GET UP AND STEP ON PEOPLE WHO KILL THEM. THAT’S THEIR JOB. THE DRUIDS TEND TO BE WISER IN HOW THEY ACT...

“That’s because they aren’t obligated to fight. Warlocks are.”

YES. It was the undeniable truth of being Pactbound. You got power, and in return, you fought, whether you liked it or not.

“I thought the planet would mostly be suppressed under the Haze. Who is granting Landbound?”

THERE ARE SPECIAL LOCATIONS ON EACH CONTINENT THAT PEOPLE CAN GO TO AND ATTEMPT TO GAIN THE ATTENTION OF THE MOTHER LANDS. THE DRUIDS ATTEMPT TO KEEP THEM SECRET, BUT THEY AREN’T THAT HARD TO LEARN OF THROUGH THE RIGHT CHANNELS.

The only places where you might be able to Commune with the land? Yeah, those would get known in certain places rather emphatically...

The smaller the spirit, the less suppressed it was. Cities shouldn’t have a problem under the Haze, but major Elemental spirits definitely would...

“Who granted you your Stormpact?”

DJINN. STAYS IN HEAVENBOUND HALL, SPONSORS SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO DON’T QUITE MEASURE UP FOR HEAVENBOUND. VERY WARY OF BEING CAPTURED AND BOUND BY SOME TWAT WHO WANTS TO MAKE HIM COUGH UP WISHES.

“A noble djinn got caught here?”

APPARANTLY A RIVAL EFREETI NOBLE IS ALSO TRAPPED HERE, AND WINDGRAF MOCHTAL IS USING ALL HIS WISHES TO MAKE CERTAIN HIS RIVAL CANNOT GRANT ANY.

Mochtal? Graf Koshtal’s older brother? What were the odds?... His Clan would have completely forgotten he existed at this point, so there was nobody coming to rescue him...

An Efreet is here. Interesting... I considered the implications of that.

Ah, yes. “You said Daoists were a force here.”

He stiffened slightly at the wariness in my voice. YES.

“I need clarification on that. The Path of Daoist Immortals?”

He took another deep breath. YES, he confirmed.

“Shit...” It slipped out despite myself. “Are you aware of the origins of the Daoist Immortal Path?”

I ONLY KNOW IT IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE CHI-BASED MARTIAL SYSTEM OF THE DRAGON WARRIORS AND ADEPTS. IT SEEMS TO BE MORE CONCERNED WITH TRANSFORMATION OF THE BODY.

“And soul,” I added softly, and his face turned slightly back towards me.

THAT SOUNDS OMINOUS...

“It turns them into Native Outsiders with a racial prerogative of Defy the Heavens and Master the Dao.”

I SENSE MORE TO IT THAN THAT...

“The quickest way for Daoists to gain power is to steal it from the Powered. Their human soul is consumed by the Golden Orb they form within themselves as they advance their cultivation, eating them and replacing their human host's body and soul with their own. They pursue power and no accountability to others above all things, and seek to change the world to accommodate their own system of power, and no others.

“In the end, they want to bring down the gods and replace them. The societies they form are barbaric lands of gilt over savagery, where strength is all, the mighty dwell in splendor, and mortals live in primitive lives no higher than medieval-era tech, at best, the better to let the Qi in the world rise.”

QI? NOT CHI?, he queried immediately.

“Qi. They seek to drive out chi and mana as inferior energies that displace their Qi. Thus, they seek to murder the Powered, steal their power, and convert, burn away, or otherwise limit spiritual and magical power from the world, leaving only their own way behind.”

IS QI A HIGHER ORDER ENERGY?, he inquired.

“No, it’s actually lower order. Burning and converting chi or mana to Qi is a net loss in power. Breaking it back into chi and mana actually increases the total power. Its sole benefit is it takes the place of both of them.”

WHY DO THEY PURSUE THIS PATH, THEN?

“Power, of course. The Qi system is based on a system of meridian energy rotation. It’s not genetic, like the Powered. Potentially, anyone can learn to use Qi. Realistically, those adept with it are exactly as common as adept Powered... but no Powered can use Qi.”

SO, SOMETHING I COULD USE... IF I WASN’T PACTBOUND.

“Correct. You, the punk on the corner, the rice farmer aching in his field, the intellectualist... everyone born not Powered.”

THAT IS AN ALLURE IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST. A PATH TO POWER FOR THE ‘AVERAGE’ PERSON.

“Except it is guaranteed death for them, and Stats still drive everything. If you literally aren’t a genius in one aspect or another, you’ll still amount to nothing... and naturally the greatest powers are reserved for the elite. You can’t train Daoism off the Karma system... it’s not part of the human Akasha. Daoist Immortals are not human!”

BUT THEY SEEK POWER OVER ALL HUMANITY...

“Can’t make more Daoists without more Golden Orbs eating human souls, after all.”

WITHOUT AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THE NON-POWERED...

“There are multiple paths for the non-Powered. The Forsaken travel a path of denying magic and chi power over them, and can advance every bit as far as the Powered, if not so easily.”

I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THEM?

“I am not surprised. Becoming Forsaken is not as intuitive for the Primos as gaining Levels is for the Powered. Still, it is knowledge that should be spread. The main problem is that like anything else, Leveling and gaining strength is still hard. But at least you aren’t making an alien soul in your gut who consumes you.”

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DO SO?

“I only know you have exactly two chances in your life: when you are a One, and when you take your third Human Level. If you miss them, you’re Primos, period.”

NOBODY REACHES SEVEN EASILY, MISS TRAVELER...

“Which means probably most of the people alive. The easiest solution would be a Human Race progression, like the Elves, Dwarves, and such have. Those are only subject to time and Karma, not Stat requirements, for Levels.”

CONVENIENT FOR THEM..., he mused.

“Yes. Humanity will be a second-tier race until we discover our Human Race Progression.”

WHAT PROMPTED THIS LINE OF THOUGHT?, he inquired, and I made a mental note that he was sharper than he looked.

“A rakshasa-blooded creature is of the Orient. I’m wondering if a group of Daoists might have visited here recently.”

THEY LEFT IT HERE?

“More to the point, were the four dead people Powered who never amounted to anything?”

His thumbs were soon tapping out a question or three to Gregorigori... and some startling new information about Daoists...

-------

Hard to miss The First Light of Dawn, the temple to Aru. Not only did it occupy a decent place for a view, fairly close to the water, but the big golden sphere, glowing with the defiant light of the sun, taking the light leaking through the Haze and magnifying it, was pretty hard to miss.

At the lower end of the church’s property, as it rolled down to the waters of the harbor, a twenty-foot wall had been built, complete with battlements and watchtowers, all of them also blazing with bright lamps.

It was erected on the lands of Fort McHenry, having effectively taken over defense of the inner harbor from the military, who didn’t have the magical resources to do the task... but were more than happy to man the cannons and mortars overlooking the church as it shone there, a bright beacon in the night against infiltrators coming out of the sea.

Fred gave me his Vaccine with a general history of the area, noting there had been eight different major battles in this area, and they all started at the leading edge of the land where the First Light would flare brightly and announce that the enemy was here.

The Rays from the Golden Orb of the temple could reach out over a thousand yards to attack any Deep Ones or Sahaug who dared to show themselves in these waters, fully capable of backing up the opposite shores and a massive swathe of the area around the temple. Full sunlight stabbing into their eyes, killing rays of light coming down to pick them off, fully capable of punching through the water to do so... there was no doubt whatsoever that the sea-dwelling races hated this temple immensely.

Unfortunately for them, this was one of the major training grounds for Aruans on the martial path, and plenty of Templars and Clerics came here to both skirmish against the restless dead in DC, and fight against the horrors of the Deep.

KEEP YOUR SHARDS UP, he told me as Sleipner exited the highway, and Ward-Rode across the yards of the big cement company bordering the harbor. I noted they had basically left it for any invader to push loads of gravel and powder around if they decided to come ashore... and the guns of McHenry seemed to have left a few filled-in craters in the broad open area where they dumped their road construction fill.

LET’S SEE IF I CAN PULL SOMETHING UP, he told me, Sleipner neighing in quiet challenge as the cycle actually settled down on the waters and powered across on top of them, his engine suddenly revving quite loudly indeed.