SSD 6.05 - Speaking (Patreon)

Chapter has been written and therefore is being sent your way. With all the chaos that has been happening, I wanted to say thank you to all of you for your support. It means a great deal. Life seems to take me all over, but I'll keep trying to push forward.

Enjoy the chapter!

Addressing the public is often necessary for those in power. Often the form of engagement is indirect. Laws being announced one’s behalf, is an example. Even more common are  convoluted interactions that occur secondhand, as people learn a pastiche of news, a drip and drab at a time as gossip seeps through the sediment of society.

These interactions one can structure to some extent, certainly, and there are way to place control and messaging such that society and gossip will steer toward one’s desired image and impressions.

However, one of the greatest tools is direct communication. It is also the tool that is hardest to control in the aftermath. If one speaks directly to those under one’s authority, they will form first hand impressions that will then stain all future knowledge they gain for good or ill.

In this way a good direct impression acts as a powerful shield, but an improper one acts as a weight that is constantly pulling against one’s future messages.

              From Hatani’s Guide to Oversight

==Caden==

Calculus had spread across the entire length of the Starlight Grotto, which… didn’t have stars anymore.

I took a brief moment of time, noting all the changes. Steel had grown to cover the entire ceiling, floor, and dug into the stone like mycelium burrowing into food.

Especially notable were the almost organic looking shelters converted from the existing buildings, and the forest of steel and crysteel woven together beneath the branches.

Surprisingly, there was a gap between where Calculus’s branches and the metal beneath began.

Huh, how did they manage that?

Of greater concern were areas that had been flattened by enormous chunks of stone falling from above. Much of the cavernous room was covered in areas of standing water and sandy mud, and there were still traces of dust in the air, the haze making the densely packed tree look ethereal in the dim light that still remained from the lines of pillars adorning the road.

People had been teleported to the appropriate room, kept alive when they would have died, but no one was in the area for permanent deaths.

A quick check by other shards showed the two entrance camps were unharmed, too, even if some of the buildings looked to be leaning a bit.

Thank God.

Going to need to refund whatever it cost those that were saved. Replace lost gear, whatever. Anyway… that is for later.

For the moment, I manifested outside where Zidaun, his party, Kraring, and others were staying, noting that Zidaun had sensed my appearance.

A flex of will and the stone and steel securing the door flowed away, forming into a proper arch, the steel woven in lines threaded through like embroidery.

Even as I did that, other shards were scanning to find and repair injuries across the entire area. Making right what I had broken.

My usual smile was absent as I entered, looking with serious eyes at each person I saw. With the exception of Kraring, they all looked confused and tired, especially Zidaun. Though he lit up as he tried to bow to me.

“None of that,” I said. “No need to bow when all of this is my mess.”

“And what did happen, exactly,” Kraring said, his tone not exactly icy, but certainly cold.

Realizing he wouldn’t have seen it here inside, I paused for a second, before replying.

“Come and see,” I said, gesturing a hand toward me in invitation, then slowly turning around to walk out.

I went out to look at the tree, but this perspective was very different. A mesh of steel and crysteel blocked much of the view. They melted away, dissolving to reveal the branch of the tree that started only fifty feet overhead.

The bark was a deep black, with crystalline red veins that caught the light in a reflection giving the illusion of a carmine glow coming from within. The enormous boughs were dozens of feet across, with countless subsidiary branches, hosting a myriad of gold and emerald leaves.

The green leaves were slightly translucent, sharing the crystalline nature of the red veins that continued into the leaves, as though blood truly ran through the tree. The gold leaves were vaguely metallic in sheen, though the color was perhaps more polished brass than true gold.

Despite the minimal light, the flash of the leaves gently moving with the air of the cavern caught and held it over and over, like a receding fractal of green and gold, with delineations of black and red.

It was a magnificent view, and for all that I had been aware of Calculus’s appearance, in a general sense, this was my first time truly stopping to appreciate it.

Even on the scale of the dungeon, it was enormous.

Here, seeing this small branch from a human perspective, the scale was incomprehensible. A single branch had effortlessly filled the cavern, dwarfing the size of any normal tree. The only trees that came close to the size of this single branch were the giant sequoia, and those were the largest trees on Earth.

Well, you wanted a world tree, so what were you expecting?

To be less successful, I guess. Or have it be more gradual.

I shook my head, turning around to see the others.

Kraring and Zidaun had followed me, as well as the team. Other shelters were opening as various skills wove mana to allow people to exit. A faint susurrus was growing as more individuals stepped out into the ruined streets, their gazes turning upward. The sight elicited startled oaths, gasps, and simple silences that devolved into murmurs as they spoke quietly with one another.

I understood the feeling, for the branches overhead brought out the same sheltered feeling of a cathedral or ancient grove. A stillness born from feeling the immensity relative to oneself.

For all the sanctity of the feeling, that didn’t stop various pulses of mana from pinging off as adventurers used skills. No doubt it was almost reflexive, and making them pause even a moment before evaluating the situation for danger was a tribute to the grandeur of what lay overhead.

Kraring’s own pulse of mana rang out, later than I would have expected.

Hmmm, was he truly moved by the experience, trusts me, enough, that the danger was gone for now, or simply confident in his own strength enough to only evaluate the situation after he had time to appreciate it? Or maybe he was just appreciating everything with his mind sped up and was ready to get more information at the slightest hint of danger.

As always, my thoughts on the motivations of others were mostly fruitless speculation.

Kraring pinched the bridge of his nose, his head slightly turned down.

“We need to talk,” he said quietly, before glancing around. “Though you might need to say something, first.”

I nodded, reaching into my environmental skills to copy what I was about to say. My voice would be projected here everywhere within the grotto, and then to the extent of my aura within the external camps.

“Today marked a significant success in my and Exsan’s attempts to create a powerful form of life. It was, indeed, a success beyond what I had anticipated.  Today I created a world tree. I know little about the mythology and beliefs of this current time, but tales of such trees were part of the mythos from before I woke up here in this present time.

“Its sudden and explosive growth was unexpected, and has spread through our dungeon, and even extended up the peak which lies far overhead. For now it appears to be stable, though I shall make precautions against another such incident.

“As far as I can tell, there has been no permanent loss of life, and any who were saved by use of a token will have that cost refunded as though it had never been spent. In addition, another three tokens of credit will be given to anyone who had to be saved in this manner. Those who were injured to any great degree have already been healed, and two tokens have been added to your balance. For the general inconvenience, everyone else in my aura has been given a single token of credit.

“I am also placing pillars in each encampment, and anyone who places their hand upon one in the next six hours will also receive a credit, assuming they have not already received one.”

“That said, I know that belongings, homes, and temporary dwellings may have been destroyed in the chaos. Such will be made whole.”

In that moment all my shards swept through out, each of us taking on a section and remaking the buildings, the tents, absorbing and replacing damaged clothes, weapons, food stalls, ovens, forges, wagons, and countless other elements of life that had together been brought to build new homes and outposts.

“I have fixed all that I could find, but no doubt things will have been missed. I have also not touched any clothes and other objects on your person that may have been impacted. The Adar will coordinate with me to gather any things that remain in need of repair, so that they too can be made whole.”

I changed the parameters slightly, now having my voice copied only here within the former grotto.

“I would like to extend my congratulations and admiration to all the adventurers, Adar, and others, who have worked together so well to mitigate the damage this event caused. As a dungeon, it is my role to test you, but this test was unintentional and unexpected. Coming together to take care of one another and use your abilities to protect each other is a tremendous achievement.

“For the moment the dungeon is closed. I have been working on a city, which will shortly be open to all. After that is finalized, the dungeon will be repaired and reopened.

“As I am aware that this may place some adventurers into a difficult position, the Adar will be purchasing all the food currently in the grotto, and ensuring that no one will go hungry. Attempts by merchants to gouge prices will not be tolerated. The prices paid will be the same as what the food was selling for before this incident. Cook’s, bakers, street vendors, and so on, will be paid a fair wage to prepare food.

“If there are other issues that are time sensitive you may petition with the Adar for redress, and they will determine what deserves additional consideration.

“All of this is given out of fairness, but make no mistake, any attempts to take advantage of this situation at the expense of another will result in consequences. That could be the loss of money, property, tokens, or even being banned from setting foot within the area I control.

“This event should be behind us, shortly, so be good to one another.”

‘You really are too kind to them.’ Exsan sent.

‘Possibly,’ I replied, ‘but this is more than an act of kindness. Unfortunate as the situation was, it offered an opportunity to firmly establish our authority. I don’t think humanity it used to dungeons being rulers in their own right. Given everything with the Adar, I likely didn’t need to bother, as they seem to respect their sovereignty here.

‘At least, under normal circumstances, but given that we intend to free the Adar…’

Exsan’s only response was a thoughtful hum.

The various Adar on the street were looking at me with reverent expressions, making me uncomfortable.

The people, at least, were giving me a wide variety of expressions, though there was more awe or fear than I would have hoped for.

Take on the mantle of power and get the appropriate responses, it is what it is.

Suppressing a sigh, I looked at Zidaun.

“Zidaun,” I said, “you can handle arranging for all of that, yes?”

“Yes, yes, of course, m- Caden,” he said. “It will be our honor to take care of things.” Zidaun bowed, took a last glance at the tree overhead, and wandered off, whispering to various Adar and getting shakes of the head, or pointing fingers.

Kraring, on the other hand, was looking at me with a soft smile, before he spoke.

“Quite the speech. I’m impressed. Addressing the issue so directly will solve many of the problems that might have arisen.”

“It seemed…” I said, before pausing briefly, “like a prudent thing to do. Still, for a proper discussion I’d like to do that in private. I have some notifications to get through, however, so may I come to collect you in a few minutes?”

There was a brief flash of surprise on Kraring’s face, but he still nodded readily.

“Of course, see you soon then.”