Chapter: 531 - How it Might End (Patreon)

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Tala was panicking—internally at the very least—even as she tried to keep herself calm enough to think. As her thoughts were most of the problem, it wasn’t working very well.

Lyn’s eyes had widened, having likely recognized Meallain from the few of Tala’s memories that she’d seen. Well, she’d also probably pulled up a picture of the woman—and all notable members of the House of Blood whom Tala had seen—while they were flying their way home.

Rane stood, resolve painting his features, even as he tried to figure out their next course of action. “Do we put on all possible speed? And hang the consequences to Reality?”

On the display, almost as if in response to Rane’s question—though that was actually impossible—Meallain crouched and launched herself after the flier.

Tala’s voidsight showed the ripples that the woman was making in existence by her passage. She was absolutely brimming with power, and Reality did not like how fast she was moving through it.

The magical resonance was quite literally insane.

Tala’s eyes widened. “She doesn’t care if she calls every magical creature in the region. No wonder she was able to catch up to us…”

Alat’s voice rang out, “-At our best speed—assuming we don’t rip a hole in reality and die in some unspeakable manner—she would catch us before we were halfway to Alefast.-”

Lyn grimaced. “We should have gone faster, but that option is gone now. With perfect hindsight, it would have been worth a bit of abrasion on Reality to now be behind Alefast’s walls.”

Tala shook her head. “No, we don’t know that doing that would have turned out better. If she could see we were fleeing fast, she might have put on this much speed sooner.” She barked a nervous laugh. “I suppose that, for all we know, she’s been going this fast since she said she was coming. That would make you correct, but we have no way of knowing even now. We made the best choice we could at the time.” She hesitated. “If she has been going almost this fast for the whole time… The fallout from that level of resonance is going to catch up soon, and I… I don’t know what it will actually look like.”

Rane grunted, twisting back and forth once to pop his back. “Well, that will come regardless. The current problem is an elf bearing down on us, and for that problem, we have a solution. I’ll go to meet her. Set the flier down a bit away from me. It seems like she and I need to have a talk.”

Tala stood to her feet beside him before kissing him. She was nervous, but they’d used much of the flight time discussing how they’d handle situations like this one if they were caught by whoever was pursuing them. “Rane, be careful.”

He huffed a laugh. “I remember her from your memories, Tala. I won’t underestimate her.”

She noticed that he hadn’t promised to be careful.

-I’ve notified Master Grediv of the changing situation… He said that Master Xeel is engaged with another arcane on the western side of the cycling cities. He can’t get away.-

Lyn hmmed. “I think we should bring the Talons in on this. She is a threat to Ironhold, and this is one reason they exist at all, aside from sating your curiosity.”

Tala bit the side of her lip and grimaced. “She’d go through them like an alchemist through reagents.”

“Really? If they truly would just die before her, I won’t say anything more, but remember, they have your magical density and they’ve been trained and outfitted to a reasonable degree, even if neither as much as we would like. Again, their magical density is higher than even Rane’s, Tala. They are becoming better fighters, and they’ve had weeks now to train with their new capacities since you advanced to Paragon. I think they will surprise you, and if they can surprise you?” A half smile came to her lips. “They might just do the same to Meallain.”

Finally, Tala grunted. “Fine. Let me know when Ron is ready and have the rest of the Talons gear up and form up, defensive focus. They can use the gear that Master Simon has been gushing over.”

That caused Lyn’s eyebrows to rise. “Are you sure? They’ve been training with it, but it’s still not battle tested.”

“There is no time like the present. If we’re going to do this, we’ll do it properly. I won’t deny them gear that could keep them alive.”

Lyn gave a hesitant nod, sending messages. “He’ll be ready in less than two minutes.”

That’s fast, but I suppose they were all notified of what was going on when we began fleeing north…

Alat made a surprised sound, drawing Tala’s focus. -Master Grediv said that our defender unit is almost to us. They were informed of our plight, and set out to meet us as soon as they were able to gather their gear. A few others are with them too. I have the list, and I’ll let you know when those specifics matter.-

But… they’re Refined, maybe with a few Paragons if we’re lucky? Tala was torn. The unit were skilled fighters and anyone who came with them would be as well, but she and Rane were now more advanced than them—at least than their unit—and she and her husband were outclassed by Meallain. She didn’t want Masters Clevnis, Girt, and Limmestare, nor Mistresses Cerna and Vanga to be harmed because she and Rane were in need.

-They are being informed of the situation. They’ll make their own choices. They know you two are Paragons now. They won’t come in blind or ignorant.-

Tala almost laughed. Their defensive unit would, ironically, be less powerful than the Talons, if far more versatile and experienced. …Alright. How far out are they?

-Less than an hour.-

How much less?

-I don’t know. They aren’t updating their location constantly. I’ll let you know as soon as I have a better estimate.-

Thank you.

“Terry!” Tala called.

A moment later, Terry appeared on her shoulder, seemingly already sensing the atmosphere.

Rane grinned at Terry. “Will you be ready to back me up?”

Terry trilled, then held up one foot, flashing the talons, seemingly already mostly informed by Alat.

Rane laughed. “Yes, you and the Talons.”

Terry chirped in a way that seemed to convey both happiness and determination.

Rane manifested his bone golem armor—the soulbond that he used least often—and stepped over to Tala once more. “I love you, my wife.”

She stood, going up on her tip-toes to kiss him. “I love you, my Rane.”

With a wry smile, he kissed her back, then willed himself to the superficial, appearing on the highest hilltop in the surrounding area.

Alat guided the flier to touch down behind the next hill further toward Alefast, Waning.

Meallain slowed her reckless charge as soon as Rane appeared, but she didn’t stop by any means. She even kept creating magical resonance, moving fast enough to stay ahead of her own building wave of dissonant power.

Still, instead of reaching Rane in moments, it looked like it would take her nearly twenty minutes to cover the distance.

That was still insanely fast, and the whole region was still filling with overlapping, building magical resonance of a powerlevel Tala had never experienced.

Most of those of the upper levels of power know better. Meallain knew better too, she just seemed like she didn’t care.

Alat was still giving a view of Meallain and Rane on the large display, and to Tala’s surprise, she could see a manic edge to the elf woman even across the great distance that separated them.

She looked a bit gaunt, as if she hadn’t been eating enough of late. She also had clearly visible, dark circles under her eyes.

“What’s going on with her?” Tala spoke quietly, but not so quietly that Lyn didn’t hear.

Lyn glanced toward Tala. “She wasn’t always that… manic?”

“No. She was usually incredibly put together, professional and driven.”

“Well… she definitely seems driven now.”

Ron indicated his readiness through Lyn a moment later, and Tala willed him to the sanctum, only touching him to the superficial for an instant in between to allow for the journey.

Tala was momentarily startled, seeing his gear with her own eyes for the first time.

It was familiar as she’d not only approved the plans but seen it within Kit for days, but it was still something to actually see in person.

He was in what would likely be called half-plate… Tala thought… She never really paid too much attention to specific armor names.

Regardless, he wasn’t in full plate. Instead he had plates of white steel—inset with iron mesh—affixed over the most vulnerable parts of his body.

A rounded helm was tucked under his arm. The face guard looked to only cover the jawline with the same white steel and iron, but Tala’s threefold perception picked up material shrouding the whole face.

Yet another use for the refined elemental fleece.

-Indeed. It’s stronger than mundane steel too, without the brittleness.-

A hefty tower shield of white steel and iron completed the gear.

Not only was the massive shield practically a mobile defensive implacement—especially when used alongside other Talons—but it also acted as a white steel reserve for the repair of the warrior’s armor and a place to pull weaponry from.

Tala’s investment of giving every newly reborn a large cube of white steel to manipulate was paying dividends.

Every Talon could at least roughly shape the material, and while none could use it like a House of Blood protian weapon yet, there was real possibility for doing so in time.

I really should have taken more time to train that aspect of their combat…

-You mean instead of just using them as glorified sparring partners?-

…Yeah.

-Well, do better going forward.-

Ron was the only fully outfitted member of the Talons. Most only had helms and shields of iron and white steel, while their other armor was mundane.

They simply hadn’t had enough time. And here I was lamenting how slow things had been going. What if I’d dedicated myself to training them, to outfitting them? How much better prepared would they be?

-We cannot change the past, only press onward and do better next time.-

Yes. I will do better next time. Assuming there would be a next time.

Ron bowed. “Mistress Tala. Thank you for your willingness to involve the Talons.”

Tala gave a curt nod. “Ron, it’s good to see you.”

“I wish that we could have been more helpful of late, but we all understood that if the arcanes of the wandering wilds had seen any of the reborn…” He gave a rueful smile. “We are not something easy to explain.”

That brought a smile to her lips despite the other circumstances. “Indeed.”

He then bowed to Terry, the depth matching what he had given Tala. “Master Terry. It is always a pleasure to see you. It will be our honor to fight alongside you, should the need arise.”

Terry gave a single, decisive chirp before reorienting on the display before them.

Ron did the same—minus the chirp—listening carefully as Lyn filled him in on various pertinent details.

Tala was left to her own thoughts, and only then did she realize that her hands were trembling at the very idea of Meallain being so close.

She’d always liked the woman on a personal level, but she was a solid, irrevocable tie back to him, back to Be-thric and the House of Blood.

At that very moment, her husband was confronting that painful memory from her past. He was stalwartly ready to be a source of strength, and a bulwark against this pain.

She was confused.

Uncertain.

Terrified at how it might end.

On the display before them, Rane waited, Force drawn but held down at his side. The off-white of his armor stood out above the waving green of the tall grass in the waning summer light, the sun setting off to his right.

Soon enough, Meallain landed before him, her feet light among the stalks of grass. “I wish to speak with the one named Tala. Bring her forth or I shall go get her from that traveling hold you have sequestered nearby.”

Rane slowly shook his head. “How can I trust you won’t hurt her? What do you want with the girl?”

Meallain let out an almost hysterical laugh that cut off abruptly. “I want to talk to her. I want to ask after the origin of her name, to see if she has any family who might share it, to learn about them if so.”

Rane shifted, clearly caught off-guard by the request. “Why? What do you want with a human so young? How could she be of use to you?”

The elf stiffened. “How old is she?”

“Why?”

“She would have been considered young, even by humans… is it her?” She shook her head. “Of course it isn’t. She can’t be alive, even if that fool of a village lord saw her and sent her on her way toward the forest all those years ago… She shouldn’t have survived that long… Could she still be alive?” Meallain started pacing.

She and Rane were a dozen yards apart. On the scale of arcane combat, that was nothing.

She spun to face Rane, her gauntlets glowing with power as they formed into a sword and shield.

Tala felt her eyes widen. “Two? How does she have two protian weapons?”

The answer was obvious. She had somehow killed another House of Blood Eskau and gathered the bond to herself, or… something like that?

Tala actually had no idea. Protian weapons shouldn’t work like that. It shouldn’t be possible for her to have two.

-So much for the answer being obvious.-

Hush you, I’m a bit stressed.

Meallain wasn’t acting as Tala would have expected. The very act of showing armaments before attacking was… off. It wasn’t something that Eskau Meallain would have done while Eskau Tali were still with the House of Blood.

Regardless, the elf growled. “I have come to learn about a Tala, to seek and find out what I can. Bring forth your Tala that I may do just that.”

Rane slowly shook his head. “I will not. You are not acting trustworthy. You just chased us for hundreds of miles because of a name? I must safeguard those in my care.”

She growled again. “Fine. I’ll kill you and find her myself. If I cannot find her after your corpse has cooled, I’ll destroy your hold and move on to that city to the northwest. Someone will tell me what I need to know.”

Rane jerked, lifting Force, barely blocking her strike.

Tala hadn’t even seen Meallain move, but Rane apparently had had enough warning to get his blade in the way.

Ron grunted, apparently as surprised as Tala by the strike. He spoke under his breath. “This shield will be invaluable.”

On the display before them, the elf’s blade distorted, wrapping around Force and cinching tight. As such, Force wasn’t free to counter as Meallain’s shield came in to bash Rane’s side.

Rane’s magics easily moved him away, causing him to twist around his grip on Force, the weapon itself unable to move.

Meallain’s eyes went wide for just an instant as her strike failed to land, before she began laughing again. “So, you’ve some useful magics, eh, broken one? Very well. It seems like we will have an actual fight on our hands before I get what I want.”

Lyn turned to Tala. “Why isn’t she just crushing him? If she wants you, and you’re right here…”

Tala shook her head. “You heard her. She doesn’t think it’s me. She thinks it’s a Tala. She has a lot she wants to learn and do, so she’s biding her power. She believes that she can beat Rane without using more magic than her protian weapons give her…”

Tala then remembered something that Thron had asked her ages ago. ‘Do you know why Eskau are only given one protian weapon?’

At the time, she’d assumed that it was hard to make more.

Thron had scoffed at that idea. ‘No, not in the grand scheme of things. The issue is that it’s a powerful bond between souls. We varied races can’t have such a close bond to multiple other souls without it starting to overstrain us. A marriage bond is different because the bodies are separate. For a Vestige, the gate is kept at a metaphorical distance. For a protian weapon, the gate is held conceptually close, practically within our own soul. To have two such bonds? …Well it would be almost exactly like you having two gates within yourself—if such were even possible—and she still has her own soul on top of that.’

Tala swallowed—pulling herself from the memory—and spoke quietly but loudly enough for Lyn and Ron to hear. She also knew that Alat and Enar would tell Rane, “She’s straining her own soul, twisting it. A protian weapon is more than a normal soulbond. It’s practically fused with the Eskau; it can never leave. Two? I can’t imagine how much that has affected her. I cannot imagine what possessed her—or any member of the House of Blood—to allow it at all.”

The Hallowed elf—more advanced than even Master Xeel as a Reforged—might have made herself more than a bit insane.

Well… this just got even worse than I’d expected.

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