157. The Shadowsteel Fortress (Patreon)

Merlin’s new familiar slithered along the basement floor like a snake. When the journal claimed it would gain access to all of the abilities its summoner could use, Lukas didn’t realize that included passive conjunction abilities between Body and Heart pillars. Rough Dracosteel Scales covered the serpent-like body, giving it a light metallic sheen. 

“Remind me,” Lukas said, watching the Wyrmling. “What are the differences between the three draconic races?”

“They all come from the same draconic ancestors with three diverging evolution paths. What they looked like is debatable, but most literature refers to them as wyrms. I imagine long, flexible bodies with four limbs, which gave them the option to slither or crawl, and wings to assist in flight, of course. Scholars theorize they were intelligent but feral.” 

“Dragons are the smartest and flimsiest. They make up for it with their arcane might and are the only ones consistently with wings.” Merlin drew a rough dragon shape in the air with Stormfire. “Drakes have incredible brawn but little brain and no wings. They have little to no arcane prowess and just exhale their raw, unadulterated breath when ranged power is needed.” The creature he drew looked like a fat wingless lizard. 

“Depictions of modern wyrms are the most inconsistent. They all have serpentine bodies and no rear limbs. Some have forelegs or wings, occasionally both. Some accounts talk of fused limbs.” Merlin drew each version. “Their spellwork isn’t as potent as that of dragons. Stories talk of them sticking to simple magic or breath attacks as opposed to complex spells. The scholars can’t tell whether they lack intelligence or their feral natures and short tempers get in the way. Often their might and speed make up for the shortcomings.

“I don’t know whether the wyrmling stage comes with no limbs, and it will develop forelegs or wings as it grows, or this is its final form, and only the size will change.” The Wyrmling affectionately coiled around Merlin’s ankles. It made a soft vibrating noise from deep within its throat, making the scales around its neck and feathery mane tremble. “My tests with arcane investment made it larger and sturdier, but nothing more.”

The air trembled around its entire body, much like it did around their sound or storm spells. Accents of gold and blue traveled along its hairs. They looked like glassy filaments with magic pulsing along them. 

“I wasn’t expecting it to be affectionate,” Lukas stated.

“That’s because Assistant Spindle isn’t sentient.” Merlin hesitated. “I think. It doesn’t seem capable of emotion or affection.” He kneeled, running his hand through the Storm Wyrmling’s mane and down its spine. It was as thick as his wrist and taller than he was. “I’m going to call her Morgana.”

“Merlin and Morgana? Do you expect her to eventually become a rival or your nemesis?”

“No. No. You wouldn’t ever turn against me, right?” Merlin scratched the wyrmling under her chin. The rumbling emanating from her throat intensified, and the vibrations traveled all the way up and down her body. Lukas couldn’t help but imagine how the Shadow Dragonling would differ. He guessed it would be childlike with the intelligence of an infant. Meanwhile, the wyrmling behaved like a cat in love with its master. “As a familiar born from my shard ability, she is loyal to me.”

“How’s the telepathic link?” Lukas asked. “Can you look through her eyes?”

“No. But I instinctively know everything she sees and feels. I hope sharing senses with the projected Arcane Mind won’t come with the same mental stress as Oberon and his Dreamfire Copy.” 

“If we’re lucky, we can use Morgana to fool a Wyrmkin cult to worship you. I doubt Elder Wyrmkins would fall for it, but I can’t say the same about their lesser cousins.”

“I hope you’re not going to use this as an excuse to force me into combat situations.” Merlin said, allowing his familiar to slither up his sleeve and disappear into his coat. 

“Only when necessary. If anything, this makes you perfect for masquerading as me. Attunement Library does the same as Assistant Spindle, and Arcane Mind will make you an even better caster. If I summon you as a Super Clone, you’ll make for a terrifying power house.”

“That might be true, but I’m much happier constructing the fortress and providing arcane intelligence or support. Make me the resident librarian and bookkeeper, please.”

“Given what we learned from Weaver, you might not have a choice,” Lukas said. “Something or someone might be after us. If that’s true, we’ll do whatever is necessary to survive.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to just destroy the journal? It might take us some time, but it won’t be long before we can do almost all the same things as it. The Fortress will give us all the storage we need. A true divination shard can help track activities and more.” They had tried doing the same with Ace’s magic and failed. “Finally, a psionics shard can give us more than the lame messaging system.”

“And Shadow Gate can replace Escape Portal.” Lukas sighed, finishing the thought. “But that’s two entire specialized clone slots for what the journal can manage without extra investment. I’d rather not waste resources unless necessary. For now, six Specialized Clones is more than enough. Once Shadow Clone ascends to the next rank, I intend to have a bunch of Stalkers and Spellweavers out just assisting the rest of us with whatever we’re doing.”

“I’m hopeful the Essence of the Dusk Spider will give us at least four more clones,” Merlin replied as his familiar slithered out of his sleeve, considerably smaller and skinnier than before. It didn’t surprise Lukas that Morgana had the power to change size like Bass, the winged lion-cat. “It would be great if we could keep increasing in powers of two, but it feels far too hopeful.”

“I wonder if Super Clone’s maximum summons will increase as we rank up.” Lukas attempted to pet Morgana but much to his chagrin, she pulled away from him. “So, should we work on the fortress entrance together?”

“Sure, but we don’t have an entrance hallway next. Should we start with a temporary structure in the Spell Garden?”

“My thinking precisely. It can eventually become the central structure for Shadow Gate.”

The clone nodded before dropping into the shadows below his feet. It looked like he had dispelled himself, but his senses felt otherwise. Creating new clones no longer hurts. However, Lukas immediately felt an intangible shift within himself when a soul fragment returned to him. He couldn’t sense his soulspace’s contents as well, but he could feel its existence. He hoped it would change over time. Lukas followed Merlin into the Shadowsteel Fortress.

It took him directly into the Spell Garden. The giant room had an internal wall that wrapped around the buckyball core chamber. Its ceiling and floor were made of the same matte Shadowsteel. Meanwhile, a series of equidistant pillars ran along the outside. Glowing Quicksilver lines covered all surfaces, forming spellforms. Lukas expected nothing but darkness beyond. Instead, he saw a large expanse of scarred arid land and a greyish-blue sea beyond. Patches of reddish brown marked both, looking like dried blood on the ground and dull lichen in the water.

Is this what my soul looks like? I expected nothing but the fortress.

“That’s new,” Merlin stated, frowning. “There used to be nothing but a dull grey fog.”

“I expected my soulspace to be nothing more than the structure. I expected an infinite fortress.”

“Maybe your will and presence changed it. There was talk of you bringing outsiders into your soulspace, and I sensed your willingness to bring people in here.” Merlin nodded at the exterior. “This gives you the option to have an outdoor area for them.”

Lukas clung to a cylindrical pillar and leaned out of the Spell Garden. Besides rare brushes and cacti, there was nothing on the ground below. He wasn’t expecting life, but the presence of anything at all surprised him. The scars and crimson patches made sense. He had suffered plenty of pain in his eighty-something years, and there was also more blood on his hands than that of most mortals. If the soulspace was a figurative space within him, the flora was also a part of him. He failed to make heads or tails of their origin.

When Lukas looked up, he saw nothing but thick grey clouds. It seemed the fog Merlin had witnessed had risen beyond the fortress’s current apex. He doubted there was a sun, moon, or any source of light above. It was currently daytime in the material world. He wondered if things would go dark afterward.

“I tweaked the design. There used to be a solid wall here before, but I figured we could do with some cost-cutting. Each pillar can be carved into spell structures, too, if not for you, some of the clones. Pillars also allow us to isolate them from one another.”

“Aren’t we losing a lot of surface area for wards and the other things we discussed?” Lukas asked.

“Only for now. There is plenty of room on the inner wall, and we’ll have more modular surfaces once we get our hands on spirit glass. A pane stretching from pillar to pillar gives us more surface area, makes the space brighter, and they’ll also act as amplifiers and generators.” Merlin gestured between the two closest pillars, his words brimming with excitement as he spoke of his artistic vision. “That’s assuming you take Mira up on her offer of help. Without Silver Dragonfire, we’ll need to find a more natural source.”

“Avoiding the Confluence merging was more for her sake than mine. Besides, I don’t think we have much of a choice. The black dragonfire will be necessary for the ritual room and breaking free of our beloved former employer. I’ll talk to her when she’s up.”

“Good. If we reduce the energy drain of the Spell Garden before starting the Dome of Life, the drain will be considerably lower, and we’ll have more fuel for the dome. Its construction will be slow since our access to Life and Reinforcement magic is limited, but once the base structure is complete, we can start on the ritual chamber. We can go back for the spellwork afterward.”

Lukas' attention returned to the exterior as he thought about bringing outsiders into his soulspace. “Before I forget, I need two rooms added to the plans. This isn’t an immediate priority, but we’ll need a tower for Weaver. It will need tall ceilings and pillars. He is an invaluable ally to have at our fingertips, and we can’t ignore his request. Secondly, Oberon’s Dreamatorium is now a higher priority. Perhaps put it in after the ritual room and before you finish the Dome of Life.”

“I hate that name,” Merlin grumbled. “You shouldn’t have allowed him to do the naming. May I ask why?”

“To the outside world, I’m just a summoner and mage with powerful and versatile shadow golems. I’d like to keep things that way. The Dreamotorium can be used to create illusory disguises for all clones. We can have one assigned to each Specialized Clones and a gallery of miscellaneous ones that the others can adopt. They probably won’t last for long outside of here or without Oberon topping up the Dreamfire, but it will increase our flexibility and freedom by a good deal.”

“I wish I had thought of that. It’s brilliant.”

“That’s why I’m the boss and El-Prime. I dream. You execute.” Lukas clapped his hands, exhaling slowly. “Enough of that. Let’s build this entrance. We’ll need it to get Mira in here.”

Lukas and the clone worked in tandem. They dropped to their knees and poured magic into the ground. Shadows rose like living clay, viscous and opaque, fighting Lukas’s will. He could feel their desire to flatten and merge with the surrounding surfaces, adopting their material properties. Instead, he forced them to rise as a square post. Once it was twice as tall as him, it curved toward the identical structure that Merlin had constructed considerably faster. The posts met and merged seamlessly, forming an arched frame. 

As the pair worked together to create the doors to go with the frame, Lukas poured his Intent into the effort, telling the magic its purpose. Meanwhile, Merlin carved deep grooves into the Shadowsteel and filled them with Quicksilver, granting the door a striking appearance and also binding Lukas’s will to it. 

Spellforms alone weren’t enough. Otherwise, Merlin and Spellweavers could’ve achieved the task alone. Lukas was creating an entrance into his soul. He needed to provide his consent and the opening so anyone without a fragment of him inside them could find their way inside. It drained him far more than Lukas expected, almost bringing him to his knees.

Horrid discomfort followed. He knew the sensation straight away, but it was far more intense than what he had experienced before. It reminded him of the first time he tore his soul into two using Arcane Clone, the base version of Shadow Clone, and created a copy of himself.

The wobbly, gelatinous chunk that was Lukas’s soul appeared in his mind’s eye clearer than ever before. It was changing, becoming something more. Something rigid. It was taking the form of a segmented sphere much like the central structure of the Shadowsteel Fortress that he had envisioned. Eight smaller spheres floated around it. Two were solid while the others were translucent.

They’re the clones.

Lukas knew instantly that the two solid ones were Eins and Merlin. Both were inside of the soulspace with him. The faintest of them was Morph, the clone furthest from him. The rest had almost identical levels of translucence. He was sure they were all the Spellweavers around him and Oberon getting up to no good somewhere within city limits.

“That was intense,” Lukas groaned, dropping onto his bottom once the process completed. “At least it didn’t take too long.”

“I don’t know how to break it to you, boss. We’ve been at it for hours. I lost track after the third.”

“Fuck. I need to check on Mira. I hope she’s awake. You don’t need me anymore, right?”

“The clones and I should be able to create the door without you now,” Merlin replied. “Go on. See to your lady.”

Instead of Shadow Stepping out of the fortress, Lukas touched the door. Instead of opening, everything within the frame dissolved. Lukas marched through it, returning to the exact spot in the basement where he had started. The journal vibrated just as he started toward the stairs. He checked it, expecting Oberon to have gained another rank. His heart skipped a beat when he read what the soulbound relic had to say, making him forget about the lingering discomfort of soulshaping for a moment.

Spellweaver has reached the ascension threshold.

Shadow Clone has progressed to rank 7!

The volume of shadows in Shade’s Mantle and the ability to compress them have increased.