Daniel just stared at Zolyra for a few seconds after her demand. "Uh, explain what?" Daniel felt how Murdon and Lograve looked, utterly drained. Confused, shocked. He'd been willing to believe Soraso hadn't been responsible for the elites, but so much for that.

The Commander struggled to answer his question for a few moments, no doubt feeling how he had when he'd had a direct line to his Spoke. "The gods."

"I was in the Divine Pavilion, the place they were meeting, when it happened. Hammer had sensed the Spoke I was merged with and grabbed me because of it." That Daniel had a Spoke was only news to Esket Marrow, who was wildly unprepared to hear it. Most ignored his gasp as he saw no one else disbelieve Daniel. "Hourglass showed up right at the end and tricked them into giving him unilateral authority over the pavilion, trapping their consciousness in their Proxies. Then he sent it forward in time, like Rikoor was trying to do to me."

"How are you here, then?" There was infinite suspicion in Zolyra's words. She'd interrogate the ground to make sure it wasn't actually the ceiling if she could.

"Cloak," Daniel answered simply, not ready to tell her the full details of his connection to Hourglass. She didn't look ready to hear it. "He'd tricked everyone. I think it was just a prank, but he came there in his real body and could contest Hourglass, to a degree. He made a deal with Hourglass that left me in Aughal, and him allowed to possess a Proxy. Now that that Proxy's dead, all of the gods are effectively gone for at least a year."

"The ruins," Zolyra went on, just absorbing the information for now to be digested later, anything she didn't like to be spat at him later, perhaps with flames.

"I think it's a ship called the Arcadian. A huge one if Soraso's estimate can be trusted."

"He used Mage Flight for that," Tounaki said numbly. "I heard they could sense something above them with certain powers."

"How large, Arcanist?"

"Ten by 4 kilometers, roughly," Tounaki answered Zolyra. Her eyes flicked to Murdon for a moment as if seeking comfort, but the Knight was in the middle of his own processing. "But the only two who've been there are the Reg- Soraso, and Daniel."

"Are we talking about a Bekali construct or something different?"

Oh boy, Daniel thought as that reminded him of something else. "It's more advanced. Parts of it looked like the Divine Pavilion. I don't even know for sure if it is a ship, but there've been clues that it is. Actually," Daniel said, thinking again on when they'd met Soraso here, "I think when he was first describing it, Soraso said something about monsters coming 'aboard' the ruins." Did he know about that too?

Zolyra shrugged to indicate how weak of a connection that was. "The avianoid/spider hybrid. Explain it."

"Spinner?" Tlara asked, not liking what bordered on hostility in the words. "The fuck does she have to do with this?"

"Soraso is clearly working with the Spiritualists." Zolyra folded her arms, as if she needed those to kill someone if they outed themselves as an enemy.

In what was probably a touching display of sisterly solidarity under most conditions, Tlara held up under the scrutiny in her normal fashion. "Fuck you! If you're thinking about touching her or Willow, I swear I'm going to-"

"It's different!" Daniel quickly said before Tlara made things worse. "You heard what he said about how most monsters are empty, right? Some have fragments of souls. Spirits. I'm not exactly sure how, but if you do more than just kill them you can help them become people again. They have a spiritual awakening into a full soul. From what I've seen, that locks them into a body and changes it to be more in line with how the soul sees itself."

"Cloak told you this?"

"Parts of it? The rest is what I've seen." Zolyra's eyes had to have had at least one power behind them based on the sheer presence he felt whenever she inspected him. "Not every spirit can or should be saved. Some are tied to the monster gods, but others are just lost. Talk to Spinner for five seconds and you'll see she's harmless."

Zolyra reached up with a claw, and a thin strand of silk floated from outside the privacy cube from the exposed ceiling to be snagged on the tip. "Enough current is running through this to electrocute anyone below level 2. Harmless?"

"She was one of the first people attacked last night, and the first thing she did was cry out for Tlara like she was her mother." The Beastmaster gave him a wild-eyed look that turned slightly disturbed as the truth of it hit her. "Have Willow show you the spirits she has now if you don't believe me."

"Shut up," Tlara complained.

"We're not getting through this if she doesn't trust us," Daniel pointed out, "So what else do you need me to explain?"

"You mentioned bringing people back from the dead without a body," Zolyra prompted.

"That was a straight lie to get the Captain off my back," Daniel admitted. "I was buying time so you could get here. Think Soraso would have told you the truth if he could have prevented us from being in the same room?" He could sense the displeasure in the Commander as an almost Gadriel-like compulsion to speak more on the topic, despite not sensing any power affecting him. "The rifts in the ruins can revive people, but it's complicated. You need their body and their soul in one place, and then some way of bringing the soul back using the rift as a medium while making sure the body isn't too damaged."

Zolyra nodded as she ferreted out the omission she'd sensed. "Ok. Last question for now before I start turning things upside down out there. Who are you, what are you, and whose side are you on?"

Daniel blanched slightly as he realized what that question would cover. The others had been simple by comparison. "Promise you won't evaporate me until I finish explaining?"

"So long as you only talk."

"Alright." Murdon broke off from the quiet conversation he was having with Tounaki on the side to give the Commander a commiserating look. He knew what was coming. "I was sent here against my will from another world. Technically speaking, I'm Hourglass' son, and if he were here right now I'd help you kill him."

…

In terms of secret keeping, Soraso had caused everyone to jump the shark. Anything other than complete honesty would have lost Zolyra as a potential ally and likely had everyone associated with Daniel get locked down, or worse. It kind of helped that Hourglass' effective exile in the hub during this Collapse had tanked his reputation, because it made the idea that he'd betrayed the other gods somewhat believable compared to everything else he'd said.

By the time it was over, the Captain was… encouraged to take a small leave of absence. Zolyra was already in talks discussing whether Murdon was willing to assume his position, as leader of Pinion's Point rather than Raven's Call. It helped that her enhanced wisdom made any deception next to impossible when she was fully focusing, and that had been another thing that underlined the fact that attributes had more depth than just numbers. She'd confirmed she'd used no power to detect truth, only her senses, and considering he'd been in Zolyra's presence before without her making him feel like a jet engine was pressing him into his seat, she had excess wisdom and charisma she could 'turn on' to help with interrogation.

If everyone had that ability they'd be able to fight what Soraso was doing easily. As it stood, he'd already appealed to the other regions to form a kingdom. Silora was working overtime trying to see where the other regions were on that offer, though they'd been careful in what they'd told her to avoid provoking the Regent. He certainly didn't want another incident at the compound so soon after the first and believed the gestalt when they'd said everything they'd said during that exchange had been the truth, even the threats.

I liked it better when we just hunted, Hunter observed as the two looked out into the night sky of Aurus. Daniel had a hand idly scratching one of the ears, which did feel weird now that their bond had changed, but Feline Charm had left Hunter's ears feeling as soft as ever and the ringcat didn't truly mind.

Well, if you wanted it to stay that way, you shouldn't have become brothers with a demigod, Daniel thought back, half-humorously. There's time for hunting now, at least. Pinion's Point has to keep the monsters back and we're in a kind of two state solution. Zolyra and Zozar are keeping each other in check until something breaks the balance.

Politics. Hunter's stomach rumbled unpleasantly. It should be simpler. Strongest person rules. Or doesn't, and everyone does what they want.

Not everyone's Willow, Daniel reminded him. That kind of system wouldn't work out.

So, what is best?

You're asking me? Daniel laughed incredulously. Just because I have to deal with this stuff doesn't mean I like to. It's not like I have all the powers Murdon does that makes me fit the role either, I just know too much for my own good.

Always too nosy. Hunter sighed, and considering he was in his original form it was a heavy one. I see why you didn't like Tak's bond at first. I come back and I'm barely with you. Should have been with you during the attack. Too many other people, gods, girlfriends.

I don't think I like her like that, Daniel replied, more softly than he might have expected since Hunter had thought that as a rise. But it's hard. Is it because I'm still not over Claire? It's only been a few months, but it's been a few months. I look at Murdon and Tounaki and I want that, but not with Shuni. I owe her a lot, she's cool and I think I can trust her. She would be a good friend, but that's it. Is it because she's part bird then, and does that make me speciest or normal?

He felt a twinge of pain in Hunter through their Empathic Link and nodded when Hunter's eyes asked if he wanted to hear the question. How can I find anything? Other body helps, maybe, but I feel the same way. It should be someone who fits, but how? Find a ringcat and have Willow make them a person? Hunter shook his head, aware enough of how people worked that he could find the conclusion of that plan distasteful. No good answer. Bad thoughts.

They aren't bad, they're just not helpful right now. Daniel still had part of Hunter living in him. He always would, regardless of whether the former oath bond had taken inspiration from it, and he drew from it now. Its like hunger in a place you can't hunt. It sucks, but it keeps you focused in case you find opportunity later. The only problem with that is if you get too hungry, someone like Shuni can show up and make you wonder what you're willing to do to make the hunger stop.

Hmm.

…you're not thinking about eating Shuni, are you?

…

"So, this is Bekali Tiltfeather?" Zolyra asked Quala as she took in the avianoid lying motionless on the bed, her orange and yellow feathers somewhat reminiscent of sunrise. Any normal day and the discovery of a former Regent in this state after being missing for hundreds of years would've been a big deal, as well as someone else's problem.

The Cleric kept herself professional, though Zolyra could see the strain the news had brought. Broadcasting Soraso's betrayal of the world itself wasn't currently a wise decision, but an inner circle had to be formed. All things considered, Quala Fulwing was a perfect candidate. Originally outside of the region, powerful healer, and her sister was the champion of Aughal's church of the Hand. With matters as they stood, she needed people with those credentials.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I have no means of confirming this, but I trust the source." The Cleric felt the avianoid's forehead with the back of a hand and then shook her head. "Nothing on Detect Malady, though I can't say for certain the original affliction would be covered by that ability. As I understand, we also aren't in a position to observe one who wasn't cleansed, or the origin of what occurred."

"Hm. Heard she lost her class. Didn't know that was possible." Zolyra pulled at the armor covering one of her arms, scroll paper spontaneously manifesting out of it. She could have chosen one that had been pre-scribed, but under normal conditions it didn't take too long to prepare any spell under level 4. It was a sign of her respect toward Quala that she asked, "Can I examine her?"

She didn't immediately answer, considering her words. "So long as your methods are gentle. Respectfully, Commander, I am unfamiliar with the means available to someone like you. Bekali's mental state could be extremely fragile, and without knowing the nature of her condition in full I can't say whether magic will exacerbate it or not."

"It's just a variant on Identify Creature, to start with," Zolyra assured, setting one of her quills to begin Automatically Scribing the spell. It was slower than if her hands were doing the work, but not significantly so.

"Oh?" She saw then the curiosity anyone had when one with a high level discussed their powers. Compared to practically everyone knowing what the Grow Wings power did, there were powers she possessed that were unique in the region. Scriptural Sanctuary for one, which had functions and uses it had taken her decades to discover. Left with a wait while her quill worked and having nerves of her own to settle, Zolyra decided some idle talk couldn't hurt.

"Like most Arcanists, I received the Spellcasting feature in my second level, allowing me to create free-form spells with some difficulty." That was putting it mildly. Few people understood that the feature wasn't a license to make infinite powers but a hole you could dig yourself into. Fortunately for Zolyra, "I excelled in it. Whether it's because draconoids are naturally more magical than other species or not, I can't say, but there's a reason I made it to level 6."

"Besides having no advancement wall, you mean?"

"Heh." Zolyra gave the Cleric a sly smile. "Not jealous, are you? I'd think a Cleric wouldn't take issue with how the gods choose to bless… Ah, not the best topic."

"We really are alone," Quala said distantly. "If what that time Cleric said can be trusted, for at least a year. Hourglass may have been a snake in the end, but the rest? The Hand, she's nothing but merciful. The thought that people could be trying to kill her before she can return…" The feathers on the Cleric shivered.

The quill stabbed the page one last time and returned to a slot on Zolyra's shoulder. "It's ready," she said, somewhat awkwardly for all her charisma. The Commander was having the same fears and had no words of comfort. She touched a hand to the surface of the text, some of the ink flowing off and into her scales as the scroll activated due to Siphon Scroll. Words appeared above the prone woman at the same time, and they were visible to everyone.

Belaki Tiltfeather - (Avianoid, 4)

Age: 354 years

Height: 178 cm

Weight: 46 kg

Current Health Pool: 100/100%

Current Mana Pool: 99/99%

Current Stamina Pool: 100/100%

Strength: 42

Dexterity: 45

Endurance: 47

Wisdom: 41

Intelligence: 48

Charisma: 42

"Stamina pool," Quala murmured, wide-eyed.

"Not a lot of people know about that, or some of the other stuff this spell can show. It's what you'd expect. That spell is one of the basics ones I've worked on for a while so it reveals a lot." Zolyra waved a hand and the text disappeared. "None of her resources are drained. Huh. Missing some of her max mana, which is odd. Could be she committed a low cost feature to a higher level and that stuck after the corruption. Didn't see active effects on her or a class. Whatever that place did really did remove it."

Quala was clearly considering the usefulness of Zolyra's spell but tactful enough to not try and turn her into a triage machine. Instead, she asked, "Is there anything you wanted to try?"

"Would've been a waste if that's all I had up my sleeve." Zolyra pulled out another blank scroll and set the quill to writing, the magical text more interconnected and complex this time. "Anyway, I got Scroll Crafting at level 3 and that's been my thing ever since. Bet most people thought I'd end up running a store instead of a Hunter's Guild, but only those that haven't seen how I hunt."

"Traps?" Quala ventured. "I've heard of scrolls that can be set to activate by proximity. Not that it would be too useful in this region, but lining the tunnels of Kallical with them would be effective."

"It's an option," Zolyra granted while the quill swirled the bases of multiple spell circles into the parchment. "But I don't do that too often. It's wasteful if you have to cover a large area. Whatever office I take here will have some nasty surprises if Soraso thinks to try anything, but the entire town is too much for anything other than a simple detection field. No," she said, smiling as she drew one of her preprepared scrolls halfway out before letting it retract back into her armor. "I prefer direct application in most instances. Not that scrolls are my only means of fighting either."

"Level 6. If it's not impolite, has it changed you?" she asked carefully. "I've spoken with many Blessed over my years. Some I've known since before they achieved their class. Comparing their experiences, mine, it's inconsistent. Our bodies are certainly changed by advancement, but the effect on our minds is less pronounced. Intelligence speeds learning, wisdom improves how we notice the world, charisma supports a personality, but do these effects change a person, or merely make them more themselves?"

Zolyra raised an eyebrow. "That question doesn't sound like it's coming from nowhere."

"I've had reason to think on the topic. Another patient. If you don't wish to share-"

"No, it's fine, I get it." The sound of the pen scraping was the only thing in the room for a little bit, having already spent twice as long scribing as the last scroll. "How can it not change you?" Zolyra eventually answered. "It's not just those three. Give someone the strength to pick up a house and they'll behave differently. It's not like it hits everyone the same way, I've seen good kids become monsters and lowborn nobodies find more nobility than any in the flights. Take charisma. It's not straight attractiveness. There're plenty of ugly ducklings past level 2 I can name. When you get down it, it's as much what you want from each attribute as not."

"Illuminating," Quala said in thanks. "But what if someone doesn't want an attribute to change them at all?"

"It's probably one of the reasons people have trouble advancing. Guessing you've noticed that too."

"Yes, but confirming a theory like that is difficult." Quala noticed something and blinked. "Your scroll is ready. What's that one for?"

"General purpose magical detection. One of the problems you're running into is your level." Zolyra gestured to Bekali. "She's one higher than you, but I'm two higher than her. Situations reversed, your initial power might have picked up on something." The draconoid placed a hand on the scroll again, and this time Quala gasped.

"This is-"

"Her mana flow." On the bed, they could now both see flowing lines of color overlaid on the feathers. The Cleric's eyes were fixed on them as if every secret of medicine could be unveiled in the way they twisted and crossed. "Damn. Never seen this before. Maybe it's a good thing Soraso doesn't want us going to the ruins."

Looking closely at sections of the avianoid's mana flow, Zolyra bared her sharp teeth in distaste at what she saw. Clean lines were thrown in disarray, disrupting the connections that should have been made across the rest of the body. To an untrained eye it would seem an unintelligible tangle either way, but her studies of magic had continued past what was commonly known and reached conclusions she'd made herself. This wasn't the first time she'd assessed the mana flow of another, but the fact that Bekali had been an Artificer made things more complicated. She hadn't seen too many mana flows from someone with that class.

Withdrawing a quill from another sleeve, this one with a soft, rounded end instead of one meant for ink, Zolyra began drawing across the air in front of Bekali's body. Pink lines sectioned out parts of the body where she saw the damage, and though Quala didn't have her insight into what had happened to the mana flow itself, she quickly made the connection with what she knew.

"This matches with the sections of her body affected by the transmutative effect before being cleansed." Quala was referencing a small notebook, and Zolyra could see a drawing on one of the pages. The handwriting was honestly atrocious, but she was the harshest of judges when it came to that. "There was some disagreement on the exact areas, but this part of the head especially matches."

"Can you tell what happened?" Zolyra asked out of curiosity, and after a second Quala reluctantly shook her head. "This is what I mean. You just aren't equipped to diagnose some things at your level, no shame in it. Still," Zolyra exhaled, "Whatever is up there did a number on her. I don't know what kind of magic would do this. It's not her mana flow that's the real problem, otherwise the other parts of the body would've at least partially compensated after that long. No, it's her mana structure, that's the only thing that could've caused damage with lines as clean as these."

"What's the difference?"

"Hmm." Zolyra stroked the scales of her chin for a few moments as she finished isolating the sections of damage on Bekali, the drawings beginning to intrude on where she lay on the bed. "Looking for a metaphor that would work since you can't just see it here. It's a magical concept not even I'm well-versed in. Eh," she sighed, giving up on it. "Mana flow's the movement responsible for generating powers. Patterns you find common points in between people in similar classes, whereas the mana structure plays host to that. That's the connection between the physical body and mana, the thing that gets strengthened when you advance, and there's a qualitative difference I can pick out with the right spell that you can tell level by."

"Amazing," Quala commented, seeing a depth to her field she was years or decades from reaching. "If it is a connection between mana and the body, perhaps it is a direct manifestation of the soul itself. Our teachings have always said the Blessed strengthen that aspect when advancing as they grow closer to the Octyrrum. Recent events have made me question our lore, but I'll always believe that those gods who hadn't betrayed us cared for their people. Hand wouldn't allow knowledge to spread that would lead us to mistreat people."

"That's not an answer I can give you. End of the day, I'm an Arcanist, not a Cleric. What I can tell you is if this is soul damage we're seeing, it's nothing I can fix." Zolyra's claw touched on one of the twisted threads of mana, but unlike the spiderweb earlier it went right through. "In theory, if you could adjust mana structure, you could play god with someone's powers. Force them to use them, change them, but that's far outside my ability. I don't know if you can do something like that with mortal strength alone, and it means there's nothing I can do for this damage."

Quala let out something that sounded like a depressed chirp. "So, we have saved a historical figure of this region only to have no way of truly curing her."

"Her class, that's beyond me. Her mind? Maybe not." Zolyra pulled out another blank scroll page, but this one had lapis threaded around the edges to create an interior border. "That only holds if the mana structure's related to the soul. Could also be that she's traumatized from spending so long stuck in those ruins like you first thought."

The nature of the new parchment didn't escape Quala. "What is that thread for?"

"The really good spells I can scribe need an appropriate base to manage the magic. Regular paper would burn too quickly before the mana took." She did use her own hand for this spell, not trusting the automatic quill due to the intricacy needed. As the first lines were drawn, the lapis began to glow faintly. "Lapis is a magically inert metal, like all coinage, so it can resist a bit better. I'm fortunate I don't need to have on-level material because viridium's a bitch to get. Uh, pardon my language." Zolyra was realizing she might have grown too sociable throughout the conversation. Closed room or not, recent political upheaval or not, holding a position as important as she did in Threst came with certain expectations she'd been careful to follow.

"It's fine. But you recall my concerns about only using gentle measures on Bekali. If I take your meaning right, this is a level 6 spell you want to cast. What are you going to do?"

"Well, uh," Zolyra chuckled a little. "Normally this spell would directly attack the mind of an opponent."

"What!?"

"Normally," the Commander assured calmly. "I've got a pretty good modifier power from level 5. Reverse Effect," she said with pride. "Slap it on a message spell and it lets me contact someone instead of the other way around when activated. Might have given that Artificer a second scroll with that adjustment but I honestly wasn't expecting him to run into that much trouble, just wanted to give him a way to let me know if Lagori went after him. Combine it with a mental attack and it becomes mental healing."

"That…" Of everything, that power took Quala back the most, if only because of the immediate implications. "You want to use a brute force cure for her catatonia?"

"I think the situation calls for it." Zolyra looked sideways from her scribing without pausing. "I will respect your opinion if you think this is too much, but it seems like the situation where this kind of power's needed."

"What if it's only a temporary solution, or we make things worse?" Quala rubbed at the side of her head in indecision. "I, I'm not in a position to rule either way. I'd say we should wait for a more powerful healer to assess her…"

"But where are you going to find someone better than me?" Zolyra finished, both the sentence and her scroll. The blue of the spun metal now created a light brighter than the nearby candles, and even the mana she reabsorbed through the earlier scroll castings didn't touch the cost of this. "It's ready. You should, uh, stand back. I'll have an immobilization scroll ready in case she turns hostile, but level 4's can be faster than I can cast sometimes. Dexterity isn't my highest developed attribute."

Quala stood by the door with that, leaving the Commander at the bedside. One hand passed over the script, and the scroll floated in air in front of her hand. The other had a prewritten scroll half-pulled out from a spot on the leg. Zolyra closed her eyes and activated the spell within the scroll. Immediately, the paper burned away, but the lapis remained floating in midair, containing the script which burned pink against the blue of the metal.

A heavy mana pulse almost knocked Quala off her feet as the magic fully released, alerting everyone else in the house as well. That would have been pointless as a moment later, Bekali's eyes opened wide, her hands gripped her head, and she began shrieking endlessly in a pained cry.

"Calm!" Quala cried out in incantation, the level 3 variant on Reassure bringing the cry to an end, though Bekali continued breathing heavily.

After a few seconds, the woman looked wildly around the room. "Where, how, who!?"

"It worked," Zolyra breathed out, not holding back her surprise.

"Only partially!" Quala returned, now back in her element. "She's present now but her mind might still be fractured. We need to get her to the church here. Help me pick her up!"

Together, the two began to carry the former Regent of Threst away. By all appearances there was still a long road to recovery in front of her, but as Quala would attest, the first and perhaps hardest step had been taken.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.