by Jez Cajiao
“Ye see? Would one o’ them be standin’ here?” Some of the crew relaxed, while others began shouting questions and suggestions for tests. Most of which seemed ridiculous to my mind, so I spoke up as I walked forward.
“Oren, you can stay out here and talk to your crew. Get them settled, and they can either stay here or sod off, for all I care,. Come find me on the third floor when you’re sorted out.” Then I spoke to the crew, raising my voice. “Do any of you know who Toka is?” The looks of anger and disgust that I received gave me a clear answer. “Okay, did any of you see him recently?”
“Aye, that piece of shit came screaming down about half an hour ago; made a big hole over that way, why?” Barrett gestured off to one side and frowned at me.
“Because I want to make damn sure the fucker’s dead,” I responded, striding off in the direction he had indicated. It didn’t take long to spot him, since I had a good idea where to look. It seemed he’d hit a portion of the ground with a room dug below, as a combination of his impact and the eons that had passed had weakened it enough he smashed a hole through the overgrown courtyard and into the room below.
I found a good amount of blood covering the stones surrounding the impact site and could just make out something pale in the darkness.
I knelt down, getting Bob to hold my ankles, and lowered my upper body down for a better look inside the exposed room. At first all I could see was darkness, but as my eyes adjusted and my DarkVision activated, I began to chuckle.
Toka had been useful after all, it seemed. His impact had given me a way into one of the blocked-off storerooms that Heph had told me about. While there weren’t any golem cores that I could see from here, there were refined ingots, hundreds of them. I’d found a way to bring the Tower back to life! His corpse was crumpled in a pile of collapsed masonry. Blood pooled all around him and was spattered across the walls and contents of the room. Judging from the sheer amount and the exposed bone and viscera, he’d died very quickly.
“Heph! You there, you grumpy bastard?”
“Grumpy! Ah’ll have ye know, ah’m the soul o’ cheerful!”
“You will be soon, aye. I just found a way into one of the storerooms! It’s full of refined metals, and blood, but hey!”
“Blood? Who cares about blood! Get me some o’ that metal, an’ ah’ll make ye more golems!”
“That’s the plan, Heph! How are the repairs going?”
“As well as can be expected, why?”
“I’m thinking you build, say, two normal Construction golems as fast as you can, and then we build ten Servitors? Have them get to work on getting the Genesis Chamber up to scratch as soon as possible? How’s that sound?”
“Sounds good, but what about cores, laddie? Ah canna do nowt wi’out them!”
“There was a big battle on the armory floor at some point. When I was up there earlier, I spotted dozens of golem bodies straight away. There have got to be some intact when we get there and do a proper search, surely?”
“Get searchin’ then, laddie! Ah assume ye mean the two Construction class are t’ look for more Cores? And that they be the two we already planned t’ build, not two more?”
“Aye, they are.”
“Well, ah’ll get back t’ work then! Ah’ll have a golem go and strip that storeroom you found when ah have one free. One more point now, though, laddie. The table’s up an’ runnin’ now, so mebbe ye should make interfacin’ wi’ it a priority, aye? ”
With that, the sense of Heph’s presence faded, and I clambered back out of the hole and got to my feet, heading back over to the entrance to the Tower. I waved absently at Oren as I passed him, deep in thought about my next step. As near as I could tell, most of the jobs I could do to help were scouting and searching the Tower, looking for cores, and getting the former slaves organized, potentially getting the more loyal ones to search as well. The bigger jobs would require golems, and lots of them. My first priority was to get to the Creation Table and see what Heph was hinting at. Then I had to see what I could find out about the Tower’s newest residents, find them somewhere safe to stay, and sort out some food. Hopefully, Oren could convince the crew to join me as well, and then I could at least raid their ship for supplies…?
I began to jog without consciously thinking about it, returning into the cool darkness of the Tower and heading up to the section that I’d started thinking of as the command center. It took a handful of minutes to reach, and Oracle had checked in with me on the way. It seemed the former slaves had taken my request and warning to heart and were behaving themselves. They’d stripped the corpses of anything of interest and set it all aside for me and had begun busily returning everything to the armory. A few had retained weapons as well, but they were from the armory, and Oracle assured me they were low grade and low in value. I decided to let them keep them, if it made them feel better about things.
As I came out of the stairwell onto the floor we were using, I slowed to a stop in shock. The Servitor class golem had clearly been working its ass off while I’d been busy. Not only was one of the huge windows clear, it’d been repaired! The rest of the room was similarly spotless, and the golem was now in the hallway, working on the door! I strolled past it, admiring its work and found that the damn thing had even repaired a chair for me, placing it by the Creation Table. Instinctively I compared it to the throne I’d seen accompanying the table when it was upstairs, but I really had no cause to complain here. Not sitting on the ground was a vast improvement.
I settled myself in, sending Bob to take up station by the door and watch out for threats, and reached out to the Creation Table. The surface sparked to life as soon as my fingers touched it.
Do you wish to take ownership of this Creation Table? Warning: this item is linked to The Great Tower of Dravith. Taking ownership of this item will alert the Lord of this Tower.
Yes/No
I selected ‘Yes,’ of course, figuring that if it made me aware I’d claimed the table, it didn’t matter, but the next prompt made me groan as I realized I’d been neglecting other quests…again.
Congratulations! You have taken Ownership of the Tower of Dravith’s Creation Table! You now have additional options in your interface.
Do you wish to declare this Tower as a religious center? Bonuses may be awarded by your God/Goddess for claiming territory in His/Her name.
Yes/No
I left the notification and brought up the religion one that I’d started what seemed like ages ago. The required level was at nine hundred and two of one thousand mana donated, and I took a deep breath. This needed to be done first. I concentrated and allocated the mana necessary, watching the numbers tick over until it read one thousand of one thousand.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I sat back, looking around the room, and…nada. Nothing happened. I’d been kinda hoping for some trumpets, a big flash of light, and the Goddess appearing in it, or even some big old gong going off, like in the movies, but…
“Eternal? Is it truly you?”
The voice that resounded in my ears was…weird. It carried a sense of warmth, hope, and curiosity, but mostly, it was full of exhaustion. As though the speaker was dead; dead tired and ready to give in.
“I... ahh, hello?” I whispered aloud, then coughed and tried again, this time in a stronger voice. “Hello?”
“No. Not my Eternal, but you feel like… why do you feel so much like him, and who are you? A supplicant? It’s been so long…” The voice trailed off, as though too tired to go on, before coming back stronger. “You… you’re the one who prayed to me…”
“Uh…yeah. Yeah, I suppose I did. You’re Jenae?” I asked, feeling a bit weird about talking to her so casually.
“Jenae… yes… that was my name…” She trailed off into silence again, and my misgivings grew. I’d tied myself to a Goddess who wasn’t even sure of her name.
“My name? I know my name, mortal. Try sleeping for centuries, and see how you feel when you wake up!” The
voice was stronger as anger filled it, resounding through my mind and driving me to my knees as the pain of her displeasure made itself known. I had time to realize that she could read my mind, and that was about it, as she went on.
“I was banished, cut off from my faithful. I had to watch as they died in their hundreds and thousands! I’ve been asleep for centuries as the UnderVerse went on without divine guidance. My temples were destroyed, my name stripped from the land, and you whine about me being confused?!” My head throbbed with the echoing voice, a burning pain filling my mind and radiating down my arms and legs, sending me to the floor in spasms as my muscles twitched uncontrollably. I screamed in pain, trying to roll into a ball, desperate for the agony to end, only to flinch as it vanished as quickly as it had appeared, Jenae spoke again, although her voice was quieter, kinder, and regretful.
“I am sorry, mortal…I did not intend to harm you. It has been so long, and so much has gone wrong. I lashed out without thinking about it. Please forgive me and let us speak.” A warmth flooded through me, faint but steady, making my muscles relax as a notification popped up before me.
Congratulations!
You have received a blessing from your Goddess Jenae:
Hearthfire’s Comfort:
Your body relaxes. Minor ills and aches are swept away by the warmth of the hearth. You receive +1 to Intelligence and +1 to Charisma for the next two hours…
I blinked, then dismissed the notification, my body forgetting the pain I’d felt, even as my mind tried to hold onto it, holding it up as a reason not to trust Jenae.
“I understand the impulse, little one, but you chose to pledge to me, taking me as your Patron Goddess. Perhaps we should try to start again; after all, there must have been a reason you chose me? ”
“Okay, that’s gonna get really old, really fast!” I said, forcing myself to climb back into my chair and take a deep breath. “Reading my mind is going to freak me the fuck out all the time; do you have to do it?”
“Your mind is an open book to me, it’s true, but only the surface thoughts. I still don’t know who you are, or why you feel like my Eternal…” As soon as she said she didn’t know who I was, I thought about my name reflexively, a condensed version of my life flashing before my eyes, and then my suspicions about the voice in my mind, prompting a response from her.
“Ah! Hello, Jax. You’ve had an interesting path to reach me, it’s true. And its true, then? Amon was murdered by those he loved most?”
“Gah!” I cried out, grabbing my head as she spoke. “Fuck’s sake! Stop with the mind reading shit! Seriously! And who the hell is Amon?”
“Amon was the Emperor Eternal, bond-mate to Shustic, the Silver Maiden of the North and…”
“Fuck! Seriously, just stop!” I swore, clutching at my head as I looked around, I drew a deep breath and started again. “Right, yes. I’m Jax, okay? And Amon, he’s well… I guess he’s sort of here…”
As I named him aloud, I felt the voice stir in the back of my mind, before a stream of consciousness flowed across my mind, a meaningless mélange of words, concepts, pictures, and memories that left me staggering at the enormity of it. It was as if someone had condensed a movie into half a second and sprayed it across my brain.
I sat back, numb, trying to make sense of everything, when Jenae spoke again. Her voice was contemplative as it filled my mind, but it sounded gentler, too.
“I…see. Jax, Amon does exist still, but in a far reduced capacity. You have had interactions with him, I see, but as fragmented and pain-filled as his mind is, I don’t blame you for ignoring him. He’s shared as much as he was capable of his history with me, and it will take some time for me to come to terms with this. For now, please accept that I have returned to the realm. Yes, I am weakened, far weakened from what I was and will be again, but I can help you. I suggest a trade; will you listen?”
“Yeah; what do you want, and what are you offering?” I whispered, trying to wrap my mind around the confirmation that I had an emperor from an earlier time living in my head, and a mad one at that.
“I’m offering knowledge, Jax. I can give you advice and suggestions, and in return, you will help bring us back, my siblings and I, and return balance to the land. With me as your patron and personal Goddess, of course!” She added that last bit quickly, as though wanting to make sure I understood I was Hers, and not to go playing with anyone else.
“I will grant you quests, assist you to grow, and give you advice you can’t get from anyone else. For example, you know that there’s a flying warship approaching. It’s two days out from landing here. It is at the very limit of my reach at the moment, but I can tell you a way for you to grow strong enough to survive their attack. It won’t be a safe long-term strategy, but it’ll give you the chance to survive to have those problems later…what do you say?”
I wasn’t sure what to do. I needed information, but also…I wasn’t religious. I’d been thinking of the Patron like I had approached things many times so far; like a damn game. This was my feckin life now, and did I really want to tie myself to a Goddess? Or any divinity, really. I didn’t care about their sexuality. They could identify as a goddamn toaster, for all I cared. I would, however, totally judge them if they were ginger. Even an enlightened arse like me had standards…
“As I say, Jax, this doesn’t have to be a normal religious relationship… I’m weakened and have slept for millennia, while you are new to this realm entirely. We could instead work together, as friends or allies at least. You agree to help me, and I’ll help you. Maybe in time, we will grow to trust one another more, but until then? You help me to recover and dedicate any shrines you come across to me, and I’ll assist you with knowledge and quests as we go?”
The more I thought about it, the fewer downsides I could find. I needed help, and so did she.
“Okay, hell with it, I’m in.” I said, sensing her relief tinged with amusement.
“Excellent. I’ll offer a simple deal first, then,. I’m your Patron, and you’ve already proven that you can both think for yourself and survive in this realm. I need mana to be able to grow and return to my rightful place, so would you like a quest?”
“Go on…” I said, settling back into the chair.
“You have claimed the Great Tower as your own. If you were to name it as a center of my religion, then I would be able to join with it. Rather than needing you to sacrifice your mana to me, I could absorb, say, twenty percent of the mana the collectors have access to? In return, I’ll assist your wisps in repairing the Tower, and grant you access to designs of my own creation.”
“What do you mean, ‘designs’?” I asked cautiously. Twenty percent was a LOT of mana, after all, and I needed it.
“Well, I am the Goddess of Hidden Knowledge and Fire, so as an example, when you come to build a smithy, I can grant you access to upgrades, such as a LavaFoundry. You will gain access to blueprints and upgrades in direct response to the amount of mana I receive from you, and the Marks of Favor I grant you for completing my quests.”
A tiny spark ignited in the air before me, burning the air like parchment and spreading out until it was a meter square. Inside, instead of nothing or burning ashes, there was a constellation of stars radiating outwards from a central point, each connected to others. The first and most central star glowed red, flames licking at it. The words ‘Chosen of Jenae’ appeared above it. A notification pinged for my attention, and I flicked it open.
Congratulations!
You have received a new Title:
Chosen of Jenae:
This Title grants you access to Jenae’s Constellation of Secrets.
I looked back into the void, observing the lines that led off like spokes in a wheel to six more dead stars, Starting at the top, their names could just barely be made out. Enhanced Construction, Magical Research, Crafting, Governance, Personal Enhancement and Exploration. Each of these stars had lines leading off from them to others, but I couldn’t make out any other d
etails.
“So, I guess I give you mana and do quests, and you let me pick from this tree?” I said slowly, my eyes flicking from one section to another. “What do these sections do?”
“The Starscape is very simple, yet oh so complicated at the same time. Take Enhanced Construction as an example; once you’ve unlocked this school, there are three sections to invest in within it: Magical, Mundane, and Warfare. Magical deals with increasing the magical aspects of your buildings, such as the way this Tower repairs itself. If you want to increase its capability by five, ten, or even fifty percent, this is the area of knowledge for you. Mundane deals with non-magical buildings, but that doesn’t make them any less important. Want to build a logging camp with percentage increases to productivity? This might seem minor, but believe me, it can be a huge advantage over your opponents. Lastly, Warfare involves magical ballista and walls that reflect their damage tenfold upon the attackers; all are secrets I hold. The tree is synergistic with the lessons you have learned, so the more you know, the more complimentary secrets will be opened to you. I can tell you many things, Jax, but I need mana to survive. Aid me, my Chosen, and I will aid you in return.”
“And the others?” I asked, my mind whirling with the potential this skill tree opened for me.
“Magical Research deals with changes to spells and teaches you more about the nature of magic itself. Crafting is as obvious as you can imagine, from blueprints for weapons and recipes for potions, to the myriad tiny secrets that separate the bumbling amateur from the master craftsman. Governance deals with leadership, breaking down into three areas again, Self, Realm, and Opposition. ‘Self’ deals with your abilities, teaching you and increasing your ability to lead, to persuade, and to identify your weaknesses. ‘Realm’ gives bonuses to productivity, morale, and everything your people do, while ‘Opposition’ deals with everything from spying to assassination, to making friends and allies. Personal Enhancement is all about you, ways to enhance yourself magically and naturally, and improving everything from your weapon handling skills to how you speak. The mind is your greatest weapon, Jax; I recommend you do not neglect it. Finally, we have Exploration. This realm is ancient, and yet never fully explored. There are secrets awaiting you that you cannot imagine! Some are from the past, creations that slumber beneath the shroud of ages, while others are entirely new, and fresh to behold. Studying Exploration will allow you to find things long thought to be myth and legend…”
