Stars Asunder

by Tao Wong

  For four years, the kingdom was besieged. A once-burgeoning kingdom fell back on itself, people mass transported and put under contract, drawn into major cities for safety or spread out to reduce targets. In that time, their kingdom was reforged. The people grew stronger, tougher. They dedicated themselves to Leveling, to Combat Classes.

  The Heroic—whose name is nearly impossible to say but roughly translates to The Heavenly Sky above All Peons—made one mistake. Rather than kill everyone he fought with at each fight, he left a few survivors. Those survivors kept Leveling, kept fighting and growing. New Classes were created—the Champions and the Paladins—as these survivors continued to fight the Heroic and, when they could, Level in hidden dungeons. Finally, finally, they beat him.

  Not without deep, heart-rending cost.

  That final battle is probably the most recorded / re-recorded / remixed event in the Empire. Like Earth’s D-Day. Over two thousand plays and countless radio shows, movies, experiential downloads, and more. Their third largest city—renamed Sky’s Demise—was destroyed. But they survived.

  And grew obsessed. With never letting it ever happen again. And that meant Leveling. Growing stronger, growing their own Heroics.

  “But there’s a problem, isn’t there?” I say to Ali as I gesture to the screens.

  “Problem?” the Spirit asks as he floats, staring at the movie. “I mean, sure, I can see the bad rendering, but it’s not that bad.”

  “In their struggle for Levels. Because we still die. All of us,” I say. “Doesn’t matter if your Queen or Emperor becomes a Heroic. Sooner or later, they die. The one thing the System can’t do is bring back the dead. And age takes us all.”

  Oh, higher Constitutions increase lifespans. But it’s not to the extent of eternal life. Even someone who specs entirely for lifespan increases is held back by their initial biology. At most, a maximum increase of ten times seems to be the limit before age catches up. After that, whatever it is the System does breaks down. Obviously certain creatures—certain species—get the better end of the deal, but there seems to be a balancing act in play. Like a drop in fertility, a higher incidence of violence, and increased difficulty in acquiring higher Classes or experience.

  “What’s new?” Ali says. “Pretty much every major group does that. Whether it’s a bigger or smaller variation, entire Classes, social structures, and groups push for better Classes, higher tiers. Some are just less…” Ali pauses, searching for the word. “Obvious.”

  “Yeah. The tyranny of Levels.” I shake my head. I can see how it affected Earth and me too. All of us surging upward to get as many Levels, as many Classes as possible. Because anything else was a failure, anything else left us vulnerable. “The failure of the System.”

  And I don’t need my own memories to tell me that this is all too common. Dungeon World, rim world, or core world, it’s the same. Levels are all.

  “Or success,” Ali says, gesturing around. “All of this, these technological advances, the way people can progress, that’s the System too. You just need the chance to fight—and the Erethrans give it to all—and you can progress. Hell, if you don’t want to fight, you can be an Artisan. And they provide for those too.”

  I grunt. That too is true. For Erethrans, schooling is paid for, including training and dungeon entries. The best, the most gifted, the most driven are allowed to take additional classes, acquire additional material, enter higher Leveled dungeons or the same more often. All to improve, to push for more, better Classes. Of course, the Artisans are “requested” to focus on Combat support Classes. Leaving out those who just want to be artists, just want to entertain or live a quiet life.

  “Still messed up.”

  “But that’s not what we’re here for, right?” Ali says.

  “No. We’re here because they want us to…” I shut up when Ali points upward. I grunt. Of course we’re being watched. Not much more I can say. Even the stuff I have on me—the Skills active, the new and better enchantments—can be beaten. “Get them new Paladins. So tell me about them. Tell me about the Empire they’re going to have to fix.”

  Ali grins and floats down. “All right. As you guessed, there are more than a few who will be upset with you. Let’s start with Brerdain Ramanner, Chief of the General Staff.” When I frown, Ali adds, “That’s second-in-command of the regular armed forces—the army basically. Above him is the Minister of Defense, whose serves at the Queen’s pleasure.”

  A twitch of his fingers makes Brerdain’s information pop up. Brerdain’s in full silhouette, both his known attributes and Skills as well as his Status information displayed in the hovering notification window. I’m amused to see he’s a little portly around the middle—just a little pudge, not a lot—and there’s some flaking around the horns that can be spotted even in the picture. He’s old. Not as old as the Queen, but maybe a couple of decades younger as far as I can tell. Other than his age and dad bod, he could be any other high-ranking, uniformed thug, so boring is his face.

  Brerdain Ramanner, Chief of the General Staff of Erethra, Commander of the Eight Fleet, Victor of the Prasat Battle, Umnak Clash,…; Slayer of Goblins, Hakarta, Movanna, Truinnar, Lurkers,…, more… (Erethran General Level 50)

  HP: 2140/2140

  MP: 4280/4280

  Conditions: Aura of Command, Command Experience, Strength from Above, Greater Attitude Adjustment, National Security Interest

  “What Skills do the Generals get anyway?” I ask, eying the Conditions section. Most of those Skills are new to me, beyond the Aura of Command. I feel pressure from the library insisting on giving me the information, but I push it back. I’m too tired to deal with the flood of information.

  “Mass buffs. Generally extends to those within the ranks. Much like many Queens, Kings, Lords, and the like. Whenever there’s a person in power, those kinds of Skills show up,” Ali says. “On the personal side of the equation, they generally lean toward either early attribute gains at the Basic Level or at the Master Level, defense and escape Skills.”

  “Really? How come I’ve never run into them?” I say.

  “Mostly? Because you suck at being part of groups,” Ali says. “Heck, you even declined to join that Guild full-time, remember? Guilds generally provide such buffs too, just at a lower level. Or more widespread. Also, you never dig into your stats. Here.”

  A flicker of light and a new screen appears, one that I haven’t seen before.

  Current Experience Modifiers

  Grouped Experience Modifier -16% (Variable)

  Erethran Empire Citizen Modifier (+0.000004%)

  Erethran Armed Forces Modifier (+0.00000023%)

  “Huh. Why the negative on the group?” I say. “That’s not normal, is it?”

  “Nah, that’s ‘cause you’re being power-Leveled by Bolo and Mikito.”

  I frown before I get it. The same reason my Monster Slayer Title gives me extra damage even against same-Level monsters is why I’m getting negative modifiers. As far as the System is concerned, I’m still on my second tier—Advanced—even if I have a Master Class. But since I’ve got both Bolo and Mikito in my team now, I’m getting negative modifiers. I bet Harry does too—if he gets any real experience from combat. His War Reporter Class is weird.

  “Seems like a tiny amount for these experience increases. And only two?” I say.

  “Small individually. But the Queen’s works on every single citizen, no matter their Class. And the military modifier is because you’re too high up to be affected by anything other than the Queen and the Minister of Defense.” Ali gestures and a new screen shows up—one for Ropo. There’s a much, much larger list of modifiers involved there. Every single commanding officer of his has a Skill that gives him an experience boost, and on top of that, I note a couple of Clan-based Skills adding to his experience. “That’s what they got before they transferred over.”

  “So about four to five percent total.” I eyeball the numbers. “Still not a lot.”

  “For ever
y fight and every time they increase their XP? Over the entire year and across the entire army or Empire?” Ali points out. “It adds up.”

  “I guess.” A buff is a buff. And I can see how having a large army would add to the strength of these Skills. Makes me wonder though. “But this is more a quantity over quality thing, isn’t it?”

  “That’s the Erethrans for you. Bolo’s people do the opposite. They’ve got dedicated Skills to buff up individuals. Mentor-mentee relationships are much more important there and give higher individual boosts. Mentors also get a boost, both in status and on their sheet. Obviously, it can’t be used for as many,” Ali says. “They’ve even got Skills that give more experience back to themselves the higher Level their mentees get.”

  “Is that why…” I gesture out the door.

  “Why Bolo’s persona non grata with his people? Yeah. Exile is nasty, for both the mentor and mentee,” Ali replies.

  “Huh.” I fall silent, wondering once again about Bolo’s background. I could find out so easily, but… there are some things you don’t do, not to friends. Or allies.

  I can’t help but wonder how Earth intends to build its relationships, how it intends to grow. Knowing us, we’ll probably end up with a mixture of options, depending on the various cultures and groups. I’m sure if I dug into it, I’d find specialist’s groups—even more specialized than the Erethran Honor Guards—who might do the same as the Dragon Knights. It’s not as if Erethra’s a monoculture. Those don’t really exist, outside of lazy scifi writing and a few hive minds. “I think we got a little side-tracked.”

  “You did.”

  I bite my lip and gesture at Brerdain’s information. “Why him? And what’s with his Level?”

  “Well, if you’d let me finish without interrupting, I could explain.” When I glare at Ali, the Spirit chuckles. “Brerdain’s the leading contender among the regular armed forces to be the next in line. He’s got the backing of quite a few of the Generals—as much as that matters, which is a lot—but the Queen doesn’t like him, if rumors are true. He’s more of a hard-line hawk, wanting to get the Empire mixed up in even more fights. His age is a major negative as well.” A flicker of light and the notification highlights his Level. “He’s stayed stuck at Level 50 for the last few years, waiting for the Queen to die. That’s gotten him quite a bit of goodwill, since he’s ‘banking’ all that accumulated experience. It’ll make him Leveling the King Class much faster than any of his opponents, and that’s made quite a few people happy.”

  I grunt. “What’s his problem with us?”

  “Well, beyond the obvious fact that you’re adding a whole slew of people to the Paladin ranks when he’s grown up his entire career without them?” Ali shrugs. “Nothing at all right now. Word is, he’s waiting to see what happens. But if he opposes you, or the Paladins, it’ll be a mess.”

  Left unsaid is the fact that if he’s got the army’s backing, he’s probably quite high on the contender list for taking over in a civil war. Potentially the leading applicant. Which means he’s got the most to lose.

  “Why not the Minister of Defense?” I ask. “To be the leading candidate.”

  “Way too old. He’s even older than the Queen. Also, he’s a career military man. The way he built his Skills, he’s better off where he is than as the King. If he took over, his effectiveness would drop by a good quarter. No one wants that,” Ali says.

  “Why would he…” I shake my head, chiding myself. “Never mind. Not everyone wants to be king, right?”

  “Exactly, boy-o.” Ali smirks. “Next, we’ve got her.”

  The new image that shows up is a striking female. Tall, even for the Erethrans and they’re normally seven feet tall. Androgynous in her midnight-blue-and-yellow-trimmed uniform. If I remember correctly, that’s the uniform of the Admiralty—the space fleets. More striking than her height though is the long, angular nose that dominates her face. It’s hard to see anything but the beak.

  Julierudi K’nillam, Viscountess of the Purple Sky March, Victor of the Blade of Kalruz, Bane of Leviathans, Slayer of Goblins, Spacejelly, Ismaki,… (Erethran Space Lord Level 23) (H)

  HP: 1470/1470

  MP: 3420/3420

  Conditions: Aura of Space Domination, Command Experience, Dominion of the Stars, Better Training, Empire Security Protocols

  “Dominion of the Stars?” I ask.

  “Oh, that’s an interesting Skill,” Ali says, pulling it out for me.

  Dominion of the Stars (Level 1)

  For the Space Lord, the stars are home. Everything within their domain is theirs to use, whether in enemy territory or without. They control all that they survey and all those within. Friend or foe, all must bow to the supremacy of the Space Lord in their dominion.

  Effect 1: All allied ships, fleets, and individuals gain the following increases while within the domain of the Space Lord:

  +0.01% Experience Gain within domain

  +10% increase in speed and other forms of movement or cost of teleportation Skills

  -0.1% decrease in calculated size of domain

  +0.1% increase in effect of all Skills

  -0.1% decrease in effectiveness of all Skills used by enemy combatants

  -10% decrease in speed and other forms of movement or cost of teleportation Skills

  -0.1% decrease in effects of all Skills

  -0.01% Experience Gain within domain

  Effect 2: Above domain effects occur within the presence of the Space Lord.

  Effect 1 Range: Variable (dependent on domain and control)

  Effect 2 Range: All allied ships within 210.854 billion kilometers radius of the Admiral are under effects of the Skill

  “So it’s basically a combined buff Skill,” I say. It’s good if you consider it affects the entirety of the Empire. She basically buffs every allied spaceship and debuffs every enemy ship wandering in. In particular, that movement speed and domain size portion would allow them to reposition faster than would be expected. “Heroic Skills are evil.”

  “Well, you’ll get one some day.”

  “About that—”

  Ali cuts me off. “Nope. Staying on track for this discussion. Viscountess K’nillam is the first in line to inherit the planet Covintah. She’s also the leading candidate among the noble legion and the second Space Lord. She’d be first, but politics and age have kept her from taking the Space Lord’s place.”

  “Heroic.”

  “That she is. It’s one of the reasons why the military isn’t as enamored. For her to Level as Queen, it’d take a while. In the meantime…”

  “The Empire takes a big hit. So why’s she got any support?” I say, frowning.

  I’m trying to remember the social structure lessons I’ve consumed, the data about how their society works between the military and the noble classes. If my memory is right, the Erethran nobles are like knights of old, given their place due to service. Unlike Earth history though, their titles can be stripped for lack of service. Along with that, the lands, the planets, and even the industries they’re in charge of are only theirs so long as they provide for the Empire. There are minimum targets they must meet, and those who don’t—or who step too far out of line—can lose it all. They’re not so much nobles in the traditional human sense as contracted merchants and knights.

  “They’d rather have one of their own in charge than anyone else,” Ali says. “Brerdain’s a military man through-and-through. He doesn’t come from any of the noble houses, so they’d expect him to oppose their usual grifting and other no-bid contracts. And, if you’re wondering, they don’t want more Paladins because historically, Paladins have targeted the noble houses for audits and other verifications. After a hundred years…”

  “There’s going to be a heck of a lot of graft,” I say. Of course. Which might be why Brerdain is willing to keep an eye on me rather than act. “Can we expect overt action?”

  “Unlikely.” Ali shakes his head. “The Queen’s made her wishes known. And
some of the staunch traditionalists actually want you guys back. Of course, some of them might try to slip in their own kind of Paladin…”

  I grunt. Yay. So no guns in the night. Just corruption. At least until I make waves. That doesn’t make me feel any better. I gesture with my hand for Ali to keep moving though. Not much I can do about it but keep an eye out.

  “Third major party to worry about. Spuryan Chaiwan. Leader of the Reluctant Survivors Church. Or cult, depending on how you look at it,” Ali says.

  Spuryan Chaiwan, Reluctant Survivors Prophet, the Golden Tongue, Master of the Golden Bell, Master Craftsmen,… (Level 33 Prophet) (M)

  HP: 2390/2390

  MP: 3480/3480

  Conditions: Aura of the Survivors, Aura of the Prophet, Social Vortex, A Little Reasonable Request, Passive Passion

  Looking at Spuryan, the way he doesn’t dress like a military man, and along with Ali’s words, I can’t help but confirm, “Not part of the military.”

  “Not at all.”

  I eye the shorter-than-normal Erethran as he floats in my notification window. Spuryan is- five feet ten inches, almost a midget by their standards. Maybe it’s because of his height, but of the three, he seems the most perfectly coiffed. His horns are embellished, shined, and filled with jewelry. His skin is smooth and well taken care of, his cheeks a bright, blushed red. There’s a light, comforting smile on his face, even as the resplendent robed cult leader stands with his arms crossed before him in the image.

  “Why’s a cult leader upset with me?”

  “Oh, not you in particular. The establishment.” I make an enquiring hmmm, which gets Ali talking further. “He, and his people, believe that Erethran society has gone too far. That a change is required to one that doesn’t expand externally, but instead focuses internally.”