Unbound

"Calm down, Beef," Felix said to the Minotaur's flexing back before focusing back on Evie. "Sorry. You were saying?"

Evie shrugged. "Just that I'm startin' to settle into these new Skills. The ones that evolved back in the Warren, mostly. The newer ones are a bit stranger."

"I noticed you using Grim Fervor."

"Yeah, that one's a treat." Evie flexed her arm and slapped her bicep. "You see me in there? It ain't much of a boost, but it got me imaginin' fighting in a big battle, like we did at the Nest in Haarwatch. I'd really see some gains then."

Felix could well imagine it; they had been forced into unfavorable odds many times. "It's a great Skill for you. What I was wondering most about was the last Skill. What did you call it?"

Evie made a silent 'O' with her mouth. "Bonds of Dominion, Legendary rarity. Evolved from Chain Mastery."

"A weapon Skill?" Felix scratched his neck. "It was...those spectral chains, that purple light...what was that, then?"

She shrugged. "Don't got a name for 'em. But I can feel them, you know? Hoverin' around us even now. Links in chains that just haven't been forged." Evie laughed. "Sounds foolish, I know. But they say the rarer the Skill, the stranger it all gets."

"Do they? That...makes a lot of sense, actually." Felix's weirder Skills were all higher rarities, all of them proving less straightforward than Running or Long Sword Mastery. "I only asked because they way it functioned reminded me a lot of my Adamant Discord Skill."

"Really. Adamant Discord lets me grab at connections between things—like myself and the air or a monster—and manipulate them. Pushing and pulling, mostly. But you're using them to bind and restrict, which is extremely interesting. I assume the purple light was your ice attunement shining through?"

"I assume so. Looked the same as my old Ice Spike spell, anyway." She toyed with the spiked chain, now securely wrapped around her waist. The weapon was cleverly enchanted to shrink when not in use. "You think we can spar a bit then? See how far we can push our Skills?"

Felix grinned. "I'm down. We can try later tonight. First I have to oversee Beef and Alister, here."

While they'd been chatting, a shimmering aperture had opened in the barrier formation. Beef and Alister were already inside, the latter carefully adjusting his azure robes while the former was nervously toying with his maul. Beef was talking, and from the amused expression on Alister's face, he'd dropped the bravado from earlier. "—gotta get better at magic. I'm like, really good at hitting things and getting hit, but I want to do big AOE spells like Felix. You know? Do you have any AOE spells?"

"AOE?" Alister asked. He tightened the sword belt at his waist and checked his rapier in its sheath.

"Area of Effect. Like, uh, like a big wave that can take out a city."

"That was due to the artifact Felix held, not a Skill he has," Alister pointed out.

"I know that!" Beef huffed a breath at the mage, forceful enough that it blew Alister's hair back. "But yeah. That."

"Well. Why waste words? I can simply show you what I can do." Alister unsheathed his rapier. It gleamed in the dull, storm-clouded daylight. "Shall we begin?"

"Oh! Yes." Beef hefted his maul up onto a shoulder, and concentrated. To Felix's eyes, blackened green Mana swirled from the teen's palms, elbows, and base of his skull—his Mana Gates—before solidifying into a blocky breastplate and pauldrons, further increasing Beef's considerable bulk. The maul and armor alike leaked blackened green vapor, rising off his Body like steam.

"Listen up!" All eyes turned to Felix as he shouted loud enough to be heard over the crashing waves. Those Claw and Yttin sailors that had turned away stopped in their tracks. "This is going to be a fight of magic. A wizard's duel, as it's called where I come from. That means Spirit Skills only, alright? First one to fall loses. You both ready?"

"Quite."

"Hell yeah."

Felix reached into the air, grasping at the storms that crackled above them and pulled with Adamant Discord. A bolt of lightning flashed. "Begin!"

"Seismic Shatter!" Beef roared and stomped the deck so hard it rippled. But no, it wasn't the deck, but a wave of earth Mana that blasted outward in a cone shape. It tore across the circle toward Alister, who simply stood in its way, rapier raised in guard position. It crashed against him, a jagged wall of conjured earth...just as Alister slashed downward. The Mana parted, splitting to either side of him before dispersing entirely. "Hey! What was that!"

"It's called finesse, Beef." Alister twisted his rapier and raised it into guard position again. "I'll show you. Grand Impetus!"

A single, savage thrust of Alister's rapier shot forward. It was fast even to Felix's eyes, likely assisted by a couple meta Skills, and a bar of force Mana crossed the circle in a blink. Beef stumbled backward, almost falling to his ass before recovering. When he stood up, he stared incredulously at a wide hole bored through his chitin breastplate.

"Whoa." Chitin flowed over the hole, patching it over. "You're good."

Alister grinned. "I try. Bring everything magical you have against me. I am ready for it."

"Alright. You asked for it!" Beef thrust his maul down toward the deck, and a flood of blackened green Mana poured out of it. "Chitin Construction!"

Within the cleared circle of the formation, the entire deck heaved and split apart. This time it was no illusion of earth Mana, but the literal boards come to eerie life as Beef's mastery over chitin asserted itself. Alister cursed, dodging away as strips of jagged chitin shot out from around his feet.

"Pillars of the Domineering Sentinel!" Alister shouted, calling up glowing columns of blue force Mana from belowdecks. He leaped atop them, hopping from one to the next as more and more of the ship whirled around him. "Grand Impetus!"

This time his rapier thrust was intercepted by a moving mass of grey-brown chitin. It was destroyed, but the blow didn't reach Beef at all, and the teen Minotaur laughed through gritted teeth. "Bet you didn't expect this!" He shouted, and Felix was unsure if it was in pain or effort. The swirling accumulation of chitin pulled together, forming into the biggest hammer he had ever seen; easily ten feet wide at the head and twenty feet long. It blazed with necromantic Mana. Beef held onto its end, muscles straining, and swung.

An explosion of blackened green and brightest blues filled Atar's formation to the brim. Vapor and dust described the full dome of the barrier, while aftershocks sent rippling tears through its sides. Atar shouted, glowing almost white as he poured his Mana into the sigaldry to keep it steady. Felix took several steps forward, but by then the dust had cleared and the barrier stabilized.

"Yyero's entire ass," Evie said with a whistle. "Beefy boy is a menace."

The entirety of the sparring circle was torn apart, the rooms belowdecks exposed and only the deck beams and stanchions were available for footing. The hammer that Beef had forged from his Mana and available chitin was already falling apart, its blaze of blackened green faded to a dim ember, and Beef himself was standing on shaking legs. Alister stumbled, his shield flickering and dissolving into the faintest of smoke.

"Damn," he said, leaning heavily against an exposed beam. "Couldn't get away in time."

Beef was panting, but managed a laugh. "Hah! Told you...told you I had good...good magic—"

Without another word, the immense Minotaur slumped forward. He fell, crashing through several hammocks, much to the dismay of the Yttin crew that scattered before him. Alister straightened and dabbed a measure of sweat from his forehead. He found Felix's gaze and gave a half smile. "I suppose that means I win?"

Felix sighed, heavy and deep. Beef had a long way to go.

Beef was a hard one to shift, weighing several hundred pounds and all of it dense muscle. It took Felix himself to lug the guy out of the tangle of hammocks and splintered beams. Felix felt bad for the damage, and apologized to the Yttin sailors, but they had only bowed and thanked him for his assistance.

Once they were on the deck, it took three entire Mana potions to bring the Minotaur back to consciousness, and only just. Beef had driven himself hard, pressing deep into Mana deprivation with that last attack.

"You're strong," Alister said as Beef leaned woozily against the railing. "That was an impressive shaping Skill you had there. You would have broken my defenses too, if you had enough Mana left."

"Didn't though," Beef grunted, his voice raspy. He was cradling his skull in two thick hands. "I feel like I'm gonna splint in half."

"Well, you hit your limit. That just means we have to push past it and train up your Willpower and Resonance." Felix started cataloguing some new training regimens for them both. "I dunno how easy it'll be to boost them to a reasonable level though. Atar, Alister. You both have Skills meant to give you more magical oomph right?"

"We do," Atar answered from the edge of the circle. He was staring at the busted up innards of the Manaship with a frown on his face and, for a moment, Felix thought he saw his pale white hair flicker like flame. Odd.

"Think you can teach Beef some of them?" Felix asked, and the two mages shared a look.

"Teach me? Teach me what?" Beef's voice was rough but excitement bounced across his Spirit. "The ranged stab you did? Can you teach me the ranged stab thing?"

"We'll teach you Focus," Atar said, firmly. "And Meditation. That will start you off, at least."

Beef's expression fell. "Those sound like boring nerd Skills."

"Dude, you told me you spent most of your days inside, playing MMOs." Felix patted the teen on the shoulder. "You're a nerd too."

"Damn. Rough."

Felix chuckled and helped Beef to his feet. Just as the mages started talking to him, outlining their training plans, Evie jabbed him with her elbow. "Ow," he said reflexively.

Evie made a face. "That didn't hurt, you ass. Look." She nodded her head at the prow of their ship. Beyond it, to where an ocher-skinned woman stood with her arms crossed over her black robes. Sea-green hair flowed wildly in the wind as she pointed at Felix and crooked a finger. "What do you think she wants?"

Felix sighed. He had an idea, though he wasn't sure how she had found out. "Rain check on that spar?"

"Sure sure. If you're going to talk to Chanters, make sure you don't let that Isla ask you too many questions. I swear, she's half tick for how deep she buries herself in everyone's business."

A smirk quirked Felix's lips. "I'll keep that in mind. Beef," he called behind him. The Minotaur was standing in a huddle with the two mages, looking a bit overwhelmed. "Fix that hole before you go with Alister."

Beef looked at the half-shredded hammer and thick, peeling strips of chitin he'd ruined. "Ugh, sure. Sure. Hey wait, where're you going?"

Felix gestured vaguely toward the ship ahead of them. "Autarch business."

"Oh. Uh, have fun?"

"Mm." Felix flared his Will and Intent, capturing the song of his Skill and sending it sizzling out of his channels. He grasped the air and leaped.

"Useless!"

The clatter of the bulky, metal-shod book was mostly swallowed by the plush carpet and thick, hanging tapestries. Both had been liberated from the grandmaster's ostentatious estate, though Vess was unsure who had taken them. Just as she was unsure who had outfitted her room with a wide bed and a wardrobe, all of which took up a remarkable amount of space on the otherwise cramped vessel. Yet her Mind was not on the spacious chamber or creature comforts she'd been provided; it was instead lingering upon the covers of the metal tomes, now glinting dully in the overcast light of her sole window.

Skill Books. Three of them gifted to her by Darius at the behest of her father, and all detailing the strange and esoteric paths toward gaining the Skills of a true Dragoon. She had been studying them, learning from them all during their trip across the desert, but their secrets had been kept from her; the Skills shown in the books were for advanced eyes only, impossible to achieve without a full set of Adept Aspects. In fact, she hadn't taken a look in their covers since the seas had returned, since the battle in the temple...since the change.

Fearing what the changes in her core space and Skills might mean, Vess had avoided looking at the Skill Books. She had instead chased after distraction, fighting more and more of the relatively weak Claw members. Vess had tried to enjoy teaching them Sword and Spear Forms, just as she had before, but it was not the balm it had once been. Her Mind too anxious and Spirit unmoored, she had fled the sparring circle. She needed answers. She feared what she might find.

Now, staring at cast-metal covers featuring the graceful, deadly form of the Dusk Dragons she realized it had happened. Her fears had been made real. For the Skill Books were as useless to her as any Untempered off the street. Though not yet Adept, there had always been a tingling something, just at the edge of her awareness when she studied the Books. That was all gone. The words did not dance in her Mind nor resound in her limbs, not as she was told they would. They were only dry ink upon dusty paper.

She could not become a Dragoon.

Is this because of Felix? The thought kept resurfacing, uncharitable as it might be; Felix had established this strange Link with her, after all. It was his core space that hung in the sky above her core, his influence that had...changed her. The Link was strong, unbreakable perhaps. Yet even if it were breakable, would she make such an attempt? If it returned my Skills to the way they were? I...

The Link with Felix was strong. She could feel his presence like the shine of the moonlight over her shoulders and it...was not the worst of sensations. She reminded herself that she had chosen to accept the strengthened Link of her own volition; he had asked and she had answered. She would do so again, given the chance. He would have done the same for me.

Vess took a breath, closing her eyes and steadying her Mind and Spirit as much as her Body. She could feel her Skills swirl within her chest, the bizarre new peaks easy to spot among the detailed uniformity she had cultivated for all her life. They were a collection of hot coals, burning at her with frozen winds and unfamiliar emotions. There were songs in that wind—alien notes she had never before heard—full of longing and fear and anger. It chafed at her, tore against the stability of Vess' Spirit with every beat and measure. She—

A rapping at the door broke Vess' concentration, and she glared at the intrusion before her Perception picked up just who it was. "Come in."

The narrow door opened soundlessly, and a slight woman in a blue gown and pale blonde hair stepped gracefully into the room. She looked like a queen, and Vess had seen her fair share of nobility. "Lady Dayne. I am so glad to have found you."

Vess swallowed and took another surreptitious breath to steady herself. "Lady Isla. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ah, this is simply a social call. I was wondering if—Oh. Oh, my dear." Isla's small, delicately featured face pinched in pained concern. Her bright eyes raked over Vess as if stripping her soul bare. "Something clouds your Spirit, child. Do you wish to talk?"

"I—" Vess' words tangled in her throat as her eyes once again landed on the discarded Skill Books. "Yes. Yes I would like that."

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