Unbound

Atar rubbed his temples and sipped slowly at a Mana Potion. It didn't do much to ease his headache, but at least it kept the Mana deprivation at bay. The roar of the crowd didn't help much either.

"Ooh!"

A wince swept through the throng as a man was hurled into the shimmering barrier, sending ripples of light across the sigaldry's edge. Mana drained from the formation, spent by the impact, and Atar focused on channeling more Mana into the sigils to keep them active. The man—a Blade—tried to stand, but fell back onto his face, defeated.

"Who's next?" Evie shouted, reeling her chain back around her hands. The dull silver weapon moved like a living thing, twisting around the woman's arm and shoulder with a purpose.

Evie stood in the middle of a wide circle they had cleared on the third ship in the fleet, the outside marked by a barrier formation Atar had inscribed into the chitin boards. A mass of people hugged the edge of it, most watching with enthusiasm but a few bearing arms and armor with an excited air about them. They were all of them there to fight, testing themselves against the elite of the Fiend's people. Vess had been out earlier, laying waste to any number of Claw members that dared face off against her, but she'd either grown bored or had a breakthrough. She left three glasses prior, right before Evie arrived, soaking wet and filled with a need for violence. The Claw had obliged.

Lens of the Magus is level 77!

Sigaldry is level 72!

Atar grunted as a final bit of Mana poured from his palms and into the circle, reigniting the failed portion just as the unconscious body of the Blade was dragged away. As annoying as it was to act as a Mana battery for the barrier formation, it was a form of training for him as well. While Evie exhausted herself against challenger after challenger, he had to keep updated the barrier formation on the fly, adapting to the Skills and stats of the fighters quickly. If any one of them proved too powerful for his array they would pierce it and break the entire thing apart. On the plus side, the entire structure was a derivation on the field array he'd composed back in Nagast and it was far more efficient now than previously. Even without Mana Potions to top him off, Atar was fairly certain he could keep up a similar barrier against Journeyman level attacks for at least half a glass.

"We challenge you, Chainmaiden."

Evie spun to face a number of Yttin sailors, all of them stripped to the waist and bearing their long, trident like spears. "All six of you?"

"Alone we cannot hope to win. But together, we are stronger," the Yttin sailor said, and his wide mouth displayed dozens of sharp, triangular teeth. "Together, we shall triumph."

Evie shrugged, and the tightly coiled chain slipped off her shoulder like water, pooling on the deck with a heavy clank-thunk. "Sounds fair. I've been moppin' the floor with the rest of you. Let's make it interestin'."

Atar focused and opened up a hole in the formation directly in front of the six Yttin. They nodded at him in thanks before stepping through. Their broad chests were all covered in thick armor that varied between red, blue, and violet that thickened visibly as each of the sailors prepared. Wide plates of knobby and spiked chitin swelled their frame, until the Yttin were all hulking brutes covered head to toe in impressive natural armor. The extra appendages on their backs grew as well, turning into sharpened spears and huge, prehensile pincers.

"Twin's teeth," Evie swore. "Does that hurt?"

"No," their leader rumbled, his voice no less loud for the fact that his face was entirely covered by a chitinous mask. "It is our Born Trait, unique to our Race and lost to use for many Ages. Now we claim it once again. You shall see that it is as fearsome as it appears, Chainmaiden."

"Yeah yeah." Evie twisted her arm and her chain rippled across the boards. "Prove it."

Atar leaned forward, interested to see if the warriors could best his annoying ally. They moved deceptively fast for their size, and from the way they shook the deck beneath him, Atar assumed they did not weigh as much as someone in metal armor would have. Indeed, when the first two engaged with Evie, she turned their blows aside with relative ease. She didn't even use her chain, relying instead on her thickened vambrace and some sort of Parry Skill. When the other four closed the distance, however, things changed. The armored appendages moved independently of the Yttin's arms and legs, attacking from strange and complex angles that Atar had trouble noticing before they landed. Evie was forced to bob and weave, all thoughts of Parrying set aside for pure Agility.

Evie was laughing. "More! Faster!"

Yttin claws slammed down with tremendous force, missing her by a hairsbreadth each time, while she dodged between their huge Bodies with wild, impossible motions. She was like smoke, or water, meeting their Strength with an Agility so high they couldn't land a single hit against her. Frustration danced across their Spirits as the Yttin's strikes became more and more forceful. Atar could sympathize with them.

"Tooth and Claw!"

As four of the six Yttin attacked, Evie's chain suddenly constricted, locking all four warriors' claws into a bundled mass of metal links. New, jagged spikes and blades erupted from the weapon, forged of Mana and Stamina, cutting deeply into their chitin armor and forcing an agonized howl from their throats. Horrifyingly, the chain began to rotate, spinning its mess of blades against the appendages and spraying chips of chitin and thick, orange ichor in all directions. Atar gagged as pieces of their limbs fell to the deck with a wet thud.

"Grim Fervor!" Evie shouted.

Mana Gauge is level 39!

Colorful bands of Mana vapor gathered around Atar's wrist as he held it up. Within the barrier, Mana was flowing through the air, a mixture of ice and metal in addition to water mixed with life Mana. Ice and metal were predominant though, filling up the space with itself, asserting a dominance that Atar could hear as the Yttins' Spirits quailed. She's inflicted a Status Condition. One that...affects their Willpower? The sensation in their Spirits wasn't one Atar had encountered often. It felt like a fluttering in the chest, sounding of quiet noises in the dark of an old home. How does that help her? She doesn't have anything that capitalizes on reduced Willpower, does she?

Reduced Willpower or not, the Yttin raged, pain apparently fueling them as their armor redoubled in size. The ichor stopped flowing, resealed beneath chitin claws as first two, then all six of the warriors advanced. If they were afraid of Evie, they gave no sign, and their thrusting tridents moved like lightning. Evie evaded most of them, slipping through their rain of blows unscathed until the last two. The only two uninjured, they appeared to let loose with all the Strength they could muster, bringing their tridents down on Evie like an avalanche.

She caught both of their strikes, one in each hand. Force exploded downward, splintering the decks and sending a wave of pressurized air rolling through the crowd. Folks gasped, then cheered as they realized the Chainmaiden was virtually unharmed.

"What the hell? I thought she was low in Strength?" Beef said from behind the mage. Atar jolted, half turning until he could see the Minotaur looming behind him. At his side was Alister and Felix. Alister gave him a little wave.

"How long have you all been here?" Atar demanded. He hadn't even felt them approach, though he could identify their noisy Spirits now. Beef was a battering ram, a loud shout in a quiet room, while Alister was like a softly ticking timepiece, smooth and steady. Felix...well, Atar couldn't sense Felix well. The Unbound had grown increasingly opaque to his senses, even his Harmonic ones.

"Minutes at best," Felix said. He nodded at the ongoing battle, where Evie was now brandishing her chain with increasing vigor. It crashed against the Yttin, splintering their armor wherever it struck. "How many people has she fought?"

"A lot. This is the most at once though." Atar said.

"Hm. Grim Fervor is working well for her, then," he said. All of them looked curiously at Felix, and he shrugged. "Her new Skill. Reduces the Willpower of her enemies while boosting her own Strength in relation to how many are arrayed against her. She's probably better off fighting outnumbered."

"Bet she couldn't handle me, then," Beef said, flexing.

"Hm." was all Felix said, but Atar heard an entire speech in the word. Silly as the bull was, Atar saw a lot of himself in Beefhammer...and he wasn't fond of the comparison. There was a vulnerability in his bovine expression, one that Atar would have been aghast to see in the mirror.

burn him. burn them both. they are unbound. they will fuel our fire for generations, atar.

The Flame hovered at the edge of his vision again, but Atar did not look at it. Others couldn't see it—he had tested that on Alister—but they could see Atar react to it...and the last thing the mage wanted was the others to think him mad. "Shut up," he whispered.

"What?" Felix asked. The man wasn't even looking at Atar, but he could almost feel Felix's attention bend toward him.

"Nothing, just worrying at a...problem."

"Oh. Ok."

Luckily the fight was taking up a good deal of Felix's attention for whatever reason. Still, Atar tried to keep his breathing even and his Spirit at ease. Controlling one's emotions was far harder than it seemed, despite what Chanter Isla had told him. Alister sat next to him, placing a comforting hand on his knee as they watched the fight progress. "The formation is impressive, love," he said, admiring the sigaldry. "You're holding it easily enough?"

Atar shrugged, carefully veiling his Spirit still. "It's Mana hungry, but not terrible. With enough power, I believe it could stop Adept Skills for a short time."

"Did you try to incorporate the crystals yet?"

"No. That needs to be experimented on in a smaller scale." Atar shuddered. He could imagine what a backlashed array this size would do to them all. "No need to hurt anyone."

"Lady Isla hasn't give you any further pointers on sigaldry? I thought she was to help on this?" Alister asked with a frown.

They'd both been getting extra lessons from the Sorcerer during their journey, and while she had provided some solid insights into the Grand Harmony, Atar would have much preferred to learn from Zara. Isla was quite dismissive of nearly everyone that wasn't an Unbound, and he'd had to sit through salvo after salvo of questions on Felix's history and character. It had gotten to the point that he'd started avoiding the woman outright. "No. She's been unwilling to teach me any further. Says my 'enthusiasm for the craft is lacking.'"

"You mean she wasn't getting enough information on Felix," Alister said, low and angry. He ran a hand over his dark locks before grabbing Atar's hand in his. "You're right not to trust her. Don't give her anything."

"I don't plan on it." The woman's questions had started innocuous, but it was clear the Chanter was trying to assess Felix for...something. "Have you mentioned it to him?"

"No. Have you?"

"No." Atar glanced up, seeing Felix several strides away and intently watching the fight. Evie was a whirling dervish in the circle, and two of the six warriors were down on the ground. He jolted, but his fear was replaced by soothing relief as he saw their chests rising and falling. A small flare of Analyze indicated their Health was rising slowly. Burning ashes, Evie. Take it easy.

"Then we should tell him. Tonight, after dinner." Alister squeezed his hand. "Alright?"

"Alright."

From within the circle, a sudden burst of purple-white lightning flashed across the space. The final four Yttin fell to their knees, Bodies limp yet hanging suspended by ghostly chains about their limbs and chests. With a sharp, exhausted gesture from Evie, the chains vanished entirely. That, however, wasn't the strangest bit: it was Felix, who stood poised at the edge of the barrier and was staring directly at Evie. No. Not Evie. Her chain. Atar pursed his lips. Why?

"Drop the shield, the fight's over," Evie said. She jogged over to the Yttins' side, pulling several Health Potions free from her pouch. Several Yttin came close to help their brethren, and she tossed the bottles to them. "Make sure they take these. That was a good fight."

They bowed and immediately uncorked the Potions and administered them.

you could have bested them all. they are nothing.

The Flame was very annoying, Atar had discovered. It wanted him to grow, no matter the cost, and just like its predecessor it desired fuel. Atar had determined that the Flame was not the same as the Urge he'd somehow absorbed, but it carried many similarities. Mostly it wanted to burn, bright and hot and furiously for all the Continent to see. The vast majority of its communication with the fire mage were requests for fuel or to somehow exhibit their power in a public forum. Like these sparring matches. Atar had refused. While he was feeling better, his recovery was far from complete.

Interestingly enough, the Flame had been affected by Atar's Link with Felix. While mostly it was a quivering tongue of flame, sometimes it manifested as a bird, a small one with only the roughest shape of wings. That was why he'd formed his new core into a cage, in the hopes that he could restrain the Flame within it; the plan had worked, sort of. The thing could still manifest around him, but it felt...leashed. Held tighter, at least.

People began dispersing as Evie left the confines of the formation, many of them moving away quickly as Felix arrived at her side. They began talking in low tones, the Autarch gesturing excitedly.

you cannot ignore us forever, atar. we sit in your heart. we know you desire the sky as much as we. to blaze.

Atar pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his headache getting worse. He almost gasped in surprise when soft, warm fingers pressed against his temples and began to massage them gently. "You're pushing yourself too hard, love," Alister said. "You need rest."

"I've had enough. I need to fix myself," Atar said, and perhaps with more heat than he intended. The massage stopped for a second before resuming. "I—Alister I have to rebuild it all. My core space is still in shambles, and these changes to my appearance and my Race...I need time. And we're going to fight soon. Worse, we're going to war, probably. I cannot—I cannot be a liability."

Though Atar couldn't see him, he could envision the annoyed amusement on Alister's face as he took several measured breaths. "Fine, you giant idiot. We keep walking the razor's edge together. Can you hold the barrier alone? Or should we get some of the Arclight Apprentices in to help?"

"No, no, I have it. It's been doing wonders for my Sigaldry and Lens of the Magus Skills." Atar sighed, enjoying the massage. "But I should take a break for a bit."

"Alright. Take that break now, because we'll need the barrier back up soon."

"Why?"

Alister laughed. "Because Felix wants me to fight our new friend."

"What?"

"Alister! Get ready!" Beef shouted from near Felix and Evie. He was doing a series of odd lunges and bends, flexing all the while. "I'm gonna crush you into paste, wizard!"

Atar blinked and looked up at his boyfriend in confusion. "What in Avet's black teeth is a wizard?"

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