42 - Noble Duty (Patreon)

It was another hour before their party reunited at Phoenix’s temporary healing cot. The amount of healing she had undergone had almost made her wish she had died, at least healing from that was instantaneous and complete.

She was also disappointed in having to replace her torn sleeves from the transformation effects that she hadn’t considered before attempting the ability. She would need to look into finding some enchanted gear that would adapt to the shape-shifting later.

Rayna was getting her up to speed on what had happened while she was bedridden. Apparently, their tunnel had been hit by a few more Crystal Casters but, after the arrival of the Sapphire, they had gotten another group as reinforcements and managed to take out the new enemies in short order. Then the call came to regroup at the various secondary staging points that had been set up as they closed in on the Rift.

They hadn’t gotten the details about the reason for that yet but Paul soon showed up to check on them. He spared a disapproving look at both her and Dazien for her current state but didn’t voice his criticisms as he went into explanations.

“Once they lost their twentieth Sapphire, they retreated into Tulisuda itself,” her mentor informed with a huff of annoyance, “We’re regrouping and healing up for the moment while trying to unlock the seal they put in place before we advance further.”

“We’re going into the Reality Rift?” Rayna asked with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, and Phoenix recalled the last one the voxen twins had gone into had claimed the rest of their former party.

The paladin gave a pointed look at Phoenix still lying in a healing cot but muttered reluctantly, “Perhaps. It didn’t escape the notice of some of the higher-ups that your party managed to take out one of the Sapphires that caused their retreat.”

“At a price,” Dazien said bitterly, also sparing a glare towards his stubborn subordinate, “I’m not sure we’ll be as much help inside the Rift itself. How many enemy Casters are estimated to remain?”

“At least another dozen Sapphires escaped through the rift,” Paul said, “However, we’re expecting an even stronger resistance inside that has been in hiding for a while. Plus, we’re ill-equipped for the conditions inside there. Unless you’ve worked within Tulisuda, most Adventurers on the tundra have no need of heat and Fire resistance gear.”

He gave a nod toward Uriel, “Most of the cinderen will have an easier time of it, which is one of the reasons our city has such a large population of them, but only about half of our forces have their usual Fire Attunement.

“The more concerning news, however, is that it appears the enemy’s numbers have been bolstered by the Renseres,” the rededicated paladin practically spat when saying the name of the overzealous branch of his previous faith.

The party of Crystal Casters shared nervous glances, all too aware of the man’s former falling out with the stark reminder of his vengeful regalia on display. She decided to speak up, “We should help you fight them.”

The words seemed to surprise her friends and the Wayfarer expounded, “You all said so yourselves; they’re monsters. They will destroy this city for no better reason than to gain the favor of the Soul Reapers.”

She made a point to lock eyes with each of her companions as she spoke before finally resting on Paul’s golden ones, “I’m sure there are Crystal Caste threats in there as well that we can occupy so that the others can focus on the more powerful Casters.”

“Do they have any Emeralds?” Dazien inquired.

Paul shook his head, “By all accounts it’s just Crystal and Sapphire but we won’t know for certain until we find them. If there is an Emerald, I will most likely need to be focused on them while the other Adventurers handle the rest.”

“We can be some of those other Adventurers,” Rayna piped up in support of Phoenix’s position.

Lord Wayland stared at each of them for a moment with his assessing gaze that silently spoke volumes before he tilted his head slightly and said, “We will see. For now, rest up so you might be ready if called upon.”

He left the party to return to his own duties and the party gathered seats near Phoenix’s cot as they each ate a [Crystal Mana Bit] to replenish their reserves and most began doing a quieter version of meditating to cultivate their gains from the battle. Saiya even used one of her abilities to help them and began to softly sing.

Passive Ability: Meditative Guide

Type: Boon (magical, song)

Current Caste: Crystal 9

Crystal Effect: Sing a song of guided meditation, enhancing the effects of meditation to nearby allies.

Saiya had been the one to teach all of them this style of meditation that they could use when limited on open space to perform their usual kata-style techniques. Their more active techniques, like her Dual Sword Dance of the Weapon Wielding Warrior, seemed to be a bit more efficient for them to cultivate with but the quiet lotus position would do in a pinch. Once the Healer’s singing ended, Phoenix took some time to briefly glance over her profile and gauge her progress.

Profile: Phoenix Fraser
Species: Wayfarer
Current Caste: Crystal 3

Attributes
Strength (Sun): Crystal 3
Agility (Dark): Crystal 4
Fortitude (Star): Crystal 5
Mind (Moon): Crystal 2
Magic (Celestial Astromancer): Crystal 3

Natural Talents
Astral Traveler
Guide Book
Collector
Beacon of Hope
Waypoint

Divine Titles
Chosen One

Titles
Adventurer
Slayer

Aspects

Star

- Guiding Stars (Aura Passive)

- Transversing the Stars - Crystal 7 (54%)

- Cosmic Phoenix (Class) - Crystal 4 (10%)

Dark

- Embrace of Shadows (Aura Passive)

- Night Blade - Crystal 5 (96%)

- Call of the Abyss (Class) - Crystal 3 (32%)

Sun

- Radiant Sunlight (Aura Passive)

- A New Dawn Rises - Crystal 5 (78%)

- Meteor Shower (Class) - Crystal 2 (20%)

Moon

- Moonlit Eyes (Perception Passive)

- Lunar Dream - Crystal 4 (56%)

- Avatar of Bakunawa (Class) - Crystal 1 (6%)

Celestial Astromancer (Class)

- Astral Oasis (Aura Passive)

- Ruler of Relativity - Crystal 6 (71%)

- Supernova (Class) - Crystal 1 (0%)

Her abilities were making good progress but some of her new class abilities were going to be a pain to level up. A few in particular were so niche and devastating that it was impossible to use them with any kind of frequency.

She noted that her [Cosmic Phoenix] ability had gained about two percent from her fight with the Sapphire Caster earlier and made a mental note to try fighting with keeping Tala merged if she came across another Sapphire threat to try and compare the growth rate.

Despite her trepidation over her newest and final ability, she was glad that she could truly work towards Sapphire Caste now. The Wayfarer’s attention was pulled away from her book as she felt someone watching her and she glanced over to see Dazien staring at the glowing book in her lap with a slight frown.

She caught his eye and raised a brow, asking softly, “We going to have that talk now?”

His frown deepened as he glanced at the others and shook his head in the negative.

Rayna spoke up, trying to turn the conversation away from the awkward tension that had been growing between the two of them, “I know Murinah was insane, she definitely gave off those creepy stalker vibes when asking about joining our party, but it’s still hard to believe that her whole family was as well. From what I’ve gathered, they’ve been one of the noble houses of Tulimeir since its founding. Turning on their very purpose of guarding and maintaining Tulisuda is a complete betrayal of their duty.”

“Noble duty should be to the people, not some Reality Rift,” Dazien interjected with a mixture of disapproval and anger.

Rayna frowned and argued, “My people may be nomadic but we were also keepers of the desert oasis and the dune paths. Those landmarks were vital to our survival. Protecting and harnessing the resources of the land around you is a service to the people.”

“So long as they provide those services. If their priority is the resource itself, instead of the people, then they’ll make choices like taking control of a Rift and annihilating the city around it,” he countered with a pointed look.

“They're not protecting it if they destroy it,” the brawler retorted, “If they had been doing their duty then the people would never have been in danger.”

Dazien leaned forward as he got invested in the debate, “If every noble made it their duty to protect and uplift the people they are meant to serve, then the greed and corruption of securing and managing resources would never become an issue that could cause harm. As soon as resources become the focus, then lives just become another resource to be weighed and measured against.”

“Be realistic, Dazien. Nobles are people too and people do things for their own self-interests, no matter how virtuous they may be,” the voxen said with a roll of her vulpine eyes, “From what I’ve seen of the common folk in most places, they can’t even agree on what’s best for them or how they should be ‘protected and uplifted’. They just blame the nobles for all their problems and expect them to provide the solution. Usually, those problems involve resources, like Tulisuda. How can your nobility protect them without someone maintaining the Rift that feeds into the ley lines that power the defenses?”

Phoenix decided to contribute a bit to the conversation at that point, “In my old world, there were systems of government where the people, or ‘common folk’ as you put it, did help rule themselves. It had mixed results and usually depended on how many resources were involved. Dazien’s not wrong when he says resource control leads to greed and corruption.”

“How would a system like that even work?” Saiya asked quizzically, having been listening quietly while wrapping a tail around Phoenix’s leg currently covered by the silvery training gear the Supporter normally wore under her dress now and not wanting to jostle around too much while recovering.

“Well, everyone votes for who they would want to run certain things. There were a bunch of different variations but the central idea was that the people got to choose their leaders. We call it democracy and I think it works better than hoping the right person was born into the right family,” the Wayfarer explained.

“Take Murinah, for example,” she continued, focusing her attention on Rayna, “You said that you knew she was insane but she was slated to take over the whole family, right? So she would have eventually gained control over the Rift just because she was born into privilege, not because she would actually be capable of the job.”

“Wait, so who led the people?” Dazien asked in confusion, “Are you saying they just voted for their king?”

“They weren’t usually called a king, though some monarchies became a mixture of sorts,” Phoenix blushed slightly as she admitted, “I’m not positive how best to explain all the different versions. I was never really interested in politics and most of what I know comes from a single semester of high school.

“Different systems had different names, positions, responsibilities, etcetera. But most would elect a head of state that was kind of like a king for a few years until it was time to vote again and depending on how good a job they did they might be voted in again.”

“The king would change?” Saiya asked, also sounding a bit confused.

“Well, yeah, sometimes.”

“That seems inefficient,” Rayna pointed out, “The new person would have to learn everything all over.”

“What happens if they pick a Crystal Caster or something? I doubt a Ruby would follow them,” Uriel asked, finally joining in on the conversation as well.

“Um, no idea. We didn’t have magic, remember? Personal power was measured differently than Caste,” Phoenix scrunched her nose trying to figure out how to explain things like global economics and political influence. She really hoped that she wouldn’t need to suddenly become an expert in these things by becoming Paul’s heir, “One of the biggest measurements of personal strength came in the form of money, also known as power coupons.

“The more money and wealth you had, the more power and influence you wielded. There were some exceptions to this but those who were highly skilled or talented would usually gain the appropriate amount of power coupons to place them in the social hierarchy. I read about a lot of politicians who gained wealth by making deals with other wealthy people who wanted things done their way.”

“Then what stops the people from electing an incompetent monarch or corrupt politician?” Dazien inquired.

“I never said it was a perfect system,” Phoenix replied, raising her hands in surrender. “Honestly, I don’t think there’s a system in my old world that was completely incorruptible but the more checks and balances put into place and the more spread out the positions of power became, the more resilient to corruption it seemed to be, generally speaking.”

She gave them a weak smile and added, “Personally, I think it would be better to have a council of elected officials that govern together rather than a single person who controls everything and is the sole arbiter of how the people can live.”

Dazien’s expression darkened at her words, “You truly believe that?”

She hesitated, noticing the change in his mood, “Um… yeah. History is full of rulers that brought misery to their people. Dictatorships where power is consolidated into the fewest hands and anyone who was different or disagreed was killed.”

The gemite’s voice became a low growl as he asked, “Yet you would accept a quest to put a monarch on a throne?  Make an Oathbond with unknown consequences to ensure a single person claims power over a nation? A person you’ve never met before who might also become an evil dictator?”

Phoenix frowned at his words, “The quest came from Hero and Rebel… I doubt they would ask me to replace a dictator with another dictator. Unless you’re suggesting the gods can’t be trusted; which, after everything I’ve learned recently about the Purifier, I can understand now.”

“That’s not what I’m suggesting but you don’t even agree with the concept of a monarchy!” he said incredulously, throwing his arms up into the air as he stood from his seat, his unbound frustration now obvious to everyone as they all stared wide-eyed as their leader ranted, “I never thought you a hypocrite before but you would accept a task to support something you don’t agree with and not even bother to tell anyone? You would stay silent as you become friends with other nobles? You would stay silent as your friends talked about their dreams of nobility? Were you just quietly laughing at all of us? The noble voxen and the silly orphan playing king? You were handed the fate of an entire nation and you didn’t trust the one person who was seeking the same opportunity?!”

The gemite was shouting at her by the end of his tirade. Anger and the pain of betrayal were clearly evident on his face as he seethed for a moment, the sudden silence stretching into uncomfortable unease.

After a few moments he seemed to gather himself as he clenched his jaw, “Forgive my outburst. I’m going to take a walk,” he muttered then turned to do just as he said, leaving the group in shocked stillness.

PREV          NEXT