Skyvenom: Chapters 10-11 (Patreon)

Here are your chapters for this week.

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Chapter 10

Technically the city of Anguedan was unchanged, without so much as a cobblestone or roof tile damaged in the battle, and yet it felt ruined. Nauda walked the streets and knew that everything had changed. The inhabitants wouldn't turn on her, because this was all far above them, but now she was embroiled in something much bigger.

They'd taken a day for recovery and planning their next step, and due to the hit she'd taken, Nauda was relegated to the former group. That cantae burst had hurt, but every ache made her proud that she had managed to endure a Stronghold's full attack and even defended Fiyu. She and Bimanu had exchanged healing techniques, so they were back on their feet with just a bit of soreness. Still, now that the fighting was over, she felt less useful than the others.

She could tell what the others were thinking, in general, with various mixes of uncertainty and frustration. The only one she had trouble reading was Nanjuma, since he seemed to watch the city without expression. Around noon he approached her with that same neutrality.

"What do you and your friends intend to do next?" he asked.

"That's what we're researching," Nauda told him with a shrug. "Unless we understand the rules of this sort of Deuxan war, they'll be used against us."

"I mean on a more fundamental level." Nanjuma came to stand beside her and they stared down one of the silvery streets into the hills around Anguedan. "I was glad to support you, because I never wanted the slavery of Nlukoko to repeat. But I sought peace, not vengeance. This path we step onto now seems much less clear to me."

Nauda didn't answer immediately, especially because his thoughts somewhat matched her own. She realized that they were staring out toward the hills where the battle had taken place and she had no idea whether or not that was a coincidence. Normally she would have expected the landscape to swallow the battle, but the scars from the Stronghold's shockwaves were still visible. If that sort of power was turned on a city...

"What bothers you most?" she asked eventually.

"The fact that I don't know why this Sartozi aima Occoire is involved." Nanjuma rolled his shoulders slowly, muscles rippling. "How is he related to the Demon Court? What does he get from this? There are too many unknowns, and I worry that actions that seem reasonable to us may lead to consequences we never intended."

"I admit, I keep thinking that we could just go back through the gate. It doesn't seem like they'd pursue us, not and fight the entire Landguard."

"But you won't be advocating for that, will you?"

"No." It was Nauda's turn to roll her shoulders, as if she could work out the last of the pain. "I know Theo, and I can tell he's glad about this. Because this isn't just about a feud with Esaire - that would have died at the very beginning, if his grandfather hadn't thought this was important enough to pursue. This all has something to do with his past, and he wants to take care of it formally."

"So he prefers dealing with this system instead of just handling things on a personal basis." Nanjuma shook his head slowly. "I can understand that, but the risk still seems high. I must tell you... we will not be traveling with you as before, not in a conflict like this."

"We assumed as much. Theo thinks that we can get Deuxans on our side if we play the game right, so you might have already helped us as much as you need to. But that all depends on their research."

While she recuperated, Theo was gathering information at libraries and bloodhouses, while Fiyu simply used her intimidation factor to interrogate the other noble families. Nauda worried for her and wished she could have gone along, but Fiyu could handle herself now that she understood the social dynamic here. Or hopefully she could.

Before they could speak any further, the Ichili herself emerged from a nearby mansion. Based on the little smile on her face, she must have been successful. Fiyu trotted closer to them, holding something close to her chest, and then revealed it to be a map when she rolled it out into the air.

"I have completed my task," she announced. "I could not find a suitable guide who could be trusted, but we now have a much stronger grasp of our environment."

At first the map was just a bunch of lines to Nauda, then a sort of lumpy island. Then, as she spotted Anguedan as a tiny speck, she felt disoriented as her sense of scale distorted and the map seemed to yawn open. This wasn't an island, it was an entire continent - all the distance they'd journeyed on Deuxan was barely visible and the gate to Tatian wasn't even listed. Even the label for Anguedan was in a slightly different ink, as if it had been added later.

"This is the continent of Socirro," Fiyu explained. "Most of it is more like the Ruling Cities than nations, except for this western group. They call themselves Courts, but they're really kingdoms, with hereditary ruling families. But because of all this desert, those probably won't be relevant. No one here knows anything about them."

"I don't see anything about the Demon Court," Nanjuma said. Nauda was surprised that he'd managed to read all the names so quickly, because her mind was still boggling over each of the regions representing so many cities and communities.

"That isn't on Socirro, it exists on another continent I couldn't get a map of." Fiyu's smile faded as if this was a personal failing. "I still don't understand why they are involved, but I hope Theo will have more information."

"Which of these courts are likely to be relevant?" Nauda asked. "We can't possibly visit them all."

"Well... first, this is Occoire. It's one of the important courts, because it has a Stronghold-tier soulcrafter there. That lets them exert influence over all of these smaller regions. They aren't technically one group, but the smaller courts need to rely on Occoire Court if they ever get into conflicts with other large powers."

"So Esaire brought in someone pretty serious. I don't think just any vendetta could get a leader involved."

"Yes, but I do not understand that part. The next important group is on our side of the desert, these Ostic Courts. They share some of the same families, apparently, and are all tied closer together. Just like you'd think, the most important court is Greater Ostic, which has another Stronghold."

"Any Dominions?"

"This large court up here, Accilonia... they say they have a Dominion-tier soulcrafter, which makes them more important than all the others. But they won't get directly involved, at most they'll send a representative to intervene with smaller courts. I'm not sure about those details, so I hope Theo has more information."

He didn't arrive with convenient timing, so instead their group moved to one of the Deuxan restaurants. Bimanu was still nursing his injury, while Janne seemed skeptical of everything around them. They were half-way through the meal when Theo showed up to join them. Nauda offered him some meat, but he was so focused on whatever he'd discovered that he took it and immediately set it down, likely without even noticing.

"As near as I can tell," Theo began, "the convocation of souls is a cross between war and Deuxan rules about dueling and injuries. They might seem vicious, but like Brigana taught me, every culture has rules that tries to limit casualties. This practice might be new, but it follows the same principles I knew from before."

"No offense to Brigana," Nauda said, "but does it actually work? It didn't stop Esaire from trying to kill us, or enslaving all Nlukoko."

"It isn't a system designed to make things peaceful, just set a limit on violence. He was able to call in favors from a few Authorities before, but now that he wants to escalate? If he was in the Ruling Cities he could get a House with a Stronghold to go to war, but here he needs to rely on other parties with their own agendas. They aren't our allies, but they're more neutral than the Armeau family will ever be."

Fiyu carefully cleaned off part of the table to set down her map. "This is Occoire Court. It seems that Esaire has somehow gained their support."

"A map. Great." Theo rapidly tapped the label. "I don't know how Esaire convinced their leader to help him, but we didn't exactly make friends, so he has one Stronghold on his side. Even if he acknowledges he can't beat us alone, they're going to go for allies... probably up here. Urmandix Court has some sort of loose ties to the Armeau family, and that might even be where Amaeli is. If they can recruit a second Stronghold, they'll come back and crush us."

"Why from all the way up there?" Janne spoke up for the first time, peering from her robes. "They don't have any common borders, and it looks like quite a journey."

"Borders are less important thanks to the convocation system. It might limit violence in some senses, but it immensely increases the ability of powerful soulcrafters to project their power." Theo cast Janne a thin smile as he gestured over the map. "Strongholds with weirkeys can jump over the entire region where their court is respected and expect anyone to surrender immediately, so there's little cost to themselves. No doubt this benefit to the elite is part of the reason they support the system."

"Hm. So you need a Stronghold on your side to keep them from actually attacking? Dhan definitely can't come here and stay just to oppose the others."

"If I understand the customs, they wouldn't accept his claim anyway. They need to be not just Deuxan Strongholds, but relatively local ones, who could theoretically lead their entire Court into war. And that's not just a political fiction: if one side can't gain the upper hand in the convocation, it could break into an actual war."

"Would they truly allow such a thing?" Nanjuma shook his head as he stared over the map. "It seems that this system of limitations could easily lead to a great escalation."

"In practice, if the conflict is too close, some forces will likely change sides to avoid that, especially if they can gain concessions from others." Theo flattened his hand over the map. "Esaire isn't popular or influential, but he might have outside support and we're foreigners anyway. Unless we can establish a strong position in this war, they'll likely turn against us."

It was another Deuxan nightmare as far as Nauda was concerned. She could imagine the politics now and see the potential worst of it: everyone got to bully weaker organizations with the threat of violence without actually opening themselves up to the costs and attrition of a full war. How easily even supposedly peaceful systems were corrupted.

Assuming that Theo was correct about how the convocation of souls worked, and he had a better chance than any of the rest of them, then the conflict seemed obvious enough. Nauda could see the threats, just not the path to move against them.

"Do they count Authorities too?" she asked. "Or do we need to rush to find a Deuxan Stronghold willing to stick their neck out for us?"

"If Strongholds are neutral, then the number of Authorities matters." Theo pulled his hand away from the map and began rapping his fingers on the table - not nervous, just filled with analytical energy. His eyes flickered all over the map as he spoke. "The system limits conflict; it doesn't eliminate it. The Strongholds won't attack directly or permit massive collateral damage, but targeted strikes are entirely acceptable for everyone else."

"Then it sounds like we need to stay on our toes while somehow entering a foreign court and convincing them."

"That isn't as impossible as it sounds - look here. Greater Ostic Court has a long history of rivalry with Occoire. Because it's strange for Sartozi to act in a tiny place like Anguedan, it looks very much like he's overreaching or trying to extend his influence. If we travel to Greater Ostic, we have a decent chance of getting them to commit."

"How many of you will be traveling?" Bimanu asked. His injury might have improved, but he still sat back as if it weighed on him. "I fear that I cannot join you. I must return and report this to the Landguard, because even if this war is not likely to spill over into Tatian, we cannot risk it. It is possible that they have Deuxan connections... but I would not count on it."

"Go," Theo said without hesitation, barely even looking at him. "Thanks to us fighting Sartozi to a standstill, Nauda, Fiyu, and I will be respected as delegates. Krikree and Senka should stay with us, just in case, but the rest of you can fulfill the same power-projection role as Authorities."

"Then I'll stay here." Janne rose to her feet, robes rustling around her. "I couldn't justify risking my life in a hopeless war, but this doesn't sound so hopeless after all. I can investigate the sublime materials here for Blacksilver, so long as the locals won't target me."

"If we can actually gain a foothold in the convocation, I think we can guarantee that. If they try to attack you, you can just weirkey away and all they'll do is attack their own city. No, this war will take place as much in courts as on the battlefield."

Since Theo seemed assured and no one else had information to contradict his plan, they began to split up to make preparations. Nauda checked in with Fiyu first, but she had no objections to journeying off together. It seemed that she was actually glad to return to a smaller group, despite the potential danger.

No one had removed the map, so the continent of Socirro remained spread across the table. Nauda could cover the distance between Anguedan and Great Ostic with her hand, yet she knew that it was actually an enormous distance. Without a Deuxan weirkey, they had no choice but to fly. That might almost have been enjoyable, if not for the rules of war entangling them and the threat of a Stronghold hanging over their heads.

As the group dispersed further, Nauda took time to catch Nanjuma before he could go too far. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"This manner of war is strange to me," Nanjuma said, "but it is better than uncertainty. It seems that I will not be journeying with you any longer."

"Oh? Are you staying with Janne?"

"Actually, I will be journeying south. There is a court there with weak ties to Tatian... it is improbable that they will get involved, but Theo and Bimanu both feel that it is worth the attempt."

"Then I guess we'll see each other afterward." Nauda reached out to clasp his arm and he clasped back. She held it longer than she intended, realizing that this might be her last Tatian touch in a long time. From here on, she would be surrounded by Deuxan society, which in her experience tended to be cold and sharp.

Nanjuma smiled kindly, seeming to understand. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, but eventually he had to let go and they parted. It would be a while longer before they were ready for their journey, but Nauda still felt as though the separation began in that moment.

Truthfully, that was no longer such a grim prospect. Unlike their first trip through Deuxan, she fully trusted Theo now, and she had a relationship with Fiyu. She just hoped that the three of them would be equal to the challenge of the Deuxan courts.

Chapter 11

As Anguedan disappeared into the shimmering horizon, Theo glanced back at it one last time. He didn't particularly care about the city and hadn't spent all that much time in it, and yet he found himself oddly nostalgic. His attempts to search for Brigana's family had set off so much more than he could have imagined.

Now those seeds were emerging for a brutal harvest. Theo projected confidence while planning and he drove the sleigh confidently over the Deuxan wilderness, but he wondered if he was in over his head.

Fighting Strongholds? A challenge, but a welcome one. Navigating a complex Deuxan system of warfare? Entirely within their abilities. Confronting Esaire for another rematch? Not even close to his top priority.

What worried him was that he didn't know just how much things had escalated. Based on the fragmentary conversation with Amaeli, Esaire had drawn significant attention to the ai Teraeves family. How many Deuxan courts were now interested in this conflict? At minimum the Demon Court was involved, though they hadn't appeared in person, and it seemed likely that Esaire would draw on as many as he could.

So the real question was whether or not this was all the work of Vistgil, and whether or not this conflict would draw him directly. If that happened...

Since some level of secrecy had already been lost, Theo had taken the time to research the ai Teraeves family before he left Anguedan. There had been nothing on them before, sure, but now he was a scary Authority the locals were eager to please. He had only succeeded in confirming the different partial stories he'd gotten from Arceon long ago: the Teraeves name was considered cursed, and the powers of Anguedan either wanted to erase their name or to plunder their vaults.

There was another fear lurking underneath, subtler and harder to name, even to himself. There was always the possibility that this was all a rabbit trail, that Brigana had only been important to him, and that none of this was worth it.

Except it would be worse than useless, because he'd let himself be drawn into an even larger conflict that would have unknown repercussions down the road. Sartozi was definitely their enemy now, and how many problems could the Stronghold of a Deuxan court cause?

Theo tried to tell himself that the journey was more important than the destination. Why had he returned to the Nine Worlds, after all, if not for the sake of new journeys? He'd be able to spend time with the people who mattered to him, and he was sure that he'd keep soulcrafting upward with Nauda and Fiyu. In that sense, none of the journey was wasted.

It was just possible that a mistake he didn't even understand would bring that journey to a sudden end.

~ ~ ~

For the first week of their journey, Fiyu remained on edge, expanding her senses to their fullest extent in case there was a sudden attack. Their enemies used weirkeys, so it was possible that they could approach at any time from any angle. Only the fact that her reaction time had been greatly improved at Authority made this less of a threat. Opponents arriving via weirkey would still be alarming, but it would not be immediately fatal due to the time involved in weirkey travel.

Gradually she came to accept that this sort of war would not involve an immediate threat, or at least it seemed decreasingly likely. Their enemies didn't want to wear them down with attrition, they wanted to acquire overwhelming power and win without a struggle. If Enemy Esaire and Enemy Sartozi had not been able to recruit other Strongholds by now, it was not likely to occur soon.

That meant that their journey did not have to be unpleasant. There was a strong need for soulcrafting, of course, but that only meant time spent in communion with her companions. When there were no Deuxans to start feuds, the Deuxan landscape was a beautiful environment of layered edges.

Of course it was wonderful to spend time with Friend Nauda, and Friend Theo was always available for soulcrafting discussion or other conversations. Things would have been better without Betrayer Senka, but Fiyu was slowly tolerating her existence. Associate Krikree was present and reliable, but primarily Friend Theo's companion and generally not relevant outside of combat.

Usually they traveled both day and night, one of them always using their cantae to make the sleigh slice over the increasingly sparse wilderness. Due to their soulhome storage, they had more than enough space for food, so there was no need to stop. Only occasionally did they come to a halt, generally when they wanted to search an area for sublime materials.

During one of these occasions, Fiyu left the sleigh simply to have somewhere different to sit. Friend Nauda was out searching for some sort of material that could be used to make sublime mortar and did not require her help, so she could do more soulcrafting of her own.

For the most part, Fiyu remained preoccupied with her second pair of rooms. She had made great progress polishing them and essentially finished the chamber for the flickerconcentrate. So far it was only an incremental improvement to her capabilities, not a true benefit until she finished the combination. The absence of a strengthening material was a minor concern for her, as she had yet to encounter anything suitable in Deuxan and the ifritbraid was not cooperating.

Advancement would require highly specific materials, which did not seem likely to appear, and Fiyu did not wish to fall behind her companions. So she dedicated a significant portion of time to expanding the foundation of her shielding wall in preparation for a second floor. The Deuxan Strongholds were so overwhelming, and they all had such polished walls... if she wished to be a formidable Authority, she needed to improve.

Of course Fiyu kept track of her physical environment at all times, so she was not surprised to note Associate Krikree crouched at the edge of her clearing. When the Slescan did not move, however, Fiyu paid slightly more attention. Perhaps she was standing guard. Eventually Associate Krikree crept even closer and Fiyu opened her eyes.

"Fiyu-queen?"

"What is it?" Fiyu had wanted to correct her at first, but decided that the Slescan labels were more similar to Ichili kinship titles than names. If so, only Associate Krikree could decide those for herself.

"Krikree wants to scout for sublime." The Slescan crept closer, cleaning off her antennae with an unusual amount of tension in her limbs. "Can't find."

"And you would like my help?"

"Fiyu-queen has strong senses. Not like Krikree's. Can help."

Though she wanted to be left alone, Fiyu realized that there was immense tension in Associate Krikree's back legs. She was prepared to leap away at any moment. Once she had trembled in Fiyu's presence, and if she had grown past that stage, perhaps she hadn't grown very far past it.

Fiyu still remembered the savagery of Slest, but it was not fair to apply the same assumptions to Associate Krikree. Truthfully, given her rapid mental growth, perhaps it was more appropriate to consider her as a sort of child. That might have seemed insulting to the others, but Fiyu considered it an important designation. She might not be a queen, but she had an important role to play as an elder companion.

"I will help you scout," Fiyu said as she rose to her feet. "What are we looking for?"

~ ~ ~

Another day, another exploration that had only uncovered a few minor sublime materials. Theo wasn't surprised, of course - even out here between points of civilization, it would be strange if the local Deuxans didn't do their best to acquire all the best materials. But Theo could be annoyed by a great many things that didn't surprise him.

Now that they were Authorities, they could almost always use more soulcrafting time, so it was frustrating that he was the exception. Fiyu marched through her blueprint logically and Nauda had a major challenge to face merging her fourth floor, so they were still advancing. He was the one stuck, both due to materials and the poison still coursing within his soul.

That was the single bright spot, or at least a grim silver lining: he'd gathered enough Deuxan reagents to produce a decent counter-agent to the poison. It would still block ascension, but they'd put together pills combined with Nauda's honey that left him free of pain. If anyone attacked them again, he'd be able to fight at full power, so the only problem was future battles that would take more than that.

When they returned to the sleigh that evening, Krikree was happily chittering to herself about the newest sublime beast they'd hunted. That meat would no doubt reinforce her soulhome, which was becoming impressively polished. She didn't need his help to soulcraft it, so he wasn't necessary anywhere in camp.

Instead of pushing them harder, Theo wandered away from the camp around the sleigh, just to be alone for a while. Though he didn't want to delay, there was no particular rush to reach Greater Ostic. In fact, he guessed that engaging with the Deuxan courts again, in particular a rival to Occoire Court, would escalate the conflict. Better to take preparation time when they could.

Still, it rankled to think that Esaire had actually...

"Well! That's the face of a disgruntled fumpet." Senka popped up from behind a nearby tree, grinning as if entirely aware of how annoying she was being.

"You think you can needle me," Theo said, "but I'm resigned to it. Yes, Esaire got under my skin."

"Aww, did the poor baby get hit with a deadly poison that limited his soulcrafting?" Her grin vanished under the surface as she floated closer. "But really, what are you going to do? It feels like you're almost out of polishing work, so you'll be wasting time soon."

"It bothers me a little that Esaire and I are more similar than I'd want to admit. I've been dismissive of him, but in Nlukoko, he was clearly disappointed in me, and he'd be just as dismissive of my thoughts. On some level, I feel entitled to my advancement and bitter when I can't."

"Are you telling me that you've really been sulking instead of thinking of a solution?"

"Oh, I've decided." Theo finally let a smile show. "It's clear with this poison that Esaire expects me to either make a mistake eliminating it or generally waste my time. If the poison material came from the Demon Court, it's probably a tricky problem... so I'm going to ignore it. It's time to get serious about creating a basement."

"There's the Theo I know." Senka grinned back. "But I'm guessing you need some help with that?"

"Yeah, I was going to go get you if you didn't show up. This is a more difficult piece of soulcrafting for me, because the usual principles don't entirely apply. If a soulhome was a real building, you'd need to have completely finished the basement before building further. Even if I can begin working my foundation, I'm worried about accidentally making a mistake."

"Well, the good news is that you've actually made more progress toward a basement than you know. The thing is-"

"Wait, are we talking about basements?" Nauda called out from their camp, apparently able to hear much better than he thought. Not long after, Fiyu's head emerged from the sleigh.

"Is it time to discuss another monument?" she asked. "I would like to learn as well."

"Senka-what teach!" Krikree appeared from behind a tree, chewing on a piece of sublime meat but antennae twitching alertly.

Theo just smiled while Senka groaned theatrically. He could have joined her in pretending to be annoyed, but honestly he couldn't even fake it. Now that they had all reached Authority, they were striving to be elite tier soulcrafters, not just reach Stronghold as quickly as possible. This would be an essential step in their progress, so they might as well discuss it together.

"Fine then," Senka said with a roll of her eyes. "Gather round, and Granny Senka will tell you a tale..."