Chapter 191, 1/2

Chapter 191, 1/2

Time ticked onward, and Erick watched dragons discuss the new world orders they wished to implement. None of them spoke in specifics, for most of the dragons here could not actually meet any of the other dragons out there in the world, lest they get into a fight, so their plans were couched in dubious language. The exception to this was when a few dragons openly spoke of their half-dragon family members getting Renewal Tank’d and then sent out into the world to secure land and other various interests. Their own cures would come later, and might come from any one of them doing their own experiments on [Renew]-based soul magics.

The basic theory of how this new magic cleared a person of elemental influence was rather simple, after all. The spellwork targeted the very center of a person, their base nature and soul, and then recreated everything from there, outward. Everything that was not in-tune with that base nature was discarded.

The conversation moved on from there, to talks of securing the actual cure for the Curse while allowing one to remain a dragon. The Curse itself was still an intrinsic part of Dragon Essence, after all, so a ‘reset to base’ for a dragon would still leave them with the Curse, so any actual cure would have to come from a person gaining a Death, Carnage, or Fae Elemental Body and then combining them with Wizardry. But is such a thing even possible? Unknown. And yet...

House Carnage was absolutely going to do everything it could to create a Carnage Dragon Renewal Tank.

House Fae would be expanding the number of people with [Fae Body], if they could, but as of right now it didn’t appear that Fae Dragon Essence would be that easy to foster through a Renewal Tank, no matter how miraculous the magical technology seemed to be. Resetting a person to Dragon would likely be easy, as would resetting a person to Fae, but a combined spellwork would still require Wizardry. Therefore, House Fae would be going the [Fae Body] route and leaving behind most of their Fae Dragon selves. At least that was the idea, for now. Things might change in the future.

House Death agreed with House Fae’s assessment. They might go that way as well, while also attempting to revive wyrms, granting the Silent dead new bodies.

The idea of wyrms coming back to life was a major revelation, though.

Many dragons shouted out for further answers, all across the Rotunda, and so Light Blight, the dragon from House Death, spent a good 40 minutes explaining what Inferno Maw’s latest research indicated. He didn’t say anything that Erick didn’t already know, but Erick did send his sight over to the Ophiel currently by the Renewal Tank, to see what was happening over there.

Ophiel was currently pumping [Renew] into the machine. Erick had already checked on that whole situation a few times already, and this latest check did not show anything too concerning.

So far they hadn’t tried to revive a wyrm, but their experiments were getting rather esoteric.

Redflame and Inferno Maw were both by that Renewal Tank, while yet another large rat was inside the tank. This rat did not currently have a core, but it had had a core not ten minutes ago. The bloody remnants of that grand rad sat upon a nearby dissection table. The rat itself didn’t even have a scar from where its core had been broken, and removed.

Currently, the rat floated in the tank, while glowing white water rained down into the top.

This was the fourth experiment doing this.

The rat itself was physically whole; the injuries it had sustained in the core removal process had been healed up by Inferno Maw. But its soul was another story entirely. Its soul currently looked like a flaking mist, barely filling up the rat’s body at all, looking more like a splash of paint inside the rat than the usual solid mist that was a soul’s normal configuration. Some parts of that broken soul even dangled out of the body like tattered sheets, billowing away in the tumbling waters of the Renewal Tank.

But, that soul was healing.

As white rain fell into the tank and soaked into the monster's skin, and then deeper, into the un-cored soul, the rat’s tattered mess of a soul began to thicken, and coalesce. In five minutes the soul lined up with the body of the now-non-monstrous rat. And the rat had shrunk. It was about half as large as it had been before, which was an odd, but not unexpected result.

The rat itself was completely healed. The soul was fine. The body was fine. It was just like the other three rats that came before.

Inferno Maw clapped his hands and did a small, probably unprofessional dance, before he caught himself. After briefly smiling at the floor and banishing his giddiness he went on to the next experiment, trying not to smile too much the whole time.

Erick turned his attention back to the Rotunda.

House Fae had been talking about turning the toxic jungles of Nergal into normal jungles, ripe for habitation. It was an odd sort of talk, specifically because the Speaker for House Fae, Asteroid Stars, was discussing the similarities between remaking the Crystal Forest into a real forest, and utterly destroying the toxic forest of Nergal, to try and replace them with normal forests.

Erick supposed this was for his benefit. Asteroid Stars was trying to show that they were right there with him and ready to remake the world as he desired. He would have liked to hear more of House Fae’s plans, but it was time to get going. It was nearly noon. The representatives from Stratagold would be appearing soon.

Erick got to his feet and stepped to the edge of his and Fairy Moon’s alcove.

Instantly, Asteroid Stars stopped talking.

Mikatiti, the red dragon still floating in the middle of the Rotunda, announced, “The Rotunda recognizes Archmage Erick Flatt.”

Erick nodded, then said, “This has been most enlightening, and I appreciate the invite to this talk, but this is where I must depart. The wrought envoy is going to be here in about 45 minutes and I must prepare. It was a pleasure to meet you all. I hope to work well with Ar’Cosmos in the future. If it is acceptable, I will be leaving Ophiel here so that I might continue to participate in these discussions, if only as an observer.”

“We welcome your time and presence, Archmage Flatt, but your request is a request we normally deny outright. But we can bend with the times.” Mikatiti gestured with her floating, sinuous body to the rest of the dragons of the Rotunda. “A vote to allow?”

A minor cacophony of ‘acceptable’s and ‘permitted’s and ‘allowed’s filled the space.

Light Blight raised his tail into the arena.

Mikatiti said, “The Rotunda recognizes the words of Light Blight, of House Death.”

Light Blight said, “I would ask for Yggdrasil’s Sight to remain with us as well. It is important for young ones to know the coworkers of their parents, especially when they themselves might be working with those coworkers too, and soon.”

Normally, this was an easy thing to allow.

But Yggdrasil couldn’t actually reach this deep with a second [Scry] eye. This far into Ar’Cosmos, Erick couldn’t even talk to the guy. The barriers around this place were practically as thick as the barriers around Veird’s Core. Did Light Blight know this? Or was he expecting Yggdrasil to be different? Whatever the case, Yggdrasil’s [Scry] eye bounced on Erick’s shoulder, and there remained only one of him.

The dragons of the Rotunda seemed to approve of Light Blight’s words, though, since a lot of ‘ayes’ flooded into the open air.

Erick answered, “Yggdrasil is still attached to me, and this meeting with the wrought is going to be important as well. Yggdrasil will likely join you another day.”

Light Blight did not seem to mind this, for he just bowed a fraction.

“Then Ophiel will remain, and Yggdrasil will go with Archmage Flatt,” Mikatiti said, as she descended a fraction as though in a bow. “The Rotunda is always open to you, Archmage Flatt. Please return whenever you wish.”

The brilliantly colored dragons of the Rotunda all extended a fraction out into the open air, and gave their own versions of bows. Some went low. Some only bowed a little. Some just nodded.

Erick gave half a bow in return, and then he turned, and began walking back the way he came. Fairy Moon followed silently, like a quiet observer.

When Erick was far enough away from the central space, he conjured another Ophiel. The little guy happily took his usual spot on Erick’s unoccupied shoulder, chirping and trilling. The Ophiel back in the Rotunda opened his eyes wide, and took in all the sounds he could.

- - - -

Erick stood at the end of a road.

At the other side, stood a Gate which led to the Twisted Vision that kept Ar’Cosmos separate from the rest of Veird. He had seen that Gate before, and yet, he hadn’t; not really. Not from this side, anyway. He had seen that Gate from the other side, when he had been with Tenebrae, and he had sent Ophiel into the Vision to scout around. Activating his Domain had caused the Vision to yank Ophiel all the way there.

And now Erick was here again, with the dragons, and with Fairy Moon, and he had all the secrets to [Gate]. He wondered a little how Tenebrae was doing. Was he recuperating? Could he walk around again? Erick quickly came back to the moment, though, for there was business to be done, and important conversations to be had with people who may or may not be enemies.

This was the staging ground for that eventual discussion with the wrought.

It was a long road with stone pagodas lining both sides, and dragons flying through the distant sky, headed toward wherever it was they were going. And in front, was that Gate, looking exactly the same as the last time Erick had seen it. He just couldn’t get over that. There were hundreds of gates exactly like this one, but Erick knew this was the same one he had seen before. It was a square, a good ten meters to a side, with each of those sides being about a meter thick. An arc of that same silver metal formed a bridge that curved from the stone roadway on this side of the Gate, to the dark forest floor of the Twisted Vision on the other side.

The street on this side was a small market, while the actual Center Road and all the real markets of Ar’Cosmos were far down the road and beyond three different checkpoints. The land here was basically only open to the poorest of dragons; those who could not afford to enter into the main city, or those who did not desire to enter the main city. This land was more like the transient, orcol campground lands of Treehome, than the city lands inside of that metropolis.

This place did not skimp on the guards, though.

Those guards hung out in fortified bunkers arrayed around the Gate, with House Death’s grey enamel wearing soldiers set around the Gate itself, and House Carnage’s red enamel guard further back, in the parts of the city that could actually be breached; the roads up and down to the other layers. They were all on high alert.

Erick was, too.

Mainly, as he stared at that Gate, he thought about running. Escaping as fast as he could. But... That was just some stupid instincts talking. If he went out there without Ar’Cosmos at his back then the wrought would likely want to ‘nullify’ him like they did to other Wizards. Erick would still be able to cast magic if they did that, and he could still use whatever magic he had already made, but attempting new magic would likely be...

Difficult. Painful. Annoying.

But would being neutered really be so bad?

Obviously it would be personally bad, but for the world? Could Erick lay down his power to prevent a war? Yes. Undoubtedly.

Except... that’s not what would happen.

If he laid down his power, then others would choose how the world worked.

And that was simply unacceptable. Erick did not ‘know better than anyone else’, but the wrought were poor stewards, for security through obscurity was a terrible way to secure anything, and that included a world. Security through scarcity, or rather, security through the absence of easy magic, was probably a better option, but if power was scarce, then the monsters would overrun all of Veird. So that wasn’t a solution either.

There were no easy solutions to the problems of life on Veird, which was why this land was how it was.

Melemizargo would be happy if the wrought all chose to rip apart the Script and put something lesser in place, though. But, oddly enough, Erick was pretty sure that Melemizargo was perfectly happy with Wizards and dragons and other ‘naturally powerful’ people having as much power as they wanted. That seemed to be a contradiction, to Erick. Due to a happenstance of birth, having more power than another person was okay? No. That did not sit well with Erick at all.

And yet, if he was weak then he couldn’t have done anything that he had done.

And so, Erick needed to retain his power, not just for his own personal needs, but also because he did good with his power. Was that a bit narcissistic to say? That Erick did well with the power he had gained? Yes, it was narcissistic, but it was also true.

And—

Fairy Moon leaned a little toward Erick, smirking with her mouth and with her heterochromatic eyes. “Nervous?”

“Extremely.” His thoughts were spiraling. “Is anyone ever truly ready for the turning of an age?”

“Oh yes.” Fairy Moon nodded, then stood straight again, her eyes turning back to the square Gate. “I am ready for the revolution, but I do hope the coming happenstances are curated and calm.” She added, “You have leave to leave, by the way, if we get out there and they give you better bylaws to bow down to.”

Erick almost started running right then.

But he did not.

Inferno Maw’s voice filtered down from Erick’s right like a controlled avalanche, “I highly doubt they will be willing to acquiesce to even the most basic of Erick’s wants, such as his desire to keep his memories and mind intact.”

Erick felt a rushing cold inside his chest. Inferno Maw’s words were rather true.

Erick glanced up.

Inferno Maw was a massive dragon with a head two meters across and a body trailing fifty meters down the street, and gently undulating. White-black fire held inside his mouth like monochromatic, anti-gravity napalm. That fire moved as he spoke, “House Death appreciates the addition of the extra three [Renew] rings you have granted us. They will help further research into that spell, and how it works, but we could never have achieved any of this without you. You are invaluable to Ar’Cosmos and to the future of all of Veird. Not just us dragons, either.” Inferno Maw lowered himself till his head was level with Erick. With deep, grey eyes staring straight at Erick, Inferno Maw said, “Please don’t let them take you, and please do not believe whatever lies they conjure to get you to leave with them.”

Erick looked at Inferno Maw for a moment longer, then he turned toward the Gate. “I am aware of... What to expect from them. I appreciate your words nonetheless.”

Inferno Maw lingered at eye-level with Erick for a moment longer, and then he pulled back. Four other Death Dragons held to the sides of the roads, hovering gently in the air, ready to move at Inferno Maw’s command. He did not give that command, yet.

Fairy Moon hopped forward one step, then said, “We go to have talks with hopefully not-tyrants. Evacuation of Erick will commence if he commands, or is incapacitated by the invaders. Otherwise there will be no nudging of him either way. And now! We go!” She stepped forward, and did not stop walking.

Erick followed, and then he realized he was following. He almost faltered, but he did not.

Inferno Maw followed next. He whispered, “When we get past that Gate you should reconnect to the Script. If you need a minute to go through your notifications, then let us all get all through the Gate, first. We still have ten minutes before I open the pathway for the wrought.”

Erick just nodded. Inferno Maw had spoken a few words about how the Twisted Vision worked. Apparently, everything beyond that metal Gate would move at House Death’s commands, and usually automatically so that no visiting or leaving dragon would encounter another dragon. There were ways to direct that movement, though, and that’s what they were doing today.

Currently, to the right, the switching station had four guards from House Death set up inside that bunker to facilitate those switches. On a more normal day those people would simply move the pathways according to arcane schedules, ensuring that every dragon who left this land did so without meeting any other dragon.

Because the Script was on the other side of that Gate.

... As Inferno Maw had already said. Erick was just nervous.

Fairy Moon went first, stepping onto the silver bridge that arched through the silver square. Erick took a step onto that bridge next, the metal not even making a sound, for it was solid metal. He followed Fairy Moon across that arc of metal, through the Gate—

He crossed through an unseen edge inside the Gate and blue boxes instantly filled his vision like someone had wrapped him in a blue tarp. He could still see out of it, of course, but the messages in that blue space suddenly began shifting as new blue boxes appeared. Thankfully, his mana sense suddenly expanded outward, going from the cramped 5 meter distance it had been all this time in Ar’Cosmos, back out to 50 meters in all directions.

Erick felt a rush of comfort at finally being able to sense the world again, but he focused on his footing and kept walking down the other side of the silver bridge. When he was clear of that bridge he stepped to the side, where Fairy Moon stood waiting, so that the dragons could more easily pass. Inferno Maw and his dragons followed through the Gate one at a time, each of them thick enough to take up the entire Gateway if they wanted. Rapidly, they took points all around the Gate like they were soldiers in enemy territory, which was sort of true, Erick supposed.

But the Pathways were clear of monsters and Inferno Maw controlled those spawns, anyway, and all the wrought had yet to enter into these Pathways, so they weren’t in any real danger. Not yet, anyway, and nothing that the people here could not handle.

Mostly.

Erick was now subject to the Script, which was a different sort of danger. The gods could probably appear here if they wanted, and maybe Rozeta could simply abduct him straight from this place... But since she hadn’t, maybe she couldn’t? Whatever danger he was in, though, was dwarfed by a warm, comforting feeling that spread throughout his entire body—

Ah!

His Stats were ‘coming back online’! Yes. That’s what this was. Health had returned, and washed away every single lingering bit of unnoticed-until-now harm inside his body. Constitution had come back, too, making even the small chill in the air seem like nothing at all. He could probably cast spells for 5% costs, now that Intelligence was fully working again. As for actually casting spells, though, it was time to do some of that; to create some defenses for the meeting with the wrought.

He started with [Greater Lightwalk]—

Not only did every single dragon and fae nearby turn to him as he let out his light and lightning, each and every one of them looking mightily concerned, another message popped up. This message got added to the pile, but Erick did read it first.

Caution!

You have mutated one of your spells in an unknown and potentially dangerous way!

If this was unintentional please see a Registrar or pray to Rozeta to have this change undone. Such a repairing will cost 1 point, or the completion of a Quest.

If someone else did this to you without your consent, please see a Registrar or pray to Rozeta to have this change undone. Such a repairing might be free.

This is your changed spell:

Greater Lightwalk, instant, long range, 10 MP per second + Variable

You are the radiant day.

This spell has become:

Pristine Benevolence, instant, super long range, 10 MP per second + Variable

You are a radiant new beginning.

May your influence be eternal.

Erick read the box again, and then he pushed aside all his messages and pulled up his [Greater Lightwalk] box. And sure enough, his mental command to pull up that box had instead pulled up [Pristine Benevolence]. All the while, wispy white lightning zapped away from his body to touch the ground, leaving lingering sparks and small scorch marks here and there.

Everyone else continued to stare.

Erick explained, “Normally this is [Greater Lightwalk]. Obviously, this has changed.”

Inferno Maw stared, saying, “I should say so.”

“So I heard Domains were bad here in the Twisted Vision, but they didn’t seem to matter inside Ar’Cosmos itself.” Erick asked, “Would it be a problem to try that out, too?”

Inferno Maw smiled a little, his massive maw revealing a monochromatic inferno. “Going into discussion with the wrought without all your protections would be a foolish thing indeed.”

Fairy Moon shrugged.

[Lodestar].

The light and lightning around Erick took on a deeper, more radiant hue, and then it calmed. For a moment Erick had looked like a plasma ball, but with a twitch of effort his sunform looked... Mostly normal. Benevolence sparks jolted here and there across the boundary edge between where his Domain was absolute, and the rest of reality began. Some of those jolts silently traced across the ground, leaving thin black lines where they touched the bare soil.

Another blue box appeared, looking akin to the previous one. Erick only read the last part.

This is your changed spell:

Lodestar, instant, close range, aura, 1 mana per second

Shine Timeless Brilliance.

All of your Light effects are supercharged, and difficult to corrupt.

All of your Light effects require 10x more mana to Dispel.

Your Light effects are uncorruptible and undispellable while they exist inside your Lodestar.

This spell has become:

Lodestar, instant, close range, aura, 1 mana per second

Impose your benevolence upon reality.

All of your Light and Benevolence effects are supercharged, and difficult to corrupt.

All of your Light and Benevolence effects require 10x more mana to Dispel.

Your scan looks clean but I’ll resend the anti-Slavery protocols again. Please use them and get yourself out of there!

Anti-Slavery Protocol:

Tap this message or think at it really hard and concentrate on freedom. The Script will attempt to break all ensorcellment upon you, as well as [Greater Teleport] you back to the outskirts of .

If you would like a [Greater Teleport] to some other approved city, then think on that city before thinking at this message in order to switch targets.

Ah! So it is Elemental Benevolence.

I thought you were going to call it that, but who really knows these things when it comes to you.

Good news all around, though! Elemental Benevolence looks like it might directly prevent another Sundering, while simultaneously announcing large scale disruptions long, long before they happen. Still working out how that’s supposed to happen, but we have time now. The next few centuries of life on Veird look rather stable.

You can likely guess, and somewhat arrive at, how much of a true miracle this is, Erick.

The previous boons granted are not reward enough for what you have done.

I will help you craft a boon of your own design, later, when we are in discussions about all of this. I look forward to seeing you in person once again. Before that happens, though, I am sure that you will receive a visit from some of my people. They will be wary, for everyone knows you’re a Wizard now, but they should be respectful. If they are not then let me know.

There will not be another Sitnakov-type incident.

As for the rest of the gods: There are notable exceptions, of course, but practically the entire pantheon of Relevant Entities are eager to make deals with you now that the Truth of your Wizardry looks to be the first real miracle we’ve had here on Veird in a long, long time.

See you soon.

Erick read through and dismissed the blue boxes one by one.

To an outside observer, like Inferno Maw or Fairy Moon, it would have looked like he had simply zipped his eyes up and down a dozen times and then turned his sight back to them. It only took him about that many seconds to read through everything, including the Kill Notifications that he mostly skimmed and then ignored.

Mentally, his finger was on the anti-Slavery escape message, but physically, and spiritually, he was here, in the moment. He was ready to talk to some wrought, and according to what he had just read, he expected that talk to go well.

Erick smiled a little. “Hopefully this talk goes well, for it seems like Rozeta approves of most of what I’ve done, though I take it the eyes of the divine cannot pierce Ar’Cosmos?”

Fairy Moon said, “Certain gods could still visit from Veird if they wished to court a thwapping, but they bargained to leave us be, and I them in turn.”

“Okay then.” Erick said, “So it looks like Koyabez, Phagar, and Atunir also seem good with what I have done, and who I am, so let’s all be nice and hope for some good outcomes from this talk with the wrought, yeah?”

Inferno Maw pulled back a little, a look of disbelief on his large, monochromatic draconic face. “I doubt that it will be an easy talk, but... You can talk first?” He turned, “Or Fairy Moon?”

“Nay, says I!” Fairy Moon began skipping across the shadowy ground of the deep, deep forest, her voice falling into the darkness all around like brightness falling into an abyss, “We go to make magic of talking and treaty! So let’s let the Wizard do the wishing for us all!”

Inferno Maw twisted a little, turning back to face Erick for a moment, before following Fairy Moon into the gloom of the Twisted Vision, saying, “I suppose that would be for the best.” He glanced backward, at Erick, saying, “Just don’t go promising them stuff we cannot condone; I reserve the right to overrule you if you overstep your rule— Bah!” He suddenly zipped forward to follow Fairy Moon, who had vanished into the forest ahead. “You try me too much, Fairy Moon! Leave my language be— Bah! Stop that.”

Pink and green laughter filled the forest like a scattering of will-o-wisps.

... And Erick felt better for those small words of happiness, and teasing between two very powerful immortal beings. Both Fairy Moon and Inferno Maw had turned... Almost lighthearted.

Two other Death dragons flowed outward, taking corner points to the envoy, while the other two waited behind for Erick to start moving. Those rank-and-file dragons weren’t quite so overjoyed. They expected something bad to happen. They also expected Erick to keep up with the group and to move as a unit, and so Erick obliged.

With Benevolence flickering outward, and under his own Domain of power once again, Erick floated forward, moving through the Twisted Vision like a ball of plasma that could have been as bright as a sun, but he toned it down to a mere glow. And he felt good about this next meeting. He felt a lot better about those words he had heard in the Rotunda, too. The dragons were hoping for a new lease on life, and maybe, just maybe...

That new life could happen.

Mirth bubbled up from inside Erick and came out as a small chuckle—

He looked down as he floated, for as he smiled and laughed, his Benevolent sunform was doing something odd. Something wonderful. Instead of silent lightning leaving dark marks and burning the grass and the small ferns, Erick left life in his wake, like a small [Grow] happened everywhere his Benevolence touched.

Ferns unfurled from the ground. White, glowing flowers sprang up here and there, but their glows rapidly faded to reveal yellow, or red, or pink petals. Grasses came out of bare soil, and glowing mushrooms sprouted from deadfall. The mushrooms retained their brightness and light for a lot longer than the flowers.

Erick wasn’t doing it on purpose but he couldn’t help but marvel, in a small way, as he left a trail of spreading life wherever he passed. It was pretty. Some of the glowing shrooms remained very bright long after Erick passed out of sight, according to Ophiel, who had hopped off to investigate a particularly large mushroom that Erick left in his wake. That was fine, for Erick just conjured another Ophiel, and it only cost him a pittance of mana, now that Intelligence was working again.

Some of the dragons in back spared some heavy glances at the carpet of subtle glows, but they were on duty, and they did not linger.

And Erick kept flying forward, following Fairy Moon and Inferno Maw, leaving light wherever he went. It was a small fraction of light, and most of it would likely perish on its own, over time, or whenever someone had a fight in the area. This was where Ar’Cosmos’s defenses were greatest, after all. But the light was still a nice contrast to the deep, dark forest, where the shadowed canopy was at least a kilometer overhead, the sun was nowhere to be seen, and the trunks of the trees were as wide as houses.

Erick made a pretty good artificial sun, though, even though his light was rather more like lightning these days...

But that was fine.

- - - -

Inferno Maw held in the air to the right, above and behind Erick by a good ten meters, though the dragon was a good 50 meters long so he still felt rather close. Fairy Moon was much closer, standing three meters to Erick’s left. The various dragons of House Death had fanned out into the forest, above and behind, to ensure that no one could surround or sneak up on their contingent.

They did not erect any defensive spellwork, though, for the Twisted Vision itself was defensive enough. If the wrought used any Domain magic, or if they did anything over 50 mana, then all Ar’Cosmos’s people would need to do was escape the wrought, and the Twisted Vision would respond to the infection of the wrought with an avalanche of monsters.

The forest all around them was dark, with massive trees scattered far away. The ground between both sides was empty of cover, and mostly flat. There was no worry of anyone burrowing into the ‘ground’ and popping up where they shouldn’t be, for though no defenses were put into the ground, every single thing in this land was not what it appeared to be; it was all a fae trick. The ground and the sky were the limits of this land. There was no [Teleport]ing anywhere through this land, either, for using that sort of Spatial Magic inside this space would sooner put the caster half inside a tree, and that sort of [Partial Teleport] usually killed the caster.

Erick wasn’t sure such a bisection would kill anyone at this particular meeting, though; including him.

He stood in his sunform, but with the light pulled close to his skin. Before he had pulled his sunform close, lightning had flickered off of his feet to silently touch the ground underneath three times. The fern that had sprouted under him still glowed a faint green.

That growth and glowing fern drew the eyes of the wrought on the other side of the clearing, after they had gotten over their initial surprise at actually seeing Erick.

The wrought had come with their own contingent of ten people. Erick had no idea who any of them were, though they were of most races and castes. A bright copper human. A dark red incani. A bright silver harpy, along with several duller shades of silver orcol, and dragonkin, and another human. A white owl shifter, and an iridescent snake shifter.

Both sides of the conflict had sighted each other five minutes ago, through [Scry] eyes scattered wide through the Twisted Vision. It had taken that much time for both sides to float toward each other, and to meet on the opposite sides of the clearing.

And now they were here, both sides floating in the air.

Staring. Wondering what would happen now.

From the faces Erick was seeing on the other side, they were worried, and unsettled. Some seemed to be reading off of blue boxes, but that could have been an affectation, for Erick knew that wrought had full surround sight. The only reason he figured it might not be an affectation was that these wrought all looked young. The bright copper human stood out in particular, for being that bright meant that he was barely 30. The young ages on the other side shouldn’t have surprised Erick, though. The older wrought would not step foot in this land, for almost all of them had had dealings with Fairy Moon, and showing themselves here and now would be subjecting themselves to her power.

Erick supposed that was a problem to address in future talks, alongside all their other problems; the fact that Fairy Moon had untoward power over all the wrought was obviously cause for concern. But at the same time, Fairy Moon was using that power to prevent genocidal tyrants from coming in and fully wiping out her people.

And yet, these genocidal tyrants had only become genocidal tyrants in order to kill small fractions of the population in order to save the world from total destruction.

So... Some of their murdering was understandable, in a horrible, horrible way—

Three of the wrought landed. The red female incani, the white male owl shifter, and the iridescent male snake shifter. The others remained hovering behind the main three.

It was time to start.

Erick landed on the ground, keeping his lightning as close as possible. Some jolts still escaped his control and touched upon the ground, though this time they did not leave life in their wake. Ferns withered and died. Mushrooms rotted. Lightning lingered, killing the small things it touched.

A bare moment later Erick guessed at what was happening. It was quite possible that his emotional state had something to do with the manifestations of Benevolence. He supposed that was only right. After all, he had been using emotion in magic for a long time. In that moment, Kiri’s words came to him, reminding him of the time she had expressly said that putting emotions into his magic was a bad idea, for emotions changed and those changes would cause the created magic to behave erratically.

Ah. Whatever.

Fairy Moon stepped down onto the ground to Erick’s left. Inferno Maw settled onto the ground to his right. Everyone else remained hovering.

No one said a word, though based on the thick tendrils of air around the wrought, they were all in the middle of a large discussion. Since there was no discussion on his side—

Erick decided to break the silence of the grove and set the tone for all to come. “We see no surprises on your side, but I assume that I am a surprise to you, and likely in more ways than one. I want you to know that I want this meeting to go right, so take your time collecting your response, but please tell me: Is Kromolok connected to you? I would speak with him directly.”

To their credit, only the young copper wrought showed any signs of distress that Erick had spoken first.

After a moment of quick conference, the red metal incani stepped forward. She looked made of hellite. A counterpoint to the snake shifter made of celesteel? Perhaps. As far as Erick knew, though, the wrought didn’t participate in the Quiet War, or the Forever War, but those born to those specific metals were born into the same system that caused demons or angels to try and connect with them, to influence events down here on Veird.

The hellite woman said, “Inquisitor Kromolok is not directly with us, for Fairy Moon’s power is insidious and even more so here in her Domain, so we are cut off from everyone else. We are empowered to speak on their behalf, though, and to that end: We wish you to leave this land with us, Archmage Flatt. We have decontamination magics standing by to fully rid you of her influence.”

She said the words without any true hope, for she already knew his answer.

Erick said, “I know what the wrought do to Wizards, for I was already offered that particular calming end. I do not desire that particular calming end. My desires require a lot more power than the amount of power that the wrought would be comfortable with me wielding. Therefore, I will not be joining you today.”

The woman nodded, fully expecting what she had received. Only a few people in the group were obviously distraught. ‘Why didn’t he accept our offer!’ some were thinking. Some were preparing to murder Erick if necessary, though only the celesteel shifter seemed fully ready to attempt that idiocy. Not a fully unified group, then. The red woman had some control of the situation, though.

She said, “By your own words, in regard to certain events during Last Shadow’s Feast, you have said that ‘no one deserves to have that much power’. Has that stance changed due to your own beliefs changing, or due to the outside influence of Fairy Moon?”

Ah. So they were calling him a hypocrite then? Or just feeling him out?

Probably the latter.

Erick said, “I’ve known I was a Wizard for a very long time, and it has taken me that long of a time to come to terms with who I am, and who I have to be in order to create the world I wish to share with everyone else. I still believe that some people don’t deserve power, and some people who have no power should have more. I still dislike that someone can blow up a mountain with a flick of a thought. No one should have that much power.” Erick said, “But I have to have power if I am to remain free, and to further my own goals. It is a paradox, to be sure, which is fine since I’m a Paradox Wizard. Rozeta herself helped me to get there, you know. She believes that this whole thing can actually work out for all involved. I even got some blue boxes to that effect not ten minutes ago.”

The red woman nodded, as though she had known all of what Erick would say. Any smart person would have known, though, so Erick did not believe that she was mind reading him, or [Future Sight]ing him.

The white metal owl shifter was different.

He was mind reading Erick, for sure. Erick was under his own Domain, so the guy probably couldn’t just control his mind from there, but he could certainly read Erick’s inner thoughts. He had to be a member of the Inquisition.

The celesteel snake shifter seemed to reevaluate his decision to go on the offensive, though, when Erick mentioned Rozeta’s influence, which was nice to see. Erick had thrown those particular words out there with the express purpose of seeing if he could calm everyone down, and he had. The celesteel guy was clearly trying to hop through some mental hoops to make himself rightfully angry and ready for violence, though—

And ah! There it was.

The celesteel guy eyed Erick, and he was probably thinking that Erick was clearly mind controlled, or soul controlled, or something along those lines, for that’s what people did to control malcontents like Erick. Fairy Moon had already controlled Erick once. She was probably still doing it.

As for Erick’s own side, Inferno Maw just watched, somewhat surprised at both Erick’s declarations of knowing of his Wizardry for a long time, and at Rozeta thinking that everything could work out for the best. Could he trust Rozeta to have Ar’Cosmos’s ‘best’ in mind? Probably not, but he would wait and see, just to see what happened next.

The red woman said, “Any boxes you got could have been faked. That is what this place does. That is who these people are. Please come with us. Leave this land and return to normal magic, so that Rozeta herself can vet you as free of influences. We are not your enemies, Archmage Flatt, and we never have been.”

Erick almost asked them if they had not gotten new blue boxes, too, but apparently they were under orders to ignore all blue boxes once they got inside? Yes, that made sense.

Inferno Maw’s sudden, rumbling laughter cut off Erick’s attempt at clarification. He exclaimed, “You say ‘you have never been enemies’ like anyone could ever believe that! If he wasn’t wearing his Domain then your Inquisitor there would have already ripped him out of our protection. You think this is the first discussion we have ever had with you people? Nay! We know how you operate!”

The red woman took a half step back. She had spoken as much as she was able, and now it was time for another to take the field.

The white metal Inquisitor stepped forward. “This is not a normal situation, and Archmage Flatt is not a normal Wizard. If this were a normal situation, your people would have already corrupted him toward your own desires.”

Erick decided to barrel over the building animosity (which was likely based on true events, all around) and redirect the conversation to what mattered. “Please commit these words to mind, and take them back to Kromolok, and King Alfonin, and all the other wrought, and the Mind Mages, and Kirginatharp:

“Nothing is going to ever be the same now that I am here, and in power.

“I hope the alliances that I have already made with the wrought, and the Inquisitors, and the friendly relationships I have had with the Mind Mages, and with Headmaster Kirginatharp, and with all the other nations of this world, will prove the merit of my character more than the circumstances of who I happen to be. I hope that what I have done, enables you to more easily believe these next words, and the full breadth of their meanings and implications.

“I desire to see this world made more habitable.

“I desire fewer monsters, and more prosperity. Less war and more growth.

“But I know the measure of the wrought, and what they will do when truly dangerous magics come about. I know the dangers of dragons. I know the dangers of magic, and of Melemizargo, and of the Shades. I know the dangers of this world rather well, as I have fought against many of them, from monsters to face stealers, to assassination attempts and war, and many smaller issues that could fill a book or ten.

“And all the while, I knew that if I went to the good people who put themselves in charge of this world, and told them who I actually was, I would be killed, or worse. And so, we are here.

“These circumstances have required me to ally with Ar’Cosmos.

“To that end, I have helped them to create a machine which strips mangled Dragon Essence from a half dragon, or otherwise, turning them fully into whatever base race they were, or which they choose to be. It is the [Reincarnation] magic that I have spoken about before, but in a way that allows anyone to use the machine I have made.

“And so, Ar’Cosmos will likely be putting people out there into the world who are free of the Dragon Curse, in all ways.

“I am also making a House Benevolence.

“I assume that some reincarnated people will want to join my house, but it won’t be a house of dragons. It will be a house of people seeking normal freedoms. The majority of the reincarnated will likely go elsewhere, and hopefully to the Crystal Forest, which I plan on [Cleanse]ing of mimics and turning green.

“I might even get some full dragons transforming themselves into normal people, just so they won’t have to hide who they are anymore.

“I plan on making runic [Renew] webs wherever I need to, in order to defend my interests and the people who live there.

“And as soon as we’re done here, I’m headed back to Ar’Cosmos to make [Gate]. Or maybe I’ll make it here, in this Twisted Vision, so that it doesn’t disturb the inner magics of Ar’Cosmos too much. Fairy Moon has given me all the pieces to [Gate], and since I have my own Element now, taking that final step is just a matter of willpower.”

Erick breathed in, giving the terrified, or hopeful, or expressionless people all around a chance to catch up to his words. There had been a lot there. Fairy Moon simply looked thrilled. Inferno Maw clearly thought that Erick was divulging too much information, but he resigned himself to Erick spilling secrets. If there was one thing Inferno Maw knew about Erick, it was that Erick liked to give away magical secrets all the damned time.

Erick finished with, “I hope the alliances I have already forged out there remain intact. I hope that everyone can just get along, and if need be, simply keep to their own parts of the world and ignore each other. Because know this: I plan on curing the Dragon Curse and I plan on opening new worlds, and you all need more keepers of Scripts on other worlds, unless I am mistaken. So how about qualifying dragons? Rozeta seems to be doing a decent job.”

The wrought contingent was stunned into silence, though some of them obviously wanted to ask questions. Some of them were just staring at all the Death dragons, and judging them as floating piles of shit compared to their wonderful goddess, Rozeta.

The dragons had a much more mirthful reaction.

Inferno Maw let out a stuttering laugh that filled the air with monochromatic fire, and then he started laughing in earnest. His open display of joy rapidly waned, though, for he was still very much aware of his surroundings. The other Death dragons tried not to stare at Erick, for they were still on guard duty, but they did all glance his way.

Fairy Moon was ambivalent.

The white wrought spoke, “Your words are heard and recorded. They will be given to appropriate parties. Will you come with us to answer questions?”

“No.” Erick said, “I will exit Ar’Cosmos on my own time, though that timeframe could be sped up by open displays of diplomacy from all sides. I know Kirginatharp was attempting to get me to come to Oceanside to use my Path to force a lasting peace between Hell and Celes, but that likely will not happen for I plan on finishing the Worldly Path within the next two hours. I am still open to attempting to create a lasting end to the Forever War, though, so please tell him that.” Erick turned to Fairy Moon. “Perhaps we can get a conference going in here?”

Fairy Moon said, “Demons and Angels are allowed on the outskirts but Kirginatharp is forever forbidden.”

Inferno Maw shot Fairy Moon a brief look, but he said nothing. He did not appreciate allowing angels or demons anywhere near the Twisted Vision. As the chief dragon in charge of keeping these pathways stable and empty of threats, Erick couldn’t blame the guy for his worries.

The celesteel snake shifter man stepped forward, looking miffed, as he said, “Celes wants nothing to do with Erick.”

The red incani woman said, “Hell doesn’t want him to participate in those talks, either.”

Erick frowned at that, asking, “The wrought speak of continuing the Forever War?”

“That’s not what we speak of,” said the red woman.

“The Forever War is outside of your capabilities.” The celesteel man said, “As long as both sides exist, there will always be war, for both sides will always grant divine messages to those aligned with them in order to continue the war.”

The red incani said, “It’s an issue which does not need to be discussed in this particular arena, since no one here is actually a part of that conflict.” She said, “You, as a planar, were exempt from those messages, so you were never a part of the conflict to begin with, though the people of Spur did initially mistake you for a soldier in the Host. The soldiers that do get those messages often use that information to cause a new eruption of the Quiet War. Even without those messages, though, both sides are responsible for heavy tragedies that demand responses.” She casually warned, “Do not start barging into that war now, please.”

Erick’s frown deepened. “I am aware of the messaging phenomenon, and it makes me want to agree with Kirginatharp that the only good solution to the angel/demon war is the destruction of the moons. Just blast them away!” The eyes of practically everyone widened. Erick continued, “They’re already dead, right? And I’m pretty sure the angels and demons and their Veirdly conspirators have targeted me for death, so it is only right to return utter death to them, is it not?” While sudden, actual worry crossed every wrought face, Erick answered his own question before they could, “No, I suppose utter annihilation of both dead moons isn’t the proper response, even if they are already dead. So some talks with actual angels and demons might be good for solving that conflict, which is why Kirginatharp needs to be informed—” Erick’s voice dropped away momentarily.

He had an idea, like a flash of lightning crossing his vision, illuminating a path ahead. Or maybe it was just the Benevolence lightning skittering across his vision. Maybe both.

Erick continued, “Kirginatharp is the Second to Rozeta, therefore he wants power, and he has shown capability with handling power, too. To that end: I offer him the next world to come along, for I already know he would want it. Perhaps he can completely keep the angels and demons away from the next world, if he were there at the beginning and making decisions.”

Fairy Moon did not like this, but she kept her sight forward, upon the wrought.

The wrought had no idea what to make of his offer.

Erick said, “Please take that offer to him, and set up a proper meeting to discuss further events and questions. I can appear with Ophiel, I think, while still remaining inside Ar’Cosmos. I would show in person, but I know how much Kirginatharp wants Wizards, and I’m not sure if he actually wants his Curse removed. That Curse doesn’t actually have to be cured right away, anyway. When the next world opens up, he could take himself and his Curse along with him.” Erick said, “This is a large conversation that needs to happen over a long time, so come back tomorrow with your various answers.”

Erick began to turn.

The white wrought called out, “Are you planning on making Benevolence Dragons!”

“Not unless I need to.”

Erick floated backward, gradually picking up speed. His lightning lashed the ground, leaving sparks and tiny black marks here and there, but no growing life.