Chapter 15-1 The Gift

Chapter 15-1 The Gift

+Rab?

Long time no cast, how the hells are you?

Oh, not a social call is this? Whats the run? Dont make it boring. Im too old for boring.

[TRANSFERRING MEM-DATA]

Alright. You hooked me already. This ones a real

[IMPS TRANSFERRED]

Damn, Rab, paying fast today. This thing must have you all kinds of worried for you to be throwing imps at me already. Dont worry: Ill keep an eye on it. Him. Whatever this thing is.

Yeah, Ive seen that fire before. Ori-Thaum. Conflagration is a nasty thingbut my consang-to-be here doesnt seem that affected. And if hes actually a ghoul like you say, thats a hell of a lot more self-control than Ive ever seen for his kind.

Say, are you still with that girl? The Godclad with the pretty frown. Yeah. Javvers niece. Oh, none of my business, huh?

Guess thats a yes.

Is she out there with this Avo right now? Risky business, playing two sides. Stormtree wont be happy with her if she doesnt call in soon. The fuck-up in the Warrens was nasty. You tell her shes running from an awful lot of explaining she has to do, and that the Longeyes are already putting out their feelers.

Youre fine for now, but you wont have forever. She needs to call in and take the heat off. And you need to figure out what they hells you want out of this life. You cant play between if this thing is going to work.

Trust me: I know.

You make someone choose between being a color and you, and dont be surprised if you dont like the outcome.

Well, you might not have wanted it, but the relationship advice was free. Take it from an old lady, son: think this thing through. For both your sakes.+

-[Redacted]

15-1

The Gift

As Avo resurrected, he found himself leaning against the side window of the aerovec, and it occurred to him that his understanding of the city was all wrong.

For years, he thought himself a creature in a hive, fighting and feasting and failing to ascend to its heights. Not so much anymore. He should have paid attention to the words the Guilders were using. He should have been better at listening.

Tiers.

They meant that in more ways than one and the philosophy behind the word extended beyond ones climb to the top of the prosperity ladder.

The Undercroft was made up of wedges and blocks and towers and bunkers. The streets and pathways were crevices when viewed from on high, and the flow of people leaked like water running between cracks in a wall. They were being choked it. It was so obvious from up here, so clear what they were trying to do.

Each block was a fortress unto itself and with their density generated within them a socioeconomic singularity. They were, at once, places where life could flourish, yet blockades for rival armies to break themselves.

Tiers. As in tiers of armor to pierce through. As in tiers of fortifications to break through. This city flirted with notions of culture and society, but the decorative ghosts that painted the city in new aesthetics and phantasmal advertisements were but flourishing drapes laid over an armored chassis.

New Vultun had always been built as a city at war, and drawing upon his newly devoured memories, most of the other hive cities were much the same way.

Memory-protected plasteel hulls gleamed in voluminous hues while the colors of the Nether still ran. Filtering all ghosts from his cog-feed, he gazed upon the featureless bones of the district rendered nude, and he found himself looking upon a jungle of glass and alloy.

Dying gave one a shot of perspective sometimes. He spent some time in his Soul, detaching the Heaven of War and installing it into another, more thaum-heavy Frame per the request of White-Rab. The entire affair afforded him some time to think, and some thinking to occupy his time after.

The Harshlanders navigational display showed that they were soon to arrive, and down from the height of fifty feet they dropped, shifting vertical lanes to circle into a narrow crossing trapped between two blocks.

Pulsing reverberations of neon passed through them as a new update to Stormjumpers 2 made its announcement through the Nether, immediately followed by review boosting and bombing campaigns by fans and contrarians alike.

Well be arriving soon, Reva said. You should still fire up your Incog. The place is a street squire haunt, so it should be secure, but you dont exactly look like the usual clientele either. You can dip into my shadow, but theyre pretty thorough at checking, and this place has more than its share of Fallwalkers as well. Its better that we cover all our openings..

We bled each other. Got messy. Was nice. Avo licked his fangs in reminiscence of delectable violence.

Nice, White-Rab said, sounding not entirely convinced. Well. I dont like shaking hands, and seeing those sharpened ceramite tips on your digits doesnt do you any favors. Id settle for tapping bowls with you or something like that. But you dont strike me as the ritual type.

No, Avo replied. Like having goal. Like getting things done. Like not wasting time.

The ghost of a smirk filled White-Rabs expression. Yeah. Were gonna be fine. So. You can make me a Clad.

Have what you asked for earlier, Avo said. You know how this works?

White-Rabs easy confidence faded a bit, and he shot Reva a look. Yeah. More of less. Does it have to be death?

Its the only true thing of absoluteness a mortal can do, Avo said. Crossover. Necessity. Thats what I think.

The other Necro let out a low breath. Alright. So

Do you have a preferred way of dying? Avo asked.

Painlessly, White-Rab replied.

Reflexive anger rose in Avo but he disrupted before it could distract him. Reducing his base mind again, he found the cruelty response vastly diminished. Sudden?

Sure. As long as it doesnt leave me screaming. Maybe you can make it sud

Avo burst the blood vessels in his brain with a flex of will. One second, White-Rab was speaking. Then, he toppled face-first into his bowl.

Reva flinched back and whipped around to glare at Avo.

He didnt bother meeting her gaze this time.

Its what he wanted, Avo said, reaching out with his Soulfire to bind Frame to nous.

GRAFTING [MOTE PATTERN LIMINAL FRAME] TO ROOTED NOUS;

EDGELURKER HEAVEN TEMPLATE INSTALLING

TRANSFERRING THUAMS: 300

The binding was unseen at first, something happening beneath reality itself. As things continued though, a scab began to form in his awareness, a growing cocoon bearing the resurrection of a nascent Godclad grown upon the flesh of the tapestry.

At the sight, Reva breathed a soft sigh of relief and settled upon her table.

Worried I might just take his echo? Ghosts? Avo asked, watching as his work began to flourish. A sublime pleasure filled him as he regarded his deed with utmost satisfaction. He had taken power undeserved and granted it to another. This was an act of balancing. This was a tangible shift in the citys dynamics.

Avo didnt know what he truly wanted beyond breaking the Guilds and fulfilling his current desires, but through White-Rabs return, he learned how to dream.

Standing beside Reva, they both watched as the resurrection progressed over White-Rabs unmoving body, and with mounting tension, the scab began to hatch, and the flames ushered the return of a being banished from the permanence of death.

White-Rab announced his return with a sharp intake of breath as he snapped up from his bowl. The edge of the table sparked as if it was metal and struck by a piece of flint. Even Avo felt a lurch pass through the straightest angles on his body.

Raldi, breathe. Reva reached out and took the face of the astonishedand very stunned Necrointo her hands. Youre fine. You were dead but youre fine. The way she said it made Avo think she regarded him as better than fine. From the side, he could see an uncharacteristic smile spread across her features.

Taking in gulps of air, White-Rab turned to Avo once more, mouth opening and closing as he tried to master himself. I expected a bit more warning

Then it wouldnt be sudden, Avo replied, spreading his fangs in a proud grin.

His cog-donor stood up and, with a shaking hand, reached out to the railing nearby. He directed an unseen force, and it cut into the table.

White-Rab staggered back. Holy shit. It worked. I felt. I felt another aspect of reality. It was He turned back to Avo and a new weight settled behind his eyes. That was all it took. Just a kill and a thought and you made me a god.

Only with the right components, Avo replied. And if I choose to.