III-51 Predators (II)

The orcs are meticulous about their cruelty. When they took me, they separated me from the others. Only a few came with me. The others... th

The orcs are meticulous about their cruelty. When they took me, they separated me from the others. Only a few came with me. The others... the others were put in another camp.

They were titled “Relief.” Relief for the orcs, relief for their cruelty, for their itch, for their urge to harm. And we weren't far from the relief camp. They moved us into the tutorial and the screams that came from the relief camp were endless. Constant. They echoed ceaselessly, and the bars built around the camp were open. They let us see in. They let us see, but not completely. They threw silk sheets around the inner courtyard of the camp and there... they... they did things to people... things... things I don't want to talk about. The relief camp. We don't need to talk about that.

Let's talk about where I went to, where I went to. I went to the “Solutions” camp. The solutions camp wasn't even a camp. It was more like a luxurious resort. They even made a pool for us. It was absurd. The first time we went in, the front door had golden steps, carpets. The orcs, cruel shits, they dressed up like concierges. They liked playing roles, teasing us. They used their social skills on us, trying to charm those of us who are most pliable. And then we were separated, placed in our own rooms and watched constantly by an orc.

They fed us well. They treated our wounds. They talked to us about our trauma. Some of the orcs even mimicked our psychological patterns. They... they led us on. They told us about how they were tired of this cruelty, how they didn't want to be orcs anymore, and that... that was the first point of failure. Some of us, so desperate to believe that we found a way out, that we could find an ally in this... this hell and escape, they betrayed themselves. They... they turned to the orcs and, well... a week later we saw them in the Relief camp… I was—we were…

We were brought to the relief camp. The people in the relief camp didn't get to keep their arms or legs. They had stumps. They crawled around more like animals. They were fed like animals. They... they didn't... they couldn't keep their tongues either. And they showed me the relief camp. They showed me everyone else that had been part of the Solution camp, and I was the only one left. I was the only one.

And I saw... and I saw my mother... and I saw her and I... go home now. I need to go home. Someone needs to tell dad what happened. He's alone. We're alone. We’re just two now… Someone needs to tell him what happened to our family… I need to tell him…

-Interview with Adept-Artillerist Lee Halley 

III-51

Predators (II)

Uva's new armor was more akin to a crustacean's carapace than it was separate pieces of plating assembled together. To say that it was not optimized for direct and physical combat was an understatement. 

There was a lack of flexibility in the joints that would have disqualified it from use for any warrior or true assassin. The arcanite was harder than focus crystal by far, but still, that did little to solve the direct force issue posed by blunt weapons or concussive attacks. That being said, it was apparently transparent from the inside, more like wearing a barrier of glass than solid matter. From the outside, Shiv could only see his own reflection, but apparently, the opaqueness was only one-sided.

For anyone other than Uva, entering the armor would have been a chore. It unlatched from the back, forcing the wearer to squeeze through a narrow set of flaps. Uva had no issue squeezing. Frankly, she had no issue sliding in and out of the armor at all. She didn't even need to open the flaps. 

She simply undid one buckle and the rest of her body flattened, sliding in as if she was a sheet of paper or more like an undulating wave splashing through a crevice. Both Shiv and Adam looked on, speechless, as the Umbral mastered her physicality. It was only after they watched her feet slide in, flattening to accommodate the tightness, that Adam finally broke from his stupor.

"You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to your Physicality Skill Evolution."

"I suspect I won't either," Uva replied, her words muffled from inside the armor. It took a while for her to properly right herself. The armor bounced from side to side and Shiv helped keep it still. It was only when her limbs started moving again that he backed away. “It feels strange being able to move in odd dimensions. I have a hard time not folding myself in half when I walk at moments.”

Just then, the prismatic substance that comprised her armor flashed with a growing brilliance. Arcanite was a mana conductor, as was Focus Crystal, and from her head emerged a nest of mana strands. Previously, she was like the center of a spiderweb. Now, Shiv would more liken her to the heart of a literal jungle. 

It wasn't just that she had more strands; rather, some of them forked, growing new branches of mana that multiplied on as well. But as he studied her in an amplified mana field, he noted that some strands seemed fainter than the others. Her translucent mana had always been harder to notice, but they still glowed, they still had a presence in the world. There were a few strands that were fainter than all the others, and when Shiv projected his own Psychomancy through them, they dissolved, causing him to step back in surprise.

"Illusory mana," Uva muttered with curiousity. She directed one of her other strings to feel at those faint pseudo-strands. Her strings passed through as well, disrupting those strands as if she was pushing her hand through a veil of swirling mist. After a few moments, however, they reformed, and she stared at those illusory strands. She even compelled them to move in certain directions. "The wearer of this armor valued discretion," Uva hummed, "but I suspect they had their own Magical Resistance skill as well. Or avoided combat entirely.”

Shiv thought back to her armor's list of enchantments, and he realized she was right. It didn't have magical resistance. It seemed entirely focused on keeping her hidden.

"It's bloody hard to keep my eyes on you," Adam said. His eyes were burning bright. He struggled as he looked at Uva. His head shook as if it was at war with itself, at war with his neck, trying not to turn. "I daresay this armor would be more useful for a thief than a mage."

"Or a thieving mage," Uva said, building on Adam's guess. "But even so, I suspect the wearer was also focused on countering other magi."

"Why do you think that?" Shiv asked.

"Because the false mana field, or at least the illusory mana field, I should say... it is not exactly false. It is still drawing from my Psychomancy, but only a paltry amount I can't exactly control. The illusory strands... they do move, conversely, to a few actual strands I have. They're more like mirror images than anything else."

Shiv imagined Uva facing a rival Psychomancer now. He didn’t see that ending well for them. "Yeah," he said, smirking slightly at the dense nest of translucence veiling Uva. "I don't think I'd like to get into a mind battle with you, even if I was a Heroic-Tier Psychomancer."

"Not over long distance, perhaps, but close, force to force..." Uva hesitated. "I would avoid a direct competition of magical might against one of the orc Psychomancers still. The armor has amplified me, but my Heroic Skill remains what it is: a skill of distance, subtlety, and dexterity. Not nearly a weapon of mental destruction.  As for the other enchantments…” 

She looked at her hand for a moment, and her body flashed. A second later, she began to fade from view.

As she disappeared, Shiv expanded his mana hydras and found her in a near instant. She was right where she stood, though if he was using his eyes, he wouldn't be capable of perceiving her at all. Between the Invisibility and Awareness Warding enchantments, she was as hard to detect as any with a Master-Tier Stealth Skill. Hells, Shiv thought to himself, Awareness Warding is probably a master tier stealth skill at the very least.

"I can still hear a heartbeat," Adam replied, "but I keep losing track of my thoughts after." He held out a hand and made a gesture at her. A moment thereafter, he nodded. "Well, it's not entirely immune to tracking."

"Elaborate?" Uva asked. She reappeared in an instant, her invisibility dispelled.

"I mean, my Divination still works on you. Which is unsurprising. There are few things Divination does not work on, considering it taps into the narrative of all things."

Valor popped his head out of Shiv's cape and stared at Adam and Uva. "Ah. We are still here? I expected us to cross over to the Tutorial already to begin field tests.”

"In a moment, Valor," Adam said. "We're busy gawking at Uva's mage-thief armor. And I'm trying to figure out how I can counter this thing."

"It is not wise to state your suspicious intentions so openly, Gate Lord," Uva said with a low laugh. "Do you not trust me? Are you still worried I might reach into your mind and do something terrible to you.”

"Oh, I do trust you, sister," Adam replied with a light breath. "However, in case we run into someone like you, or with a similar skill..." Adam didn't finish that sentence. He let it stand and allowed Uva to come to her own conclusions. 

She acknowledged his point with a nod. "Understandable. But perhaps it you might gain more insight once we give this armor a field test.” Shiv could feel a slight grin spread across Uva’s face. "Let’s see how long it will take the orcs to notice and react to me.”

***

Uva was invisible when she crossed over into the tutorial. Shiv and Adam remained connected to her, aware of where she was. But the orcs were given no forewarning at all. Instead, the only hint of her presence was the massive, sprawling ocean of threads that extended from her.

Most of the orc army failed to react. But a few of the orc Psychomancers responded immediately. Their heads turned from where they rested around camp fires. They looked up and shifted their own fields to intercept Uva’s strands, but they did so more out of curiosity than malice. As their fields shuddered, the strings they tried to interface with dissolved, and Shiv saw a collective expression of surprise play across their faces. 

What they didn't notice were a few other strands weaving patterns over their heads. Spells formed within those patterns, and they remained there, hovering over campfires, trembling with slowly building concentrations of mana as they crystallized into shape. They remained there, without affecting any of the orcs or environment on an obvious level.

"So that's the Lagged Spell enchantment," Uva said.

"What's it do?" Shiv asked.

"It allows a spell to be cast ahead of time. It simply condenses itself slowly, but the action is already done."

"So it's like leaving a mine?" Adam asked.

“A mine?” Shiv asked.

“A bomb triggered by delay or proximity,” Adam explained.

"Sort of. A delayed spell, to some extent. However, it is still tied to me. I think that is connected to the other enchantment I have, spell priming." And as Uva twitched one of her strands, the spell went off. It burst in a large cone, spreading across the orc encampments, and they all turned upward as a telepathic statement washed down over them. "Do not be alarmed, this is just a test."

And that was all she said. The orc Psychomancers were actively darting around now, rushing through the camp as they tried to follow the fading telepathic spell. Several had convened together, and they observed her mana strings, watching with curiosity and interest. She didn't like the predatory gleam in their eyes, however. 

"I think maybe this is good enough." But she ignored him just then and continued shaping a dozen new spells. A chain of psychomancy spells formed across the expanse. Each of them resonated, and they seemed to pulse in sequence. After a few moments, each of them detonated as well, but they spread wide this time, splashing out as a wave rather than a cone.

"This—

“—is a warning—”

“—of randomized varieties—”

“—He who deciphers the hidden message gains—”

“—understanding.”

Each of the telepathic broadcasts sounded almost too close together. They arrived as if a jumbled mess, and Shiv frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Uva said, with a quiet chuckle. “Just something to get the orc Psychomancers paranoid. Let them try to decipher my mental rubbish," Uva replied dryly. True to her word, even more orcs were reacting, trying to figure out the mystery behind the mysterious mana strands.

But though the benefits her armor offered were good, they weren't perfect. 

"There," Adam said, pointing. Shiv and Uva both turned. It took a moment for them to spot what Adam was looking at, and he had to highlight it using his own divination for them to finally notice. They stared through his eyes and passively experienced his Seer of Horizons. 

His awareness arrived just before a tall orc that had a shard embedded at the top of his head. A shard that gleamed violet, lighting a brutally scarred face and casting shadows on lips spread wide in a grand and wicked smile.

"I see you, and you see me," the orc giggled madly. Adam reeled his senses back and shook his head.

"Well," he said, sounding slightly unnerved about that encounter, "I believe we just faced one of the orc's seers. I believe we just ran into one of the orc's Diviners. I suspect his Awareness might be Heroic-Tier as well."

"Why is that?" Uva asked.

"Because I think he's looking directly at you instead of me." Adam frowned. “Bloody bastard might have a higher leveled Awareness Skill too.”

“Feeling inadequate?” Shiv asked.

“That’s less important than understanding what my enemy is capable of,” Adam said, his expression serious. “I would rather seethe at a superior foe and live, rather than hide in my arrogance and lose.”

The Deathless just stared at Adam. “You know, Adam, sometimes you’re pretty cool.”

The Gate Lord froze. He twisted his head to look at Shiv. “I am?”

“Yeah. Like just now. I like that.”

Adam nodded, and he slowly smiled. “I am pretty cool.”

“And that orc is now a noted issue,” Uva said. Discomfort spread throug her mind. Connected to her consciousness, Adam and Shiv tasted it as well. Uneven undulations passing along her mana strands as a result—the only magical sign of her slight anxiety. “I will need additional countermeasures for Diviners, I suspect.”

"There is no perfect counter," Adam declared. "For every skill, there is another skill it cannot account for, and it only gets more extreme with every evolution. We are nowhere near invincible, and it's best that we remember that. Except for you, Shiv." Adam gave the Deathless an annoyed stare. "You can die as much as you want and get better from it."

Shiv just laughed. "Don't worry, Adam. As long as you stick close to me and survive all the horrible things that keep coming my way, I guarantee that you'll be at least, I don't know, a tenth as powerful as I am. In maybe a hundredth of the time."

"Don't forget about my vambrace," Adam said with a snort.

"What, your little sparky Necromancy thing? Yeah, it's really impressive. Of course, if you shoot me with it, you'll have to think about the collateral damage."

"You know what? If you annoy me enough, maybe I won't think about the collateral damage. Maybe I'll just shoot you. Damn the consequences. What do you think about that?"

Shiv's grin faded slightly as he considered that. "I think not, Adam. I think you're too good of a guy for that, and I think even if somebody pissed you off enough for you to do something like that, I doubt you'll be able to live with yourself after."

Psychology 29 > 30

The faux aggression on Adam's face broke apart then, and he blinked. "Was that psychoanalysis? It felt uncomfortable. Felt like you could see right through me in some way.”

Shiv considered what he just did and let out a grunt. “Yeah. My Psychology leveled again. Hells, it’s leveling fast. I just kind of triggered it without thinking. Probably got into the habit of using it against the orcs. They like poking at minds as much as they do the body.”

"Well, best that we don't use that on each other," Uva said.

Shiv nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sorry. It just feels like..."

"Reflex?" Adam finished for him.

"Yeah," Shiv replied. "Reflex."

The Gatelord considered that for a moment. "Your environment shapes who you are. I don't think it's good for you to be spending all this time alone with the orcs. With so many orcs as well. You'll probably need to come up with a strategy to balance out your behavioral influences."

"You make me sound like a kid, Adam," Shiv replied, a bit of humor returning to his voice.

"That affects everyone," Adam said. "Isn't that right, Uva?"

"Correct," the Umbral said. "Wait, how do you know about this?"

"I took a Psychology courses in the academy."

"Adam, how many classes did you take at the academy?" Shiv asked.

Adam's eyes looked upward as he tried to recall. "Well, I managed to fit in ten semesters."

"Ten?" Shiv asked.

"Not that long. The academy expects you to develop your own capabilities on the side, to practice. Classes are mainly theory," Adam finished. "Now, stop interrupting me. About, I don't know, eighty?"

"Eighty classes," Shiv gawked, "on top of all the learning you had to do as a kid? Holy shit.”

“Holy shit, indeed," Adam sighed. "I didn’t much like some of the classes, and I must admit that most of the classes didn’t go that deep into the subject. But still, my father stressed the importance of knowing things. Even a tertiary bit of knowledge matters in the heat of battle.”

“Like with the mana bomb back at Passage,” Shiv said.

“Yes,” Adam replied, holding his head high with pride. Just like that.”

"Yeah, well, instead of having classes or instructors, I got these orcs,” Shiv chuckled.

Neither Adam nor UVa shared his amusement.

"That and they're likely using their psychology and social skills on you all the time," Uva said. "I expect that most of them are at least Adept Tier for most of their social skills. Probably master tier for at least one social skill on average. Mingling with them is dangerous and beneficial for you at the same time. If you are exposed and grounded by a comparatively kinder, more ethical influence.”

Uva’s strand squeezed Shiv, and the Deathless just nodded. “Of course, Miss Uva. You know I have no problem with you educating me.”

“Uva,” Adam said, looking between them. “I have many complimentary things to say about you, but perhaps I should be the one to instruct Shiv on ethics.”

“You doubt my ethicality?” Uva asked.

“Yes,” Adam said bluntly. “Not severely, mind you. But the things you are willing to do are more than a little uncomfortable for me. Frankly, Shiv just butchers people. What you do with a mind is invasive. It can be a thing about my culture, but just crushing’s someone’s sense of self bothers me deeply. I mean this without offense.”

“Hm,” Uva mused. “A mix of influences on Shiv, then. And regardless of how unnerved I make you feel, his other influences are Can Hu, Valor, curse-happy chef, and the orcs.”

Adam stared unhappily at the millions of gray-skinned monsters leering at them from all directions. “Right. Yes. Well, Shiv, I might as well spent a bit more time with you when I can. Even if I do have to come over here more.”

“Not sure how wise that is,” Shiv said, staring down the orcs with a casual glare. “You don’t much like it here. They make you nervous. And if I can smell that on you, they probably can taste it.”

“Right. But so what?” Adam shrugged. “They scare me. Combat scares me. Death scares me. Losing my mother scares me. Failing my town scares me. I’m always scared, Shiv. But being scared doesn’t break me. It just makes me more committed. I’m not letting the orcs cow me. And I’m absolutely not surrendering you to them. You're not theirs to have.”

The Deathless swallowed as he looked at Adam. “Hey. Adam.”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

The Gate Lord smirked. “What are friends for?”

“Oh,” Shiv muttered. “We’re friends now? Not your responsibility?”

“We’re responsible for each other. You’ve always done what you can for me. Over and over. So I’m going to do what I can for you. Damn the past. Even if the past hurts us.” Adam paused. “I’ve been thinking about the orcs. They will exploit that against us. They will figure out our history. I think it will still hurt. To recall and be insulted by what your parents did to my mother. My family. Blackedge. My sister. But you know what?”

“What?” Shiv said, a weight growing inside him.

“You gave me back my mother,” Adam said. “And you’ve bled for me. You’ve died for me so many times. What Harlon and Vera Lowe did was forever. But what you did is forever, too. So. I’m going to state that now before the mood abandons me and I don’t have the courage to muster the words.”

Shiv nodded. Mainly because there was a large rock in his throat. If he started speaking, he wouldn’t so dignified. “Yeah. Thanks.” He managed to force out.

“Yeah, thanks?” Adam asked. “That’s your reply.”

“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Shiv growled out to hide the wetness building in his throat. “If you make me have a moment in front of these orcs, I’ll kick their asses for mocking me. And that’ll take a bit too much godsdamned time.”

“And normal Shiv returns,” Adam muttered.

The two sons of Blackedge shared a look, a laugh, and then a happy silence. Uva receded into silence, but Shiv felt a warmth emanating from her, too.

It only then occurred to Shiv how lonely he had been all his life, and only after he got a contrast of people he could count on—people who cared about him—that he realized how much being lonely hurt.

"Anyway," Adam letting out an extended breath. "I’ll be coming over here because I don't want to imagine what Shiv without morality looks like.”

"I don't think you need to imagine," Uva replied flatly. "Just go find one of the more destructive Heroic-Tier orcs."

Shiv winced at that. "Am I really that bad?"

"Bad?" Uva replied. "It has nothing to do with bad. It has everything to do with how you act. Of course, you're destructive because your skills lean that way, and because you're inexperienced. They're destructive because they want to see things break. Still a fundamental difference. There isn't a true parity between you and a Heroic-Tier orc until your destruction becomes a matter of choice rather than a byproduct of your actions.”

Shiv took both Adam and Uva’s words in. 

All his life, he wanted to be a Pathbearer, to be powerful, to hold bare magic and wield it, to create wonders and miracles. He wanted to be free to adventure across the world to see sights he could only dream of and sights beyond his dreams. But now that he had this opportunity, now that he'd grown faster than most path-bearers could ever hope, he considered who he might become when he finally hit Legendary Tier. 

And he was going to hit Legendary Tier sooner than anyone could in the world. He brought up the quest to save Blackedge again. The moment the town was liberated and Vicarr Sullain was defeated, he would be able to elevate himself to a Legendary-Tier Pathbearer. But what Skill would he make Legendary? And what kind of legend was he going to be? How was he going to face the world.

I think I might have been a little too reactive most of my life. I thought I was active when I tried to earn a path by killing the lesser vampires. But interacting with the orcs, dealing with the problems now... I've just been rolling with the punches a bit. Maybe a clear goal of who I could be would be more useful. Not just stuff I want to do.

Philosophy 11 > 12

Psychology 30 > 31

And as he considered that, his philosophy and psychology both leveled. 

Shiv felt a resolution harden himself. Yeah, clarity. A direction at least. I don't just want to be getting pushed around one way or another by what other people do. Learning from the orcs is good. Being influenced by them even subtly is not great. Right, some ground rules for myself. The basics still apply. Try not to kill innocent people or non-martial Pathbearers. And immediately he cringed as he remembered fighting 811, and also the aftermath of his battle against the Jealousy and the Recollector. 

The Recollector was a problem. He likely couldn't do anything in that situation. There was no point in regretting all the ones who died there because the system directly forced his hand. There was no indication of what was hiding within Krumfriga's sword.

Right, he thought, let's add something to that. Maybe figure out a skill that will allow me to teleport myself and an enemy somewhere where there are not so many people. I don't know, I might need to ask Adam about that.

"I could just fire my arrow at you," Adam said. And then Shiv remembered that he was still mentally connected to Adam and Uva.

"Oh, right. Yeah, thanks Adam. Might work.”

“The dimensional pathways will close eventually. But you fighting someone else within that expanse is better than you fighting someone else in the middle of a city. Though there are other issues such as me not being present when you need this kind of support.”

"Right. Maybe if we can get some kind of pocket dimension on command,” Shiv considered.

And that made Adam have his own thoughts. He stared at his bow and let out a quiet hum. “A dimension on command. That might be useful for me as well, especially if we want to trap someone, or if I want to set the dimension ablaze with corrosive energy.”

And just then, a loud cry echoed through the air. 

"Hey Insul! Took you long enough. Finally back" Bonk stood atop the Court Leviathan, waving his massive cancerous club. "We're going out or what? If we're going to have to wait any longer, we're going to start fighting each other. We're expected to war, not to sit around all day."

Shiv snorted. "Right, Adam, Uva, suppose we start rounding up orcs and moving them out the Surface Gateway? Let’s see how our army of gray-skinned monsters hold up against the Inquisition.”

The Gate Lord nodded slowly. "We don't have any teleporters yet, but I can fire a Veilpiercer from here, from within the bunker to the surface gateway. After that, they just need to pass through the pathway."

Shiv considered that, and it sounded like a pretty good solution, albeit one that relied mainly on Adam. It wouldn’t be efficient in the long term. "Maybe you can just create a dimensional network that connects all three gateways in the bunker or something."

"That was what I was thinking as well," Adam replied. "It'll be a separate channel, though. Maybe we'll have to build an additional teleportation anchor on top of that for everyone else's use. The orcs have their own specific channels that remains apart from the ones we all use. I will have to make sure it’s properly warded though.”

“So?” Bonk shouted. “We going, or do I need to start killing some of these other orcs. Because I will. I don’t like a lot of these ugly shits, Shiv. I want to hit something.”

"Alright, I'm gonna go talk to these bastards before they start tearing each other apart. Or us."

“Wait,” Uva said. “Activate your cape. I’m going inside, too.”

“Wh—oh, right, avoid the light-curse.”

As she slipped into the Dimensionality of his cape and joined up with Valor and Can Hu, Shiv shot up into the air with a burst of gravity.

“I’ll get a pathway set up,” Adam called. “Have the orcs queue properly if you can.”

Shiv laughed at the thought, then that laugh died as he realized the orcs probably could manage a pretty neat line while they marched off to butcher and maim.

As he traveled through the air, orcs called out to him, cheering his arrival, some jeering him for taking so long. But instead of just relishing their attention as he did before, he focused on their voices. Focused on how he felt, and he noticed it. They were pulling at his psychology, influencing him in weird ways. He truly enjoyed the orc's attention. It made him feel wanted. It made him feel special. And with every time they cheered, that feeling grew a little stronger.

Oh, you subtle, sneaky, gray-skinned sons of bitches, Shiv said to himself, shaking his head. But he realized this time, and he remembered this moment. He reached inside his own mind using his Psychomancy and gripped this realization he had. He tried to scar it into his mind.

The orcs were not his allies, and they were using any and all means to influence him. He needed to be wary of that. More importantly, he maybe could use the same means to influence them back. It was time to put them on a bit of a defensive.

He came to a halt above the Court Leviathan. There, Bonk and a dozen other Heroic-Tier orcs looked up at him, their eyes glowing with violent anticipation. Some of them were bleeding, their armors slightly damaged.

“The hells happen to you idiots?” Shiv asked.

“Sparring?” Bonk replied, shouldering his club. “So? Are we finally leaving? Is the Gatelord pleased with our proposal? Or are we going to have to each sign a skill contract with him, promising our souls as collateral in case anyone accidentally harms a flea?"

“Nah,” Shiv said with a vicious grin of his own. “You guys are going to be scratching that itch of yours good today. Go get the other orcs prepared to cross the gateway. We’re gonna be intercepting the expeditionary force. Let’s see how you bastards do.”