Chapter Three Hundred And Seventy Four – 374
"Is that...what is that?" Loquis asked, staring into the east. The Half-Orc stood with Pava and Asaad atop the ridge, one of several squads that had been set as lookouts. Henaari scouts were prowling the sands somewhere nearby, but the top of the bluffs had the best sight lines. Loquis shaded his eyes against the rising sun, just barely peeking over the horizon.
"What's what?" Asaad demanded. The Dwarf squinted eastward for all of a moment before sneezing violently. "Damnable sun! I don't see anythin'!"
"Clouds. I see clouds," Pava said. Loquis could almost see the wisps of Mana flutter around her eyes, enhancing her normal Perception. "A lot of clouds."
Elemental Eye is level 27!
The clouds were lit by the golden light of the rising sun, but his Elemental Eye saw it as a dark storm front. Black threads roiled among the dunes, and an unnameable dread seized Loquis' soul.
"Those aren't just clouds," he whispered. "We must tell the Autarch."
"Oh aye? You gonna be the one to do that?" Asaad said.
"He's been sequestered for hours now," Pava added. "Geir spotted his Companion down the second passage."
"Hrm. Yes," Geir said. "None were allowed near."
The storm was coming closer. It appeared slow, but that was an illusion of the distance. Loquis had no clue how quickly it could be upon them.
"I'll go. He needs to know. Everyone needs to know."
Congratulations!
You Have Tempered Your Mind!
You Have Formed: the Fiendforged Mind
+50 PER
+50 INT
+100 WIL
+100 INE
+40 ALA
Felix woke to the final notes of a dwindling concerto in his head, pillowed upon the soft, warm cushion of Pit's belly. That sound resonated as his eyes cracked open, fading to tremors of exquisite, jeweled tones that vibrated his fingers and toes.
Huh. Fiendforged Mind? Felix licked his lips, but it was like rubbing two dry stones together. There was no moisture within his mouth at all. He sat up, Body protesting and Mind quaking just a touch. It was the world's worst hangover. "Water," he croaked.
Pit chirruped and nudged a sloshing skin toward Felix's hand. He grabbed it and slung back the entire thing in four big gulps, only surfacing when the skin had hollowed out. He didn't even care that the contents had been warmed by contact with Pit's haunches. He worked his tongue against the roof of his mouth until crude functionality returned to his throat. "Gah, that feels awful. Remind me never to get dehydrated in a desert again."
Pit tilted his head, then nudged another full water skin toward Felix. He laughed, taking it gladly. "Thanks, buddy." He sipped at this one slowly, grimacing at the warm taste. "How long have I been out?"
Six glasses, Pit sent. Sunrise is here.
Six hours was about the same amount he'd slept off his Spirit Temper, so that tracked, but Felix didn't like that he'd lost so much time. There was too much to do before they headed off to the City of Embers, not the least of which was fit in a bit more trainingfor himself and the others.
Focus. Status check first.
Name: Felix Nevarre
Level: 57
Race: Primordial of the Unseen Tide (Greater)*
Omen: Magician
Born Trait: Keen Mind
______
Health: 10180/10180
Stamina: 11400/11400
Mana: 8195/8195
______
STR: 2420
PER: 1862
VIT: 2016
END: 2070
INT: 2516
WIL: 3066
AGL: 1182
DEX: 1492
It wasn't his stats. It was his Body. Felix could feel the strain accumulate as he moved, slight as it was, just from his Journeyman Body keeping up with his Adept Mind and Spirit.
"Karys?"
His sword ignited. This close to exterior of the Warren, the sword still had a solid connection to his chancellor. "Yes, my Lord?"
He quickly explained what was going on. Karys made a few clucking noises before sighing.
"You have grown too quickly. And conversely, not quickly enough," Karys said. "As you suspect, it is clear that your Body cannot fully keep up with your Mind and Spirit. I mentioned before that the gulf between Journeyman and Adept is quite remarkable. If Beginner to Apprentice is a thimble to a spoonful, and Apprentice to Journeyman is a spoonful to a teacup, then the leap to Adept is akin to a lake. Crossing that expanse is difficult, and must be done swiftly, or else you risk drowning in your own power."
"Easier said than done," Felix groaned. "My Body Skills are close, but not enough."
"Then you must focus on them. Press them as much as you can and glean what understanding you must, because if the imbalance continues you will see greater issues to come."
"Cool." Felix leaned against the cold bone and sighed. "I'll get right on that."
A timid knock interrupted his thoughts only minutes later. "Sir?"
Felix pulled himself into a standing position, bracing against the slight blur in his perceptions. He could still sense things around himself, but acting on it was hard. If he could keep his actions limited though, then it was almost normal. "Come in."
The thin cloth at the entry to his small chamber was twitched aside, and a Half-Orc Legionnaire stepped in. He wore battered battlerobes and bore the forked lightning of the Arclight society. Loquis, as his Eye determined, pressed a fist to his chest and kneeled. "My Lord Autarch."
Oh, jeez. "Don't do that. Stand up." The kid stood up, blushing awkwardly. "What's going on, Loquis?"
"Ah, um, I was, I decided to come down here to see you because, ah," the Half-Orc swallowed twice, his blush darkening his green face even further.
"Calm down," Felix said. "I'm not gonna bite, dude. Why did you come to see me?"
"The desert, sir. It's the desert." Loquis straightened up to his full height. "It's dawn, sir. And a storm is coming."
Monsters? Felix tried not to enjoy the thrill that shot through him, but it was hard. "Show me."
Felix emerged from the Warren to find the sands about the massive skeleton whipped into a frenzy. Pit squawked indignantly and refused to follow, eyes lidded against the wind. The sky had darkened, but not because of a lack of sun. It was due to huge, vaporous threads of blackened-green and dusty brown Mana that filled the horizon, all woven into the shape of an advancing storm cloud.
"Alright, stay here for now. I'll be back in a bit."
Relentless Resolution!
Flaring his Skill in the hopes of steadying his Body, Felix leaped straight up the side of the Levianthan's corpse. His feet hit once or twice, each time propelling himself up higher and further, until he landed atop the sandy bluff the creature had embedded itself within. From there, he could truly see.
A roaring storm of sand and lightning surged across the horizon. It was a force of nature, so primal and impressive that Felix forgot to breathe for a few seconds. When he remembered, he still couldn't quite shake his awe. It was like if a twister and a hurricane had a baby, and then dried it out. It was sweeping across the dunes like a rainstorm...yet Felix saw no water Mana within its structureonly earth, air, and a huge dollop of necromantic power.
It was terrifying.
"That is not a natural storm."
Felix started. Zara was beside him, staring at the storm as well. His imbalanced Aspects and distraction had conspired to sense her approach at all. That was concerning. "That seems obvious. Can't recall the last storm I've seen that was mostly necromantic."
"Indeed. It is also..." she tilted her head, listening. "Filled with an inert Intent. Interesting. I assume these are the Cursewinds."
"Yeah, seems likely." Felix licked his lips. He was thirsty again. Damn dry desert air. "Will this place hold against it?"
"The shaman seems to believe so. They were unconcerned when the storm was revealed to us."
The sound of hard boots against harder stone clattered behind them, and this time Felix easily sensed Evie and Vess' arrival.
"What's goin' on? Holy" Evie looked at Zara, cutting her words short. "What're you two just out here standin' around for? That thing gonna hit us?"
"No," Vess said. To Felix's eyes, air Mana coiled around her upraised hand, feeding down into her eyes where it swirled in brilliant flashes of multi-colored light. "The prevailing winds has it headed south. It should miss us by a close margin."
"That's a relief. The idea of bein' buried alive in sand isn't much appealin' to me, personally."
"It would likely scour the flesh from your bones first, if that's any consolation," Zara supplied helpfully.
Evie sucked at her teeth. "Can't say it is, no."
They watched as the sandstorm rolled ever closer, though it appeared Vess had been right. It was going to bypass them on its way south. Toward the Stormeater Peaks, he didn't doubt, where it'd hopefully dash itself apart. Unless it hit the Caleph Pass directly. Could that happen? What if
Without warning, there was a flare of piercing Dissonance, and all four of them reeled backward. Felix heard someone scream, even felt blood drip down his nose, but couldn't pay them much attention. All of his Mind was fully engrossed in the undeniable certainty that the storm was looking at him.
"It's...sensing you," Zara said from behind.
"Impressive, Felix," Evie snarked breathlessly. She had fallen to her knees after that Dissonance had hit. "I can be a thorn, but I've never made the wind mad."
"It's not the wind," Zara said. Her voice was heavy and thick with apprehension. "Feel its Intent, child. You too, Felix."
He did.
The inert Intent Zara had sensed was rough and grey, like a beast that had been slumbering for years. Or a corpse buried for decades. But there was a rousing acidity to it, an electric charge that suffused its core. It smelled of violence, tasted of Dissonance and thin, dusty blood. He recognized it, having tasted its Essence twice now.
"Primordial," he growled. "Or Primordial generated, at least."
"It knows you," Zara said.
"Because of the spider monster? Because I cleansed it?"
"Perhaps. The capabilities of Primordials are unknown. The greatest were calamities, but even the lesser ones were forces of nature." The Naiad swallowed and helped Vess back to her feet. "If this is a mere branching of its Will and Intent, then it is one of the former. It is stronger than the Ravager King by an order of magnitude."
A scream shredded the air and shook the rocks they stood upon, as the winds shifted and the entire storm followed suit. Right toward them.
