Manifestation of the Coronach is level 64!
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Manifestation of the Coronach is level 67!
Dirt and dust kicked up in a wild circle around him, and Felix tried to ignore the notifications that flickered past his sightthough the change in his Etheric Concordance was enough to break his stern countenance. He grinned. You see that Pit? My turn to take a break!
In response, Felix's wings vanished abruptly, withering off his body as a huge tenku manifested beside him. Pit squawked at Felix, and nudged him with a massive shoulder though it did little to move him. Felix laughed.
"Felixer, Lord Autarch, sir?"
Vyne and Nevia were the closest to him, and both had been sheltering behind the warrior's tower shield. Felix felt touches of fear and relief humming across their Spirits, fear of his entrance and relief that it was only him. Vyne nodded to the assembled Frost Giants, all of whom were watching with stern faces and clenched fists. Their Spirits were a jumbled mess; a mixture of surprise, fear, awe, and...a touch ofwhat is that?
Felix cleared his throat and addressed them, nodding to Vess and Harn among the others. "My people tell me that you want to see me.
The Frost Giant in the lead, a rare female, tossed her hair back like a recalcitrant horse. Another stood behind her, just ahead of a crowd of four dozen RisiFrost Giantsand all of them stared at Felix like he was a monster.
Yes. We haveconcerns. She drew herself up, emphasizing her almost nine feet height. Why did you save us?
Felixs eyebrows lifted. When he had used his Unite the Lost at the end of his confrontation with the Archon, he had cleansed the Marks from all within range of his Spirit Tree. Marks were like spiritual tags that let a greater power track, influence, or even outright control someone of lesser advancement. Felix himself had been afflicted with several, as had the twisted servants of the Archon: the Arcids and the Reforged. When felix had cleansed them, his Unite the Lost also reverted their bodies to what they once were, restoring lost flesh and bone and blood, restoring Minds and Spirits in addition to their Bodies. All of the giants before him were once raving slaves to the Archons hate. Now they were free.
Did you not want to be saved? Felix asked carefully. There had been a tentative peace over the last twenty four hours, but he wasnt so naive to think it would continue forever. The Frost Giants had been his enemy since hed first came to Shelim. The Witches, moreover, were the power behind Grimmar, former chieftain of the Risi and unwitting pawn of the Maw. He had no idea how much these Witches knew about that situation, or the fate of the Maw; the one they worshipped as a goddess.
"WeYou have put us in a difficult position, Felix Nevarre. You, who faced down our High Chieftain in single combat, who survived the Mother's ire, you now come and deliver us from the vile thrall of the Archon." She shook her head, and that strange melody skipped across her Spirit. It was reluctant, almost wayward, but the emotion flitted across all those before him. "It is too much. I must know. What are your intentions for us?"
"Intentions?" Felix asked. He longed to meet Vess' gaze, but the Witch hadn't blinked. He felt certain that looking away would lose him something in the exchange, like running from a predator. Regardless, he thought honestly on her question. Why had he saved them? "To have you be free. That is the gist of it. The Archon took the choice from you all when he turned you into those...things, and I'm just giving it back." Felix made a vague gesture northward. "You can go whenever you like. I'll not stop you."
The Witch watched him warily, skepticism clear on her face. "You have embarrassed us time and again and expect us to be grateful. Our honor cannot take the strain of being saved by one so...small." She tossed her hair again. "We demand recompense! A fight to the death to assuage our honor! Our greatest warriors against your own. What do you say to this?"
Felix heard Vess' sharp intake of breath and Harns low growl in addition to a myriad of sounds from his people. Only Pit seemed unworried. "This will resolve your problems, going forward? Set us square?" Felix asked.
"It will," she promised and Felix sensed no deceit in her Spirit. He decided to roll the dice.
"Then let's do this. Pick your warriors. We'll do this here and now." Felix said, releasing a pulse of Stone Shaping that firmed up the ground between crude houses. It was a decent size, approximately the length and width of a a football field. It only seemed like less because of all the literal giants.
"Agreed. It is better to end things quickly," the Witch said, before barking orders in the Risi tongue.
Vess sidled up to Felix, as did Harn. Alister, Atar, and all the Haarguard lingered further back, all of them frowning at the giants. "Felix, you thinkin' this through? You're strong, but those Risi are half again stronger than they were as Reforged or Arcids."
"I disagree, Harn," Vess said. "Sometimes we must put force behind our words, as otherwise our actions have no weight or substance. Diplomacy does not only occur in palaces and salons."
Harn laughed. "I do know that. I ain't sayin' he should back down. We can take em, but it'll be rough, and I don't know what'll happen after. Where's Evie? With you, me, and Felix here we can wipe out whatever they toss at us, but I'd feel better with a fourth."
"She's up there," Felix said, gesturing to the top of the Temple. "But it doesn't matter. Neither of you are helping."
"What?" Harn and Vess both said, equally surprised and annoyed.
"We are ready, Felix Nevarre," the Witch interrupted. Three others flanked her: the other Witch, and two warriors that stood twice as tall at around twenty feet.
"Good. So am I," Felix said, and strode out into the field. Alone.
"Just yourself?" The Witch did not seem surprised, but she grinned widely. Perhaps she had counted on Felix doing this, or maybe she just saw it as an easy win. "You do us no honor if you cannot bring out your best warriors."
"My warriors are resting. You'll have to settle for me," Felix said, then gave her a grin of his own. "Besides, I needed a good warm-up anyway."
The Risi beside her growled, a sound so deep Felix felt it faintly in his chest, even forty feet away. The Witch's smile faded, and she nodded once. "Then let us begin."
Felix glanced at Vess and Harn, both of whom looked ready to attack him themselves. "Let's"
The Frost Giants exploded forward, massive axes of ice manifesting in their uplifted fists. A rain of blurring yellow-purple light fell from the sky, soaking into Felix's Body even before the warriors crossed the distance.
Status Condition: Hex of Hand. Effective Dexterity Reduced by 5%!
Status Condition: Hex of Thew. Effective Strength Reduced by 10%!
The axes came down. Felix's bare fists, void of Skills, rose to meet them both. A sound like shearing iceburgs cracked the air, and a plume of stone dust and ice chips flew in all directions.
The axes, both of them, were hurled back along with the Risi Warriors' arms. They grunted in surprise, but had little time beyond that. Felix, unharmed and unarmed, came for them.
He shot forward, through the smoke and debris and swept both of the warriors' legs. They fell, careening backward, hard enough to make the nearest houses shudder. Felix flared his Agility, moving so fast the Risi had barely touched down when he hefted one of their discarded ice axes. The axe, easily ten feet long and heavy as a team of avum, was light as a feather in his hands as he lifted and spun it. The bearded blade slammed into the earth just inches from the first warrior's skull, and he looked at Felix with wide, terrified eyes.
"You're dead," Felix said. He blurred away, leaping over the fallen Risi to deliver a single, solid kick to the other warrior's jaw. His bald and bearded skull snapped back, his entire, enormous body going limp. Unconscious, but alive. "You're dead too."
Felix pivoted toward the Witches.
Waves of ice tore across the field, attempting to bury him under the layers of their spell, but Felix simply pushed himself to his limit. Strength, Endurance, Vitality, Agility, he plowed through wave after wave of ice relying entirely on his stats alone. New Hexes shot out, more comets of yellow and purple ManaHexes of Despairbut Felix shrugged these off with a casual flex of his Willpower. Both of the Witches flinched back as their spells rebounded against them, but one recovered fast enough to hurl a thick stalactite of ice at him.
Felix slapped it aside, directly into the crowd of Frost Giants. It bowled over several of their warriors, and the Witch gasped. Felix was already airborne, however, his right knee leading the way into the Witch's gut. She crumpled like a house of cards, and Felix's sheer weight and momentum threw the both of them ten feet back. Felix rolled from the impact, coming to his feet without losing a beat, and came at their leader.
"Enough!" she cried out, before she bowed. "We are defeated." He blinked. The Witch dropped to her knees and prostrated herself on the ground, pressing her forehead to the dirty stone. "We surrender to your strength, Felix Nevarre. We are yours, Autarch, bound by Oath and Power. Upon our honor shall we serve, or else upon our honor shall we die."
All at once, every single Frost Giant did the same. They sank to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the dirt, all of them repeating that same Oath. And it was an Oath, because Felix could feel the silvery threads of them coiling about his Spirit. Gossamer chains that were heavier than their ephemeral nature would suggest. He winced at the weight, but the sensation faded almost instantly.
Felix traded shocked glances with Vess and Harn. He hadn't expected this.
"Uh. Okay. Accepted."
A trumpeting fanfare accosted his ears immediately, and a notification box appeared bracketed with gold and silver.
Congratulations, Autarch!
You Have Vanquished A Threat!
The Risi (Frost Giants) Have Joined Your Fledgling Nation!
+25% To All Positive Relations With Giantfolk!
See Your Control Node For Further Options!