"Karys?"
"It...it is not important yet. I shall tell you after your meeting. The Enclosure will hold even against Master Tiers."
"And Grandmasters? Paragons?" Felix asked.
"A true Paragon would walk through it as if it did not exist. A Grandmaster could break it, however, given enough time."
That made his decision for him. "Then we prepare as best we can, and we need to send word to Cal in Haarwatch. They'd face any enemies far before we would. Is there a way to do that?"
"There once was. You must advance your Stronghold to Rank II however before communication between locations becomes viable," Karys said.
"Then that's the focus for now. Improve the Stronghold, and," he took a deep, steadying breath again. "And prepare for war. Fuck me."
He looked over the ledge, at the stone dwellings far below. A group sat near the water's edge, as far away from the Risi as they could manage. No houses stood, though a few fabric tents had been set up, and what he knew to be two hundred and forty-five Henaari gathered in a loose semi-circle.
"First, we deal with them," he said.
He stepped off the ledge.
Felix took in his target as he fell. The Henaari semi-circle was mostly comprised of non-combatants. Men and women too old to fight or too valuable as crafters or some other arcane profession, along with a bevy of children. At the fore were a gathering of women, all robed the same and wearing a broach atop their well-made garb, and a single man in the fantasy version of a wheelchair.
Bound and masked between them, knelt a woman.
Lightning crackled around Felix's form as he landed among them, briefly pulling him back upward and slowing his descent while also unleashing a wave of half-dried mud. Henaari stumbled back, mainly Dawnguard in their distinctive leather and horn armor. They had formed a protective ring around their people, with the majority of their force facing the direction of the Frost Giants. As Felix straightened, Vess landed just a few paces back, her own Skills blunting the impact.
"Autarch," the Farwalker said in cautious tones. The man was paralyzed, as far as Felix could tell, and wore a heavy, hooded cloak that completely obscured his face in shadow. He inclined his head to Felix, and then Vess. "And the Lady Dayne. Thank you for allowing us to rest within the haven of your Stronghold."
"You're welcome to rest, though you're here sooner than I had expected," Felix said. A'zek or Wyvora had clearly given the Farwalker an update on his situation. "Wyvora had left to find you, and I hear you arrived barely hours after she left. I thought you were heading to the Hoarfrost?"
"Circumstances within the FoglandsPardon me. Within Nagast. They have changed since last we met." The Farwalker moved forward, pushed from behind by Wyvora herself, his sort-of apprentice. "The lands abound with that same thickened mist as once plagued these forests and mountains. It has proven difficult to travel within."
"A spell of mine," Felix said by way of explanation. "A defensive one. I'm sorry if it caused you problems." Though he was surprised it was so thick as to limit the Henaari's movement within the Territory. Felix couldn't even see it around him, and none of his people had mentioned it as bothering them. Was there like a white list? People it doesn't effect?
The Farwalker waved a hand, as if uncaring about it. "No matter. We were already coming to you, to seek your judgement." He waved a wizened hand at the masked figure between them. "The Matriarch's crimes have come to light, as all things must."
Felix's Eye had confirmed it was the Matriarch as he'd fallen, and he stared curiously at her bindings. It was all a simple, braided rope, but the mask on her face was wooden and shaped into the visage of a hooded serpent. His Manasight picked up threads of power flaring along its rim and likely beneath the wood itself, Mana that seemed a combination of purple augmentation Mana, dusty brown earth Mana, and an oily sepia tone that he hadn't encountered much before. "What is with the mask?"
"It is a precaution and a dishonor," one of the Synod said. She was a slight woman for a Henaari, which meant she topped Felix by two inches, and had iron-grey hair cut into a practical bob at her jawline. She inclined her head at Felix a touch deeper than the Farwalker had done. "It disrupts the connection to her core space, to her Blessings, and silences her deceiving tongue."
"The Leviathan is the Endless Raven's greatest enemy, a serpent that dwells in the deepest dark and thrives upon secrets and lies," the Farwalker explained. "To be clad in its visage is to be given the greatest insult." He lifted a tattered book, the journal of a former Matriarch Felix had found months back. "The journal of our blessed leaderOcialashed much light upon the dark actions of this traitor. It was she who laced Ociala's food with subtle poison, who sabotaged her gear, and hid a monster lure within her belongings. The clues of it all, and Ociala's suspicions, all tidily written within this journal. When the extent of the Matriarch's deeds were discovered, she tried to run." The Farwalker shook his cowled head. "In your fog, she made it less than a mile before our scouts caught up with her."
"I see." Felix clenched his jaw. The treachery of the Matriarch didn't surprise him. The fact that she had something to do with the former Matriarch's fall? It made sense, if only based on how the woman had acted around Felix and his team when they'd first met.
"That is when her...newer actions came to light. The Dawnguard that she sent to follow you carried with them a dagger. An artifact of the Raven called a Dire Talon, a weapon that could end a life with no more than a scratch, or could be expended to claim a hidden space for the Raven. She has confessed that they were to claim your Temple, and kill you in the process." That same Synod member spoke again. She bowed at the waist, far lower than any so far. To Felix's surprise, all of the Synod and the crowd beyond did the same. Even Wyvora and the Farwalker. "We ask your forgiveness, Autarch. Though the Raven seeks out hidden things and to claim them for her own, She is not a creature of treachery. This...wretch's actions have marred all of us."
"We offer her up to you, for recompense and justice as you see fit, Autarch," the Farwalker continued. "This has moved beyond the purview of our people and even the Raven. As the wronged party and lord of these lands, you are the arbiter of her fate."
Felix regarded them all, calming his inner turmoil all the while. It sounded like they expected him to have her killed or something, and while he was disgusted that she had tried to snake the Temple out from under him, he didn't plan on murdering someone. Besides, he had a better idea.
He stepped forward six paces, feeling the anxiety in the Spirits of the Henaari watching. The fear. None of them wanted murder either, he could tell, but at the same time they were utterly committed to letting him choose. The Farwalker, of course, was a blank spot in his senses, but Felix was fairly certain he knew how the man felt toward the Matriarch. The bound woman's Spirit flared and shook, somehow aware that Felix approached, and she quietly began to fidget in her bonds.
She went deathly still as Felix laid a hand on her masked face. Right between the bulging eyes of the wooden snake.
"You have hurt your people far more than you've hurt me," Felix said to her, but not caring who heard him. "I will not kill you." A soft set of indrawn breaths came from the crowd, and the Matriarch trembled beneath his hand. "You will not thank me at the end, I don't think."
Chthonic Tribute!
Unite the Lost!
Acting on a hunch, Felix reached into the Matriarch with his newly evolved hunger and grabbed at her core space. He didn't seek to break her into Essence or drain her dry, but to instead seize a portion of her significance. It was like catching smoke, but Felix was able to claim a portion of itthen he burned it, letting Unite the Lost consume its potency. Fuel it.
A brilliant light burst from above, like a spear from the heavens but emanating from the Spirit Tree above them. The Matriarch screamed, her body wrenching backward as the light stabbed through her body and into the earth. Her scream transformed, mingled with the screeching crow of a thousand birds as a massive flock streamed from the light just above her chest. The Henaari cowered and Vess drew her spear, but the flock merely spiraled around the beam of light before vanishing into the distance. The light winked out.
The Matriarch's scream cut off, and she fell bonelessly to the ground.
Target has been cleansed of all Marks!
Felix stood over the woman's whimpering form before glaring at all the rest of them. "I've removed her Mark. Her connection to the Raven is gone."
More murmurs slithered through the crowd, now far more upset and disquieted. Even the Synod were exchanging furtive, terrified looks. Then the air above them all shook.
CAW!
THE RAVEN IS PLEASED!
ALL BLESSINGS HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE LEAST DAUGHTER!
CAW!
FOLLOW! ATTEND THE AUTARCH!
HE IS ANOINTED. HE IS UNBOUND.
HE WILL UNVEIL THE DARK.
Those murmurs turned to frantic rustlings and whispers, and the cry of "Unbound?" became a staccato punctuation upon everyone's lips. Felix, meanwhile, grit his teeth. He figured he couldn't keep that a secret forever, but the Raven had shit timing. Or she isn't as pleased as she claims, he thought.
"So you are Unbound," the Farwalker said with relief. "That explains a great deal, and yet reassures me not at all."
"Join the club," Felix said wryly. He frowned at the Raven's message. "Does that mean what I think it means?"
The Farwalker lifted his hands and pulled back his hood. The veil of shadows parted and revealed a lean but heavily wrinkled face with wide-set eyes and a large forehead. He grinned. "The Raven does not command us in all things, but She is our guiding light." The Synod had gathered close, talking among themselves. "I do believe your Stronghold has grown today, Felix Nevarre. Autarch."
Felix shot a glance at Vess, who smirked at him. He suppressed the urge to sigh. "That's what I thought you'd say."
As one, the Synod turned and dropped to a single knee.