Book 7: Chapter 1: The State of Things
Leshs enormous two-handed cudgel, Belagog, whistled through the air with enough momentum and weight to pulverize a granite boulder. He wasnt trying to break a boulder, though; he was trying to smash Victors skull. Unlike a boulder, Victor wasnt planning to stand still for the tremendous blow. He stepped forward and to the left, inside Leshs swing, moving much faster than anyone his size had a right to do. Lesh immediately saw his mistake, and his eyes widened as he lifted a clawed foot to rake Victors thigh in a bid to buy himself a fraction of a second and a few inches to recover.
Victors epic axe skill showed as he adjusted his hack. Hed been aiming at Leshs exposed ribs, but he swooped the blade downward, and Lifedrinker screamed, black smoke billowing from her smoldering edge as she took aim at Leshs outstretched knee. Victor wasnt berserk, but he was running Inspiration of the Quinametzin. He had his strength and agility boosted with Sovereign Will, and Lifedrinker was imbued with a shard of his spirit. Lesh saw the blow coming, but he couldnt evade it. Still, he twisted, following the momentum of his two-handed swing, trying to minimize Lifedrinkers impact.
When she cut into Leshs knee, despite the dragonkins potent defensive spells, his dense, scale-covered flesh, and his quick reflexes, Lifedrinker bit deeply, slicing into the meat of his thigh and Lesh grunted and roared, Gods be cursed! Again?
Victor laughed and lifted Lifedrinker. She boiled the blood off her blade, sending it into the air as more black smoke. First blood!
Lesh growled but lifted Belagog to his forehead, bowing to Victor. Well done, Lor . . . Victor. Perhaps another . . .
Thats it for me today, Lesh, sorry. Victor let his Inspiration drop, and as he began to relax and talk, Lifedrinker calmed as well, the smoldering heat of her blade fading. He and Lesh had been sparring almost every day since the colony's founding, and Victor enjoyed it, but he was spending far too much time on the practice field for his taste. Between bouts with Kethelket, Lesh, and Valla, he sometimes found an entire morning slipping between his fingers. There were so many other projects he wanted to work onthings like studying the spellcrafting books Valla had gotten from Tes, experimenting with new affinity weaves, and, most importantly, helping the colony to grow so that they could open up world portals.
That one will sting for a while. Lesh rubbed the cut on his leg, but Victor wasnt worried; Lesh was the only opponent he never really tried to pull his attacks onthe big dragon-blooded warrior healed almost as fast as he did. Big was an understatement. Lesh stood nearly ten feet tall and was even stockier than Victor. They both enjoyed fighting each other because if Victor didnt enrage himself to titanic proportions, they were pretty closely matched in strength and size; it was the only time Victor could go all out and not reduce himself with the Shape Self spell Tes had given him.
You told me it was fine if Lifedrinker ignited. I didnt complain when Belagog cracked my collar bone . . .
Im not complaining! Lesh shook his head and spat some black, tar-like saliva at a grouping of nearby stones. It sizzled for several seconds. Im paying you a compliment!
Ah, all right. Good, cause you know, its fun for me when we go all out like that, right? I can feel myself improving, too.
Aye, me as well. Lesh looked to the west, toward the Silver Sea. They were atop a hill, not more than a mile from where Victor had planted the colony stone, and they had a good vantage of the various ongoing construction projects. He gestured to the southern edge of the budding colony where Earth Casters were working to erect massive stone pillars in a rectangular pattern. It was the framework for something Rellia called a travel pavilion. I heard theyd set up the first portal to that city many of you hail from. What is it again? Parshi Gables?
Persi Gables. Yeah. I guess we have a connection to Rellias estate there now, which means well see a big influx of new colonists. I think shes planning to get the portal to Gelica up and running today or tomorrow, too.
Lesh nodded, thumping Belagog head-first into the soil. He leaned on the metal haft, and Victor watched the head sink another four inches into the well-packed ground. Which will speed the growth. Perhaps youll soon have access to world travel. You must be pleased.
Ill be pleased as long as we can get Edeya some help before its too late.
She seems stable. I believe you were correct; the witch who snatched her spirit has no immediate plans for it. Either that or she waits for the girls body to die so she can get the last fragment she left behind.
Victor frowned. Thinking about Edeya always put him in a bad mood, largely because it reminded him of his guilt. Lifedrinker had cooled sufficiently, so he held her over his shoulder, and his new harness snatched her, the enchanted leather straps wrapping around her and pulling her snugly against his back. The volcano had destroyed his old harness, and Rellia had commissioned this new one for him. Shed, of course, brought several talented Artificers along on the campaign.
Lesh had seen Victors mood turn sour. I dont mean to pester you with unpleasant thoughts. I only bring up the topic because Im eager to help. Im eager to see your friend made whole.
Ah, yeah. No, I appreciate that, Lesh. Victor had resigned himself to the fact that hed have a small entourage when he traveled to the hub world, as Lesh described it. Naturally, Valla intended to go with him. Lesh insisted that he had to follow Victor no matter the destination, and then there were Edeya and Lam; the self-made noblewoman would hardly let Edeya out of her sight.
In the two weeks since the founding, Victor had gotten to know Lesh pretty well. At first, hed tried to talk the dragonkin into going home. The giant warrior spoke fondly of the many battles hed won, the social standing hed gained, and the wife hed left behind. To Victor, it seemed crazy to throw all that away to follow around a man youd traveled through the universe to kill. To Lesh, it was the only honorable choiceif he couldnt kill Victor, then he had to follow him. He had to learn from him, and he had to make an ally of him. Victor didnt see the logic but chalked it up to cultural differences. The simple truth he couldnt argue with was that Lesh was stronger than anyone else he knew, at least on Fanwath, and Victor figured hed need the help where he was going.
Are you going to study your spells? Lesh was used to Victor using that excuse to end their practice sessions.
Not today. Today, Im going to see the Shadeni clan off. Yesterday, Rellia and Lam finally signed off on their settlement location, and Tellen doesnt want to waste any more time; hes eager to get some structures built before Fall.
Ah, yes. The people with the red skin?
Right, though not everyone with red skin is part of their clan. Victor started walking toward the sea and the bulk of the new construction. He was still living out of his travel home, and it was set up in the courtyard of the keep Rellia had been building around the colony stone. He waved one last time to Lesh, and the mans green, reptilian eyes narrowed as he grinned and nodded.
Ill get you next time!
Victor shook his head and chuckled. Well see. He and the others whod been using the hilltop for sparring had worn a trail in the hillside. As he walked down it toward the little gravel pathway that would take him more directly into the settlement, he took in the view, letting his eyes traverse the various projects Rellia and her engineers had begun. The travel pavilion was impressive on its own, but it seemed insignificant in the shadow of the keep being built atop the central hill.
Magic made everything faster, but it was especially apparent when it came to building large structures. The Earth Casters were pulling massive stones from the quarry the surveyors had found in the mountains to the south and, again using magic, were carving and transporting them to the settlement much more quickly than even modern construction equipment might have done back on Earth. Victor had to admit that he didnt know much about large-scale construction, but hed watched some big buildings go up in Tucson, and hed seen how it took months before the outer shell looked like an actual building. That wasnt the case here.
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The keeps foundations had been dug and filled with stone footings in a single dayhundreds of yards of trenches, dug down twenty feet or more to solid bedrock, then filled with stone footings magically melded together without the need for mortar. Days after that, the outer walls had been built with enormous metal gates fit for an emperors palace put into place. Rellia had commissioned the gates back in Gelica, and theyd been carried in one of the capacious supply wagons.
Victor appreciated her preparedness, especially with regard to how quickly shed built the keep wall around the colony stone. If, for some reason, they were attacked, they were already in a position to defend the stone. The keep itself wasnt going up quite as quickly. It took planning to build the foundation, digging out the basement levels, and ensuring the infrastructure was in place for water and sewage. These were all things that had interested Victor, and theyd eaten away many afternoons as he wandered around observing, asking questions, and, of course, meeting with Rellia and Lam to approve this or that project.
They were still governing the colony as a triumvirate, though Rellia and Lam had plans to change that in the coming month, as the friends and family members of the legion came through the portal in their thousands. Victor didnt know all the details, but he knew thered be a sort of elected republic, but elections wouldnt be open to just any citizens; voting citizens had to hold land in the Free Marches, and those holdings would determine the weight of a persons vote. Naturally, Rellia, Lam, and Victor, being awarded the most land from the conquest, would have the most influence, but it was a commodity that could change hands.
Rellia was sharing a large portion of her claim with Lam, and the three of them, Victor included, were awarding parcels to the veterans of the conquest, including the Naghelli, Shadeni Clan, and all of the support personnel. To Victor, it didnt seem like much; the most significant awards for general troops were only a hundred acres, and some support personnel would only receive a single acre. People like Borrius would receive thousands, and some of the nobility from Rellias family would see more than that, but those were all coming out of her share. Victor was going to have a stretch of land numbering in the tens of millions of acres.
Because Victor had recruited the Naghelli and Shadeni, hed agreed to award them land from his share. On the one hand, he didnt care because he had plenty, more than hed ever wanted or could conceive of using. On the other hand, he didnt care because he liked the idea of having them close. He liked Kethelket and his people, and he felt they deserved it; it felt good to give it to them. The same went for the Shadeni, only doubly so.
Victor had lobbied with Lam and Rellia for a large tract of land that ran along most of the southern mountain range and then up the coast of the Silver Sea. There was an old-growth forest near the mountains and plenty of seaside hills where he might build a keep with a view. Grasslands stretched for a hundred miles north of the hills and forests, and Victor liked the idea of having so many different sorts of land to call his own. More importantly, he thought theyd accommodate his friends nicely; the agreement hed come to with Tellen granted the Shadeni a million square acres of grassland and forest to call their own. Kethelket and his people were eager to claim some territory in the mountains near the forest, and Victor thought that would be fine.
He couldnt take all the credit for choosing his landsValla had come up with the idea of building a road and maintaining a garrison at the southern pass. It would put him, or, more likely, whomever he left in charge, in control of further exploration into unclaimed territory. His lands would meet with Rellias, which began near the Sea Keep and encompassed the primary settlement.
When he and Valla had made their proposal, Rellia hadnt been hard to convince. She wanted the northwestern lands, primarily because she wanted to be in control of the colony stone and the pass to Ridonne. Lam, also, had been easy-going; she had her eyes set on vast tracts of farmland that abutted the eastern mountains. All in all, so farVictor had the urge to knock on some woodthe fledgling colony and its triumvirate of leaders had been running smoothly.
As he contemplated the state of things, Victor rounded the last hill before the expansive, cleared area where Rellias engineers were laying out the new town square. With the sea as a backdrop and surrounded by the scaffolding of a dozen new buildings, he saw the Shadeni wagons and the bustling activity of nearly a thousand people as they readied their caravan. Some butterflies began to stir in his belly as Victor thought about meeting with Tellen, Thayla, and their family. Hed hardly spoken to Chandri since shed recovered, and he might not be a genius when it came to reading women, but he felt like she harbored some severe animosity.
I wish I knew why. Victor had no problem finding fault with himself; he blamed the disastrous final battle and the assault on the Glorious Ninth on himself, but he couldnt find anyone else whod admit to harboring the same opinion. He wouldnt blame Chandri if she were angry with him about that, but he didnt think that was it. Whatever, he grumbled as he reached into his Core and let some Energy out to cast Shape Self. He shrank down to a more comfortable six and a half feet and hurried his steps toward the front of the caravan, where he saw his old wagon and the two vidanii, Thistle and Starlight. If nothing else, he was eager to see Deyni.
He hadnt made it ten steps before jogging footsteps approached, and he turned to see Nia running his way. The former thrall of Dunstan had come through the battle unscathed, and shed been working as something of an aide for Victor in the weeks following the colony's founding. It hadnt been his idea; shed approached him and asked to swear into his household guard, something Valla found very amusing, but also, after shed relaxed and thought about it for a minute, a good ideaVictor would have to establish some sort of governance and militia for his territory.
Nia was sharp and determined, and there was just something Victor liked about the scar-faced, dark-eyed woman. Her personal tale was tragic, but she never seemed down or tired or less than enthusiastic about any hard work. Lord Victor! She held up a thin leatherbound volume. Youve received a response!
Ah! Really? She held the Farscribe book Victor shared with his cousin, Olivia. Hed written to her about their victory and about their plans for the Free Marches, but he hadnt received an immediate response. Afraid hed put the book into a ring and forget about it, hed given Nia the task of checking for a response twice daily. He slowed his pace to a stop and waited for her to catch up, then took the book. Did you read it?
Her eyes flew wide with shock, and her tone bordered on outrage, I would never!
Victor laughed. Relax! Im not accusing you, and I never said you couldnt. Still, I guess its good you didnt. Thanks for your discretion.
Of course!
Well, let me check it quickly before I get tied up with the Shadeni. Victor flipped the pages to the last written-in one and began to read:
Victor,
Well done with the Free Marches! Congratulations! Im sorry its been a few days since I received your message, but I was rather busy with a challenge of my ownsomething we can talk about next time were together. My response was further delayed by my having to communicate with First Landing via another Farscribe book. It took a few days to relay the significance of your victory and for the Council Parliament to come up with a proper response to your good news. Forgive the cross outIm still getting used to the new system.
Along with the new government, First Landing has expanded. It seems weve unlocked the option to purchase town stones from the colony stone, so two new settlements are being developed out there in the frontier. As much as I was against it, some of the low-affinity species we rescued from another worldthis is a very long story Ill share with you sometimehave decided to found their own town half a days journey north of First Landing. Thanks to the colony stone providing the town stone for them, theyll be a member of our budding, as-yet-unnamed, and unofficialmore on this in a momentnew country.
Similarly, weve purchased another stone to make the mining community south of us official; the people have decided to name it Clearwater because of a lovely little stream that flows through the canyon. You can imagine the Ridonne Empire wont be pleased if they catch wind of our steady growth. You know that my friend, the aptly named champion of our people, Morgan Hall, traveled to the capital, Tharcray, to treat with them, right? Well, thats another very long story, and its not resolved yet, but Morgans last message to us was something along the lines of, The Ridonne have their hands full. Still, he cautioned us to stay in the frontier and to keep a low profile as we continue to expand.
You know humanity, Victor. Were working to replicate much of the tech we lost to the System with Energy-based versions, and frankly, if Morgans right and the Ridonne are too busy to bother with us for much longer, I feel well be in a position to demand our place in this world when they finally get around to us. Thats without considering you and your allies in the Free Marches. What a great name for a country, by the way!
So, on to the business at hand. Im going to be tied up with some academy work, a special project for my sponsoring professor, for another month before I can take a break. The Coun Parliament has appointed a very good man, Alec Green, a dear friend of mine, to visit you as an ambassador. You mentioned that your friend, Lady Rellia, will be opening portals from Gelica and Persi Gables to your new settlement. I was going to send Alec to you with one of Morgans tower portal stones, but we, too, have some artificers whove finally reached the skill level required to create them.
Would it be possible for Alec to travel through Persi Gables to you? If so, hell bring a portal stone, and we can set up a direct connection to First Landing. If we did that, you could visit! Wouldnt that be great?
Ive rambled on enough for now. Ill await your response about Alec and directions for how he might access the portal in Persi Gables before I get lost on another tangent.
Ill look forward to your reply.
With affection,
Olivia Bennet
Jeez. Victor snapped the book shut. I thought I was already busy.
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