The Way Ahead

Tara breathed out as the Outsider finally left Vinstead. It had been… strenuous, to maintain Imposing Presence of the Empire for so long through her Argent Armory alone. It seemed to be worthwhile, as what limited sensory feedback she received from her combination of Mirror’s Gaze and Sight of the Silver One indicated that he had managed to leave without incident.

Content, she allowed her active maintenance of the Skill to dissipate, appreciating the levels her task had earned her. Sustained Construction ensured it would not vanish immediately, and with nothing attempting to break it, it should take… oh, half an hour to vanish? She’d never investigated.

Meanwhile, she massaged her temples. The strange senses that came from pushing Mirror’s Gaze always gave her a headache, and she wished that the paperwork required for her to be approved to obtain Perception would finally clear. She’d had Sight of the Silver One for a year now, after all. It hadn’t been this hard to get paperwork for ‘her’ Outsider to clear, a thought which prompted her to sigh.

Edwin… Edwin was a fascinating case, and such a clear example of why the Empire was so important. He embodied a truly astounding level of wasted potential. If only he had first found his way to Port Torveil or, somehow Vinstead, in lieu of the bearded barbarians in the mountains.

Tara drummed her fingers on her leg, trying to control her emotions. The dwarves were their allies, and it was not her place to allow personal judgement to circumvent what the Empire had decreed.

Trust the system, not the individual.

Edwin’s story nearly made her wish to weep. Not only was he an Outsider, but a mage as well! The combination would have been one which echoed throughout history and elevated the entire Empire for the betterment of all, if only they could keep him on their side. And yet, the poor fool had taken Breathing and Sleeping instead of expanding his natural mage talent.

It confused her how he might be a mage if there were none on his ‘Earth,’ though perhaps in his travels the spark had been awoken within him? It was the only reasonable conclusion to be made, and she sorely wished that she might be able to ask one of the scholars what their thoughts upon the matter were.

Alas, such was not to be. Her Honor of the Empire would remain untarnished, and there was no direct obligation for her to report on his existence as an Outsider to others. Such an obligation would have to be added in the future, once proposing it would no longer constitute a potential violation of her Oath. Previously, the concept of a Person of Interest being an Outsider was so utterly laughable that no one had even considered coding it into Law. If only ensuring the Law was useful and comprehensive was a direct duty of hers, rather than an implied one… perhaps she could propose the matter when she was next prompted, most likely in thirteen months when her six-year review was scheduled.

Then again, perhaps there was a reason that such a duty was not already present, and asking would only bring with it commendation. It was only through such inquiry which progress could be made, by questioning those above your station for the logic behind their actions. Should they have a sufficient reason, you learned. If they did not, they would know of a flaw within their reasoning and could act to correct it.

The Outsider did not seem to share this perspective, beyond as was natural in his station as an Alchemist. Tara supposed that was most likely typical for those who would take the Path of Artifice, that they would be focused upon the material rather than the political. After all, she usually cared little for the questions asked by those upon the Path of Administration.

Edwin certainly provoked her to wonder those questions, and she was uncertain how she ought to feel about that. Was it not better for one with a medical Skill to provide lifesaving treatment in the absence of a proper Medic? The answer was apparently no, as doing such would encourage unlicensed medics to first mortally wound patients with otherwise minor injuries such that they could legally heal their clients, resulting in more deaths than otherwise.

It still didn’t sit right with her, though, even all these months later. Still, what she technically did not witness and had no technical knowledge of was not under her purview. Even then, was she truly in the right to bend the laws in such a manner?

Trust in the system, not the individual, she reassured herself.

In the future, she might not conduct herself in such a manner, though perhaps she would. Something about the Outsider’s position on individual choice struck her in an odd manner. Tara would have to ensure Edwin underwent the proper training for medicine when he next returned to Vinstead. Hopefully she would be around to oversee it. No other Adventurer was liable to cause her to question their qualifications, she knew and had dealt with too many of them. And Citizens were required to take the course when they first received their Skill or were approved to earn it.

A message arrived for her, and Tara sighed. It seemed as though not even a week could pass without some new monster beyond the scope of the local guards showing up and forcing her to personally deal with the situation. Usually it was trivial- some Classed wolf, though it would on occasion be more than seconds of work. What was it this time? She tapped the pebble presented. Tactile use of Identification had always been her preference, despite its shortcomings. Something about feeling the stone under her fingers had always been so reassuring.

Her eyes skimmed across the Identification. Hmmm. This might actually be somewhat enjoyable. A small, nameless town near the Frigid Sands was being plagued by a manticore. Winged, no less. With a Class as well. Lord of the Thousand Quills of Death. Lovely. It seemed to have already killed two guards and put their lieutenant in critical condition, and they had sent the message pebble yesterday.

She wasn’t as fast as a courier, no. They spent their entire Classes pushing themselves to go as fast as possible. Even avior, winged as they were, couldn’t match a true-blood Human for high-speed endurance. All that meant that if it took a full day for one to reach her here, it would take at least three days to make the journey if she pushed herself to her limits.

No time to waste, then. She applied an Imperial Note to her desk regarding her whereabouts and stepped out onto her balcony. A grin flitted across her face as she beheld the clouds of satisfied, safe Citizens going about their daily lives so far below. This was her favorite view in all of Vinstead. This was what she lived for.

Shining Regalia.

Silver Steps.

Thanks to the high levels she had raised Don Regalia to, Tara’s Skill manifested around her in the blink of an eye, silver armor that felt weightless even before Second Skin initiated. As she stepped into thin air, a tiny disc made of silver force materialized beneath her feet, enabling a full sprint across the sky. Sustained Construction meant that she left a set of sparkling footprints in the sky like stars while she set off for the north.

Avior swooped around her, their added maneuverability and lower rank ensuring that they gave way to her instead of the reverse. She sprinted across the evening sky, feeling Endless Endurance engage and grant her already considerable Stamina an even greater boost.

Tara managed to arrive at her destination in just under two days, having stopped only once at a town to sleep before continuing her quest. Upon her arrival at the nameless town, she located the guard encampment with ease- this far out, there were usually a few upon the Artifice path assigned to local guardsmen. Not a particularly experienced Fortification Builder, from the looks of the building, but the construction was nonetheless fully functional.

A nervous-looking soldier stood outside the temporary barracks. The human looked like he might bar her way, but Tara flashed her badge of office. Insignia might be an ostensibly weak Skill, but its inclusion as the first upgrade to Authority made it useful. Supposedly in days past, and even to this day in some of the foreign lands, their methods of identification within their ranks were incredibly prone to forgery. Pathetic.

Inviolable proof of her identity thus presented, she was swiftly escorted inside. While the interior was almost uncomfortably cramped, her suspicion of an inexperienced Builder confirmed, there was still enough room for her to address the Senior Lieutenant as she reclined on a medical bed, tended to one of the natives. A skinwalker of some sort, or at least descended from one, given the medic’s eyes and ears.

As she approached, the medic retreated to a respectful distance, eyes downturned. Deferent. Interesting. Not an unpleasant surprise, though rare this far out. Distance seemed to dilute the respect citizens had for their superiors.

“Enforcer Tara present. Report, Lieutenant.”

The lieutenant stirred, an eye meeting Tara’s even behind her visor, “You made it,” she croaked.

Tara didn’t respond, waiting for the continuation. The soldier looked in rough shape, missing several feathers across her head and torso, and her wing looked more dead than alive. If her suspicions were correct, and the lieutenant had been poisoned by the manticore, all she could do was pray for a relatively painless death.

“Blasted thing has a lair out there, an hour north into the Sands. Big rocky outcropping, you can’t miss it. It’s smart, and took down Voral and Aeach faster than you could blink, when we thought we were still at a far enough range. Hit me with a quill, and well, you can see the results.”

Indeed. Manticore venom was infamous for rapidly causing the death of whoever it touched. It was said to be more virulent the more Skills one had. Even Poison Resistance purportedly did nothing to halt it, though few were willing to put such claims to the test. It was, after all, utterly incurable and generally excruciatingly painful. The lieutenant seemed to be mostly cogent, which meant her death would not be as harsh as it could be. That she had survived this long was a testament to the tending medic. Few saw the next sunrise when so injured.

A few more probing questions had Tara find the answers she was looking for. The community was an insular one founded by a few families some generations back looking for a quiet place to settle. They’d first caught on to the presence of some predator when their herd animals started going missing, and had sent a runner to fetch the local patrol. By the time they’d arrived, the predator had begun snatching people who wandered too far afield, though they’d yet to catch so much as a glimpse of it.

When the guards had arrived, they managed to set a trap for it and discover its identity. One of the locals had a tracking Skill of some variant, and was able to mark the beast to find its lair. They didn’t manage to seriously wound the creature, though the small amount of blood they had drawn was sufficient for the monster to retreat back home. From there, it had been merely the story of a failed hunt.

In the past three days, it had been even worse. The manticore had grown bolder and could now be seen flying around the area and picking off sheep with impunity, going so far as to kill and leave, simply to taunt the residents.

Tara thanked the lieutenant for her information, and ventured off to sleep. This was a problem best tackled fully rested.

The Frigid Sands lived up to their reputation. The desert almost looked like snow, white sands stretching as far north as anyone had ever ventured. Allegedly, at some point snow and sand mixed until the two were indistinguishable underneath an eternal night or eternal day, depending on who was telling the legend.

The sun shone down on her, the True Light insufficient to fight back against the aura of death the Sands produced. Further south, such a vast expanse would have been almost deadly for its heat. Here, though, the heat and light was sapped from the air itself, leaving the desolate wasteland inhospitable to all but the hardiest forms of life. Such as, it would seem, a manticore.

With a full night’s sleep behind her, it was finally time for Tara to uphold her position, to prove that her existence was not a mistake. Attempting to pioneer a new class with novel Paths was a stressful matter, and she decidedly wished that the burden had not fallen to her. Still, she could not deny that she enjoyed utilizing what made her special, as scandalous as that may be. Her armor was such a unique and powerful tool, and she couldn’t wait for the time when the Registrars were capable of reliably replicating it, a task thus far unsuccessful. Still, she felt uncomfortable with the idea that she might have been chosen. Was she truly so otherwise worthless as to be considered expendable? Yet she had agreed to the gamble. It was… confusing.

Trust the system, she reassured herself, There will always be those needed to lay down their lives and usefulness for all others.

Silver Steps made the hour-long journey to cross the shifting sands trivial, her every footfall landing upon a manifestation of her Regalia fixed in place. She still maintained her vigilance, and kept a keen eye out for any possible signs of her target.

In time, the rocky outcropping began to loom over her like a shattered crown of stone, cast down by some ancient giant of unmatched proportions. The sky was an endless expanse of blue, save for a single dot swooping from the tip of the crown, and Tara narrowed her eyes. The manticore, she was certain.

As it drew closer, the Enforcer hardened her resolve. This was what she lived for, both literally and metaphorically. A pull upon Argent Armory manifested a gleaming blade for her to wield against the beast. While the Skill enabled her to fashion all sorts of weapons and simple objects from her Shining Regalia, swords were what she was most familiar with, and would be sufficient to begin.

Unlike when facing bandits, there were no negotiations, no calls to surrender. Just the Silver Blade standing steadfast against a ravenous beast. It flew towards her like a bolt of lightning, and she closed her eyes to concentrate the instant after her Identify landed.

Lord of the Thousand Quills of Death

Manticore

Manticores are ferocious and savage, yet cunning beasts. With a roar that instills terror in all that fear it, this creature jealously guards its territory and prey with an incurably venomous tail.

Around her, she opened her Mirror’s Gaze, and the world opened up. The Skill had been one of her more recent upgrades to Seeing, and allowed her to sense the world through reflective surfaces such as her armor, with Sight of the Silver One only improving the quality and enabling her to see in truth in place of metaphor. It was eminently useful in combat, though without Perception, her ability to process all she saw was limited.

The manticore opened with a devastating roar, powerful enough to whip up the sands at the Silver Blade’s feet into a small sandstorm, but that merely left her standing in midair, her mind shielded from the unnatural terror by Steadfast Ally.

The beast, crimson as the final sunset it represented for so many, swooped at her, unleashing a volley of its quills at the Enforcer. Time seemed to slow as she called upon Lightning Perceptions, giving her plenty of time to call up a Mirror Shield at the tip of her sword, Reflective Mirror causing the quills to rebound back at the beast with twice the power they had at first.

The manticore changed directions in an instant, letting the half-dozen spikes arc through the air, vanishing off into the distance. It attempted a few more attacks, probing at her defense, but a barrage of Mirror Shields easily reflected every last one.

It eventually changed tactics when it realized it would have no success as it was, and instead called upon something within it and launched nigh every quill from its tail. There were far more than there ought to have been, and for a moment the shadow cast by the beast was eclipsed by the sheer mass of deadly quills it had thrown.

The Enforcer remained unworried. Another conjuration of a Mirror Shield intercepted the quills, sending them flying to places unknown.

Then the shield broke, and Tara’s eyes shot open in concern. That had never happened before, let alone with an attack which used quantity in place of strength. Now, she was faced with an endless tide of quills, gleaming with black-green venom. So much as a single touch would spell her death, and after Mirror Shield had shattered she did not trust her Shining Regalia to adequately protect her.

Slowed time ran slower, and utterly froze as Eternal Moment intervened. The Skill had an utterly massive time between uses, but it would still save her here.

Sudden Reposition.

Then, the Silver Blade was gone, only a flash of silver light left in her wake as her Skill simply moved her outside the area of the quill attack. Hundreds of needles slammed into the ground, hissing and dissolving the sand where they struck. She frowned. Manticore venom was venom, not acid. Did this one have some special Skill which allowed it to ‘kill’ inanimate objects?

The manticore was furious at her survival, and with another roar, it swooped down to attempt to claw at her, a single scorpion-like stinger left upon its tail.

Dance of the Silver Blade brought her between the beast’s attacks, forbidding the creature from rending naught but air. Her blade flashed up and caught it in the stomach, though the simple attack proved insufficient to pierce its hide.

She wouldn’t allow herself to grow frustrated, and drew her blade back, using Sudden Reposition to avoid the beast’s retaliatory claw. It possessed some rapid movement Skill of its own, and reappeared mid-strike less than a stride away from her.

Parry

The Skill was a fraction of an instant too slow, and the attack slammed into her side and sent her flying. The Silver Blade slammed into the ground, skipping across the sands. While her Regalia protected her, she could tell that it would not survive a second blow, and she was uncertain whether the claws upon her foe carried the same deadly toxin as its stingers, having no desire to find out herself.

Kip Up

The Skill jerked her upright, going from horizontal to vertical in the blink of an eye, and not a moment too soon, as the beast was once more upon her. It was all she could manage, to conjure a Mirror Shield and slow the beast before it could reach her. The shield was not tested against the charge, as with a flap of its wings, the manticore merely leapt over the barrier, diving down at her.

Brace.

Silver Steps.

For all that she rarely used it for such, Silver Steps was initially meant for this very purpose- giving her a firm footing regardless of the terrain. Brace combined with it well, as it allowed her to give no ground against even the fiercest attacks.

The Enforcer cast aside her sword, using the last moment before her prey slammed into her to conjure a spear from her Armory.

The beast’s own momentum carried it onto the silver spearpoint, driving it deep into its own body as the first blood of their fight. Far from being a decisive strike, however, it only served to enrage the creature, and with a roar that would have knocked Tara back if not for her continued Brace.

The manticore attempted to flee, but the Silver Blade effortlessly maintained her Silver Steps in pursuit into the air, where they continued their deadly dance.

The manticore was a formidable opponent, Tara had to admit. It had been quite some time since she had last needed to push herself quite so far in a fight, and she relished the feeling. Regardless, there was never a doubt in her mind that she would prove victorious, it was merely a matter of time. Endless Endurance and Enforcer’s Physique meant she simply would not tire, not without significantly more Stamina-intensive Skill usage, but the beast had no such Skill. It was an ambush predator, not a true fighter.

It had tried to flee a few times. However, the Silver Blade had taught the beast why attempting such was a terrible idea. The first time, she had used the opportunity to cut off the tip of its stinger, though the action had forced her to discard and recreate her sword, as the venom corroded and shattered the Skill. The second time, she opened a long slice on its flank, and most recently, she had cut a long slit in its batlike wings, forcing it back to the ground.

It was now fully aware of how little time it had left, and was beginning to panic. Tara’s non-Skill enhanced attacks, or even Sudden Strike, still could not pierce its hide, though its rage and panic were giving her more opportunities to use Power Attack and Piercing Blow, allowing her to slowly whittle away at its health, likely even Health. Attributes were not infinite, after all, and even the strongest Health had its limits.

It had lost a lot of black blood, and given the amount Tara had gotten on herself throughout the fight, she was fortunate it too was not toxic. The spear she had lodged in its chest near the start of the fight had long broken, naturally, as had the second, and as Skill constructs, left nothing in the wound to continue wounding the creature.

It knew it was dying, and now sought only to end her life before its soul left Joriah. She would not leave it to succumb to its wounds, as doing such ran too much of a risk that it might survive against all odds, possibly with the aid of a new Skill or Path, and continue to menace the town. That was unacceptable, and so she stayed.

A Mirror shield intercepted a claw, and Flowing Steps brought her out of range from the beast’s bite. Sudden Strike brought her sword inside the creature’s human-like mouth, and as it bit down, the blade cut into the manticore’s soft skin, prompting it to yowl in pain and rage.

Tara didn’t pass up the opportunity it presented, and Sudden Reposition brought her in close, her sword thrust forward to strike at the base of the creature’s neck. Sudden Strike reinforced her attack, but it still managed little more than a scratch upon the beast’s hide.

That wasn’t the point, though, and as the manticore attempted to retreat beyond the reach of the Silver Blade, she had enough of an opportunity to chain together every attack she had into a single, mighty blow.

Her sword slammed into the creature’s hide, piercing its skin and cutting deeply into its muscle, only stopping when her attack hit its bones with such force her sword shattered. Another attack was already on its way, a curved sickle-sword slipping into the same cut she’d just opened and hooking onto the interior of the beast. This time, when it pulled away, Tara kept part of it with her. Brace and Silver Steps kept her and her weapon motionless while the manticore used its movement to flee, and tore open its own guts as it did so.

Blood and bile spilled over Tara, showering her in gore. While disgusting, it was nothing in comparison to the corpse of the beast itself falling upon her a moment later. It was only thanks to Reflexive Shield that she hadn’t been squished underneath its body. While it wouldn’t have been dangerous, it would have been rather embarrassing, nevermind that few eyes were upon her.

Tara stepped back, opening her eyes as she dismissed and re-conjured her armor piece by piece to avoid getting any blood upon her. She looked upon the body of the marauding manticore with satisfaction. This was her role in the Empire, ensuring the land was safe for the common folk, and she would do her job proudly until her dying day.

Tomorrow, she would begin her long return to the capital, keeping her ears open for other nuisances she could deal with while in the area, such as bandits or a pack of wolves. When she finally did arrive in Vinstead, there would no doubt be some minor incident she needed to give her opinion on, and some days following that, there would be another incident to investigate or intervene upon.

Such was the life of the Silver Blade.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.