Blue core, p.77
Blue Core, page 77
part #1 of Blue Core Series
"I don’t actually want to be a Companion," she said at last. "I want to be a wife."
"Wait, what?"
"What do you mean?" Shayma asked, far more intelligibly.
"I don’t need or want extra power, or an official role," Taelah told her. "I’d be a fool not to know how useful that would be, or how needful a closer relationship with Blue is, but what I want are the things any woman would want from her husband. A stable house, a caring partner, and children."
The phrasing stuck a chord with me. Simple, straightforward wants that they were, I was a dungeon and not a human. I was the house, in every sense. The walls and the roof, the provider, the protector. I wouldn’t say I was entirely stable, not while I was wrestling with the dictates of the dungeon-self. Not to mention the mage-kings, The Hurricane, and everyone else who wanted a piece of me.
Oddly, that clarified things. I’d never really thought about how I was going to deal with my dungeon-self other than wrestling with it whenever it annoyed me, but it wasn’t like it was going away. If I was going to take my obligation to Anton’s Village and anyone else living in my domain seriously, I’d have to to resolve it at least in part. Set aside some areas where I came to an accord with the dungeon-self, and leave the experimentation and wrestling for the heart of my territory.
No matter how I did it, I really needed to make some stable and unmoving points for myself. Maybe even start putting things out on the surface. Even if I wasn’t the usual sort of dungeon there was merit to digging in and building up, or maybe even building down. Just considering it made some aspect of me stir and start demanding floors and levels, but I wasn’t that far gone. Not that there was anything fundamentally wrong with vertical organization, but there were no points for, and maybe a lot of merit in avoiding, standard dungeon trappings. The further away from classical dungeon I was, the more likely it was that I’d be myself rather than my dungeon-self.
[Blue’s Sagacity advances to 6]
Caring partner was not as simple as it sounded either. In truth I mostly only cared about Shayma, Annit and Keri, Ansae, and Iniri, but maybe that was because I didn’t really know anyone else. I didn’t talk to them and they didn’t talk to me. But Taelah did actually talk to me, now that I thought about it, even though she already knew I couldn’t talk to her.
Children was the strange one. I’d only recently found out it was possible, but it wasn’t like I would be a father. I wasn’t a human or kin or even monster. The Skill involved was Genesis, and from everything I could tell about dungeons they were more akin to gene- and soul-editing machines than people, much less parents. That didn’t mean I was entirely averse, so long as Taelah understood what she was getting into.
"Oh," Shayma said, startled. "That’s not what I expected."
"I’m not an adventurer." Taelah said, flashing a smile at Shayma’s expression. "I don’t need anything fancier than that."
"I hadn’t thought of that," Shayma admitted thoughtfully. "But you know that Blue has other Companions, right? And that I’m the only one he can talk to?"
"I’m not asking that he dote on me. Neither of us would enjoy that, I imagine. Just this would be enough." She gestured around at the alchemy lab. "Involving me in the things I can help with. I just don’t want to be used and set aside."
"Blue wouldn’t do that," Shayma protested.
"I’m a little confused. Or maybe, surprised that she wants to be a wife to someone she can’t talk to and doesn’t know. Let alone have children by them. Me. Whatever, you know what I mean."
"Marriage is all about getting to know someone," Taelah said dryly, to Shayma’s much-condensed version of my rambling. "Everything Blue has done so far shows that he trusts me and appreciates me, even if I am only a minor herbalist. I’m not that important, I’m not going to be doing grand and world-shaking things like you are, but so long as I’m important to Blue that’s all I need."
"She knows what she wants." I said, as Shayma seemed too nonplussed to have a ready reply. "Actually that’s very reasonable for a Companion. I don’t want random people anyway, so I kind of like that she’s taking it seriously. That said I’d feel bad if you didn’t get to do the marriage thing first, Shayma."
"Oh, I’m pretty sure we already are," Shayma said, reaching down to touch [Promise]. "Mom and dad might want a ceremony but that can wait until after the war’s over." She shook her head and focused on Taelah. "Blue thinks your requests are reasonable, and appreciates the seriousness you have about it." Taelah inclined her head.
"So he can give me children? Not monsters? I apologize if I’m being rude but it is important to me."
"Oh, it’s absolutely important. I realized that the first time I saw the option of [Genesis] but it’s equally important she realize I can’t really act as a father. I’m kind of a giant dungeon."
"It’s a fair question," Shayma assured her. "Blue agrees with you about how important it is, and wants you to know he doesn’t have monsters. He can give you ordinary children, though he wants to make sure you understand it’s not possible for him to act like a father."
"That is the sort of care I mean." Taelah smiled, showing dimples framed by her dark brown hair. "Yes, that was one of the things I discussed with the elders. There are no shortage of foster fathers and cousins willing to lend a hand. I’m still one of Anton’s Village, after all."
"I guess I should officially accept that. I think I ought to talk to Ansae though, since I want to bind Anton’s Village with a Bargain, and I don’t want to mess it up. Yours was awesome but we were probably lucky." Shayma frowned briefly, probably still mad at Ansae, but nodded.
"Blue accepts, but he has some preparations to make first." She told Taelah, who inclined her head in acceptance.
"Umm, maybe I should provide some sort of token? Oh how about a Primal nature Source?"
Thinking about it, I probably needed to make proper tokens for both Taelah and Iniri. Iniri was already my Companion, and Taelah was going to be, and I needed something to show they were mine other than a Status window. Not so much because I wanted to be possessive, but because others needed to know they were part of my circle and ought to be treated with respect. Of course, Iniri was a queen and Taelah was an elder but still. Companions were clearly a major part of my power and personal feelings aside I couldn’t let people mess with them.
"I think that’s a great idea," Shayma agreed. "Maybe a brooch?"
"That works. I really ought to think about heraldry at some point." Then again, Primals were unique to me, as were chrystheniums. Not to mention supermaterials. Maybe it was better to just use those rather than think about iconography.
Putting together a brooch didn’t take but a few moments. I just cast the backing from steel, added a small nature Source gem, and wrapped a core lattice gem around the edges before pushing it to Shayma. She presented it to Taelah with a grin, startling the other woman enough that she completely stopped her work.
"This is…" For once Taelah seemed off-balance. "Extremely lavish. Thank you." She took it from Shayma, her eyes widening as the Source within bound to her, its ordinary green shifting hue only the tiniest bit as it adapted to her specific magic. "This is a Source?"
"Honestly, that’s just a quick stopgap. I’m going to be making Artifacts for her and Iniri both once I figure out what to do."
"A Primal Source, even," Shayma said cheerfully. "They’re Blue’s specialty, but keep in mind that is a mere token." She held up her hand and tapped Promise. "This is the sort of gift he gives in earnest."
"Oh." Taelah blinked for a moment, stunned by the very idea of it, then shook herself. "That’s even more than I can imagine," she confessed as she pinned the brooch to her apron, taking a moment to adjust it to her satisfaction. "This is more than enough for me, and if nothing else it will help me finish this," she said, and went back to her work.
Some time later they were back by the [Mixing Bath]. Following Taelah’s suggestions I’d added in some check valves with [Fluid Handling] and [Customization], though I could tell they weren’t quite meshing with the [Mixing Bath]. Maybe some sort of upgrade would help, but then again, every other one of my crafting stations were meant for purely dungeon input.
I put the powdered, alchemically bound [Cultivated Steel] and kinetic Anecrux in using my inventory, but let Taelah do her own thing with the buffered catalyst. She had a piece of her own alchemy set, and fiddled with it, attaching it to the check valve before adding the catalyst and the antagonist. The two liquids mixed and then vanished, leaving only the vapor behind. Immediately the glass clouded and Taelah depressed a small piston, driving the vapor through the check valves into the bath.
The end result was spectacular. I’d expected maybe some fizzling, or a long wait as the catalyst did alchemy things and helped bind in the glowing Anecrux and powdered metal darkening the bath. Instead the thing practically exploded, a blinding, coruscating rainbow light flaring out from the bath along with a rumble that made the two women stumble. Taelah winced, throwing her arm over her eyes as the light show went on for ten long seconds.
When it faded, the mixing bath was dry, leaving only the tree trunk. I’d expected some sort of coating, like electroplating or vapor deposition, but the pale wood looked the same. If it weren’t for the description I would have thought nothing had changed, but considering the new name I was pretty sure the component had been integrated on a more fundamental level.
[Kinetic-Steel Anecrux Wood Trunk]
So that was step one. I wasn’t anywhere near done with it, especially since I wanted to do another round with argentum, but it was a start and proof it’d work like I wanted. Unfortunately, I’d need more of that buffer stuff for Taelah since all that work hadn’t netted me any new skills or features to actually work with the [Tesseract Catalyst] vapor, but there wasn’t a huge rush. It’d take me a while to make enough argentum anyway.
"Oooh, my head." Taelah said, rubbing at her temples while she squinted at the log lying in the now-dry bath. "I think I gained a level or two just from that." A glance at her Status showed that she actually had leveled. Her entry said [Level 20] (1 level pending), which reminded me that according to Shayma, most people didn’t actually level up until they’d time to rest and sleep. My instantaneous leveling of her when she was at my core was something of an anomaly.
"She did gain a level actually!"
"He does all kinds of absurd things," Shayma laughed, reaching out to help steady her. "Plus he says you gained a level."
"How does he even know that?" Taelah replied, shaking her head.
"Welcome to life with Blue."
Day 133 - Blue
The swarm of activity around Meil had mostly moved inside. The outskirts of the city, places outside the walls, had been stripped bare save for a fairly impressive stockpile that was meant to be moved into the Adamant Fortress once Iniri deployed it. The Artifact might be nigh-impenetrable but it didn’t come with infinite food or water or built-in toilets.
The last of the refugees were being swept inside the walls, and the Classers who were intending to stay inside the Fortress and fight were milling about near the stockpile. Some of them were clearly meditating, others using various Skills to make a temporary encampment. Plants were twisted into shades and cushions, dirt and stone was shaped into tables and chairs, and really it looked like they were enjoying themselves.
Iniri made some sort of speech about the move, and what people should expect before giving me the signal that everything was ready. It was a good thing she prepared them too, because even I was impressed by how ominous the giant black dome of the city-sized [Relocate] looked. Iniri’s silver light flecks kept the streets and houses illuminated though, as people settled in to wait it out. Even with my enormous mana reserves I couldn’t make such a huge transfer happen instantly.
It was just as well, because it was fascinating to watch the mana build up. It had something in common with the teleport as well as well as [Spatial Overlay], that weird Field that overlapped different areas, but with extra flourishes. The flourishes were probably to keep the teleport from ripping giant chunks of me out during the transfer, since [Relocate] somehow managed to move pieces of me without disconnecting them in the process.
Once it started, I didn’t really need to pay much attention to it, which was fine because I had other things to do. Most notably, I needed to get together with the resident dragon about how to properly make Bargains. While this particular one was probably not that dangerous, I’d rather make sure I knew what I was doing now rather than later. Besides, Ansae had kept her word and left the core necklace off for the duration.
I had a choice whether or not to trust Ansae. She’d done both things to confirm and betray trust in the past, and I could go into the future with either attitude. To not trust was easy, and in some ways the safest choice, because she could do so much damage if she wanted to. But if I did trust her, I could get so much out of it, provided I had the courage.
So I decided to trust. Partly because I didn’t think of myself as a coward, and partly because even if it annoyed me I knew what she had done was necessary. I was far better off knowing exactly what her motivations and actions were than sulking against a slight that was, in the grand scheme of things, not particularly important.
I’d been practicing my focus by talking at Shayma while focusing elsewhere and seeing if she didn’t hear it. While I wouldn’t call my precision great, I could at least get to about fifty meters away before she started hearing anything, whereas before it had been, well, wherever. It was a start.
Shayma was still a little touchy where the topic of Ansae was concerned, but not as upset as a couple days ago. I wasn’t sure if that was because of the talk she’d had with Iniri and her parents, or just the passage of time. Either way she didn’t argue at all and grumbled very little when I asked her to pay a visit.
Ansae stretched and yawned when Shayma teleported in, lazing in full dragon form. Rolling to her feet, she peered down at Shayma as she flexed her wings and settled them against her back.
"Yee-eess?" She drawled, looking down at my fox-girl.
"Blue wants to talk to you," she replied, waving in the direction of the necklace where it rested on a pedestal among other pieces of her hoard. Ansae grinned and snatched it up, settling it around her neck.
"What can I do for you?"
"Hi Ansae. I guess you’re out of the doghouse since I need a bunch of advice."
"Of course you do." She chuckled and curled her tail about her forepaws, looking smug. "I’ve noticed a lot of activity in the past few days." That was news to me since so far as I could tell she’d been mostly asleep the past few days, but since this was Ansae there was no reason she couldn’t pay attention while asleep.
"Yeah we’ve got an army bearing down on Meil and stuff, but actually I have a question about Bargains. I want to make one to bind a bunch of people in but I’m not sure how to go about it."
"It’s Anton’s Village," Shayma added. "They want to stay but Blue wants to make sure they’re his."
"Indeed? Are they all pledging individually or through a representative?"
"Well, their council of elders decided."
"Plus one of the elders wants to become a Companion," Shayma added. "If that affects anything."
"I imagine that’s only to the better, but Companions are completely new to my experience so I can only guess." Ansae’s tailtip flicked as she considered it. "It doesn’t matter that much, but I’d say having the elders commit is better. Binding yourself to individual mortals is just asking for trouble."
"I’m going to provide them with land and protection in exchange for absolute authority. I kind of need some way to interact with the rest of the world other than having Shayma do everything."
"Mmm." Ansae hummed thoughtfully. "Normally I would advise against using a Bargain for that, since mortals are eager enough to serve the powerful, but yours is a special case. Your land is you, so simply playing landlord and letting them sort their own issues won’t work."
"Yeah basically my thoughts. My problem is I don’t know how to make a Bargain happen. With Shayma it just kinda did, and it wasn’t concluded until I got her into a breeding station and that’s not going to work for this."
"I would think not. That first time, you could not speak with anyone?"
"No, I couldn’t hear him until after. The most I got was a sensation of being watched," Shayma told her.
"I suspect that is why. It should be that all you need do is state it and will it. There is no special magic, no Skill to invoke. It is simply what you are."
"I sure hope stating it through Shayma counts. I feel it ought to, since she’s kinda-sorta part of me?"
"I would think so. It’s a unique situation, even among Powers who are, themselves, unique."
"I’m going to be awfully embarrassed if it doesn’t work. Also this Bargain is a sort of in-perpetuity thing rather than the one-time deal I got with Shayma. How does that affect how it works?"
"Nothing lasts forever, so no Bargain will either." Ansae shook her massive head. "A Bargain that cannot be concluded, only broken, is no Bargain at all. Give them three or five or seven generations. When that future comes, there may be better options."
"Okay that makes sense. So do you have any idea what the Bargain will actually do, considering?"
"It’s different for every Bargain, every Power." Ansae frowned. "It will let you enforce your conditions, but in what form and manner remains to be seen."
"It seems very vague to me," Shayma remarked.
"Yeah, but Power stuff seems purposely more free-form than the structured Classes and Skills."
"Indeed. It is one of the benefits and dangers of being a Power." Ansae nodded approval.
"Oh speaking of which! I got a weird thing. It said the Phantasmal Realm is part of my Power authority but I don’t know what the Phantasmal Realm actually is. I have a Field for it but Shayma and Iniri have actual Phantasmal Realm Skills."
