Star’s section on the outer ring of the pavilion was reminiscent of the Spires in that magic flowed through the hallways and into the rooms. Sigils of power replaced tile, reacting to their footsteps by changing color and altering their flow around the footsteps. It was like someone covered the space in power lines and then stripped away everything but the electricity. The self-lighting candles were about the only things left unchanged.

  Daniel took some small measure of comfort in that Star was also dwarfed by the surroundings, if to a lesser degree. The vast majority of his comfort, however, was that he was alone with Star. “I should tell you I don’t have a good idea what’s going on,” Daniel said. He wasn’t breaking the silence, but that was because Star had been humming a faint tune that stopped at the comment.

  “Heh, you’re what, three or four months old? Can’t blame you.” Star’s height suddenly shot to Daniel’s level and the god held up a hand. “And you got to level 2 that early? Nice!”

  It took Daniel a few seconds to realize what he was supposed to do, and then he hesitantly high-fived the god. “Thanks. Uh, but really, I don’t know what’s going on.”

  “Yeah, I’m guessing your dad didn’t go into too many details.”

  Oh great, he’s on that too. Daniel had briefly hoped that Hammer was just weird in some way about his Spokes and that Star was as radically different there as he was in personality. Even if that were true, the god was playing along as much as he was with Hammer’s whims. “I know I’m a Spoke, but I didn’t know that until two days ago. I just thought I was a person.” Again, Daniel played as close to what Hammer would expect him to say as he could. Star possessing a lower leveled Proxy seemed to impact how much power he could put out, if Hammer’s comments were anything to believe, but he also didn’t know if the bearded god was spying on the conversation.

  “I’m going to be straight honest with you, I have no idea what you are. Most Incarnates are just golems or something similar to super invested Clerics, no personality of their own.” Star laughed lightly and shook his head. “Besides, you should already know everything besides what Torch gets fussy about. If I knew I was going to meet someone like you I would have brought a better Proxy. I guess I shouldn’t tell you too much or Torch, or your dad, or both, would get mad, but Incarnates shouldn’t have classes either.”

  “I know that much,” Daniel affirmed, sensing another knowledge opportunity. “Why, though? I mean, if I’m a Spoke, it’s ok to know why right?” Star gave him a look as if he’d just discovered where the god was hiding fireworks and had asked if he could light some. Look, Hammer’s off the table but I’ll give this guy the cool uncle vibe.

  “Ok, ok. Respect the hustle.” Star waved a hand and one of the castle doors shrunk to an appropriate size. As he opened it to reveal the mad wizard’s laboratory all the power in the hallway was feeding to, Daniel couldn’t help but ask another question.

  “How can you do that if you only have the enchantment domain? Is Hammer letting you control this place?”

  “Not exactly,” Star replied as he dragged two chairs with gems set in the back to a table covered by more emplaced magic. Daniel knew Lograve would kill to be here since he began to recognize the structure of runes in the otherwise random patterns. He had no idea what they meant and suspected these weren’t based on chemistry but a more magical science.

  Another observation he didn’t have time to consider was shelved as Star wagged a finger. “You’re getting ahead of yourself with that question. Gotta see how you enchant before I pull out some of the big secrets if we’re doing this the right way.” Star leaned back despite the chair not having any mechanisms to support it previously, these manifesting out of the wood as he did so. “But Spokes, yeah, we can start there. I’ll tell you the basic stuff and if your dad wants you to learn more we’ll get there later.” One of his hands touched the table’s surface and the lines glowed, rearranging. In seconds, something like a projector lens formed from them and displayed an image of the world, six wedges, the Crest, and the final Realm in the center. “Just to make sure you actually don't know anything, I’ll go ahead and ask the simplest question there is. What is the Crest?”

  “Evil?” Daniel frowned and indicated that wasn’t his final answer. Most of his knowledge was surface level, coming from followers of the very god he sat next to. The fact that Star would seem more at home with a beer in his hand than a thunderbolt suggested to Daniel that mortals might not have the whole picture. Giant, evil cosmic threat manifesting monsters around the world, he thought, reminded of his earlier analogy to Cthulhu. Origin Beasts are like the gods of it, and they invaded the world, so…“It’s another world?” he guessed.

  “Ennt! Wrong,” Star shook his head after making the projection of the Octyrrum flash red. “Interesting guess.”

  Oh fuck. Daniel immediately realized he’d forgotten the official lore of the Octyrrum, that it was the only world. Star didn’t seem to have pounced on the discrepancy though. Does he know there are other worlds too? I mean, if anyone would…

  “I’ll give you a hint. We use Incursion Armies to carry godseeds, baby Spokes like you once were, into Regions while they’re still bathed in the Crest. Normally, you can’t get in one of those until you’re high 5 to level 6.” Star looked at him expectantly.

  Daniel considered using Moment of Clarity, but Star was giving him enough time to think and even with his mana passively regeneration, it wasn’t fast enough to even give him a quarter of his pool back over the day. He also really didn’t want to have another old man in the desert experience if Hammer reacted poorly to him affecting time. It can’t just be that they need to be that strong to survive, he thought. He knows I barely know anything so it’s not like I need god knowledge to figure it out. The only thing he knows for sure is that I have a class.

  He thought further, dismissing the idea that all classes got some power that allowed them to survive the Crest specifically. Something like that would surely be known by the public at large as, while there hadn’t been an Incursion Army in any region he’d been in, they were also public knowledge. It also couldn’t be so mind-blowing that Torch would blot it out of existence like she did the eighth god, whose symbol Daniel still couldn’t see.

  Daniel’s thoughts about higher level classes grew more and more reductive as he asked himself what the big difference was. He kept at it until he hit on a very simple thought. They use more mana than I do. Would that matter? Daniel investigated his mana flow again, the process like trying to metal detect on a beach by using his fingers with his blunted seventh sense. To be fair, people didn’t get a full sense of how their mana worked until around level 3, but he still had to catch up.

  While he couldn’t perfectly map his mana, he was shocked to find that he possessed more mana than he normally did as an Artificer. The rate was far slower than when he was refilling the empty pool, and yet his mana was slowly ticking up. He flashed back to Joruza, the draconoid alchemist, warning him not to drink a mana potion when he was already full. That was enough for him to make a second, far better guess.

  “The Crest is too much mana.” His thoughts chained to another revelation before Star commented, exploring the implications of that. “Monsters spawn because of that too, right? It spills out into regions and manifests as them?”

  Star gave him a wry smile, slowly brought a finger down onto the table, and lit up the Octyrrum green. “Two tries, Artificer bro. I had a whole set of nudges ready to go. You’re not exactly right but we’ll just ignore that for now because Torch will come in here and smack me if I explain what you missed. If a normal person, or either of our bodies were in the Crest for more than a minute, well, let’s just say bad things happen.”

  Daniel felt he could leave the rest unsaid but wanted the confirmation. “So you need to passively consume all that mana to survive, which you’d need at least a level 6 power to do. Once a Spoke’s in place, it filters the mana, I guess?” The shield around the Spires had been insanely strong, though in the face of that he could guess at how mana dense the Crest must be if level 6 power was needed to survive in it. “No, not only that, they’re giving mana to people with classes too!”

  “Gold Star, man,” Star said, smiling at the joke.

  “Then why only give mana at dawn to people when they’re sleeping? Why not passively give them what the Spoke filters?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “That’s where we get to the things Torch doesn’t like people knowing.” Star put the big blast box in the locked case, leaving Daniel with just bottle rockets. “But I guess I could tell you Rikendia’s Spoke kind of does that. You can feel it, right?”

  “Yeah,” Daniel said, surprised. Star had to mean the mana he was being drip-fed, which until now he’d assumed to have come from himself.

  “The Spoke here is a little broken. Only a little, so the Crest’s mana doesn’t overwhelm the population enough that the perk would be a hassle. The system reset at dawn clears it out before the accumulation would be a problem. It also provides a region-wide mana field that anyone strong enough can use to fuel powers, though the monsters also get that perk. Still, Hammer really lucked out with this one.” Star wrapped a knuckle on the table and the image changed to display what could not be described as a castle.

  The Spires of Aughal were the most impressive works of architecture Daniel had seen so far, though visually they’d just been four tall pillars. The rest of the city would be far more visually impressive once it was all painted brick. Rikendia’s capital combined scale with marvel and was everything Daniel had expected from a magical city.

  In what had once been a large hollowed pit, the people of Rikendia had raised structures extending from the bottom to the top in ways that weren’t always connected to the ground. What immediately drew his attention in the incredibly detailed illusion was the central palace suspended over the rest of the city. Four beautifully crafted, massive chains threaded through the rest of the structures and seemed to be holding it down, with nothing else to provide obvious support. Large crystals were visible underneath the slightly domed bottom. Given his experience with lightning spines, Daniel guessed these also produced some form of antigravity.

  Looking closer, every structure, road, and freely spiraling staircase not connected to the ground had these crystals holding them up. With only two of these, Daniel could have made the winged boots with far less headache and wondered if he could persuade Hammer to give him samples. Or, hell, just making some out of thin air like he did level 10 metal. These crystals were everything Daniel had wanted but never gotten out of Aughal, a magical material with properties he could exploit without necessarily needing to enchant it.

  “Hammer doesn’t support enchanting like I do, but damn does this place get the good work done.” Star waved away the illusion before Daniel could fully inspect it but didn’t summon anything else. “So, let’s talk your class. Mind sharing your powers?”

  At first Daniel thought Star would use an identification power on him, though it seemed the god wanted him to list them. As he did, seeing no reason to be withholding to the only friendly god here he was comfortable around, Daniel watched Star list them in the illusion array. At a certain point he frowned and started grouping them separately, dividing his enchanting and commerce powers from his fighting ones before reorganizing them again.

  Star took a moment to observe the final graphic he’d created and scratched his head. “You’re a weird Artificer, man.”

  “I think I’m a monster hunter Artificer,” Daniel explained, sharing the conclusion he’d come to way back in Hagain. “You know, someone more active in fighting who gets better from it. That’s how I get my formulae. Other people are like me right? Not the Spoke part, but these powers?”

  “Dude, most of these aren’t even Artificer powers.” Star gestured to the larger second group and splayed his fingers out. The powers separated into more groups, now with class labels. Fortitude, for example, was under the Knight label, while Dodge Roll fell under Rogue. “You’ve got some, yeah, but you’ve missed some pretty iconic Artificer stuff and replaced them with this grab bag. You weren’t trying to do this, were you?”

  “No?” Daniel did remember wishing for and then quickly receiving Snap Shot, but that was just one instance. If he had access to every power somehow, then he’d surely have gotten something better than Bartering.

  “Weird. It’s gotta be your Spoke interfering with power awakening.” Star laughed, not as concerned with the development as others might be. “I wouldn’t worry about those other powers. I don’t have any and no one can beat my enchanting.” The god gestured at himself. “When I’m not borrowing Erik’s body. Safe to say you’ve got the time to learn True Enchanting, what with being immortal and all.”

  Daniel was troubled by the fact that he’d missed out on powers that could make his enchanting easy but was more absorbed in the fact that Star didn’t have any. “You’re just your domain, aren’t you? It’s complete control over one thing.” Star nodded, leaving Daniel still confused. “How’d you shrink the room, then? That looked just like how Hammer did it and it didn’t feel like how I enchant.”

  “Patience, patience. Like I said, we’ll get there. I want to see you in action first.” Star was getting to the point where he’d take Daniel to the firing range he’d built out in the country, where they’d be able to play with the real toys, when the lights in the room went out for a few seconds. “Ah, Hand must be early.”

  Hunter! Daniel stood up along with the god but coughed and moved in front of the door. “Star, really quick question. One of my friends died right before Hammer found me. I have their body here.” He touched the pouch on his side and Star looked troubled at that, a more human reaction than Hammer’s when Daniel had first told him. “Do you think Hand would help me?”

  Star sighed, and seemed to be careful with his words. “Shit, sorry to hear that dude. That’s not my domain but it should be possible. I’d say bring it up. My bro’ll back you. Hand isn’t like all the old guard but she can get, well, you’ll see.”

  That left Daniel with mixed feelings, but ultimately resolve. His eyes set forward and Star seemed to approve of the resolve. It was time he got his friend back

  …

  “A level 4 Proxy,” Hammer greeted the new addition to the Pavilion, giving it a pass compared to Torch’s extra credit. “You are welcome here amongst the gods and the Octyrrum.”

  “Thank you, Everchanging One,” the Proxy said, still deep in their bow. “The Hand wishes her neighbor’s denizens good health in the tumultuous times ahead.”

  “You are welcome. Please, be free to manifest your mistress.” Daniel watched by Hammer’s side as the Proxy grew to an average of Star and Torch’s height. He was surprised to find the god wearing something close to Quala’s armor when the process finished, the regal metalwork having morphed from the robes the Proxy had worn. Unlike Star, Hand’s appearance also changed how the Proxy looked, going so far as to alter the formally male human’s gender.

  Hand looked around. The main difference in her eyes wasn’t visual but a feeling Daniel got from the gaze, like just being the center of her vision was supercharging his healing despite the absence of Regeneration. He might be able to cut off an arm and watch it regrow if he could stomach that. She met each of the other gods’ eyes first before briefly considering Daniel and moving back to Hammer. “This is the Incarnate Torch spoke of?”

  “Torch has told you of my child?” Hammer asked with a hint of wariness.

  “Yes. They were involved with the rise of the Origin Beast and the Collapse of this cycle?”

  “That… isn’t why we are here.” Ice formed and cracked at the edge of Hammer’s fingertips, and the manifestation did not appear hostile but from a fear Daniel began to share. “Star, perhaps it would be best if you continued with them while we discuss this.”

  The shortest god looked like he was just going to go along with the effective dismissal despite being an equal. Seeing the chance before him slipping, Daniel couldn’t help himself. “Wait! Please, Hand, one of my friends died defending a region from the Spiritualists. I have their body, can you bring him back?” He wasn’t sure if adding the identity of the cult would do anything, but boy did it draw a reaction. The ice Hammer had yet to shake from his hands caught on fire while remaining frozen and Hand’s gaze turned back to him, now without any sign of the healing aura.

  “My child, please, do not speak here unprompted.” There was command in Hammer’s voice as he mastered the anger the word Spiritualist had caused, and also a movement of his eyes to the distant Torch as if to remind Daniel of his precarious existence. Anything else would have cowed Daniel, but this was for Hunter.

  “He’s my friend. Please, I am begging you.”

  Hand’s gaze softened at that and Hammer frowned, not finding it in himself to contradict Daniel again. The restoration god considered Daniel’s plea for one eternal moment before coming to her own decision. “How long has it been since he has perished? Where is the body?”

  “Two days.” Daniel’s hand went to his bag of holding and he prayed the assembled leaders of mortal kind wouldn’t immediately blast Hunter’s body to bits when he pulled it out. “I, I know what he looks like, but please, let me explain.”

  Far back in the Pavilion, Torch stood as Daniel lay Hunter’s body on the ground. Star leaned to the side with his hand on his chin, deep in thought. Hammer only showed pure surprise while Torch’s lip curled in disgust. “A monster? Hammer, this is what your Incarnate has chosen to befriend?”

  “He awakened!” Daniel desperately shouted, and ever god immediately looked back towards Hunter with something more than the dismissal they’d first shown. “He was advancing like we were, he has a soul. Please, if you bring him back, you can hear him tell you himself! He’s not just a monster.”

  “You see?” The old voice of Torch crept up from behind Daniel and froze his soul. “This is what I have warned you all of.” Everyone besides him seemed to take the meaning. Hammer was gritting his teeth, wanting to say something but seeing that it would only make things worse.

  Hand looked again at Daniel, this time with pity. “I can’t bring this one back, even if I wanted to. That power is not truly in my domain. I could have directed one of my faithful with the power to try…” Hand read the room for a second and saw the collective dissent. ”But we cannot allow this to happen. I am sorry.” She sighed and turned towards her section of the outer Pavilion, making her way there without allowing any response. “Hammer, it would be best if we discuss this now. More merciful, perhaps. We have a quorum, enough for this decision.”

  “No!” Hammer’s voice cracked across the space creating fissures in the stone that sealed themselves moments later. “Star, take my child. You surely agree there is no need for this. I will stay and convince these two they overreact.” He waved his hand and suddenly both Daniel and Hunter’s bodies were on the other side of the room in Star’s section. The Artificer recovered from the vertigo and looked up to see a grim face from the short god to match how far his spirits had been crushed.