As he left Helmold Brecht to his fate, walking into the quiet night, Redmane again recalled the words of the old crone. What she said to him when they first met on the night he broke free.
A parting word of caution for thee. Not all who aid thee are thy allies, and not all who fight thee are thy foes.
He supposed this was what she meant.
It occurred to him that when he had left Beroh Keep in haste, he left a goodly number of confused people behind. Not the least of whom was Krum of Asgoph, who was ready to serve up his whole Faction to Redmane, himself included. But there had been no time to explain. Helmold’s attempt at a coup was the entire reason he had come to Asgoph in the first place. He would not let the treacherous Magister get away a second time.
One betrayal was lesson enough.
If the crone knew all the way back then, or even simply suspected, why hadn’t she spoken of it plainly?
Perhaps all old witches spoke in riddles.
When last he encountered her, she had guided him through the Abyss for the first time. Perhaps he would find her there again. He didn’t feel like making haste back to Beroh Keep just yet, anyway.
Submerge
Gnosis: 1157
Redmane sank into the depths of the Abyss.
His feet found something like solid ground beneath them, and he called out.
“Old woman! Are you there? Can you hear me?”
Silence and darkness were his answers.
He called out to the crone a few times more, received no answer, and had a seat.
For a short while, he simply sat and breathed, to clear his mind.
With Helmold done away with, the path ahead was clear and free of obstructions. The Seal of the Sphinx lay before him, and the others as well. Soon his power would be unsealed and he would be himself again, if he wasn’t himself already.
He became aware of the subtle disintegration of his form, the effect of the Abyss itself, where anything could be taken apart and reconstituted. He recalled what the crone told him about its effect on Skills.
Within this place, thou hast the power to shed Skills which serve thee not, and feed them to Skills thou wishes to empower, Similar Skills may be conjoined to create something new.
And indeed, it had worked. It was how he created Might of Umber. But he’d left it at that, mostly because he was en route to the next Zone to conquer. He hadn’t wanted to sit still and experiment with such things at the time.
Now felt like a better time.
He concentrated, drew out the constellation-like map of his Skills, as the crone had done. Gazed up at it, and began moving the nodes around, superimposing one over another, testing out combinations, possibilities.
Right away he was seeing encouraging results.
Carnivorous Metamorph and Spawn were related to one another closely, but when he began adding other things to the pair his eyebrows rose at what he’d created.
He read the description of the new Skill a few times, slowly, to ensure he understood. And then he locked it in.
—
Skills Consumed:
Fang and Claw
Carnivorous Metamorph
Spawn
Feral Fleetness
New Skill Learned:
God Body of the Devourer
Primordial Skill
Passive
The Primordial Divinity's form is protean in nature.
It can change form at will, to mimic the physical qualities of any creature it has previously eaten. The Divinity instinctively understands the proper use of all such means of respiration, perception, attack, defense or locomotion.
The Divinity may combine the functions of different bestial qualities together, to create unique organs, tissues or natural weapons. It may elongate or condense its torso and appendages, or grow new ones anywhere on its body. It may also increase or decrease its physical size, to an extent limited by its present Corpus.
The Divinity combines the weapon qualities of all its natural weapons together, applying them to any attack it makes with a part of its body.
It may also Spawn additional bodies from its own flesh, which it can deploy as assistants, spies, guards or hunters. Spawn are granted a quantity of Corpus and Gnosis and a list of Skills decided by their maker. They are under the Divinity's absolute control at all times, but are nominally intelligent and can follow simple commands independently.
The Divinity is aware of the location and condition of its Spawn at all times, and can see through the senses of its Spawn at will.
It may switch places with a Spawn, its 'main' form instantly flowing into the form of the Spawn and thereby replacing it, irrespective of distance.
If the Divinity possesses a Soulspace occupied by the souls of mortal beings, it may Spawn bodies for them to inhabit. Mortal souls possess whatever Skills they had in life, as well as any Skills provided to the Spawn body by the Divinity.
The Divinity and all of its Spawn can travel at their highest overland speed, without rest, for a number of consecutive days and nights equal to its Fortitude.
—
He felt… Different.
Not perfected, perhaps, but refined.
He raised his hand to examine it. Then he flattened his palm and swiped sideways in the air. His arm became a sword for a split second, returned to normal when the motion was done.
He thrust his hand forward and it became a spear.
He made a fist and punched, and it became a crudely spiked mace.
He twisted his torso as if dodging an opponent, and he could feel himself bending like a sapling in a strong wind, not only moving but shapeshifting away from harm.
No sooner had each of these movements finished, did his body return to its normal composition. It was as if the simple act of moving prompted a shape change into some manner of optimal state.
Remarkable.
It also said his natural weapons all had the same qualities now. He checked that.
—
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Weapon Profile:
Natural Weapons
Damage +50
Evasion Negation 30 (Fast 15)
Corpus damage over time on hit (Rending 4)
Armor +14 while blocking (Defensive 7)
Attacks damage up to 4 foes (Cleaving 3)
Might Damage over time (Venom 5)
Grace Damage over time (Venom 5)
Spirit Touch (Godslayer 1)
Vorpal (Godslayer 1)
Reach +10 (Force Projection)
Soul Sundering
—
His eyebrows rose again.
Combining Skills in this way would be most useful indeed.
With newfound focus and enthusiasm, Redmane examined the rest of his Skills.
He looked at the cluster he’d learned at the Deepwell Monastery and the town of Rollo’s Pass. They all had a common theme. Combining them together into one seemed to streamline their functions, making them into a better version of the previous list.
—
Skills Consumed:
Abyss Walk
Abyssal Resilience
Submerge
Summon Envoy
New Skill Learned:
Naturalborn of the Abyss
Abyssal Skill
Passive
The Monster is adept at traversing the Abyss and consorting with its denizens.
In the physical world, it can unerringly perceive the location of the nearest Abyssal Well. In the Abyss itself, it gains awareness of Abyssal Wells it has not previously visited, and can navigate toward them.
At a cost of 25 Gnosis, it may transport itself or a group surrounding it from the physical world into Depth Zero of the Abyss. From there, the Monster may either travel to any Abyssal Well it has previously visited or attempt to navigate toward an undiscovered one. Creatures accompanying the Monster will not lose their way, so long as they remain near their guide.
Shadows may also serve as doors to the Abyss for short-range travel. At will, the Monster may step into a shadow in the physical world and either proceed to Depth Zero of the Abyss or emerge out of another shadow it perceives in its immediate area.
The substance of the Abyss permeates the body of the Monster, protecting it from any Condition which would deal persistent damage or weaken its body, such as Burning, Bleeding, or Venom.
This condition makes Envoys of the Abyss friendly and receptive to the Monster's questions and requests. At a cost of 25 Gnosis, the Monster may call forth an Envoy at an Abyssal Well or in the Abyss itself.
Envoys of the Abyss are knowledgeable, but not omniscient. They will answer any question honestly, and are also willing to guard Abyssal Wells or relay messages from one Well to another.
—
There was one Abyssal Skill left, and when Redmane saw that one, he instantly had an idea for the next combination.
—
Skills Consumed:
Fear Aura
Haunt
New Skill Learned:
Nightmare Aura
Abyssal Skill
Aura (Range: 10 Yards)
Sustained - 30 Gnosis per 30 seconds
The power of the Abyss emanates from the Monster, creating menacing phantasms.
All creatures within the radius of the Nightmare Aura fall under its influence. Affected creatures are smothered in the substance of the Abyss itself, which assails their minds with amplified versions of their own fears or painful memories.
The Monster may choose to spare creatures within the Aura from this effect, but those creatures are still subject to a heightened state of fear. Depending on their level relative to the Monster, they may take one of three actions:
-Flee at maximum speed
-Cower in place
-Continue to fight at a penalty to all Qualities
Creatures smothered in the Abyssal substance may be freed when the Monster dismisses the Skill, or if they are immersed in water or taken into the Abyss itself.
—
Redmane noted that Skills did not need to share an origin to be joined. Except for Devourer. That Skill, his central Skill, resisted any attempts at combination.
But it seemed all the others were fair game.
—
Skills Consumed:
Dirge of the Devourer
Beast Speech
Roar of the Elder
New Skill Learned:
Voice of the Beastlord
Primordial Skill
Passive
All animal life is subordinate to the Primordial Divinity, whose voice projects its authority over beasts.
The Divinity is fluent in the communication methods of all animals and beastmen, to include types which are not normally capable of intelligent communication, such as Mongrels and Chimera.
It may call out in the voice of a specific type of animal or beastman, mystically summoning creatures of the chosen type for miles around, potentially calling an enormous swarm or stampede of creatures.
The Divinity's roar deals physical damage and a chance at the Deafened Condition to any creature in earshot, and will also cow Beast and Beastman type Monsters into submission, if they were previously aggressive.
The roar has the following weapon profile:
Roar of the Beastlord
30 Gnosis per use
Damage +40
Grace Damage (Deafening)
Armor Penetration (All - Sonic)
Evasion Negation (All - Sonic)
All animals and beastmen who have either been summoned by the call, or cowed by the roar, will be predisposed to obey any of the Divinity's commands or requests for information.
Creatures who are higher level than the Divinity will be less susceptible to being cowed by the roar, but will take damage and suffer Deafness as normal.
—
There were also the two skills he’d gained from the items of the Sicarius. They stood apart from the constellation of Skills, but they had the same general composition as his Imbued Hunter Skills.
Out of curiosity, he combined them with splendid results.
—
Skills Consumed:
God Slayer’s Oculus
Hunter’s Mark
Tracking
New Skill Learned:
Astral Hunter
Astral Skill
Sustained (No Gnosis Cost)
The Imbued selects up to two types of creatures to be marked as Prey, which confers an advantage to the Imbued when attacking and defending themselves from creatures thus marked. If a creature targeted should possess both types, the Imbued gains double the relevant attack and defense bonuses.
Furthermore, the Imbued becomes aware of the presence of all creatures of the marked type in his surrounding area, whether such creatures are corporeal or incorporeal, and can unerringly track any such creature whether or not it leaves any physical sign of its passing.
Skills Consumed:
Pearl Phantom Cloak
Stalk
New Skill Learned:
Astral Stalker
Astral Skill
Sustained - 15 Gnosis per 30 seconds
The Imbued hunter can become a ghost, to better stalk his Prey.
While Astral Stalker is active, the Imbued is temporarily invisible and incorporeal. Furthermore, the Imbued gains a damage bonus to an attack launched from stealth against any creature marked as Prey.
This attack, or any overt action from the Imbued, such as throwing an object or speaking in a loud voice, ends the effect of Astral Stalker.
—
He didn’t know what he was now. A Hunter? A Monster? A Divinity?
All of them, he supposed. The System did not seem to care for such distinctions. It was all permitted.
With that in mind, he went for an even more ambitious combination.
When he piled together a group of his fighting Skills, the result made his eyes go wide.
—
Skills Consumed:
Rage Fueled Might
Might of Umber
Bloodlust
New Skill Learned:
Wrath of Redmane
Primordial Skill
Passive
The wrath of Redmane is terrifying to behold.
Whenever Redmane deals damage, takes damage, or afflicts a creature with one stack of a Condition, he gains one stack of Wrath.
Stacks of Wrath may be spent as they are gained, on any of the following effects:
-Increase attack speed for 30 seconds
-Double one Quality for a single action
-Add +10 to a Quality, Armor or Evasion, for 30 seconds
-Gain immunity to Fear for 30 seconds
-Gain enhanced Fire Resistance for 30 seconds
-Gain 50 Damage Ablation for 30 seconds
Redmane may spend stacks of Wrath one at a time, to provide an ongoing benefit, all at once to provide an instant, cumulative advantage, or any combination thereof.
For example, Redmane could spend five stacks of Wrath on five cumulative attack speed increases with a duration of 30 seconds, or one increase in attack speed lasting 150 seconds.
Qualities are doubled before adding any other enhancements, including those from Wrath. A Quality may be doubled more than once with more than one stack of Wrath, but the multipliers are not cumulative. Instead, the Quality doubles for more than one consecutive action.
Stacks of Wrath persist for 30 seconds after all opponents in an area have been slain, at which time they will dissipate at a rate of one per 30 seconds.
—
Wrath of Redmane.
It seemed the System knew him, then. At least in passing. How fortunate.
Redmane rose to his feet slowly. He felt leaner. Streamlined. As if the previous Redmane were a rough statue and this one was the work of a competent sculptor.
The list of Skills he hadn’t touched was significantly shorter now.
Flame Breath
Venom Breath
Shaman's Heal
Flicker
Lion's Lunge
The Beast Liberated
Devourer
The latter refused to combine with anything, and the former six didn’t seem like they would benefit much from synergy. He could already devise ways to use them simultaneously if he needed to.
And he could also try this again later. More ideas would come, and more Skills as well.
He looked around, noted the presence of the Abyssal Well next to the Tomb of Vos, and used it to ascend to the physical world again.
Immediately, his eyes widened a second time.
He sensed all his Spawn. But he also sensed distant, angry clusters of Spawn he was certain he had not created. They were too large, for one thing. Seething swarms in burrows under the earth. There was one to the west, near where Valtr and Vengarl’s Coterie were clearing Zones, and another far to the south. Most of the way to Port Luck. There may have been others as well, but if so they were too far away to sense clearly.
That merited further investigation.
But in the meantime, he needed to return to Beroh Keep.
Redmane directed his attention to his other Spawn, the ones he was sure he’d created. The nearest was Pietr, in the monstrous body he’d put together to deliver Helmold Brecht to his fate. The next closest was a little bird he’d left at Beroh Keep.
He closed his eyes, and his consciousness leapt out of his body and crossed many miles in an instant.
And a little bird perched in a tree outside the gatehouse became Redmane.
It startled the nearby guards so badly they screamed. One of them fell over.
“It’s him again!” he yelled. “Get Krum!”
“I’m going!” the other one yelled back, and he was already running.
PATREON
