Hey there! Author speaking. It's my 100-chapter intermission for all my readers, where I ask for an upvote (a 5-star) Rating or Review if you've been with me for this long and appreciate the story!
Because of the way the rating system works, and the Quality system, a 5 is an Upvote, 'yes, this is is a good story to read and maybe re-read', and anything else is a downvote sending it down the ratings. As I don't have huge numbers of followers, I depend on the good Ratings and Reviews to bring me to the notice of others.
So, if you haven't given me a 5-Star Rating or Review yet, this is when I ask... and also when I ask you to upvote those people who've given good Ratings, and Downvote those who've given poor ones (some of which are just, wth?), and just leave alone the ones that are middle of the road but honest.
Thanks for your help! If you aren't on Patreon, this is how you support your authors, and YES, it makes a difference!
Now, on with the story...
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“Good to hear!” I nodded at the KIA boys. I eyed the set of Infusing Circles off to the side, where they’d been taking turns powering up their Gear. “What were you working on here?”
“Bug Baneskulls!” the Mick reported, bringing out a couple of the crystalline things, all wound up with golden Runes and ready to go. It would save them a Banespell Casting on themselves or their Rods, if nothing else... or could be sold or lent to others.
I frowned. “Nix that for the moment. Swarmbane Clasps! You all don’t have them yet, and I want you protected against them ASAP. Crawling, flying, swimming, or creeping, I want you able to toast them if they toss themselves at you! They take two days, so I expect you all to be wearing one each when this mine is done. If it takes you an extra day, so be it!”
They all nodded quickly at my words. The devastating power of the Clasps against Swarms of tiny foes had been demonstrated to them, but they’d been focusing on their Implements and general defenses more, especially raising their Marks and the like.
“Okay, that’s my job for the next hour or two, making the raw Clasps for you. If you have any personal aesthetics, let me know now.” I picked up one of the hefty fifty-pound ingots with touchteke, sitting down on top of the stack of them. “Go about your schedules while I make stuff, this shouldn’t take me too long.”
“One more matter.” I cocked my head at the Mick’s words. “You found the Fire Seed down here, Lady Fae. We were all wondering... the Fire Lands are basically held at bay by a lot of Earth power, especially with the mountain ranges and seismic zones here. There... should be a LOT of Earth Seeds in this area, right?”
They all broke out into coordinated smiles. Well, five Earth Element Casters here...
“There were sixteen other Seeds within range of my Commune yesterday.” Their anticipatory smiles all became dumbfounded stares as their jaws dropped. I heard the chirp of stupefaction from Hopper up above as the news was relayed. “Six of those were Fire, six of them Earth, one Plant, one Light, one Wind, two Water.
“You have the only Fire Seed not in the Firelands proper. The other five include one Soul Seed, and are all in there.” They all couldn’t stop looking in the direction of my finger, pointing northeast. A Soul Seed! “One of the Earth Seeds is in there, and probably not by coincidence, is the only Soul Seed of that Element. The Plant and one of the Water Seeds are in there, also.”
“Sixteen Seeds!” Big John moaned theatrically. “I finally understand why so many people die out here!”
Tox spoke up hesitantly, “A Plant Seed in the Firelands probably means a Firebark Seed...”
That was an incredibly valuable, dual-aspected Seed of two Elements not often found together. The Firelands might be the only place on the continent where they could be found with any regularity!
“The Water Seed is probably a Geyser Seed, then,” Swampy guessed. Not as rare as a Firebark Seed, but also still a dual-aspect combination Seed of Elements not often found together.
“A Soul Seed of Earth in the Firelands,” mused the Mick. “If it has a Fire Aspect, that’s, what? Goldheart, or Volcanic Fury?” The latter being basically an upgraded Lavaheart. Big John couldn’t keep the fervor out of his eyes at the thought.
“If I was more familiar with the feel of the different types of Seeds, I could tell you. I am not,” I admitted. “The Earth Seeds outside the Firelands were of only two unusual types, I know that much.”
“I’d guess durability, to defy the Fire, or something seismic, given the amount of quakes this place goes through,” Red mused. “Did the types seem to be similar based on distance from fault lines?”
I reviewed my impressions from yesterday. “Yes,” I admitted.
“So, one type to open and break the ground, and one for defense and building,” Swampy nodded, everyone else agreeing. “Anything on the Air, Light Seeds?”
“The Air Seed is in a hilltop chasm with the wind cutting through it. I imagine it would have synergy with Sound in some form or another,” I theorized. “The Light one is in a stretch of barrens and a natural reflective area, perhaps an evaporated pond of some sort.
“The Water one is indeed tied to a geyser.”
“Geyser Seeds usually either have a Fire aspect or a hydraulic force aspect,” Red reminded our two Water mages. “The latter is very useful for defense or attack. Steam might be nice, but without the Fire Element to really buffer it, it’s a waste.”
Driver Sam just nodded, but also said wistfully, “It’s really good for controlling fuel and oil, however.” He had no Water Element, so that was not something he could wield.
“Probably no surprise, but we’d really like to try for those Seeds, Lady Fae,” the Mick said to me seriously. “If you say no, we will let it slide, we’re not gonna let something we might just be able to buy outright in the future get us killed, but it probably shouldn’t surprise you that getting Seeds of our own is something we’ve all dreamed about... and only Families seem to have people with Seeds in all their Elements.”
I held up my fingers, and they all mimicked the gesture as we rubbed fingers and thumbs together. Money and influence talked.
“Nobody trades the good Seeds without a lot of compensation or a swap, vastly preferring the latter. But we shouldn’t have extra Seeds, regardless.” Red glanced around. “Also, let’s hope they’re all old and higher-grade. We’ve all got multiple-use spells in all our Elements, and while an extra feature is nice, it’s the base which is important to us, moreso than others.”
“This area is like dead last on areas of interest on the Hunter boards,” sniffed Glenn. “Trying to find Seeds out here is like a needle in a haystack, any places of interest are thronging with Beasts, and there’s nothing interesting in between them. Wander too far east, and you’re roast meat before you know what hit you.”
Which was all true.
“We’ll make the Seed attempts after we’re done with business, gentlemen. To work, while I get your raw Clasps made up. You want anything special on it, you tell me in Markspace before you start Infusing them.”
“You heard the Lady! John, you’re on shift, set up the schedules, who works what on what’s left! I’ll handle the guards and Infusion shifts!” the Mick called out promptly.
Once again excited over their possible futures, the boys scattered quickly as instructions were called out, ready to do their part in earning themselves the future they had always dreamed of.
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Several hours later, the Coralost Compound...
The smelted metal rose up out of the Tapestry, unwinding from magical stitches and dimensional Compression. Briggs was on hand to watch it rise, and just nodded as the tons of gold and platinum gleamed in their stacks of crude ingots.
“I gotta say, Fae, it is damn convenient having a Power of Ten Caster around I can bully and boss and intimidate to do all the cool shit I can’t!” he declared with feeling, pale violet eyes gleaming with malicious plans to change the Whole Damn World.
“Most Exalted High Smith Master, Emperor Prepubescent, Smith of Smiths, oldest and Most Venerable of Ancients, Rapturous and Enlightened Source, Guardian of the Destiny of Humanity, and Vidiot who Can’t Sing... thank you.”
“You’re welcome!” he answered with a perfectly straight face. “You’re really good at those.”
“Diplomacy Ranks, lots of languages. I have a list of obsequious titles over three thousand long!”
He made a face. “Is there anything out there you’d even want to address that many different ways?”
“There’s plenty of things out there who want to be addressed that many ways, sure. That I would want to? It’s just a case of being smart, thorough, and polite.”
“And then you kill the Dragons.”
“And the Aberrants. Aberrants love them some obsequious titles, right before you pop ‘em.”
“So noted.” Forklifts were already converging to lift away stacks of five-pound bars and one-pound bars, goldweight waiting for nobody. “Any other problems?”
“I don’t know about problems, but there’s a bunch of Spirit and Soul Seeds in the lands nearby the lads want to make attempts at.”
“At half a million dollars a pop or more, I can’t imagine why. More than one Soul Seed? That’s at least five million a pop!”
“Would those things do anything for you?” I asked him, knocking his hip with my elbow. Ouch! “Magic-enhancing toys that they are.”
“No idea. Never tried to internalize one, Typeless Forsaken Matrix and everything. Do you think it’s a possibility?” he wondered, intrigued at the idea.
“Passive abilities are always a possibility, as the Seeds would have to manifest differently on the two of you. Do you have an Elemental bias that you know of? Probably a good place to start?”
“Based on the seven Base Elements here?” He thought about that, watching everyone at work restacking the metal ingots. “I’d guess Light, Earth, maybe Water, Earth being best like I told you before. Sama, Sama might have all and no bias? Not sure what her affinity for Curse Magic would mean,” he conjectured.
“You might want to see if you could take one in, although I don’t know what it might do for you. Even some generic physical boosts might not be unwanted, right? Even if you are a monster already.”
“Hmm. Well, if I have enough money for a generic Earth Seed laying around someday, I’ll try it and see what’s up. Get me some metal bones or something.” He flexed a bicep bigger than my thigh.
I squinted thoughtfully. “Ooooh, interaction with Alchemy and Soul Magic. That’s a nice thought...”
“How about you?” he asked, tilting his big head down at me. “I can feel the signature of that hot/cold Seed you use to conveniently fob off explanations for the odd stuff you do to outsiders. Can you take more Seeds?”
“I’m honestly not sure any of us Typeless sorts can normally take a Seed. I could take this particular seed because I’ve got a second Bloodline beyond the Arcane.”
“A hot/cold Bloodline?” he asked, lifting a hairy eyebrow.
“Void Phoenix, Dark Phoenix, Jetsilver Phoenix... take your pick.”
“Huh,” he blinked. “That sounds... like a really nice Bloodline,” he noted. “I don’t remember that from the game...”
“It’s actually totally possibly for any naturally-created Sorcerer with less than an absolutely flawless magical heritage, which basically means any of them. Multiple Bloodlines are the rule, not the exception, we’ve managed to learn Out There.”
“But not in the game. Because the game was setting us up for the actual reality, when we gained those powers... and getting bestowed those powers was, in essence, a perfect magical heritage at the moment it happened,” he reasoned it through, watching me nod. “So, Aelryinth didn’t have one, nor anyone else from the game.”
“Correct. But anyone born Powered after the Fall? Totally could have. They had magical Events up the hoo-haa back home. They totally might get a second Bloodline without outside intervention.”
“Outside intervention...” He caught that instantly. “So, the Second Bloodline thing is a totally empty Slot just waiting to be filled by something happening to a Caster impressive enough to form a new Bloodline...”