I had severely underestimated how long it would take to check through several thousand people for soul knots. Luckily, Elody had recovered enough from her injuries to join in the effort. Still, even with her help, we had spent half the next day working at it and hadn't even gotten halfway through the city.

Everyone we scanned was coming up clean, and I didn't understand why. Why had they made the soul knots in the Arena of everyone they could, but no one within the city? This further cemented Timon's theory that there was a conspiracy above us that we didn't fully understand yet. Strangely, it was almost comforting to just be another victim and not a prime target if that were the case.

It would mean we hadn't made more enemies without understanding exactly why. Even if we didn't understand their motivations, not being the direct target of their aggression was almost certainly better than having their entire weight thrown at us. I wasn't sure if that would last past our return attack, but I also didn't overly care. Mostly, I just hoped it meant they weren't expecting us to fight back.

I had also woken up this morning with a new idea, and as the day had worn on, it had wormed its way more and more into my active thoughts. The previous day's considerations about the GPA problem had taken root and forced me to consider what we were even still using them for at this point.

Leaving Elody to continue working with Glunderlin on scanning the residents, I went in search of Pryte. We had technology to acquire, and I needed to run some ideas by him before we did that. But before either of those things could happen, my walk was interrupted by a message.

Maud: Well, the good news is we found Squidlen and we've already launched into chaotic space.

Dave: Good news implies bad news. What's wrong?

Maud: Wrong is a strong word, more like very unexpected. The moose apparently followed us. Could it go invisible before? :/

Dave: I don't believe so. I thought it could just teleport. Well, and the shields.

Maud: Yeah, it can do that now. I have no idea if this is a good thing or not.

Corey: It at least explains where the moose is. Alpha was beginning to get very worried. Apparently, they often spend mornings together bird watching.

Alpha: Could not find, was scared. Thought friend lost.

Maud: Aww, it's alright, Alpha. He's here with us. I promise to bring him back home safe and sound. :)

Alpha: :)

Dave: I wonder why it followed you, though. I know the moose had seemed oddly tied to Alex, but I wonder if it was more William, and we just assumed Alex.

Maud: Hard to say, still no talking out of the big guy, but I'll let you know if that changes. Gotta go, the connection is getting harder to hold. :(

Karlinovo: It should be easier when your ship is at rest, though the deeper into chaotic space you go, it will still become increasingly difficult. There may come a time when you don't have the needed core energy to make the connection at all.

Maud: I don't like that at all :(

Dave: Same, but we knew that risk already.

I closed the chat window, unsure what to do with the news of the moose. I didn't really see how it could make anything worse, and if what Karlinovo had earlier said about the development of mana beasts within chaotic space held true, it was entirely possible the moose being with could be a net gain. Still, it wasn't as though we had any control over the animal, and due to my own haphazard handling of mana orbs, it had become even harder to maintain any sort of leash on it.

"How's the soul knot search going?" Pryte asked as I took a seat across from him in our usual meeting room.

"Good and bad, taking longer than I'd like, but that's just because I didn't consider the scope. So far, none have been found. Elody is still working on it," I answered, noticing the new stack of paperwork in front of Pryte. Where did he always seem to get so much paperwork?

"I have a feeling we won't find any, but we still need to check. From what I've been looking into today I'm starting to suspect the soul knots require the jester who placed them to be living, and as only the 'best' escaped that we know of, well, and our own prisoner, it seems unlikely they could have placed any," Pryte said as he looked down at the top sheet of his stack.

"So one solution is we find the exact jesters that placed the knots on our people and kill them?" I asked, mostly rhetorically. I didn't think it was a viable solution, as I imagined that if that was how this worked, once a jester placed a knot, it was carted off back to wherever their homeworld was.

"Sure, but I'm guessing you already know it's not a realistic one."

"Yeah. Oh talked to Maud on the way here. Somehow the moose is with them, and as they've already launched into chaotic space, it's likely staying that way." Pryte finally looked up from his papers at that news and blinked at me several times.

He sighed loudly. "I honestly have no idea how to take that news, so let's move on to the GPA problem. You ready for that call?"

"No, well, yes, but I don't want it to be a call anymore. The more I thought about it today, the more I've hit a point where I'm done treating them as though they have any say in anything we do. While I don't want to take over the planet for us to run immediately, it's time for me to stop pretending that isn't where this is all heading and instead make our first big play there," I replied, forcing a resolve I didn't totally feel just yet into my voice.

"I'm already on board. What's the play?"

"We head to their HQ and make some very pointed demands. We leave with everything we want, and I have a conversation with Roberts about a job offer. From there, we start really putting into place what we need to bring the people to us instead of the GPA."

Initially, I had considered trying to track down Laura for some input, not to mention updating her on everything that happened, but that was time I didn't want to spend. The last I had heard, the giants had asked for her help in brokering a mutual defense pact with a group of independent Orcs. I had every intention of sending a messenger to update her once we had the city checked, but pulling her off of that seemed like a bad idea. And that assumed she'd even leave it.

"Sounds good, who's going?" A large smile crossed Pryte's face as he asked.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Just the two of us, I think. Only other person I'd consider right now is Timon, and he's a bit busy," I replied, debating if I should wait for the large mantis man to finish his interrogation or not. The results didn't really matter for the immediate plan. If he learned anything incriminating from the jester, then we could pay the GPA a return visit.

"Timon will be a bit mad he missed it, but yeah, let's not interrupt him. Though I don't know if the old capital gate is still working. Checking it hadn't been high on my priority list."

"Damn, yeah, I hadn't thought of that. In theory, we didn't flood it with dungeon energy, so maybe it's not destroyed?" I wasn't sure just how much damage had been done to any of the gates just by being in the vicinity of the energy, but there was only one way to find out.

The answer, it turned out, after some walking, was that yes, the gate worked just fine. We had gotten lucky in catching Quarilyn moments before she was about to raid some of the parts to work on getting the dungeon gate back up, but we put that on the back burner with our new plans. Despite the large pile of burnt-out components sitting near the other gate, she didn't seem upset by it. I got the distinct feeling she actually enjoyed the idea of me putting my foot down with the GPA.

"Good luck," she said with a smile that all but confirmed my earlier thought as we stepped through the gate. And appeared in a room with several people, pointing guns at us. Nearly instinctively, or possibly more likely that Corey was powering the mana channels faster than I could think, shields went up around both Pryte and me just before a very angry voice started yelling.

"Drop the magic and go back the way you came before we open fire!"

This was an escalation of force I hadn't actually expected. What did they think they could gain here? Sure, I hadn't demonstrated my shields in front of them yet, but considering the amount of damage it took to take down an Orc with standard ammunition, it seemed unlikely they could do anything to me at this point, and I would have thought they had some idea about that. Then again, that was the point of why I was here. It was time to make our position very clear.

"No. I'm here to see the head of the Global Protection Alliance. I don't care what your orders are, and to be clear, I don't want to hurt any of you, but if you open fire, I will," I said calmly. It turned out it was surprisingly easy to stay calm in situations like this when you didn't remotely feel in danger.

I heard the gunfire far more than I felt it. There was a mild sensation as each shot hit a shield, the bullets draining of their kinetic energy before dropping harmlessly to the ground. Sadly, as there was no magic to the attacks, there was nothing to absorb and recharge my energies. I could feel my core drain just slightly, but at the speed it was happening, I could likely sustain an hour or more of this. That was something I had zero intention of doing.

"Gale force winds, sweep this room!" I felt myself yell as I probed the fundamental forces' ability of the air orb for what I had in mind. I also really didn't want to kill anyone in this room, despite the fact that they had just opened fire on me. That meant keeping the flow of mana into the spell slow and guided in order to gradually grow the intensity of the wind.

Several of the guns clattered to the ground as the rising forces became apparent to everyone in the room. That didn't stop the man who gave the first order from yelling again. "Do not let him through!"

A quick gravity reversal and he hit the ceiling, a bit harder than I needed to have done, but I wanted to get the point through to him. Instead of letting him drop painfully back to the ground, I raised the wind up under him to soften the blow. The important thing was that he had dropped his gun during the sudden attack. He had been the last one still holding onto one.

"Are we all done now?" I asked, still keeping my tone as calm as before. I needed them to think that had been effortless for me, and truth be told, it mostly had. Sure, I hadn't been hit when anything designed to take out a tank yet, but I was starting to think I might be able to handle that now as well.

"Should we consider this a declaration of war?" The voice came through speakers on the ceiling.

"Not really, more like a declaration of I'm tired of doing this on your terms. So here's the new deal. I'm going to leave this room and find a comfortable conference room. Within one hour, I want Roberts and a box of pacemakers in there. Assuming that goes the way I want, I then want the head of the GPA here for a meeting," I said loudly, making sure my words carried over the groans of pain from several of the men in the room.

No answer came from the speaker. Instead, the door swung open to reveal more men on the outside. "You heard Dave, get out of our way!" Pryte's voice echoed from the room, louder than the man usually spoke, even when angry. Had he decided to do his own show of force?

To my surprise, the soldiers moved out of our way. I had expected more of a fight, but considering the show I had just put on, it was always possible they accepted the futility of doing so. There was the nagging worry they had something else up their sleeves, but if they wanted to go that route, I was willing to make my own larger show of power. I hadn't even used a single fireball yet, after all.

Elody

The fact that Maud and Yorela were still alive were two things that kept her going as she had spent hours recovering. While she had been sure there were better ways she could have spent that time, people to heal, soul knots to find, she did have to give in to Dave's wisdom that her body needed the time to recover. She had fought two 'great' jesters after all, and had lived through it.

She didn't like to dwell on the idea of what would have happened had Mel not made a timely return. The fact that William had been lost was enough shame to consider all on its own. She had easily been the most powerful person still in the city, and it hadn't been enough. She had failed one of the people she had grown to care deeply for.

Despite that failure, Dave had still come to her and asked for help in checking the citizens. She knew that he wouldn't consider what happened a failure on her part. And logically, that helped process the guilt somewhat, but only somewhat. She had been prodigy, one of the fastest growths of her studies that the paladins of knowledge had ever seen. She was a once-in-a-generation mind.

It had all meant nothing when the moment came. What was that potential worth if she couldn't turn it into true skill? It was time for more books of narration. The new ones she had created just hadn't been enough, and considering all she had learned in her recent trainings and the pure level of talent she had been exposed to, well, she knew where she could improve.

What she needed to do was push towards the creation of her first omnibus and the various features that would unlock once she had it created. Her goal was to begin scribing mana orb narrations as a way to bypass some of her current limitations. It was something she had long ago given up on as truly possible, but Dave had made her rethink some of her old goals, and it was time to revisit them. If the others could beat their heads against a wall until the wall gave, why couldn't she?

Path of Narration {25/25 Recitations} The world around everyone and everything moves, guided by deep underlying principles. While not everyone truly understands how those principles connect together to build a coherent narration of life, that is not true for those on this path. Those who follow the Path of Narration learn how their own existence fits within those bounds. Those who find themselves at the pinnacle of the path may even learn how to break the chains that control the story. -Self Determined Scribe- {100/100 levels} Using their knowledge of the world around them, the user may begin to scribe a book about their own talents, skills, and abilities to interact with the world. Multiple books may be scribed, and each one can be used to further focus on a different subset of their abilities. Books of Narration Created: 5 -Self Determined Scribe\Combat Narration {200/200 Levels} Combat Narration allows the user to read their Books of Narration in order to strengthen their abilities tied to the book. While in use, the book will float around the user's head, giving them direct access to the texts within. Books of Narration rewrite themselves actively whenever read, uniquely using the knowledge that was scribed into them as a guide for how the user may control the flow of their own fate. These words must be read aloud for the full effect. Further ranks in the skill increase the strength of each book. -\Combat Narration\Multitasked Narration {300/300 Levels} -Self Determined Scribe\Omnibus {0/1000 Levels} Once the user reaches ten Books of Narration, they may combine them into a single volume. Multiple volumes may be created. Omnibuses of Narration Created: 0

I do not understand. The blocks just seem to continue falling. Where do they come from, and why do their patterns seem to repeat? What horrible fate has befallen this world to be forced to endure such a downpour? To make matters even worse, sometimes when the blocks line up just perfectly, a whole line of them will vanish in a colossal explosion. While I may not know the beginning of the cause of such a calamity, it does at least speak for itself why the cities of the planet lie in ruins, with no populations anywhere in sight.

Myths, Legends, or Truths: The Beings of Chaos by Johnny Flakes

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