“The center of the Settlement,” she muttered as her gaze continued to roam.
Daniel walked up, the Scholar pulling a small notebook out of thin air and taking notes. “The Center, eh? Why is that important?”
Rhamiel was about to answer, but the Priest spoke first.
“It’s where the most important things in any city happen,” Seng answered. “It is where, traditionally, the City Hall is placed and where festivals or markets are held. Putting something there is magically symbolic and powerful. Right, Core?”
“Yes, definitely, uh, got it in one,” Rhamiel said quickly, his voice coming from the Communication Crystal that Dad still carried. He then quickly whispered to Dad and only Dad, “Yeah, I had no idea, I was just going to say that that was what the thing required.”
Dad smiled, “Sorry, but I figured.”
“Anyway,” Daniel said, writing furiously, “what are you supposed to do?”
“The Core said that I was supposed to Consecrate it to the Outer God Destiny, right?” She confirmed.
“Yup.”
“Then this will be pretty quick,” Seng nodded. “For a Level 1 Consecration, all I need is the blood of someone touched by Destiny, about one fluid ounce. I bless the blood, then place it on the Pedestal. Then close the Consecration.”
“Okay, but do we know someone touched by Destiny?” Daniel asked, tapping his notebook with the pen. “Do we know-”
“That depends,” Rhamiel said in thought. “Do you mean literally or figuratively? If you mean literally, then I think we might be out of luck. But if you mean figuratively, then… I’m still not sure. Oh, I have a Perk called Aspected Analysis, which lets me see people’s information, including three aspects that apply to them. Would that work?”
Seng nodded, “That would work. Who has the aspect of Destiny?”
“Only two people that I could find,” Rhamiel thought, and again thanked his lucky star that his Structured Mindset Perk included perfect memory. “Joselin and the Hero.”
“So, what? Are you suggesting that we drain the Hero?” Calia asked with a sneer. “He would never agree with that.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that, I was just stating a fact. I was suggesting Joselin, unfortunately,” Rhamiel sighed.
Dad looked at the Communication Crystal skeptically.
“I was,” Rhamiel hissed, then sent a quick message to Joselin to hurry over.
“Okay, okay, oh yeah,” Daniel smiled manically. “This is all very interesting. So, does the blood act as some cosmic catalyst within the blessing? Is that why it matters if the person has an Aspect of Destiny? If not, then why wouldn’t anybody’s blood work?”
Daniel nodded to himself as he continued to scribble in his notebook. “Also, I am surprised that there is not more to it than this. Given what the Core told us about this thing on the way over, I assumed there would be more to this than a simple blessing on the right kind of blood, than a simple pour. I figured there would be more incantation, more ingredients, more trials, maybe even more blood than one ounce. Lord Core!” Daniel Kane asked loudly. “You mentioned that the Cathedral was just Tier One, correct? Is this perhaps just their Tier One of this object?”
That made Rhamiel pause; they had forgotten something when going through the upgrades to his powers. He had a Tier 1 and a Tier 3 Perk Upgrade waiting for him. He only waited a beat before getting Joselin’s attention as she was walking towards the Pedestal, only two minutes away, according to her.
“Hey, would you have any problem if I used a Tier 1 Upgrade on the new Perk I got?” he asked quickly.
Joselin paused for a beat, looking up at the sky, and smiled. “I don’t see why not, but keep in mind that it is either this or my other suggestion of the Blueprint Generation Perk. You know, since we now have a Blacksmith that can make the metal pieces.”
“Oh, that’s a good point… crud,” Rhamiel muttered.
“Personally, I would just put it in ‘The Few’. With Marko here, we can probably get several new Achievements, and you are likely to get a Tier 1 pretty quickly. And you can probably level up the Pedestal now.” Joselin shrugged. “Now, I am about to bleed for you, so be grateful.”
“I am!” Rhamiel insisted.
“Core?” Daniel asked excitedly. “Did you… Didn’t hear my question?”
“Oh, I did, sorry, was getting a quick opinion.” Rhamiel quickly slotted the Tier 1 Upgrade into ‘The Few’. “And I believe that is right. Yup, there are higher Tiers of this as well.”
You cannot control what power The Few gain, but it will be something that resonates with the wielder. A Special Attack, Spell, or even unique powers that will assist them in defending your Settlement even as it grows. Giving you a unique advantage against all foes who threaten your Settlement, from within or without.
At Tier 0, you can only select one Citizen to become an Elite Citizen per ten points of Core Presence. The gained power has two levels: stronger within your Domain and weaker outside it.
At Tier 1, you can select one Citizen to become an Elite Citizen per nine points of Core Presence. The gained power is even greater within your Domain and less diminished outside it. In addition to their original power, they also gain a secondary utility power tied to one of their Aspects.
The only person exempt from the power is the System Guide: Joselin Setalla.
You currently have 0 Eite Citizens.>
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Oh for… uh, War’s sake, I was hoping for a bit more of a change in the Elite per Presence,” Rhamiel grumbled.
Rhamiel turned his attention back to the scene at hand and found Seng using the tip of a Dagger to open up Joselin’s wrist surgically. She hissed, the blood flowing into a bottle that Seng held against the wound, measuring the fluid. It only took a few seconds to get the amount, and the Priest immediately healed the wound.
“Be careful for a day and eat plenty of meat,” Seng advised. “I could heal the blood loss, but the issue is that it may invalidate the Consecration if I do so. It’s about the sacrifice, not the actual blood.”
Seng patted Joselin’s wrist, and the young girl nodded.
Turning to the Pedestal, Seng paused and frowned. “Why is the magic… deeper?”
“You can tell?” Rhamiel asked curiously.
The Priest shrugged, “Sort of, it’s hard to explain. But…” She thought about it for a moment before sighing, “But it is kind of like seeing a puddle one minute, then a kiddie pool the next.”
“What’s a kiddie pool?” Rhamiel asked.
“Just a tiny pool meant for little children to splash around in. Now, does this change anything?” Seng asked pointedly.
“No.”
“Okay, then I shall get this done. It will only take a moment,” she confirmed, walking over to the Pedestal.
Rhamiel spoke to Joselin. “I didn’t know anyone could see that kind of thing.”
“I didn’t either, but Priests are weird,” Joselin told him. “It might be because she is a Priest of Wisdom, maybe she could sense the change because of that?”
Seng shushed them and held the jar of blood all the way in front of her and her right hand above her as if reaching for the sky. The stars above them shone through the afternoon sunlight, thousands of pinpoints of light resonating within Rhamiel’s Domain. He could feel Destiny gathering around the simple Pedestal. It was vast and unknowable, something he had experienced once before, weeks ago, when he first met Dad.
Then, Seng spoke, her voice echoing off of nothing and carrying around the entire Settlement.
“Destiny! Fate given form, predetermination given persona, and luck given awareness. I ask you, as a Priestess of Wisdom, to bless this place to be guided by your ultimate design!”
Her words carried far and wide, each word seeming to bind a sliver of the Outer Gods’ presence to the Pedestal of the Few. The power changed it, the lines between the grout filled in with some silvery-blue metal that caught the light. Not only that, this altered the stone that made up the Pedestal, making each stone engraved with lines of wiry script.
“Okay,” Rhamiel said, looking at the requirements. He spoke to everyone present around the Pedestal, making sure they were all on the same page. These new requirements are actually… really easy. More stone, a Priest to do the new Consecration, the only problem is the new requirement. Divine Mana of Destiny.”
“nd you can’t just generate it?” Daniel asked, continuing to write in his notes. “Seems like a flaw in your build.”
“I think I can, but I am missing what I need to do it. I need a Holy Symbol of Destiny to act as the, uh… catalyst for the conversion.”
“I think I can help with that,” Calia sighed.
“How?!” Rhamiel pressed immediately. “Oh, you have one?!”
“Oh, by Madness, back off a little,” she grumbled, taking a step away from the spot where she had been standing. “Oh, but I have materials from a few monsters that the Hero killed that were tied to Destiny. I could probably make one with a little time. And help,” she looked at Seng.
“Oh, great, can you do the same with Death, War, Birth, Wisdom, Sorcery, and Love?” Joselin gestured towards the Eldritch Cathedral. “Rhamiel can get access to spells tied to the Eldritch Gods if he has a Catalyst to place on their Plinths.”
“Fascinating,” Daniel grinned, not looking up from his notebook.
“Knock it off,” Lalita glared while pokling him. “Pay attention to your surroundings, or you may be killed with your nose to that book.”
“Oh, I won’t,” Daniel rebutted while still not looking up.
“How long will the Destiny Catalyst take?” Rhamiel asked excitedly.
“A day, not long,” Calia shrugged. “Maybe an hour if you had an Alchemy lab…”
“Sorry, I want one, but we are still working on some details before we get to the Alchemy Lab. But it’s coming up. I promised Yule that I would build one.”
“Oh, any idea how long we will have to wait?” Daniel asked, looking at the Pedestal with heavy expectation.
“Don’t know, it didn’t say,” Rhamiel admitted. “I doubt it would be long.”
“In the meantime,” Marko interjected. “While all this magic stuff and destiny calling is fascinating and neat, what is the plan? Other than survival, you lot all have to have some goal, right?”
“Yes,” Joselin said, not looking at the impressively large man. “It's just a simple one. Rhamiel, we work with him and see if he unlocks something that helps us survive better. We already have food, lodging, and defenses, and now, with you here, Marko, and everyone else, we can do more, even faster. I’m sure.”
“Right!” Rhamiel agreed.
“Then, what IS the plan?”
Joselin looked uncomfortable for a moment; all five of these accomplished people who left with the Hero unnerved her as only her parents could.
Well, with you here, I need help with making more complex items. My Drones can do basic tasks with basic tools, but making nails, hinges, or similar metal items requires actual skill. I need a lot of nails, hinges, and other supplies to build and upgrade others, like my Architects' Library. But…” Rhamiel groaned. “As much as I want that upgraded first, I need to work on upgrading this to a Tier 1 Civilization.”
“What does that entail?” Daniel asked.
Rhamiel pulled up the requirements to upgrade his Settlement.
- 50 or more Citizens
- House all Citizens
- Citizen Happiness should be at least Neutral
- Three different types of food growth. (Fruit, Vegetables, Animals, Etc.)
- At least one mile of road goes through your main Settlement.
- A Civil Center of any Tier.>
“Oh, that could take a while,” Daniel nodded. “At least in a normal city.”
“Yeah, but I already have a road going, and I already have many types of food going. All citizens are already okay. I don’t think anybody is miserable or anything. With you guys, I need fewer than ten Citizens and a Civil Center built. To build it, I need you,” Rhamiel said to Marko. “You know, for all your metal pieces.”
“Fair, but what do you get for becoming a higher tier?”
“Crafting Citizens gain EXP faster, I get the “ore Magic Perk” and a blueprint for a Core Beacon. I am not sure what that does exactly, but I want it.” Rhamiel chirped.
The group nodded, with Calia vocally agreeing with the sentiment.
“Alright, do you have a Blacksmith for me to work in? I can probably get some of the materials going now, use some of my Mana before resting and working more tomorrow.” Marko nodded with a grin.
“Does that mean you are all interested in staying?” Rhamiel thought he knew the answer, but he wanted them to say it.
“Think so,” Marko nodded. “I mean, as long as you can keep up what you are doing and keep us safe too, then I am-”
“After we check on the Hero,” Calia interrupted with a hiss. We need to confirm that he is alive first. Right?”
“Oh, yes, yes, of course,” Marko corrected.
They turned to walk away from the Pedestal, Dad and Joselin guiding them to an old, basic dwelling where the Hero was being held. The group continued talking with Dad, getting a clearer idea of what had happened since the Hamlet was destroyed. He told them frankly how many people were lost and what happened during the Werejackal attack, and he had described the event where the first group arrived.
The moment they stopped paying attention was when it happened.
Rhamiel immediately turned his attention to the Pedestal and the muscular Miner that stood in front of it, midnight blue light playing around him with points of light like stars dancing around as he stared as dust flowed as if through a wind and converged like a dust devil on the Pedestal. The statue of the Miner appeared on the Pedestal, forming in seconds from the dust and dissipating just as quickly.
The statue looked just like him, almost as if it could come to life and begin mining in moments. It was posed with the Miner leaning forward onto the handle of his pickaxe, looking down as he held something that looked like the scarecrow’s head, a look of determination across his features.
“Really?!” Dad groaned. “Work tirelessly and at the front of almost every battle, and the Miner gets the power-up?”
Karrow turned to look at the approaching group. “Wha’ is ‘appenin’?"