Chapter Two Hundred Fifty-Two: 'O, illuminating path...'

The meeting between Queen Helen and Lord Abbas lasted for quite a while longer. They discussed various possibilities and intentions for the future. The Queen was even so bold as to bring up the issue of Intar's offer to annex Atreya, apparently wanting Abbas' opinion on the matter.

Hector found that quite surprising, for a couple of reasons. It was incredibly sensitive information, first of all. If her political opponents or the Atreyan public caught wind of the offer, it probably wouldn't be good for her. The fact that she was trusting Abbas with such details--that alone spoke volumes to Hector about her feelings toward the Sandlords.

Second of all, he'd kinda been under the impression that she'd already decided not to accept Intar's offer. With how well the economy seemed to be recovering, it probably wasn't necessary anymore, right?

Then again, he wasn't an economist. And with how distracted he'd been lately, he was sure that the Queen had a much better grasp on that whole situation right now than he did. So if she was still considering it as an option, then maybe the recovery wasn't going quite as well he'd thought.

Or maybe there was some other factor he didn't know about.

Whatever the case, Abbas ended up advising her against taking the offer, though he admitted to harboring significant bias.

"It is nothing against Intar, mind you," he clarified. "At heart, I am simply an independence-loving man. My family instilled that in me at a very young age, and I do not think it is ever going to change. Nor would I wish it to."

The Queen's smile was a soft one. "The Sandlords of Sair declared independence from Calthos two hundred years ago, yes?"

'It was actually closer to three hundred,' said Worwal, 'but Sair wasn't officially recognized as a nation until about two hundred and twenty years ago, yeah.'

The Queen nodded while keeping her eyes on the Sunsmith. "And you yourself are... how old, Lord Abbas?"

"One hundred and fifty-four."

"Goodness."

"My parents were among the founders." His eyes dropped to the table. He fell quiet.

Hector didn't need him to say more in order to take guess what was going through his head, right now. The guy had personally lived through the majority of Sair's lifespan as a nation. And it was directly threatened.

"...Sair may still be relatively young," said the Queen, "but that region is not. And your people are not. I may not be quite the student of history that my husband is, but as I recall, your kin have survived far worse than this."

'That is very true,' said Worwal. 'Our Hahl is still intact. We have wonderful allies. And hope. I've seen times when all we had was the latter. And even that was debatable.'

Abbas made no response, but the expression on his face seemed to soften a little.

Maybe it felt a little weird for him to receive consolation from someone who was so much younger than him. Over an entire century.

Hector had to wonder what that was like. Perhaps he had it all wrong. Perhaps after living as a servant for that long, Abbas had reached a point where age just stopped mattering to him altogether. In a way, that would make sense. Worrying over age differences all the time did seem like it would get a little exhausting after a while, especially if you don't have many peers left in your own age group.

That might explain why Lord Abbas never seemed to talk down to him, despite how young he was.

Or wait, did that explain that? Come to think of it, Hector wasn't actually sure how old Abbas thought he was.

He... he wasn't under the impression that Hector was super old, right? Asad probably mentioned it to him at some point, right?

Unfortunately, the more he let those questions stew in a background thought process, the more Hector came to realize that there was no good way to ask them.

After their meeting, Abbas and Worwal departed first, taking the vehicle and their accompanying entourage back towards the Forge and Atreya. Hector intended to stay in Lorent with the Queen and fly back with her.

And he was finally able to speak with her alone.

Somehow, it felt like ages since they had last been able to do this.

The Queen must have been waiting for this opportunity, too, because she didn't waste time with softball questions. "If Lorent is attacked, do you intend to fight in its defense?"

Fortunately, Hector had already been thinking about the answer to that for a while now, himself. "Well, it would depend on the circumstances of the attack, but... probably, yeah. Especially now that I have the Forge to worry about."

The Queen kept her gaze fixed on him. "And if I were to order you to not get involved, would you listen to me?"

He took a deliberate breath. He'd been thinking about that question, too. And frankly, he didn't have a good answer yet. "Why would you order me not to get involved?"

"Perhaps to prevent Atreya from getting swept up in this war. Perhaps to prevent you from becoming a political pawn of a foreign nation. Perhaps simply because I feel you are needed more at home. Would my reasoning matter? Hypothetically speaking, this would be a lawful order from your queen, Hector."

Agh. Shit. He needed to choose his words carefully here. "Well... we both want to protect Atreya. But I don't think letting Lorent get invaded, especially by Abolish, would help keep Atreya safe, no matter what kind of promises they might make to you."

The Queen fell quiet. Maybe that hadn't been what she wanted to hear. Or maybe she was just thinking. Her expression was stone.

Hector found a difficult question of his own to ask. "If Morgunov found out the Sandlords were here... and if he made you the same offer that he made to Callum, that he wouldn't invade so long as you handed them over to him, would you take it?"

The Queen took her time responding to that one. "...No, I would not."

Hector had kind of expected that response, yet he still found it a little surprising, somehow. "You'd really risk antagonizing the Mad Demon?"

"It would antagonize the Sandlords first and foremost," she said. "And frankly speaking, I do not think we would be able to capture Abbas Saqqaf and 'hand him over' to anyone."

That was a fair point, Hector supposed. But he wasn't quite satisfied yet. "Alright. Then... what if Morgunov were to say that handing them over wasn't necessary? That we just had to not provide refuge for them, instead?"

The Queen sighed. "Are you just trying to think of how best to paint me into a corner?"

Hector relinquished a sympathetic smile. "Kinda."

She dropped her gaze down to the table and stared at it while she thought. And she kept staring.

Mehlsanz decided to chime in. 'Either way, it would be a major crisis. You can't take Morgunov at his word. Especially after what his men did to this country before.'

The Queen was still thinking, though. Perhaps even she didn't know what she would do in that situation.

Hector kept waiting for an answer, but the silence was growing rather extreme, and he began to feel like he was torturing her. "...Well, on the bright side, I don't actually think that Morgunov is going to show up around here anytime soon."

That made her look up at him again. "I agree, but why do you sound so confident?"

Now there was a sentence he'd never expected to hear. "Ah... I think Morgunov has already gotten what he wanted out of Sair. I kinda get the impression that he's more interested in his... er, 'scientific' experiments, now." Torturing Asad Najir, specifically, but Hector didn't feel like that gruesome little detail was necessary to mention here. The Queen had enough on her mind already, he felt.

"I see," she said with trepidation. "You think he will be preoccupied for a while, then?"

"Morgunov himself, yeah. His goons, maybe not so much. I, uh... er..."

Garovel stepped in now. 'Hector killed the Man of Crows two days ago.'

Mehlsanz's hollow eye sockets bulged. 'He did WHAT?!'

'Hector killed him,' Garovel repeated. 'I watched it happen. It was pretty crazy and--if the Queen will excuse my language--fucking awesome as hell. Rarely have I ever been so pleased with the outcome of a battle.'

The Queen seemed surprised, but it was Mehlsanz who looked the most shocked by far.

'I don't...' She stared at Hector directly. 'H-how...? The Man of Crows... is incredibly dangerous.'

'Was,' said Garovel.

'You really killed him? Permanently?'

The intensity of her reaction was making him feel a little awkward again. He managed to give her a nod, though.

'Albert Crowe was an infamous killer of rising stars in the Vanguard. I personally knew three good servant-reaper pairs who died at his hands. I never encountered him myself, but from everything I heard during my time with the Vanguard, the man was an absolute menace to deal with. And now you're telling me he's dead at your hands? I... I don't...'

Hector felt the need to clarify. "I-it was just a lucky shot, honestly. His reaper picked the wrong moment to escape and gave me an opening to land a killing blow. And Lord Abbas beat the crap out of him beforehand, so he wasn't at full strength or anything. So, er, I just, uh--"

'He's being modest,' said Garovel. 'Not only did he kill the Man of Crows, he saved Abbas' life, too. Scored a lot of points with Hahl Saqqaf as a result, I think. They were singing his praises at Warrenhold.'

'I don't believe what I'm hearing,' said Mehlsanz. Her tone was on the brink of laughter. 'That's... phenomenal.'

'Yes, it is,' said Garovel. 'But it also probably pissed off Abolish quite a bit. There's a solid chance that Bloodeye will come looking for a rematch.'

'You fought Bloodeye, too?!'

'Oh yeah. Very strange powers on that guy. No idea what was going on there. Abbas still kicked the shit out of him, though.'

Mehlsanz's skeletal jaw just hung slightly open.

Hector hadn't expected this conversation to turn into such a deluge of compliments. He very much wanted to keep things focused on what was most important, but he wasn't quite sure how to do that. Technically, they weren't really off topic.

'Do you have any useful intel on Bloodeye?' asked Garovel. 'Anything you remember?'

Mehlsanz took a moment to think. 'Um... well, he was similarly infamous, though for slightly different reasons. Where Crowe was renowned for being something of a hero killer, Bloodeye was more renowned for his utter brutality. He doesn't take prisoners. Rumor was, he enjoys killing so much that he even sometimes goes against the orders of his superiors in order to do so.'

'Ah. One of those types.'

'Indeed.'

'What about his powers? Did you hear anything about them? He used some sort of transformational ability. I've never seen the like before. He pulled a freaking missile out of his mouth.'

Mehlsanz just looked bewildered.

The reapers kept talking, but it soon became clear that Mehlsanz couldn't tell them much else about the enemy.

At length, Hector thought up another topic that he wanted to ask the Queen about.

"Your Highness, are you seriously considering Intar's offer of annexation?"

'Oh yeah,' said Garovel. 'I thought you would've made up your mind by now, but the way you were talking about it to Abbas, it sounded like that wasn't the case at all.'

"Ah. Yes, well, that had more to do with my interest in Lord Abbas' perspective than with the offer itself. I felt that telling him about it would be a good way of hearing his earnest thoughts about the nation. Politicians often guard such feelings carefully."

Garovel still wanted clarification, though. 'So you're not really considering the offer, then?'

A slight smile crossed the Queen's face, and she bobbed her head to the side. "Oh, I don't know... They DID improve their terms quite a bit after all the publicity Hector garnered for himself in Lorent."

Garovel chortled. 'How "improved" are we talking here, exactly?'

"More money," said the Queen. "Another billion troa for each of the great houses, to be precise. Plus, another ten billion on top of that for building new schools around the country. And two additional representatives in the Intarian Congress, as well as four additional electors in their Holy Imperial Council."

'Ooh,' cooed Garovel.

Holy Imperial Council? That name confused Hector, and it must've shown on his face, because the Queen offered an explanation.

"The Holy Imperial Council is how they choose their presidents. The territories each vote, and then the Council decides the winner based on a point-value system attributed to each territory before each election. More electors on the Council would mean that our people's votes matter more."

Huh. That sounded a little complicated, but he felt like he understood. It still left him wondering something, though. "Why do they call it the Holy Imperial Council? Isn't that kinda... weird and medieval-sounding?"

Garovel took the opportunity to jump in. 'Yep. That name is actually a remnant of the Mohssian Empire. Back then, the Holy Imperial Council had tons of power. They handled whatever affairs the emperor didn't feel like taking care of himself--which was usually A LOT. Nowadays, though, its only role is to elect the president. Kind of a traditional thing. The electors don't have any power of their own. They just vote for whoever their territories tell them to.'

'There've been many attempts to change the name,' added Mehlsanz. 'A few times, it even came to a full blown referendum. And it's been close, but in the end, the Intarians have always voted to keep the name the way it is.'

'I think it's a heritage thing,' said Garovel. 'The Mohssian Empire had a rich history, and Intar was at the heart of it. The people there might understandably have some lingering attachment to it. But yeah, it's super weird that any part of a republic should still be legally referred to as "Imperial" anything.'

Hector had to agree. It was strange to imagine that something from the Mohssian Empire still existed today in an official capacity like that. In a spare thought process, it made him wonder what a modern day Mohssian Empire might look like.

Probably wouldn't be very pretty, he felt.

'Still, that's a big upgrade,' said Garovel. 'Intar really offered us all that just because of little ol' Hector here? I'm blushing vicariously through him.'

The Queen tittered.

'That last one is particularly interesting,' said Garovel. 'Granting us more power in their government is no minor thing.'

'It is,' said Mehlsanz. 'It would give us a disproportionate amount of influence for our total population and land. But that's not saying much. We'd still be dwarfed by the larger territories--of which, there are many.'

'True. And I wasn't suggesting that we should take the deal, just so it's clear. I, too, am an independence-loving man, at heart.'

'Heh. Are you sure you aren't just worried about losing your position of influence in the government if Helen gives up her power?'

Garovel paused at that. 'Oh, damn, I didn't even think about that, actually. Shit. Hector wouldn't be a lord anymore, would he? Oh, no, no, we can't have that. You have to refuse, Your Highness.'

The Queen laughed again, a bit harder this time. "I appreciate your enthusiastic support."

'I imagine Hector and all the other lords would be able to retain their titles,' said Mehlsanz. 'They just wouldn't have any legal authority in their regions anymore.'

'That's still unacceptable,' said Garovel. 'I'm power hungry, dammit.'

"I will be sure to keep your ego in mind when making my final decision on the matter," said the Queen.

'Thank you,' said Garovel. 'I appreciate that. How much time do you have to decide, by the way? Is there an expiration date on this deal, or is this just going to become an indefinite thing that keeps getting brought up every time we meet? If it's the latter, then let me just say, I wouldn't mind as long as the stakes keep getting raised each time, too.'

"There is no expiration date," said the Queen, "but I do feel that it would be rather rude of me to go too long without giving them an answer. Most likely, I will send them a formal response within the next six months. It may not be final, however, depending on how interested Intar truly is. Negotiations for a matter such as this could continue informally for several years."

'Hmm. So you're saying that Hector and I have plenty of time to make them juice up their offer again.'

The Queen gave him a bemused smile. "...Juice up?"

'Yeah. To make juicier. Jucify. It's a technical term.'

'I'm not sure it is,' said Mehlsanz.

As the conversation continued, the two reapers began to overwhelm it for a time. Until at length, Queen Helen asked Hector about his plans for the lower Jagwa region of Lorent. The truth, of course, was that he didn't really know yet.

But that topic did remind him of something else. Something he almost wished he'd forgotten about. Even now, he was reluctant to bring it up. But he had to. Clarity was important for matters like this.

"Your Highness," he said slowly, "it's my understanding that... Madame Carthrace has talked to you about loosening some of the regulations regarding banks in Atreya?" It wasn't exactly a question, but he posed it like one.

The Queen eyed him steadily. "Yes, she has."

"I'm... still pretty new to all this," said Hector, trying to be very careful with his words, "but it seems to me that... my bank would be able to grow a lot more quickly and help a lot more people get through this economic depression if those regulations weren't quite so strict. But Madame Carthrace tells me that you... feel differently."

"I do," said the Queen. "While I did not create those regulations, I think that they were placed there for good reason. And it is precisely in times of crisis like this one when influence and power shift in unexpected and potentially terrifying ways. I will freely admit that I am afraid of the Darksteel National Bank growing too powerful too quickly."

Wow.

Hector had to admire the way she just came right and said it. That still didn't exactly soften the blow, though. "...You think I would abuse that power?"

"As a matter of fact, I do not," said the Queen. "But your Bank is more than just you. How many employees do you have now, I wonder? And how many more would you need in order to cope with the explosive growth that you would undoubtedly see if I were to change the law purely for your benefit?"

Hector frowned. "I get what you're saying, but... Your Highness, there are still a lot of people suffering financially, right now. And we have the power to change that. If you're worried about something like... corruption in my bank--or whatever else--then let's address that issue. I don't think we should avoid the whole thing just because we're worried about one aspect of it."

"Respectfully, Hector, I don't think you do get what I am saying. The economy is on the road to recovery. The situation is improving. And at a historic pace, I might add. Just because we can make it go faster does not mean we should. We would be opening ourselves up to the same essential problem that the Vanguard is currently having: bloat. And once that becomes an issue, it is very difficult to fix."

Hector tilted his head. "...Wouldn't that be my problem to deal with, not yours?"

"If your bank continues to grow unchecked, it could become the entire nation's problem," said the Queen.

Hector furrowed his brow. "And if it continues to stagnate, then that could also become the entire nation's problem."

"Stagnate?" she said with obvious doubt. "In what way is your bank stagnating, Hector? Customers are flocking to you, are they not?"

"They are. Because the nation is in crisis. And yet we're still barely operating in the green. What happens when it's not? They'll take their money elsewhere, because we can't afford to lower our service fees and incentivize them to stay." Hmm. Maybe he was picking up a thing or two from all his conversations with Amelia.

The Queen paused at that, but she still looked unconvinced. "Why would they leave? The law applies equally to your competitors, does it not?"

Hector was a bit surprised to hear her say that. "Actually, no, it doesn't. Older banks are given more leeway. Once this crisis passes and people aren't quite so worried about stability anymore, the older banks that manage to survive will probably be able to make a killing while we collapse from the inside."

"Those older banks have earned that privilege through years of proving their credibility. I appreciate what your bank is doing for the nation at the moment, but it is still very young, and I do not think it should be given special treatment just because of abnormal circumstances."

He exhaled, trying not to sound exasperated. "Your Highness... I'm not asking for special treatment. I'd be happy if the regulations were loosened for all banks, not just mine."

"Hector, I am sorry, but the answer is no. I will not risk long-term stability for short-term gain."

"That's... I don't think that's what the choice is, Your Highness. I agree that unchecked growth would be dangerous, but it wouldn't be unchecked. And if the bank is allowed to generate revenue without charging our customers through the nose for it, then that will contribute to the long-term stability of the nation, too, don't you think?"

"I'm afraid I disagree."

Damn. She sounded like she wasn't going to change her mind, no matter what he said.

Hector still wasn't quite prepared to give up, though. He had one more argument up his sleeve. "Your Highness... my bank has a lot of investors who've taken a big risk by supporting me. Including the Rainlords. If the Bank collapses, they'll take a huge hit. Not to mention all the Atreyan lords who contributed." There was Roman, too, but Hector had a feeling that he'd be just fine.

"Considering the ingenuity displayed by both Amelia Carthrace and yourself, I highly doubt that the Darksteel National Bank will collapse. I am sure you will find a way to continue operations within all currently legal means. Turning a massive profit, however, may prove to be a challenge, yes."

Ingenuity, huh? "...Does that mean you wouldn't mind if we expanded our operations into Lorent?"

At that, the Queen paused for a long moment, eyeing him, then Garovel, then him again. "Is that a threat, Hector?"

He could hardly believe his ears. "Why would it be a threat?" he said, unable to conceal his bafflement.

The Queen didn't answer. She just kept staring at him.

Garovel decided to step in now. 'This is getting a little too heated for my tastes. Let's all take a breath and remember that we're on the same side here, shall we?'

The Queen indeed took the requested breath. She shut her eyes for a moment, too, before opening them again. "Hector... my entire reason for blocking foreign banks from jumping in to aid with the economy was to prevent foreign interests from tearing this nation apart like a pack of piranhas. If you expand into Lorent, it would create a new stream through which such piranhas might arrive."

Hector wished Amelia was here to help. He felt like he wasn't making his best possible arguments. But he kept trying. "If anyone ever tried to use my bank in such a way, I'd have their account terminated in an instant."

The Queen gave him a sympathetic smile--or a patronizing one. He couldn't quite tell which, and he didn't like the uncertainty he was feeling about it.

"I appreciate you saying that," said the Queen, "but I do not think you will have the time to monitor all of your accounts for such activity. And the more your bank grows, the more difficult that problem will become."

"So I'll hire someone," he said. "A whole team, if need be. It's important enough to warrant it, I think. And I'm sure Amelia will agree."

The Queen paused again. "Amelia, is it? You've grown quite familiar with her in these past few months, it would seem."

Had he? Oh. He didn't typically use her first name out loud, did he? Either way, that was beside the point. "That... doesn't seem relevant to what we were talking about, Your Highness."

"How much do you trust her, Hector?"

He blinked at that question. "Well... quite a bit. I mean, you appointed her to be my financial advisor, Your Highness."

She took a deep breath. "Yes, I did. However, I did not foresee how pivotal her role in things would soon become. By your side, she is on track to become one of the most powerful individuals in the country. And perhaps beyond, judging from the way you are talking."

Hector's posture stiffened in his chair. "Do you not trust her?"

She bobbed her head a little. "For the most part, I do. Her family is another matter, but her strained relationship with them makes that a moot point. My only issue with her--impolite as this may be to say--is her age."

Hector just cocked an eyebrow at that. Impolite was right. Damn.

"Oh, do not look at me like that," she said. "I adore Amelia. I truly do. And it is precisely for that reason that I worry what will become of your bank once she is no longer able run it for you."

Geez, Hector thought. Just how far ahead was she thinking here? "She's not that old, Your Highness..."

She gave him a look. "It has been making me wonder if we should try to find a reaper for her. That would give me peace of mind. Somewhat, at least."

He scratched his brow at that notion. A reaper for Amelia Carthrace? Hmm.

The Queen was still giving him that same look, as if there was more she was trying to say.

"...The Rainlords don't have any available reapers, if that's what you're getting at," he said.

"Hmm." She looked away, then promptly looked back at him again.

And again, he understood without explanation. "I... don't think the Sandlords have any available, either. But I suppose I could check..."

"It would not be ideal if the reaper has divided loyalties," said the Queen, "but if it cannot be helped, then so be it. As long as it is a division between allies, then I suppose it would suffice. Assuming the reaper is trustworthy, of course. I would want to meet them. Several times, in fact, before any commitment is made."

"You're talking like it's already been decided..."

The Queen breathed a slight laugh. "True. I have been thinking about it for a while, I suppose, so my mind is already made up. Do you think Amelia might have a problem with it?"

Now there was a question. As much as he might've liked to think that becoming a servant was all upsides and no downsides, he knew that wasn't quite true. Even assuming they could find a reliable reaper--which was a big assumption--the Madame Cathrace might not love the idea of letting herself be killed as part of the process.

That would be like the ultimate trust exercise. And it wouldn't be terribly unreasonable if she didn't want to go through with it, he felt.

"I honestly don't know," said Hector. "And, uh... I'm not really sure how I would broach the subject with her, either..."

"I do not mind doing it," said the Queen.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised by that.

Their conversation continued for a short while longer as they discussed the bank's potential expansion into Lorent. By the end of it, though, Hector still wasn't entirely sure what to think. The only thing that was clear was that the Queen didn't exactly love the idea, but she wasn't trying to forbid him from doing it, either.

Maybe she could tell that he wouldn't be very happy if she just came right out and told him no. Or maybe she felt that that would be overreach on her part.

Frankly, he wasn't sure what he would've done if she had forbidden him from expanding. He didn't want to go against the Queen, obviously, but he also didn't want to let down his investors, especially the Rainlords. And her authority didn't extend to Lorent. If she'd acted like it did, then... well, maybe it would still be justified since he was one of her subjects.

Hmm.

In any event, once they were done talking, Hector considered returning to Riverton Hall with the Queen. Technically, there were plenty of things he could discuss there with various Lorentian officials. It wouldn't be a wasted trip, and he had made the journey all the way here to the capital, already.

In fact, that was part of the reason why he'd let Abbas leave first. In the back of his mind, he'd intended to remain with the Queen and hitch a ride back to Atreya with her.

But all of a sudden, he couldn't help feeling like none of the encounters at Riverton Hall were particularly pressing. The only thing that seemed truly urgent right now was the Forge. He very much wanted to go meet up with Abbas again and see if he'd discovered anything new yet.

Perhaps that was a silly notion. He and the Queen had only talked for an hour or so.

But he decided to go for it, anyway. Besides, he wanted to try out some new things with his materialization on the way back.

Knowing a thing or two of aerial combat now, Hector felt like his flight capabilities were significantly lacking. Sure, he'd managed to stabilize it since first coming up with the technique, but it was far too slow to be useful in a real fight. He'd certainly learned that lesson the hard way. Having to ping pong himself through the air in that battle at the border had not been ideal. If not for the Scarf enhancing his spatial awareness beyond normal means, that strategy would have been useless.

He needed to develop greater speed and control.

And seeing the mechanized armor of the Sunsmith in action again was making him think that perhaps he didn't need the little "hovering pod" that he was previously using to fly. Even if it was stable, it was obviously unwieldy and not very aerodynamic.

But if he could integrate his flying technique directly into his armor... that might open up a world of possibilities for him, Hector felt.

How to do it, though? He had an idea, but frankly, he wasn't entirely sure it was possible.

The basic principle of the hovering technique was to create a constantly-rematerializing "cradle" below a static iron platform for himself to stand on. The static component was key, since he couldn't very well stand on a platform that was constantly moving.

...But could he wear armor that was constantly moving? It wasn't like he would slide out of it while he was completely covered.

It might rip the flesh off his bones, though. If it was moving enough to counter gravity, then that probably wouldn't tickle, he imagined.

He was tempted to give it a try, just to see how bad it would be. Maybe it would be surprisingly okay.

Ultimately, though, he decided against that. The more reasonable solution seemed to be in utilizing layers, just as the hovering technique normally did. A static inner armor with a gravity-countering outer armor.

With that idea in his head, he sat on a big hovering platform at the edge of the city and took a long, deep breath.

Oh, boy, these first attempts with experimental new techniques never went well, did they? And his whole body was going to be wrapped up in this one.

He told Garovel to keep his distance while he tried this out. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally hurt the reaper somehow.

For the outer layer, he decided to keep things simple. It didn't need to be as complexly fitted together and interlocking as his static armor. That would've just made it needlessly difficult to maintain its constantly-moving form. Plus, it would probably reduce air resistance more if it was simplistically shaped.

And so, he began to create the outer layer. It melted into existence around him, smooth and already moving while stationary. It coated his entire armor, save only for the eye slit and a small hole at the neck for the Scarf of Amordiin to fit through.

When he dematerialized the hovering platform beneath him, Hector half-expected to drop like a stone. But he didn't. He stayed in the air. The coating was working.

The scraping against the static layer was intense, however. It was even louder than he'd thought it would be. Metal grinding against metal--but it was all around him, becoming almost like the roar of an engine but more piercing. Not to mention, the vibrations that the technique sent throughout his body were their own kind of disorienting.

For a time, he just hovered there, trying to give himself time to acclimate. If he concentrated, perhaps he could dull the noise--in his mind, at least, if not in reality.

And he had a thought. Maybe he could use that thing Emiliana had told him about here. Sto. A "storage state" technique of the mind.

While he couldn't place the actual noise into storage in his mind, maybe he could place his perception of that noise in there. To isolate it. And numb himself to it. To make it so that the only way for him to consciously hear it was if he concentrated on it.

It worked surprisingly well. And easily. That was probably another benefit of Focus, he felt. In fact, it was so easy that Hector had a feeling that he wasn't even utilizing Sto properly. Instead, he might've just shoved the noise perception into a background thought process and ignored it. That probably wasn't how this sophisticated "state of altered consciousness" stuff was supposed to work.

But hey, if it did the trick, it did the trick. He didn't see much point in agonizing over it right now, especially during an experiment.

He focused on his work. The vibrations from the scraping were an interesting aspect of it. The grinding along the top side of his armor was not nearly as strong as the grinding along the bottom side. Which made sense, he realized. The bottom was serving as a "cradle," going against gravity and holding the weight of his entire body plus the static armor, whereas the top side had basically no pressure being applied to it at all.

He'd had to take all of that into account when creating the outer layer in the first place, of course. If he gave both sides the same amount of force, then either the top would float away or the bottom wouldn't be able to hold his weight.

So in a way, these scraping vibrations were helpful. If he paid close attention to them, he could literally feel the difference between the pressure being applied to the bottom side and top. Perhaps, then, he could use that as a kind of gauge. If the difference in the vibrations were to grow too great, then that would probably be a bad thing, right? So maybe it could serve as a good warning mechanism for the overall balance of this technique.

He tried to keep that in mind as he began to make the outer layer move. He started off slow, wanting to get a feel for things. The vibrations shifted along with him, grinding slightly differently as they pushed the static armor horizontally through the air.

Hmm. Pretty manageable so far. The different angles of force that needed to be applied simultaneously were a bit tricky, but he wasn't struggling. It was just new to him.

Time to ramp up the speed, then. He angled himself downward like a missile in order to reduce air drag, gathered his concentration, and sent himself flying.

The canopy of trees below were rushing past now. And the Scarf was telling him all about the buffeting winds around him.

Yeah, that was better. Pretty fast. He was already moving more quickly than he'd ever gotten on that hovering pod thing.

The vibrations were significantly different, too. They were weaker on the bottom than he expected, and now he was starting to gain altitude without meaning to. Those trees were getting smaller pretty quickly.

But he could adjust. He just had to pay attention to the angles of vibration. Lighten the application of force below. Simple.

Alright. Cool.

...Hmm, this was going a little too smoothly. He was almost disappointed. It was still a little nerve-racking, but eh. Obviously, he'd been through a lot worse.

How fast could he really go, he wondered?

In theory, he should've been able to fly just as fast as he had been able to ping pong himself around before. Those giant boulders had been utilizing velocity states, which were still the underlying principle of this mobile outer layer. Same basic concept, just being applied differently. And constantly.

He wanted to see what would happen. It was dangerous, of course, but. Welp. Benefits of being undead, he figured.

He punched it. He made the outer layer around his feet and legs push him as hard as could manage.

And he soared.

Again, he found himself gaining altitude unintentionally and had to compensate. That was going to be a reoccurring issue, wasn't it? He'd have to keep that in mind.

But this speed. It was exhilarating. Going this fast through the open air, with the whole wide world stretched out below him? It was like a dream.

Was this really his top speed, though? He kinda doubted it.

What if he just kept applying that same force over and over again? Would he keep accelerating? And how was his control? He'd just been going in a straight line this whole time, but obviously, that wasn't going to do the trick in an actual fight.

He decided to try banking left.

Holy fuck, everything went wrong at once.

Turbulence, vibrations out of balance, losing altitude.

He tried to compensate and overcorrected. The turbulence made it too difficult to tell what the right balance was, and he ended up zooming almost straight up--which he had to correct again, only now it was even worse.

Then the outer layer began coming apart, breaking away from him in chunks that went sailing off in their own directions. And with his thoughts disorganized, his concentration disrupted, and iron flying haphazardly all around him, Hector began to enter freefall and saw the forest quickly rising up to meet him.

And he only managed to hold on to one cogent sentiment as all of that was happening.

Yep. This seemed about right.