“Are you ready to continue?”

Arcturus smiled at Lilith as she spoke, settling back down at the table still strewn with tomes and the map of the blighted lands, having had his hunger satisfied by a meal courtesy of Sevatar. How the Eidolon had procured fresh food remained a mystery to Arcturus, especially given the supposed permanence of the Acropolis’ residents’ lock within the fortress, but he had enjoyed it so much he wasn’t wont to look a gift meal in the mouth.

“I am, Lady Lilith.” Arcturus responded warmly. “Though are you sure you aren’t hungry?”

“Vitaeans don’t need to eat, Arcturus.” Lilith reminded him testily as she settled down primly opposite him in her own chair. “Vitae takes care of all the body’s needs.”

“That is convenient.” He admitted.

“It is merely a benefit of a greater responsibility.”

“I understand.” Arcturus assured her, both because he did understand the Vitaean perspective of unyielding noblesse oblige and because he didn’t want another lecture on it. It wasn’t that he resented or disliked the code or its background; he’d simply heard it more than enough times before. He didn’t disparage or dislike Lilith’s desire to educate or enlighten him, it was more that he’d discovered when progress was made, Lilith would not fuss over what she perceived to be his lack of understanding or lack of care.

“Now, the Dark Tribes.” She said as she slipped into her scholarly tone, her manicured forefinger tapping the map. “We have covered the Bloodstone tribe, but as you can see, there are several more yet undiscussed. If you are to use the Dark Tribes as a unified force, you must understand their culture and how best to win them over.”

“You said they worshipped the Elder Gods?”

“Yes.” Lilith said with a nod. “They retained that much of their culture, though it was but a fraction of what they lost during the millennia since the fall of the Vitaean Empire.”

“So let’s start with…” Arcturus’ eyes trailed over the map, and settled on the wolfhead south of their position. “The wolfhead.”

“Ah, the Void Wolf tribe.”

“Void Wolf?”

“Named for their pets. Members of that tribe tame and bond with the empowered, mutated wolves that roam the Blighted Lands still. The creatures that did not die to the Acropoli when they went out of control, and survived the Beyonders’ influence, became twisted and monstrous in many ways… but not beyond all sanity or hope for rehabilitation.”

“Taming empowered wolves? That sounds useful.” Arcturus murmured thoughtfully.

“Yes. Their combat prowess is also enhanced by their bonds with the creatures, which grant them greater senses, speed, strength, and durability. One could argue that thanks to their unique approach in dealing with the animals, the Void Wolf tribe is the most powerful of Dark Tribes in the Southern Blighted Lands.”

Arcturus considered that as he peered at the map, imagining what it might have looked like to see the warriors and hunters of the Void Wolf tribe engaging in battle with the Beyonders, and other Dark Tribes besides. The implied ferocity and power offered by the way they had bonded their wolves and the intensity of how they would likely work in tandem, while harnessing the pack mentality that wolves were known for, struck him as something incredibly worthwhile.

He would absolutely need a tribe of that strength on his side for what was to come.

“So we have the Bloodstone tribe in our immediate vicinity, and the Void Wolf tribe to our far South… What about the one South-West? The crossed axes?”

“The Blightsteel tribe. They’re a barbarous group of war-loving berserkers whose entire descent traces back to the most brutal of our Citizen forces. They were renowned for their martial ferocity and incredible bloodlust on the field, but similarly their meditative calm and civil nature off of it. The Blightsteel tribe, however, have retained only the former behaviours.”

“They sound like a pleasant group.” Arcturus said with a shake of his head. He had expected something akin to exactly that description when Lilith had told him about the Dark Tribes’ existence, and the Blightsteel tribe was precisely the sort of nutty incarnation of brutish savagery he’d first pictured. It reminded him of stories about the Visigoths, Gauls or Celtic Highlanders, and how their savagery and brutality had marked them as some of the most ferocious warriors of their age.

It was another mark on his list for necessary attainment, but at that point, he’d begun to realise that thinking about which tribes he didn’t need was going to be a much shorter list than the tribes he did need. The combination of the Bloodstone, Void Wolf, and Blightsteel tribes alone would be… incredible. The Empire’s regular forces would be immensely outclassed by individuals that had been blooded and raised within the terror of the Blighted Lands. Compared to Beyonders, what were regular Terrans? A nuisance, in likely comparison. The tribes would be the key to securing his new territoires when he became Royarch.

The question was how he would go about attaining their loyalty in a realistic window of time.

“What of the other two closest to us? The crossed daggers and crowned eagle?”

“The crossed daggers denote the Starblade tribe, and we can largely ignore them for now: They are a force that specialise in assassination and hunter-killer tactics. Useful for you in the future, but not a present threat or concern in the immediate.” Lilith said as she watched him, gesturing to the map indicatively. “They are also very far away, despite what this map may infer. You would be better suited to focusing on the Bloodstone, Void Wolf, and Blightsteel tribes first.”

“I understand, but what of the crowned eagle?” Arcturus pressed.

“The Aquilan tribe.” Lilith said after a moment of contemplative staring at the crowned eagle emblem. “They are the loyalist line of descent from the leader of the rebelling Citizens of the Vitaean Empire. It was their founder that first warned the Sanguine of their traitorous ancestor’s intentions, and it was their blood that was most harshly spilled in attempting to stop the rebellion when it initially occurred. The Aquilans are proud, and territorial people. Of all the Dark Tribes, they are the most akin to what the old Vitaean Empire was, in both custom and manner.”

“Wouldn’t they be perfect as my first choice for establishing contact, then?”

“No.” Lilith said grimly. “Your name will cause great ire among their people, and even as a Royarch, they will see you as unworthy due to your heritage. You will not win them through oratory excellence or singular force of personal might.”

Arcturus frowned at her. “Then how?”

“You still plan on cleansing the Fallen?”

“I do.” Arcturus confirmed.

“When you have done so, and brought the Bloodstone, Blightsteel, and Void Wolf tribes under your banner you should look to the Aquilans. They will respect you only if you prove your dominance is beyond contestation, and if you are heralded by other Vitaeans. Should the three mentioned tribes follow you, and you enter the Aquilan lands defended by restored Vitaeans: Their own codes will force them to acknowledge your primacy as the rightful heir to the Vitaean Empire, and all that such a mantle entails.” Lilith smiled at him grimly. “Including their unwavering loyalty.”

“I doubt that even with all the prerequisites, gaining their loyalty going to be that smooth.”

“You are wise to doubt.” She conceded. “It very likely shall not.”

“Who would you suggest I focus my efforts on first and foremost then?”

“The Bloodstone tribe.” Lilith answered without hesitation.

“Because of their abilities?”

“Yes. With your connection to Astra Zion, they will be the most inclined to follow you without overt resistance, and they will be the ones most capable of granting you the necessary immediate boost to your Dominion Points once you rise.”

“Dominion Points?”

“That can wait.” Lilith said without elaboration in a tone Arcturus knew meant she would not budge. Her fingers moved along the map, and she rolled it up smoothly. “The rest of this can wait, as well. It occurs to me that we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.”

“I thought this was just good foreplanning?”

“No, this is a distraction. What you need to focus on is learning to cultivate Vitae.”

“I still don’t understand that process fully.” Arcturus admitted as he looked at the rolled up map. “You keep saying to intertwine them, but what does that actually even mean? It’s so disconnected from what I understand. I can’t will my blood to do things, that’s insane.”

“Nothing is beyond you when you appropriately apply the concept of unity.” Lilith said with what he could have sworn was a ghost of an amused smile.

“That is as exceedingly unhelpful as it was the first time you said it.” Arcturus grumbled.

“Perhaps some insight into what awaits you might help?”

“Isn’t that what this jarringly cut short lesson was?” He enquired as he gestured to the map.

“Not quite. This was preparation. I speak specifically of motivation to attack your cultivation of Vitae more passionately.”

“Other than the encouragement of a God?” He asked skeptically.

“Other than that.” Lilith agreed while doing a good job on not reacting to the mention of Astra Zion living in his head.

“Then what is it you have in mind?” Arcturus finally asked, his curiosity overpowering his desire to learn more about the Dark Tribes in the immediate moment.

Lilith smiled mysteriously at him. “Follow me.” She said as she rose, smoothing down her dress and gliding for the entrance of the Archivum. She didn’t even glance back to make sure he was following.

Swallowing any further objections and succumbing to that same curiosity, Arcturus stood and followed the beautiful scholar out of the sanctum of knowledge and into the echo of former glory that was the massive hallway beyond. His eyes drank in the spider webbing cracks along the walls, the hints of decay and disrepair that marked once-glorious cornices of stone and painted steel. He picked out tapestries of beautiful lords and ladies, dulled and worn from time and entropy, and followed Lilith as she moved languidly over velvet carpet covering black marble that had seen better days.

Arcturus followed her under ancient arches and past sealed doors that led to forgotten areas of the Grand Acropolis, deemed unfit for continued maintenance and shut off to conserve the Vitae that sustained the facility. The idea of a living complex, such as it was, still somewhat bewildered him. He understood on a logical level that the fortress wasn’t quite alive in the way he imagined. It was more akin to a kind of relativity to the nature of Vitae and how it interacted with the core. The core itself was alive in that it required energy to function, and had some semblance of connection to its owner.

Lilith hadn’t expanded on the concept, however, and it stood to reason that the Vitaeans had likely been far more esoteric in their reliance on the System. A lot of what they did and maintained had likely been connected to that framework, and that probably made it both more simple and enigmatic in equal measure. The thought of a System-controlled architecture for an entire Empire had given Arcturus pause when he’d first considered it. The implications of what it could entail, especially for the rulers, were staggering. The potential power inherent to such a level of control was monumental — especially if every single citizen had System access.

“How far are we going?” He finally asked Lilith as they came to a cross-intersection and she smoothly turned to the right to continue her journey.

“As far as is needed, Arcturus. Have patience. The Acropolis is large.”

“You’re being very mysterious.”

She smiled at him over her shoulder, her ruby eyes twinkling with amusement. “Do you not like surprises, your highness?”

Arcturus shivered despite himself when her eyes caught him, his words momentarily silenced by her beauty. Every time he thought Lilith couldn’t surprise him anymore, she did something that threw the thought out of his head. A glance, a smile, a manner of movement — even something as simple as how she brushed back her hair. There was an elegance, a regality to her gestures that defied regular understanding.

He knew it was probably a side effect of the Vitae suffusing her body.

He couldn’t find it in himself to care, though. She was mesmerizing.

Arcturus’ gaze tore away from Lilith as she turned back to face the direction she walked, and he found himself instead dwelling on his experiences since coming to the Acropolis. Other than Sevatar and the Sovereign, he’d met no one else if he didn’t include the Vampires in the sublevels. There was no one to talk to other than Lilith, given that Sevatar preferred silence and responded only with great effort from Arcturus’ to engage the Eidolon in discussion.

Even then, the construct’s responses were short and curt. It wasn’t quite dislike, more like Sevatar lacked the energy to engage — which given his nature, and the status of decay the Grand Acropolis was suffering, made some measure of sense. Perhaps Sevatar was also suffering from the citadel’s slow decline, in ways Arcturus and other living sapients couldn’t properly fathom. A reflection on the theories of climate change on Earth, perhaps? The slow, toxic erosion of the planet and the consequences it would have on those living upon it.

It was represented in a microcosm within the Grand Acropolis.

Lilith’s pace took them down the new corridor towards what Arcturus recognised as two massive doors at its end. His curiosity was piqued, more because of the two statues of armoured Vitaeans before the doors than anything else. Each statue was armed and armoured, wielding a blade and tower shield that looked like a mix between a greek hoplon and a roman scutum. Their armour resembled his own, though with fewer gems and less ostentatious lines to its form. They were soldiers, not lords: A male and female of simple origins, committed to defending their people.

It seemed satisfyingly appropriate, as he surveyed the statues.

“This room has been closed for… a very long time.” Lilith said as she turned back to him, her right hand resting against what Arcturus saw was an embossed set of victorious imagery upon the door’s surface, detailing some famous battle or another. “It has not been opened since the last of the Acropolis’ garrison fell to the Vampire Curse, either fighting off the Fallen or fleeing to succumb to the curse in solitude. I hadn’t thought to see it open again, in truth. This is a result of your coming, Arcturus. Of what you represent.”

Arcturus arched an eyebrow at her. “Hope?”

Lilith smiled at him with fire in her beautiful eyes. “Wrath and Ruin.”

He fell silent as she applied pressure to the doors and, with a resounding groan of resistance, they were pushed open. What he saw when he followed her inside caused his eyes to widen in a mix of awe and stunned disbelief.

They had entered what Arcturus could only describe as a colossal armoury. Everywhere he looked were racks and racks of weapons, set before neatly ordered rows of simple mannequins adorned in plate, mail, leather, and cloth attires all in the varying shades and styles of black. Red and gold or silver highlights were prevalent in varying degrees on varying pieces, and the sheer amount of equipment left him near-breathless.

There was enough in the room, no, the vault to outfit an army of thousands. His eyes moved across the expansive interior, built around a plus shape with an elevated dais at its centre that served as a position of easy observation. As he followed Lilith there, and ascended the five stairs to the raised platform he looked around him in the same stunned silence.

The room according to his HUD was easily a hundred metres square, and lit by aetherlamps that burned with clean white light. No crimson torches in this room, no gothic victorian archaic design: This was a modern armoury, bedecked in dormant technology and magical aids that would have been at home in any science fiction masterpiece. Each suit of armour or mail, set of leather, or cloth attire had an inscribed plaque that defined its use and purpose.

Each weapon had a clear rating, a specific designation, and a purpose worthy of its design.

Everywhere he looked, Arcturus saw the signs of a military far more advanced than anything he’d conceived of. It was a jarring conflation; medieval attire and weapons design mixed with advanced displays and highly civilized construction. It was like stepping into a giant anachronism, though he couldn’t tell which was the inaccuracy.

“Lilith, this…”

“Yes. It is the most well-preserved section of the Acropolis.”

“Why?”

“In-case someone like you ever came.” She answered honestly. “In the event hope blossomed, as unlikely as it seemed, for the triumphant return of the Vitaean civilization. We knew we would need shields against our foes, and blades to reclaim what was rightfully ours.” She turned to him, her ruby eyes brilliant. “Wrath and Ruin, Arcturus. Wrath upon the Forsworn and their False Twelve. Ruin upon the Beyonders, and any who would resist the return of the rightful custodians of Terra.”

“You could have armed any of the Dark Tribes and sent them against the Empire, why—?”

“You know that isn’t true.” She admonished as she looked around them, her voice filled with a surety he understood for absolute truth. “It was not just anyone that could truly warrant the opening of this most valued of places. It was not anyone that we can entrust the last hope of Vitaea to. It is only the right person. It is only you, Arcturus. You who were built from nothing by the Eldest of the Elder Gods. You were reborn, reforged by the will and intent of Astra Zion.”

“You paint me as someone messianic.” He said with a flush of embarrassment, and the familiar weight of obligation that his position in Lilith’s eyes gave him. He didn’t resent her for it, but his old insecurities lurked there still, bubbling. His months on Terra, as formative and extensive as they’d been, had not truly been enough to properly dispel the sense of inadequacy he often felt. Arcturus was still in some rare instances his old self, and while his new self despised the weakness, there was a small part of himself that welcomed it.

Welcome the reminder he had not completely lost himself to his father’s world.

“To us, you are a messiah.” Lilith said honestly and without the fervour that would have made him uncomfortable. “Not one of simple divinity alone, but one of necessity. You are what we were gifted, Arcturus, as a final chance. A last opportunity to right dire wrongs. You are the final hope for Vitaea, and though it pains me to place that upon such a young soul, I know you can carry the weight.”

“How?” He asked despite himself, needing to hear the answer more than he realised.

“Because you said you would, and thus you must.” Lilith said with a surety that surprised him. “And you are a man of conviction. I have known it since we had our first true conversation. You will see the storm and command it to pass by you, by sheer force of will. You can make gods kneel, Arcturus, because you must and thus you will.”

“...You’re going to give me an ego.” He muttered as he focused on a nearby suit of armour distractedly.

“Good. Every ruler needs some level of ego. It keeps them driven.”

“But not too much.” He said with a glance her way.

“No.” She agreed with a smile. “Not too much.”

“Wrath and Ruin, huh?” Arcturus mused. “Sometimes I feel like I’m the villain of this story.”

“Good and Evil are of mortal make.” Lilith said simply. “What matters is whether you believe what you’re doing is right.”

Arcturus let that sink in, and then smiled.

Yes. What he was doing was right.

Arcturus turned then and moved towards a nearby rack, reaching out to feel the material of the cloth upon it. “Why one set of each? There’s an exact number of plate, mail, leather, and cloth attire here.”

“Because they aren’t one each.” Lilith said with a laugh. “They’re pieces of a whole.”

“What?” Arcturus asked in surprise. “I know old plate used to contain these elements, but my armour doesn’t have—”

“Your armour is special, Arcturus. It is forged through Vitaean Cardinals, and as such is as much alive as you are, in its own way. These armours are absent such an animus. They are to be worn, not bonded. For that, proper layers are necessary.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Who would wear them? The best of the Tribes?”

“No. The Fallen, if you successfully restore them. They would be the beginnings of your most elite forces, and as such, it is proper they receive adequate Vitaean armaments. With time, they will be able to use these pieces as a basis for their own developed Cardinal Plate.”

“This really will be absolutely priceless to me, if I’m to walk this path.” Arcturus turned and smiled at her warmly. Thank you, Lilith.”

She nodded to him, a light blush on her pale cheeks. “I hoped this would make you happy. This armour is an apt example of what you must do with the Dark Tribes and those you would redeem. The parts into the whole. The same as these four become one, so too must the tribes and redeemed become a single nation.”

Arcturus nodded to her and looked at the armour. “Four become one, that’s poetic.” He murmured as he stared at the plate, before a shock of realisation struck him. It was as sudden and as inexplicable as a charging freight train.

Four become one.

Not two.

Four.

“That’s it!” He said abruptly, turning to Lilith. “That’s the secret! It’s four, not two! Four!”

Before she could ask his meaning, Arcturus had left the armoury at a sprint.