Amdirlain’s PoV - Culerzic

While Amdirlain sensed no impatience, the others’ presence prompted her to hold Isa out at arm’s length. “But we’re good now, right?”

“Only if you’re okay,” replied Isa, wiping away her tears.

Amdirlain gave Isa another brief hug before she released her. “I’ll be better when I get released from Culerzic, but one step at a time.”

At the mention of the Plane, Isa shuddered. “Blah! This place sounds like the energy present when I dusted Viper.”

“I wasn’t in the best place mentally when you sent the message about her. Thank you for dealing with her; the thought of her loose on the Material Plane was sickening,” replied Amdirlain and caught the worried notes at the Gate. “Is your concealment wide enough to wrap up Ilya as well?”

Isa turned and motioned Ilya to join them. Ilya’s theme stretches and strains, but she pushes fear aside to step through the Gate, keeping her focus on Amdirlain. “My apologies for my rudeness as well, both when we met and afterwards. I was waiting for the hook to show itself, not for your servant Sage to keep giving us ways to get stronger.”

Amdirlain snorted, which caused Ilya to pause. “Friend, not servant.”

“Now he is, but once you regain the Mantle-”

“No, Ilya, he’s not a servant. Sage is a friend; was before, is now, and will be even if things go that way,” Amdirlain replied and caught the sceptical notes from Ilya. “It’s fine. I can understand your viewpoint. I doubt acceptance will ever be your first reaction, especially with all the schemers I’m sure you’ve dealt with for millennia.”

“Torm said you needed some advice about your situation and help with some priorities. Frankly, you’re Planar Locked; your only priority is not being found by your enemies. I once had an enemy return to Hell in that state—I ensured they didn’t survive.”

“Concealment is my highest priority, and then comes avoiding getting sucked into someone’s summoning circle again. Got any tips on setting wards?” asked Amdirlain.

“A few, but mainly from what made them hard to take apart when scouting,” admitted Ilya. “You’ve solid wards, though, mostly because of the layers you’ve set. I don’t recognise the concealments, but I’d say you need more spellcraft practice. I’ll get you some grimoires from reliable sources at The Exchange.”

“Ebusuku told me she’s been establishing a library. Perhaps let Erwarth know what grimoires you’ve got in mind, getting copies won’t take long if we already have them.”

Ilya quickly shrugged off her disappointment and nodded politely in acknowledgment. “I hadn’t considered that—I wanted to balance the debt owed.”

“You could always add more grimoires to the library if Ebusuku already has the ones you had in mind,” Amdirlain suggested. “Though I’m not sure you owe a debt, I wouldn’t leave Isa’s love in trouble.”

Her casual tone almost had Ilya sputtering, but she shook it off. “Don’t you know how much that grimoire you had copied was worth? Let alone how dishonourable I was?”

“They charged me for the Planar Law grimoire, but not enough, judging by your reaction. Maybe it was a lure to keep my interest,” replied Amdirlain in an intentionally dry tone. “As for dishonourable, I’m sure I’ve offended my share of people along the way. No ball.”

Ilya’s confused reaction provoked laughter from Amdirlain and Isa, but when Ilya gave them a mock glare, it only made them laugh harder.

Once Amdirlain controlled herself, she gave Ilya an awkward smile. “Let's just write it off among the rest of the weirdness.”

Ilya hesitated but pushed past her growing fear of the confined space. “My only suggestion is to hide. You’ve got a good start: underground, with concealments in place; reinforce those, make fallback locations and stay hidden.”

“I’m not very good at taking some suggestions. People kept telling me to rest; look how well that worked out once I finally caved,” joked Amdirlain. “Just sitting in hiding for a century won’t happen. I need to get stronger. So I’d rather know who and what to avoid while I’m picking fights. At present, I need more levels and a Tier 7 achievement for my next Prestige Class.”

Torm finished speaking quietly with Erwarth and her parents before venturing through the Gate. Before crossing the threshold, he shifted back to his Cambion form and moved to stand near Amdirlain. When Erwarth approached the Gate, her fortissimo notes threatened to overwhelm Isa’s concealment of her and Ilya’s Celestial energies, and she held herself back.

“Let’s start with what I know about Moloch, which hopefully is the least of us. He’s a Hidden and got cursed for trying to butcher a family because one member stole a ship from him,” offered Amdirlain. “Except, whereas I kicked Viper out, he destroyed his demonic host’s personality sometime between starting as a Rutterkin and becoming a Demon Lord.”

Torm took in her purposefully bland tone and almost gingerly asked a question. “How did you find that out?”

“I tried to walk the corridor of choices—it didn’t go so well. It showed me what may have happened if I’d chosen to deny the reality of the situation when I appeared on the cliff face,” replied Amdirlain.

“The unpleasant what-if you mentioned to Rasha?” enquired Torm.

“Yeah, let's just leave the details out, but I spoke to Moloch in the vision. He seems the type to focus on what’s important to him; messing with his power will draw his attention, and then he’ll crush you,” replied Amdirlain considering Moloch’s casual cruelty.

“His demons fight under other demon lords’ banners. Isn’t that lessening his power?” enquired Ilya.

“You’re assuming he considers demons important, and he wouldn’t be hiring them out unless it got him something. At the very least they’ll get combat experience and get sent back to his Plane when they’re killed,” started Amdirlain but paused in consideration. “They’re using them in the Blood War, correct?”

“Not always. I saw them in battles between other demon lords,” replied Isa.

A potential reason for the troops caused Amdirlain to wince. “At least one type of Fallen earns an experience share from even demonic groups following them. Torm mentioned some work for him?”

“The group I’m working with know of five,” replied Torm. “But that doesn’t mean any follow the Martinet route; he could have a Prestige Class that allows him something similar.”

Roher cleared his throat and drew their attention to the three still beyond the Gate’s threshold. “Both are worst-case assessments, Amdirlain. He could just be using the fees to equip armies he keeps on the Plane, and get those demons some combat experience away from their home Plane. Most entities become cautious while Planar Locked, so if they get killed, things will be quieter while they lay low. Could you please expand this Gate’s width to make it easier to converse?”

The question left Amdirlain feeling she’d excluded them from the conversation, and she quickly reset the Gate. After its width had expanded to nearly‌ two and a half metres, she locked its dimension again. “Sorry, I hadn’t planned on talking through the door.”

“It is a small matter, but let us arrange a few other items. I take it you have no furnishings?” asked Roher.

“I’ll carve some shortly-” started Amdirlain and stopped at the music that beckoned from Roher.

Roher smiled reassuringly and a clear crystal pedestal table and a collection of chairs appeared, sitting awkwardly on the rocky terrain.

As Erwarth passed the first of the chairs through the Gate, Amdirlain listened to the crystal’s music and detected the aged resonance. Even when Erwarth shed her wings and changed her Solar form to match Amdirlain’s current height, it was an odd gathering.

“Alright, let's talk about Culerzic from the head villain down.”

Ilya spoke up first. “Hell considers him the Abyss’ purveyor of armies. Moloch raises, trains, hires out, and/or sells demonic forces. Short of troops? He’s got a few million you can hire. Need your troops entertained or more bred? Then he’s got thousands of whores you can borrow for a price, be it succubi or incubi that you fancy.”

“Your best bet for practising your skills is against the bestial demons, anything that Moloch can’t make a member of his mercenary regiments,” suggested Erwarth. “But can’t your levelling wait until after you’re no longer at risk of destruction?”

“I gained another Prestige Class in the Maze, but I can’t just assume I won’t be summonable. The other problem is I need a suitable achievement to unlock my next Prestige Class. Bestial demons are hardly going to be worth a Tier 7 Prestige Class at my power levels,” countered Amdirlain. “Also, I want to stretch my True Song capabilities.”

Erwarth frowned and fixed Amdirlain with a stern glare. “Is your priority doing something outlandish or surviving and developing your skills?”

“Outlandish is a bit harsh. But I could have stayed in the Maze if I just wanted to survive and grow my skills. There were guardians to fight that gave me plenty of experience and pushed my skills.”

“It is disconcerting not hearing your Song. Have you taken the Glinnel class?” enquired Roher quietly, his focus resting on Amdirlain.

“No, I got offered that plus some evolved ones. I took two evolved classes focused on True Song that offered the broadest range of advantages—neither truly combat classes,” replied Amdirlain.

“Then you won’t have to fight to gain experience. Perhaps building might provide you what you want without risking yourself,” suggested Laleither. Her armour hid Laleither’s body language, but her concern for Amdirlain was apparent in her music.

The sense of familiarity struck Amdirlain again, a strange déjà vu that offered a half-dozen or more sets of features for Laleither. “We knew each other previously, didn’t we?”

“You could say that,” laughed Laleither and gave a shrug. “In a previous life for us both, I admired you and was distraught over your death. We’ve already lost so many during our imprisonment, I’d hate for you to join the lost.”

“I need to get stronger so no one can summon me unwillingly again,” stated Amdirlain.

“There are general songs to shatter summoning conduits, close gateways, and many other dimensional interactions,” said Laleither. “We can ensure you’ll be able to protect yourself from that again or make it easier on your summoner if you wish to meet them.”

Amdirlain glanced at Isa, remembering the Gate from Cemna to the Outlands she’d sealed. “Is that the song you used to close the Gate in the Outlands?”

“No, that was just singing a reversal of the Gate’s music,” replied Isa quickly. “The first proper True Song I learnt was here.”

“Any music using our peoples’ power is a proper True Song,” objected Roher.

At his tone, Laleither gently touched Roher’s hand. “Let’s not get into that debate, at least not at present.”

“Hmph,” snorted Roher. “I don’t know this Moloch fellow, but I prefer building over any battle. The Titan’s realm always moves to balance; destroy him, and another would grow to take his place. From the Song of your surroundings, it sounds like it would serve as an adequate foundation for many construction options. That would be good training, especially once you learn enough to purify the corruption.”

“Amdirlain isn’t one of the Lómë, Roher. Temporary constructs only provide a fraction of the experience, and building enduring ones is going to be problematic by herself,” cautioned Laleither. “Though a few centuries of dedicated singing practice wouldn’t go astray.”

“To make a proper decision, I’d still want to know more about this Plane and its rulership,” interjected Amdirlain, and she caught a twitch of amusement from Erwarth. “Though I’m sure you would consider me barely more than a child, I can make my own choices, and it's not just weak demons that need to worry about me.”

Laleither started, and Amdirlain grew sure she realised her presumption when she began to blush. “Our apologies. You are right, we've not the authority, either parental or seniority, to decide for you‌.”

“Even if you thought you had the authority to give Amdirlain orders, I’m sure she’d ignore them. Or we could play the authority game and get Gail to revoke them,” snorted Torm.

The confused exclamations from the others crashed over each other, and Torm waited for them to stop.

“She got told the Anar elected their queens, so since Gail’s the only living Anar, she elected herself,” Torm explained, keeping his amusement under control. “It gave her a vision of two additional base classes.”

“When did that happen?” asked Roher. “Please tell me she’s not taken any classes yet.”

“Just before she turned two, the vision’s music warned her of the downsides. The cautious, subtle notes in the song warned her, so she’s holding off for now. Though she requested a puppy so she’d have something to play with besides a Class.”

“She’ll stunt her natural growth if she takes a Class too early,” cautioned Roher.

“We are aware, Roher. Gail’s bright, and ‌she knows what trouble it would cause her,” repeated Torm. “Though she grows faster than I think is normal for an Anar.”

“She does indeed. I think that’s partly the effect of Laurelin and partly her parentage, but mostly Gail’s desire to grow quickly,” said Erwarth. “She appears to be a fourteen-year-old already; she wanted to start Willpower training against Farhad.”

“He’s got a teenage daughter, his deadliest challenge yet,” chuckled Amdirlain.

“You didn’t think to tell us about her Class situation, daughter?” asked Laleither.

“It's her parents' business. Perhaps her uncle Torm should be the one scolded for speaking out of turn,” retorted Erwarth smugly.

“What is it with young ladies nominating you as uncle?” asked Amdirlain, looking to change the subject.

Erwarth laughed at the question, but Torm simply shrugged. “I got titled uncle after she found out Livia called me Uncle Torm, and her mother is your big sister, according to you.”

“What do you want to focus on? Building some safe locations for yourself and perhaps the Celestial agents, merely finding trouble, or lying low while you train?” asked Roher, trying to drag the conversation back on topic. “I’m not sure how much time we’ll have at present.”

His wording made his preference for avoiding fighting clear and had Amdirlain holding back a smile. “Focus? I’ll do all three, but the second I’ll do carefully. Now, someone tell me a bit more about Moloch and his Plane. The last thing I want is to be caught by surprise.”

“Moloch’s presence in the Abyss far predates humans entering the Titan’s realm,” stated Torm. “The earliest records of his name mention him being a Balor at least a hundred thousand years ago.”

Amdirlain’s grimace had Torm pause, and she forced herself to give a relaxed shrug. “It seems he played down how long he’d been in the Abyss in my vision.”

“He wasn’t originally from Culerzic but seized control while still a named Balor. He destroyed a triad of demon lords who used to control swaths of it, hunted them down on each of their planes,” added Erwarth before buttoning her lip. When Torm motioned to her, she continued. “They hired the Sisterhood for an easy win. She ended up losing a half-dozen squads to his forces, and he ‌killed the Castalian in the second lord’s hall.”

“Does he hold a grudge for them fighting for the other side?” asked Amdirlain.

“He regularly sends the Castalian slivers of her body, along with love letters asking for the chance to bathe in her blood again.”

“Charming,” murmured Ilya. “Also a reminder that he’s got material to track her down if she dares cross him.”

“I should let you give the briefing, Erwarth,” offered Torm.

Erwarth gave a tiny head shake. “I only know the historical information. Amdirlain needs the current details, not just ancient history lessons.”

“Our apologies. As I believed they would, the Grove’s council has requested us to return to discuss their situation. Let us introduce ourselves so you can send a Message to us, Amdirlain,” interrupted Roher. “I’m Roher. Do you have any memories of the Abyss that might assist, Laleither?”

“Unfortunately not,” replied Laleither. “I would like to talk longer, but Roher is right. We’ll need to excuse ourselves. I’m Laleither. Let me know if you wish to discuss tactics for True Song use within combat. Clearly, you don’t wish to name the classes you gained, so I promise not to enquire.”

Even as she stated her own name, Amdirlain noted how Resonance reacted to their announcement of their names.

While Yngvarr had explained the Message Spell’s theory long ago, access to Resonance clarified the focus of individuals naming themselves. The connection brought a rush of understanding, with modulations in pitch fragmenting into frequency shifts so minutely precise she didn’t possess the maths to categorise them correctly.

[Resonance [M] (39->40)

True Song Composition Unlocked!

True Song Composition (1)

Two unique True Song classes detected additional levels added

True Song Composition (1) -> [B](5)]

Orhêthurin’s ability to target the creation of a star from billions of light years away suddenly made sense. True Song's tonal structure allowed it ‌to encompass galaxies or precisely target a single sub-atomic particle within an individual. It was an awe-inspiring recognition that didn’t provide any understanding of how she could achieve full use of it.

It's like a DVD technology frequency of sound instead of frequency of light, and I don’t have the required Skill levels to interact with it precisely enough.

“Penny for your thoughts?” asked Isa.

“Later, too much swirling inside my mind at present. Let’s continue the briefing.”

“Wish I could hear your Song,” grumbled Isa. Her mock-petulance earned her a condescending pat atop the head from Ilya but her music had good-natured, teasing tones.

“We’ll leave you to your discussion,” Laleither stated, and rose slowly. “Isa, we’ll let you know when the preparations are complete. Our apologies again, I’d prefer to remain to assist you, but connecting this Grove to others is proving more complex than I’d hoped. We'll let you know as soon as we’re free from the latest discussion.”

Isa nodded happily, and with that, Roher and Laleither vanished.

“By complex, she’s talking about the politics, not the work involved,” observed Isa.

“Plus, Elves like to talk, talk, then talk some more, ponder, and then talk,” added Ilya rolling her eyes. “Some are fine. Roher won’t give me a figure, but I’d say he and Laleither are among the eldest alive, and they can decide things promptly.”

“Being among the eldest merely gets them into the senior councils. Some have billions of years of deferring to the royal family, and now they’re not around,” noted Erwarth, spreading her arms in a ‘what can you do’ gesture. “Though some politics are involved, to be fair, most of the issue is because of the distance they are from the nearest Grove. It's a problem that will affect other locations and, until the connection is complete, the effort will be largely theirs to maintain its growth.”

“It's why the first connections we created didn’t involve asking for permission. It’s easier to get forgiveness when you’ve delivered a success,” stated Isa. “Shall we get back to Amdirlain’s briefing?”

Torm glanced between Isa and Amdirlain. “The breadth of Moloch’s operations on Culerzic, I’m not sure anyone knows, except perhaps himself. As I mentioned, we know of five Fallen, some weaker demon lords and a host of named demons that work for him. The Cliffs of Lust and the Blood Fields of the Dretch are two of the regions he oversees personally.”

“I’m surprised he bothers with the Dretch. Such a weird combination to focus on himself,” murmured Isa.

Torm glanced over at Isa’s comment. “They form the bulk of the forces he provides to other factions; more of them than all the other demonic species combined.”

“Low-cost goods sold in high volume; he is a merchant at heart,” added Amdirlain and winced at Moloch’s threat within the vision.

“A Dretch alone is only useful if you want a thug or arrow fodder. It's the millions thrown into battles that give them significance. They soak up damage, distracting forces so that stronger demons can close on Hell’s forces,” commented Ilya.

“Yeah, and he’s got a never-ending supply of them here. I know about the cliffs and fields, but what other punishment regions are there? And who controls them for him?” asked Amdirlain.

“The Zealot’s Maze is for those that forced others to their beliefs and holds the damned in a state of perpetual suffocation. The Searing Forest, the shelter of its metal leaves, bakes those restrained beneath them; my group’s commander calls those damned slum lords. Glutton's Banquet, where the damned continually gnaw on their souls, and the scraps that fall into the muck transform into Larvae.”

Torm’s account of the damned’s gathering places, and Moloch’s regional supervisors, continued until Fainil’s sudden arrival next to Erwarth interrupted the briefing. Her outer form possessed the dusky skin of an Andúnë, but her hair was a radiant white that wasn’t anything like their normal tones. It was a shade that shone with an inner light matching the wings hidden within her form. Despite her changed shape, even the first notes Amdirlain heard announced her clearly.

“I brought you a gift; Nûr redrew them from memory,” said Fainil. She set a large parchment roll on the table and slid it towards Amdirlain.

It only took unfurling it slightly to understand what Fainil meant, but Amdirlain finished laying them out. The bundle contained multiple sheets detailing the plans for a complex of rooms, from small individual rooms to a vast library and training complex. “Was this what you started to build?”

“It was closer to completion, though Nûr was still constructing the storage areas,” explained Fainil. “It's so good to see you, Amdirlain. This might be overkill for a little base, but Torm told Erwarth you need plans to build chambers that wouldn’t risk collapse.”

“It will give me something to do,” joked Amdirlain as she shuffled her way through the sheets. “I could always change rooms every few days to mix things up.”

“The intent was it would let anyone stuck there a long time have options to avoid going stir crazy, as well as space for training,” explained Erwarth. “The less confined it felt, the less temptation to go out and do something crazy. Like pick fights with bestial demons or the rulers of a Plane.”

“Does everyone want me to just hide for the century?” asked Amdirlain.

“Not just hide—build, hide and learn,” offered Erwarth. “Who says you have to build just one of these? Could set up multiple hideouts, so you’ve got fall-back positions. Build various sized ones, and provide some of them to the Celestial agents to give them safe locations. It will help you build up skills you can use for future projects. You’ve still got a Human perspective of time. Why are you in a rush?”

Amdirlain looked the plans over again and shrugged. “It won’t take me long to build a dozen or more of these by carving them out with Inventory.”

“Then build them with True Song, a room at a time. Roher could teach you enough composition so you could sing them into existence,” noted Fainil. “Doubt you’ll get it perfect the first time, but excavating a room is an Anar thing, a burst of energy to destroy or move the existing stone. Then you can adjust the songs to carve through fortress walls later on.”

“I can start your lessons,” offered Isa quickly. “But personally I’d also vote for putting your feet up for a century or two with a few million books.”

Amdirlain gave Isa a lopsided smile. “Aren’t plans ‌something that’s a little left field for you?”

Lifting her chin snottily Isa tossed her hair. “I’ll have you know composition takes skill, and skill and luck go hand in hand.”

The suppressed worry in her music had Amdirlain take it for the strained joke it was‌. “I’ll sit still for lessons after I dig the first version of this place out. Okay?”

“Would you sit still until you’ve got the confidence, level and Skill to construct a place quickly with True Song?” asked Isa.

“As long as it’s pushing my singing capability towards mastering those songs that Laleither mentioned dealing with conduits. Also, I’ll want options to do more with True Song besides excavation,” stated Amdirlain and set aside the sheet labelled as the top level of the complex.

“I believe some you won’t be able to practice properly while Planar Locked,” cautioned Erwarth, and raised a hand to head off any objection. “You’ll only be able to learn and practice on Portals leading between spots on Culerzic, but the planar barrier will stop you from interacting with conduits between planes.”

“I can teach you songs that duplicate a bunch of combat spells. I’ve written them out in the same musical notation Roher taught me for composition,” offered Isa. “They’re simple compared to other True Songs, but it's a starting point for improving the Skill.”

“Agreed, for now. The situation might change, but we’ll talk. Now, I need to move a bit, and being in this corridor has stressed Ilya. Why don’t you lot talk to the Grove about a lesson plan, and I’ll get started on the first excavations,” said Amdirlain; she didn’t wait for their reply but moved to the far end of the corridor. Once there, she set a hand to the stone and started carving a staircase downwards at forty-five degrees.

When the others retreated through the Gate, Torm remained and moved the table and chairs clear before it closed. “Going to trust them to devise a plan you’ll follow?”

“No, I just needed them out of my hair for a time,” admitted Amdirlain, after a moment’s consideration. “They had good points, and I’ll see what they come up with after a planning session. If I don’t like it, I’ll raise objections; but mostly, I started to feel crowded. Orhêthurin spent so much of her life alone, and I think the last two odd years surfaced that habit in me.”

“Should I have left with them?” asked Torm in a concerned tone.

“No, I’m glad you stayed,” clarified Amdirlain quickly. “Just because I’m currently more used to being alone doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.”

“I don’t think you had the habit of being alone buried too deep.”

Amdirlain laughed and waved a finger at him reprovingly. “Oh, you’ll keep, buster.”