Wilson Koorb.
***
The last month of the War Phase was different for everyone. Yet, everyone did the same thing. Leary laid waste to the vast expanse on our eastern end and became the scourge of the Bugdilk Dominion. Then, he continued due east and entered the Grand Duchy of Pyreaz to test his strength against the technologically advanced orcs.
Reina ventured undetected past both the Bugdilk Dominion and the tech goblins of the Grand Duchy of Kas to enter the inland sea of the Oim Kingdom. She found a small island there and made it more inhabitable than it was, then spread that pestilence to the lands and sea around her.
Rickley mostly went around terrorizing people with music. Although occasionally she'd allow herself to be 'defeated' and 'captured' by the enemy. The dwarves would often place her on a pyre. The orcs would put her on a rotisserie and lather her up with oils and spices. The goblins would just attempt to butcher her on the spot. The humans would take what they could. In all cases, Rickley would wait until the most opportune time to slaughter them all and steal their treasures.
I doubted even Iris was privy to the things Etan did. We never saw his operations. He never spoke about them and we didn't ask. We only saw the results. Mostly. At first, problems would surface and subsequently disappear. In time, problems just… stopped coming, and yet his library kept on growing.
Freki burned everything to ash and melted the rest to slag. Geri froze everything in sight and took the most valuable things she could find. Blude conquered the northern and southern oceans. Iris reverse-engineered technology from all of our enemies to keep us connected, equipped, and updated with information; yet still took the time to wreak havoc on our neighbors. And Amun…
Amun just watched.
He was here the entire time. In spirit, he was always with us- with everyone. We could sometimes see him looking at something or hear him snickering behind us while we were traveling. But so too was he with us in the flesh, occasionally. But he was always hidden amongst us so the enemy wouldn't react differently to our presence.
With the changing of the seasons, though, his physical essence disappeared. Replacing it was Iris' recall to Delphilios Court. No other information was provided. But we knew what was what. Our slain enemies had resurrected. Despite our enemy's restocked numbers, however, they seemed to prefer cursing my name while they cleared their lands of deathly fumes instead of attacking me as I passed. That could only mean one thing. The War Phase has ended.
Everyone was scattered around the domed complex of wheel yards and hangars within half an hour; and all of us stared greedily at the mountains of materials, equipment, and vehicles piled around the place. Even Amun. But of course, he had something to say.
"Congratulations! The War Phase is over. And with its end comes one final lesson." He raised his finger, smiling at the look of dreaded excitement present on all of our faces. "My position in combat will vary depending on the strength of our opponents and the situation in question.
"In the case of the stronger ones who manage to make it past the undead fodder, they will be your responsibility. In turn, I will play the role of the Mastermind. Specifically, the Tactician. My perks will allow me to Assist you from afar in bountiful ways and deal extra damage to attacks made to unaware targets." He teasingly raised his brows.
"Those who manage to preoccupy or even make it past you…" he paused, tossing his head around in contemplation. "I'll probably wind up using one of my toys. But if not!" He grinned at us after his short ramble and pointed. "Only then, will I fight as a monk. That is not only because it's no fun to fight the weak but because my blood can and will change the realms around us without my control, as we saw below.
"But I digress" He casually waved the serious matter aside as he often did. "War Phase is over. Normally, recruits would continue onto the Magic and Martial Training and Battle Drill phases. Since you've done those things before your arrival, however, these phases will be Creation and Exploration. Now, first thing's first."
With the simplest wave of his hand, I felt power surge into my moderately-sized frame. Not power gifted from him- at least not in this instance. It was the power we developed prior to our coming here. Our sorcerous and warlock abilities, our newfound magical affinities, and more.
"Ahh. It's good to be back. Eh, Willy?" The voice echoed in my mind in a way that seemed to spawn my long-lost finger. Flexing it, hearing those words and more, seeing the holographic projections of NoxNet in my vision made me realize how much I missed them all over the last few months. However…
'Do not ever call me that again, Bom.'
Both the Book of Madness and Amun snickered. Seemingly for different reasons. But perhaps not.
"I would assume you've devised many spells for your affinities throughout your time at war." Amun continued. "War is the mother of all invention, after all. But I hope magic isn't the extent of your designs, for we have weapons, we have undead, and we have Umas we need to upgrade and tailor to our abilities. So, after we get these crystals primed, how about we do a little show and tell?"
We all ran forward like the little children we were. Hours. Days. We cared not how long we spent priming enchantments; comparing the materials, components, and tools native to our worlds; redesigning our equipment in various corners of the court, and showcasing our results across the net.
The hardest working among us during that time was one of Iris' companions. Of course, we all worked hard to upgrade our and eventually the Legion and the Empire's lineup of equipment. Kai, however, had to prime the most enchantments, infuse the most Arcanites, and design the most things to work with her truly revolutionary affinity for Size Magic.
Leading by example, Amun was the first to upgrade his many fantastic things. Even though we could have witnessed the process from afar using the Net, many of us took a short break to see it in person, for there was at least one item out of the six that none of us had laid eyes on before.
The first two were his newer creations. The legendary weapons he created shortly after his debut as a Grandmaster Artificer. While the Zodiac Crossbow was what evolved him as Grandmaster Artificer, the Gamma Net was the only legendary weapon in my opinion, as it was so powerful Amun could hardly use it on the Mortal Plane.
Therein came the need for him to grasp the tool of destruction in hand and pour his deep blue energy into it, blessing it with the essence of the Divine Engineer to give it the gift of creation.
Despite the legends spreading from Shujen, the Zeus Pillars were not considered legendary weapons. At least not until the three-sectioned staff was upgraded with a size enchantment to allow the thing to be worn as an earring, then blessed with the essence of the World Weaver to give the tungsten pellets it ejected the ability to weave worlds, spread seas, temper storms, and more.
After renaming his prized weapon the World Pillars, he showed us the gear he received as a young Marulean royal, starting with the robes he was often seen wearing.
They were hardly enchanted or infused with anything new. The design was changed to have the same quilted pattern as his official guild wear. Otherwise, it was Upgraded with the same Biogold, Screening Silver, and Noxweave present in everyone else's uniforms.
He did, however, bless the garb with the essence of the Divine Engineer to make the gear modular so it could fit any number of environments or devices. And so too did he fashion a pair of sunglasses, enchanted with the same FleshTech device Zaraxus used to release and reform his flesh.
Then came the most impressive weapon in my eyes. The Shadowsteel Reaper had to be someone's magnum opus. It was a pristine slashing spear made from stone-mammoth ivory and wood from the Necro King's divine tree, fashioned with an adamantine blade wrapped in a collar of gold-dusted night ave quills. And the hilt was mechanical, allowing it to bend like a reaper's scythe when infused with necromancy.
Like the Pillars, the Reaper was reduced to an earring with a size enchantment. But unlike any other weapon thus far, it was infused with many magics.
It was reconstructed with Arcanites fueled with Gravity and the Dark and Death variants of Electromagnetic and Space-Time magics. These powers were infused into the haft, blade, pommel, and collar at the molecular level, turning a powerful weapon into a natural receiver and transmitter of all types of communication used in Eotrom, as well as a powerful electromagnet, a necrotic lightning bolt in spear form, and more.
A blessing from the Owl and some increased capabilities via some Engineering Essence evolved the weapon into the Nebulous Reaper. But the favorite weapon of Iris, Reina, Rickley, Leary, and even Etan was what became of the Shade Splitters. They were made from the same material as the Shadowsteel Reaper, minus the divine tree wood. And like the Nebulous Reaper, they were reconstructed with Arcanites.
Those Arcanites contained many more affinities, however. Iris' Molecular and Mana affinities. Reina's Life and Flesh. The Bone affinity of his father. My Chemical affinity. Amun's Darkness, Death, Space-Time, Electromagnetic, and even Nuclear affinities. Then Blessed by the Eternal Champion, the blades evolved into the Life Splitters.
Rather than life energy, the enchantments were redesigned to leach mana from those it stole flesh from. And so too did it absorb the molecules of whatever inorganic materials it cut into. Both were stockpiled within the handles. As was the soul of whosoever died by their blades, giving Amun the freedom to decide if it should be sent to his paradise or pit.
As for the body, that was free to become whatever Amun wished it to be. An Undead Machine or just an undead or a machine. A Fiendish Fae or just a fiend, perhaps even a Fae. A Paragon imbued with fresh life. A new being entirely. Whatever Amun decided, the Life Splitters would take or make. All it took was a cut.
The last item was the one Amun was the most excited for, as it was the one thing he was both forced to have and could not use. A hulking set of armor built undoubtedly for a paladin. In his words, it was meant to babysit the development of his strength. Yet he never liked the armor and thus didn't wear it. He couldn't wear it once he devoted himself to becoming a monk. But it was still tied to his soul.
To make matters worse, he couldn't and wouldn't sever it from his soul; for it was a relic of his family. What he could do, however, was use the perks of being a Grandmaster Artificer to Replicate the armor. Then Upgrade the replication into proper power armor with mithral infused with Deathly and Dark Electromagnetism and Space affinities. Then the gauntlets were redesigned with Dimensionite before the entire thing was blessed by both his Engineering and Mana domains. One to connect it to our tech and infrastructure and the other to evolve whoever would be chosen to become the Abyssal Hulk into a paragon of their kind.
It was no surprise that the Tech Goddess completed her upgrades just minutes after Amun completed his demonstration. I was already back in my hangar, but I heard and saw it appear through the Net as a deep warbling sign accompanied a small vortex of blue mana that popped out an oversized parasol, of all things.
The thing was thick, heavy, and had no canvas to speak of; for having canvas would only cause Gamp Daedalus to oscillate uncontrollably when she put the rotor into action. Actuators small and large were riddled throughout the folding mechanisms, which had been fashioned with blades to permit her flight at the cost of an atrociously loud thumping noise.
It was essentially a stick with eight actuating arms that collectively wanted to be a parasol but their wielder kept forcing them to operate independently or sometimes come together as an oddly-shaped spear or perhaps a lance. After infusing it with her magical abilities and the affinities of several throughout the Empire, it was much the same. Albeit slimmer and quieter- silent whilst in flight.
Mithral ball bearings were infused with her Rotational Magic then soaked in Porous Lube to replace the rotor. An enchantment of Sound didn't render the chopping noise of the spinning blades mute. It only reduced the distance the sound traveled to a few meters. The infusion of her Molecular Magic into the blades let her reform them into hooks or clubs or whatever else she could imagine. And of course, the infusion of Kai's Size Magic allowed the Gamp to be worn like an earring, just like her father's spear and staff.
The true beauty, however, was the weapon she made from scratch. Demowood was a semi-sentient hardwood that could 'eat' materials. Metals, ceramics, and even organics could be absorbed by the grains and integrated to increase their functionality. A support beam could 'eat' some metals and glass to create a light bulb for itself. Or a stick could do the same with some string to become a bow.
Such was the case when Iris took a fleet of Arcanites and a stick of Demowood to infuse her tiara with all of her magical and sorcerous abilities. Initially, only her Molecular magic and Technomancy noticeably influenced the materials. As it normally would have, the stick ate some Dimensionite, Biogold, Attosilk, and several biomechanical leathers, ceramics, and fibers from her world before it was allowed to 'consume' her tiara.
Unlike it normally would, the change came instantly.
The same warbling blue mana saw it disappear and reform on Iris' head. Then it warbled again, warping to her palm in the form of an elaborate compound bow with magical features segregated into different parts. The sight with her Warp Magic. The bow with Mana and Necromancy. The bowstring with Molecular Magic and Technomancy.
She called it Apollo's Rein. An action that gave birth to a naming convention across the Troupe that made Amun quite annoyed, much to our amusement.
Blude completed her equipment shortly after. She and the other matriarchs of the Mafia had tridents and daggers made of aluminum bronze- a biostatic material resistant to the corrosion of seawater.
All of the Mafia's equipment was almost exclusively infused with their divine and arcane magics. Their hilts were wrapped in the kelp of their matriarch just as their blades were sheathed in her coral. The three prongs of each of their tridents held their divine water, steam, and ice sorcery; enabling them, above all, to behave like liquid and reform as Dimensionite would.
Into an elaborate headdress, Blude shaped her trident and declared it to be the Crown of Orcus. Into a flowing necktie of pale gold and blue-green, she formed her dagger and named it the Scale of Hades. Into bracelets of coral gems and silky metal, she made her spiked knuckle dusters and called them Pluto's Mitts, turning them into coral-spiked gloves that were pulled on as her bracelets came off.
Sam was the first to have her gear infused with the magic of another. But it was not her trident. The Diadem of Dis Pater was infused with all of her abilities, turning it into a metallic chef's hat that could vent both divine and regular steam without end. It was her divine knives and other weapon that was infused with other magics.
She had a full set of fighting needles and shards infused with her powers plus Warp and Spatial mana to give her control and assurance once they- the Bolts of Taranis were inevitably thrown; enabling her to put them back in their place within her bracelets. Her chosen weapon, however, was the Helve of Soranus. A Demowood handle-turned necktie, capped in their divine aluminum bronze secured in place with a Dimensionite ring, allowing it to shift into any cooking implement or weapon she pleased. Which, in her case, was the same thing.
Redd followed Sam's lead. Although to a much lesser extent. Her trident, Poseidon's Crest was infused with her Current mana and Iris' Technomancy to give the metallic hood the weapon reformed into a means of propulsion. Ullr's Grip, her harpoon gun, on the other hand, was imbued with Dimensionite, both her affinities, and Iris' Molecular mana and Technomancy to give her the means to fabricate ammunition and store the weapon as a necktie. Meanwhile, her Neptunian Net was made from Attosilk, Dimensionite, and aluminum bronze, enabling it to stretch, move autonomously, and form a flowing cape when not in use.
Sadly, though, that was the extent of anything marvelous. Due in no small part to me. I had Bom, my middle finger was my wand, and my adamantine skeleton was not only blessed by the Divine Engineer but infused to remove the ferromagnetic properties of the metal. To top it off, a hand crossbow, a shield, and a blade existed within my skeletal forearm. I needed nothing more.
Geri needed nothing more than her claws and teeth paired with a compound bow and a sling attached to the bottom of a spear, infused with her celestial sorcery. As all she wanted and needed to do was slice or beat things up close, shoot springtime and winter arrows at things from afar, and launch comets at her targets from even greater distances.
Freki needed nothing more than his claws and teeth paired with an adamantine cannonball and a glaive infused with his celestial sorcery coupled with Ed Pascal's Tungsten and Smoke Magic; as all he wanted and needed to do was rip and tear into everything in sight, decimate whatever didn't taste good, and skewer whatever was too big to bite.
Etan needed nothing more than his body because… well, he was a monk. Yet he made throwing darts, ball bearings, a hand crossbow, and fighting needles infused with his eclectic power anyway.
Rickley needed nothing more than the instruments on and in her person. Yet she made one more. A technological marvel that held all the sounds of a band and more in a device that fit around her neck. The Eigenharp.
Reina needed nothing more than the Staff and Cowl of Aves Rex and the Featherfall Bow she arrived with; for they had long since been woven with the wood of the divine and were legendary items even before then; and her brood was her weapon, her undead, her citizens, her children; and more.
As for Leary. Well, there was no weapon the goblin paragon ever needed to build, for our patron made Leary into a living weapon.
His living weapon.