PreCursive

  After exiting the celr where I had gotten a history lesson from an old Elf, Grey and I walked in silence for a while. Fade had raced on ahead in the dire of the town, leaving us behind. I guess he wao get back to the fire and whatever scraps everyone had left and could beg for.

  I didn’t bme him. I was kinda hungry myself.

  Eventually, I turo face my mentor, opping my stride.

  “So…” I trailed off.

  Grey turo face me with a raised eyebrow. “So?”

  “So, what’s your take on all that?” I asked him. I wasn’t going to lie, I had been relieved when Grey had popped up, there at the end. This way, I didn’t have to expihing that Alveron had said to me ter.

  The whole thing was kind of a clusterfuck.

  “Well…,” Grey scratched his . “It was an iing insight into some historical matters that I was unaware of. Of particur i is the fact that a, pre-Initialization Precursors had some form of proto-Status that presehem with a ‘Quest’. It implies that the System existed in some form before the ing of the Initialization. I would dearly love to see the treatises that the Elder found that information in.”

  I snorted, smilie myself. “Oh yeah? No thoughts on the fact that your ‘Elder’ is some kind of a Elven Prince? Or hell, that he wants us to ride out and sy a damn God?”

  “Oh, I khat ‘Alveron’, not that he ever presented his name, was quite, quite old,” Grey said, unphased. “My uanding is that the man, or rather Elf, is one of the few remaining Paragons on the face of Vereden. I was introduced to him many, many years ago. By my owor, in point of fact.”

  I o show my uanding. That would have been after Grey had stopped his life of piracy, and before his mentor had died against a Camity. “What’s a Paragon? Is it just a word for a really, really old guy? Does that make you a Paragon then?” I said teasingly.

  Grey rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. “No, Paragon is the term for someohat has achieved the level cap of ohousand. However, from his own mouth, the Elder is experieng the slow death of Core Colpse and is thus diminished in strength. Even if his absolute level is higher than mine by now, he is likely weaker than I am at my peak. Which I’m happy to say the battle at Caer Drarrow helped push me towards. I’m nearly fully recovered from my branding by this point.”

  “Is Core Colpse a disease or something?” I asked him, feeling a little relieved. It was o hear that Grey was nearly back to full power. I paused. “Is it…something I have to worry about catg?”

  “No,” Grey immediately shook his head. “Core Colpse is merely the iability of age when it es to those of us further along the Path. Your very soul begins to weaken, and colpse uhe weight and strain of maintaining your power. You gradually weaken, and then pass one day in a someectacur way, uo the individual. For one such as the Elder, I suspect he could birth airely new forest of simir size to this one when his day es.”

  I gnced around at the massive forest surrounding us on all sides and stretg out into the distance. I blinked.

  Huh.

  “I, thankfully, have o worry about the possibility for some time. I might begin exhibiting symptoms sometime in the few turies, but nothing until then,” Grey tinued casually, as if he wasn’t talking about his iable death by apparent explosion.

  “All right,” I said slowly. “And…about us killing the Mad God?”

  Grey stopped ihen, causio do the same. Turning around to face him, I saw that Grey had an unusually serious look on his face. “It would be a hing to do, certainly,” He said somberly. “But…I’m unsure if it’s the best idea.”

  Somewhere, deep inside me, a cowardly part of my heart sighed in relief. “Why, though?” I said, still curious. “I mean, Alveron apparently did it plenty of times before he became too weak. You’re still in your prime, and I get stronger. I mean, if nothing else, think of how much level Aether a damned God would be worth.”

  Look at me, thinking of killing a God in terms of how many levels it would get me. I ractically going native.

  “Possibly,” Grey aowledged. “However, I am likely nowhere near as strong as the Elder was at the peak of his power. I-” He cut himself off, looking embarrassed before he cleared his throat. “Nathan, I have a…fession to make. I know that you sider myself, and even Honoka to a degree, as beiremely powerful. In parison to the rest of Vereden, this might evehe case. However…in truth, I’m sidered something of a burn-out.”

  I blinked rapidly befaping at my mentor.

  What?

  “How?” I said weakly. “You said your level was in the seven-hundreds! You’re the leader of a paramilitary force, and the Headmaster of the only school fes and Cultivators on the face of the p! I mean, goddamn! You created aire se species! How are you sidered a burn-out?!”

  “Thank you, Nathan, for that densation of niuries of effort,” Grey said wryly, smiling at me. I flushed slightly, aware that I had raised my voice. Still, Grey sighed. “But, as someone non-native to Vereden, this reaches back to cultural ideas about achievement and expectation that you are yet to uand. e, I’ll expin along the way.” He started walking again towards the town.

  I followed.

  “I became the Headmaster of the Academy some four turies ago,” Grey started, strolling leisurely by my side with a far-off look on his face. “At the time, it was a mess. Academic standards were embarrassingly x, and course quality was even worse in my opinion. It took me decades of effort and scouting to assemble the staff that I possess, including Honoka. When I assumed the post, I was in the five hundred level rahis caught the attention of the popuce, as it is a rare achievement to breach that level with the Aether density of Vereden. There hadn’t been a Paragon among humanity for some time at that point, and hopes began to rise that I would bee the . And I did try to reach that level, I assure you. However, over time I began to realize that I didn’t prize the endless grind for strength as much as I did some things that were…intangible. Rather than lusting after raw strength, I began to hunger for knowledge. I desired to experiment and push the boundaries of Mysticalilty and spread the results far and wide. As a result, my gain in levels stagnated, before falling off pletely. I didn’t care, but I ’t say the same for the rest of Herztalian society.”

  Grey gazed off into the distance, a far-off look in his eye.

  “I made this decision shortly after the end of a pointless flict with the Principality. It was far from my first war, but by that point I was very tired of it. If needless bloodshed was to be my reward after striving for ever greater heights, I wished no more part of it,” Grey flickered his eyes my way, and gave me a wry smile. “I’m aware of the irony of that statement when we’re currently in the middle of a civil war. However, I did try to resolve matters involving the Sculpted in as peaceful a manner as possible. As, simple human greed won the day, and thus I find myself embroiled in another war, so easily avoided.”

  Grey sighed, falling silent. For a moment, my mentor very much appeared to be a tired old man.

  Hmm. It struck me then, what it must be like to live for turies like Grey had. I’d heard the saying before that history didn’t so much repeat itself, as it rhymed. With the ing of new geions, humanity, and I guess sapient beings in general, had a tendency to echo past mistakes. Wealth, nd, status, honor and w and glory.

  I wonder just how much weight Grey put on them.

  sidering he used to be a pirate, I’m guessing not much.

  Tentatively, I reached out to y a hand on Grey’s shoulder. My movement startled him slightly, causing him to blink rapidly at my hand. He smiled, however, and patted my hand in thanks. He cleared his throat somewhat embarrassedly, and I removed my hand.

  “In any case, that expnation was to say that I’m uo be as capable as the Elder was at his own peak,” Grey said. “While he was able to sy the Mad God multiple times, I have doubts as to my capabilities in that dire. I would o resume my quest for strength in ear before we could attempt su uaking. When I made the decision to stop seeking Levels, I ceased my expeditions into the zones of higher Aether Density on Vereden and Indiqua. There aren’t many of them on both ps, but they exist. If I wao resume those, I’d o vince Honoka and perhaps some other fellows from the Academy to apany me. In any case, you would o have at least passed the fifth breakpoint before I even sidered the possibility of allowing you to attempt deicide. That will likely be decades if not turies from now. I will…give the matter some thought.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, relieved. I had no problem putting off a possible fight with a god.

  That was future Nathan’s problem.

  Grey and I had reached the guest hall with no problems. Nobody inside had given us much of a sed gnce from our little trip with the Elder. Well, nobody but Honoka. The old woman had givewo of us a suspicious gnd then snorted in our dire.

  Grey had just smirked at his old friend, causio start ign him in favor of Sylvia again.

  After that, we’d had a te meal and then promptly went to sleep for the night. We had a big day tomorrow, after all.

  Still, I slept pretty good. I almost wao steal one of these cots. They were better thahe ones we’d had on the drive to Marrowmist.

  I was woken up pretty early by a smug Azarus, who promptly started shovi the door before I could even fully wake up. Outside, Tarus had yet to even rise over the horizon. My dwarven friend had woken me before even the green period.

  I glowered at him.

  “Gotta get the carts ready for the civvies,” Azarus said with a smirk, unphased. “Ya know what to do with ‘em, and I’m not gonna bother askin’ a bunch of nobs and kids to help. Only this time, we o prep three of them.”

  Azarus had led me around the back of the guest hall by now, where the Agent from the other day had told us he’d stashed the horses and carriages. Sure enough, they were there. The horses were sleeping in a…surprisingly normal looking stable. Well, if you ighe fact that it looked to have been grown from green tree roots, and not built out of ho lumber. I audibly groaned when I saw that there were a total of twelve horses, causing Azarus to chortle at me. It had already been a pain to ready just four from my experiehat wasn’t even ting the fact that these carts were as shoddy as Weston had told us they’d be. They were big enough for everyone we’d be hauling, but even to my neophyte eyes, it looked like it would be a bumpy ride.

  I sighed and got to work.

  The green period came a by the time that Azarus and I were done waking up, feeding, brushing, and harnessing all twelve equines. I was starting to hear the rustling of people through the bark walls of the guest hall as we were attag them to the carriages. The two of us led the three wagons along to the front of the hall, where Grey was already waiting on us with a mug of something hot in hand. He sipped it, eyeing the carriages dubiously. Behind him through the open door, I could see Woodrick gathering the former prisoogether and anizing them. Azarus slipped past me into the hall, and theurned carrying the massive, still atose form of Venix. The Antium still hadn’t awoken, and was ed tightly in linen cloth. I was starting to get a bit worried for him, actually.

  Honoka, who was just stepping out of the hall herself, must have seen the worried gaze I was sending him. “He’ll be fine,” She said, uedly ge my startled look, she me. “I think I’ve figured out what that chitinous fool did to himself. His soul is strained and weakened, possibly from some form of desperation move. He’ll keep until we get him to a Gyreite Preceptor, and they’ll get him oh to recovery. Until then, the sword slinger will just be taking a nap.” She cpped me on the back, causio stumble from the ued force of the blow. She had already moved over to help with the carriages by the time I had gotten my feet under me.

  Well, all right then.

  I followed after her. It didn’t take us long to get everyoled into the carts. Grey and Honoka were driving the front wagon, while I was in the middle with Azarus o me. Surprisingly, Renauld had volunteered to drive the st wagon, with Richard Everfield o him. Apparently, both of them had experien driving a cart.

  With a crack of his reigns, Grey got us underway. I followed after him.

  As we drove our train through the uandably still empty path out of Alveron’s Haven, I spotted the old Elf watg us from a high ptform. For the first time, I was able to see another resident of Ealáindeall, standing right o him and watg as well. Presumably, this was another Elf that had been freed from the clutches of the Mad God.

  Dressed much the same as the Elder in a cloak and mask, they surprisingly had their hood down. Their long, unbound, honey-blond hair was blowing in the m breeze. But more importantly, their tapered ears were visible in the m light. Whoever this was, it wasn’t hard to tell that they were a artly, it was because their mask didn't have the ahat Alveron's did. Her mask was of a doe.

  Both Elves were watg us, silently. I think the only reason that I saw them at all was because the Elder was lettihe rest of the wagon train didn’t seem to notice the two at all.

  Well, except for one person.

  Azarus followed my gaze and did a double take. He gaped at the long, exposed ears of the female Elf, before turning to face me. I just raised an eyebrow at him, smirking.

  Azarus blinked, before shaking his head. “Nope,” He said, crossing his arms. “Ain’t tou’ that one.”