We concluded the encounter with Serraux. He yet lives. Beneath the weight of his armor, his body streaked with wounds. We interrogated and he spoke. “He would see you, Luminora. Conscriptus has plans for the both of you.” It appears Fischer Valantis waits twenty miles north and knows we are coming.
Sal and Enoch tended his wounds, working steadily until he slipped into unconsciousness. We remained in the abandoned shelter through the night as the sandstorm passed outside.
At dawn, he stirred. His gaze lingered on me for too long, almost reverent. He spoke of the last mission of Block 233, dispatched to the Fouder’s vault to dismantle its defenses. He showed me, in a vision, the chrysalis that housed the Founder: a shell of celestial alloy entwined with clockwork. When the constructs guarding it awoke, they tore through his chest.
From that mission they learned too much. He claimed the Founder was not a deity enthroned, but a prisoner of his own creation. The Directorate has hollowed the FETC from within. The Manuals of Ascension for over 200 Fiscals were filled with contradiction and the people have been forsaken.
Valantis and his followers now suggest the binding the Empire beneath Xalithea’s banner instead. Serraux spoke her name as one born in Conscriptus, laced with devotion. He pressed into my hand the token that had shown me his vision.
When Enoch asked of the Agati alliance, Serraux told him that under a new reign, their FETC captors would serve in chains. Enoch, facing away from us, removed his mask and refused to accept such a concept.
We left Serraux within the shelter and proceeded north. The heat was oppressive, and our rations were rapidly depleting. I needed time to prepare a spell for water when Sal, after long bouts of rambling, suddenly remembered the artifact he carried which produced water endlessly. Although grateful, I must note that forgetfulness is a liability that endangers us all.
After a day of traveling, we rested beneath the fossilized remains of a massive dragon. Sal harvested Firelash blooms; I assisted. The repetition of an old technique was stabilizing.
In the morning we pressed on, passing the wreck of a Netherese skyship, The Empyrean Weave. Its hull bore claw marks, its arcane batteries missing. Sal scavenged shards of warped glass from the sand.
Eventually, we arrived at Fischer’s location. The remainder of Block 233 awaited within. Fischer greeted us with warmth too easily given. I did not return it. I learned that secession is being spoken aloud in council, but they are still divided. When pressed, he confirmed that House Katharis has yet to declare. I told him I would make no move without my matriarch’s blessing.
Then Vell struck. She severed me from the pruning ritual without warning. Every strand of a connection present for a lifetime, tore away at once, leaving me raw, exposed, and unmade. Valantis looked into my face and called it victory. He said my death would be the spark to ignite rebellion and draw Conscriptus to war.
He does not know though. Pruning was not safety. It showed me where I end, and where I may yet surpass myself. So I will show him I am no easy pawn.
Current Location
- The Embermaw
- Bastion of Fischer Valantis
Recap Video
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