Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 445: Ryun

Offer

Ryun looked at Grey Horde as the silence stretched in between them. Her eyes were unmoving, and he could tell that despite the outward appearance of waiting for his answer, the skreen in the room were talking.

He could feel the tension in the room rising, everyone was getting ready. Nayra had tensed next to him, her Qi stood almost frozen inside of her body, just waiting to move. Aspects were being born in front his eyes, an anticipation of violence. That was not something that Ryun wanted this to devolve into.

"You will do anything to keep your people safe, I can understand that," Ryun spoke, breaking the silence. "But even you must see that this can only lead to a repeat of what happened with Hastur's armies."

"What I can see is that my people will suffer regardless." Grey Horde said.

Ryun closed his eyes and shook his head. "We've all gathered together, we made an agreement."

Grey Horde's voice made him open back his eyes. "It was always nave to think that so many different voices could live alongside each other, that we could keep to those agreements. We are all in this for ourselves and our interests. The only reason we are at peace now is because we are focused on the Domes."

Ryun narrowed his eyes at her. "Yet you are the one actively preparing to break that agreement."

"I won't let the Exalted Empire be the ones to strike first," she said.

"And what if I can guarantee you help that you need, in case that the Exalted Empire makes a move?" Ryun asked.

The Grey Horde leaned back in her seat. "You can't guarantee that," she said.

"When the entire world ignored the threat in the core, allowed the Dome monsters and the taken to grow, the sects acted. We are the ones that marched on the core. That should be enough to tell you all that you need to know. But beyond that, I personally can guarantee you that the sects that we will not tolerate anyone that breaks the agreement," Ryun said slowly, his tone even and low. "Even if you refuse now, even if you somehow manage to kill us and prevent the knowledge from coming out, eventually the sects will learn that you have summoned a spirit army into the Real Realm. They will not allow that to stand."

Ryun didn't mean it as a threat, it was simply what he believed to be the truth. War's intentions beyond what its agreement with the Triumphant Hive contained were not important. The sects couldn't allow the past to repeat itself. Ryun hadn't kept up with the politics of the entire Settled Territories, but he did know about the Sects internal politics. They had taken the mantle of preventing threats from becoming large enough to threaten everyone. Even with Ra'azel, they might not think that the threat was as great as Zach did, but they did keep their eyes and ears open for any sign of him. It was more than what he could say about the rest of the world, though he understood. They had no evidence of the yeti's threat, they hadn't felt it on their own skin.

Grey Horde looked at him for a long time before answering. "You really believe that?" She asked.

"I do," Ryun said. "And even if the Sects fail me, I will come, I can promise you that. At some point, we must truly come together, or eventually something will tear us all down. Your people included. All I ask is that you do the same in return, help me deal with things that threaten us all."

He couldn't read her body language, so he couldn't tell what she was thinking, but her conversation with the others in the room stopped. He knew that she was thinking by herself. Ryun didn't have much to offer besides his word, but there was one thing he had that no one else did.

"I can offer you something, to make your decision easier," Ryun said.

Grey Horde leaned forward, listening.

"Do you really think that the yeti is such a great threat?" Grey Horde asked. Ryun had spoken more about it and the fact that even the Grand Spirits wanted Ra'azel taken care off.

"Yes," Ryun confirmed. "From everything that I know, he is probably the greatest threat to us all at the moment."

Grey Horde didn't comment further, but he could tell that she was thinking about it. Ryun knew that it was hard to grasp a threat from just words. Even he had trouble with it, but he had felt the impact of Ra'azel's power on, he had lost people.

"Will this work?" Grey Horde said as they arrived at their destination and she led Nayra and him into an open part of the hive. The entire valley she brought them to was the mirror image of the one in the Ethereal, except that this one wasn't filled with an army. The surface was covered in buildings, ones that seemed to have been raised from a strange living material, like a resin of some kind. Skreen moved in between them constantly, but the real Hive was beneath them, where the strange old forms of the skreen were stored. Though the Grey Horde had stopped more of them from being spawned. They had come to an agreement. Though they still didn't have a real plan for how they would deal with War.

Grey Horde couldn't just break their agreement with no consequences. But that was a topic for later. Now he focused on the open style forge in front of him. It was built into the side of the cliff that surrounded the valley, and many different kinds of skreen were in the process of gathering their equipment and leaving. The smithy was focused on the giant forge in the center, with strange crane like structures built around it that seemed to be used to lower things into the fire.

Ryun looked around in awe at the intricate designs and patterns that adorned the simple building. The skreen had a talent for craftsmanship, and it was on full display in this forge despite its more organic appearance.

"This is truly impressive," Ryun said, admiring the sheer size of the forge, especially when noting the fact that it was probably a temporary one.

"Yes, it is," Grey Horde agreed, standing next to him.

"Will it suit your purpose?"

He glanced at Nayra who had agreed to help him with it, then nodded. "It will do," he said.

A skreen smith approached and bowed deeply to his queen, then spoke. "We've brought what you've asked for, my Queen."

Grey Horde gestured, and they were led to the center of the forge where a box filled with material sat on top of a table. The metals inside were made out of high quality, but it also contained pieces of the Dome that Grey Horde had defeated.

Ryun was already familiar with the bones of the Helshou, the Mountain God Dome Leader, he had used them to craft Zach's armor.

"Have you decided which of your smiths will watch?" He asked as he moved closer, using his perception to familiarize himself with the forge.

Grey Horde gestured to the three smiths that remained behind as the others left the forge. Ryun could tell that each of them were at the peak of their focuses.

"And the base?" He asked.

Grey Horde produced a ring from her storage and offered it to him.

Ryun took it and inspected it.

Ultimate Ring of Bolstering Allies

+1000 to Endurance

+2000 to Intelligence

Activate the ring to infuse your allies with the portion of your willpower, bolstering morale and increasing mental resistance.

"This will do nicely," Ryun said. "We can start."

Grey Horde tilted her head. "You don't need more time to prepare?"

Ryun shook his head. "No, just do as I have instructed," he said as he walked over to the forge and pulled out the black anvil that was part of Bright Star.

He had taught himself much, and most of his works had been experimental. Now, he knew what to do. With Bright Star in his hand, he started making a spiritual tool for Grey Horde.

Grey Horde watched the Cultivator work, not really understanding what was happening. She didn't know what it was that he had offered to make for her, but his contract meant that every word he spoke to her was the truth. She was... intrigued. And while she wasn't quite sure about this new deal she had made, it did feel better than what she had planned. She had to protect her people, and being offered another path to do so had allowed her to turn from her previous path.

The smithing process was one part familiar, one part alien. She could tell that the Undying Void was manipulating Essence in ways that she had never experienced before. Then, when he asked, she did as he had instructed and opened herself to the Plane of War. She could feel it pulse inside of her, and she knew all of its parts. She was a Sage of War, and she could feel all the other influences within the plane, each tugging in a different direction. The biggest of them was familiar to her, the Grand Spirit of War.

She ignored the spirit as it tried to get her attention, and focused on what was happening in the Real Realm. Somehow she felt the Cultivator reach toward her, and take the Essence of War, pull it into the item on the anvil. Then came a tiny pang of pain, more like an echo of it really. As if for a moment she was somehow diminished.

She could feel a lot of power from the other Cultivator, the Daughter of Dawn and Death, as well. Black Fire surrounded them, and projected into the hammer every time Ryun raised it to strike the item.

And then it slowly came to an end, and everything settled.

Ryun picked up the item which was now black and white, as if half of the bone had been charred completely. Then, he offered it to her.

Slowly, she picked up the item and looked at it as she sensed the chatter from her smiths in the background. Just allowing them to watch was certainly going to help them improve their own craft.

Spiritual Tool Burning Soul of War

Requirements: Mastery of War; Immortality; High Mental Resistance: High Mental Stats; High Willpower

Trait: Soulbound; Bodybound; Linked;

Stats:

+200 to base mental stats

+5,000 to Intelligence

Effects: The ring allows the user to infuse its allies with the sliver of the meaning of War, improving all War related powers and transferring a measure of the user's capability. Amount infused depends on the user and their connection with War.

When anyone affected by these effects dies, their death will burn through the space between the plane they are on and the plane of War, allowing a small amount of War Essence to pass through.

It was a vague description, but she knew just how powerful being able to touch an Aspect was. Most of her people couldn't do that, but with this she could allow them to do that. She would have to test it, but she suspected that the effects would be... significant. She didnt even know what to think about the death part yet.

"Now," Ryun started. "We should probably decide on what to do about the Grand Spirit of War."