Chapter: 641 – Weeks Since

Tala regarded Eskau Meallain with an impassive face as the elf looked around in a mix of curiosity and hesitancy as she panned her gaze across the city of Marliweather.

The woman was firmly within Tala’s aura of control and authority, her very existence completely bracketed by the web of reality iron chains.

At the moment, Tala had more control and authority over Eskau Meallain on the superficial of Zeme than she’d had over the woman within Kit before Tala’s advancement.

Even the magic within her area of influence was responding to her desires, slowly moving inward toward her while preemptively resisting any potential attempt from the Eskau to draw in more than her allotted amount.

The Prime Defender walked nearby, apparently a relative of Master Hori as evidenced by his appearance, his strong leaning toward fire magics, and the thick reality cords that linked the men together, somehow more easily seen and sussed out, now that Tala had Reforged.

The man was… obviously uncomfortable with the current situation, though he was hiding it well enough from those without soulsight.

On the positive side, his presence had allowed for Tala to test something. When they’d approached one another, his reality node had initially rejected her authority and aura, causing her reality iron net to be pushed slightly away on the fourth dimensional axis as he maintained mastery over himself.

She was able to tell that it was simply his Paragon level soul, magic, and authority which allowed such. She felt that she might have been able to force control over him regardless, but felt no need. Even if she hadn’t maintained authority over everything around him that wasn’t his—such as his body, clothes, and the like—the fact that he’d bowed to her, and acknowledged her had caused a noticeable shift.

The webbing had moved inward just slightly, effectively giving her more control over him and his, without granting total authority.

Eskau Meallain had already given over full control, and so while the elf might have been better able to resist Tala out here than within Ironhold, she’d long since given up any pretense of resisting.

-So, she could likely have thrown off her imprisonment if she’d still had any thought about doing so?-

Or if she noticed a chance, yeah.

-But not anymore?-

That’s the sense I get. If we free her, we’d have to reestablish the hold over her, but until then? Unshakable.

-Fascinating. That contains a lot of interesting implications toward the various City Stone holders and Archon Council leaders.-

Tala hesitated at that before slowly nodding. Indeed.

Eskau Meallain had been playing nice with the Paragon, offering him respect without ever actually bowing to his authority despite literally bowing. It seemed that she was at least a bit aware of authority then—at least a bit more than she’d previously indicated—and she was holding back true subservience, despite the niceties.

As to why they were out here? Tala had thought it would be both a kindness given the fact that the woman had rarely left Ironhold in the last years and a demonstration of her own new advancement and how much it had shifted things.

This was necessary, of course, because of the other, more overt result of Tala’s advancement. She was being asked to return to the Arcane lands, to reestablish her own place within the House of Blood and bring the other Major Houses to heel in regard to the coming Black Legion.

Importantly, her position in the House of Blood wasn’t outwardly in question—it was one of the foundations of the current deal between that House and the gated human cities after all—but it was on shaky ground within the House itself. Eskau Meallain had been sure to hammer that point home.

She would have some things to do once she arrived in the arcane cities, and she was going. She might once have been frustrated that she’d effectively in enemy territory, especially because she now had the option of having more children, but funnily enough? The very fact that she could have children now—and she was unequivocally sure that she could—she no longer felt the same pressure, the same rush and need to do it right then.

She could wait until things calmed a bit.

As to the arcane lands? She’d be bringing Rane, Terry, Lea, and all of Ironhold. There was apparently precedence for a Pillar or Eskau having their own elite guards, so the Talons wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary. Even the hold was fine, she’d had Kit back when she’d been there the first time, after all, and they’d gone to great expense to improve and enlarge it then.

On the humorous side, the last week—since Tala’s Reforging—had been overwhelmingly marked by the Talons struggling to learn how to operate with their new power density.

Apparently, maintaining magical density became almost exponentially harder the more that was held, and the manifold increase to their physical and mental augmentations had been… jarring.

Tala could limit the amount available to them with relative ease—and that was the plan for any new Talons they began training in the future—but for now? For the existing Talons? They were judged to be capable of the transition, Eskau Meallain being incredibly clear that she thought coddling those she’d been working with for so long wouldn’t be acceptable.

Tala did enjoy the idea of having Revered level footsoldiers to call upon in the arcane cities, even if only for shorter missions. Moreover, with her enhanced control over her expanded space, she had found herself able to grant lesser authority to the Talons and others at her will.

What that meant in practical terms was that those she gave access to were able to come in and out of Ironhold at their will, exiting onto the superficial near the current anchor for that space, or beside Tala if there was no other anchor at the moment.

Tala did make sure to keep that granted authority on a short leash as she had no desire to have other people moving things around within her holds, nor popping out beside her at unpredictable intervals.

Overall, she was still getting used to her new state as a Reforged. Nothing felt ‘off’ or awkward—the whole process precluded that outcome afterall—it was more that it felt new. Like suddenly having a pair of shoes that fit so perfectly that she forgot she was wearing them. That might result in her walking into places where shoes weren’t allowed without thought.

Her every action was instinctive and felt right on a level that was hard to convey, but because of that, she was forgetting that she was quite a bit stronger than she had been.

Thankfully, the only casualties so far had been a few utensils and other minor items that were easily replaced.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Still, this walk through the city was as much a benefit to her as to Eskau Meallain.

She was having to consciously ensure that the road maintained its shape and integrity after she passed, as she was naturally reshaping the world around her—even if only marginally—toward her benefit. Her aura and authority made it all but effortless.

The paved roadway would texture under foot to give better purchase, then lift slightly as she pushed off to give her greater power and distance in her steps.

It was a small thing to ensure that the thoroughfare returned to how it had been afterward even if it required conscious thought, and it was important.

There was enough evidence of her passage without her allowing negative things to remain.

Plants grew around her, not new ones, and not to the extent that most mundanes would notice, but Tala sensed new life surging through those that entered her sway. The occasional upset animal was calmed, and everywhere nearby—even a bit beyond the range of her reality iron webbing—reality threads pulled tighter, thickening and seeming to grow more firm.

Tala didn’t know exactly how that would affect things, but in broad strokes, it would make people feel more strongly for one another without creating new feelings. It would—essentially—be a reaffirming of relationships that already existed.

But she didn’t just strengthen those ties between people.

She suspected that people were becoming more attached to their homes, their jobs, their cities, their pets. She had no idea if it was a net good or ill, but it was strengthening Reality as she moved about, and given that such would be a net good for the city, she decided to allow the effect to continue.

The Paragon with them was observing everything with rapt attention, but after nearly ten minutes, he finally broke the self-imposed silence. “Mistress Tala, if I may ask, where are you going?”