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Mark sat down on the wrought iron chair across from Walaria as he put one of the Extended Protect spheres onto the table, to the side of the cookies and tea. The butler, Arvin, had already come and placed refreshments. The sun shone down through the canopy high overhead and the wind blew softly and cool across the low gardens, bringing with it the scent of roses and other flowers. It was a nice scent to go along with the tea, which was steaming and ready to be poured. Walaria already had a cup.

She looked like she had come from a minor party. Her white and blue dress was nice, but not too nice. Her bright red hair was done up with just the right amount of 'not too perfect'. It wasn't anything different from her normal looks. Her jewelry was a simple affair of diamonds and rubies, but it was highly enchanted, for sure. Everything she wore was enchanted in some way, including the very air.

The Witches' Welcome was strong around her, like she was a centerpiece that it rotated around, but Mark knew that was untrue. The real 'center' of the Witches' Welcome, according to some comments Addavein had dropped the other day, was Emperor Salvation, the Throne of Aluatha, and Empress Cataclysm. Domal'Takela itself was also the 'real center'. Walaria was just one of the many acting arms of the Welcome. Right now, that Witches' Welcome wasn't touching Mark. Arvin poured Mark a cup.

Walaria said, "I assume that it's something else besides one of your orbs that is preventing the Welcome from touching you."" It's a side effect of a ritual I have going on in my soul house. It's based on the goblin cleansing ritual we did." Walaria sipped her tea, thinking. Mark had no idea what she was thinking because her vector was so diffuse, because she had some sort of Castellan-like Power going on.

She still had the same amount of astral body as anyone else (though she obviously had a lot of boosts to her size) it was just that she was spread quite thin. Over all of Aluatha, actually. Still, Mark got glimpses of her vector and her thoughts here and there, when she was really concentrating on him, or stuff near him. She was facing a divide in the road. Mark spoke first, saying, "So a lot of things just happened to me, and I'm wondering if Aluatha, or you, are the cause."

Walaria seemed to be more comfortable being confronted directly, because she focused and said, "I never knowingly imparted unto you an eldritch threat. It would be personally disastrous for such a thing to happen to my apprentice, under my care, and especially through the materials I gave them. So no. Whatever you found was not from me. What did you find?" Mark was glad to hear her directly deny it.

There was no real knowing how some people would react to being directly accused of doing something bad, and Walaria was definitely an old hand at denying, denying, denying. But still! You had to ask. An hour ago, Mark had certainly never expected Addavein to be so flighty and worried, or so deeply concerned. So even if Walaria was lying, it was a comforting lie. Mark said, "The threat appears when I say the word. I will say the word now: Water People." Saying it with the space between really got the antimeme going.

The space beyond Mark and Walaria flickered with tendril dreams that reached after Mark, and then failed to touch him. The shadow faded away after several moments, but it was still there, in the background. Walaria looked to the side, eyes tracking the 'monster' slipping back into the shadows, right alongside Mark— The entity went to Arvin, and settled into him. Oh. … Uh. It didn't seem to cause him any distress?

But with both the Second Princess and Mark Careed looking at him, and hearing what they had been saying, that was giving him cause for concern. Walaria relieved that concern, saying, "I know this one, and it goes away when you stop thinking about them. It'll take about a month and then it will leave you, Arvin. Don't worry about it." Arvin stood tall and relieved, not really sure what he shouldn't be worried about, but he was not-worried nonetheless.

Mark was kinda surprised that the eldritch thing was that easy to throw off, that Walaria knew about it, and that Walaria knew Arvin's name. The last one shouldn't have surprised him, though; Walaria was good about knowing the people who worked under her. Walaria added, "You may leave us now." Arvin bowed quickly, then took his leave. Walaria was not alone with Mark because Sally was about 40 meters away, standing on the walkway leading into the Green House.

But Walaria acted like they were alone, saying, "I have a dilemma, Mark. 99% chance we're going to war with Okuana in 3 days. Chances are they'll launch the invasion early, when they know we're at the big party tomorrow. I have asked you if you wanted to be involved, and you have said yes, so I want you ready for it." But you are potentially more valuable to keep here, as a source of connection between people and adamantium and this new crafting methodology you have devised.

You are valuable, as you are, for the prosperity of all Aluatha. But you do not want this, and that has been taken into account." Before, the scales were clearly allowing you to make your own decisions, but now…" You being able to speak directly to System Prime and to answer even small, probably useless questions, is still more than we have ever had regarding the System, and the System s.

The fact that there is a System Prime and System Secondary, that the Dragon King truly did exist, and many other facts, are still new concepts for many of our oldest, most knowledgeable professors and teachers and other such people knowledgeable about such deep, important things. I have a horde of such people requesting to speak with you, to ask questions. Those questions could be asked at tomorrow's event, if you wish." But I don't know what you want right now."

Usually I am rather good at navigating these sorts of issues and propelling people like yourself to untold heights. But my estimation of 'untold heights' has broken with you, Mark. You passed those a while ago, all the way in the Battle For Memphi." And now we're here." So help me help you help Aluatha and the Two Worlds." What happens now?"

Mark said, "I want to know more about this threat that appears when you talk about a certain liquid language, and why I couldn't even remember that the language was basically 'super empathy' and statues to that effect. Like… I was reading the book again, and I didn't even realize there were all these parts about faces and statues and all that. I thought it was just feng shui." Mark asked, "And why shouldn't Arvin be worried? Addavein was freaked out." Mark suddenly thought of another question.

He asked, "And why did you seem to shut down every attempt I had to learn that language?" Walaria tackled the questions in no particular order, saying, "That language is not one I expected you to be able to learn because most people cannot learn it, because it was made that way when the formations on Vaka were broken in the Reveal. But I still tried.

Those who can learn it, who can read the words and not be shoved off by the antimeme inside the word itself, usually become part of an organization that is best kept secret. Hearthswell has their crusade against the eldritch, but so does Aluatha. We call them Containment. They are a division of the Sentinels. A rare few, like yourself, are both not-immune to it and yet you can still see past it, probably because you're so adamant about your pursuit of various things.

With whatever event you have happening in your soulhouse right now, do you think you would make you a good candidate for that sort of thing? For working with Containment? They're always looking for new people." Mark was glad to hear pretty much all of that. Aluatha had this shit on lockdown, or at least they had experience with the threat. But…

'Containment', eh? Mark supposed it took all sorts of secret societies to keep things working, and especially when it came to weird threats that went over (or right through, untouched, unknown) the heads of everyone else. Mark said, "No. I don't need yet another organization on my plate… Why do the People have this happening to them? It is 'against them' isn't it?"" It's technically a malformation of magic," Walaira said, "It is not 'against' anyone.

At the highest heights of Waterpeople, the language uses eldritch entities to make themselves invisible to monsters. They summoned, bound, and then imprisoned these eldritch beings in pillars. They're eldritch, but also sort of like demons, so if you imprison them correctly, if you make them like to be imprisoned, then they don't care about being imprisoned. However, the prison broke in the Reveal, and they were used to the prison, so even when they got out they still kept causing forgetfulness, when they could."

"… Oh wow. They imprisoned the eldritch? Not just demons?" Walaria shrugged.

"Who knows? I don't. Perhaps you do? Ask System Prime." Mark suddenly realized that Walaria was answering questions because Walaria wanted Mark to answer questions for her. Perhaps, if —well… when — he answered System Prime questions, then they'd move on to more important topics, like the incoming invasion, and places where Mark could extract certain Powers from certain monsters. Mark had only gained the ability to have a fourth Binding a few hours ago, and he already knew what he wanted, if he could get it.

Necromancy, the Arcane Power, or something better.

'Better' was preferred. He didn't know what Necromancy did, exactly, but he knew it allowed for the collecting of souls and then using those souls in certain ways. At the very least, if he had Necromancy he should be able to grab souls from people or animals, and then put those souls into 2 empty Cohort slots in his Status, allowing those people to resurrect infinitely, alongside himself. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Once Mark figured out how it worked he could probably discard Necromancy and use something else. Something all-the-time useful, like… Who knew! Reality Manipulation? Time Manipulation? That'd be neat. Probably too difficult to source, though. Mark asked Walaria, "What questions do you want answered?" Walaria instantly asked, "Where is White Cauldron?"" System Call, Help: Where is White Cauldron? Display answer for all present." Mark wasn't sure if that would work— But a blue box appeared.

Invalid Query Walaria, undeterred, nostrils flaring, eyes focused, calmly said, "Is it possible to induct others into System Prime?" Mark repeated the question. Invalid Query Walaria had been hoping that one would have worked. She went quiet, thinking. Mark asked, "System Call, Help: How do I get a Cohort, and what can I do with them?" Walaria's bright red eyes glanced at Mark, judging, wondering. Cohorts are people who have given you a copy of their book of life.

In order to attain a book of life, and if the person cannot give you one themselves, it is best to use an Ability like True Copy for the mind, soul, and body, Necromancy in any number of ways, Capture on a person's existence, or extreme personal magical knowledge in order to turn everything about a person into a fully realized item in your house. Books are usually the most accepted type of item. When made properly, such a book of life will be dormant when the recorded person is alive and out there.

When the person dies, their soul will not dissipate into the ether, and will instead return to you, in your house. Such a return could take a while, and it can be sped up with certain spells or rituals. There is always loss upon death and reintegration, no matter how quickly such reintegration happens. Such a loss usually results in the loss of short term memories. Sometimes deeper memories can be affected if the resurrection is not completed in a timely manner. Warning!

Everything about the Cohort System is fundamentally against nature, and is thus difficult to use. Perfect understanding of how and why it works is necessary for proper use. It is recommended that a person keep multiple books of life in multiple areas, if at all possible, and to clearly manufacture the order that they should be used in, so as to prevent half of a person resurrecting in two areas, for example.

Dying and being resurrected with an insufficient Book of Life on file somewhere can and has led to emotional and mental disasters. Mark's eyes went wide—" I want to send you on some suicide missions because I know you can survive them," Walaria said. Mark told her, "I want some monster with Necromancy, first, so that I can extract it from them. Or Capture, or True Copy. Something easier than Necromancy, actually." Walaria took a thin square of glass from her dress. It was a phone.

She tapped at it, and told the person on the other side, "Find me a monster with the Necromancy Skill, the Capture Skill, or the True Copy Skill. Any will work." A pause. Walaria looked to Mark and asked, "Would criminals count for you?"

"… I'm considering permanently depowering criminals and giving them something like Healthy Body in turn, if I can, but not right now. Maybe not ever. What I am actually prepared to do is any number of consensual arrangements with anyone who doesn't want the Power they have. But for now, it's monsters only." Walaria told the person, "Monsters only. Send me a list." She hung up the phone then set it on the table, saying, "I don't want you taking your friends on these suicide missions.

Expect Buckler and Lancer to go, instead." Mark took a breath, calming his rage, accepting that yeah, other assistance besides Sally or Isoko or Eliot would be best when going after truly dangerous soul–mangling monsters. None of them had a high Arcane Power Level… Except Isoko. She might be good for something like this. But for now, Buckler and Lancer were fine. Mark warned, "I will be having words with them over what they did to Sam and Lee at the settlement.""

Your words will fall on deaf ears, but do as you must." Walaria's phone shimmered. She picked it up, then read off, "True Copy not available. Capture is available… Ah. This one. There are some puppetmaster monsters located in the Wilds south of Aluatha, in the central Sototh region. Necromancy is any number of locations and difficulties." She looked at Mark, saying, "For the purposes of copying someone or something, Capture is likely the simplest option. Necromancy is more varied and takes years to learn.

Capture is grabbing a person in their entirety and then using them as a puppet, hence the term for the monster that uses that Skill, the puppetmasters." She gestured at the sphere of Extended Protect that Mark had put on the table.

"That will be necessary if you choose to go after the puppetmasters, but I also want one for personal use."" I made a few of them, so you can have this one." Walaria picked up the sphere. It glittered as she touched it, her long white fingernails tapping on the surface, turning the golden and silver ball into a portal that viewed a world of diamonds. It didn't look like a 3-dimensional object when it went full-active.

In that way, it kinda reminded Mark of the color of adamantium; how it was so black that curves and shapes appeared to be voids in space rather than actual surfaces. Walaria set it down, saying, "This one is worth more than its weight in materials." She said, "I want to speed up your training, skipping many of the languages on the shelf and going right to advanced soulwork and Binding lessons. We might not have time if we wait for normalcy, so expect lessons in wartime."

If you want to go after Capture, then I can send you through ITLKR to the puppetmasters, bring you back, and you can do an Understanding Party for Soulwork tonight. That should be enough to allow competency with that particular Skill." Walaria glanced at her phone, adding, "In 4 hours. 8 PM. We can have the Party then." She added, "Or, the Necromancy monsters are a half an hour flight, to the coast to the south. If you want a larger and much steeper learning curve, then choose Necromancy.

If you want ease of action and simple soulcapturing, then Capture is the better choice. Capture is, in fact, a specialized Necromantic spell." Mark said, "I've heard of Capture before, and unless I'm mistaken it's one of the Summoning-type Powers. How much different is it from Necromancy?""

To give an inadequate answer, Necromancy gets you the soul but you have to make the body and mind in order to use that soul, and the mind can metastasize into something unwelcome if the unification of everything isn't done properly. Most necromantic constructs are thus heavily neutered to prevent such an occurrence because every time a necromantic construct goes bad it always goes after its creator first."

Capture replicates everything from the Captured lifeprint, including biology and minds and all of the assorted memories, all in that single spell. With Capture, you'll have to give most of the capability of your astral soul over to the Captured monster in order to summon them, and the entire time they are summoned, but I don't think that would be an issue for your particular needs and you can simply Union back to full magical power as needed." Mark said, "Capture; that's my choice, and I'll go now, alone.""

For that choice, Buckler and Lancer or another archmage are needed. You cannot attack a puppetmaster without backup who has Arcane PLs in the high 90s, at least, and Isoko is not good enough. Even single archmages don't go after them, for they prey on strong monsters, specifically, and you need to take ITLK R to get there and get back in any decent amount of time. The Necromancer choice is about half an hour away by flight. Probably less, if you Alacrity it."" Are you pushing me toward Necromancer?

Because I need to be able to keep a copy of my friends' existences right now, if we're going to war. I don't need to spend days learning."" I am pushing you toward Necromancer because it is the better choice in the long run, and you should plan for the long run. Either way, I will set up an Understanding Party tonight."" I don't need complicated magic right now. I want Capture, and I want it now, and I'll take Addavein."" You'll leave all of your friends here, unprotected?" Walaria asked, rhetorically.

"No, Mark. You won't do that." Mark narrowed his eyes fractionally… Fuck. She was right. Walaria looked at him, waiting for him to make the better choice, to accept her guardrails.

"… I'll go with Buckler and Lancer through ITLKR to the Amazon— Central Sototh," Mark corrected." About half of the people down there call it D'Amazon," Walaria said, offhandedly. Then she made a plan, saying, "I'll send you first, and them in 10 minutes. I highly suggest you use those 10 minutes to create a beachhead through any methods you desire. It will be good practice for you, for the coming war." And then Walaria stood, saying, "I hope to send you ahead of many different other forces when the time comes."

Quark flickered in Mark's vision and a countdown appeared to the side, as Quark said only to Mark, "I have been granted access to Aluatha Central Command, Rapid Response. We are codename Blackvein." Mark stood as well, about to ask questions— Walaria gestured to the shining Extended Protect orb, saying, "You can use that, and you should. Pull in your astral body to about a meter. We can still teleport you with your personal defenses up, and you will need to keep them up the whole time.

ACCRR has a great deal more strength behind it than ITLKR, but it's not the System itself." Mark picked up the Extended Protect and put it on, and all the world felt a little more clear. The Witches' Welcome fell away just a bit more, and the lurking eldritch antimeme faded further into the distance. Sally was running Mark's way, yelling at him from across the garden, "Don't you fucking go somewhere without me!"" Just picking up a Power! I'll be right back!"

Mark called out to her, and then he pulled everything in, crushing his Union down to his personal space, softly saying, "Ready, Quark."" MARK!" Sally yelled. Walaria looked on. And then the world blipped.