Chương 6: 5. Core Activation

Several green liverymen, a gardener woman, and a pair of Calli's maids ran to help Tavian lift the Core from the crate. Straw fell away as they lifted it and planted it on the marble floor. The obelisk pulsed with an energetic light, like it was excited, anticipating what came next.

"Father!" Tavian exclaimed.

"Come, activate this Core! Lead us to victory!" A raw cheer went up from the gathered survivors, loyal servants of House Veros from every Class. King Veros breathed heavily. He used his sword as a cane, steadying himself. The shock of losing his Kingdom Core and his [Ruler] buffs had nearly undone him. But, like a true Verosian, he had fought through, slaying his enemies. Tavian noted with approval no fewer than four dead Anarvian men at the king's feet.

Uncle Erond, the King's brother and Marshal of the armed forces, stepped up and grabbed the King's arm, steadying him.

"Thank you, my son. You have served me well," the king said to Tavian.

"But we cannot activate it here." Tavian looked to Calli. She wiped a loose strand of hair from her face, accidentally leaving a streak of blood on her forehead. She looked pale.

"It should work here," she said.

"It can anchor to the earth through this floor."

"No," the king said.

"I mean we can't stay here. Tar Corinath is fallen. The enemy has defeated us. Our allies have abandoned us. We must flee to the southern stronghold. Anchor that Core here, and it falls into their hands."

"Respectfully, my lord," Tavian said.

"The enemy plan has failed. Lord Anarvia is a fool. He—""Never insult the intelligence of your opponent," the king snapped at his son.

"Father, they tried to kill us. They tried to kill each of us tonight, and here we stand, alive and defiant. House Anarvia has died tonight, not House Veros." He pointed to Anax's body.

"Anax is dead. Ilara is dead in my chambers, poisoned by the very knife she brought to kill me. The men sent for Calli lie dead in pools of their own blood.

"And here you stand before us. They destroyed our Core, but we have another, stronger, ready to take its place. Father, we are winning." The king clutched his side.

"The Houses have abandoned us. They will not rally," he grunted, then drew in a ragged breath.

"We must show them we still fight. From the southern stronghold we can consolidate our power. Put that Core back in the box. Come," he said, taking a step forward.

"We must go before they return." Tavian balled his fists. Calli cried out, and rushed to the King's side. Blood dropped from between his fingers, splattering on the ground.

"Father!" she exclaimed.

"I thought… when he stabbed… I didn't think he hit…" the king looked at the blood on his hand with surprise. Then he shook it off, hardening his face.

"I'll be fine," he said, leaning more heavily on Erond.

"We have to go."

"Who stabbed you? What did they use?" Tavian sprang up onto the dais, searching among the bodies and the blood.

"It was one of the pages," Erond said.

"He wore green. When the explosions started happening and our attention was pulled to the doors, he leapt up on the stand and tried to stab the king."

"What did he use?" Tavian asked again. Then he saw it, lying beneath the throne. A silver dagger, a perfect match to the one Ilara had tried to kill him with. Tavian stooped and recovered the blade, holding it up for all to see. Beneath droplets of red blood, the blade shone with the oily sheen of a toxin.

"It's poisoned. Father, you've been poisoned!" A grave silence settled over the throne room, and all eyes were on the king. He swayed, and Erond helped him to sit down in front of the Core.

"Activate the Core, father," Calli urged.

"Please. It will strengthen you!"

"I feel it, now," the king said.

"It burns in my veins. I am dying."

"Constitution buffs," Calli said.

"You'll get the [Ruler] strength and constitution. It will help you. Please, activate the Core." King Veros struggled to his feet and crossed to the Core. He placed his hands on the silvery metal. An inaudible hum rolled through the room, the Core begging to be activated. The king took a deep breath. He dropped his hands to his side.

"I am a dying man," he said.

"I want the strength this Core will give me, but I will not condemn the rest of you to die with me. We will be overrun here. Take the Core to the southern stronghold. Our friends will rally to the banner when they know that you live." He locked eyes with Tavian.

"Kill Lord Anarvia." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Blood trickled from his wound onto the floor.

"Please, father," Tavian pleaded.

"All is not lost. We can rally our soldiers and hold the palace. You can lead us to victory and vengeance against Anarvia, and all the Houses that have failed to come to our aid."

"Silence!" the king snapped.

"You aren't [Ruler] yet, son!" Tavian shut his mouth. The king wheezed. Erond stabilized him. Veros sank to the ground.

"I am dying," he said.

"I issue one last decree. Not as a [Ruler]. As your king." He inhaled, a weak, shuddering breath.

"Take this Core to the southern stronghold, Tavian. Lead our people there. Reestablish the House in exile. This is my command." The king sank down to the ground. Calli, Braun, Erond, and Tavian gathered around the man, kneeling. He clasped Calli's hand and smiled.

"The poison burns," the king whispered.

"All is well, father," Calli said, wiping a tear from her eye with her free hand.

"We're here with you." King Veros died. In the distance, the sounds of fighting could be heard. The battle for Tar Corinath was not over.

"To the tunnels, then," Erond said, but his tone was more question than command. He looked at the Core, then looked to Tavian. Everyone was looking to Tavian. Tavian looked at his family. At Calli, Braun, Erond. He looked at the men and women surrounding him, wearing their bloodspattered uniforms. Serving boys. Maids. Gardeners, cooks, and laborers. Men-at-arms, and the remnants of the king's guard.

He looked at the bodies lying on the ground; not the traitorous purple clad bodies of the Anarvians, but at the green. The fallen heroes who had given their lives for House Veros this night. Shouts from the nearby corridor alerted them of ongoing fighting. These loyal servants would cover the flight of the royal family, allowing them to escape to the southern stronghold. Those who didn't die or escape would be executed. The Houses would recognize Lord Anarvia as king. Tavian pursed his lips.

He placed a hand on the shoulder of his dead father and closed his eyes, offering his respect to the fallen monarch. The king was wrong. House Veros was still strong. They could still stand, fight, and win.

"We're not going to the southern stronghold," Tavian said, crossing to the Core, preparing to activate it.

"We'll make our stand here."

"My lord," Erond said, stepping between Tavian and the Core.

"Not here. They're going to come when we activate it. If you're not going to flee, at least be sensible." Tavian nearly pushed his uncle out of the way, before he heard what the man had said.

"What?"

"The courtyard," Erond said.

"It's far more defensible than the throne room." A few minutes later they carried the Conqueror's Core into the Core Courtyard. Nothing moved in the darkness; the enemy's mages had all been slain or fled. The first shades of blue were beginning to appear in the east. A chill breeze carried the scent of fire and death. The courtyard was a large hexagon, with sides thirty meters in length. Each side had a sturdy gate in the middle of it. Five of these gates opened into various parts of the inner keep.

The North Gate—sometimes called the Life Gate—was the largest. It passed through a wall five meters thick, leading into the large courtyard between the inner wall and the keep. Carefully and quietly, the gates to the courtyard were barricaded. The five small gates leading to the keep were closed and barred, all except the Air Gate, which led toward the throne room. This had been damaged, and would only partially close.

The Life Gate had been damaged as well, the solid wood gates at both ends blown to smithereens by magical attacks. Tavian placed a defensive force to protect from attacks in that direction. Around fifty people gathered at the center of the courtyard. Four men carried the crate of the Kingdom Core to the crater where the old Core had once stood. As they passed the chunks of the old Core, a singing, musical resonance filled the air, as though the Conqueror's Core was singing a farewell to a fallen comrade.

Tavian glanced at Calli.

"Do Cores normally do that?" he asked.

"No," she said. Braun and several soldiers helped Tavian lift the Core from the crate. They stood it up in the center of the courtyard. It stood a little over two and a half meters tall, and it was heavy. A rush of relief flooded the people in the courtyard as they gazed on the obelisk. It wasn't hard to believe that this relic could save them all. Gravel crunched beneath Tavian's feet as he approached it. A large hole had opened up on his right sock. Calli stood beside the Core.

"Do I just?" Tavian raised his hands and reached out.

"Without an interface…" He felt an encouraging feeling from the Core. It… wanted this. Calli nodded.

"It will respond to your intention." Tavian pressed his palms flat against the intricate workmanship of the obelisk. ⬣ New Core Detected: Legendary Conqueror's Core ⬣ ⬣ Activate Core? ⬣ His own sense of trepidation was overwhelmed by a flood of enthusiasm. He marveled at the workmanship, his vision flooded with the lights and colors emitted by the elemental essences contained within.

"Tavian," Calli whispered.

"Uh, activate," he said, and willed the Core to tap into the mana channels of the planet. The Core surged. Light exploded outwards, knocking Calli to the ground. A paroxysm gripped Tavian, a rush of emotion, as waves of each of the six elements rippled outwards; water, earth, stone, fire, air, and finally, life. Life rushed into and around Tavian like a torrent. He was invigorated, refreshed, and emboldened.

A euphoric rush of energy seized him, as a grid of hexagons tiled a plane beneath his feet, stretching out to infinity. He floated above it, rising up into the air slowly. He was falling away from the glowing plane, and it began warping, wrapping into a sphere. The entire planet was laid out beneath him for a brief moment; his mind expanding, touching the consciousness of every living thing. The world hexgrid glowed. A man stood on top of the planet, bearing a shield and sword.

He battled a creature of darkness and shifting tentacles. The man struck with his blade, severing a limb as it tried to embrace the planet. The man turned and looked at Tavian. His eyes pierced deep into Tavian's soul. Tavian recognized the man's face; he'd seen it etched in the stained glass of the Temple. Ishtoran. Then, like ink spilled from a bottle, darkness spread over the world, dissolving the glowing network of hexagonal tiles. Tavian gasped, and his body hit the ground.

He'd fallen over, along with everyone else that had been near the Core. The courtyard was a mess. The surges of power from the Core had thrown out elements—puddles of water, clumps of earth, elemental stone were strewn about. Some of the shrubs and grasses had grown 6 fold, and fires burned in the limbs of others. A glowing hexagon marked the ground surrounding the new Kingdom Core; about twenty meters to a side. A system notification appeared in Tavian's vision.

⬣ New Class Created: [Ruler] ⬣ Tavian's body surged with strength. The new Class empowered him. He sat up and felt his arm. The gash had healed. ⬣ New Kingdom Integrated. Do you want to name your Kingdom? ⬣"Yes," Tavian breathed, picking himself up and dusting soil from his sleeves.

"Yes I do." He turned to the gathered men and women, his face lit by the glow of the Conqueror's Core.

"Tar Corinath stands!"