The Way Ahead

Chapter 80b: Meet and Great

Chapter 80b: Meet and Great

Edwin struggled against the command, attempting to push through it. He had managed to beat the dwarven compulsion, what made this different?

The Skill pushed, and Edwin pushed back.

I will not tell everyone what my story is. That is nothing but asking for trouble and will swiftly torpedo any remaining hopes I have of remaining free and at least marginally anonymous. I will not. Give. Way. I can do this.

Edwin grit his teeth, opening his eyes and staring down the governor, I dont owe you answers, he ground out.

The avior laughed, Petty boy. You owe me everything. This is my land, you are a guest here, and you will answer my question.

The intensity of the Skill was increasing, and there seemed to be an additional effect being mixed in there, but Edwin just stared it down. He felt the overwhelming urge to speak, tell his past, but he resisted it. It was just like social pressure, or like his emotions. As he stood his ground, it slowly became slightly easier and easier to resist, and he clamped his mouth closed before he could say anything he would regret. It didnt matter, and so it could be ignored.

His rational mind refused. His emotional mind refused, albeit under protest. His conscious mind cooperated, and refused as well.

No.

No.

He would not give up, he would not give way. His past was his business alone. He had spent the last year growing stronger, so hed never be in this position again. He would not be pushed around by the petty tyrants of the System. A bit of anger snuck out of its box and into his glare, and he stood in silent defiance of the mental force crashing into him.

He didnt need to beat it, no more than a pebble needed to beat the ocean. He just needed to withstand the force, to not get lost in it or let it overwhelm him, and withstanding it became easier with every passing moment. His emotions ran free, helping him beat back the foreign invaders into his mind.

He was the only one to wreck his mind with unwarranted social pressure, darn it!

It must have looked rather amusing to the bystanders. The two of them just stood (or sat, in the governors case) in silence, staring at each other.

Neither would give up.

Neither would give in.

Anger burned back the pressure to comply. His emotional control shoved the desire to be nice in a box. The box was tossed out the back. He wasnt winning. He was withstanding. And he could keep withstanding for as

Speak.

Then it tripled down. A new compulsion started. It joined the previous ones. forcing him to say something. Anything.

Anything? He could work with that. A defiant, malicious grin crept across his face, No.

The pressure was gone. The governor wasnt amused. She glared imperiously. I command you, adventurer, to speak. Answer my question. Why is Enforcer Lisana so enamored with you, why does the Emperor find you so interesting? Speak now, and answer my question.

A pebble might not break under the endless waves of the ocean, but it could be swept away by the current, and as the governor unleashed a stronger compulsion, Edwin felt his concentration broken in an instant, snapped in half as a headache budded and flowered, flooding his mind with pain and scattering what meager defenses he had marshaled and restraining all of his emotions. He was, in a sense, a prisoner in his own head.

Wow, was it bad at imprisoning Edwin in his own head. Seriously, he did way worse than this to himself every time he had a depressive episode. The SKill did nothing to keep Edwin from feeling his emotions, just acting on them.

Huh.

Actually, this was actually kind of interesting. He mildly wondered if he could benefit from this sort of thing in his daily life. He didnt actually care about the emotions themselves after all, just how they made him act. But emotional suppression in this way had its own suite of problems, many of which were health-related...

In any case, if it was a Skill meant to keep Edwin calm and not, oh, plotting rebellion or whatever, it might work superficially, but there was no way this could function as a long-term solution. Now that was a thought. Was there a version of this Skill that would work long-term?

Oh hey, getting distracted on tangents let him procrastinate speaking. Not for very long, perhaps, but it had been, oh, thirty seconds or so? Long enough to annoy the governor, at least.

Okay, he still had a moment What would he actually say? The question was why Tara and her superiors were so interested in him, and while he obviously couldnt tell the full story behind the latter, he could twist things so he wouldnt have to out himself. In that case, he had a perfect plan formulated

He wanted to spit the words out to show his displeasure, but instead he found himself calmly nodding and speaking, Certainly. I come from a far-off land, which Tara has informed me I ought to refer to as Fierisal. While there, I-

You come from Fierisal? a new voice cut in, and Edwin spotted a scribe of some sort scribbling on a parchment off to the side, which he somehow hadnt noticed before. He blinked and briefly turned on Skillful Assessment, noticing some kind of Skill cocoon around the scribe that kept trying to divert his attention away. Curious. As he looked past it, he was able to get the vague impression of black-tipped fingers, as though stained with ink.

That is what Tara told me when I informed her of my past. I have not returned so I cannot confirm that it is indeed my homeland, though I know not where else on Joriah I would have come from if not there. All technically true. Taras cover story may not have been perfect, but he could use it in this situation just fine. I was something akin to an alchemist-in-training, but found myself inexplicably teleported to the depths of the Verdant, waking up in the middle of the wilderness without so much as a single Skill on my Status.

That declaration brought around a round of murmurs and surprise from the watchers, particularly from the governor, You lost your Skills? she asked, incredulously.

I dont know what happened. Err Governor Shashfalara. Edwin may have been literally forced to be polite, but it didnt compel him to use perfect address. He needed to remember that sort of thing on his own.

When one such as this comes to my attention, do not threaten them for spurious claims.

The governor stayed frozen in terror, though the overwhelming weight of fear began to subside in Edwins mind, letting him focus on something other than the living god who stood in front of him. He took the opportunity to sneak an Identify in on the newcomer, trying to confirm to his mind that what he saw was real.

The High Sovereign of the Guiding Winds Which Span the World

Yep, that was real alright. Though... was it? He suddenly realized how drastically their surroundings had shifted in the past thirty seconds. No more was he in the garrisons throne room, but instead he was in a sort of featureless, gray expanse that reminded Edwin, and felt to his Ritual Intuition, vaguely like a raincloud. How did he get here? He didnt feel a thing!

Wha-what are you doing here? the governor stuttered, Why have you brought me? You cant do this to me, even you have laws to follow!`` She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself as much as the newcomer, but her voice fell flat in the endless expanse, reaching no ears save the three of them, alone in this strange half-world.

Edwin got a distinct sense of disappointment or disapproval from the avior, the slightest shift in body posture conveying his meaning perfectly.

Th-the boy disrespected me and your Enforcer alike! He must be punished! Those are the laws! We-we have laws!

Those are the laws of your citizens, of which the boy is not one. You know this, yet you decide to ignore it. Why?

He-hes a nobody! If every random adventurer was exempt from the laws used to govern my people, we would fall into complete anarchy!

Indeed. You are aware of my policy for those who would interrupt the proper order.

Look at him! Hes- hes an outlaw! A thug and a rejector of your majesty! Is he not out of order? I was merely doing your will!

He shook his head sadly, And what, pray tell, are the young mans crimes? He was not born to the Empire, was missing our guidance. That he now seeks it is laudable, is it not?

He disrespected me! And your enforcer!

Oh, did he now? How did he insult her? Did he accuse her of attempting to spread unrest across the land? Frame her as an ally of outlaws?

Even Edwin could see her shift nervously under that line of questioning, Well well, no. He disrespects her station and her nobility! Enforcer Tseyar would have thrown him by his ear for such actions!

Enforcer Tseyar was welcome to uphold his own code of address. As are you.

So you agree! The boy glides in, outright ignores me, fails to address me properly, and refuses multiple commands of mine! By my capacity as governor, it is well within my rights to punish him as I see fit!

Edwin frowned at the audacity of that claim. Sure, hed not really known the proper methods of speaking to a ruler, but hed also been yanked from the middle of his dinner and-

Let us see what he has to say for himself, shall we?

Edwin blanched at the suggestion, his thoughts scattered to the far winds at the interruption. He tried to marshal up the proper train of thought, tripping over his own tongue under the weight of presence still permeating every inch of space, M-my apologies, G- Governor Shashfalara. Speaking felt like trying to do cartwheels underwater under 5 Gs. Slow, clunky, and he was barely able to manage to lift his tongue enough to say anything, let alone pronounce the tongue-twister of a name the governor had. I was n-never informed of the proper forms.

As he spoke, it became easier for him to speak, though it also felt like some of the pressure was lifted in time.

You see? Even now, he refuses to pronounce my ruling name correctly!

This does not seem unto me as though he is being disrespectful, does it truly to you?

He- he still refused to answer my questions!

Did he, now?

Yes! I had to Command him!

And what was this matter of grave import? Whether he was a spy? Whether he had committed a murder, or engaged in banditry? His allegiance to the Empire? Or was it a personal matter, in which privacy could be reasonably expected?

Well well. It was

Enough. Ive heard enough from you for the time being. Begone now, you have taken up far too much of my time already.

With a wave of his wing, he dismissed the protesting governor, and she vanished into a whisp of cloud, dissipating from this realm. With her gone, the pressure subsided until it was only just barely present. Edwin could still feel it, though it no longer restricted his ability to think, speak, or move- the latter of which he hadnt even realized was missing until it was suddenly restored, and he dropped into a bow. It wasnt entirely voluntary, even, so much as his legs refusing to cooperate any longer as the avior turned to face him.

Theres no need for that, he informed, and Edwin found himself on his feet once again, staring into the sky-blue eyes of a predator.

Hello, Edwin, Emperor Xares greeted him, the emperors voice calm and measured despite the sheer weight behind every syllable. As he spoke, though, it began to subside from the voice of a god into one of mortals. It is good to meet you in person at long last. Lets talk, shall we?