The Blood-Stained Blade Ch. 102-103

Ch. 102 - Lonely is the Throne

Feeling alone and vulnerable, the first thing that the Ebon Blade did was search the room for its wielder. She wouldn’t have abandoned it. The weapon was sure of that, yet she was nowhere to be found. Even if Evelyn had given into her rising bloodlust and gone on a killing spree, she would have taken it with her, it whispered to itself, confused by the development. 

Confusion was normal enough. After everything it had just been bombarded by the weapon was surprised that it could see straight. A moment of panic about where one’s wielder had gotten to tended to clarify things. 

Still, she was nowhere to be found. There was no one in the room besides the corpse of the juggernaut, and though parts of his unholy corpse still twitched, he was utterly, thoroughly dead. More interesting than the cleaved corpse, though, was its blood. The black blood pool, in defiance of all gravity, was shrinking and trickling slowly up the dias, where the base of the throne drank it in, in the same way that it did with its Path of Blood power. 

It was only when the blade had finished studying that corpse and noticed a new soul in its soul gem, though, that it finally found Evelyn’s body. It had been harder to spot than the first because it had been reduced to ashes that had blown around the base of the throne by the same breeze that ruffled the curtains through the shattered window. 

As soon as it figured that out, it knew what had happened. It recalled that terrible energy surging through it as it penetrated the throne; after that, the only missing piece was why she’d been reduced to ashes instead of a charred corpse. 

No, not the only missing piece, it told itself as it looked around the room. Even without using full-blown Aethersight, it could see that there was much about this room and, indeed, itself, that it did not understand. Its wielder had been reduced to ash, but even as it tried to mourn her, all of the other details overwhelmed it. It had changed, and so had the throne. 

Somehow, in that clash, Baraga and Princess Roselli had finally become one after centuries of separate torments. The blade could feel them, even now, deep inside of it. Their presence might have mended a tiny crack in its own broken soul, but in doing so, their reunion had bound it inevitably to this throne and, through it, to the world outside. 

As the blade came to understand that, the shapes and patterns hidden in the floor tiles and the wall mosaics began to solidify in right glowing lines of power. It didn’t understand any of them, but it knew what they were. This throne was merely the tip of the iceberg. It was the interface that connected it to the magical machinery that was this fortress. Through it, the blade could feel not just Altbearstein or Severin. To some degree, it could feel all of the Inner Kingdoms. 

It supposed that some would have rejoiced in this newfound power, but it vaguely resented it. Kings were supposed to be able to look at the whole field of battle; it was true it would not mind being wielded by a king, but a sword’s role was on the battlefield, not looking at the maps of where battles might later occur. 

Still, it did not look away for lack of anything better to do. It studied the region and four great kingdoms ringed in by mountains on three sides. It knew little of their history beyond that they’d be conquered and forcibly unified by King Paralon sometime after Baraga’s demise. 

Perhaps when the news of this slaughter gets out, they’ll break up, the blade thought, hopefully. As it gazed at the rich lands, it could see armies staged like pawns on a game board and wondered how they might be maneuvered to cause the bloodiest outcome. 

It was an interesting idea, and it could feel a connection to them that was strong enough that it felt like it might be able to force the issue if it tried, but for now, the weapon set it aside. There were simply too many other things to explore. 

It felt connected to the entire kingdom, more or less. There were a few bright lights out there that it could touch more readily than the others, but none of those connections was as powerful as Altbarstein itself. It was the castle, and as if in answer to that, it had but to look at the gates, and they started to swing shut. Those that saw them close were confused, but they became downright afraid when the bar moved into place to seal them, and the portcullis started to drop. After that, everyone that could fled through the postern gate, and the weapon didn’t even stop try to stop them because it was too busy trying to understand the limits of its current power. It might not control every last person who hadn’t fled them, but the building itself did easily enough. 

I wonder if the throne has powers like my own. The blade wondered as it inspected all the traceries of light that traversed through the keep before meeting the great golden chair like the roots of a vast and glowing tree. 

As it turned out, the Ebon Blade had but to ask the question and a menu appeared. It was different from its own interface, of course, but entirely understandable. It dealt with powers and statuses more than upgrades, though. In fact, the blade couldn’t see anything that looked like a direct upgrade for it. 

The Inner Kingdoms:

Bloodline: Severed
Throne: Usurped (79% integrity)
Guardians: Juggernaut (slain), Golden Knights (6/9 remaining)
Altbarstein: Damaged (99% intact)
Kingdom: Tumult (24% fear, 82% loyalty, 11% rebellion, 4% starving) 

Ongoing Problems: Capital (sacked, panic spreading), Cities razed (2), Armies damaged or eliminated (1), Famines (14), plagues (9), corrupt nobles (74), bandit/rebel camps (19), goblin infestations (33), hardship (114).

Life Forces: 81,934,569/100,000,000

Minor Boon: 50,000 Life Force - solve a minor local problem
Create Guardian: 100,000 Life Force
Major Boon: 500,000 Life Force - solve a major local problem or a minor regional problem.
Miracle: 1,000,000 - solve a major regional problem or call upon the Gods to aid what lies beyond the kingdom’s magic.
Expand Kingdom: 10,000,000 Life Force - this ability can only be used after a territory is actually conquered by means of warfare or subterfuge.
Ascend to Godhood: 100,000,000 Life Force

Miracle is probably how it chained the Juggernaut and tried to chain me, the blade thought to itself as it looked at the foreign system. If it had such powers, though, why not use them the minute I entered the kingdom?

The blade had no answers for that. It might have been a desire to save energy, or it might not have been possible. Both the King and whatever malevolent soul that powered his throne were gone now, though, and neither of them could give it answers. 

The blade selected Create Guardian first, for obvious reasons, then watched as the thing tried to crawl out of the throne’s golden shape like it was giving birth. It was an ugly process, and the Ebon Blade did not much like the idea of creating life instead of ending it, but there was no one else to wield it right now, and it wanted to be free of this throne.

That process took time, so once that was done, the blade looked at the other options. First, it considered using a miracle to try to bring one of its previous wielders back to life, but it rejected that idea immediately.

-10,000 Life Force.

Blades do not create life, it reminded itself. Only death. 

Next, it tried some of the other options. It started small, reaching out to one of the goblin infestations that appeared as a foul stain on the map of the kingdom. Not sure what to do, the blade willed it to be purged, and almost immediately saw a message appear as the stain began to fade. The power didn’t show it, the goblins dying, exactly. Instead, it felt the energy dissipate through the region. It stirred within the men and women of the area to action, and it knew they would handle it as soon as possible. 

-5,000 Life Force.

That’s it? The blade wondered, almost missing that voice from before that might have been able to explain something to it. Both times, it felt the massive drain of power, but it hadn’t come from its own reserves. It had come from somewhere else. 

It wouldn’t have helped the blade, though, even if it was still there. It didn’t seem interested in helping anyone at all. The number of problems raging through the kingdom confirmed that. The blade wasn’t particularly interested in helping it either, of course, but the King and his throne certainly should have before it arrived. They were sitting on nearly bottomless reserves. They should have used them to make this a paradise, but instead, they saved all of it as greedily as a dwarven merchant, doing everything they could to approach godhood. 

The blade didn’t care about godhood or the kingdom. It cared about finding a new wielder, and as soon as the golden knight finished materializing out of the throne, it switched its focus to the thing, using it as easily as it might have used one of its wielder’s in the past. 

The blade immediately tried to use the thing to pull itself free, but as soon as it did, the knight fell to pieces, and the blade fell back onto the throne. It recognized the problem immediately, even before the knight started to recover and put itself back together. It was only connected to the throne by contact. As soon as it lost that contact, it lost control of this convenient minion. 

What am I supposed to do about that? The Ebon Blade wondered as it looked out into the courtyard beyond to the few milling people that hadn’t already fled the castle. Should I just go grab one of them and force it to be my wielder?

That didn’t sit right with the blade. It would take over someone if it needed to, but it would much rather be used by someone who wanted its power with the right mindset. It wasn’t exactly sure where it would find someone like that right at the moment, but it knew that if it wasn’t leaving immediately, it needed to bolster its defenses. 

It could see a large group of armed men forming up in the city, a hundred yards past the gates. The fact that it could see spikes of mana out there indicated that there were mages among them. So, if they were going to try something, they would do it soon. 

Reluctantly, the blade sent its guardian downstairs to unpin all the shattered pieces of its comrades so they could be put back together. Then, it started summoning another one from the much-diminished throne. Only when all of that was done did it turn its attention to its own powers to see what could be done with all of this overwhelming Life Force. 

Ch. 103 - Overflowing with Power

Despite spending almost everything it had earlier in its attempt to crush the throne, the blade’s Life Force reserves were entirely full. It had exactly 10,400 Life Force and was reasonably sure that no matter how much it spent, it would have that much. 

It’s like the dragon, but on a much more massive scale, the blade realized. I’m not embedded in a single creature but an entire kingdom. That seemed too good to be true, so its first instinct was to look for a catch. Still, after several seconds, it did not see one, so it tentatively purchased its cheapest power as a test and obtained Aethersight 2.

-800 Life Force.

+800 Life Force.  

Aethersight 2: The nature of this vision is unchanged, but can now be used without cost as desired. 

The blade used that power to take a long look around the throne room and at itself, but other than the slightly different patterns its runes had taken where the gold had washed over its hilt, it saw no changes. 

Bah. The blade did not like the idea that it had been altered by this monstrosity in even the smallest way. Still, if that was what it took to reunite its first wielder with the woman he’d loved, the Ebon Blade would bear it somehow. 

For the moment, that wasn’t important. What was important was what it would buy next. If it could purchase anything, then there was really only one item at the top of its list.  

Primary Powers:

Aethersight 3: 1,500 Life Force
Inferno 2: 1,200 Life Force
Accelerate Wielder 4: 3,000 Life Force
Amplify Wielder 4: 3,000 Life Force
Amplify Blade 4: 4,000 Life Force
Disrupt 5: 5,000 Life Force
Repair Soul 5: 5,000 Life Force
Empower Blade 4: 7500 Life Force
Golden Storage: 10,000 Life Force
Bolt 5: 15,000 Life Force
Golden Range: 15,000 Life Force
Golden Strength: 20,000 Life Force

Secondary Powers: 

False Image 5: 4,000 Life Force
Giant’s Strength 5: 3,000 Life Force
Speed of the Shadows 4: 2,000 Life Force

At least, it thought it did. Once it opened the menu and several new options, though, it was more conflicted. The unexpected development forced the blade to consider all of its options before continuing. 

Golden Storage: Double the amount of existing Life Force and Soul Storage. 

Golden Range: Double the range of all attacks, including Aura of Hunger. 

Golden Strength: Double the damage of all secondary abilities, and increase the strength of Siphon by 50%. 

Each of those was abominably powerful, and its paranoia increased slightly at the sight of them. Those powers were not only insanely powerful, but it could afford all of them if it wanted them. In fact, given the amount of power the throne contained, there were probably upgrades beyond them. It wondered what other powers it could obtain, though the only way it would know for sure was to pick one of them.

If I was trying to convince someone to enslave themselves, this is how I would do it, the blade told itself, as it remembered the chains that had tried to ensnare it. 

The Ebon Blade had come out on top of their little exchange, but as sorely tempted by these gifts as it was, it remembered the grip of those chains, so it started elsewhere instead and spent 5,000 Life force on Repair Soul 5.

The result was instantaneous. The world, with its damaged masonry, golden knights, and glowing traces of magical energy, fell away. In their place, shards of its soul surged forward as a whirling, glittering storm of memories that surrounded it. The largest part by far was the one that depicted Baraga and his princess. As the storm of glittering glass whirled in its mind, there were many others, too, and slowly, they were joining together. 

The memory shards didn’t join seamlessly, but the scars they left behind distorted the image only a little. This time, instead of being bombarded with out-of-place snippets, the blade could see the story more or less in order, and as soon as that was clear, it drove events back as close as it could to the beginning. 

It was done avoiding this. I needed to know who it was and who it was made up of if it wanted to move past this. The King was dead, and the blade vowed that his line would die with him, which put it at peace as it stood in the eye of its own storm. 

That by itself was a huge difference compared to last time. More than anything, it noticed that there was less pain than ever before. It understood the truth about its forging, and now that it accepted it, those minor shards of friendly archers, helpful halflings, and all the others that had died so that it might live fused together into a larger whole, and as the image grew, it became less of a broken mirror, and more of a window into who they’d been. 

Through it, the weapon could see not just Baraga’s most daring quests that the blade had already seen several times before. It could also see how the man had come to meet his companions and even catch the eye of the princess. It could also see his strange origins for the first time, which the weapon couldn’t make heads or tails of. 

The warrior that was its beating heart wasn’t even from this world. He’d been summoned from a strange place with towers of stone and glass that were filled with moving carriages that lacked horses of any kind. The Ebon Blade didn’t understand, and really, it didn’t need to. It didn’t care that the man’s name had been Bartholomew Vega then or the strange evolving magic system that had been granted to him when he’d arrived in this world. 

All that mattered to the blade was that it was that system… the system that powered it and the throne that it still controlled. That’s what damned him. The weapon realized as it watched everything play out with clear eyes. The very people he helped coveted what he had and took him apart so that they could better understand it. 

A wave of revulsion washed through the blade at that thought. The Aetherarchy. They were there, scattered all throughout Baraga’s quest. They’d summoned him into the world, they’d helped him in his adventures, and ultimately, with the assistance of King Paralon, they’d slaughtered him like a pig to steal his magic. 

Seeing all of this information laid out like this did little to make it feel bad about slaughtering the King. More than anything, it made the blade decide that it had been pursuing the wrong enemy. It needed to slaughter the mages, not the Inner Kingdoms.

The blade looked at the region as a blood-soaked banquet waiting to be eaten, but that was harder to see when he saw Baraga, Pippa, Karn, and all of the other members of his little group running around saving people. They’d been doing what the throne had been neglecting, and though the Ebon Blade saw those adventures as hopelessly naive, it did enjoy watching them fight so fiercely at Dwarf’s Fist and everywhere else they’d been. 

Still, it was the Mage towers that its gaze settled on. The Aetherarcy wasn’t limited to the Inner Kingdoms, but they had a presence in each of the former nations, as well as the lands beyond. In fact, it realized only belatedly as it watched a young Baraga bargain with mages in one of his first adventures that the small tower that Var’gar had knocked down was fairly typical of their smaller outposts. 

It had nothing on their largest institutions, of course, but they would be good places for it to harvest mages souls so that it might learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. They will make an excellent group to crush next. The weapon told itself as the memories began to fade. 

It might not understand every aspect of its soul yet, but it had a unified picture of who it was and at least some idea of who it would become in the next phase as its vengeance evolved. 

By the time its visions had dissipated completely, some of its golden guardians had returned. Despite the damage that it and its wielder had done to them earlier, all of them were whole and polished. There were no punctures or dents. It was like the fight had never happened. 

That only distracted the blade a little, though, as it looked out on its temporary kingdom at the mage towers that dotted the land. As it did so, it noticed that there were still a few glowing dots that it resonated with more than the rest of the kingdom. 

The blade only had to focus on them for a moment to understand why. The brightest ones were Evelyn’s brothers and sisters. The King had scattered his family far and wide, and though many of them lay dead two floors beneath where it now sat, there were still over a hundred of them scattered across the Inner Kingdoms and hundreds or perhaps even thousands of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

The further away they were from King Paralon and the throne’s connection to him, the dimmer they were to the blade. However, for the man’s direct descendants, the blad seemed to be able to use its powers of connection, even from vast distances. While it couldn’t read their minds or control them from here, it could see out their eyes and hear through their ears. 

The first one the blade tuned into, a man named Marius, was having dinner with his wife. He lived blissfully ignorant that the kingdom had fallen that evening and likely wouldn’t learn of it for days. 

The second descendant that it tried was a woman. It quickly learned that her name was Tinaria, and moments later, it learned that the man who shared her bed was not her husband. 

A whole family full of disloyal traitors, the blade spat. 

The Ebon Blade had not expected her to hear what it had to say, but when she bolted up in bed and looked around, it realized instantly that she had. Tinaria Keldith was over a hundred and fifty miles away on the shores of Moran Lake, but that did not save her. Once the blade figured out how deep their connection was, it decided to see how deeply that connection went, and with very little effort, it ripped her soul free from her body, killing her on the spot. 

+1 Human Soul.

Fascinating, the Ebon Blade whispered to itself as it consumed her screaming. 

It had no way to touch her paramour or even her children, but right here, where it sat on the throne, it could reach out and touch every direct descendant of the man that had sat here until today. 

Even if it couldn’t touch their children, or their children’s children, though, it could see out of their eyes. Suddenly, the blade knew why the man had spent centuries making his family ever larger. He'd had spies in every household and organizations all across his kingdom. 

If he could see so much, then why didn’t he see Evelyn and I? The blade wondered. It was a fair question. It had the King’s soul. Perhaps that was an important enough question to ask it. The blade understood that one couldn’t watch a thousand different members of ones family at once, but one whose husband had been killed by it? Surely that would have subjected her to additional scrutiny. 

As the weapon lay there, considering what to do next, the first barrage of magic struck its gates in a volley of magenta flames. The walls and whatever wards they contained held, but 

Attack on the Main Gate. (89% intact). Recommend deploying forces. Would you like to summon reserve armies from the city (y/n)?

As much as the blade liked the idea of summoning more men for more bloodshed, it was fairly certain that whoever arrived would join the fight against it. It instead chose to wait, letting its nine golden pawns assemble in the throne room to wait. It didn’t care if they burned down the rest of the structure. It rather hoped they did, but even more, it hoped that it would find a new wielder among them because, for all the power of this throne, it wanted to be free of it as soon as possible.