Power and Responsbility

Fortunately, Brighid is standing right behind you and when you stagger back from the psychic shock of claiming Caer Macht, she is able to catch you before you fall. You hang limp in her arms for a moment, stunned by the process of claiming the Place of Power and struggling to catch up with the stream of notifications which continue to pour into your mind. Easing yourself back to your feet, you pat Brighid's arm in silent thanks and attempt to push away all the notifications still hovering at the edge of your awareness. To your surprise, one refuses to go, so you open it.

The Dominion of Caer Macht includes an unclaimed level 0 settlement, Bannagh Macht. Do you wish to claim ownership of this settlement as well?

That question gives you serious pause. It implies extra responsibilities and a vast amount of extra work. On the other hand, the legends Brighid told you of said that Bannagh Macht was once a multi-species, multi-cultural city. If you could rebuild that as well, it would give you a power base which does not entirely rely on the goodwill of the Starchaser tribe or its leaders. It would also mean that when your enemies come for you, they would be facing more than just yourself and two hundred or so centaurs. Again, you think back to Cai and Llwyd's words to you and faith in you. Furthermore, if you decline to claim the settlement, that implies that perhaps someone else could; that would be completely unacceptable. You square your shoulders and accept ownership of the city as well as its Place of Power.

All Hail Lord Aidan, Lord of Bannagh Macht!

You have claimed undisputed control over the settlement of Bannagh Macht! Although there are nothing but ruins now, once this was the site of a city known far and wide as a place of peace, art, life, and love. With careful guidance and governance, you have the opportunity to reclaim and even surpass the glory of the past. Or perhaps a different destiny awaits the city under its new Lord? It is all in your hands, Lord Aidan!

As if that weren't enough, you hear six voices speak in unison, five out loud and one in your mind, "All hail Lord Aidan!". Cai, Llwyd, and Brighid's declaration you are able to more or less ignore, but they weren't the only ones to speak; Ailis and Sarpedon spoke with them. None of those five draw your focus, though. You glare down at the black-furred astral jaguar at your feet and think to her, "Traitor!". She only blinks at you in the manner of a housecat who just pushed a plate off of the table, then jumps up onto the altar and curls up into a ball.

"It was not known to us whether that would happen; speaking only for myself, I hoped it would." Sarpedon says from behind you. You turn to face him and he continues, "I still remember Bannagh Macht at its height, and it would be pleasing to me for this city to once again rise to prominence. It will not be the same, but that is part of the joy of watching history unfold."

Ailis whips her head around, but you speak before she is able to start grilling the gargoyle about his memories. "Am I anchored to the city now? Is it safe for me to leave Caer Macht undefended?"

"You may leave for a time," Sarpedon replies. "Now that they are claimed, neither the city nor the Place of Power will yield to another master easily. It would be possible for someone else to wrest control, but it would take both time and immense effort. The longer you are outside of Caer Macht's Dominion, the easier it will become, but it will never be simple. It would be far easier to kill you and claim the Heart Crystal that way, though even that is complicated by your nature. You need not fear short absences, even several months at a time, but at this stage of your Mastery, you can only use and grow the Place of Power with close proximity. It would be best if you make preparations for this to be your permanent home."

With a nod, you say, "I figured as much." Turning to Brighid, you ask her, "Would you mind moving your forge here, once we make proper preparations?"

Her smile is dazzling. "Of course not! It has been my dream since I was only a yearling to see Bannagh Macht rise again. It will take some time before anything here is livable, but I am not leaving your side."

"It may not be so long as you believe," Sarpedon interjects. "One of the benefits of controlling a Place of Power is that its Master may draw upon the collected manna to create powerful effects. One of those is the ability to form magical servants out of the raw manna available to you. If you would please visualize your spells and rituals, I believe you should find some new options available to you."

Indeed, there are a couple, under a new category of 'Rites of Mastery'.

Create Automaton: Use raw manna gathered from your Place of Power to form a Automaton, which will take on the aspects of the Place of Power. Automatons are mindless and capable of following only very simple orders, but they are completely tireless and can be formed into forms suitable for almost any basic task. Cost: 100 manna. Duration: Permanent, until dismissed. Cast Time: 1 second.
Create Automaton Overseer: Use raw manna gathered from your Place of Power to form an Automaton Overseer, which will on the aspects of the Place of Power. Overseers are an advanced form of Automaton with the ability to understand more complex orders and control lesser Automatons. Cost: 500 manna. Duration: Permanent, until dismissed. Cast Time: 1 second.

"I see. Can I..." you start to ask, then decide to just do instead. The sensation of casting a Rite of Mastery is extremely different from a normal spell or ritual; instead of power welling up inside of you and being channeled through sounds and gestures, instead you feel energy streaming into your hands from all around. After a second, mists swirl into a humanoid shape, then dissipate to reveal a creature which looks something like an artist's mannequin made out of fired red clay. Wisps of fog leak from the creatures' joints.

How much manna do I have access to? And how quickly does it regenerate? you wonder. Almost immediately, a notification pops up.

Current Manna available in Caer Macht: 39,900/40,000. Manna recovers at a rate of 4 manna per hour.

"Okay, so it takes 25 hours to recover the manna needed for one Automaton, or 125 hours for an Overseer. But it isn't like I have anything else to spend it on at the moment..."

Soon enough, you have a team of ten Automatons and one Overseer -- which is nearly indistinguishable from the others, it is slightly bigger and generates more fog -- which you send off with orders to begin clearing the rubble in the city and stacking usable blocks in a central location. It will take more than two weeks to get back to full manna, but hopefully when you return, there will be both plentiful building materials and space to build out in the city.

You turn back to Ailis and Sarpedon. "Councillor Ailis, I will take that offer of assistance from you. I would like the Starchaser tribe to consider relocating to Bannagh Macht. I will need to remain close to the city, at least for the foreseeable future, and if I am to help protect the tribe I cannot be living several hours' travel, at a minimum, away. Further, I intend to make offers to all of the nearby tribes and peoples -- yours as well, Sarpedon -- to send embassies and even relocate their own tribes if they so desire. In the past, Bannagh Macht was a city where people could meet and mingle, and I intend for that to be true again. The tribes all being separate, insular entities means that each stands and dies alone. There is a storm coming, and we can only meet it together. You are excellent at getting people to do what you want them to without them even realizing it; I will make use of that for the good of all." Her ice-blue eyes stay locked on yours for a moment, then she breaks eye contact and bows formally to you.

"By your will, Lord Aidan. You have fulfilled your end of the bargain, so I will fulfill mine. This will have to be approached very cautiously; change always causes unrest and this particular change will cause more than most. Further, the tribes have been divided for more than a millenia. I do not know if it is even possible for you to unite them, but if anyone can..." She looks into your eyes again for a moment, seemingly searching for something. "Well, you have a good heart, and you are beginning to show some steel in your spine. I only warn you that, as a ruler, you will have to be firm and decisive. You will never be able to please everyone, and making the attempt will weaken what you are attempting to the point where it shatters. Compromises are one thing, but you are Lord of Bannagh Macht and Master of Caer Macht. You must live up to those titles in practice as well as thought."

You give her a sharp nod, then speak to Sarpedon. "Thank you for the assistance you have already provided, Sarpedon. Know that I am a man of my word and I will fulfill my part of the Quest. Animamancy is not an easy Skill to train, but I will work on it. While that happens, however, I would invite any of your people who wish to relocate to Bannagh Macht to do so. You already heard what I want from the city, and from what you told me of your people, I believe our interests align somewhat in that regard. I understand that you value your privacy, and I am willing to dedicate a portion of the city or the surrounding area to be an enclave of the Sapphire Sky Horde, where your own laws and traditions govern, subject only to the overall laws of Bannagh Macht. Further, I would extend an additional invitation to you personally; you clearly know much about how Places of Power work, and I know nothing. I will be studying under Ailis and I am sure that she will teach me what she knows, but she has already said that her knowledge is historical and theoretical rather than practical. Will you consider taking a position as my advisor?"

The gargoyle cocks his head and thinks for a moment, then he nods. "I do believe I will, young ... Lord Aidan, so long as you respect my judgment. There are things I know which would do more harm than good to teach you now, and others which you simply do not need to know."

You give him the same long, steady look as you gave Ailis, but it is somewhat harder to win a staring contest with a living statue, and utterly impossible to read his face. Eventually, you propose a compromise. "I will leave you your secrets, but if you accept, your job is to advise Lord Aidan, ruler of Bannagh Macht and Master of Caer Macht, not Aidan Lostlorn, the lost human. If you hold onto knowledge which would help the people under my care, I will be extremely displeased."

His facial expression changes subtly, and you think you detect a hint of sadness, but you really aren't at all confident in your analysis. Regardless, he bends his head slightly, and says formally, "Very well, my Lord. I accept your terms." His eyes return to your face and he asks, "May I ask when you intend to return to Bannagh Macht? There are matters I must attend to and messages I must pass along."

"Two weeks from now. That will give the Automatons time to work and allow all of us to make what preparations we need."

"Two weeks it is. By your leave?" You nod your permission, and he leaves the chamber on astoundingly quiet feet.

You gather Riama up into your arms from her resting place atop the altar, then lead the centaurs out of Caer Macht. Once you reach the entrance of the tunnel, you face west and look at the sun, just beginning to set behind the distant mountains; after a moment of quietly soaking in the beauty of the Realms, you swing your leg over Brighid's back and settle your familiar in front of you. "Back to the village; there is much work to be done and time waits for no man."