Seras had been half expecting to be covered in the slick oily substance of the portal, but magic didn’t work that way. And with her Astral affinity she didn’t even feel the momentary nausea associated with portal travel and teleportation powers. Seras stepped forward, looking around the cavern before her with quiet revery as a thousand familiar scents and sounds hit her all at once.
Below her machines whirled, sparks flew, and crude engines chugged away down below. The scents of oil, burning rubber, and ozone tickled at her nose. And everywhere she looked she saw people with mechanical limbs and glowing eyes. Footsteps sounded out behind her and Seras saw Havre emerge from his portal. He sighed and tossed away his fancy wool coat and rolled up his sleeves.
He looked at her and smiled “Relax, you are among your kind for once.” To drive the point home his own body let out a series of hisses and steam as parts of his skin suddenly became less realistic and retracted in on itself like the metal shutters back on Ruin. Several creaks came from within his body and he grew by a handspan and his shoulders slid outwards to create a wider more triangular profile than the slim classically handsome man she had seen before.
There was a raw, almost industrial bent to his body. Like a factory had shrunk itself down into the shape of a human. In his now fully exposed arms Seras saw pistons, whirling gears, and the occasional spark of electricity. A line formed in-between his eyes and the bit of nose dividing his eyes slid open to reveal a single red visor like band across the upper half of his face.
He sighed and even his voice seemed more mechanical. “I rarely go out into the world in my disguise anymore, it feels too stifling.”
Seras stared at him and felt… elation. Like for the last few months she had been among aliens and now she was among Ruinites. Even if they had a much more raw and slightly magical bent to their bodies, they were something that put her at ease. She looked down at her own arms and sent a command she hadn’t used since that first night with the Caravan crew.
Her own skin retracted around her joints to reveal black metal with a hexagonal patterning. Blue circuitry-like lines came to life along her limbs, and this time it wasn’t just her [Structural reinforcement] ability at work.
He looked at her appraisingly, “hmmm, understated and elegant. Minimalistic even. I like it, though I doubt we have the capability to replicate it.”
Seras shrugged, the exposed synth-ligaments bunching up with the movement. “Styles back home could vary greatly. Raw metal, plastic and doll-like, to hyper-realistic fur. But this has always suited me best.”
“Yes, the freedom of choices one can make with their new bodies is well known to us. There is a man amongst our leadership who can unfold into a giant skeleton made of girders. Bannack was quite taken with it.”
“Bannack, is he like your recruiter or…”
“He runs our external resource gathering operations. By engaging with the commerce and transportation industries in the deserts he has been able to fund all that you see before you.”
Seras looked around a watched with quite awe. Down below a team of workers with blowtorch and saw-like arms were working at a strange, almost familiar looking device. It looked like a tall pilon with an electric blue core. They were all being directed by an elderly looking Runic man leaning on a cane.
“Come I shall give you the tour,” Havre said and began to walk along the catwalk in the stone factory room.
“So what is this all for, what does a Builder… temple-,”
“The proper term is cult, but that often carries unpleasant connotations. Please don’t read too much into it,” Havre corrected.
“Right, uh, what does a Builder cult do? What’s all this for?”
As he walked Havre’s head was swiveling around, not like a man with a flesh and blood neck, but like a camera on motorized stand. His head would smoothly rotate one way, and then in a second spin the other, with little care for the limitations, a biological neck would follow.
“A great many things Miss Cross. The Agents of Great Astral beings perform many duties across the cosmos. In cases where mortal greed and ambition has threatened dimensional boundaries the Cult of the World Pheonix intervenes, it is what prevents many interdimensional invasions. Sometimes it’s more mundane, like people violating the core principles of a Great Astral being, like people interfering with the passage of souls or rampant use of resurrection in the case of the Reaper. And sometimes it’s to spread an ideal, the Celestial book’s agents often look for others who might share a thirst for knowledge and magical advancement.”
“And you?”
His head swiveled towards her, and the moving metal plates that made up his facial features shifted into a smile. “I cannot tell you everything at once Miss Cross, but our goal is centered around Astral spaces.”
“Astral spaces?”
“Yes, those are not creations of Lord builder. they are… well there is a great deal of higher-level astral theory at play in their creation. But suffice it to say they are formed within the deep Astral, there they are innately unstable things, unless they latch onto a physical reality. When they attach themselves to worlds like Pallimustus they can either be naturally opened spaces, requiring no astral magic knowledge to enter, and will change the landscape around them. Many mountains, caverns, and even bodies of water, owe their existence to the appearance of an Astral space. They will even change the magic of the surrounding area.”
They passed under a low beam and entered into a new hanger sized room, this one had several spider like brass and bronze vehicles being constructed. Havre didn’t comment on them and kept them moving forward.
“And how do I factor into all this, you said you wanted me for my Magitech abilities, but you seem to have that in hand?”
“Ahh, yes from the lens of your limited experiments into Magitech it would seem like we’re doing quite well. But some things can only be done with the right powers. When Lord Builder witnessed your passage through the Astral he alerted us to the opportunity you might offer to us. An essence that would almost certainly not appear on this world, and a being similar in make as us but more refined in many ways.” He shook his head despondently, “we have only recently begun down the path of Biomechanical transhumanism and have so much to learn and refine.”
“So you wanted to steal my essence if you could and rip me apart for study,” Seras said flatly.
His head spun around and stared at her with his red visor, “Miss Cross, what do you take us for, Monsters?”
She chuckled awkwardly, “ah, sorry about that, I jumped to the least savory explanation I could think of.”
“A product of your flawed world and violent upbringing I’d suspect,” he said to himself. He turned his head back forwards and continued on, “we were told that you might be appearing, but even Lord Builder could not say where, his vision into physical realities is one of his few limitations. You were brought to our attention by Mr. Martin whose company we funded with start-up capital, from there Mr. Bannack created a scenario where you could meet and receive the Magitech primer. If you had shown improvement then we would have made sure another made its way to you, I wonder if recall a clerk in the Magic society pointing you to a strange product of a mad gold ranker?”
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Seras blinked, “that was you guys?”
His head swiveled around and a flash of red light from the side of his visor made it look like he was winking. He swiveled back around, “yes, some in the magic society who have grown frustrated with politics and research limitations have found their way to us.”
“What kind of limitations?” Seras asked.
“The kind monopolized by influential members. Astral magic, some branches of artifice, and some branches you would recognize as physics. It has made some people very powerful while limiting the advancement of world’s knowledge.”
“Alright, and how does this relate to me and my issue, you said you could offer an alternative to what the Gods are offering?”
“Correct me if I had made a poor assumption, but by chance have you developed a case of a soul-body disconnect?”
Seras halted in her steps, “how did you-,”
This time he turned his whole torso around, “Miss Cross, if there is anyone on this world who would know about the dangers involved in magical augmentation, then it’s us.”
Seras looked down and sighed, “yup, that was pretty dumb of me.”
Havre chuckled, “a healthy suspicion is a good thing, and I had a few advantages on my end. We had people who felt your aura projecting itself at full force through magical containment, and they told us it was screaming with pain unimaginable. Given our shared nature, your status as an Outworlder, and that, it was easy to deduce. How far has it advanced?”
“32 percent,” Seras admitted. She hadn’t even told her friends the full extent. [Structural reinforcement] 3, [Aura of Ruin] 3, [Limit Breaker] 2, [Bountiful Greed] 2, [Inscribe rune/circuit]3, [Teleportation] 3, [Shape metal] 3, [Control bullets] 3, [Enhanced bullets] 2, [Armor piercer] 2.
After her failed experiment that day all the abilities she had been holding back surged up. It was the one instance where she was happy her familiar power was too expensive to use, otherwise it might have jumped up a level or two.
He flinched, “Lord Builder has told me a little of the condition. That kind of pain exceeds that of soul attacks and most spiritual torture. You have my sympathy… and my respect. That’s the kind of pain that breaks lesser wills.”
Seras kicked the grate beneath her, “yeah, well, you said you had a solution that wouldn’t strip me of myself?”
“I did, though Lord Builder is now telling me that altering it will take time, we will also need to cause a racial trait evolution of some sort.”
Seras blinked, “is, is your God talking to you right now?”
An angry glint of red flashed through his eyes, “Miss Cross, Lord Builder is more than any God, more than all the Gods of this world put together. Referring to him as such is more than a bit disrespectful and demeaning.”
Seras didn’t really get the difference, but she wasn’t going to argue with a cultist in their own temple/factory place. “Right, still new to all of this, sorry.”
“Apology accepted, and to answer your question… well... follow me.” He turned and began to stalk forward much quicker.
He led Seras into a hallway with smooth stone floors and fluorescent-like lighting running across the ceiling. He took her down a warren of twists and turns until they were before a thick metal door. Havre placed his hand on the door and several mechanisms within whirled and clicked, the door slid back and he led Seras into the strangest treasury she had ever seen.
Strange tools, stacks of spirit coins, and several padded cases of essences and awakening stone lined the wall. As well as a hundred different unique looking magical crafting components she didn’t recognize. He led her forward to a small collection of round objects.
“These are something entirely impossible to find on this world without the involvement of a great Astral being. These are their greatest gift only given to those of their respective cults. They are called star seeds.” He looked almost reverent at the small fist sized spheres.
“What do they do?”
“These are a tangible pact made between ones soul and a great Astral being. It is a creation that will link a soul to the a great Astral being. Moreover it’s your salvation Miss Cross.”
She balked, “how would sticking more magic into my soul fix things, that’s my problem to begin with.”
“Because, Lord Builder’s star seeds have an external physical component. To use crude metaphor imagine this star seed as a port into your soul, existing half outside and half within, it will then provide a direct governable connection between your soul and body. Indeed it is this physical linkage to our souls and Lord Builder’s own infinite power that allows our own Biomechanical transformations while retaining our essence abilities. This is how it will save you as well. The bond formed between your soul, body, and magical matrix will return to a harmonious state and cure your condition. The pain will go away, you’ll be able to safely advance your essences, and more importantly you’ll live.”
Seras stared down at the small star seed and felt every artificial muscle in her body fill with the need to reach out and snatch the cure. Her mouth was uncomfortably dry, “but, but Knowledge said only a God could help me?”
Havre smirked, “is that what she said exactly, or are you missing a bit of nuance? Knowledge could never lie like that.”
“…fixing your issue requires power beyond mortals, the power of transcendent beings…”
“She said transcendent beings; I thought that only meant Gods.”
He nodded while smiling gently, “yes, and Lord Builder is one of the greatest of transcendent beings, one whose followers are much like yourself.”
Seras stumbled back at sat down hard. This was it, this was her way out, it was a cure that let her remain herself.
“I, I need some time to think, this is a lot, I thought I was out of options.”
Havre’s metallic face smiled at her, “the cosmos is limitless and our choices similarly so. I can allow you time to think, but I must remind you Miss Cross that ours is a secret congregation. Most people would be horrified by the paths we have chosen to walk.”
Seras thought back to that night she had revealed her true self to Caravan crew and how long it took for them to treat her like a normal person. Then she thought of Athena, who had been scared at first but quickly grew to accept Seras. “Yeah, of course, you have my word on that.” Seras swore.
“Thank you, I can send you right back to the bar then if you’d like, we just need to step out of this vault first. And if you chose to join us and our work then I’d recommend putting your affairs in order, we’re far from society and I can’t promise my portal abilities to always be available.”
Seras nodded and walked out of the vault containing her salvation.
~~~*~~~
Lord Havre watched quietly as the Outworlder once again hid her true nature and returned to the petty world of flesh and blood. Inside him the Builder’s will questioned whether such a choice was a wise one, but for all his Lords infinite power he lacked a mortal perspective.
True this night had not gone like he thought, Havre had imagined employing more trickery and double meaning. But when he heard what she had to say he knew that approaching her with as much honesty as he could safely manage was the best choice.
She was like them, and yet she was forced to walk this world thinking she was alone, while everything around her told her she was wrong. An Aberration.
She would join, he was confident of that. Havre was unlike many other leaders in the Builder cult here on Pallimustus, many were base power seekers and scorned wastrels using the Builder to enact revenge on the world. Havre on the other hand had been born to parents within the cult and had grown up hearing and believing in the Builder’s great dream for a paradise.
Granted he had still been timid about the upgrades to his flesh, but what person wouldn’t be. And he had grown to love his strange form. The way he saw it now was that where others had no choice in how they looked or what they were Havre was free to choose and change at will. Havre returned to his office where a well-dressed gentleman was waiting for him.
Bannack’s disguise form looked as formal as ever, the literal picture of a businessman. But Havre knew a far fiercer form, one that bared little resemblance to Bannack’s current form. Except for the mustache of course, even as a hulking titan of metal and deadly whips Bannack retained his twirled facial hair. Though in that form it was made from steel bristles and wire.
“Is it wise to just let her leave?” he asked Lord Havre.
“She has little reason to go shouting our nature to anyone, as far as she knows we’re just an odd cult with the cure to all her woes.”
Bannack paused before he spoke again, “it’s just not how I would do things.”
“Yes, and Miss Cross can sense that, that is why she did not trust you. Our initial report on her suspicious nature was wrong, she responds far better to open honesty than previously indicated.”
He sniffed, “Hmm, that might be Westbrooke’s doing. Mr. Martin has been quite enamored with the man.”
“Then I shall thank Lord Builder and the Fates that she found Westbrooke, it has made recruiting her far easier. Did you find out anything about away team C?” Lord Havre asked, changing the subject completely.
Bannack grimaced, “our worst fears proved correct Lord Havre, sometime between their last meet up with the Omeda and the raid from the Adventure society away team C was wiped out. Evidence points to the local fauna of the Astral space possessing an unaccounted for ability to hear our transmissions. Star-Gliders as strong as Silver rank descended on the outpost and savaged the defenders. There were no survivors.”
Havre didn’t do anything so crude as curse, but he wanted to. “In regards to the Omeda, how goes the conversion?”
Bannack smiled “we’re halfway through, what’s left are the stronger members of their tribe.”
“A process that is soon to be accelerated with a Magitech specialist, begin putting together another expedition to establish a base within the Stellar Astral space.”
“Yes Lord Havre, is there anything else you need from me?”
“There haven’t been any more mistakes like from team B, have there?”
Bannack grimaced, “no, and in regards to the incident within the Verdant grasslands Astral space, we have determined the cause of that unfortunate spike. It would appear that in the ancient past the people of Cupric had tried to tap into and utilize the Verdant Grasslands like they do with their aquatic astral spaces. The formation work we uncovered was crude and in shambles, open circuits within a few of the formations likely reacted with our own work and caused the wide bloom of grass and grass quintessence.”
Havre stared at Bannack for a long moment, pent up frustration over that incident still threatened to loosen his tongue and say unfortunate things. He sighed, “though I am still disappointed with the failure I can see how it went undetected. That doesn’t change the fact that it has caused the entire Akemi tribe to set up camp over our work.”
“Would that not be best though; the Akemi are a mighty tribe and removing them will make any subsequent operations within the Five deserts far smoother.”
“You are speaking of things as if we had already successfully reclaimed the Verdant Grasslands in the name of Lord builder. Should we succeed then I suspect we will be praised greatly, but failure has become exponentially more likely with an entire established tribe like the Akemi hanging over our heads like the executioner’s blade. One misstep and out whole operation could be exposed.”
Bannack nodded, “My apologies if I’ve upset you Lord Havre, I just tend to be more optimistic in my hopes for the future.”
“And that is why you are not in charge Bannack. Prepare for the worst, hope for better, that is how we’ll be victorious in our mission.”
“Understood my Lord, shall I be off then?”
Havre didn’t do anything so sloppy as sigh, though he felt like it. He waved Bannack away, “yes, be off with you. And make sure we have eyes on Blackiron, just in case she’s decides to make the stupidest choice possible.”
