Brom
“So, why do you look so nervous?” After their servants finished placing down their meal of lightly cooked meat and left the room, Orom Karendesh sat down at the two person table in the home they shared and looked at his son’s face carefully.
“I lost my position as general of the army.”
Orom grinned, an expression which on a coran did not mean happiness, and his tail started to wave in agitation. “Elaborate.”
Brom then told his father exactly what had happened and his father’s tail changed to a more rhythmic movement of deep contemplation.
“Interesting.” Orom looked out the window of their home to the view of the Bronze Legion’s capital city and then back to his son. “Have you spoken to any of this Summoner’s servants?”
“I tried.” Brom felt himself relax a little after realizing his father wasn’t angered by his actions. Given how reasonable his father generally was, he hadn’t thought he would be. But his actions, if revealed, would reflect badly on his father, and he didn’t want that. “And I watched as my men tried as well.
“The ones called Wind, Fist, and Knight would respond to inquiries and were generally friendly. But they wouldn’t answer any personal questions. The one called Crafter, on the other hand, didn’t talk at all throughout the entire three days. But, any time he needed something, one of the others would come and talk in his stead almost immediately, so I’m pretty sure he has the means to telepathically talk to them.”
Orom’s tail lay back down on the ground and he took a few bites of meat, seemingly thinking while he chewed. “Given their obviously hidden identities and your experiences with that Shadow, you probably shouldn’t take anything they say at face value. But, given they went out of their way to show respect even when they didn’t have to, there is no reason to treat them as enemies either.
“From the sounds of things, they don’t actually want to lead, and it probably is true they are after the rewards. Given the main goal for the second army is to help train everyone, and their power should hopefully allow you to go further, your choices are pretty much exactly what I would have done in your situation.”
Orom looked Brom directly in the eyes, his expression calm. “What do you plan to do in the future?”
Brom felt himself calm down. “No real difference. Once we find surrendered cultivators who we think will allow themselves to integrate with the army, I’ll probably ask our crafters to suicide. But, other than that, the plan hasn’t changed.
“Crafter will provide us much better artifacts than we originally intended, including power sharing formations according to Summoner, as well as being a powerhouse we can rely on if everything else fails. And Summoner and Knight are powerful single combatants we can rely on. But their presence shouldn’t really change how we operate.”
“And what will you do if this Summoner gives you an order?”
“I’ll follow it.” Brom took a bite of meat as he watched his father, who didn’t have any reaction to his statement, so he continued. “From what I can tell, I’ve only seen a small part of their abilities, while they probably have a much better understanding of us. Given how they have operated so far, if Summoner gives an order it is probably either urgent or due to something she isn’t willing to explain.
“And, given the nature of the War of the Chosen, I can’t see anything she could gain from betraying us. It isn’t like we are one of the favored forces in the first place, so it seems wiser to give her the benefit of the doubt to not create conflict with someone so obviously powerful.”
“What is the difference between your attitude now and how you were when you were tricked by that Shadow in the Trial Tower?” His father looked at him inquisitively, his tail relaxed on the ground.
“I’m trying to think about what people want. Shadow was in competition with me in the Trial Tower, so she would benefit from my death. Summoner in the War of the Chosen, however, is my ally. Given we’re one of the forces with the least desire for army points, keeping us around would be to her benefit if army points are what she is truly after, which at this time seems most likely.”
“Good.” His father’s tail swished through the air once in approval. “The War of the Chosen is after all a fake war, a training tool for you youngsters. Treat it as such and make sure those of the Bronze Legion under you treat it as such as well.
“But also remember that it is a universal training tool. If you go far in it, you’ll be dealing with some of the most powerful forces in the universe. Treat even your foes with respect so as to not make enemies in the real world, and treat your allies well, as good relations with other young powers your own age might prove beneficial down the line.”
“Yes, father.” Brom’s tail swung in excitement and he found himself looking forward to the first battle in the War of the Chosen.
* * *
Orianthi
Orianthi Hewin looked at her servant and frowned. “Not only did they give her a commander position, but they gave her command over the crafters and other utility personnel at the start?”
Even as the granddaughter of the Violet Mountain Sect’s C rank with the highest chance to advance to B rank, she had been dropped down to an inner sect disciple due to not having improved for 36 years, stuck at the bottleneck of raising her peak grade Law Egg of Bonds to an early grade Law Larva. This was her own fault. She knew this.
But she normally would have received a bit more leeway.
The arrival of the descendant of Epecteos Ka’Dravone, however, had made her lose any special privileges, as the girl at F rank had already had a Law Larva of Bonds and even another Law Larva as well.
“The giving her the utility personnel was the decision of the army general, not the sect.”
Her servant, a relatively young E rank, was one of the soldiers in the Violet Mountain Sect’s army, so he was reporting to her about everything that had occurred in the special mental space he and the others had been in for three days while their bodies outside were protected by the power of the System.
Like her, he was human with pale skin and blue eyes, but his hair was brown, different from her light green.
“Yes, like most of the other male core disciple, Corin Val is attracted to her. Skill is all well and good, but bonds are more important.” As she said the words, Orianthi felt something change within her and she quickly left her servant and rushed into the meditation chamber of her estate near the edges of the Violet Mountain Blessed land, quickly activating the several arrays inside to both calm her beating heart and clear her mind, attuning her slightly better to the Laws of the universe.
Then, after several hours, she grasped the ephemeral epiphany she’d almost lost and made the most important Law breakthrough of her life.
Congratulations!
You have advanced your peak grade Law Egg of Bonds into the Law Larva of Bonds.
Your soul is affected by your understanding of Law.
Base Stats +8, Soul +24
Congratulations!
You have advanced a Law Egg into a Law Larva.
Your soul is affected by your upgrading of Law.
All Stats +12
With this breakthrough, she met the Law requirements for advancing her class, only, due to not having met the Law requirements before, she’d never bothered to meet the other requirements either, so now she needed to make 1,728 legitimate contracts between parties that did not include herself.
It might take some time to accomplish that, but, once she did, and once she broke through to D rank, she could reclaim her status as a core disciple. And then, if she managed to get rid of Sarra Ka’Dravone like her grandfather had suggested, her grandfather would be able to grant her resources which would allow her to soar into the skies and become the sect’s next C rank bond master, arguably the second most powerful position in the entire sect.
Grinning like crazy, Orianthi was about to run out to the capital world to start acting in the capacity of a lawyer immediately so as to speed up her ascension, but then she realized that, for the first time in decades, she no longer had to worry about her future. So, instead of rushing to do work, she decided a little stress relief would be better.
Checking the soul net, she found the next showing for a new play her friends all said was good. Then she bought her ticket and went to have some much deserved fun.
Her advancement would come naturally, and she could worry about killing Sarra Ka’Dravone later.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thirteenlifelegion
Vote for SotSK on TopWebFiction! http://topwebfiction.com/listings/shadow-of-the-soul-king/
A special thank you to Shadow of the Soul King's 100+ patrons:
[Patron list pulled the on the Sunday before this chapter was posted]
Trolling Mentor:
Tuqueque
Insane Crafter:
Spoiler tethra , Michael Tucker , englishmuffins10 , kyle davis , Kaleb , F A , Richard Fromdahl , Algebrute , lucas rodger , Alexander Abegglen , Lance Mienert , Dylan Phillips , Blackelements , Marshall Weir , Meierfrac , EvilSmirk , Brad , Eb , saganatsu , MiniCreeper , luke , NeonRaven94 , Thaco4 , Wunder , Random Guy , Nanooki12 , Joseph , Lazerus56 , kelland harrison , Simon Preiß , Dakenrool , Nicholas Thomas , Alexander Gleeson , zachary gafken , Andrew Knox , archkeas , H.A.L. Tiebosch , Aracnos , Gabriel Boudreau , David Schleimer , patrick seim , Benjamin Nuyens , Poldarn , Pierre Come , Christophe Schmitz , Alex R , James Short , Mikkel , Kallor , Frogspoison , Eivind , Alex Hammond , John McDaniel , Nagrael , Felix Chin , Thomasaurus Rex , JB Smoove , Abdiaziz Ali , Christian Sving , Sebin Paul , AJSA , T , BtBurns , Draeysine , Devon Bolwaire , Derrick McDowell , Christian Mordal , Death2moo , Tuqueque , Henry Braeske , Odunski , Matthew McRoyall , Jacob , Lemon , Nathan Camussi , nugitoBambino , Redacted , Stephan , Bret , kyle ryan , Håkan Olofsson , Starter_guy , Falling rain , Starfall20 , Darcy Lessard-Patola , LastinLine , Harrison Brown , Kai , Posta Csanád , Inzuris , Roman Obrenovic , Chris M , Cardean Nasdre , Siphor , Joseph Catanzaro [collapse]Contract Lawyer:
SpoilerKasper Lynderup Jensen , Dennis , Sgre , maxime séjourné , Snrgrd , Fabioomega , James Han , Mythloving99 , Razieth , Jonny , Ant , Blake Hudson , Turtle , William , Eric Spence , FuriousDee , BigRock23 , terrence L mccall , Talespinner Lore , Ryan Landry , Michael Castelli , Lyrad Fer , Silberwolf325 , steve , sata , AchroniaXenia , Kaiedi , Joshua , Alzein , Gavin Turlock , "BOWERS , BRIAN" , Mikael , Yrom , Kemizle
[collapse]Logical Summoner:
SpoilerNevinna , James Dean
[collapse]
Brom
“So, why do you look so nervous?” After their servants finished placing down their meal of lightly cooked meat and left the room, Orom Karendesh sat down at the two person table in the home they shared and looked at his son’s face carefully.
“I lost my position as general of the army.”
Orom grinned, an expression which on a coran did not mean happiness, and his tail started to wave in agitation. “Elaborate.”
Brom then told his father exactly what had happened and his father’s tail changed to a more rhythmic movement of deep contemplation.
“Interesting.” Orom looked out the window of their home to the view of the Bronze Legion’s capital city and then back to his son. “Have you spoken to any of this Summoner’s servants?”
“I tried.” Brom felt himself relax a little after realizing his father wasn’t angered by his actions. Given how reasonable his father generally was, he hadn’t thought he would be. But his actions, if revealed, would reflect badly on his father, and he didn’t want that. “And I watched as my men tried as well.
“The ones called Wind, Fist, and Knight would respond to inquiries and were generally friendly. But they wouldn’t answer any personal questions. The one called Crafter, on the other hand, didn’t talk at all throughout the entire three days. But, any time he needed something, one of the others would come and talk in his stead almost immediately, so I’m pretty sure he has the means to telepathically talk to them.”
Orom’s tail lay back down on the ground and he took a few bites of meat, seemingly thinking while he chewed. “Given their obviously hidden identities and your experiences with that Shadow, you probably shouldn’t take anything they say at face value. But, given they went out of their way to show respect even when they didn’t have to, there is no reason to treat them as enemies either.
“From the sounds of things, they don’t actually want to lead, and it probably is true they are after the rewards. Given the main goal for the second army is to help train everyone, and their power should hopefully allow you to go further, your choices are pretty much exactly what I would have done in your situation.”
Orom looked Brom directly in the eyes, his expression calm. “What do you plan to do in the future?”
Brom felt himself calm down. “No real difference. Once we find surrendered cultivators who we think will allow themselves to integrate with the army, I’ll probably ask our crafters to suicide. But, other than that, the plan hasn’t changed.
“Crafter will provide us much better artifacts than we originally intended, including power sharing formations according to Summoner, as well as being a powerhouse we can rely on if everything else fails. And Summoner and Knight are powerful single combatants we can rely on. But their presence shouldn’t really change how we operate.”
“And what will you do if this Summoner gives you an order?”
“I’ll follow it.” Brom took a bite of meat as he watched his father, who didn’t have any reaction to his statement, so he continued. “From what I can tell, I’ve only seen a small part of their abilities, while they probably have a much better understanding of us. Given how they have operated so far, if Summoner gives an order it is probably either urgent or due to something she isn’t willing to explain.
“And, given the nature of the War of the Chosen, I can’t see anything she could gain from betraying us. It isn’t like we are one of the favored forces in the first place, so it seems wiser to give her the benefit of the doubt to not create conflict with someone so obviously powerful.”
“What is the difference between your attitude now and how you were when you were tricked by that Shadow in the Trial Tower?” His father looked at him inquisitively, his tail relaxed on the ground.
“I’m trying to think about what people want. Shadow was in competition with me in the Trial Tower, so she would benefit from my death. Summoner in the War of the Chosen, however, is my ally. Given we’re one of the forces with the least desire for army points, keeping us around would be to her benefit if army points are what she is truly after, which at this time seems most likely.”
“Good.” His father’s tail swished through the air once in approval. “The War of the Chosen is after all a fake war, a training tool for you youngsters. Treat it as such and make sure those of the Bronze Legion under you treat it as such as well.
“But also remember that it is a universal training tool. If you go far in it, you’ll be dealing with some of the most powerful forces in the universe. Treat even your foes with respect so as to not make enemies in the real world, and treat your allies well, as good relations with other young powers your own age might prove beneficial down the line.”
“Yes, father.” Brom’s tail swung in excitement and he found himself looking forward to the first battle in the War of the Chosen.
* * *
Orianthi
Orianthi Hewin looked at her servant and frowned. “Not only did they give her a commander position, but they gave her command over the crafters and other utility personnel at the start?”
Even as the granddaughter of the Violet Mountain Sect’s C rank with the highest chance to advance to B rank, she had been dropped down to an inner sect disciple due to not having improved for 36 years, stuck at the bottleneck of raising her peak grade Law Egg of Bonds to an early grade Law Larva. This was her own fault. She knew this.
But she normally would have received a bit more leeway.
The arrival of the descendant of Epecteos Ka’Dravone, however, had made her lose any special privileges, as the girl at F rank had already had a Law Larva of Bonds and even another Law Larva as well.
“The giving her the utility personnel was the decision of the army general, not the sect.”
Her servant, a relatively young E rank, was one of the soldiers in the Violet Mountain Sect’s army, so he was reporting to her about everything that had occurred in the special mental space he and the others had been in for three days while their bodies outside were protected by the power of the System.
Like her, he was human with pale skin and blue eyes, but his hair was brown, different from her light green.
“Yes, like most of the other male core disciple, Corin Val is attracted to her. Skill is all well and good, but bonds are more important.” As she said the words, Orianthi felt something change within her and she quickly left her servant and rushed into the meditation chamber of her estate near the edges of the Violet Mountain Blessed land, quickly activating the several arrays inside to both calm her beating heart and clear her mind, attuning her slightly better to the Laws of the universe.
Then, after several hours, she grasped the ephemeral epiphany she’d almost lost and made the most important Law breakthrough of her life.
Congratulations!
You have advanced your peak grade Law Egg of Bonds into the Law Larva of Bonds.
Your soul is affected by your understanding of Law.
Base Stats +8, Soul +24
Congratulations!
You have advanced a Law Egg into a Law Larva.
Your soul is affected by your upgrading of Law.
All Stats +12
With this breakthrough, she met the Law requirements for advancing her class, only, due to not having met the Law requirements before, she’d never bothered to meet the other requirements either, so now she needed to make 1,728 legitimate contracts between parties that did not include herself.
It might take some time to accomplish that, but, once she did, and once she broke through to D rank, she could reclaim her status as a core disciple. And then, if she managed to get rid of Sarra Ka’Dravone like her grandfather had suggested, her grandfather would be able to grant her resources which would allow her to soar into the skies and become the sect’s next C rank bond master, arguably the second most powerful position in the entire sect.
Grinning like crazy, Orianthi was about to run out to the capital world to start acting in the capacity of a lawyer immediately so as to speed up her ascension, but then she realized that, for the first time in decades, she no longer had to worry about her future. So, instead of rushing to do work, she decided a little stress relief would be better.
Checking the soul net, she found the next showing for a new play her friends all said was good. Then she bought her ticket and went to have some much deserved fun.
Her advancement would come naturally, and she could worry about killing Sarra Ka’Dravone later.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thirteenlifelegion
Vote for SotSK on TopWebFiction! http://topwebfiction.com/listings/shadow-of-the-soul-king/
A special thank you to Shadow of the Soul King's 100+ patrons:
[Patron list pulled the on the Sunday before this chapter was posted]
Trolling Mentor:
Tuqueque
Insane Crafter:
Spoiler tethra , Michael Tucker , englishmuffins10 , kyle davis , Kaleb , F A , Richard Fromdahl , Algebrute , lucas rodger , Alexander Abegglen , Lance Mienert , Dylan Phillips , Blackelements , Marshall Weir , Meierfrac , EvilSmirk , Brad , Eb , saganatsu , MiniCreeper , luke , NeonRaven94 , Thaco4 , Wunder , Random Guy , Nanooki12 , Joseph , Lazerus56 , kelland harrison , Simon Preiß , Dakenrool , Nicholas Thomas , Alexander Gleeson , zachary gafken , Andrew Knox , archkeas , H.A.L. Tiebosch , Aracnos , Gabriel Boudreau , David Schleimer , patrick seim , Benjamin Nuyens , Poldarn , Pierre Come , Christophe Schmitz , Alex R , James Short , Mikkel , Kallor , Frogspoison , Eivind , Alex Hammond , John McDaniel , Nagrael , Felix Chin , Thomasaurus Rex , JB Smoove , Abdiaziz Ali , Christian Sving , Sebin Paul , AJSA , T , BtBurns , Draeysine , Devon Bolwaire , Derrick McDowell , Christian Mordal , Death2moo , Tuqueque , Henry Braeske , Odunski , Matthew McRoyall , Jacob , Lemon , Nathan Camussi , nugitoBambino , Redacted , Stephan , Bret , kyle ryan , Håkan Olofsson , Starter_guy , Falling rain , Starfall20 , Darcy Lessard-Patola , LastinLine , Harrison Brown , Kai , Posta Csanád , Inzuris , Roman Obrenovic , Chris M , Cardean Nasdre , Siphor , Joseph Catanzaro [collapse]Contract Lawyer:
SpoilerKasper Lynderup Jensen , Dennis , Sgre , maxime séjourné , Snrgrd , Fabioomega , James Han , Mythloving99 , Razieth , Jonny , Ant , Blake Hudson , Turtle , William , Eric Spence , FuriousDee , BigRock23 , terrence L mccall , Talespinner Lore , Ryan Landry , Michael Castelli , Lyrad Fer , Silberwolf325 , steve , sata , AchroniaXenia , Kaiedi , Joshua , Alzein , Gavin Turlock , "BOWERS , BRIAN" , Mikael , Yrom , Kemizle
[collapse]Logical Summoner:
SpoilerNevinna , James Dean
[collapse]