Irene ranked up to tier two; I just felt you would want to know.

  -Apostolos

  Rory smiled. A little over a month for tier one to tier two was… slow; no getting around that. In her defense, she wasn’t actively hunting monsters like he’d been when he’d been around that tier, nor did she have the same one-on-one tutelage that Apostolos had received.

  Still, it was nice to see. Still smiling, another message suddenly appeared. It was good that he was still on the premises of the Maw, as the message function only worked across ‘owned’ territory. Still, the first and second floors of the Maw were considered their territory, making messages between the two possible.

  I just got a notification about being part of the city of Ehkorrus. I’m assuming you did something.

  -Apostolos

  “Huh, didn’t expect a notification to be sent about the settlement being named,” Rory said, shrugging. “Ehh, whatever, it’s a clever name for once, so no one should be able to complain.”

  The name was a play on words: Ichor and Icarus. Since the entire idea of Ehkorrus was to be rooted in both his and Apostolos’s affinities, blood, and solar, it seemed fitting. As the blood of the gods, Ichor was a subtle nudge toward improving and aiming ever higher. Icarus was the story of trying to reach the heavens themselves, ascending ever higher.

  Thus, Ehkorrus.

  “Eh-core-us,” Rory sounded the name out, making sure he had a definitive pronunciation before he was inevitably asked how to say it. “Hopefully, not too on the nose,” Rory mused. He’s purposely tweaked it from an ‘Ih’ prefix to an ‘Eh’ sound. While most wouldn’t know the story of Icarus, only other founders, specifically from Earth, Ichor was still a known and used word after all.

  Jogging back at a pace that would put the fastest sprinters of Earth to shame, Rory soon returned, stopping as he took in the triple-walled settlement.

  Is it me, or is there a copper tang in the air now?

  It was subtle, but Rory, with each inhale, felt as if he could catch the barest taste, not even a whiff, of copper and-

  -oranges?

  Even the Pneuma felt denser, as if the air had become subtly saturated.

  Having just selected the perks and decrees, Rory was excited about the changes already occurring.

  “Hey, master.” Rory saw Apostolos waving at him as he made his way to their camp proper, leaning against the gates.

  “What’s up?”

  “Do I have to point it out?” Apostolos said with a sigh. “The air is denser, crisper, and has a tang of blood and something else. Also, apparently, we’re now living in Ehkorrus.”

  Smiling, Rory opened his interface, mentally permitting Apostolos to view the sovereign interfaces, and flicked them over to the younger man.

  “I don’t understand most of this,” Apostolos said after a moment. “But it’s significant.”

  “For now, the differences shouldn’t be that big. Aside from the fact that I might need you to perform ritualistic bloodletting.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “But I digress,” Rory said with a wave. “Give me the rundown on Irene.”

  “She wasn’t offered anything that significant,” Apostolos said, shaking his head. “Well, mostly.”

  “Mostly?”

  “She ended up taking a skill called ‘Clan Minded’ that confers bonuses to being around people recognized as her clan.”

  “Those bonuses being?”

  “No idea. It was rather vague,” Apostolos shrugged. “Irene said she took it because she ‘needed anything she could get to coral everyone,’ and that was the end of the conversation. They’re not exactly… close with us yet.”

  “Give it time,” Rory said with a sigh. “But I understand her rationale. If she’s viewing herself as the one in charge of that little posse, a skill like that would be what I’d take as well.”

  “Mhmm. So, now what?”

  “Time for a town hall meeting. “Rory announced with a half-smile.

  “Are you, uh-?”

  “Joking? No.” Rory shook his head. “I think it’s time to start laying out visions for the future.”

  “Thank you all for arriving on short notice,” Rory said, his gaze sweeping across the seats surrounding the campfire, the first time he’d ever seen it filled with bodies.

  When you go from two people to ten -plus a snake- that tends to happen.

  The kids glanced amongst each other, things unsaid in those expressions that Rory could have taken a stab at guessing but left alone.

  “I take it you all saw the notification about Ehkorrus?”

  “Yah,” Gil said. He held a piece of obsidian between his hands, never glancing up at Rory as he frowned at the rock.

  Wonder what that’s about.

  “Well, to explain in short, I was laying a foundation for our home, Ehkorrus. A place of growth for not just you all but others to come as well.”

  That caught some of their attention, and they looked at Rory with intrigue.

  “Which brings me to my next point. The soonest we can expect more people to join us is a little under a year.”

  “Wait, really?” Greg questioned, seeming suspicious that Rory was tricking them somehow.

  “Yep, but-” Rory held out a hand, stopping any potential chatter. “It’s going to come off the back of an army of monsters attacking.”

  Their faces paled, fear crossing the younger one’s eyes.

  “For context, you eight arrived off the back of an army of monsters attacking. These walls that you see? Those turrets? Those were all built for the sole purpose of repelling the siege of monsters.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Rory didn’t mention how close of a call it had been.

  “With another year to prepare, I’m confident the next wave will be repelled even more successfully.”

  Rory suspected the Architect’s Bane partly influenced the wave to be more challenging than the average monster level would have suggested. While the next wave would be slightly higher level, it would also be less difficult if Rory was correct.

  “As I said, with an entire year’s worth of preparation, the wave will be defeated. But that brings me to another question of the future. What is it that you all want? I understand not all of you will have a tier by then, but it’s wise to plan for the future, at least partly.”

  The kids were silent for several seconds before Gil raised his hand.

  “Gil,” Rory prompted.

  “Miner. Maybe blacksmith.”

  “Really?” Rory said, surprised, leaving off the second half of what he wanted to say.

  Even with your history about dwarves?

  “I mean, yah,” Gil grunted. “I don’t like the name Gimli, but dwarves are still badass. Thought, why not do that?”

  Huh. Not quite what I expected. Explains the rock intrigue, at least.

  The unassuming Manda raised his hand next, prompting Rory to point at him.

  “Monsters.”

  “Monsters?”

  “I wanna tame monsters.”

  “You want to tame monsters?”

  “Yeah,” The boy said with a shrug. “I just… feel like it’s cool. I don’t know why, though.”

  “Interesting,” Rory nodded along. He wasn’t about to rain on any of their parades, and he was certain Eon would be more than happy to entertain nearly any idea if it were interesting.

  Without raising her hand, Marcie jumped to her feet.

  “Boxing.” She threw out a forward jab, smiling wickedly.

  “How do you know what boxing is?”

  “It’s where you punch stuff, right?”

  Right, more violent than I initially anticipated.

  “I want to build stuff!” John shot to his feet after Marcie, looking around. “Can I help you build stuff?”

  “You’ll all be helping; that’s called community,” Rory said with a half-hearted laugh. “But I appreciate the enthusiasm.”

  Glancing at Mariah, the girl fidgeted for a moment before sighing.

  “I like chemistry.”

  “Oh, do you now?” Rory was genuinely intrigued. Chemistry, probably alchemy now, was a field he was sure existed. He just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

  “Yeah. I like chemicals and stuff.”

  “Nifty,” Rory said genuinely.

  With that, only three remained unspoken. Greg and Violet were the second and third oldest and thus likely had to consider their thoughts with more certainty than the others.

  Lastly, there was Irene, the only one with a tier, tier two.

  “I’m not sure if I have a word for it,” Irene said with a deep sigh as she realized neither Greg nor Violet were about to speak up. “But I need to look after all these idiots.”

  “Rude!” John stuck his tongue out at his older sister, earning a glare.

  “I think that’s very thoughtful of you,” Rory said carefully. He bit his tongue to avoid voicing his honest opinion that basing your future around looking after others seemed contradictory to him. Still, then, that was how he viewed the world.

  Glancing at Violet -Greg seemed deep in thought- he waited for the girl to answer.

  “I…. I like fire. Is that bad?” Violet said after a moment.

  The redhead likes fire. Right, why not?

  “I don’t think so, as long as you don’t burn anything down.” Rory hesitated as he spoke, unsure if sponsoring an arsonist was a good idea.

  Actually, how likely is she to be able to burn any of this stuff?

  Slightly more confident, Rory tapped his foot several times as he considered his next words.

  “Interests are powerful. Apostolos was once trained as an apprentice under me, but he figured his path wasn’t the same as mine and began to chart his own course. He has faced some difficulties due to my influence, so I wanted to give you all a chance to consider what you want and to consider it early. You don’t need to be ironclad in your beliefs, and interests change. Still, it’s important to consider at least where you find yourself today and how stable the ground is beneath your feet.”

  “Is there going to be an earthquake?” Jon suddenly asked, looking around fearfully.

  “What? No, it was a phrase.” Rory shook his head at the thirteen-year-old boy. “So, Violet, you say you like fire. Why?”

  The girl hesitated momentarily before releasing a slow breath as if steadying herself.

  “It’s... It’s how I dealt with my frustrations. I don’t know why or what I was frustrated about. I just sense that I found comfort in fire, starting fires or staring into them. It doesn’t really matter as long as fire is involved.”

  Repressing memories from trauma, or a beneficial, albeit unintended, side-effect of losing so many memories from appearing on Aelia?

  If he had to guess, he would assume those lost memories were about her parents. Still, Rory wouldn’t hurt the girl by scratching at an itch that couldn’t even be appropriately addressed.

  “How about this?” Rory thought as he spoke, splitting a thought thread to ensure he thoroughly considered his words from multiple directions. “We can take time helping you find a healthy way to think about fire and how you might like to harness those feelings, alright?”

  He hadn’t expected such vulnerability only a month into knowing the kids. Either way, if he had to be the responsible adult who helped them through tough times, he would be, at least until they were well-adjusted adults who could fend for themselves.

  “I, I’d like that… I think,” Violet said. She was clearly emotionally drained; thus, she took a seat, leaving only Greg to answer.

  “Greg?” Rory prompted.

  “A chef.”

  “Like, the cooking kind?” Rory asked, taken aback. For all that deep thinking, he’d been expecting something equally profound to what Violet had said.

  “Hmm… Yeah.” The boy said quickly. “I like cooking. I just don’t know what to cook. It’s like… an empty book. Nothing is there at all. It’s daunting, but I can be the one to fill that book.”

  “Sure, why not?” Rory said with a shrug. He could give ‘ideas’ to the young man if need be; it was easier to work with than a girl who found therapy through fire.

  He wasn’t done, even though he’d just finished asking the teenagers their plans. Turning to his side, he looked at Apostolos with his eyebrows raised.

  “Wait, me too?”

  “You aren’t that much older than they are,” Rory said. “I have ideas about what you want to do, but you’ve never voiced it yourself. So, give it a name, a title.”

  Apostolos looked around, examining the camp as he found exactly how to phrase his intent.

  “I- I always appreciate you being here.” Apostolos started, apparently deeming story time necessary. “But master… You’re not always going to be here, are you?”

  That surprised Rory—not the idea of him leaving, as he already had plans regarding that—but the fact that Apostolos had gotten the vibe without Rory ever mentioning it.

  Staying silent for a moment, Rory finally chuckled, nodding.

  “Yep. Once I feel like everything is taken care of here, I want to spend some time doing my own thing. I was twenty-six, maybe twenty-five, honestly can’t recall, when I first appeared here. Ever since, my life has been a constant project to safeguard this, to make something from nothing. It’s been a good… God, at least fourteen years, probably more honestly, since then. While our physical aging is heavily slowed, that doesn’t mean I haven’t changed in that time.” Rory said with a deep sigh.

  It was a conversation that would have been better had between him and Apostolos, but he saw no reason to hide it from the kids.

  “It won’t be for quite some time, but that’s what I’ve decided. I’ll bust my ass, er, I’ll work hard-” Rory briefly censored himself, sometimes forgetting he probably shouldn’t cuss so freely in front of kids, even if they were all teenagers. “-So that when the day comes, I’m not needed here, that everything will be safe without me. Of course, this will still be my home, and I won’t be gone for good, not by a long shot, but I’d like to do my own thing for a bit.”

  It was his honest thoughts that had been slowly simmering in the back of his mind for years now. He was the Architect of the Precursors, but you couldn’t live up to such a title by only living your life in one spot.

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Apostolos said. “You’re not as hard to read as you think, master.”

  “Cheeky kid,” Rory said, only because it was often a thought he had about Apostolos. “So, what does that little bit of dialogue tell you?”

  “What I want.” Apostolos nodded to himself. “I’m not an Architect. Not an Architect’s Apprentice. I’m me. I live my way.”

  It was subtle, but Rory felt a stirring of power, something he doubted anyone else felt, a touch of energy reminiscent of his time talking to Eon.

  “I am the Chief Protector of Ehkorrus.”

  The subtle tides of power exploded outward in a warm breeze, and Rory knew precisely what had happened, as sure as if he were Eon himself.

  “Check your interface,” Rory commanded, a smile on his face.

  “Why- woah.” Apostolos’s eyes widened. “My vocation changed. Did you plan that?”

  “Nope, but I’ll pretend I did,” Rory said with a smile, thumping his former apprentice on the back. “Congrats. You’re officially out of my shadow.”

  The kids were wide-eyed, staring at Apostolos as if he were some divine being.

  “Oh, that’s right. Irene, do you have a vocation yet?”

  “Wha-? Oh, no. It just says, ‘citizen.’” The girl answered, regaining her composure from the sudden surprise.

  “No need to rush it. A Vocation only has minor effects on skills offered on tier-up. Oh, and Testaments, but that’s not something any of you will have to consider for quite some time.”

  Even Rory only had a few vocation testaments -three to be precise- and one of them had been a retroactive award rather than from something he’d done since.

  Feeling quite content with the flow of events, Rory clapped his hands together.

  “That said, I think it’s time to lay down a few legal codes. Um, first off, murder is bad.”

  His interface, which was floating in the corner of his eyesight and invisible to anyone but himself, was updated as the Legal Charter began to fill in.

  Legal Charter

  -Murder is prohibited (Strictly? Self-defense?)

  “Uh, murder is bad, but of course, self-defense isn’t the same thing as murder.”

  Legal Charter

  -Murder is prohibited (Except in cases of self-defense)

  Oh boy, this is about to be a slog, won’t it?