Chương 41

After Kirkland Albion departed, the four individuals lingered in Administrator Ranya's office.

"He is bolder than expected," Laila whispered. That finally snapped Seth Rechves out of his stupor.

"We would be dooming ourselves with this path. It tramples tradition. In the wake of the Bloody Solstice- by the wound, we risk censure!"

"By the same token, there would be benefits," Ranya observed. Her mind made a mental checklist. Honestly? She was impressed. It would likely solve the immediate problem while also binding the people of the hold to her side. All without revealing any of her secret cards. But she calmed her excitement and looked at Balkan.

"What do you think?"

"Theoretically? Workable. And truly, I am on the cusp. However…" The unassuming man reached up and rubbed his head.

"It worries me. To create a disturbance of the necessary magnitude, someone in my position is required. Which might mean the whole of the Albion Family is aware, which means they looked into my situation, which means they might know more about us than I would like." Ranya's skin prickled at Balkan's point. But she asked about her other worry.

"What about the issue of pollution? At your Tier, the risk is significant, is it not?" Some of Maylor's darkness seeped out of this Archetype. He leaned forward, tense and trembling, and smiled.

"Who knows? But it is a risk I'm willing to take."

"Bold," Laila repeated. Rechves's eyes bulged, looking from Ranya to Maylor.

"We cannot commit to this without understanding Albion's angle."

"It seems obvious," Laila countered.

"Chaos. If we do as he suggested, every Maester in the Kingdom will be denouncing our recklessness. Merchant groups will magnify every bit of minor violence from our 'tainted' Conduits."

"We'd be the center of the Kingdom's attention." Ranya sighed.

"It would free up the Albions to make moves elsewhere."

"Can we risk that?" Rechves ran a hand through his hair. Laila shrugged.

"If we can't be smart, we can be quick. Who cares if everyone is watching- once we begin, we can't be subtle." Everyone fell silent for a moment, somewhat dazed. Even Ranya felt her heart flutter. They had planned their revenge for so long; would this really be the first step down the route of no return? Maylor had calmed enough to speak.

"The Youngest Albion did not ask to be named in the execution of this plan."

"He didn't, and that's exactly why we will slap his name all over it." Ranya chuckled.

"A little hedge, in case it doesn't work. It was not our fault-- we were following the advice of Kirkland Albion."

"Are you sure-" Rechves tried one more time, but Ranya nodded decisively.

"It will take time to arrange. Our goal is to have everything disseminated by tomorrow morning, officially begun in three days, and ready for the day of reckoning in two weeks." The Administrator looked around.

"So let's get to drafting the proclamation."

That night, Kirk dreamed again of his previous life; he walked with his shoulders hunched forward. He slouched through a crowded city. In every direction he turned, people followed him with hollow eyes. Looking at him, watching him, commenting on him, observing him, judging him, praising him, chasing him, chastising him. Kirk walked and walked, going from one end of the city to the other, but everywhere those eyes burned into him- Kirk sat up, panting slightly.

He reached up and wiped away the sweat from his forehead. Kirk looked down at his damp hands.

"The old me had a lot of anxiety, huh?" His expression softened.

"I've become you. That… well, it isn't very fair, is it? But I promise you this-- I'll give us a life that matters. I'll change the world and make it a better place. You existed. You mattered." Kirk's heart stirred. Fleeting and quick, doubt, disbelief, and a flicker of hope seemed to zip through him. But just as soon as those emotions arrived, they vanished. He wondered if he had just imagined those feelings, to feel more justified in his existence.

Kirk might have lingered in his tent, pondering, if not for two things. First, his stomach rumbled. And second, as he listened, he could hear a growing commotion at the other end of Peakhold. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. A chill seeped across Kirk; he hoped another Conduit team hadn't been ambushed. He pushed out of the tent and hurried toward the healing area. But his steps slowed.

As he moved, several Conduits were giving him strange looks and muttering to each other. His heartbeat quickened; it was a rather annoying parallel to the dream. Still, his clenched stomach eased; the commotion wasn't from the Healing quarter. It was from the open muster area by the gate of the hold. As he trotted over and more individuals gave him looks, Kirk wasn't sure what to say. In that space, Healer Michaels stepped forward and stood arms akimbo. He glared at Kirk.

"What the hell, kid. Are you really dumb enough to have an idea like this?" Kirk blinked several times. The Healer pointed. Overnight, a large sign had been erected by the gate. An announcement had been scrawled across the paper in fancy, looping letters. Emergency Response to the Impending Rift Wave By Order of Administrator Ranya of Peakhold, Official Appointee of the Regional Maester Council, with consultation with Kirkland Albion All Conduits reading this are hereby conscripted.

In order to avoid widespread damage of a Rift Wave, Kirkland Albion has come up with a plan to trigger the wave early, via multiple simultaneous, high Tier Ascensions within the Rift, to destabilize the energy density before additional geometric anomalies gather. After the preamble, Kirk couldn't help but grin. He had thought it was aggressive, even as he offered the idea to the Administrator. But he remembered the fervent desire of Zuri and Clara, as well as even Rufus, to Ascend.

He recalled his own anticipation and excitement, thinking about his Archetypes growing. What better way to unify a community?

"Eh? Eh?!" The Healer waved his hands in front of Kirk's eyes.

"Are you listening?"

"I am exactly dumb enough to have that idea." Kirk whispered. Michaels threw his hands up into the air.

"But why the hell did you involve me?" Kirk moved forward, reading the smaller text. A total of forty-nine individuals will be chosen to participate in the unified Ascension, with the aim of destabilizing the ambient energy. Peakhold will put the remainder of its significant Conduit forces into a defensive perimeter to provide cover. Kirk Albion has assured us that, via a united and cohesive ritual, the effects of the pollution will be heavily mitigated.

Preference for inclusion will be given to higher long-standing contributors to Peakhold. However, amongst the same Tier, the individuals selected will be those who donate the most time/energy to the Healer Quarter of Peakhold, to address the growing strain-"You don't want the help?" Kirk asked. Michaels reached up and tugged his hair.

"Who cares about the help- do you have any idea how much paperwork it's going to take to record all the people who want to donate their time and energy?" Before Kirk could respond, a woman pushed forward and bowed to him.

"Kirkland Albion. A pleasure to meet you. My name is Tuelle Rain. Your plan is a stroke of bold genius. But will the pollution really-""Ahem, ahem," A sweaty man jogged over.

"Kirkland! We bought meat pies from the same merchant, last week."

"I was already speaking to the Young Master," Luelle sniffed. While those two glared at each other, other armored figures pressed closer.

"Excuse me-""I'm Jerome Massa.

"Evelyn Wittles-""Lord Hookhands-"Oy! Stop crowding!" Healer Michaels stomped his feet. Most of the surrounding individuals were also Tier II, but they were still somewhat cowed. Before the introductions could continue, Michaels grabbed Kirk's arm and dragged him away. He muttered over his shoulder.

"Do you see? Shit, and this is just the beginning. Word is going to spread fast." Once they were back in the tent, Kirk asked.

"How many Conduits are in the area around Peakhold?"

"Right now? Maybe five hundred or so. But that will change soon. Sure, we had the draw of the Rift Wave Silver Treasure. But that only really pulled the desperate. Once the rumors spread that there is an Albion-backed, Hold-run, giant Ascension Ritual about to happen?" Kirk frowned.

"But we only have fifty spots. Will people not Ascending be willing to participate?"

"Yes. A lot of those people who will Ascend have Troops. Those teams are incentivized to make sure the plan goes off without a hitch. And secondly, did you see the bottom? Once the Ascensions are finished, the hold's conscription instantly ends. It might only be half-formed, but anyone who wants to go find the treasure material will be able to claim it for themselves. In order to participate in that search, even a Tier III might loiter around as guards for a bit." Kirk rubbed his chin.

"And they want to do this in two weeks?"

"A little over, but yeah. Shit, it's probably good that you set the standard for donated energy, because every foolish Conduit even close to Ascension will be putting themself through the meat grinder to try and satisfy their requirement by then. We are going to have a constant flow of wounded." Healer Michaels looked up.

"Oh, but don't worry. Since it's your idea, you'll get a spot, easy." Kirk shrugged.

"I doubt I'll be ready to Ascend in two weeks." Healer Michaels froze. He pivoted around slowly. His eyes burned as he looked at Kirk.

"Wait a moment. I thought you were an idiot, hatching this mad plot, just to give yourself the best environment to Ascend. But- but you aren't close to Ascension. So you came up with this shitty plan to help other people Ascend? A shitty plan that involves me bogged down with paperwork-" Kirk nodded. With all the quickness of a Tier II, Healer Michaels bounded across the tent, hands outstretched toward Kirk's neck.

"Die, sinner!"