Chapter 1174 (1/2)

“Uh oh. Uh oh,” Octavius Shrike hissed in growing alarm as he looked at the carefully calibrated instruments he had arrayed in front of him. His mastery of Aether had been stretched to the limits to make all these methods to keep track of the slippery and paranoid Randidly Ghosthound. And now those instruments were braying out alarms.

Something had happened. Something big.

His fingers carefully wove a series of tight runic sigils in order to control the news, but the few seconds edge Octavius had over the overlay System wasn’t enough to allow him to suppress this news. So Octavius frantically tried to delay while he parsed apart the same dense Aether communication that the overlay System was dealing with. And it took Octavius several seconds to understand what he was looking at.

Randidly Ghosthound had broken another mold; he had created a Fateset. Octavius honestly didn’t even know what that meant, but the Aether was very clear; there was a Fate that was part of a set. Octavius could look at this optimistically because this wasn’t Randidly transgressing the rules of the System for an additional time, but it was also so much worse than that. Because this news was nowhere near as insignificant as some confusion and complaints from citizens of the Nexus who had been cheated out of their roles as Champions or Nemesai.

This was an achievement. Progress. A possible Path for evolution in the System. After Randidly had done it, the Council of the Nexus would convene and discuss what led to it, and how it could be encouraged in the future. Especially if it was determined that there was power in creating a Fateset.

Randidly would be rewarded for this. And that reward would come with a lot of strings and attention.

Very quickly, Octavius Shrike implemented his contingency plan. In his attempts to keep the details of what was going on within his Cohort quiet, Octavius had prepared several ‘distraction’ events that would serve to delay the placement of addressing Randidly Ghosthound on the agenda for the Council. Due to the magnitude of this achievement, Octavius released all of them at once. Because if he couldn’t stop the meeting from being scheduled, Randidly would be thrust into the spotlight.

Now, before he had finished growing. And the monsters of the Nexus would devour him.

“You are more trouble than you are worth,” Octavius hissed as he frantically used shortcuts to input his information into the Grand Nexus Calendar. But in his heart, he didn’t believe that statement. He picked up a small wooden bowl of coffee for a fortifying sip and then continued to work. After all, Randidly had given him the first glimmer of hope he had for decades.

How long had Octavius been a middle manager? Struggling just for this chance to become Overseer of an entire Cohort? It was a chance of a lifetime. And besides the pittance the Nexus would reward him per soldier that rose from his Cohort, the real benefit was the chance to make an amicable relationship with someone powerful while they were still growing into that power.

That was the true opportunity that being an Overseer presented. And Octavius was determined not to miss it, especially because the whole reason he was having difficulty was how exceptional Randidly Ghosthound ended up being.

Octavius had never seen anyone grow in such a unique way as Randidly Ghosthound. Which was why, despite the extra work it meant for him, Octavius would do everything short of breaking a rule in order to protect him.

Unfortunately, it seemed that his tiny distractions weren’t enough. This achievement was one that that System took very seriously. An emergency meeting was being scheduled, despite the distractions Octavius had prepared. The Aether streams converged and the schedule was immediately changed.

Octavius’s heart trembled as he saw the ripple through the Grand Nexus Calendar, the monolithic existence which determined all of the actions of the Nexus. One week from today was the final date of the meeting.

Discuss the situation of Randidly Ghosthound.

Octavius grimaced. Just from that name, it was clear that someone else was manipulating the overlay System to investigate him. Someone else wanted this investigation. Which was problematic, because-

There was another ripple. The event disappeared as though it had never been there.

Very gradually, a frozen Octavius began to thaw. Too many events too quickly had rendered him jittery, so he took another fortifying sip from his coffee bowl. Removing an event from the Grand Nexus Calendar was something that could be done in three ways. By a majority vote of the Council, by executive power of a current or former chairperson of the Council, or as an emergency measure by one of the many special Envoys that had performed extraordinary merit for the System and had existed in the Nexus for years.

As it was, the abrupt disappearance probably wouldn’t even be noticed by many. Not unless someone was watching Randidly Ghosthound as closely as Octavius had been. And in this case, there were two individuals who were closely watching the Ghosthound’s growth. Someone who wanted to bring him to the attention of the Council and someone who did not.

Obviously a quorum hadn’t been reached to cast a vote, so it seemed to Octavius that the latter individual was likely more powerful than the former if they were able to knock the event off the calendar. But still…

Although the situation was delayed, it was only a matter of time before Randidly endured the scrutiny of the Nexus Council. One event could be removed, but the System had made a note of Randidly’s achievement. It couldn’t be avoided forever.

Well, at least no one knows that I’m watching too… Octavius tried to comfort himself. But the thought made him somewhat sad.

*****

Randidly frowned at the open portal in front of him that let him see down the slope toward Donnyton. He could see the terraced living quarters along the mountain ridge and the bustling streets that sprawled out around the low hill that was the center of Donnyton. South and East were brightly-lit shops and processing facilities, slowly fading into intermittent farms and orchards as you moved farther away from the city proper. Up to the North and West the industrial district spewed smog up into the air, steadily churning along. The clang of hammers on metal echoed up, even from this distance.