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“Hmm. Then what else...?” Hector rubbed his face, trying not to focus on how tired he still was or how everything still ached. He took a deep breath and thought back. “I already know that there’s a limit to the amount of iron I can make, so... well, how does that work, exactly? I mean, I know the limit can increase as my, uh, as my proficiency does, but... uh...”
‘The volume limit is also reliant upon proximity. Anything you create is counted towards that volume limit as long as it’s within your range.’
Hector tilted his head. “So... if I’ve maxed out on the amount of iron I can create, then... to make more stuff, I have to either destroy something or... move away from what I already created?”
‘Correct.’
“Interesting...” He looked out across the wavering horizon. “Maybe I should figure out what my range is.”
‘Not a bad idea. Your range will grow over time, but it could still be useful to know what it is currently. And there’s plenty of space out here to work with.’
“Time for some tests, then...”
Chapter Forty-Five: ‘O, noble men of the Crown...!’
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King William Belgrant was simultaneously restless and exhausted. Sleep had been a fleeting rarity of late. The best he could hope for was the numb, groggy feeling that accompanied his meds.
He had a host of doctors checking up on him regularly. He didn’t look his best, but his pallor was nothing that a few cosmetics couldn’t fix.
Mostly, the King’s presence had become a façade for the public. Prince Gabriel had assumed the vast majority of Helen’s responsibilities, which William knew to be far from ideal, but he was in no position to do anything about it. It was difficult enough just trying to understand what was going on. These monstrous people of Abolish rarely bothered to explain anything to him. It was always a choice between doing what they said or being tortured. Or watching someone else be tortured.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
The best he could hope for was the numb, groggy feeling that accompanied his meds.
ReplyDeleteRecommend you fix that up there.
Maybe I'm blind, but I'm not seeing what's wrong here.
ReplyDeleteperfectly honest I'm not sure myself, now that I think of it.
ReplyDeleteBad past self!
OF what I've read so far I assume Hector can create beyond his sphere of influence with a lever, so to speak. Like the spire he created, shoving the top beyond his influence by creating more iron below it.
ReplyDeleteMy evil sense is tingling with the following plan D:
1) Hector skydives
2) Hector creates the biggest sphere he can as he falls. Better yet if he makes it aerodynamic for higher speed.
3) Hector releases sphere, deploys parachute
Fun all around! Except at the impact site, of course.There will be slight dent. Lets call it a crater.
i was just thinking frosty how does gravity affect hector's power? As in we know he can create a ball of iron in mid air but when does gravity take over? When the first particle is formed or does it politely wait for him to finish his project before taking over?
ReplyDeleteGravity begins affect it as soon as the material appears. It's fast, yes, but gravity still requires time to accelerate. To create something very large in mid-air would mean adding onto it as it falls. Not the easiest task, certainly.
ReplyDeleteDamn I feel so bad for William, there's literally nothing he can do. And even if he were to die, Abolish might just rez him just for shits and giggles. I feel so bad for him...
ReplyDeleteCan they just resurrect him?
ReplyDeleteI thought they could only do it if the servant also wanted.
And if he became strong then he would be a real pain in the ass for them.
No. The resurrection is completely in the reaper's hands. It's Garovel (and other "good" reapers) that give the servant the choice.
ReplyDeleteAnd about William getting strong. It's hard to explain why that wouldn't be such a problem without spoiling anything. Suffice to say, there's many factors that decide if a servant becomes "strong".
Not quite completely. If you just want to keep a prisoner alive and have powerful servant companions, you can keep someone as an unwilling servant for a long time with little risk.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you want an actual useful servant, an unwilling one is worse than useless. You have no options for coercion besides releasing or tranquilizing them, you won't be able to take a good servant until you release them, and once they can produce soul-strengthened anything they have the ability to threaten YOU.
...dude. You do realize I know all that, right? I was being intentionally vague. You didn't explain anything. Not to me.
ReplyDeleteDen y u say only good reapers give their servants a choice? Even evil ones have to make sure their new servant will be willing to obey them.
ReplyDeleteReread the Stoker's story and flashback and then tell me if a servant has a choice. Hell, just read Lawrence's story. A choice reof doing something I against my better judgment or dying is not much of a choice at all. But you and I may have a different definition of the word.
ReplyDeleteGarovel: I
ReplyDeletetry not to petition murderers and the like for this job, so yes, there
is some judgment involved, on my part. What’s more, I didn’t pick you. I
asked you. You’re the one who agreed.
Hector: But... a second chance like this... who the hell would turn down your offer?
Garovel: Someone who just wants to die.
remember
Nice that you used Garovel as an example when he was the very person I talked about in the beginning. However, it's unnecessary to talk about this further. You and I have a different interpretation of the word "choice". I explained my point of view iny last comment.
ReplyDeleteMy point was that some people really would rather die than be a (given reaper's) servant, so "serve against your better judgment vs. death" really is a choice that even bad reapers really have to offer prospective servants, otherwise they risk wasted time at best and treachery at worst.
ReplyDeleteOk, I must ask now, what part of "different interpretation" are you not understanding? You want me to explain my point of view even further? What's the point?
ReplyDelete