Spark ran a calloused thumb over the incomplete runic inscription. The one etched into the thick vellum page of his grimoire. One of his incomplete grimoires.
It was a complex array. Designed to bind several types of energies in a contained space. A tricky work.
He focused his amplified mental power. Feeding a trickle of soul energy through the stylus. Guiding the luminous ink. The air in his study was thick with nascent magic.
The hum intensified suddenly. Not from his work. But from the air itself.
Across from his desk, a point of golden light shimmered. Expanding into a softly glowing portal. Just large enough to admit a single small object.
A golden envelope, embossed with the regal crest of the Avianest Kingdom, slid through. And hovered. Bobbing gently.
It was the Avianest Messaging Service. Low-level spatial runes. Simple but effective. A formal letter?
Spark lowered the stylus. The rune briefly pulsing before settling. He reached out. Plucking the envelope from the air. He broke the wax seal emblazoned with the royal crest. And unfolded the fancy parchment within.
It was an invitation. To the King's hundredth birthday celebration. An obligatory event for all registered nobility.
He sighed. Missing it wasn't just a social blunder. It could complicate matters. Especially when he needed to leverage his noble status for permits, trade agreements, or access to restricted areas.
He didn't relish the thought of mingling with the sycophants and predatory schemers of the capital. But it was necessary. Power required playing the game. At least partially.
The celebration was a week away. Travel times were fixed. A six-hour dash on a fast passenger sky ship. Or a four-day overland journey by carriage.
The sky ship was the obvious choice for speed and comfort. Despite the higher cost. It also allowed him to arrive early.
And he needed to arrive early. His custom-built sky ship was nearing completion. Just a month out. A ship needed a crew.
For Spark, a crew meant loyal subordinates. Irrevocably bound and modified to serve his will without question. His trust issues were... absolute.
He didn't believe in loyalty bought with coin or fear alone. It had to be fundamental, soul-deep.
His Slave Grimoire was perfect for this. It was his trusted tool for acquiring assets. It bound. It brainwashed. It allowed for subtle, or not-so-subtle, modifications of personality and physical appearance.
It was, in essence, killing people. And replacing them with different ones. Ones with exactly what he needed. A perfect, loyal subordinate. While still carrying their previous knowledge and abilities.
He had his bottom line, though. He wouldn't do this to innocents. That wasn't ruthlessness. That was pointless cruelty.
He needed subjects whose lives were already forfeit. Whose identities were already considered worthless by society. People who, in his cold calculation, deserved whatever fate he imposed.
Applying the Grimoire to someone who hadn't earned a fate worse than death was a line he wouldn't cross.
It wasn't morality. Not really. More like a pragmatic definition of acceptable collateral. And a weird internal consistency.
Eagledome, the capital, was the best hunting ground for such recruits in the kingdom.
The city housed the Broken Claw Prison. Filled with death-row inmates. And also, the Chained Devil Slave Market. Where individuals convicted of severe crimes were sold.
And the lawless Hell Market. Where truly unsavory characters lurked. Often with huge bounties on their heads.
He had specific requirements for his future crew. Female. Not too old. Evil enough to be on death row or equivalent. But with diverse and high potential for development.
He wasn't building a band of cutthroats with similar abilities. He was building an elite asset pool.
...
The next morning, the sky ship Peregrine Swift departed Gutlark Town. Just an hour after dawn.
Spark occupied a larger private cabin section. With Lilith and Ivy.
Lilith was dressed in a sharp mix of assassin-secretary outfit. She aptly handled their documents. And confirmed their itinerary with the ship's purser.
Ivy was looking like a slightly too-curious battle scholar. With her glasses perched on her nose. She meticulously unpacked a small bag containing various vials. Organizing them with quiet precision.
Both moved with an underlying grace that hinted at their true capabilities. Hidden beneath their adopted personas.
Spark was towering over most passengers even when seated. He leaned back in his chair. Watching the coastal landscape shrink below.
The journey was smooth. The sky ship was gliding on manipulated air currents easily. Thanks to powerful lift runes and directional thrusters.
The first two-hour journey was calm.
But then, the alarm blared.
A harsh, grating whistle cut through the gentle hum of the engines. The ship tilted violently. Passengers cried out. Scrambling for handholds.
Outside the reinforced viewport, a vessel that looked like a jagged scar against the blue sky swarmed into view. Black sails. Skeletal rigging. And a hull bristling with mismatched weapons. A sky pirate ship.
"All passengers to the main deck! Force shields are active!" A disembodied voice boomed over the ship's internal address system.
Spark remained seated. He had been expecting trouble. His Danger Warning Necklace had been warm for a while after all. But he didn't expect it would be a pirate attack. He was ready though.
Lilith and Ivy stood up. Instantly alert. Their eyes were scanning the cabin. Assessing escape routes and potential threats. Their movements were calm though. Ready. They were equipped with the same Danger Warning Necklaces after all.
The sky ship's defensive force shield shimmered into existence. A transparent golden dome enveloping the vessel.
Outside, the pirate ship opened fire. Glowing projectiles shot out. Some clearly alchemical. Others powered by crude runes. They slammed against the shield. The Peregrine Swift shuddered with each impact.
"Let's go to deck! Get ready for combat!" Spark ordered. He stood up. Stretching his massive frame.
Once the three of them reached the deck... A suicidal surge from the pirate vessel changed everything.
With a terrible screech of stressed timbers and rending metal. The pirate ship rammed the force shield head-on. It wasn't just an attack. It was self-destruction.
The pirate ship dissolved into a storm of debris upon impact. Overwhelming and shattering the Peregrine Swift's shield in a blinding flash.
The internal alarm shrieked louder. "Shield compromised! Boarders incoming!"
Grappling hooks slammed into the hull. Dark figures swung across on ropes. Dropping onto the decks. Chaos erupted.
"Looks like a messy party has just started." Spark said. A predatory grin touched his lips.
He moved with surprising speed for his size. Grabbing a reinforced wooden plank that had come loose during the impact.
Tier-1 awakened pirates, were-beast thugs with metal blades and axes, swarmed into the deck. They were Framepath Warriors, the most common types of awakened individuals. Spark met the first wave without fear.
He didn't need special weapons. He didn't need to transform. His enhanced physical power was immense. A swing of the wooden plank struck one pirate's chest plate and sent him flying out of the ship. Falling down from the sky.
A brutal punch to another's head caved in the were-beast face. Spark moved like a juggernaut. Direct and devastating.
Lilith flowed through in her own way. She was a blur of controlled motion. She used her summoned cursed dagger to deliver precise strikes. Targeting weak points with lethal efficiency.
Tier-1 pirates crumpled silently around her. Their lights were going out before they even hit the floor. She moved with the grace of a dancer. Every movement was economical and deadly.
Ivy, meanwhile, wasn't just standing there. She was tossing small vials. Some shattered on the ground. Releasing clouds of noxious, disorienting gas that choked and confused the boarders.
Others exploded in flashes of light. Or sticky, binding goo. Her poison-potion study and alchemy had developed extremely well due to Spark's support. They were highly effective crowd control against lower-tier opponents like this.
They cleared their section quickly. Pushing forward towards the main area where the bulk of the fighting was happening.
Here, the pirates were tougher. Better equipped. Tier-2 enhanced pirates clashed with the ship's security details. And passengers foolish or brave enough to fight back.
Spark tore through the enhanced pirates like paper. They were stronger and faster. Sure. But his physical might and enhanced speed were simply on a different magnitude. Even without activated Framepath Fusion.
Lilith and Ivy worked in tandem. One incapacitating, the other finishing. Or both striking simultaneously at different targets.
They seemed to anticipate each other's movements. It was a result of both coordinated training and the subtle influence of the Grimoire's modifications. They were efficient. Ruthless. And completely focused on Spark's safety.
Spark, Lilith, and Ivy were still holding back to avoid revealing their true power levels. But then... the higher-tier threats emerged.
A roaring figure, a were-rhino, blasted apart a segment of the deck with his huge mace. A Tier-3 Framepath Warrior.
Another, shrouded in shadows, flitted through the fighting. Purplish fire balls struck two of the ship's security officers. Turning them into collapsed, skeletal bodies. A Tier-4 Soulcraft Sorcerer.
And then, a hulking brute landed. His metallic armor sparkled with glowing runes. As he shrugged off the Magic Missile blasts from a security officer.
His counter-attack laser blast threw the officer back. Crashing into the ship's floor. A Tier-4 Technocraft Engineer.
The Peregrine Swift's defenders were being pushed back. Panic began to spread among the remaining passengers.