Sunfang frowned. He knew the Ossuary wouldn’t invest this much effort into something without a vital cause. There had to be a reason for those towers. Perhaps something only those with high soul densities could detect.

"Find our loyal Ossuarists," Sunfang ordered. "Tell them to investigate these sites from a safe distance. I want a report on the soul emanations coming from those structures. I want to know exactly what they are anchoring."

The messenger bowed deeply and hurried away to carry out the command.

Once the man was gone, Sunfang walked to the edge of the balcony and let out a sharp, piercing whistle that echoed across the castle spires.

Moments later, a regal Phoenix rose from the lower levels, its feathers shimmering like gold. It was a beast that could only be raised by an Arcanist of his caliber... a fully fledged Archon.

He leapt onto the back of the Phoenix in one fluid motion, and the bird took off into the sky with a powerful beat of its wings. Sunfang wanted a broader view of the city. He wanted to see the truth of this invasion for himself.

It did not take long to find what he was looking for.

Towards the western parts of the city, a needle-like tower was rising at an impossibly rapid pace. He leaned over the side of the Phoenix, watching as scores of Ossuarists below used elemental soul masses to shape the stone and metal with supernatural speed.

Despite himself and his wish to maintain the peace, he could not help the instinctive furrow of his brows. He was only just hearing of this, yet the tower was already standing nearly as tall as his own castle.

"Just what exactly are they doing?" he muttered.

He seriously considered steering the Phoenix closer to demand an explanation. This was his city for goodness sake. Did the name Sunfang no longer mean anything to these Ossuarists? Did they think they could simply build monuments of their own power in the heart of his kingdom without a word?

He made to move, his naturally fierce nature and his pride as an Archon spurring him forward. He felt his blood begin to boil, and the glow of the bird beneath him begin to brighten, matching his intentions. But before he could signal the Phoenix to dive, his eyes caught the perimeter of the tower.

A massive force of Preceptors were stationed around the site. Their soul masses were active and ready to strike, humming with a collective energy that felt like a warning. They were there to stop anyone, even an Archon, from interfering with the work. They stood like an unmoveable wall, not even bothering to look up as Sunfang circled above, as if his presence were a mere nuisance.

Sunfang grit his teeth hard. He felt his eyes flickering with the indecision of saving his pride and that of his kingdom, or taking this insult and saving countless lives from a needless death. He knew that a single attack here would lead to a terrible massacre.

In the end, his shoulders slumped at his sides, and he turned the Phoenix around with a gloomy face and retreated to his castle.

For all the reputation he had as a fiery man, the strongest Archon in the world — depending on who you asked — his love for his people was still enough to override his pride. He swallowed the insult, biding his time for when a better chance would present itself.

By the time the messenger returned with news from the loyal Ossuarists, Sunfang had already calmed himself to an extent. He stood on the balcony, his hands gripped tight behind his back.

"Lord Sunfang," the messenger called out as he stepped onto the stone platform.

Sunfang did not turn around. "Speak. What did the Caretakers find?"

The messenger hesitated, his voice trembling slightly. "The report is... odd, my Lord. The Ossuarists we sent... they said they could not feel anything coming from the towers at all."

Sunfang turned then, his eyes sharp. "Nothing? No soul emanations? Not even the slightest trace?"

"None, Lord," the messenger replied, bowing his head. "They said it was like looking at a shadow with no substance. Even our Grade 2 Caretakers could not sense a single pulse of energy from the structure. It is as if the towers do not exist to the soul."

That struck Sunfang immediately as odd. Was what the Ossuary doing so grand that even Feraxia’s veteran Ossuarists could not sense anything? A structure of that size, built at that speed, should have been screaming with some level of magical feedback.

Just what exactly is going on in the world right now...? Sunfang thought to himself, looking across the sky at the horizon.

.

.

.

Close to the World Tear, within the frozen mountains that lined the northern reaches of Feraxia...

Cade XV looked out at the vast gathering of Ossuarists that littered the surroundings for miles. He couldn’t help the sudden spark of awe he felt despite himself. The sheer volume of power concentrated in this one location was staggering. Already, he knew that all of this was in preparation for a single person.

The so-called Error Bearer.

He had heard so much about the man lately, and he had come to realize that it was the same person whose dragon he had coveted back at Stratus. Now that he thought about it, it seemed crazy to him that he had come so close to what was most certainly death. At the time, he had been focused only on the beast, even involving his sister and intending to use her specialties to get what he wanted.

Before his impulses could lead him to ruin, though, his father had taken control and stopped him from doing something foolish. In a way, he was thankful for his father’s intervention. But on the other hand, he felt a bitter sting of jealousy. It was a kind of envy that someone so young, someone not particularly older than him by more than two or three years, could draw this much dread and preparation.

This person commanded a level of hesitation from all Ossuarists, including his father and the ancestors in his family.

Even his sister. All this talk of the Error Bearer had put a glint in her eyes. It was a look of expectation. It wasn’t exactly awe, but she wanted to see just how great this man truly was. Cade felt the same, except unlike his sister’s sudden crazy intruige, his curiosity was on a much more tame scale.