Runeblade-Chapter 230B2 : Thy Strength…, Finale

A stallion, fighting through the haze of exhaustion and blood loss to feel the splintering crack of the wolf's skull that had harried his herd.

A greater beast he had no name for, tearing its way through two opposing armies that threatened to drown its peoples home in ash and fire.

A general, ordering his men to their death in order to prevent the loss of more.

A visionary, smiling as the noose slipped over their neck, certain that their death would be one of the last.

A king, leading the charge so that the soldiers behind would not falter.

All those and more washed over him in a storm of duty, sacrifice, and indomitable will. The scars of flesh and mind, the weight of ages, and the scorn of many tried to beat them down, to force them to change course. A dozen dozen figures rejecting what was, and what should be, in an endless struggle to force the very world itself to accept the reality of what they were.

Fighters to the last breath, be it blade or time.

He saw them. Their plight, their struggles, and their unyielding determination to throw themselves into the crucible again and again to achieve what they must.

He saw them, and understood.

Corporus surged like a pyre, and Porkchop burned.

Fangs of mutation ripped into his flesh, sinking ever deeper as tendrils of energy sank into his bones—only to scorch them to ash. Wrapping around his marrow, Corporus flared.

Impurities dissolved, and the refined remnants were morphed—changed to better suit the image of perfection his Aspect held.

The pain was exquisite, reaching to every facet of his body. It was a scouring unlike any other he had experienced. A judgement that had observed him in totality and found him wanting. A change, foisted upon the deepest and most essential parts of him.

It blistered the skin, and scoured the nerves, blurring into a single moment of incomprehensible discomfort that left no space for words or reactions.

Porkchop bore it silently—a price more than fair for the strength he needed.

Slowly, the tendrils of agony retreated from his flesh, leaving his marrow polished and concentrated in its wake. He could feel it, the raging vitality that had been left behind. From that deepest part of his flesh, it suffused all.

Viciously potent blood surged, nourishing his body, and filling him with renewed vigour. An indefatigable resilience making itself known to him.

**Ding! Corporus Aspect Founded - The Indomitable Mantle**

**Ding! Significant Feat of Strength performed under Observation. You have been awarded an Honour: Trailblazer II**

Porkchop’s eyes snapped open.

He chirped in delight, chest shaking as a wave of relief coursed through his veins.

The Honour.

He’d earned it. He wouldn’t be left behind.

Filled to the brim with buzzing energy, he surged to his feet, diving to where Kaius was watching him with a restless expression on his face.

“I got it! I got the Honour!” he yelled, pressing his brother down by his shoulders.

Kaius wriggled, trying pointlessly to escape—he’d neither the strength or mass to present a real challenge in a wrestling match anymore, disappointing as that was.

“Get off, you oaf!” Kaius yelled, before he craned his neck to scowl at their onlookers who had started to laugh.

Porkchop pulled back, grinning.

“Give me a second, I’m going to check what the Aspect does.” he said, settling down onto his haunches before he pulled up the description of The Indomitable Mantle.

The Indomitable Mantle:

Pillar Corporus - Seed Stage

A king may die, a general may fall, and a firebrand may hang. Their mantle does not—it endures.

Blade and fang, war and destruction, exhaustion and infirmity—all mean little in the face of duty and bond. The marrow-deep ache of sacrifice, the grinding wheel of attrition, the agony of effort beyond limits—all are withstood when action is required.

The Mantle seeks no glory, vanity, or reward. It is a shield first, a bastion second, and a force of nature last. It does not flinch when the weak cower, nor retreat when the strong demand it. Not because it is unthinking, not because it is fearless, but because it must.

Let the storm rage. Let the enemy come. Let the weight of the world bear down.

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The Mantle endures.

As an Aspect of Corporus, The Indomitable Mantle reforges the body with the resilience and will of those who do what they must. It does not prevent wounds—it ensures survival despite them.

Corporeal Reinforcement: Titan’s Marrow

The Pillar Corporus reinforces the marrow, purifying the body with the might of Titans. Improves ability to withstand and survive grievous wounds and reduces fatigue.

Seed: Only Those Who Bleed May Command

Leadership is an action, not a title.

Greatly improves the efficacy of Titan’s Marrow when acting in the defence of others, or the pursuit of a goal.

….

Kaius watched his brother closely, glad to see he was his usual energetic and playful self.

The fact that Porkchop had earned the Honour was a huge weight off his mind. As much as his bond-brother had tried to play at not being worried about being left behind, Kaius knew him well enough to know that was false.

He also hoped that their bond would work as it had in the Depths, and that Porkchop might have also gotten the reward from being first. Hopefully it had, not just because of the additional stats it brought, but because it should mean that the system would also grant him the information package—which would mean he wouldn’t have to wait until he’d already formed his Corporus aspect to get additional insights into how it was founded.

That said…maybe his own informational package had already been updated?

Taking a final look at Porkchop, Kaius satisfied himself that the oaf was still absorbed in the description of his aspect. Judging by the way his brother’s eyes were glazed over and roving back and forth, he was.

Understandable, considering the size his own notification had been.

Flicking his attention to the informational package, Kaius focused on the section where the system had described the core of Mentis. To his delight, there was more following it.

Informational Package - Aspects:

For Mentis, this Truth is the waystone of mentality, drive, conviction, and motivation. Understand the core thread that links these facets of the mind, and the Aspect is revealed.

For Corporus, this Truth is the core of how you move through the world—what and how you will endure, sacrifice, and struggle through in the pursuit of your desires. It is the locus of the body, and it is concerned with the method in which you chose to walk the path—when this is understood, the Aspect is revealed.

Ignite Pillar Animus to reveal the nature of their Truths.

Quickly dismissing the notification, Kaius heard Porkchop chuffing in delight.

“Anything good? I must admit, hearing about these aspects has me feeling rather jealous.” Rieker asked, his gruff voice carrying through the cold stone hall.

Kaius felt a pang of sympathy—anyone who had reached the guildmaster’s strength in the central regions of Vaastivar was without a doubt driven and determined. To miss out on a method of advancement due to something as small as the timing of your birth would eat him alive.

All things considered, he thought Rieker had handled it immensely well—a proof of his experience and wisdom, perhaps. Afterall, this was the first time he’d heard the man utter anything even approaching a complaint, and it was barely even one at that.

Though, more than that, Kaius was also curious about what Porkchop had gained. The system's words on Corporus, and the absolute trial of horrors that he’d just watched Porkchop push himself through without complaint had him hoping that it would be as significant as his own Glass Mind.

Porkchop nodded his head emphatically, before he launched into a hurried explanation of how Corporus had reinforced his body and changed his marrow—how it would make people able to withstand greater wounds without faltering, and push themselves closer to the edge.

That was a potent ability, in Kaius’s mind. While Endurance made people tougher—harder to injure—its impacts on how you actually withstood injuries were much less drastic. Present, and notable with enough levels, but much less so. If your guts were hanging out, or your heart or brain was destroyed, you were in a real pickle unless you had a specific skill that let you deal with that.

The same with exhaustion. Stamina did stop true fatigue from setting in, but it didn’t help with everything. As he’d found in their siege against the bogglings, if you kept going for long enough, it weighed on you—exhausted you in a way that went beyond the expense of Resources.

The kind of reinforcement that Corporus brought would be valuable for everyone. Even mages—he’d seen the way that Ianmus looked when he’d been burning through his mana pool. If Titan’s Marrow could help with mana burn too…that would align with the benefits he’d seen with the Glass Mind.

Especially when it seemed clear that the basic reinforcement of an Aspect was personalised by the seed. Both he and Ianmus had had their Glass Mind tuned to what they would need to use it for most, and it seemed the same with Porkchop.

Only Those Who Bleed May Command—A name that sent a jolt of tingles down his spine, not that he’d ever tell Porkchop that—did just that. It seemed tailor made for Porkchop, someone who’d been more than willing to take a hit for him on multiple occasions, and was more stubborn than anyone else he’d met.

Seeing Porkchop had finished his discussion with Rieker, Kaius decided to jump in.

“You should check your Honour, Porkchop. My information package updated.” he said with an easy grin, enjoying the way his friend’s eyes widened in response.

A moment later Porkchop’s eyes unfocused, though just for a moment.

“It did! I got the bonus!” Porkchop replied, infectious joy shining across their bond.

“Seriously, I still can’t believe you got a bond skill that lets you share system rewards like that; it’s patently unfair to the rest of us.” Ianmus said with a shake of his head, though Kaius could see his friend was smiling.

Rieker grunted in agreement.

“Now that you’ve all secured your advantage, do I have your permission to share some of these insights with the rest of the network? It’s likely that they’ll push a few of the others that are close over the line, and if we’re lucky we might be able to foist some of the heat about Honours onto them.” the guildmaster asked, waiting a moment for their excitement to die down.

Thinking about it for a moment, Kaius saw no reason to say no. At least, if Rieker could ensure that the information wouldn’t be hoarded further.

“Can you ensure that the sharing of Honours’ requirements go ahead if someone else gets one?” he asked.

The guildmaster nodded, firm and sure of himself.

“I can—I’m not sure if you’ve realised this, but the only way the Guild maintains its relevance in the face of noble dynasties is by being very good at scooping up unaligned promising upstarts like yourself. Mutual benefit is a founding tenant of the institution, and those in the Honours program all have plenty of reasons to act for the benefit of the many.” Rieker replied.

Nodding slowly, Kaius realised that it made complete sense. Rieker and Ro had been too quick to act, too comfortable in investing significantly in their safety and development, for it to have been anything other than standard operation.

“What do you get out of it?” he asked, swallowing his nervousness at questioning Rieker’s eminent authority.

The guildmaster raised an eyebrow. “Well, if we speak in general terms, if I guided a new delver into safely becoming someone of note, the guild would reward me on its own terms—if said person ended up in our proverbial ‘camp’ that is.”

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Ianmus nodded, standing up straight from where he was leaning on the wall. “It’s the same with the academies—for scholarship students, at least. I would have mentioned it, if I knew you didn’t know. Most institutional dynasties work like that on Vaastivar—A whole lot of dice rolls on forging good relationships in the next generation, and being too valuable to challenge outright.”

Rieker nodded. “Ianmus has the right of it. As for your case specifically—well, what you shared today would have been worth a thousand bad calls.”

That was a fair call—if anything, the scales were weighed in their favour after everything they’d shared with the man.

“Regardless, this has been enough for a day. You’ve all earned a day of rest, especially after your shit show of a mission.”

Kaius winced, after spilling his guts out to the guildmaster and watching Porkchop walk himself half to death, he’d almost managed to drive their poor showing against the bogglings out of his mind.

“Come see me the day after tomorrow—your training starts then. I’ll debrief you on your next mission when I've found something suitable.” Rieker finished, giving them all a nod.

Getting to his feet, Kaius watched Porkchop do the same—rising with surprising vigour after everything he had been through.

They followed Rieker out of the Trial hall, making their way up the stairs to the guildhouse proper.

Honestly, a cold beer and one of Hensch’s dinners at the Stables sounded perfect. A day of relaxation would do him good, but after that, he’d be pushing as hard as he could to unlock his next spells.

After all, he still needed a good handful of examples to truly start puzzling out the mysteries of Vesryn rune work.