[Omen of the Witchblade] Chapter 108 – The Head That Wears the Hat

“Charlotte Asleton,” the Holy See medic began, full of sympathy. “I am immeasurably sorry to say that there is not much more we can do for your condition.”

Dread crawled in from the fringes of Charlie’s mind, trying to crush her under the weight of Lormar’s Guilt. She reacted instinctively, falling back on her highborn training to protect against useless despair.

Shutting her eyes, she focused on the argent waves of cold echoing out from the star in darkness. It washed away the dread, leaving resolve in its place.

He should have picked a different class, she thought. Rather than being clinical, he seems to be the heartfelt sort. It was easier to be distracted by something so mundane than to dwell on the present reality.

“Even for a Second Champion?” she asked, fiddling with one of her many storage rings.

“Please understand, we are willing to hold nothing back to save you. Your prestige opens all doors within the Holy See,” he explained gently. “We have tried all that your High Copper body can handle.”

“I suppose it was foolish to hope that a Grand Order could heal nearly anything.” Charlie looked past the medic to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the comforting blue ocean. In her eyes, it was a pale imitation of California’s beautiful coast.

He looked down, ashamed. “Perhaps if you were Steel rank with your Life aspect…” He looked up, brightening with sudden hope. “Or if you were willing to tell us how the condition first occurred?”

“I can’t.” Charlie wasn’t willing to entertain spilling Magi secrets. Especially when she knew it would amount to nothing.

It’s not like I can, even if I wanted to.

He stepped closer, gently taking her hands in his. His voice took on a beseeching tone. “To lose a Second Champion healer of your caliber, with your unusual combination of aspects, would be a terrible travesty.”

Charlie’s opinion of the medic immediately lowered. No, not the heartfelt sort. His Grand Order wants an asset. And he’s doing whatever it takes to keep that asset.

“Yeah, painfully ironic, isn’t it?” Charlie gave him a false smile, taking her hands away. “Still, you managed to help. The timer is longer now.”

“Yes! You have a chance.”

That was stretching it, but a chance was better than none.

The Invocation spell that started this had gone all sorts of wrong. And yet, it was unlikely any of the other Magi suffered from this.

Charlie preferred it that way. Worrying about any other Magi she was close to with a countdown to the end of their life would be much harder. She could take care of herself and was driven more than most. The Blessing she earned opened opportunities in trials that would be invaluable.

Somebody else might find the condition to be a death sentence, as the quest literally called it, but she could manage.

Charlie went over to her two team members, Adam Prince and Almace, studying them thoughtfully. The Archivist, Almace, was having that arm ruined by Putrescence aspect tended to. Seals were placed all over it.

The thing is, if I continue to compete with these two, will I be able to advance fast enough to survive? Charlie found herself wondering with brutal honesty. Can Adam and Almace handle another trial without rest? I can’t wait that long.

As a trio, they claimed second place. But second place might not be good enough anymore.

Having earned a witch hat, she could convince any of the Magi to join her in the next trial. Except those loyal to Mel. Which was immensely frustrating.

Mel and her team had become the First Champions.

***

It was a hard choice to make.

A large part of Mel wanted to be contrarian and pick the seediest dive bar in the city to shack up in. It was practically hard wired in her.

Normally, they provided a modicum of privacy, cheap food, and easy access to illicit goods and people who didn’t ask any questions. For a Magi, that was great.

Unfortunately, she was now seen as a Champion first and a Magi second. She was instantly recognized as soon as she stepped foot outside of the hospital. That meant trying to lie low would be difficult, if not impossible.

While she didn’t want to live in an ivory tower, Mel was not about to say no to free food, massages, and a room with a gorgeous view.

She turned to Elian. “Can you get us the top floor of that tower there?” Mel asked.

“It will be done,” Elian said.

“What about the top five floors?” Mel pressed.

Elian didn’t even blink. “You could reserve the entire tower if you wished, and I do not think that Mistress Asani would turn down your request. You are a Champion of the highest caliber. I figured it would be best to explain what that means while you got settled in, but now is as good a time as any.”

“Meaning what?” Mel asked.

Gwen’s face was glued to the window, fogging it up with her excitement as she tried to look everywhere at once. On the other side of the spacious cabin, Heath was doing the same.

Elian crossed one knee over the other and laced his fingers over them. “Contenders, those placing in the top hundred, are minor celebrities. Top contenders, those up to the fiftieth spot, are able to swing just about anything within moderation. Then you have the elites, those up to the top tenth who don’t even need to ask, people just give them things.”

Mel couldn’t deny that she liked this more and more. She leaned forward despite herself.

“Challengers are those few in the top ten slots, with the top three being considered Champions denoted by their placement. Currently, there are ten Champions in your cohort. Twelve if you consider pairs. You, Mel, are a First Champion. Alongside Gwen, Thomas, and Heath. The Second Champions are Charlie, Adam, and Almace, with the Third Champions being Jacob and Fenris, Camilla, and Shrubley and Smudge.”

Gwen chuckled at that. “Hal’s going to be salty.”

“What’s the difference between a Champion and a Challenger?” Mel asked.

Elian looked up at the padded velvet ceiling thoughtfully. “A great deal. If I were to get into the details of the Convocation proper, we would circle the Seabrim Crater for days. Suffice to say that progression and power are within your grasp. You could not have chosen a better time to join the Shardrune. Paths to power are opening up beyond the Convocation trials that would have been sealed for eons. New godhoods, even full pantheons, are finally possible.”

“Godhoods?” Heath whispered.

“The Convocation makes gods,” Elian said. “That is the simplest explanation. For those that want godhood, of course. Immortality is also well within grasp if you wish for that, and everything in between.”

“Immortality does sound pretty good,” Mel said. Never waking up in a coffin again was definitely on her wishlist. “I’m guessing our Champion position makes us eligible for extra trials, right? Things that Challengers don’t get.”

Elian nodded. “However, if it is all right with you, I would prefer to wait until your entire party is present for a full explanation of Authority Levels and how the Convocation Leagues and Echelons function.”

Mel’s knee jerk reaction was to demand it now. She suspected that he would tell her, even if it meant telling it again to Thomas.

“That sounds fair,” Mel said begrudgingly.

“In the interim, you will likely be visited by the Grand Orders,” Elian continued. “The Grand Orders are universe-spanning organizations and societies with singular goals and purposes. They often put on a recruitment gala for the challengers. Champions can be expected to be paid personal visits from the local chapter leaders with offers that are commensurate with their position in the Convocation.”

Mel rested her elbows on her thighs and leaned in more. “So what you’re saying is that because we ranked first, we’ll have the pick of any offers we might want.”

“That, and much more.”

“For how long?” Mel couldn’t help but ask. “Nothing is free forever.”

“For a First Champion?” Elian shook his head. “Admittedly, it has been a very long time since the last Convocation, but I do not know of a single record of any First Champion that has not lived in the lap of luxury. If you wanted to quit right now, you could take your prize and live comfortably until old age claims you.” Elian chuckled. “Not that I expect you would find that enjoyable. Few Champions do.”

Heath looked over at Mel and Gwen incredulously. “Did I really beta my way to the top?”

“Just keep looking at the mountain, kid,” Gwen grumbled.

“The windows open,” Elian offered.

Gwen immediately stuck her head outside. When she pulled her head back in, her red mane was more like a red dandelion. “It smells amazing!”

The salty air filled the room along with a thousand different smells of blooming flowers, roasted food, and nearly every other pleasant scent imaginable.

Mel breathed in deeply. It was nice to be somewhere warm, with tons of new sights to experience.

“So we’re the prettiest girl at the dance,” Mel said. “What can we expect from the Grand Orders?”

“Even I can’t say,” Elian admitted. “They will use the Convocation to grab as much power as possible.”

“And that includes adding winners to their ranks,” Mel said, starting to get a picture of this new world. “Is there any cohesive government or ruling nation?”

Elian shook his head. “There are many rulers in each Ring and in each realm within the Rings, but there is no single leader. Who could possibly lead so many souls? It would be nigh impossible, even for a god.”

“You’ve mentioned Rings before.”

Sitting upright, Elian made a gesture.

Reminds me of Thomas, Mel thought as he made gestures in the air to form rings of golden light.

Elian stacked about 20 of them, each one getting a little smaller than the last until they formed a slim tower that formed a point at the top.

“We are on the First Ring, often called the Foundation Ring. It’s the lowest Ring and also the most populous. Home to countless souls. For now, we’ll skip inner and outer realms, but there are many more areas than shown here. The Second Ring, as you might have guessed, is directly above us. Not literally, but figuratively speaking. Then there is the Third Ring, and so on and so forth.”

“I’m betting there are more than just twenty rings,” Mel said.

“Very many more,” Elian agreed. “You may travel freely between them on your travels, but there are restrictions the higher you go. The universes up there are more…compressed. Monsters, people, environmental phenomena, they are all significantly more potent.”

Ascend the Rings, kill stronger monsters, got it, Mel thought to herself. Though somehow she expected it wouldn’t be that easy. The Convocation played a role somewhere in there, and where a System was involved, nothing was simple.

For now, she had to figure out the next step. Which was where to stay, except it was more complicated than that.

Mel had the Magi to consider. Her witch’s hat, granted by the System, was the traditional symbol of Magi power and leadership.

Mel wasn’t naive. Being First Champion wasn’t going to make her party immune from harm. Being at the top always garnered jealousy, and Mel had done some things during the trial that would have people frothing at the mouth to hurt her.

Being famous and well-known only made the target on her back larger.

It was unlikely they would be after her here, but it was possible. Money and connections could manifest assassins in even the safest places.

As much as she might want to go off on her own, her best play would be to use the assets given to her. Her own connections to these Grand Orders could offer her a modicum of protection. They wouldn’t want to lose a First Champion.

Of course, I might then make myself an even more powerful enemy in a rival Grand Order. She shook her head. This wasn’t her forte. Deklin loved this cloak and dagger stuff. Mel was better at inciting riots and toppling tyrannical rulers.

She didn’t like being at the top herself.

Some of the Magi weren’t in the top three either. They would have less protection and resources. If somebody couldn’t get at Mel to hurt her, they might aim for somebody less protected.

Mel wasn’t exactly a giving type, but she was put into a position of power. Not only as a First Champion, but with the hat.

Charlie Asleton was Mel’s only real opposition to control.

And she’s just a filthy Second Champion, Mel thought to herself smugly, resisting the urge to cackle.

Not that anyone could keep too tight a reign on the Magi. Still, at higher ranks, she would trust one of them over some rando. And there was something to be said about being around her own people.

Gwen and Thomas had proven that.

As Elian explained the multiverse and their role in it, as well as the amenities of the Starling Tower they would be staying at, Mel started to plot and conspire.

She would need to move fast if she wanted to enact her plans before her adversaries could respond. Not only did she have to worry about the Covenants out to get her and the Magi, but the various people who would love nothing more than to see her dead.

The only advantage she held was that they would take longer to acclimatize to this new reality. Humans from Earth would balk at all the magic on display here like Heath was.

Maybe I can use him as a canary, Mel thought. She would keep an eye on him, gauging how enamored he was with this new world.

How do you protect thirteen Magi? Mel asked herself. Magi were harder to herd together than cats, and ten times as violent. Even though they had all placed well, Mel knew firsthand that there would be bad blood about the positions.

She had to find a way to protect them from not just outside threats, but each other as well. The moment they fractured, their enemies would pounce.

Heavy is the head that wears the hat.