Honour Rae
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B2 Ch40: Memory-Keeper
🕑 Added 2022-12-28 04:50:46 +0000 UTCArthur woke up.
He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, other than something was terribly wrong.
Notifications from his Heart Deck flashed in front of his face. Though he saw the words and recognized them to some degree, he was unable to piece them together. It was as if someone was screaming gibberish in his head. A constant noise he was unable to block out, and he was much too scatterbrained to understand.
But he wasn't frightened. Not even particularly upset. Perhaps this should have been the most alarming thing of all, but he found himself almost completely disconnected from his own emotions.
A face swam into focus over him. Though he knew those features and there was nothing wrong with his eyes, it still took Arthur a few moments to recognize him.
"You cut your hair," Arthur croaked.
Horatio smiled though there were lines of strain on his severe face. His dark hair was cut short to his scalp, which sharpened his features and emphasized his nose. He looked like the bully's evil toady Arthur had seen in plays.
More than that, he looked both worried for Arthur and anxious about something else. He kept stealing glances across the room.
"Arthur, you're blocking the healing."
"I... what?"
Again, Horatio glanced across the room as if for confirmation over what he was about to say. "You need to release your mind skills."
Words and understanding still felt slippery. Arthur blinked at him, replayed what he had just heard, and then wondered how Horatio had such a firm grasp on his abilities.
Only then did he realize he had been unconsciously holding on to his Empathetic and Telepathic blocking skills.
Horatio had known Arthur for years and must have seen the stubbornness on his face. "Please. They know what they're doing. Trust me."
It was the worry in Horatio's eyes that made Arthur waver. The moment he did it was as if a cottony cloud swept into his mind.
He didn't think he passed out, exactly. He just wasn't present in his own body anymore.
The next thing he knew, he was sitting up in a massive bed, leaning against half a dozen feathered pillows. The room was large and well-appointed with oil paintings of dragon riders posing with their beasts up on one wall, double doors leading out to a sweeping balcony large enough for a dragon to land on, and several expensive looking pieces of furniture meant to sit or lounge.
Sitting next to his bed was the rider of the white shimmer dragon.
Up close, she wasn't as young as Arthur thought. Crow’s feet pinched the corners of her eyes, but her bone-white hair was straight and perfect as ever.
She has to have a card for that, he mused and realized it was the first clear thought he'd had in... he didn't know.
The rider smiled at him. "Hello Arthur. How are you feeling?"
She knew his name.
He looked cautiously around for a clue of how deep in trouble he was. He found nothing in the unfamiliar room to reassure him. No sign of Horatio, either.
"Was my friend even here?" he asked instead of answering. "Or was that a vision placed in my head?"
"Junior rider Horatio was here," she said. "I had hoped a familiar face would set you at ease. You had extensive psychic damage, and your skill blocks prevented me from healing them."
Swiftly, Arthur checked the notifications he had been too muddled to read earlier.
New skill level: Empathic Resistance (Shield Class)
Level 12
New skill level: Empathic Resistance (Shield Class)
Level 13
New skill level: Empathic Resistance (Shield Class)
Level 14
New skill level: Telepathic Resistance (Shield Class)
Level 11
New skill level: Telepathic Resistance (Shield Class)
Level 12
New skill level: Telepathic Resistance (Shield Class)
Level 13
New skill level: Telepathic Resistance (Shield Class)
Level 14
It seemed the more she tried to access his mind, the stronger he became.
She succeeded in the end and that worried him.
"My name is Agatha," she continued, "Here is my card."
To his shock, she gestured to her chest and a projection of her card flashed into view.
Mind Healer
Rare
Healing/Mind
The wielder of this card has the ability to repair physical, mental, and emotional trauma. This healing is limited to the mind, physical brain-matter, emotional state including aura, and subconscious. Deep and/or extensive healing sessions may require the use of mana. The wielder must be within physical touching distance of their patient in order to heal.
Arthur read it swiftly and flicked his gaze back to her. This could be a trick, but for what end?
His thoughts had been so muddled he couldn't function before. Now he felt good as new.
There may still be an unpleasant surprise in store, but he felt the healing was legitimate at least.
"Uh, thanks," he said, feeling awkward. "How bad was it?"
A look of annoyance crossed her face, though it wasn't aimed at him. "That blasted scourgeling injured you far more than you were aware. Then you went and exacerbated the psychic tears by using skills which required mana, which you don't have." She gave him a sharp look. "As your healer, I strongly urge you to purchase a card capable of unlocking mana."
He nodded, unnerved that she knew so much about his abilities.
"Then there's the usual damage," Agatha said. "There is usually some scarring from trauma. I patched that up while I was at it. Think back to the events around the eruption. How do you feel?"
Arthur frowned. He remembered everything perfectly, but... "It feels like I'm... not there? It's like it happened to someone else?"
She nodded. "Standard practice in these cases is to separate the emotions from the events. This is temporary, and the full emotions linked to the memories will return. You may have nightmares. This is normal," she stressed. "It is your mind's way of processing."
"Uh, okay." He hesitated and blurted. "About my skills... when you went through my mind..." He took a breath and looked her in the eyes, searching for any sign of deception. "Have you read my cards?"
Agatha didn't flinch or look away from the question. It looked like she anticipated it. "I had to scan through your recent memories to fix the trauma, and to understand what was blocking my own card. That isn't unusual for a Legendary card user. The fact you have two of the same set is--" she paused, searching for the word, "Rare. But you are my patient first. You are allowed a level of confidentiality."
He wasn't certain he fully believed her about the last part. It had been something in her eyes. But he had been healed, and he had other questions.
"What happened after I... uh..."
"Went into psychic shock?" she asked instead of the word he was about to use which was 'fainted'.
"Yes," he agreed quickly.
"I could show you. We have a memory keeper on staff who witnessed nearly the whole incident."
Arthur's eyebrows raised in surprise, and he nodded.
She reached to him then paused. "Please don't block me. This won't work otherwise."
He nodded again and she touched the tips of her fingers to his temple.
Arthur was high in the sky, wings stretched to catch a balloon of warm air to keep him safely aloft. Far below he saw the top of the scourge-created crater.
The memory-keeper was a dragon. Arthur was in his memory, but also far enough away from it so he wasn't confused about who he was or what he was seeing.
And he only vaguely felt the memory-keeper's alarm as the top of the crater fell away and the Legendary-ranked mega-scourgeling climb out. Below, the rest of the white dragons dived to collect as many of the villagers as possible. Some stayed behind in a final sacrifice to head off the legendary card-wielding scourge as long as possible. Others risked flying close to the emerging mega-scourgeling to land and collect people.
Some of the effort was in vain.
The memory-keeper felt a pulse of mental energy. At least a quarter of the villagers and farmers turned to sprint flat out toward the mega-scourgeling.
Some of the dragons snatched them, but they struggled, kicked, and wriggled to get free. There were too many people with their minds still intact to save and too few dragons to fly them away. Most of the strugglers were let free again.
They ran, clawing up the sides of the cone, slipping and falling down unsteady ground.
The mega-scourgeling reached down and snapped them up by the handful, popping them in its mouth like popcorn. Then it tipped its head back and roared. A rainbow of magic flooded out of its mouth.
The grim certainty of the memory-keepers' thoughts told Arthur the mega-scourgeling had absorbed the villager's cards and added their power to its own. That was the reason why the mind-singer had brought them in the first place: They were to be sacrificed.
Those poor people, the memory-keeper thought.
Meanwhile, the white dragons had lifted off and flew at a flat sprint toward the rips and the sky. Some were so visibly weighed down with passengers, they were slowed and legged behind.
The mega-scourgeling emerged. It was a mountain-sized six limbed lizard with oversized shoulders which had human-like arms. Orange and red lava flowed out from the cracks it made from the cone.
Arthur had enough time to think, It has volcano powers! Before lava shot out of the cone and toward the fleeing white dragons.
Most were able to dodge. Two of the slowest were engulfed. They and their passengers went down in flames.
The mega-scourgeling scooped up a handful of lava the size of a house and flung it at more of the dragons.
Just then, the sky ripped open and an icy-blue dragon nearly the size of the mega-scourgeling started to emerge. Its head was only just through, but it saw the impending disaster and reacted, blasting the oncoming lava out of the air with a freezing breath.
More rips cut through the air and other giant dragons began to come through. At least a dozen of them.
Two of them, Arthur saw, were Whitaker's giant orange beast and Valentina's dragon who rode, as always, on her living thundercloud.
The white dragons with their passengers escaped, but the memory-keeper stayed to watch the battle.
The Legendary rank dragons launched their attacks -- the power seemed to warp the air. Between that and the now fully erupting volcano, Arthur only caught the battle in flashes: Lightning bolts as thick as trees peppering the scourgeling, the wind forming into living dragon-headed whips to flail and bite, the earth reforming under the scourgelings to lock it in only to erupt into spines of razor-sharp rock around it. One monstrous green dragon, which looked ninety-nine percent muscle, attacked the scourgeling with claws and teeth. Everywhere it touched, dark rot grew on the scourgeling's scales.
But the mega-scourgeling was hardly helpless. Lava flowed up around it, scouring any diseased wound clean and repairing minor injuries. It threw gobbets of lava as big as the dragon's head, forcing them to dive and weave if it wasn't knocked out of the air completely. It roared multicolored light of dozens of card powers. It struck a dirty gray Legendary dead on.
Terrible growths erupted up and down her skin, and it was all she could do to limp to the rip in the sky and retreat.
And the city and the once viable land all around was utterly obliterated.
No need for the King to come. The fight between all of the titans reshaped the earth down to the bedrock. That was before the new lava splashed in.
The mega-scourgeling put up quite the fight, but it was still outnumbered more than ten to one.
The memory-keeper turned to leave, and Arthur missed which dragon made the final blow.
The memory ended and Arthur found himself back in his body, breathing hard and clutching the sheets under him as if for stability.
Agatha drew her hand away. "You accepted that memory quite well. If you ever come across a memory-type card, consider taking it. You have the knack."
That meant she didn't know about the bookshelf. He was glad he had a few secrets.
"Who got the Legendary card?" Arthur asked. "I assume the mega-scourgeling was harvested."
Agatha snorted. "Of course. And Harvest Moon: Neddy, the ice dragon. Likely, they'll present that card to the king for favors, as usual." Her voice turned wry at the end.
Arthur wasn't certain what to say. He had so many questions...
"You may ask, Arthur," Agatha said gently. "No, I'm not reading your thoughts, but it's clear on your face something is troubling you."
Well, better to show his ignorance here. She's already been in his mind so she couldn't be too surprised. "That... mega-scourgeling," he said, remembering the word the memory-keeper had used, "Does that happen every eruption?"
She shook her head, and her lips drew down at the corners. "No, scourge-eruptions are much like natural eruptions: Some are minor and some... some are utter devastation."
"What about the mind-singer?" Arthur asked.
"There was no sign of it. Most of our white dragons are Common or Uncommon. A Rare mind mage could easily hide. We think it slipped away when the fight turned against the mega-scourgeling. But had it been able to feed more people to it... well, you saw what happened to the Grayling. She was lucky to live."
She paused and looked hard at Arthur. "You should know there have been serious questions raised if Wolf Moon hive should keep their Legendary egg after this fiasco. Valentina and Whitaker were not able to hide the fact they let a scourgeling with mind powers slip through their fingers. Half the nobles who lost children are baying for their blood."
"Half?" Arthur asked.
Agatha's smile had a touch of darkness to it. "Well, there is an inherent risk in trying to link a Legendary dragon. The King isn't happy either, though I doubt he's met the children he's lost."
Arthur didn't have time to react to that before she leaned closer. "My question to you, Arthur, is are you willing to go back to that hive? Knowing what you now know what being a Legendary rider requires."
Because of course those Legendary dragons had not been alone. The memory-keeper had been too far away to see the riders who were with them.
If Arthur linked with a Legendary, his duty would be to fight scourgelings with the strength of an angry volcano.
Arthur opened his mouth to answer, then paused. "Back?"
"Ah." Agatha shook her head. "Forgive me, I forgot. You're not in Wolf Moon hive. You're at Buck Moon."
That explained how he'd seen Horatio.
"Yes," Arthur said, answering her previous question. "I still want to try to link the egg. Why does it matter?"
"Because, dear boy, you're a hero."
He stared at her. "Me?"
In answer, she flicked her fingers around. "You don't think we give sickrooms like this to everyone? No, several dragons felt you break the illusion that allowed us to save what people we could. Not to mention you," she poked at his chest, "personally sheltered one of the king's son's and daughter's, and the son of a prominent duke."
An unpleasant chill went down his spine at the reminder of his uncle. Agatha didn't react other than to watch him for his reaction.
"Why are you telling me this?" Arthur asked.
She smiled. "Because your star is rising and that will only increase if you do happen to link the new Legendary hatchling. And," she hesitated, for once looking unsure. "You may someday find yourself in a position of power. If you do, I hope you remember that we mind mages are not the enemy." She rose. "Now, tomorrow, you should expect to be interviewed by the King's men on the events of the town's destruction. They are only interested in what you saw. Do not volunteer anything."
He still wasn't sure how much he should trust her, if at all, but this seemed like good sense.
"I recommend you bring out the prince and princess before that," she continued. "That will at least build good will. And Arthur--"
Here it was, at last. The whole reason she had been kind to him. He steeled himself.
Agatha's smile was kind. "Do seek any of us out in the future, should you wish for more mind strengthening training.”
Then with that, she glided out, leaving Arthur flummoxed.
Comments
Mickey Phoenix
In a world where high-level cards represent ridiculous levels of personal power, and can only be forcibly extracted from someone by their death, the only surprising thing is that they don't have inspectors with card-seeking powers scanning the entire population as quickly as they can fly the inspectors about, and executioners slitting the throats of every non-noble holding a Rare-or-above card. There's literally no reason at all that anyone other than a high noble would ever have a Legendary or Mythic card, and anyone who was found with one would either give up their card "willingly" or be killed. To be honest, this is the one part of the world-building that keeps making me suspend my disbelief; there's no way in hell that someone without political alliances would be permitted to keep a Legendary card, nor for his possession of it to go undiscovered. Too much is at stake, *especially* from the perspective of the ruling class!
Mickey Phoenix
Thank you for the chapter! I feel like I've already gotten my money's worth from your Patreon, after only two chapters! [Horatio smiled though there were lines of strain on his severe face.] to [Horatio smiled, though there were lines of strain on his severe face.] [The moment he did it was as if a cottony cloud swept into his mind.] to [The moment he did, it was as if a cottony cloud swept into his mind.] [The room was large and well-appointed with oil paintings] to [The room was large and well-appointed, with oil paintings] [and several expensive looking pieces of furniture meant to sit or lounge.] to [and several expensive-looking pieces of furniture meant for sitting or lounging.] [She has to have a card for that, he mused and realized] to [_She has to have a card for that_, he mused, and realized] (underscores indicate italics) ["Was my friend even here?" he asked instead of answering.] to ["Was my friend even here?" he asked, instead of answering.] ["Junior rider Horatio was here,"] to ["Junior Rider Horatio was here,"] (if "Junior Rider" is a title, as seems likely from context) [She succeeded in the end and that worried him.] to [She succeeded, in the end, and that worried him.] ["My name is Agatha," she continued, "Here is my card."] to ["My name is Agatha," she continued. "Here is my card."] [There may still be an unpleasant surprise in store] to [There might still be an unpleasant surprise in store] [he felt the healing was legitimate at least.] to [he felt the healing was legitimate, at least.] [exacerbated the psychic tears by using skills which required mana] to [exacerbated the psychic laceration by using skills that required mana] ("lacerations" just to avoid the tears (from crying)/tears (from being ripped) ambiguity) [She reached to him then paused.] to [She reached to him, then paused.] [Arthur was in his memory, but also far enough away from it so he wasn't confused about who he was or what he was seeing.] to either [Arthur was in his memory, but also far enough away from it, so he wasn't confused about who he was or what he was seeing.] or [Arthur was in his memory, but also far enough away from it that he wasn't confused about who he was or what he was seeing.] [And he only vaguely felt the memory-keeper's alarm] to [He only vaguely felt the memory-keeper's alarm] [the Legendary-ranked mega-scourgeling climb out.] to [the Legendary-ranked mega-scourgeling climbed out.] [the rest of the white dragons dived to collect as many] to [the rest of the white dragons dove to collect as many] [to head off the legendary card-wielding scourge as long as possible.] to either [to head off the Legendary-wielding scourge as long as possible.] or [to head off the Legendary-card-wielding scourge as long as possible.] [turned to sprint flat out toward] to [turned to sprint flat-out toward] [There were too many people with their minds still intact to save and too few dragons to fly them away.] to ]There were too many people with their minds still intact to save, and too few dragons to fly them away.] [The grim certainty of the memory-keepers' thoughts] to [The grim certainty of the memory-keeper's thoughts] [brought them in the first place: They were] to [brought them in the first place: they were] [Those poor people, the memory-keeper thought.] to [_Those poor people_, the memory-keeper thought.] [had lifted off and flew at a flat sprint toward the rips and the sky.] to [had lifted off and flown at a flat sprint toward the rips in the sky.] [Some were so visibly weighed down with passengers, they were slowed and legged behind.] to [Some were so visibly weighed down with passengers that they lagged behind.] [It was a mountain-sized six limbed lizard with oversized shoulders which had human-like arms. Orange and red lava flowed out from the cracks it made from the cone.] to [It was a mountain-sized, six-limbed lizard with oversized shoulders from which sprouted human-like arms. Orange and red lava flowed out from the cracks it made in the cone.] [Arthur had enough time to think, It has volcano powers! Before lava shot out of the cone and toward the fleeing white dragons.] to [Arthur had enough time to think, _It has volcano powers!_ before lava shot out of the cone and toward the fleeing white dragons.] [The white dragons with their passengers escaped] to [The white dragons with passengers escaped] [The Legendary rank dragons launched their attacks -- the power seemed to warp the air.] to [The Legendary-rank dragons launched their attacks; the power seemed to warp the air.] [Arthur only caught the battle in flashes: Lightning bolts as thick as trees peppering the scourgeling, the wind forming into living dragon-headed whips to flail and bite, the earth reforming under the scourgelings to lock it in only to erupt into spines of razor-sharp rock around it.] to [Arthur only caught the battle in flashes: lightning bolts as thick as trees peppering the scourgeling; the wind forming into living, dragon-headed whips to flail and bite; the earth reforming under the scourgeling to lock it in, only to erupt into spines of razor-sharp rock around it.] [It threw gobbets of lava as big as the dragon's head, forcing them to dive and weave if it wasn't knocked out of the air completely.] to [It threw gobbets of lava as big as the dragons' heads, forcing them to dive and weave, if they weren't knocked out of the air completely.] [It roared multicolored light of dozens of card powers. It struck a dirty gray Legendary dead on.] to [It roared the multicolored light of dozens of card powers, which struck a dirty-gray Legendary dead-on.] [And the city and the once viable land all around was utterly obliterated.] to [And the city and the once-viable land all around it were utterly obliterated.] [serious questions raised if Wolf Moon hive should keep] to either [serious questions raised as to whether Wolf Moon hive should keep] or [serious questions raised regarding whether Wolf Moon hive should keep] [My question to you, Arthur, is are you willing to go back to that hive? Knowing what you now know what being a Legendary rider requires.] to [My question to you, Arthur, is: are you willing to go back to that hive, now that you know what being a Legendary rider requires?] [Not to mention you," she poked at his chest, "personally sheltered one of the king's son's and daughter's, and the son of a prominent duke."] to either [Not to mention, you," she poked at his chest, "personally sheltered one of the king's sons and one of his daughters, and the son of a prominent duke."] or [Not to mention, you," she poked at his chest, "personally sheltered two king's children, and the son of a prominent duke."] [Agatha didn't react other than to watch him for his reaction.] to [Agatha didn't react, other than to watch him for his reaction.] [Because your star is rising and that will only increase] to [Because your star is rising, and that will only increase] [And," she hesitated, for once looking unsure.] to [And..." She hesitated, for once looking unsure.] ["That will at least build good will. And Arthur--"] to ["That will at least build good will. And, Arthur --"] [should you wish for more mind strengthening training.] to [should you wish for more mind-strengthening training.] [Then with that, she glided out, leaving Arthur flummoxed.] to either [With that, she glided out, leaving Arthur flummoxed.] or [She glided out, leaving Arthur flummoxed.]
Thaldor
Always expecting the worst of everyone 🤭
5951Otaku
Looks like this was in the works regardless whether the MC infiltrated their lair or not. Remember the big thing was a bunch of legendary card wielding scions were alone in the woods. Perfect sacrifice event. So MC bringing that to light helped people be aware of a threat and be in a state of heighten alert.
AjiTae
Ok. Not ALL - >90%. You infiltrate a villains lair to steal. You break into the cell of the killer-mutants and smash suspicious flasks. The zombie apocalypse ensues. Fuckin' Arasaka!
Caleb Reusser
ALL his fault? Cause the scholars letting card go to rot to create the scrouglings had nothing to do with this mess, right?
AjiTae
And this clasterfuck is all his fault. Why doesn't anyone in the know blame him? Because I certainly do.
Hi. Why do I only see chapter 27 before this chapter 40? Thanks
wilfredo zurita
I wanted a new card, but I still like it, so I'm looking forward to the future
Touch
Ohhhh right, lol, i was a bit shocked thinking it’s that far back😂😭
Ryan
He got training by keeping his mental barrier up while they were trying to communicate with him and heal him. That was “training”, that’s all she meant.
Touch
Wait wait, what did she mean by “more” training, so she know about him asking Kenzie for training!? That far back!?
Logrus
...He's a con man committing identity fraud <_<
Causal Chain
Baron Kane is a particularly dangerous opponent at this point, because he knows the description of the MoS card, and could feasibly piece together that Arthur has it.
Undead Writer
I think he has every right to be paranoid! No one with any common sense would be trusting with what he knows. Too much can be taken from him and he could be abused. Yes he has seen the good, but he should never trust people unless absolutely necessary. We don’t need trusting oblivious MC who only get out of trouble with plot armor
Undead Writer
Thanks for the chapter!!
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter! I did not expect this ending after the last chapter and Arthur blacking out (I thought it was at most a couple of rare mind-Scourgelings causing mayhem and ending up murdering the "candidates")! But I like it a lot, please give more content! :)
Swinter
The way I see it, he grew up crushingly poor with loving parents and a sense of true community around him. Yes, they lived in squalor, but they all trusted each other. Sure, this particular noble and guards of the noble were scary and not to be trusted, but all of that would be a very directed distrust. I'm sure it could sow a general distrust against authority, but at the same time, he instantly starts meeting trustworthy authority as well. The orphanage treated him well, none there betrayed their trust. They gave a clear path towards success and was honest and open about it. They wanted their kids to get carded, with any card they could get, which they were all rather honest about. I absolutely agree that he should be very cautious about his secrets. It's not something he should be telling everyone, or anyone, about. But there's a difference between that and the paranoia of "they're out to get me!" that he often exudes. (I'm even surprised that his Acting ability doesn't flare more often. Because he acts dang suspicious whenever his bouts of paranoia rears up.)
Alex
Consider how he was raised though. He grew up with nobles or anyone with even the slightest bit of power abusing them. His father send to the borderlands for no good reason, same with at least a couple others in the village. The hive orphanage that practically wants you to get low level cards to fill their quotas. The way the nobles he meets kinda treat everyone not noble as lesser than them. The only reason he's kinda accepted by the nobles is that their think he's one of them. If the King or others in power knew about him having two legendaries of the same set, they'd kill him for it, especially if they knew who his father was. He has good reason to be careful about who to trust.
Rosewell8
She said she read his memories.
da Finnci
Probably just saw it in his memories
how did she know he was sheltering the king’s son and daughter? Thought the space couldn’t be detected other than by a Legendary seeker
Swinter
Arthur has secrets and a fair bit of caution is warranted, but sometimes he comes across as Too paranoid. He always acts like he's expecting betrayal around every corner, but pretty much everyone he's ever trusted has stayed loyal to him. That doesn't mean I think he should be going around telling people his secrets, just that it's weird that it always seems like he thinks literally everyone is out to get him.
howdy Seven Seventy
More, more, more!!!
