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They ascended the tower once more. It was different this time. Already, it felt as if the ruins of the tower were truly waking up. Light filled the stairways. The shadows of the antechamber were pressed back. Rubble and stone were being used to rebuild the broken walkways, collapsed walls, and even the statue of Loften himself. The god’s constructs were at work constantly, scrambling over the walls and floor all around them. There were even more than before.
As they rose the floors, Loften brought them to a large chamber where production for the gateway was already under way. Hump was surprised to find a second Loften at work there.
“How can there be a second copy of you?” Prince Marcoff asked.
“It is an avatar,” Loften said. “Costly to forge, but we are in a hurry.”
The chamber was filled with motion. Everything unnecessary had been cleared out to make room for the massive slabs of black stone being levitated into place on floating platforms guided by runes and carefully placed by constructs. Already, Hump was beginning to see a resemblance to the gateways he had passed through before. The floor did not yet possess the complex runic formations, but the design was there: a curved wall on the rear side, partially doming the platform. Each piece bore Loften’s mark.
Loften’s avatar stood at the centre of the platform, drawing stone from a gathered pile nearby and warping it as it rose into the air. Its form melted, the smell of heat and sulphur filling the chamber. Grey brick, darkened, essence imbued it. The very make-up of its being changed as more of the black stone took form. The black bricks were added to the others and carefully locked into place with the grinding snap of stone on stone.
In the room beside it, anything of value was being salvaged and stored, ready to take with them. Kaestra, the door guardian, had been stored inside. She was still attached to the segment of wall, a spear lodged in her chest. She had been placed gently in a quiet corner of the chamber. It was a small act of care, but one Hump hadn’t expected from an otherwise uncaring god. It made him a little bit more comfortable with the fact that they’d freed him.
“You intend to bring her with us?” Hump asked quietly.
“I am her creator,” Loften said. “It is my duty to care for my creations.”
Hump didn’t respond immediately, and by the time he’d formulated a reply, Loften was already continuing.
“I can tell from that expression that you’re surprised.”
Hump glanced at him, almost suspecting a trick that he didn’t yet understand.
“All I know of the gods paints them as selfish beings that use and manipulate for their own benefit. Kaestra is but one creation amongst many.”
A small smile touched Loften’s lips. “Kaestra is special. The world is not as black and white as you see it, wizard. There was a time before the war, before this need for power took over. A time where we were free to live and enjoy the things we had worked for, when nothing could threaten us. It was during this era of peace that my wife and I created Kaestra. Through my skill in the physical craft and hers in the soul, we created something that was more than just an object.”
“She possesses a soul?” Dylan asked, a pace behind them, unable to mask the shock in his voice.
“In a sense, yes. Not the same as you or me, but she is a fully sentient being with her own wants and desires. Perhaps if we had been given time, we could have turned her into more than that.”
“What was your wife’s name?” Hump asked.
Loften paused, his eyes fixed ahead of him. “Anwen.”
There was a softness to his voice that made Hump press no further. He shared a look with the rest of his party as they continued up the tower. Loften’s avatar called to the altari, delegating tasks to them, forcing them to remain behind.
They didn’t need to take the stairs this time. With a source of fuel for the tower, old platforms that rose between each floor were working once more. They were pure magic compared to the carriageway in Sheercliff City, floating seemingly without any source of support and only a few runes on display.
Hump’s stomach lurched as they started moving, but he quickly steadied himself and enjoyed the experience. Nisha nervously pressed against his leg, trying to stay away from the edge. It went all the way to the top, where they exited into a small room that looked out over all the surroundings. The moment it stopped, Nisha leapt from the platform and rushed toward the window, staring out at the open sky excitedly.
From here, at the very top of the Maker’s Tower, Hump could look out in all directions through towering glass windows. The barren lands beyond were empty. The monsters that had been attacking the altari were gone.
Yet, strangely, the thing that stood out the most to him was how dark the sky was. The storm of essence from before had been swept back by Godfrey’s power, yet that light was gone, and the sky was somehow worse for it. At least before, he’d had a sense of where the traitor Chosen was—but now, at any minute, the man could arrive.
Hump forced his eyes away from the mountains and to the runic circle that ran around the chamber floor. Fresh essence stones were embedded in various locations. Specks of dust still remained where the runes had been re-carved and repairs had been made.
“How do you expect me to make this work?” Hump asked.
“The formation is designed to be straightforward to wield. It requires only basic knowledge.” Loften held out his hand. “Pass me your staff.”
Hump looked at the weapon in his hands. “Why?”
“That is a piece made after my designs, correct, but it is made only by those that practise in my ways. It is incomplete. Hand it here.”
“I need you to tell me what you’ll do to it first,” Hump said. “No offence, but I’m still not entirely sure that we’re on the same team. I can’t exactly trust you to make modifications to my weapon.”
Loften chuckled. “That staff is made with my runes. Do you truly think that I could not do as I wish with it?”
Hump frowned. “I don’t know, but one thing I’m becoming certain of is that I need a new staff.”
“It is always wise to wield a weapon of one’s own creation,” Loften said. “Perhaps when this is done, I shall aid you in the making of a staff of your own. If you want a weapon you can trust, the only choice is one forged with your own hands.”
Hump glanced at Celaine, who gave him a vague shrug. He handed it to Loften who raised it in both hands before his chest. Essence glowed from his hands, blue mixing with red and bronze, burning brighter until it was like the heart of a forge surrounding his hands and the staff. The runes along the shaft shone brightly, the focus filled with that same light, and the dim tower was illuminated. If Godfrey had had any doubts about where they were before, he wouldn’t any longer. That light beamed across the barren lands that surrounded them.
New runes etched into the staff, starting at the base. Each one was no larger than a fingernail, a tenth of the size of those already carved into the wood. They circled the older markings like delicate ornaments, refining and reworking them, subtly altering the design with a purpose Hump couldn’t guess.
He worked swiftly, yet every movement was precise. The runes slithered up the shaft like living script, almost like the filling out of a page in the Book of Infinite Pages, winding between the original symbols. When Loften reached the focus, the light within it dimmed, and then he began to inscribe the crystal itself.
Facet by facet, tiny runes and intricate channels wove their way across the surface. These marks were finer, more deliberate than those along the shaft, etched with such perfect craftsmanship that Hump couldn’t detect a single flaw. The staff pulsed with contained power, shaped and guided with divine skill.
Only a few minutes had passed, but by the time Loften lowered his hands, the work was done. This was the display of godly craft Hump had longed to witness—something far beyond foundational runes or mortal refinement. In moments, Loften had taken an already intricate artefact and elevated it into something masterful.
Loften held the staff out to Hump with a casualness that felt almost inappropriate for something so meticulously crafted. Hump took it, fingers closing around the familiar shape, and yet, it wasn’t the same.
The wood felt smoother beneath his touch, polished to a soft sheen as though centuries had passed beneath a master’s hand. The focus was flawless, so crystal clear that the essence within seemed deeper and more radiant. And they runes… they were exquisite. Lines so fine and elegant they could’ve been painted by starlight. Not just inscriptions, but art. He could only imagine what the Chosen of Loften back in Alveron might think if they were to see it now.
No artifact he’d ever laid eyes on had possessed this level of precision. And now, it belonged to him. Its only flaw was the hand that had made it. For all its beauty, it had been forged by someone Hump couldn’t trust.
He felt a shudder at his side as his spellbook shook.
“Open it,” Loften said. “Glyndaril will know if I tried to sabotage you. Even I can’t sneak something past that old owl.”
Hump opened the Book of Infinite Pages.
Item IndexStaff of Damnation (Refined)
Artifact | Universal | Diamond Rank
Description
Crafted from the wood of an Etherash tree that was aged in pure essence for ten years, this magical staff has an almost perfect essence conductivity. The focus is cut from the heartstone of a Tree of Damnation and has a large capacity for essence. This staff was enhanced by Loften for improved strength and additional effects.
Origin
Crafted by Sir Isaac, Headmaster of Sheercliff Academy and Chosen of Loften.
Modified by Loften, the Maker, the Betrayer.
Abilities
Refined Arcane Amplification: Enhance the power of spells cast through this staff, increasing their essence efficiency and effectiveness.
Refined Essence Channelling: Enhanced focus and control when channelling essence through this staff.
Refined Essence Store: Grants exceptional focus and clarity when guiding essence, allowing for finer control of shaping, casting, and maintaining spells. The focus naturally condenses ambient and cast-off essence, storing it for future use.
Refined Sphere of Protection: Using the stored energy in the staff, cast Sphere of Protection in an area around you, manifesting a powerful impenetrable barrier for ten seconds. This effect requires recharging between uses.
Runebound Mastery - Enhances the wielder’s ability to understand, cast, and manipulate spell formations, especially those designed by Loften. Increases efficiency and control when working with advanced runecraft. This effect is passive while the staff is held and intensifies when essence is actively channelled through it.
Diamond rank. Hump had never seen it. He’d never heard of it. Yet he knew, without doubt, that this was most likely the most valuable object he had ever seen. The refined abilities for the staff were significant, though he would not know by how much without some testing. What stood out most was the increase in the barrier duration from five seconds to ten. It had saved his life many times over.
Reading the description given by his spellbook, he understood why Loften had done this. Runebound Mastery was entirely new, and it would make controlling the tower wards easier. Why Loften thought he needed that after explaining that the wards were designed to be simple, he did not know, but he supposed he’d find out.
“With this, I’ll be able to control the tower?” Hump said.
“You will,” Loften said. “I did not do this to sabotage you, wizard. If anything, I have only given you power over me—over my tower. In the past, very few possessed such a fortune. But it was you that released me from this place. Now it shall be you that helps me leave this world behind. Think of this as my thanks.”
“What happens now?” Hump asked.
“You will wield the formation, and I shall finish the gateway. When the traitor Chosen arrives, stand strong, wizard. When I said my strength is not what it once was, I made no exaggeration. If Godfrey enters my tower, I will not be able to protect you, nor your friends. Your fate shall be your own.”
“You are still a god of the Pantheon,” Bud said, speaking to Loften for the first time since the god had reforged his blessings. “How could a traitor Chosen be so much more powerful than you?”
Loften let out a long sigh. “So much has changed. Just as this world is withered, so am I.”
“Yet you intend to bring war to the Pantheon,” Bud said.
“I will bring ruin to them,” Loften said. “But not with my hands alone.” He gazed out the towering windows. “This was once the most beautiful forest. Wildflower meadows, towering hollowisps—their light shining like stars at night—and waterfalls of silver streaming from the mountains. Now look at what it has become. All because they betrayed me.”
“This place feels the same as the Remnant Realm,” Dylan said.
Loften’s face darked. “Yes.”
The druid took a step forward. “How does a place filled with life become… this?”
“You are not ready to know that answer.”
“We walk the lands that your people destroyed,” Dylan said. “We’ve seen the world that was lost. How do we not have the right to know?”
“Do you forget who you speak to?” Loften snapped. “I am Loften, the Maker, the Rune Smith. Who do you think you are to question me like this?”
“A Chosen of the Pantheon,” Dylan said. “One that wants to restore the damage caused by your kind.”
“It is a valid question,” Hump said. “You said it yourself. I’m the Bearer of Infinity. I inherited a legacy of seeking out knowledge.”
Loften stared at him, but Hump refused to be intimidated. Finally, the god sighed.
“When you wield essence, you provide it a command through your intent and it obeys, but it is limited by its nature. With powerful enough intent, one can rip apart essence—pure essence—and destroy it. In that moment of destruction, the energy released is magnitudes greater than anything you could imagine. But that intent is lost. What remains are the shattered pieces of essence. It is the most devastating power—power capable of killing gods—but the land you see is the price.”
“You destroyed an entire world like this? An entire people?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That is what war between gods is. We are very difficult to kill. Our foes were led by Uvdar, whose hunger would have consumed everything. Losing one world was preferable to all of them.”
“And here? Why let the altari world be destroyed?”
“Would you hand yourself over for capture?”
“To protect a world?” Hump shrugged. “Yes.”
“The Pantheon were built upon my genius,” Loften snarled. “You would not understand.”
“I understand pride,” Hump said.
“You speak too freely, Wizard. You have tested me, but I can only be pushed so far.” He began to leave the tower.
“Can it be restored?” Dylan asked after him. “This world. The Remnant Realm. These barren lands. Can they return to what they once were?”
“Perhaps,” Loften said. “But I have not found a way. And frankly, my priority is elsewhere.”
Hump glanced at his friend. Dylan’s eyes did not speak of disappointment, but of hope. It was a dangerous thing, especially when his goal was to restore life to an entire world, but after the day they’d had, they could all use a little of it.
Alone with just his part, Hump set his sights upon the formation. If he was to hold off Godfrey, he was going to need some practice.