Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

807 - Hostile and Aggressive

In the time between when Lex had sent Fail Forward away, and when he and Solvei had finally left the Shrine of the Starless Sky, days had passed.

Lex had not been idle during that time. Although Solvei had grown progressively more agitated at their departure being postponed – repeatedly reminding him how Yotimo and his warband were waiting for their shaman to return – there had been multiple tasks which Lex had been determined to see completed before leaving. Given the possibility that Sissel and her sisters were waiting right outside the Shrine, it had been imperative that they use the respite to its fullest advantage.

That had included finishing the Libram of Ineffable Damnation, the book being a wealth of information about both the nature of the soul and the myriad planes of existence, even if its mysterious author was biased in their viewpoint.

It had also included fulfilling his promise to Teyu Yagua. Although Lex had initially pushed the task of granting the multi-headed behemoth speech onto the Keeper, the breakdown of his relationship with the floating skull – who had taken to sulking in the upper corners of the cathedral after he’d interrogated it about the Libram’s location, apparently waiting for Lex to leave – meant that was no longer an option; the last thing Lex wanted was for something as powerful as Teyu to feel beholden to someone who likely hated him now.

Fortunately, it had been simple enough to get one of the Keeper’s acolytes to describe the ceremonial invocation that the Keeper used to uplift magical beasts into sapient creatures. Combined with what he’d read in the Auctoritas Caliginous, it had been easy for Lex to modify that into a lesser ceremony, imploring the goddess to grant Teyu speech instead of self-awareness. It had worked, albeit to grant Teyu limited-range telepathy rather than the ability to vocalize, and the oversized crocodile-wolf had been overjoyed, slobbering over him with all of its tongues in thankfulness.

But neither of those things had occupied the bulk of Lex’s time.

That particular designation had gone toward constructing a new weapon.

Time to see what you can do, Belligerence!

The spell Lex chose was one he’d once used to knock Celestia herself out of the sky, having prepared more than one casting of it during the equinox. Designed to hit its target with a pulse of concussive force, inflicting blunt trauma and knocking them in the opposite direction, it was the sort of straightforward spell which was useful for gauging what Belligerence was capable of. Particularly if he enhanced the spell himself to maximize its destructive potential.

Performing the requisite gesticulations with one claw, the other pointing Belligerence in the direction of his enemies, Lex glanced at the weapon.

It was a far cry from the massive, unadorned quill that it had started out as.

When Lex had taken the quill of the massive monster which had briefly attacked them during their fighting withdrawal from Darkest Night, it had been more of a curio than anything else, wondering if an item from that realm would transubstantiate back to the mortal world with him. But he’d been forced to abandon it during his final confrontation with the eight-legged monster he’d eventually merged with, using it to slow the beast down while trying to reach his lifeline’s destination. After that, he’d put it out of his thoughts.

Until Sanguine Disposition had unexpectedly returned it.

At first Lex had been puzzled by the vampire’s gift. The quill hadn’t been anything he’d cared about very much, nor had he considered its sacrifice to be any great loss. So its return had meant little to him besides confirming that items from the Outer Planes could indeed be brought back to the material world.

It had been almost by accident that Lex had discovered that there was more to the thing. He’d been experimenting with what his new body was capable of, cycling through various types of vision and enhancing them, when he’d happened to glance at the quill while augmenting his ability to look into the magical spectrum. What he’d seen had been shocking.

That the quill possessed magical channels was no real surprise, given that it had come from a living creature. All lifeforms had some degree of magical capacity, absorbing a degree of the ambient energy which permeated everything. For most creatures that potential was poorly developed, being either latent or manifesting as a few innate magical abilities, such as pegasi being able to physically interact with meteorological phenomena.

But the magical channels in that quill were staggering in both their number and the sophistication of their construction.

Lex had already known that the quill was composed of an extremely durable biological substance. The fact that it had dented Solvei’s black crystal armor without taking any damage itself had been proof enough of that. But to see that it had been such an incredible font of magical potential as well had given Lex ideas.

In Equestria, only two categories of magic items existed. The first were trinkets, objects infused with such minute amounts of magic that they were little more than baubles, able to perform functions of minor convenience but little else. Such things represented the most magic which could be externally forced into an inanimate object without breaking it. In that regard, the pin that he wore, which cleaned himself and his clothes, was among the apex of what such designs were capable of.

The second type was magic items of major power, which were virtually always singular creations made out of rare – and in some cases, unique – materials. In all such cases, it was those components which gave the items their power, already possessing inherent magical characteristics which were carefully managed and drawn out as part of their finalized design. The techniques for doing so were esoteric, but nothing beyond Lex’s capabilities, and he’d mastered them years ago, lacking only the necessary raw materials upon which to practice them.

And now he had just such an item.

Once he’d sent Fail Forward and Thermal Draft to safety, Lex had turned his full attention to the quill, determined to capitalize on the opportunity he’d been given.

In that regard, he’d almost been disappointed. The quill was a remarkable thing unto itself, but it was still just a single component; the applications for capitalizing on its remarkable properties required methods which were no less impressive in scope. More so than what the standard Equestrian techniques called for, as few creatures there had the raw magical potential of whatever it was the quill had come from.

That he’d overcome that particular hurdle had only been because of the allies he’d made.

Solvei had contributed the most. What had started as an innocuous remark about how the quill’s shape reminded her of Bloodletter – Yotimo’s enchanted spear – had turned into her reminiscing about how Akna’s grandmother had been the one to carve the mystical runes that gave the weapon its magic...runes that the young shaman had been taught as well, even being allowed to carve the last few into Bloodletter to demonstrate her mastery of the technique.

Lex had pounced on that, demanding that she teach him everything she knew about her tribe’s method of creating enchanted weapons. It had taken him less than an hour to learn few dozen symbols, at which point he had immediately started deconstructing and rearranging them with the same insight that he’d used when breaking down the spells in Mystaria’s spellbook. The adlet method of enchanting things wasn’t anywhere near as sophisticated as what the ponies of Everglow were capable of – the fact that it took them years to make a single weapon was proof enough of that, since Lex knew that the artificers of the Pony Empire could do the same thing in days – but it was still far and away superior to the primitive methods used in Equestria.

But that had only been part of the answer. Another part had been how to actually etch the runes into the quill. Anything strong enough to damage the black crystals he and Solvei could create – themselves far stronger than steel – wouldn’t be inscribed so easily.

Teyu’s eye-beams had proven up to the task, however.

The job had been painstaking for the creature to perform. Lex had marked myriad runes across the quill’s surface in chalk, emphasizing to the seven-headed monstrosity that each one needed to be seared in with exacting precision. Fortunately, Teyu was so ecstatic over his new telepathic voice that he’d given the job his unwavering concentration, and to Lex’s surprise had completed the task with neither error nor complaint.

The third step in the process had been to curse the weapon, saturating it in the dark magic of his horn. Indeed, several of the runes had been placed specifically to capture the maledictions he’d carefully laid upon it, making sure to transfer them to those it was used against. Others were carefully designed to foil attempts to discern its properties. Still more were made to afflict anyone who tried to tamper with it. It had been an exercise of imagination, and Lex had plenty of practice in finding ways to use curses creatively.

After that, he’d turned to the Night Mare.

Ceremony after ceremony had been performed in the goddess’s name, the Keeper’s acolytes made to assist him as he called upon the Night Mare to bless the weapon. Again donning the sacred garb that was the neart a’staigh, Lex had allowed the hallowed blades to cut him as he presided over the weapon, his blood filling each of the runic inscriptions as Solvei – again using Akna’s knowledge to participate in the rite – cooled it with her breath.

There was no doubt in Lex’s mind that the Night Mare had been pleased by his undertaking. That was made obvious by the three bands of black crystal which wrapped around the back end of the quill, each shaped in the barbed wire design of her faith. He had conjured them during the last ceremony he’d held to the goddess, and it was by her divine providence that they were still there now, long after their one-hour duration had expired. Nor were they mere decoration, each one symbolizing the quill’s greatest power...

To turn a single-target spell into one which could affect an area.

It was the answer to the weakness of that he’d so foolishly built into his thaumaturgical spellcasting, naively making himself unable to learn spells which dealt damage indiscriminately. But if he couldn’t undo that self-imposed limitation, then he’d simply sidestep it. Belligerence was the answer to that, imbued with the power to distribute magic directed through it over a wide range with no loss of efficacy.

It was the that power Lex called upon now as he finished his force punch spell, directing the augmented magic through Belligerence. The bloody runes on the quill glowed softly as they took hold of his spell, altering it in the way he’d designed it to do before the spell burst forth from the weapon’s barbed head...

And destroyed absolutely everything.

There was no other way to describe it. In an instant, his concussive force spell – which he’d intended only to strike a cluster of venedaemons moving to follow up on his confrontation with Vidrig – burst forth as a shockwave that radiated out in all directions, so powerful it was almost visible.

The venedaemons he’d been aiming at were immediately reduced to a fine red mist. The same happened to their compatriots, scattered around the area far from where he’d pointed Belligerence. The cacodaemons didn’t even leave that much behind, instantly pulverized into nothing. Vidrig’s still-twitching body somehow managed to hold itself together as the black crystals he’d left her impaled on were shattered, her limp body flung into the wall of the canyon. Nor was were stones themselves able to withstand the force of the blast, immediately crumbling inward, and it was only because of how wide the area was that the rubble didn’t manage to reach Lex.

Which was fortunate, considering that all he could do was gape at the scale of the destruction.

Glancing down at Belligerence in shock, he distractedly noted one of the three black crystal bands around its end shattering, indicating that it could only widen a spell like that twice more. Although he knew that – in accordance with the ceremonies he’d conducted to the Night Mare – expended bands would replenish themselves at midnight, that thought struck him as less important than just how badly he’d underestimated what his new weapon could do. If he’d tried casting a disintegration spell-

Master! Earthquake! Solvei’s voice reached his mind at the same time as he registered her sudden panic. We need to get out of here before we’re buried alive!

That wasn’t an earthquake. Pulling himself together, Lex glanced toward the blind corner Solvei had fled past, the ice wall she’d raised to block it now completely destroyed. He could sense that she wasn’t hurt, but otherwise there was no indication of how much the destruction had affected her own fight. Solvei, if your enemies are disoriented by what just happened, use this chance to finish them off!

But Yotimo’s hurt! A falling rock clipped his arm! I think it’s broken!

I can give you the power to heal him later! Right now, you need to focus on the creatures trying to kill you both-

He couldn’t finish as a nearby pile of ice shards – one that he’d overlooked in his shock – started to shift. Belatedly recognizing it as the remnants of the same sort of ice wall as the one Solvei had raised, Lex watched as Sissel and Grisela stood up, apparently having used the latter’s magic to raise a barrier just before the shockwave had hit them.

Both were unsteady, swaying as they slowly got to their feet, dazed looks on their faces.

The snow giant recovered first, blinking as she looked at Lex. “What...what did you do?”

His inner beast growled at the sight of his enemies having survived, and Lex clenched his talons around Belligerence. “I tested a new weapon,” Lex snarled. “One of my own design.”

Shifting his weight, he reared back. Belligerence’s primary purpose had been to allow him to expand the area of his magic, but that wasn’t all it could do.

It was time for the next part of the field test.

“Allow me to show it to you!” roared Lex as he threw Belligerence directly at Sissel’s face.

Author's Note:

Lex unleashes his new weapon, to devastating effect!

With Belligerence at his side, is victory assured? Or do Sissel and Grisela have a last-ditch plan of their own?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

I really hope Lex heard of the story of the unstoppable weapon and unbreakable villain which lead to a certain event during the fight which gave a solution to the paradox, and added certain protections and actions to Belligerance to counter shuch events.

One attack of that class is bad enough, usually ending most arcs, three is getting crazy,a nd they being dailies put Lex against the L20s and other such World Breakers?

[Alzrius]

11527474 As impressive as Belligerence was, the thing to remember is that it amplified the area of the attack rather than the power behind it.

In game terms, Lex has the Amplify metamagic theorem (from Eclipse: The Codex Persona, page 56) with the Glory modifier (page 60), which means that (Constitution modifier) number of times per day, he can add (Constitution modifier) levels of amplification metamagic to a spell he's casting for free (and as per a GM ruling, this can be used with most of his other magical/supernatural abilities also, such as his dark magic, which is actually the Witchcraft system on pages 109-121).

The kicker here is that, after merging with that aurumvorax, Lex now has a Constitution modifier of +8 rather than the +3 he used to have. That's an impressively high value, so much so that he can now apply the "double maximized" modifier to a spell, taking the maximum die value and then doubling it. So his force punch spell, which (since his caster level is above ten) normally deals 10d4 damage (average of 25), is instead dealing 80 points of damage.

And that's before taking into account what Belligerence did!

Now, in point of fact, Belligerence didn't actually increase the damage per se. It just increased the area over which it was dealt; that it can only do so three times per day is actually a bit of a wink and a nod on my part, indicating that Belligerence is (in this regard) essentially a metamagic rod, albeit one that's beyond the usual standards. That's because Lex (who has the Create Artifact ability (Eclipse, page 28)) is able to craft non-standard items so long as he has the requisite exotic ingredients and atypical crafting methods...which he did here. So Belligerence is able to go a few steps beyond converting a touch spell into a modest area-of-effect spell, but rather than essentially turn any magic Lex uses into something which, from the look of it, affects an entire battlefield.

80 points of damage is still 80 points of damage, but it's 80 points of damage to everything there. So if you calculate the damage total by how many hit points are being lost from everyone present...yeah, I suppose that is rather destructive, isn't it.

[Booster Spice]

11527607

Lex now has Rainnuke on pen?

Or as Sonata might put it, Enemies giving you a headache, use the Nightquill?

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

Lex have never felt that his magical casting system was bad or even inferior to others even with all the imperfections it has, So seeing him here admitting that the limits being a bad design choice is quite funny to see. Guess my comments about him using AOE was quite spot on just rather than use a spell, he used a spell empowered by an item.

Sissel and co doesn't have much living to do.

[Alzrius]

11527840 As an idea, Lex is quite certain that his system of magic is without peer. It's just that he hasn't ironed out that problem with how to recharge it easily; that he can't use AoE effects is a limitation that he deliberately took on himself when he didn't have to, thinking that he was being responsible when in fact he simply couldn't imagine ever needing that level of destructive power. But after dealing with an army of ghouls, and seeing things like an entire family of corrupted winter wolves and a troop of yetis, he's able to acknowledge that sometimes the ability to blow an entire group of people to smithereens is necessary.

Hence why he's made Belligerence.

Now that Sissel's small army is down to just her and Grisela, Lex will hopefully be able to dispatch the two of them without much trouble. But then again, I don't see them going down without a fight either.

[Not so New Brony]

Okay...Belligerence is already becoming a gamechanger here since from reading the other comments, Lex can convert any spells of his choosing into a wide area of affect spell without any loss of effectiveness though with the tradeoff that its indiscriminate though which limits Lex's use of Belligerence though in this circumstance, it worked out in Lex's favor.

Still, there was more than one rune so I'm guessing Belligerence has multiple effects as we will see next chapter. Also, imagining Teyu slobbering over Lex in gratitude is a very amusing mental image so thanks for the moment of awesomeness of the fight and the chuckles from Teyu being best croco/dog thing.

[Alzrius]

11527981 Belligerence isn't something Lex would want to use if there's any possibility of friendly fire, since what happened in this chapter suggests a much wider area of effect than he expected. Still, at least now he has that option for when he's surrounded by nothing but enemies. And given that he threw it at Sissel, there's more to it than just that.

As for Teyu being so happy that he was giving indiscriminate lickings in happiness, what can I say? Teyu is best croco-dog monster.