Echos Chapter 5

Echos Chapter 5

Echos Chapter 5

Darius Blackwell watched as his grandfather talked to the man in black leather armor.

He knew what they were talking about because he had been training for this moment for the last five years.

His great great grandfather, the very ancestor hed been named after, had been sponsored by this man close to two hundred years ago, which was a mind boggling thought. The family had figured that would be his only investment into them when he hadnt appeared for Darius great grandfather, but they werent upset.

The mans initial intervention had propelled Darius namesake from a poor orphan into a well respected, if only locally known fighter. That had allowed Darius I to establish himself in Lilly after the rift breaks, and earn enough to settle down and start a family of fighters. No one had expected him to return in his grandfather's generation to sponsor the man on The Path.

Alfonso Cortes was an enigmatic man who no one had been able to figure out.

The fact that he was alive to this day meant he was at least Tier 7, if not higher. And from what his grandfather had said, Mr. Cortes only looked a few years older than when he had come to recruit him.Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

And now, it was Darius' turn.

His grandfather, despite being a Tier 5 himself, couldnt sponsor him. He had only reached Tier 4 on The Path, and had reached Tier 5 after stepping off and having Darius' father.

It was just hard to advance beyond Tier 3 on Lilly. Even his grandfather was talking about leaving Lilly and going adventuring to another planet with higher Tier rifts, but he had been waiting for Darius to grow up and either join The Path, or choose a life outside the rifts.

Darius couldnt really imagine living such a life though. His father was a merchant and spent most of his days bartering goods and materials. Darius had seen how that worked and found that idea far too dull.

At least his mother had a slightly interesting job as a smith, but even then, she mostly just worked with the metal his grandfather brought out of rifts. It made the profit margins great, as she resmithed the metal into weapons and armor, but it was all Tier 1 and Tier 2 stuff since she wasnt an enchanter.

Darius' uncle was an enchanter, but he spent most of his time making Tier 3 or Tier 4 items. Production at that Tier took forever, but they had a much better profit margin according to his father.

Darius wanted nothing to do with that. No, he wanted to delve like his grandfather.

Fighting was in his blood.

The Talent reader even said so.

Tier 1 Talent: Increase physical cultivation relative to heart rate.

No one could say he didnt belong in a rift after that.

And it was his turn to go to the PlayPen and start his own adventure.

Or it would be, if his grandfather could stop talking to Mr. Cortes.

He shot his grandfather a pleading look that seemed to sway the man.

Laughing, he stood up. My grandson is getting impatient. I really must thank you Mr. Cortes, for your continued kindness to our family.

Mr. Cortes shook his head even as he took Darius grandfather's extended hand. Nothing of the sort. I understand how he feels. So do you. And this cost me nothing, so think nothing of it.

The two adults smiled in a way Darius didnt really understand, but he did his best to not fidget. His heart rate was up, and that made him feel like he chugged an energy drink. Moving was the best cure he knew of.

Mr. Cortes waved over his shoulder as he led Darius out of the family estate.

It wasnt large, but it was home.

Part of Darius was excited to leave, but another, much smaller part, was worried.

He had already said goodbye to his parents, but they and his aunts, uncles, and cousins stood there waving to him.

Darius waved and almost tripped over his own feet as he spun back around.

Mr. Cortes chuckled even as he caught Darius. Careful there.

Blushing slightly, Darius smiled at his family, but his smile was cut off when he didnt see a car outside the estate.

How were they going to get to the PlayPen? Or rather, the train station? From what he understood, his grandfather and namesake had been delivered to the nearest city, where he had then made his own way to the PlayPen.

Mr. Cortes pulled a blade out of a small bag on his waist and Darius blinked as he realized the bag was a spatial item.

He had seen them before; his family had a few of them they used in their various business ventures, but he had never seen one so small.

His excitement only mounted as he realized that Mr. Cortes had a flying sword.

Hop on, Darius.

Following Mr. Cortes' instructions, Darius jumped on the blade and marveled at how stable the sword was. It didnt even wobble as he landed.

They took to the air and Darius used the opportunity to view the family estate from above.

The Blackwell estate was large and sprawling, but it was still contained inside the ten foot high walls that the original Darius had created. A dozen smaller houses surrounded the main house, which was where most of the smaller extended families lived. Farther behind the main house, he was able to see the fort-like building containing the familys rifts.

A rift of each Tier wasnt necessarily impressive, but it ensured the family never needed to worry about outside resources for their rift access. They still delved the surrounding rifts as part of their responsibilities as an outlying family, of course. It was their job to ensure the rifts were delved, which helped prevent rift breaks and monsters from wandering into the nearby city. But those rifts were still technically owned by the Baroness, unlike the rifts inside their estate.

Mr. Cortes let him watch for a moment before he took off into the clouds.

Darius heart was racing, and he couldn't help but imagine he was flying under his own power.

It was a marvelous feeling that didnt last nearly long enough, as they quickly reached the nearest city. It was normally a five hour drive through the mountains and forest, but on Mr. Cortes' flying sword, it had only taken them an hour.

As they landed at the edge of the city, Mr. Cortes looked down. Im sure your grandfather told you all about it, but let me go over some of the things you will need to know about the PlayPen. First things first, take some lessons with the fighting instructors and rent out a training room. You get a small credit limit that can help you buy weapons and armor, but you should take a lesson on the local rifts. The Tier 1 rift is a goblin rift, and while it's not a hard one, it can be dangerous if you aren't prepared. The Tier 2 rift is a bug rift, and while the individual monsters aren't too dangerous, they can easily overwhelm you if you aren't careful. The Tier 3 rift is a winter rift with wolves. It's a large step up in difficulty, but not that difficult if you take it slow and pick them off. Also, get good cold weather gear. The cold will seep into your bones before you know it, slowing you down.

Darius already knew all of this, but he nodded and recommitted everything to memory. Preparation was how to survive a delve, after all.

His grandfather wasnt too old at ninety years old as a Tier 5, but if he didnt start to advance once more, age would start to catch up with him sooner rather than later. That meant Darius needed to be ready to step up and keep feeding the greater family resources.

They were a family of fighters, but the Tier 5 potion was expensive. It had taken a lot of their familys wealth just to afford the breakthrough potion his grandfather needed after hed left the Path. Hed heard stories, legends really, of those who managed to reach Tier 5 without a potion, and he wanted to be one of the few and brave who managed it, bring honor to his familys name for finding such a lost, forgotten technique. Hed excel and exceed, and make everyone know the name of Blackwell!

If he was able to do well on The Path and reach a higher Tier than his grandfather, he would be able to support the family from afar, and give everyone access to resources and skills they could only dream of.

Even his grandfather only had two skills due to how expensive they were.

Tier 5.

Then hed get his first skill.

He could do that.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he almost missed when Mr. Cortes handed him a ticket and gave him his contact.

The train ride to the PlayPen took five days, but Darius was excited, and the time flew by as he practiced what sword skills he could on the train.

For all that she complained, her career wouldnt be even a tenth as successful as she was today without him.

Taking a deep breath and letting him see it, Cynthia cocked her head and waited, ears twitching cutely. Okay. Im calm.

That was a lie. She wasnt calm, but she was in control.

Jared smiled and nodded. He had taught her that little trick for when she was in a stressful situation..

Good. Now listen to me. I told you the studio was trying to do a four seasons thing for Blare. You are already an ice fox, and they were talking about having the second movie be about the character transitioning into earth or wind. With how hot Martha is right now, its not unexpected that they decided to shift the narrative a little and move the character into fire.

Cynthia bit her tongue and nodded. She had known that, but she had at least expected to get a contract to send Blare off to another actor. The fact the character went to Martha of all people just rubbed her fur the wrong way.

Trying to remain positive, she asked, You said that you had something else for me?

Jared smiled wide at that. Yes, and I think this will blow up into Empire wide stardom if we play it right.

Hearing that, Cynthia bit her lip. A lot of agents made promises like that all the time, but Jared wasnt the type. If he was claiming the part might send her into stardom, she trusted him.

What is it?

Jared took a deep breath, which set her hair standing on its ends. Youve heard of King Leon and Queen Maras youngest daughter, Elizabeth?

Cynthia quickly did a search to refresh her memory and nodded. It had been a good century since shed been in the gossip rags, but they looked familiar. Yeah Ive heard of her, what about it?

Jared smiled. Toucan Productions got the rights to a feature length movie about her and her husbands time on The Path, and they want to focus on the vassal war between the Kingdom of Seven Suns and Alliance of Allied Queens. There was a Pather war there, where the two of them were standouts. Or rather, three. The son-in-law has an arctic fox bond.

Cynthia fell back into her chair and groaned. She hated acting in her fox form. She was damn good at it, but that was a quick way to get typecast into irrelevance.

Still, she didnt dismiss the offer out of hand. Toucan productions was one of the largest movie making studios in the Empire, and even a bit part in one of their movies would be a massive step up in her career.

Jared, I hate this. I

Jared held up his hands in a placating gesture. I know kiddo, but hear me out. To start, Aster got ahold of a Fruit of Perfection before the war youd be playing in. Shes not just a normal sub-ten bond, she was nearly to full sapience in real life, so dont worry about that. Besides, I got them to sweeten the pot. If you take the deal, they will cast you in any future roles they get starring Aster Alexander. There is already talk about a comedy-drama-mystery show about her time in the Bond Academy. Toucan Productions might be known mostly as an action movie studio, but all of their titles do well. Cynthia, hear me out. Exclusive acting chops for the bond to a son-in-law of royals. This is huge.

Cynthia was about to agree, but her bull shit sensor started going off. Toucan Productions? Why arent they using Patricia Alco? Shes a fox as well and shes a mega star, way bigger than me. Why not cast her? Even if not her, how did the role trickle down to me?

Jared grinned like a shark who smelled blood. Ahh, and that's the beauty of it. Little Aster has made it abundantly clear that shed be incredibly displeased if a non-ice fox was ever cast to portray her in a movie. No one is going to cross her wishes and risk the ire of a fucking Tier 48 to put a earth fox in her place, so here we are. You are only really big in Harpers kingdom, but I know Demmie, who works with the head casting director at Toucan, and I put your performance in A Winter Dream forward. They said you are perfect for what they want in the role, and already set up the contract so you can start working on your base make-up right away.

Cynthia started to pace as she mulled the offer over. A Winter Dream had her acting like a half-sapient fox as a supporting role, and while she had been awarded several accolades for her part in the movie, she always felt like the movie had type cast her for the next few decades. She had to really work to break free of that net and wasnt sure she had it in her to do it again.

Going through some news reports, she tried to get a feeling for this Aster Alexander by resonating what she saw with her Makeup Box Anchor to get a feeling for the other fox.

At least the girl had good taste and had kept white hair, fox ears, and a floofy tail in her human form. From the headlines of the reports, the girl was a little more playful than Cynthia usually went for, but she could work with that. Even her Intent agreed with the idea. She could slip into this role if she allowed herself to.

Or she could, if there were promises of larger roles. What are the actual odds of the project with Aster as the lead?

Jaren waved his hands. Basically guaranteed. They have been wanting to do something a little more teen based for a while, and bonds are trending. The War of the Seven Suns, name pending, movie is designed to drum up some of the more bloodthirsty audiences and get them used to the faces. Best of all, Ive heard they want to tie Matthew and Elizabeth into the Quill and Torch movie as side characters, which means even more work for you. They were at the same Pather Tournament or something. It doesn't really matter. People love royals, I know this, you know this, the studio knows this. They intend to play this out for all its worth, and do a series of works with the characters. Come on Cynthia this isbig.

Cynthia really wanted to reject out of her principle of not doing more work in her fox form, but she knew she couldnt really afford to let this opportunity pass. Even if it was just this single movie, she couldnt pass up working with Toucan Productions. Their movies were distributed Empire wide, and even a mediocre movie of theirs grossed dozens of times more than her best selling movies ever had.

Send me the contract.

Her AI bleeped and she quickly scanned the contract. It was standard enough and had all the bits Jared had said it did. If she took the role, Toucan Productions would be forced to cast her in the next three projects that starred Aster. There were even caveats about the required significance of the parts.

Like Jared said, there was even mention of the teen series of Aster at the Bond Academy, which was what Cynthia was really interested in. Shed be the lead star, and those kinds of shows always did well. Being able to say someone related to a royal was the main character meant there was little chance the show didnt at least break even.

It would lock her into playing one character for a while, but that might be a good thing. Toucan Productions was huge, after all. She could use this to launch her career another step higher.

Still pursuing the information about Aster, Cynthia watched an interview where Aster went from making fun of her bond to giving a serious diatribe about the state of the Empire. It was an intelligent answer that didnt just pander the Loyalist talking points, but also brought light to some real struggles that people faced. She could have been coached through such an answer, but it felt a little too off the cuff, the words a little too casual and indirect to be a prepared response.

If that was Aster Alexander, Cynthia could work with this.

I accept. Putting action to words, she accepted the contract and it beeped as it was accepted and verified.

Jared smiled. Wonderful. Im telling you kiddo, this one is going to pay off for you.

Throwing herself into her couch, she waved him off. Whatever you say. Sure doesnt feel like it.

Jared laughed before telling her when she needed to start going to the Beast Kingdoms capital, where Toucan Productions had their main studios. Cynthia ordered her favorite street food since it seemed like she wouldnt be here soon in consolation.

Two years later, she was sitting in a much larger apartment on the Capital and awaiting yet another call from Jared.

The movie had sold amazingly. When Suns and Daughters Bleed had been both a critical and commercial success, propelling Cynthias name into most households' mouths for the last few months. In fact, it had been so good that Aster Alexander herself had even commented on the movie, saying Cynthia should play any movies that had Aster in them so long as she wanted, due to how well she had played the part.

An incredibly sweet comment that Jared had used to push for the greenlight of the show about Aster's time in the Bond Academy. If everything went well, the response would be coming today. Probably tomorrow, with the Ascension. With so many micro portals being opened, Empire wide communications were cheap right now, Cynthia hoped Jared might be able to get word back to her today.

Shed turned down a couple of offers to go to Ascension parties, wanting to make sure she was free all day. Instead, she just watched it at home. People understood and that was a good thing as her heart wasnt fully into it. She was just too distracted, brushing her hair again and again as she lost herself in thought.

Her own show with her as the lead. She couldnt imagine the fame that would bring her.

Cynthias eyes were drawn to the screen and she wondered why how there was a commercial for the movie playing during Torch and Quills Ascension. How much was their advertising budget wait, no. That was still the Ascension.

But that was Aster.

Cynthia blinked a few times as she tried to process what she was seeing. She knew those ears, she knew that tail, she knew that small smirk.

Aster was an Ascender?

That didnt make any sense, but there she stood beside her bond and his wife.

Aster was an Ascender?

The same Aster who she had been publicly praised by two days ago?

The same Aster who said she wanted Cynthia to play all of her roles, Aster?

Cynthias mind spun, and she was forced to steady herself with her Makeup Box so she didnt pass out.

Blinking, she watched the trio of people she knew all too well walk down the throne room. After all, she had been pretending to be them for the better part of a year.

It really was that Aster.

Jareds contact lit up on her AI, but Cynthia didnt bother to answer it immediately as she would have a few minutes ago.

Cynthia realized she didnt need to answer to know what he had to say about the show.

She already knew.