Uranium Phoenix's Projects
patreon
Chapter 269 - Procurement (Part 2)
🕑 Added 2025-12-03 19:25:29 +0000 UTCJiandzhi, West of the Gate - Duala 27
“It’s coming! Run! Run!” Qian said, and began sprinting east through the trail. Behind him, he could hear the thunderous steps of a lesser titan crashing through the jungle. Not for the first time, Qian wondered what egg-headed fool had decided to call these terrifying beasts ‘lesser.’ He also wondered who this woman was that she could convince the great Zhuan Li to do something as foolish as lure beasts to them in the Jiandzhi.
Though perhaps he was the greatest of the fools, because in the end, the marusaurs weren’t baiting the trap, he was.
The jungle blurred as he ran, like a tunnel of green, and all his focus was on making sure he wasn’t going to trip on a root or catch his shirt on a thorny vine and get entangled. Even a few seconds of delay, and he feared the booming footsteps behind him would be on top of him. When he glanced back, he saw the others who were running, and behind them, the heart-stopping glimpse of movement. Not like a bird flying, or a simorian leaping from branch to branch, but like an entire house was moving behind the leaves.
Qian ran faster. His lungs were burning as he moved through a gap between two bushes, leapt over a log, then risked another glance back.
A wing-like appendage burst through the lower canopy and snatched up one of the men. He was gone before he could scream.
Exalted save me, he thought. And not just because that was the traditional phrase. The rumors were that Zhuan had become a new exalted. How else to explain her miraculous escape from prison? How else to explain the way she’d made the Akanans look like fools? But even Zhuan Li would have trouble with one of these.
He heard another shout behind him, and hoped that another man hadn’t just died. His lungs were straining, each breath painful. His legs felt weak.
Qian had known what he was doing was stupid, but for the first time, now he realized he might actually die.
And then he emerged into a small clearing and saw the woman. She was hovering in that gap between the canopy and the dark forest floor.
Before, she’d seemed normal enough. Intense gray eyes, the kind that looked into one’s soul, but he was used to that; Zhuan was much the same.
Now, her eyes were glowing silver, bright enough they were hypnotizing, and it wasn’t at all the same. She hovered there, with certain death stampeding towards her, with absolute calm and confidence. A spellbook floated by a casually held hand, the metal filigree also shining, but more pearlescent than silver. Her presence was powerful enough he nearly missed Zhuan Li herself levitating just behind the woman.
Then the woman raised her hand, and Qian swore he could feel the power building up, feel it with the arcane sense his second aunt had talked about. Only, he’d failed the arcanist’s entry examination. Not sensitive enough to his own aura, the examiner had said.
But he could feel this.
As Qian collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, he looked back to see the tree behind him part. The lesser titan burst into the clearing with a roar.
Then the air filled with fire and lightning.
Spells were supposed to come from the caster, but these spells came from every direction. Lines of fire came raining down, burst up from the ground, struck from an angle, materializing out of seemingly nothing. Lightning flashed so bright Qian had to throw a hand in front of his face, and then he thought his ear drums might pop from the cacophony. Waves of heat washed over him, and he thought he might burn. He tried to scramble back, but found his hand bumping into a thigh, then his head hitting a shield, and belatedly realized that he and the other runners were being protected—just that the spells were so intense it didn’t feel like it.
He closed his eyes, and the world flickered. He began to sweat from the heat, skin feeling like he’d been out in the summer sun for hours.
Then, darkness.
He opened his eyes, ears still ringing.
“Good. That’s another one down,” the woman said. She was holding some sort of device that was wrapped in celestial runes. “Five more to go.”
Qian blinked. He must have misheard her. He looked back, and saw the burning hulk of the lesser titan. It looked like a pig that had been roasted over an open flame for two days longer than it should have. Its skin was blackened and ashy, more like coals than flesh, and he could feel the heat radiating off it. Emperor’s blood, he thought. No wonder Zhuan had allied with her. How had he not heard of an archmage of that kind of power? The Akanan sorcerers wouldn’t stand a chance.
But what in the hells were they doing that required them to hunt multiple lesser titans?
Well, clearly, this was all above his station. For now, he could lie on the mossy dirt and stare up at the canopy until his lungs didn’t hurt so bad.
***
Alkazaria, The Great Temple of Eintocarst - Merisheth 6
It was a warm, sunny winter day in Alkazaria, and Bishop Saban hated it. He was tired of being relegated to a second tier city. Alkazaria may have been Baracuel’s second capital, but Palendurio was where the real power was. He had thought he was nearly done with this place, but then the Praetorian strike-team had disappeared, and his contact in the Department of Public Security hadn’t stopped harassing him about it. As if he knew anything! Then, several of his sources in Falijmali had gone dark.
Now, something strange was happening in the Luminate Order, and he couldn’t figure out what. The first sign of it had been someone messing with the flow of funds that was going towards the New Order. However, he hadn’t heard anything from the bishops he knew in the Grand Sanctum. Hadn’t heard anything back from his contact who usually talked to Decian Corrmier for him. All he knew was that things were ‘delayed.’
By now, Kallin Corrmier should have been in charge of Palendurio. The revitalization of Baracuel should have begun. Instead, things were slipping out of his control. The latest of which was that huge shipments were coming into the Citadel, almost all of which were going into the Temple of Eintocarst. It couldn’t be like his own smuggling operation. Everything was too out in the open. But it wasn’t sanctioned—couldn’t be!—because then it would have passed through his office.
That was why he was here. To find out what exactly was going on so he could start putting an end to this nonsense. He passed by the Luminate Guards who let him through the temple doors, then made his way into the central chamber.
As soon as he entered, though, his expectations had to be thrown out the window. The inside of the Great Temple had been completely renovated, and the main chamber had large sheets of cloth hanging about to block what was going on inside at a glance. He pushed aside one of the sheets to get a better look, then his jaw dropped.
The Cults of Shiamagoth and Eintocarst were here in full force, wearing each of their cult’s regalia. Dozens of priests roamed about with tools, both holy and mundane. Celestial runes had been carved on mechanisms all over the room. They were in plain sight, in clear violation of the Order’s dictums. But beyond that, he couldn’t understand what they were making. He recognized some of the runes, but the huge crucible at the center of the room, the bellows, the foundry—it looked like someone was opening a blacksmithing practice. The cavernous chamber that usually held a chill was hot.
There were bronze ingots lined up on one wall, and coming out of one forge—is that orichalcum? But that was to be made only in the Grand Sanctum, and only in the secret chambers. He’d never even seen it made himself, only distributed as part of the agreement between the Luminate Order and the Praetorians.
Then he saw the other ingots that had been stacked in preparation. The silver-colored ingots were much smaller than actual silver, steel, or even titanium. As he got closer, he realized they were marked with the sigils for iridium and platinum. The small containers next to them—those would contain the trace elements that only the best alchemists could isolate.
They’re preparing to make adamantium? But why? And who authorized this? And how have they secured such a blessing? And why are there crates of myrvite parts stacked everywhere? Has the Luminate Order become an artifice business?
A group of priests approached him. That was good. He could actually get some answers.
“What is going on here? Why wasn’t I informed of this? As bishop of the second order, I must demand an explanation. None of this has been authorized by my office.”
“Ah, Bishop Saban,” the lead priest said. He was a portly man with dark hair. He looked like he was from the region, but Saban didn’t recognize him. His robes indicated he was from one of the orders in Palendurio. “It was good of you to come here. It saves us quite a bit of trouble.” He beckoned at someone.
“Trouble? What are you talking about? Did you not hear me? I asked for an explanation.”
That’s when Saban noticed a pair of Luminate Guards approaching. “Holy One, is this man on your list?”
“He is. The Special Inquisition has already convicted him, so you may remove him to Carkavakom’s penitentiary where he may reflect on his violations of the sacred laws.”
Saban’s heart started pounding. “What!? Under whose authority? I am a bishop—a bishop! I outrank—what are you doing? Unhand me!”
“Saban, your rank has been stripped from you by Special Inquisition. You will maintain more dignity if you shout less,” the priest said.
The Luminate Guards had grabbed Saban, and not gently. He felt the sharp steel of their gauntlets digging into his wrist as they fitted shackles onto his hands. Saban started trembling. He couldn’t understand. But a Special Inquisition—those are only called by Pontiff Oculo. But Oculo—I thought he was for the New Order! He was on our side! What is happening?
***
Uxalak, beneath Ceiba Yan - Berosan 3
It was early morning in Tlaxhuaco when Mirian flew over the city and landed beneath the boughs of Ceiba Yan. feeling the tickle of the Sacred Tree’s aura over hers. There was a fancy cottage now nestled up to the trunk of the great tree that towered over all of Uxalak. So Xecatl can sleep in comfort when she’s up against the trunk of the tree, she thought. Since Ceiba Yan was the true Prophet of Tlaxhuaco, Xecatl needed to sleep here, soul entwined with the tree, if she wanted to join them in the Ominian’s dreamscape. The Emperor rarely left Uxalak, and besides, Mirian suspected that everyone had noticed that she didn’t have a temporal anchor by now.
Everyone has secrets now that they dance around. She was tired of it. Here, beneath Ceiba Yan, she could be rid of most of them at least. And she could let her guard down. She knew the tree, and the tree knew her.
Xecatl emerged from her cottage, already dressed in the ornate green, white, red and black of the Emperor. Despite the early hour—the sun was still bleeding oranges and pinks into the cloud filled dawn—Xecatl looked composed. Two servants followed her like shadows.
“Mirian,” she said, nodding.
“Xecatl. What are the readings looking like?”
“Promising.” She nodded at the Sacred Tree. “We’ve been working on extending her roots down. With the majority of our nagual working with Ceiba Yan, we may be able to get them to touch the Labyrinth. And being able to touch the Labyrinth this close to a working Gate…”
Mirian smiled. Xecatl’s original plan had been to grow a myrvite garden atop wherever they found the Tlaxhuacan Gate. That it was so close to the strongest-souled myrvite on this side of the Rift Sea was a stroke of good fortune. Humans had a difficult time integrating ambient mana into their auras. Plants, though, were how the majority of ambient mana was turned into usable arcane energy.
“Fascinating.” She started doing calculations in her head, adjusting numbers. “I’d estimated eight months, but it could be even longer. And if these designs work, I may be able to adjust the leylines further, meaning even more of the energy is distributed through Gates.”
“Myrvite numbers will increase dramatically, first in the flora, then in the fauna,” Xecatl said. “And the disruptions are going to lead to swarming behaviors. You’ve already seen them at work. Tlaxhuaco is ill-prepared for it. Our lack of spellward barriers makes the cities vulnerable.”
“True enough. But you will have time to prepare. Do you have the royal silk?”
Xecatl gestured, and one of the servants went off to fetch the item.
Royal silk wasn’t true silk, but came from a type of hybrid myrvite that crawled around in the reefs just off the coast of Uxalak. The mantis-spider seemed to have been a rare example of a chimera that had viable offspring. Now, the reclusive rainbow-shelled creatures roamed about making underwater webs to snare prey. The threads they used had their origin in a type of myrvite kelp, which the mantis-spiders then coated with some sort of special substance and spun into threads. Mirian intended to send Viridian and Seneca over in some future cycle to study the creatures and substance now that they could easily establish a link between Torrviol and Uxalak.
For now, they relied on the old Tlaxhuacan practices to harvest the substance, which no alchemists had been able to replicate. Specially trained nagual could get the mantis-spiders to make small amounts of silk, but it was difficult enough and labor intensive enough that only the highest ranked officials had anything made out of it—hence the name. But good armor required good padding, and when Mirian was researching what sort of fabric her regulator battle-robe should be made out of, royal-silk had done the best in her tests. Better yet, the fabric could take both glyphic and runic enchantments. When she’d shown Gaius the stuff, he’d muttered about how he wished his own robes were made out of it.
“My agents report to me that you’re doing little enough research on antimagic resilience of artifacts, you know,” Xecatl said.
“I think the production of adamantium and other rare substances could be used as shielding, don’t you think?” Mirian asked. She’d told Zhuan some of her intentions, and Xecatl almost all of them, so this wasn’t actually news to the Emperor. Her intelligence department didn’t know that she already knew, though.
“Yes, it could. But if my agents are reporting that to me, then I’m not the only one that’s caught a glimpse of what you’re doing and has intelligence officers that are getting suspicious. Who can say if Ibrahim knows, but Liuan and Gabriel certainly do. And I worry that Jherica is too manipulatable.”
Mirian ground her jaw a bit. She was annoyed, but also knew Xecatl was talking sense. “I’ll tell them after the deed is done. But not yet. There’s too many moving glyph sequences in this spell engine, and it would be too easy to destabilize it. Have the incursions continued?”
“No. They stopped the same cycle Liuan said she took care of Scebur.”
“But you still don’t trust it.”
“I don’t trust anyone who pretends they don’t have secrets. I also don’t trust actions that don’t make sense. A single lunatic might be irrational, but anyone attempting to steer the direction of a country has a plan.”
And yet, Mirian couldn’t be surprised that the time loop had broken the mind of a looper. Troytin had been overcome by delusions. Celen, by despair. Until Xecatl could provide proof of something they needed to worry about, Mirian didn’t want to spend any more time on the matter.
Nevertheless, she was sure they’d discuss this again. Some conversations between Prophets repeated themselves just like everything else in the world.
The servant returned with a small retinue of artisans and guards. Two of them were carrying a chest between them, which they set down before Xecatl and Mirian with a perfunctory bow.
Mirian opened it up and smiled. Each piece had been woven, cut, and stitched to perfection. The silk itself was dyed black, but still kept its violet shimmer. The black dye wasn’t strictly necessary, but she’d decided that her armor should have the same theme as Eclipse. Mythril and adamantium. White and black. That just felt right.
Now, she would spend the next week enchanting the fabric with glyphs and runes.
“You don’t think they’ll notice the destabilization from the brief connection to Divir?”
“I don’t think anyone is actually paying as much attention to the leylines as I am. But this cycle will be perfect for masking anomalies because it’s the first one with the Uxalak Gate open.”
Xecatl sighed. It was short, but heavy with the weight of the future. “I still think you should remove Liuan. Probably Jherica and Celen too, just to be safe. I do like Jherica, but living in that empire does something to poison the mind. Guide Akana yourself.”
Mirian shook her head. “The Ominian sees farther than we do. I will trust Them. We will work together. We will save this place.” She put the royal silks back in the chest and levitated it behind her. “Thank you,” she said.
“As you know, this is not a gift. It is duty.” Xecatl said, “But if you have a moment, Ceiba Yan has been bothering me about you.”
Mirian couldn’t help but smile. “I can spare a bit of time for a friend.” She walked over and put her hand on the trunk of the Sacred Tree. For a time, there was nothing else, just the mingling of souls and that strange perception of the world. There was peace in taking a break from humanity and being a tree for a while.
Together, we grow, Mirian thought to it.
Then, it was time to return to her task.
Comments
Samuel Sever
tftc
Cameron Pickerill
Xecatl probably has the right idea here. The big question is whether there really is a strong reason why each if them was picked versus it being a rough stab in the dark. If it's the former then Miriam already fucked up by removing one looper at all, if it's the latter then some pruning could be all the better. Hell the idea that the loops are actually intended to conclude with a single Victor isn't out of the question if there's a missing puzzle piece of knowledge that changes the situation. There's also something to be said for Akana putting out at least 2 insane and evil time loopers, when every other location has turned out at least people who can theoretically be worked with.
PrismaArchives
“I still think you should remove Liuan. Probably Jherica and Celen too, just to be safe. I do like Jherica, but living in that empire does something to poison the mind. Guide Akana yourself.” We even get third-worldism, love this world.
Gopard
very concerning for her long term human interaction prospects especially when very soon she'll probably have to explain why THE FUCK she was hiding the biggest secret imaginable with the relics and relicarium from everyone once the armor gets revealed...Mirian better have the one tiny sliver of braincell common sense left to open that meeting with a relicarium forged focus for Ibrahim if she doesn't have that... dude she will be the one who killed his wife for decades over and over again for hundreds of. loops in his eyes.. that's beyond tree level that's more 'my best friend is a rock so I don't talk much' level of antisocial ness lol
Gopard
I just fear it's still too much... she hasn't told them about relicarium from what I understood and that's the BIG secret... never mind discussing the designs with them... they Probably correct think "she will try and then ask us how to improve it next loop or something" but no... Miriam is going full all in... or maybe she told Xecatl about they Relicarium? but the way she decisively brushes her off as "talking about Scebur so much almost like a non looper" did not give me the best impression of their relationship almost seems as if Mirian might actually be well underestimating how much shit EVERYONE will give her (for very good reason too lol) next chapter... I really hope she doesn't also manage to HIDE the creation of the armor... I want this shit and the climax resolved already lmao
Gopard
who are her "enemies" though? I would say all the prophets are actually definitely in the right being more than pissed at Mirian... just consider what she did to Ibrahim only... how many Years has she essentially killed his wife over and over again? just because she didn't wanna share the shiny rare secret? or Liuan? for all her faults don't you agree she would have had it much much easier to take control over Akana with some strong soulbound stuff? Never mind what if Mirian (as has happened often before) just fucked up something? and her Armor doesn't actually help or is clearly suboptimal for "Leyline regulation"? Calling and making it an ARMOR in the first place is SOOO suspect... I mean there's one basic rule in ALL science: A machine that specializes it best at that one task. so simply by virtue of this BEING ARMOR it will already NOT be the "most efficient regulator design"... Mirian is currently drunk on and crazy for power and justifies this approach by in her mind having decided that everyone else in the world are stupid idiots that she knows best and they be grateful if she doesn't just kill (de-loop) them... she was even warned by the Eldritch time observers to "maybe think for a second before you do something real stupid" and then decided "nah this person was directly talking to me but surely I guarantee you they mean the 'you' in 'plural' I'm the unfalliable Mirian after all"... thing is this might work. I have the unpleasant feeling potentially this is the plan... let Mirian get away with her behavior and have her be proven right because Liuan turns out to be Scebur so she gets "justification" to remove her and Gabriel and maybe others when they are outraged about her lies and deceit... I could very well see. this happen and would fully expect it were this not a very very high quality story so far that I really hope has a more nuanced and better approach to an ending. well shoot I wrote another essay again... lol
FuriousDee
Gabriel is the one that worries me most as well, if only because Mirian wouldn’t see him coming
FuriousDee
I wonder how Ceiba Yan compares to a leviathan or titan
FuriousDee
Aww the super tree missed her
Gernot Bahle
I believe that’s a misunderstanding, Celen has always been wandering the dream, but before our heroine succeeded in making the dream linear in a temporal sense, chances of encountering him were basically zero. That same thing is true for finding Scebur. There‘s still something off about that whole mess and I‘m sure we‘ll find out in time, but to me, it seems unlikely that Celen = Scebur.
Anonymous
Ceiba Yan is already the strongest Myrvite in the area. If it starts absorbing ambient mana throughout multiple loops it’s gona grow legs
Armo
As an aside, it’s funny to me that we’re all basically reiterating the concerns we had about the apophagorga staff forging, just this time with an even more powerful item.
Armo
Having read through the chapter again, it’s clear to me that Mirian is pulling out all the stops to see this operation succeed. I am heartened, and this gives me a bit more confidence that Mirian won’t have her mastercrafted armour stolen right from under her. Mirian has not attempted to seize control of Palendurio and the Sacred Order until this cycle. Atrah is also moving to support Mirian’s efforts more fully, as are, seemingly, Zhuan and Xecatl. That’s a stacked lineup for anyone to go up against. It’s also new - so any opposition would need to be improvised, from a looper perspective. The wildcards are Ibrahim, Liuan and Gabriel. Between the three of them, they could pose a serious threat, even in the middle of Baracueli territory and even with all of Mirian’s precautions. I think most of all, I’m concerned about what Gabriel chooses to do here. If he sides with Liuan and/or Ibrahim to assault/sabotage Mirian’s operation, they may succeed in foiling her at least, as he’s quite good at the cloak and dagger type stuff. Maybe we’ll see him meet and talk with Mirian later in this loop.
Kain
I’m still really suspicious of Celen they were my number 1 suspect for being Secbur and they just happen to be found wandering the dream damn near exactly when Secbur is “dealt with”. Still really fishy.
Clara
We know soulbound stuff gets unequipped when you die for realsies, so pulling out someone's needle and killing them sounds like a viable solution
Leaf
still can’t believe Mirian’s best friend is a tree
Leaf
seeing as he isn’t a looper it doesn’t matter since it wouldn’t persist over cycles: at worst it’d inconvenience Mirian for one cycle for the curses on prophets thing, definitely a possibly if Liuan is Scebur
gotag
You know it would really suck if Miriam got all these things together pulled out the armor from the moon only to get sideswiped by Scebur who then binds it themself.
Keifru
I had a thought- with Atraxidi also making moves to support Mirian, I'm wondering if Liuan (Scebur) will remove his Soul Anchor. If her 'soul curse into oblivion' which was done to Jherica can now be used again, she can incapacitate other Prophets and remove their Anchors. We do know returning them extends the cycle- though I don't think heals the Ominian even if they assume that -which means I could see a philosophical alignment of Ibraham and Liuan against Mirian.
Armo
Based Xecatl, Liuan truly is suspicious. I’m so glad Mirian and the tree are getting along.
BlastYoBoots
Which makes me think that a reckoning is coming. From the other prophets via an unexpected angle, or from Carvy’s Watchers, or both at once— something to knock her down a dozen pegs, drag her distant humanity back to her, and force her to confront that in her pursuit of personal power she’s let other types of power pool nigh-fatally against her. Not that she’ll necessarily be LESS powerful after they strike… more that she’ll discover that her power doesn’t matter, or that there’s a whole other form of strength up against her from the front while those using human means she’s neglected undermine her foundation from the back. One last huge fall before she has to struggle and climb toward any sort of final victory. In fact, this new armor and scepter before it’s bound, or even some of her other soulbound artifacts… I wonder if some conspire to STEAL them from her just on the cusp of attaining them, having armed her enemies rather than herself with the best instead. Is she going to skimp on the Miriam-locked safeguards that prevent anyone else from wearing it because she knows it’ll be soulbound to her? Will she have them but her safeguards be blown away like so much dust? So many disturbing possibilities, given she’s due for a fall despite her imminent boost in power.
Clara
I think it's been a few months since loop start so they're probably fine
chumponimys
Wait so whatever she binds is pulled out of the loop, right? She binds Eclipse, now Eclipse doesn't appear in the church treasure chambers anymore. So what happens when she binds the silk? Do the nutrients used to create it not exist in the myrvites' stomachs anymore at the start of the loop??
Ethereal Sky Daddy
Since the Armor will be stored in her soul, along with a second focus in the form of the one from the staff on Divir. It becomes a complete game changer for her in terms of combat power. Whats crazy is she’s already wildly more personally powerful then all the other prophets and it’s not even close
Clara
I'm glad that her real allies at least aren't completely in the dark
YarrowFlowers
idk if the armor will be completed or not but regardless of that, I’m certain there will be a confrontation between Mirian and her enemies at the climax of its creation.
