Chapter 143: Zenith
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 23:30:01 +0000 UTCAuthor's note: Double-chapter day! Only one chapter tomorrow, then we're back to our twice a week schedule. Hope you enjoyed all the writing I've thrown your way. We passed the 50% mark for the 4th book last week.
For anyone looking from the outside, Chipper, the Alpha Guardian, Zenith of the Unending Summit, and Holder of the Eternal Base, was taking a quick squirrel nap as he lay on the grass just outside of his tree.
What he was actually doing was reviewing his Territory screens, one metric in particular.
Eternal Base population: 15,201
Expected rate of growth per day: 15,200
Remaining population necessary for the next tier: Already obtained
When Walker had set him up with the Territory, he’d also given him the contact information for an odd character named Neus. The last line in the population counter had been his suggestion- an easier way of tracking how many more citizens a Territory needed before he could upgrade it. And as it stood, in just a little over a day, he’d already reached the next tier- thanks in no small part to Walker’s Eternal Summit event the other day.
A flashing icon on his Territory screens informed him he could upgrade the Eternal Base at anytime.
Craning his head over to watch what would happen, Chipper clicked the button.
A red flash erupted in the city's center, erupting into the sky. It spread, moving from the middle to the outer skirts until reaching a few feet in front of Chipper, then disappeared. Just like that, the Eternal Base was now a Tier Two Territory. A series of writing appeared on his screen as the upgrade was completed.
Congratulations Holder Chipper, the Eternal Base has reached the second tier!
As a Special Territory, your upgrade path follows a different route than others…
…
Your new upgrade requirements are as follows:
Territory population: 15,201/2,000 Sapients
Territory age: 1.2/7 Days
Ranking members of the Unending Summit: 5/10 per designated structuring
Total members of the Unending Summit: 185,000/1,500 Sapients
Magical Saturation: 5/10%
Knowing that the magical saturation for his Territory was increasing at a rate of one percent per day, it was easy arithmetic.
Six more days, Chipper thought to himself—another item on my checklist.
As he was thinking that, he tried not to be overwhelmed by the new things he’d been forced to track recently: Followers, ranking people, food, the human’s need for buildings to live in. It was hard to shift from only having to worry about Raganoth, who was currently on an exploratory trip of the new Territories, and his Mana Tree.
Even being able to think silently to himself was a novel experience.
Since the seeding, Speaker Adele had been busy organizing all the new members of the Guardian Collective. He knew that wouldn’t last. They’d need Chipper the First to help weigh in on a few things, but therein lay a conflict. To truly be the Zenith of the Unending Summit, he had to commit to the religion fully- no special treatment or gentle asides allowed.
Knowing the Territory could manage itself, Chipper stood up on the grass and patted his old Mana Tree. Up in the branches above, stood its new Guardian, a hearty female by the name of Diana. They’d had a few conversations about what it meant to be a Guardian, and unlike Chipper with his wanderlust, the new protector of the Mana Tree had no interest in adventures. With a wave to Diana, Chipper began amiably walking toward his Territory.
The closer he came, the more his statue showed itself. At first, he’d been greatly touched by its creation, that Walker and his assistants had created a monument in his honor. But now, after seeing it for an entire day and the accompanying finger-pointing and whispers that followed, he was less enthused.
Still, there could be no doubt as to who ran the Eternal Base, and for that he was grateful indeed.
The reason why that mattered had finally noticed him arriving. In a zip and splash of lightning, Runner spun in place, walking beside him as he passed the border between the Mana Tree and the Territory.
“Hey, Chipper, did you see the level-up? It was cool! I’ve seen a Territory level up a few times now; it’s always super neat.” She said as she continuously spoke in her clipped and energetic fashion. Chipper chose not to comment that it wasn’t a level-up but a tier-up. “So, I was thinking. What if we threw the new Chasers at the Cadre? Like, one at a time, and just see how they do?”
The white squirrel shook his head, writing, “That will not work, Runner. I have told you before that those who were only recently inducted are not founders. They do not have the training to participate with the Cadre yet. That should only be reserved for those with a modicum of skill in the martial field.”
“Yeah, but-”
Chipper wrote again, interrupting her before she could speak, “The last time we placed an un-trained person against the Cadre, we had to use numerous bandages to cover all of their wounds. The living weapons are very enthusiastic about their training, almost to a dangerous level.”
Runner continued arguing her point as they entered the Domicile of Magic, a name one of the Followers had given it, which had taken on a life of its own. Chipper visited each day to check on the fledgling Mana Trees, ensuring nobody had harmed or done anything strange with them.
“I just think we’re babying the seeders too much. We, Founders, didn’t have all that much time before we were expected to handle a sword in a fight; I don’t see why they should get special treatment.”
Chipper ran his hands across a cyan leaf, checking for any kind of damage before moving on to another. His other hand wrote in the air, “Be that is at it may, the Founders had quite a few advantages not afforded to those new to Symphony. Patience is what they deserve, not forced violence. As they read the Scripture, they will grow to understand what it means to be a Horizon Chaser, and why prowess in battle is of particular import here. Now, as the newly established Discovery Branch Head, do you have anything to report?”
Runner bounced from foot to foot, “No, Zenith.”
“Excellent.” Chipper moved over to another Mana Tree, “Go about your duties. I understand multiple libraries will be springing up as many other Territories are due to soon upgrade. We will need to ensure we have Directors and Sages ready to step into their roles when that occurs. Please continue training the Followers in your classes. They will need to be prepared for all situations, and what you can teach about Skills and battle will be invaluable.”
“Yes, Zenith,” Runner said with a short bow of her head, then in a flash of lightning, she was gone.
Chipper spent some time checking over each Mana Tree. When he was done, he began to walk toward the center, only pausing when he noticed something new. A glowing cyan crystal was just above the doorway, embedded in the wall. He didn’t know if it was new, perhaps a part of the Territory’s tier-up, or if it had always been there and he hadn’t noticed it before.
Moving a nearby stool over, he stood on it to get a closer look. It looked almost like the crystal he’d used to create the Territory in the first place, only much smaller. Touching it, he felt a pulse of magic, its signature tasting precisely the same as his own. Near the top, it was a little loose. Wanting to get a better feel for the thing, he pulled on it. It didn’t loosen up until he covered himself in magic; then, it fell out with a pop.
The odd lights installed in the room turned off as text forced its way into his overlay.
Warning: An anchor stone has been removed from the magical section of your territory. Without its recovery, magical functions within the Eternal Base will no longer function.
Chipper shook his head and replaced the Anchor stone. It took a moment for the lights to return and the text to go away. Then, it was like nothing had ever happened.
Curious if these were elsewhere throughout the Eternal Base, Chipper began to visit each section. The one in the Portal room was hidden near the bottom of the control stand, something he still didn’t know how to operate. He found another with the Cadre, each of the Living Weapons following him until he located it inside a nearby resting area. Removing each gave a similar warning, though different in their impaired functionality. It didn’t escape his notice that as the Holder of the Eternal Base, each was keyed to his magical signature.
He assumed someone else could remove it, but not without an incredible amount of effort.
Deciding they were too important to ignore, he resolved to set guards on each area, something he would’ve done as soon as possible if he had known about them earlier. He’d have to be sure they could be trusted, another thing that was difficult to track in his day-old city.
Chipper spoke to a few Followers on the way, two Founders in the mix. Symphonians had come from all across the planet to the Eternal Base. Not necessarily to join the population, but just to visit and look. He sent off another message to Neus, asking how to use the Portals to save people time in travel, then bumped into another familiar face.
“Speaker Adele, why are you here?” He wrote in the air, the letters slightly off due to his shock.
The sleek white squirrel stood up proudly, “I have been elected by our people to represent the Guardian Collective.”
“Represent them for what?”
“For a meeting with me,” He heard from a familiar voice. Chipper turned around swiftly, making sure his tail didn’t strike his friend. Standing in front of him was Walker Reed, the Creator. His hair was still back to the dark color it had been the last time he’d seen him, but there was now a small streak of white in the front. How humans could change their hair color so much was beyond him at the moment.
The tall man with an undeniable presence gestured at both of them, “I wanted to drop by and give a warning and a few gifts to you both.” Saying so, he produced two thing rectangular objects and handed one to each. On the front, it said Faction Creation Card, while the back showed several inter-connected colors rotating in a circular pattern.
“Chipper, that is for you to create a Faction on Symphony, the first of its kind. As soon as you create it, I’ll activate Speaker Adele’s card. That way, the first two factions created in our world will be The Unending Summit, and the Guardian Collective. The first two organizations to spring up since Symphony’s founding.”
Chipper wrote in the air, “What’s it for?”
Walker leaned back a little, touching the white lock of hair, “It’s a little hard to explain to people who don’t have a history of them. What I envision of Factions is two-fold. It’s either for the founding of Nations rather than Territories- or it’s for creating independent organizations with charted members like you two have. You’ll have a unique and locked communication system, members lists, even quests you can give out. You'll gain more functionality as you level it up, similar to your Territory.”
“Nations?” Speaker Adele hesitatingly wrote, too nervous near the Creator to speak in their minds.
“Think of them as large, interconnected Territories with the same citizens. There’s even an upgrade path that lets you create a nation across different regions.”
Chipper nodded, understanding now, “How do I activate it?”
“Press it to your overlay.”
Shrugging, the Albino squirrel did as much. It disappeared with a pop just as text took over his overlay.
Congratulations Chipper!
You’ve used a Faction Creation Card!
What kind of Faction would you like to create?
A long list appeared, with an option near the bottom saying Create your own. The squirrel, knowing what Walker intended, selected religion. A few more screens appeared, asking for more minute and intricate details, but it didn’t take him long to input everything. After finalizing the last portion, he checked it once before accepting the terminal prompt.
Congratulations Chipper!
You’ve created the first Faction in Symphony’s history!
Symphony message:
Congratulations to Chipper! Chipper has created the first Faction in Symphony’s history!
500 Milestone points!
Symphony message:
Congratulations to Chipper! Chipper has created the first religious Faction in Symphony’s history!
The Faction, The Unending Summit, is here!
250 Milestone points!
Walker gave him a large smile, “And there you go, now you have your own Faction. He paused for a moment, fiddling with his screens before looking at Adele, “Your turn.”
Chipper wrote in the air, “I don’t understand, why do I need this? I already have access to everything in the Follower system.”
A stormcloud seemed to pass over Walker’s features, one that appeared and disappeared just as quickly, “Yeah, I’m moving away from that. Sadly, you will have to go out and sign up everyone to the Faction, just like we did originally with the Follower system. But, there should be an option to invite everyone in your territory to your new Faction.”
Chipper looked through the new Faction screen and found he was right. A few quick clicks and his notifications exploded.
Congratulations Chipper!
Your Faction has gained a new member…
Congratulations Chipper!
Your Faction has gained ten new members…
Cong-
He stopped reading the notifications for a moment as a new type hit his screen.
Symphony message:
Congratulations to Adele! Adele has created the first roaming Faction in Symphony’s history!
The Faction, The Guardian Collective, is here!
250 Milestone points!
Adele excitedly wrote, “Thank you, Creator. We will cherish this new manner of communication.”
“My pleasure,” Walker replied with a genuine smile, “The Guardians have been with me from the start. There’s no way I wouldn’t set you guys up.”
Chipper raised a hand, confused for a moment, “If these are the gifts, then what is the warning?”
Walker shrugged, “It’s less of a warning and more of a notice. There’s going to be a very fast, very limited event starting up soon with some pretty fantastic rewards. One that will impact you, but which I’m barring you from actively participating in. That’s why I gave you the gifts you’ve just received. It’s my way of being nice while telling you to stay out of it.”
“What are the rewards?” Adele asked.
“That’s the thing: some are individualized, which the Horizon Chasers can participate in, but most will be focused on Territories. The better the Territory does, the greater the odds they win something that can completely change how their city will work. I have all of my assistants working on it right now, and it should go live in…3…2…1…and there we go.”
An announcement hit Chipper’s vision.
Hello to all Symphonians!
First, congratulations to all of you for your hard work over the past week.
We’ve seen many new and innovative creations donated to the interconnected item system for all.
We’ve seen grand acts of bravery from both Founders and non-Founders alike.
We’ve seen love blossom, plans be made, and treks taken by those not afraid to explore the darker corners of the world we call home.
And now, it’s time for something new.
With the exception of a small few, every Sapient is invited to participate in a 24-hour limited-time event.
There will be rewards for individual Symphonians.
There will also be significant, life-changing rewards for each Territory should they choose to participate.
The rules and how points work will be updated to your overlays within the next few minutes.
Scores will be kept, with the top eight territories and the top ten individuals receiving the best rewards of the bunch.
And so, with that, let the first-ever limited-time event begin!
Enjoy!
The Ascension event begins!
Walker was waiting for Chipper’s eyes to refocus on him. He gave the albino squirrel a smile, “And with that, I have to go deal with applications from some off-universe travelers who might be interested in coming here. Do you need me for anything?”
Adele immediately said no, but Chipper had one question, “What’s wrong with the Follower system? Is it going to affect the Chasers and me?”
Walker’s smile melted away, “Not if I can help it. I figure it out, don’t worry.”
With that, a portal opened up behind him. He stepped in and disappeared, leaving a smiling Adele and, as always, more questions for Chipper than answers.
Comments
Joshua David Mullenary
No you...Next few chapters are a focus on some Poll promises from long ago
Jeremy Young
Thanks for the chapter
