Frostbound
Chapter 318 - Flame Falls

Rachel

Flame Falls

Rachel stood staring out the window of the Citadel and felt the radiant heat from the treasure flow through her channels. The mana in the air was nearly entirely Fire mana and it felt oh-so refreshing compared to the smothering cold of the North.

Heat suffused the room and wrapped around her like a warm blanket. It reminded her of times when she used to sit around the fire when she was just a young girl.

Ooph, I haven't thought of those times in... decades.

There were times when Rachel forgot just how old she was. It used to be a constant reminder in her daily life: knees that would occasionally ache, a back that got sore much easier than it used to.

Now, she felt like she did when she was in college!

She looked like it too. She wasn't sure which part of the essence strengthening took care of wrinkles and age spots, but she was all for it. Her husband looked revitalized as well, but he managed to keep the older charm look he had grown into over the years. Brayden didn't have as many stat points as she did, but he still looked revitalized. Not that they were that old to begin with. Comfortably middle aged, if she had to name it.

Heat and warmth flooded her body and she wasn't even in the same room as the Eternal Flame, not even on the same floor, but still close enough to feel the residual effects the Flame gave off. Rachel remembered the descriptions Abigail and the others who spent time next to the River Heart had said of what it felt like, and only now she could understand.

A primal yearning that was hard to ignore.

The window showed the city in all its glory and she gazed out over all the changes. Glass everywhere, a stark difference to the stone and wood of Frostheim. This much glass was just asking for frostbite and risking hypothermia. Here, next to the Eternal Flame, the Winters were blunted by the mana it gave off.

The city still saw snow, and a lot of it from being near the Lakes, but it lacked the debilitating grip of a Northern Winter. The snow also wasn't dealt with in the same way. A city of Fire Mages had perks and dealing with snow accumulation was just one of them.

While she'd been traveling and spending time in Frostheim, Flame Falls had grown since she'd been here last. As had Frostheim when she arrived there for the first time since leaving. It was sometimes hard to keep up with all that was happening as both cities were entering a period of tremendous growth.

Last I heard, they were expanding the Walls back home.

A task that was set to take over a year was just getting underway. They had electricity now, too, which just felt weird. After so long huddled around fireplaces and draped in furs, to know they were transitioning into modern appliances was odd.

Good, but hard to reconcile with the ruggedness she had come to know and picture it as.

Flame Falls was nothing like that. They had recreated electricity even before leaving for the test. It was hard not to when sitting on such a geothermal opportunity. Lights were commonplace in the buildings and homes as was the occasional streetlight to keep things lit at night.

That and the more modern architecture made the two stand apart like they were from completely different eras.

There was only one similarity between the two. One giant similarity.

The giant stone Wall that surrounded it.

Just like Frostheim had spent months building a stone bastion around the city, Flame Falls had done the same. Unlike Frostheim though, where a cliff forced the city to be a half circle, Flame Falls was left free to spread out in any direction.

They had double the Wall to protect, but they also had double the space to fill.

And fill it they did. The population here was over triple what Frostheim had. The only time Rachel had ever seen more people in one place was at the test.

Footsteps alerted her that someone was coming and she reached out with her mana sense to see who it was. Based on their power, it was someone strong, but familiar enough that she wasn't alarmed.

Rachel turned to see a man walking out of the stairwell leading to the Flame room with a fresh new outfit. A vibrant picture of a dancing flame embroidered on it. A symbol that had quickly become known denoted he was high up on the rankings.

The way Vanessa ran her Faction was purely on strength, and Michael was within the top ten strongest in the city.

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Since Rachel wasn't formally a part of Vanessa's Faction, she wasn't ranked, but she felt confident in beating the man if it came to it. Not that it would, Michael was a gentleman.

The sun lit up his form as he stepped up to the window beside her.

On the eyes, he looked like any other ordinary middle-aged man. Average height, average build, even common brown hair. It was her magical sense that picked up how powerful he was. A raging bonfire being held in check sat within his chest, similar to her own.

Ah, so it was his turn before mine. Pure Fire mana leaked out of him that was impossible to find elsewhere.

With so many coming back at the peak and ready to evolve, time with the treasure was hard to secure. They had to resort to requests and time slots.

Michael stopped next to her and peered out the window just like she had been doing before the man arrived.

"I still can't believe how medieval it looks," Michael said, eyes trained on the same thing Rachel had just been looking at.

"Anything surrounded by a thick stone wall will look medieval," Rachel answered.

The Citadel was built directly on top of the Eternal Flame with the city surrounding it, which gave them a great view of the surroundings. The design choice to place the Citadel higher than all the other buildings made it so you could see nearly everything from atop it.

Not that they were standing at the top, but they could still see much of what the city had to offer.

"Did you accomplish what you set out to?" Rachel asked. It was sometimes hard to remember what was considered rude to ask and what wasn't. She spent much of her time with Family, which didn't have such strict decorum.

Asking someone if they forged their Core or made a certain Step was commonplace there. Here, among strangers, it certainly wasn't. No one just told someone the details of their power.

They asked with vague niceties for politeness instead.

"Almost." He said wistfully, "Another session and that should do it."

Bloodline strengthening? Not body tempering, as he'd still be recovering. Was he trying for his first Circle?

Michael already had a core, the same as Rachel, but hadn't made the next step yet. It seemed he was trying for the same thing she was. To forge her First Circle before reaching D-rank.

Vanessa had already done it. The Fire Witch was already blazing ahead and evolved already. Rachel wasn't sure what rarity Class the woman got, but any chance of victory in a fight Rachel might have felt was gone now.

Similar to how Rachel imagined fighting Chris would go, fighting Vanessa wouldn't be a question of if she could win. It would be a question of how long she could hold out.

"Back to the task board then I presume?" Rachel asked. "With costs rising, I barely had enough to secure one timeslot, let alone two."

Michael sighed, "I know what you mean. I've told her that it's becoming problematic, but she's reluctant to change it after so long."

Besides the fine embroidery showing him high in the rankings, his casual mention of who everyone called the Fire Witch would have denoted his station.

Merit was another thing she didn't have to worry about in Frostheim. The way Vanessa ran things was entirely different than the way Chris did. He ran it like how a family head would run it.

Besides valuing strength, Vanessa ran her Faction like a company. If you wanted something, you had to work for it. Tasks were listed to accomplish and a certain amount of merit was associated with each one.

Killing local monsters that hindered trade. Visiting a far-off dungeon to make sure it didn't break. Visiting surrounding Towns for one task or another.

You could also gain some depending on your Profession. If it was something the city needed or the Faction as a whole needed, you could choose to be paid in that way rather than coin.

"It doesn't help that so many people are right on the edge." She said, "Things will even out eventually as people evolve and the levels even out."

"If we don't keep growing at the same pace," Michael pointed out, "Nearly a thousand new people last month alone."

Where do they keep coming from? It had been three years since the Change and people were still moving around from place to place. Rachel spent most of her life in a single place before things became hectic, it was hard to imagine people moving around as often as they did.

"I wonder how many of them are spies," she said. The words felt odd even to her own ears, but it was something they had to consider now. Rachel knew it was something they talked about at home and it had to be true here as well. Probably more so, being much closer to the action as they were.

"A few dozen at least." Michael chuckled, "Some from Empire City, a few from the Great Lakes Alliance, a few from New Canada, and some from the American Faction I bet. Being surrounded on all sides doesn't help things, as well as having one of the few Barons as a leader."

"None from Boston?" Rachel asked. Boston's Faction held much of the Northeast until they collided with New Canada. They were close enough to warrant a spy or two.

"Not that I believe, not with their own internal problems," Michael said.

Oh, I forgot.

Their leader had died in the South.

"They still haven't decided on a new leader yet? It's been a year."

"It's more than just choosing a new leader," he said, "It comes with the Title as well. Liam was a Baron before he died and that title will transfer to the next Faction head as long as the City stands. Some think being a Baron will give them a leg up during their evolution."

Rachel furrowed her brows, "That doesn't make any sense. It won't change anything if they inherit the Title for a brief moment before they evolve. It's the actions that matter, not cheap tricks."

"We don't know that." Michael turned away from her, "Vying for the title and leadership position could be the very action they needed to walk down a different path. I just hope they don't side with Zuri like Liam did. That will only make things harder."

Tensions between Vanessa and Zuri had never been good. They were both too powerful and too close to one another for it to be anything but. Before both of them were called South for the test, Rachel wouldn't have been surprised if fighting had broken out on their shared border.

Both Factions had crept out and expanded until they had run into each other. Being as close as they were, one in Old New York City and the other near Buffalo had them on a collision course since the beginning.

The Fire Witch versus the Starlight Mage.

That would be a fight to witness.

"Well, my time is about to start and I don't want to waste it," Rachel said, "I'll see you later."

"Good luck," Michael nodded.

Rachel sent the rest of her thoughts out of her mind as there was something much more important on the horizon.

I'm ready. I will forge a Flawless First Circle just like I forged a Flawless Core.