Frostbound
Chapter 323 - The Society

Edward Halstead

St. Louis

Headquarters of the Historian's Society

The usual sounds of scribes writing down information or the shuffling of parchment on parchment were absent. The scruff of scribbling pens had been absent many days as of late. Most of the Society had been sent out and they weren't so large that they had enough people remaining to keep the library staffed.

Not that the work didn't go on, Edward made sure of that. His newest evolution made him able to do the work of dozens, and even Cassandra could chip in if he got behind.

His lovely wife would help if it was needed, as they both knew the work was that important.

Back before the world became a video game, Edward was an archaeologist. His wife too, but in a different specialization. That was how they first met, even though that felt like a lifetime ago.

After being forcefully yanked away from his office in the Smithsonian, he came back to disaster. The hidden histories of so many civilizations were destroyed. Things they were working to unearth or things they hadn't even found yet, gone.

So many things were lost, all because of magic and mana.

He hated it at first. It was illogical, but he couldn't help it. Magic was the cause of losing what he'd loved, and so he had directed his anger at it. It wasn't until Cassandra pulled him out of it that he understood. That he grasped what his future entailed.

He was still bitter and sulking about how everything had changed when she gave him a new path.

"You spent your life digging up the past, Eddie, and while I'm sorry about what happened, you are missing the bigger picture."

He'd said something snarky back then he couldn't remember now.

'With levels and Essence, you can become living history. At C-rank, you can live for nearly 2000 years! With a high Vitality, even longer. Imagine living since the Romans! You wouldn't need to go digging around and guessing at what ancient societies were like, you would have lived it!'

It was the kick he needed. To stop mourning the past, he needed to look ahead to the future. When he did, Edward realized the urgency needed for what was to come.

History was already passing him by. Things were already happening in the world he didn't know about. Cities were just beginning to be founded and he didn't even know their name!

Factions were rising and falling, without anyone to document them.

It was around that time his excitement came back. The fire that had died when he realized what the terraforming did came roaring back.

Edward was living through the single largest historical event in the history of mankind! He was going to be damn sure that he did his best to record it.

Every settlement. Every village. Every City. Wars, battles, influential people. All of it.

And he couldn't do it alone.

That was how he birthed his Faction. The Historian's Society. Cassandra was fully on board, too, as she was the one who had pointed him in the right direction. Their growth was slow at first. Glacially slow compared to a few other groups that formed, but the couple did their best.

At first, they acted like nomads. Traveling around and writing down all they had learned. It certainly helped gain levels, but it wasn't enough. They couldn't be everywhere at once. They couldn't know everything without being everywhere.

They needed to grow. Edward and Cassandra weren't enough.

As more people joined the Society, other problems arose. Logistical problems. Recordkeeping became a nightmare.

Without a central base, everything was too dispersed and hard to track.

What better city to settle in than one located at the center of the reachable lands.

St. Louis.

If only I'd known what would have happened next. It felt like the fates themselves were helping me when the obelisk spawned.

After building out their headquarters, the work had never stopped. They sent out scribes far and wide to gather and send back what they could. The magi-tech advancements New Norfolk were making. The reinvention of cars.

The budding culture that was so starkly different. Even places that used to be similar, if not the same, were growing apart quickly as time passed.

The Society was still constrained to the Eastern portion of North America, but they would reach out eventually.

His current fascination had him focusing on the Northeast. A report written by the man he sent was on his desk and he was rereading it for what felt like the tenth time for anything he missed.

~~

After the death of Baron Liam McConnell, both his Brother, Sean McConnell, and his Second, Brienne Farland, are fighting for Leadership. Bri has the support of most of the army that survived the test, while Sean has the support of those who stayed behind.

The levels and power backing favor Bri. The numbers favor Sean.

They're still trying to use words and civil tactics, but this can quickly turn violent.

I will continue to monitor the situation closely.

-Garrett

~~

Without knowing more, it would seem like an isolated incident. New Boston was reeling from having its leader killed and would see some turmoil for a time, but otherwise, everything was manageable.

That didn't consider the wider implications that would result from who claimed control.

Zuri, who was quickly becoming known as the Starlight Mage, had a close relationship with The Admiral. Both she and Liam had, but with him gone, it was still up in the air if that triangle relationship of the coastal cities would continue.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

With Vanessa's increasing presence pushing east, and Zuri's responding actions pushing west, sparks could potentially fly. If it were only the two Factions, Edward couldn't confidently say who would win.

But if more were called in, things could escalate quickly. A modern day WW1 situation. Only supremely powerful people instead of country heads.

A shimmer in the air took Edward away from his worries and he turned to the forming report. It was one of the few mandatory skills he made all members take. [Send Message].

Even if the range wasn't the best at first, there were ways around it. His Class aided all those of the Society and the enchantments they had laid all went into making the flow of information as quick and efficient as possible.

It would be too difficult to gather information otherwise. Distance between cities had not only grown, but it became much more difficult to traverse.

As the shimmering solidified into a sheet of parchment, Edward began to read what it said. It was from Lea, who was stationed in the Heartlands Alliance.

~~

I've been able to gain a few more Point totals and can make a solid estimate of how many the Faction as a whole received.

Emory Grant - 11 million

Parker Ingram - 7 million

Johanna Drake - 4 million

Jackson...

~~

The list of names and point totals continued, but Edward jumped to the bottom where the Faction total was written.

~~

The Heartlands Alliance - ~400 million

~~

It had already been a year since that fateful day and they were still working to get point totals of all the factions involved.

It was so often that history was distorted by observation bias or purposeful propaganda, but with the System literally evaluating everyone's participation, it made recording it paramount.

The only problem was people did not want to divulge how many points they received. Some had, they even bragged about it far and wide, but most didn't. They didn't want it known how many the got and how valuable their treasures were.

Class name or type was hidden. Stats were secret. Laws were too difficult to hide, but Anchors weren't shared.

So many things were kept close to the chest that made getting what he wanted to know harder.

It was slow going, and would continue to be the work of years, but now that things had settled, coaxing point totals out of people was easier. They weren't as on guard now like they once where. Especially after returning to their respective homes.

Edward took the estimation and evaluated it with all he knew. Lea was a good member and was surprisingly insightful, but she didn't know the full picture. Even Edward himself didn't, even with his new D-rank helping him.

After a quick evaluation, he deemed the number viable. There were still Faction members they hadn't talked to that could skew things, but enough data was gathered the estimate held weight. His Skills helped in the evaluation, but it ultimately came down to instinct. His mind's ability to correlate and remember knowledge was something even he, himself, could only marvel at.

The difference from Before was startling.

That being so, he walked over to where he kept the master list. A list that used to be filled with so many question marks, but was slowly getting filled in.

~~

1. American Faction - est. 900 million

2. French Quarter - est. 700 million

3. The Stormlands - est. 500 million

4. Empire City - est. 490 million

5. The Twins - est. 450 million

6. Frostheim - ???

7. Mountainside - ???

8. Yellowstone - est. 400 million

9. Great Lakes Alliance - ???

10. Eternal Flame Falls - ???

11. Heartlands Alliance- ???

12. Mile High - est. 200 million

13. New Boston - est. 150 million

14. The Reservation - est. 150 million

15. ...

~~

It seemed the Heartlands were moving up a few spots.

While there were still more question marks than he cared for, it was filling in, and that was all that mattered. Edward hoped he would one day finish it, getting an accurate total for every Faction involved. A record of what each Faction contributed.

Eventually, he would have enough information to confidently pen the first System Assessment's history. If he was lucky, it would be the first of many.

Another shimmer filled the room.

Another? Who is it this time? He felt out the mana and tried to match it to a signature he knew, but couldn't. I know every signature from society members, what is this?

The report had already fully formed but he was too focused on the mana to review it right away. There was only a limited time for him to evaluate it.

Leveraging his own mana, made easier by his recent evolution, he scrutinized it deeply, peering into its secrets. Two? A mixture?

This contains the mana signature of both Desean and Bennett.

After figuring out and making sure the sender was authentic, he picked up and began reading the words. Oh, Desean acted as a relay, but it originally came from Bennett.

Innovative. It was a great way to get around the distance problem.

Frostheim was far away, after all.

~~

Baron Zalenski has been gone for two weeks but news has been spreading of a potential spark. Lakeshore, a City on the northern coast of Lake Superior, has been scouting out a potentially valuable target.

The mana crystal mine Frostheim has ownership of.

At this time, no armies are being summoned or weapons readied, but this has signs of escalating.

I feel this conflict is not as simple as it appears. My Skills come up blank, but I feel there is resistance to my [Scrying] of Lakeshore. Resistance that doesn't make any sense.

As always, I will continue to monitor.

-Bennett

~~

Could this be another spark?

Edward didn't even have to use his Skills to see that trouble was brewing. The test had delayed it, but infighting would begin. Without an external threat, there would be nothing stopping the wars that would inevitably come.

He'd told all his Watchers to look out for a spark. The first action that would kick off the rest. Once war started in one place, it would begin everywhere. Without the dogma of being the first, and potentially labeled a warmonger, there wasn't much to stop people.

It's too isolated to be a spark. Both cities are too far North.

The only reason he had sent someone so far away in the first place was because of the title. Everyone who had gained the title of Baron were people to watch.

There were fourteen Barons they were sure of. His Skills had revealed the title even through some powerful blockers during the Gathering. There could be more who stayed hidden he had to consider, but he wouldn't know until they appeared.

For now, there were fourteen known people who were standing at the top of known power levels. Well, twelve now.

Edward gazed wall where the paper that listed them all was pinned. Even the deceased ones. Some they knew more about than others, but he was working on full reports on all of them.

People who would shape the future for years to come needed to be known if he was going to get history right.

~~

Baron Fitzwallace. Otherwise known as The Admiral.

Faction: American Faction

City: New Norfolk. Eastern Coast.

Baron Nick Castillo. Otherwise known as the Stormbringer.

Faction: The Stormlands

Location: City of Storms. (Old Chicago).

Baron Vanessa. Otherwise known as the Flame Witch.

Faction: Eternal Flame Faction

Location: Flame Falls. (Old Buffalo).

Baron Zuri Adeoye. Otherwise known as the Starlight Mage

Faction: Celestial Empire

Location: Empire City (Old New York)

Baron Patrick Staffords. No known monikers.

Faction: Great Lakes Alliance

Location: Habordeep. (Old Mackinaw City)

Baron Vernon

Faction: French Quarter

Location: Orleans

Baron Travis Michaels

Faction: Yellowstone

Location: Yellowstone

Baron Devin Franks (Deceased)

Faction: Mile High

Location: Skypeak (Old Denver)

Baron Jayla Somerfield

Faction: Mountainside

Location: Mountainside (Old Calgary)

Baron Liam McConnell (Deceased)

Faction: New England

Location: New Boston

Baron Irwin James

Faction: The Bayou

Location: Jamestown (Former Jackson Mississippi)

Baron Mikayla Stuart

Faction: Heartlands Alliance

City: Verdant Falls

Baron Marcus Shieldwell

Faction: Minnesota

Location: The Twins (Old Minneapolis)

Baron Christopher Zalenski

Faction: Frostheim

Location: Frostheim (North of Winnipeg)

~~