I had enough Soul Crystal Cores right now to satisfy a Sage’s Universe of Stars. I was pretty sure I could get enough Eggs to do so, but I wasn’t there yet. Getting enough Gems would be tougher...

I had my Stardust set all treated now, so next up was my set for my Starfield of an additional forty-two Stars, if and when I ever got there. The Manafield here just didn’t seem to want to let me break on through...

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I had enough Soul Crystals up through Gems to get my entire Starfield to Tier Six. I was now working on the Nobles for Tier Seven, and extras of the others were lining up for my eventual Mage’s Nebula of +294 more Stars.

As for the reason to do so, it was the damage multiplier, of course!

Damage for a Tier was twice the previous Tier number. So a normal Star was one, a Tier Two was x2, Three, x 4, and Tier Seven was x64!

That was impressive, because the Magic of an Adept or Warrior started with a multiplier of x10 of the previous Class Tier Three. So, the magic of a newly advanced Warrior Beast or Adept started with a multiplier of x40, meaning that my x64 Novice Magic was actually more powerful than the magic of a starting Adept right now!

If I was using Firefrost, my multiplier was another x4, and I was using magic stronger than that of an advanced Warrior Beast, or at least one without a Seed effect of its own!

Work in my Spell Penetration and extremely overdone Caster Level, and yeah, I had no problem bashing on Commanders, or even the lesser Nobles now. It was just that they could take so much damn damage!

Which didn’t mean I couldn’t use more against who I was fighting.

The Reaping Shade Emperor’s crystallized skull came into my hands, and I turned it over thoughtfully.

Flowing Silver Emperor had wanted to keep it as a trophy, given that the Shade Emperor’s body and even its sickle had flaked away to nothing in the vivus. I’d told Him I had something I could do with it, and He gave it up without much thought, especially after I promised Him it would be useful even for someone as powerful as Him, let alone me.

This thing was a self-empowering Dreadskull!

I brought out a bar of smelted gold, thoughtfully dug up by some of the Beasts who were helping me make stuff so I could Burn it all away, but this time I used a Heat Metal at IV and made it molten-hot myself, only to TK the golden metal up onto, inside, and over the Skull in specific patterns.

A self-empowering item still needed to be directed on how to unleash the power it held. The domineering power of an Emperor still radiated from the shrunken and inhuman thing, the waxy crystal of the bone seemed to have moving shadows flowing about inside it. Perhaps the final thoughts of the Emperor still infused it, giving it a power and recognition of where it came from to anything magical that looked upon it.

This was the Skull of an Emperor of Shadows, there was no disguising it!

I wrought the Bane Pattern ten times over the Skull, delicate lines of gold crawling over and fusing with the shadowed crystal bone. It only took some patience, not power, and it only took a goldweight or so to do the job.

It was easy to tell when it was done, because the eye sockets glittered, and it burst into inky black, silent flames that danced like hungry shadows.

Flames the color of the blood of the Baneskull, or in this case, a Dreadskull’s source, as its Assay confirmed.

Dreadskull of an Emperor of the Dark Realms. +4 to-hit and damage creatures of the Dark Realms, and +4d6 of bonus Curse damage that bypasses Resistances and defenses. This amount is cut in half (+2/+2 and +2d6) against creatures that merely wield Dark Magic.

I hadn’t prioritized the effect because harvesting the skulls of the Shades was difficult, and normally the flames ate away everything, leaving nothing behind. I could have harvested the Skulls of some of the Tainted Beasts, and probably should have done so, but I’d been pretty busy and it wasn’t a priority.

I sighed. “Elder Winkle, can you find out for me if any of the Noble Dark creatures who died and burned away to vivus left crystallized skulls like this behind them?”

“Yes, they have,” he answered immediately. “It seems the Ruling Shades leave them behind for their slayers, along with that Soul Jewel. I did not know that at the time I crushed the first assassin, or I would have chosen a different method. They are enviable trophies!” he told me, eyes locked on the burning Skull in my hands with great interest.

“Please send out words to the Great Beasts who have them as trophies. They are not merely trophies; they can be turned into weapons, somewhat lesser than this one, that will help them in fighting the creatures of the Dark Realm. If they can get those Skulls to me, I will turn them into Baneskulls that empower their natural weapons and magic against all creatures of the Dark Realm, and to a lesser extent any who even use the Dark Magic.”

Elder Winkle’s blue eyes glittered, and he actually plucked the Dreadskull out of my hand and brought it forward to sniff in front of him. “How does it work?” he asked, noting the similarity in color to the black hue of one of the fires revealed when he bared his fangs.

“You have to carry it on your person. So, weaving a chain or necklace of vines, tying it to your fur, or wearing it as an anklet or earring or something similar all work.” I turned to look at him. “That one is very powerful, as it is a Dreadskull, a worthy weapon for His Imperial Majesty Flowing Silver to wield and wear Himself, or to pass to whoever His Champion is.”

Winkle examined it closely, turning it over with a critical eye and noting the Bane Patterns etched into the waxy crystal bone with gold. “Would something like this happen if a Silver Fox were to die?” he asked astutely.

“The Skull won’t crystallize in vivus unless the being who dies is very strong, and it seems Noble-rank is the breakpoint. If it does crystallize, it can self-empower with the power inherent in the skull into a Baneskull, and it seems an Emperor will generate a potential Dreadskull.

“As for normal creatures, Baneskulls can be made from them, but they would have to be cleaned, carved, and empowered on their own merits.

“More to the point, one does not wear or wield a Baneskull that would be effective against yourself, as it is a form of Curse magic. It means that everyone who is fighting YOU gets the benefit of the Baneskull.

“Baneskulls usually apply by fairly broad type if they come from a magical species. As that Dreadskull works against all creatures of its Dark Realm, a Dreadskull made from one of the Emperors of the Beast Realm would likely work against all Magical Beasts.”

He hadn’t stopped his examination as I spoke, although he did glance at me. “Humans are not considered Magical Beasts,” he noted.

“We are not. Baneskulls against Humans are only effective against us, and of course we don’t normally make such things, as carrying them is a death sentence.”

“Do they use the same Patterns as you employed on this Skull?” he asked further, very interested now.

“Similar, but not the same, Elder,” I confirmed. “The Patterns vary by the Bane.”

“I would like one of my own,” he grinned around his Burning Eternal Light fangs. The fact he could smile and light up the area around himself was another entertaining point of the Lights.

“The Undead are now involved in numbers, so the quantity of their Nobles and the like running about should increase. The quality of the assassins they are sending isn’t holding up, so I guess we’ll have to go hunt one down?” I hazarded to him, catching the Dreadskull and then lobbing it right back to him. “Tie it under your chin and study the effects, so you can pass on its viability to those who own them.”

He grinned and did so, the long tufts of hair under his jaw reaching out to twine through the leering mouth and eyes of the Dreadskull, holding it tight under his jaw.

It did not disguise the much darker flames that abruptly burst up along all of his teeth, and all four sets of his claws. Even his Tails were dancing and flickering with inky, shadowy flames.

He studied it all in fascination. It made him stand out, but at the same time, any nether-creature looking at him was going to see death incarnate coming for it. The intimidation factor of Banefire was a known thing. Seeing something coming for you with those flames burning the exact hue of your blood was a true test of your willpower!

“The Undead are more powerful, but not quite as stealthy as the Shades, nor as swift, save for the Phantoms who contest with the Avians. If you think you can move around quickly enough, we should be able to find a Dark Noble fairly rapidly.”

His sapphire eyes sparkled. “The interesting thing about the territory the enemy holds is that it is actually easier to move around via the Void there,” he bark-laughed. It meant the Foxes were actually more dangerous and elusive in enemy territory!

Which was all because vivus was strengthening the Veil here. In time it would dilute and go back to its original strength, but for now it was acting against those who put pressure on the Rules of the World.

“I will be glad to help you, Elder,” I replied to him.

“So young, and so ready to fight, and in so many ways,” he mused at me, coming down to lay next to me. I leaned into the side of his neck, the coolness and windy nature of his fur always soothing. “You were brought here against your will. It surprises many of us as to how devoted you are to your tasks, little Human Fae.”

“Do you all need some sort of justification for why I do what I do?” I asked him calmly. “Simply at its most basic, the more work I do, the faster I get home when the Breach is done and my job is finished, yes?”

His eyes shifted away from me, and I sighed immediately. “Ah. They are talking about not allowing me to go home, are they?”

He actually huffed in relief that he didn’t have to dance around the subject. “Yes. Your growth, and your direct command of so much Magic is unnerving to many. Some say to kill you before you grow in strength, citing how untrustworthy most Humans are. Some fear your magic spreading to more of your kind, and possibly being able to return here in the future, when you grow more powerful. Others simply point out how very useful your Magic is, but without numbers of your kind, you cannot be taken away from us, and whoever was allowed to keep you would have an advantage over other Emperors.”

“All very logical, pragmatic, and practical words,” I agreed with him. “Sound like a bunch of Humans I’ve run into before, really.”

He just chortled at the thought. “Most would hold the disdain of elders for pups, considering your age, but your performance, and the way you’ve changed the entire manner of our fight against the Dark Realm, has swayed even powerful Elders.” His Tails danced in the air brightly. “Of course, few of them are Foxes, and can look at your heart and mind as we can. While things can change in the future, we know you are no threat to us, and you truly do wish the Dark Realm gone from here. Your goodwill to all the Beasts who come to you for help, and your joy in the beauty of our home, are completely sincere.

“And, if anything, your loathing of the Dark Realm is greater than any of our own. It sings about you when you work, you know.”

“That does not surprise me. Much of the Magic I use is precisely designed to counter and overcome the denizens of such Realms. They are the foe I am meant to be fighting, Elder Winkle, not Beasts... or my fellow Humans.”

One of his long ears flickered. “Humans fight among themselves as often as they fight other Beasts,” he noted to me. “They are infamous for it among our kind.”

“Also not a surprise, Elder,” I sighed. “It is not much different from driving out the youngest to the edges of your territories to take and hold territory or die. We kill one another so we don’t have to be sent to face the Beasts, especially the powerful ones who are most dangerous to bestir with such efforts. It is a form of population control on the surface, and a merciless game of survival underneath, which a great number of our people enjoy and take advantage of. Once they are powerful, of course, the game is only more fun.”