ShadowBound: The Need For Power

By the time the new security restrictions reached the rest of the second-year students, Veyrhold had already settled into another stretch of work.

There was no gathering in the southern courtyard, no announcement delivered from the central structure’s entrance, and no need to interrupt every student simply to explain what had changed. Sheila and Edith distributed the instructions through the command structure they had spent the previous day establishing. Squad leaders received revised movement rules. Patrol supervisors were given new boundaries and reporting requirements. Students overseeing the barracks, storage areas, and restoration work passed the relevant instructions to those under their responsibility.

The process was not flawless. A few supervisors needed clarification, and Edith corrected two conflicting interpretations before they spread beyond their assigned groups. Nevertheless, the information moved through Veyrhold without bringing the settlement’s work to a halt.

The wording had been deliberate.

The second-years were informed that unidentified Apex-level Realm-Touched activity had been confirmed east of Veyrhold. Eastern scouting routes were restricted, unauthorized movement beyond the perimeter was prohibited, and exterior groups were required to report their destination, composition, and expected return time before departing. Patrols were also instructed to remain alert for unusual silence, unfamiliar hollow calls, and signs of coordinated movement near the forest.

What the students were not told was that the unknown Apex pack might have been displaced by something considerably worse.

That possibility remained unverified, and Sheila saw little value in allowing speculation about Calamity-level threats to spread through a settlement that had only recently begun functioning as an organized base. The students needed to understand the danger well enough to follow the new restrictions. They did not need to spend the afternoon arguing over something their commanders could not yet establish as fact.

Naturally, the Apex warning attracted attention.

Some students questioned how close the creatures had come. Others exchanged uneasy looks when they learned that the guide contained no description of them. A few wondered aloud whether the eastern restrictions would interfere with gathering supplies. Their supervisors answered what they could, referred the rest to command, and reminded them that the day’s assignments had not changed.

Before long, the work resumed.

That alone said something about Veyrhold’s progress.

The central structure remained the settlement’s highest operational priority, and the work there had advanced considerably during the expedition and the subsequent command discussions.

In the upper operations chamber, Maxwell and Quenivarius had reached a point where most of the accessible control mechanisms were ready for preliminary testing. Damaged connections had been repaired, several mechanical assemblies realigned, and enough of the command-routing lattice had been restored that its original arrangement was becoming understandable. Quenivarius had also identified multiple relay channels whose apparent damage came from disuse rather than structural failure, saving the team from dismantling components that were still serviceable.

There were limits to what they could verify, however.

Without a stable power supply, the completed mechanisms remained largely theoretical. Individual sections could be inspected manually, and certain mechanical responses could be tested without Myst, but the complete system could not be evaluated until the reservoir beneath the building supplied power again.

Maxwell found the situation frustrating.

Quenivarius found it intolerable.

Neither had much choice except to prepare the remaining components and wait.

Elsewhere in the building, the Forgemastery students continued reinforcing the structure. Weakened supports were secured with additional bracing, damaged access points were repaired, and several unstable sections were marked for restricted entry until proper reinforcement could be completed.

The students worked from prioritized assessments rather than attempting to repair everything at once. They concentrated on keeping the occupied floors secure, protecting the routes leading to the operations chamber, and ensuring that the lower restoration teams could move equipment without passing through unsafe portions of the building.

The most difficult work continued beneath them.

Ariana, Dylan, and the Alchemy students were still attempting to restore the Myst reservoir’s central crystal. Its condition demanded considerably more care than replacing a broken mechanism or reinforcing a support beam. The crystal needed to regain enough stability to accept Myst, retain it without dangerous fluctuations, and distribute it through the existing channels.

Forcing energy into it prematurely could damage the remaining structure.

Restoring too little would accomplish nothing.

And even if the crystal responded, the team still needed to establish whether the surrounding containment and distribution systems could withstand sustained operation.

With the work above progressing steadily, Sheila reassigned several available students to assist in the lower chamber. They transported materials, cleared damaged equipment from the work areas, prepared replacement fittings, and handled the more physically demanding portions of the restoration.

Their presence helped, though not because greater numbers made the delicate work any simpler.

Ariana and the students with appropriate Alchemy knowledge still handled the Myst regulation and crystal restoration themselves. Dylan remained involved in both the technical and material aspects, moving between Alchemy procedures and the Forgemastery components supporting them. The additional hands allowed those specialists to spend less time carrying equipment and more time working on the reservoir.

It was progress.

Not dramatic progress. Not the sort that transformed an abandoned fortress into a functioning stronghold within a few hours.

But real progress nonetheless.

And, perhaps most importantly, it continued without Liam Hunter’s involvement.

***

Liam walked along the upper walkway of Veyrhold’s great outer wall, his hands resting loosely at his sides.

He had changed back into his academy field uniform after rinsing off. His shirt was dry enough to wear comfortably, its straps secured across his torso, and his dark hair remained tied into a simple bun. His daggers were stored away, his half-mask rested with the rest of his equipment, and for once, he had no immediate reason to draw a weapon.

Around him, the wall watch continued its routine.

Two archers stood near a damaged section of battlement, one inspecting the tension of his bowstring while the other watched the trees beyond the eastern approach. Farther along, another student checked the condition of a reinforced firing position. A replacement watch group moved past Liam in the opposite direction, exchanging a brief report with the students they were relieving.

The new restrictions had already influenced their behavior.

The eastern approaches received more attention, but not at the expense of the rest of the perimeter. The archers maintained their assigned sectors, the guards checked the approaches beneath the wall, and nobody appeared particularly interested in abandoning a post simply because an Apex warning had made the rounds.

Liam passed one of the students, who acknowledged him with a short nod before returning to his watch.

He returned it just as briefly.

*Well, would you look at that. People following instructions without needing someone to threaten them.*

A remarkable development.

He continued along the walkway, occasionally glancing toward the activity inside Veyrhold.

The southern courtyard had become busier without becoming more disorderly. Students carried supplies along marked routes. Patrol groups moved between assigned positions. Someone had established a temporary equipment station beneath one of the inner wall sections, saving the guards repeated trips to the storage building.

Small improvements.

Individually, none amounted to much.

Together, they made a difference.

Sheila was doing an excellent job.

Liam had suspected she would, which was partly why he had supported her in the first place. She possessed a combination of judgment, patience, and willingness to delegate that the assessment demanded. More importantly, she was learning how to exercise authority without becoming dependent on personally supervising every task.

The previous day’s command structure had been necessary.

What mattered now was that it was beginning to function.

Sheila’s instructions were clearer. Edith had become increasingly effective at converting decisions into procedures. Students who had initially questioned the leadership arrangement were beginning to treat the established chain of command as something ordinary.

That was exactly what Liam wanted.

A settlement that required constant personal intervention from its strongest students was not an organized force. It was a collection of people waiting for someone powerful enough to solve their next problem.

Veyrhold was slowly moving away from that.

He should have been pleased.

And he was.

Unfortunately, there was a rather irritating consequence.

The very command structure he had helped establish was now restricting him.

Liam’s expression remained unchanged as he walked, but the thought earned a faint inward sigh.

’Wonderful. Help put someone competent in charge, and now I’m the one being told to sit still.’

The irony was almost impressive.

Sheila Granger, princess of the Crescent Kingdom and newly established commander of their year, had managed to do something Liam generally had very little tolerance for.

She was telling him where he could and could not go.

Worse, she was doing it with perfectly legitimate reasoning.

He glanced toward the forest beyond the wall.

The unknown Apex pack remained a serious concern. Its behavior was insufficiently understood, its exact numbers uncertain, and its relationship to the wider threat distribution still speculative. Sending him back outside immediately, especially without an established objective or support arrangement, would introduce unnecessary risks.

Sheila was right to be cautious.

*How unfortunate.*

He could not even enjoy calling her unreasonable