Chrysalis

Chapter 618 Easy Breezy

Abyssal Legion Armour is known by many names, Runic Armour, Legion Plate, Abyssal Armour. As far as I can determine, no 'official' nomenclature exists. At least, if one did in the past, it has since been lost. Instead, the terms used tend to vary from region to region, or Legion to Legion.

For the purposes of this text, I shall use the term Abyssal Armour, as that is the most commonly used in my own deployment.

Legion records from The Rending are surprisingly robust in some areas. Fortunately, the creation of the armour is one such field of study. Though others would doubtless refute such a claim, the Legion was the first surface dwelling organisation to penetrate deep into the Dungeon. Desperate to survive, the early leadership would reach out to any branch that they thought would pull them from the surging currents. A great deal was discovered, and utilised, that is now forbidden.

What they eventually learned was that in order to survive, it wasn't enough to just defend the surface. The means and materials required to destroy the monsters weren't to be found there, but deep in the Dungeon itself. It was the confluence of several discoveries that led to the development of the first suits.

Lapisvitae. The living stone. Harder than steel, highly responsive to mana and able to be grown to a desired shape, the material was perfect for creating arms and armour that would respond well to enchantment. Unlike others, the Legion has never prioritised using the stone for weapons, but instead highly prized its defensive properties and included it in our armour. The usage can vary, depending on where the armour was forged, but most typically Lapisvitae is used to form the chest plate, thigh guards and gorget. The slabs of living stone are grown to the desired shape and fused to the metal using means I shall not elaborate on here.

The second major discovery was what came to be known as Abyssal Iron. Difficult to mine, impossible to work, the stuff was so highly prized by the early Legion that they founded their central fortress on top of the only known node. Not all suits of Abyssal Armour are made out of this metal, it's too rare for that, but the best ones are. Despite being notoriously hard to work with, the Iron possessed several properties that the Legion prizes. First, it's indescribably tough. Second, it conducts mana to an absurd degree, whilst also being resistant to magical damage, a contradiction I cannot begin to explain. Third, it was discovered that the Iron could hold captive the 'essence' or 'soul' of a monster. Trapped within, the creature would lend a portion of its own strength and will to metal, turning the monster's strength against its own kind.

The third discovery was the baptism through which each Legionary is reborn, their bodies adapted to accept the flow of mana to a higher degree than other mortals. On its own this wasn't relevant, but when both Baptism and Abyssal Armour became common within the Legion, a method was developed where the one would connect to the other. A feedback loop, where the armour would feed mana into the body, through the channels forged by the absorption of liquid mana, where it strengthened the Legionary, and then back into the armour, powering its enchantments.

In this way the Legion solidified its already considerable strength and paved the way for modern patterns of Abyssal armour. Though much has changed over the centuries, (the types of enchantments used, the preferred shape and layout of the armour, the monster core array) the basic three components remain the same. Living Stone plate. Abyssal Iron frame. A Legionary with mana in their veins.

Excerpt from 'Origins of the Legion - a reflection' by Alberton. Loremaster of the Liria

"Dammit Vibrant! It's not my fault if Crinis doesn't want to go play with you!"

"Is-is! The only reason she won't come is because she's worried about you! If you weren't the sort of ant that vanished into pits, or, or got captured, or vanished into thin air and needed others to save you, or ---"

"ALRIGHT! FINE!"

[Crinis, go and play with this moron for a while would you?]

"Yay-yay!"

[Master, I'm not sure. This isn't really a good time…]

[Crinis, I'm so fed up with her whinging, I'll order you if I have to. I promise I won't fight the invaders and I'll retreat if they find me, alright? Just go have fun.]

[… Alright. But be careful! I won't be far away!]

[Okay, okay.]

The void of infinite darkness and suffering peels herself off my carapace and latches onto Vibrant who continues to dance around like a gigantic, hideous insect-child. With her new passenger on board, the energetic ant speeds away into the Dungeon with Crinis' tentacles fluttering in the wind.

FINALLY!

Some peace and quiet. I don't know how she manages to cram so many words into such a small amount of time. And she never seems to run out! I actually believe she's mutated her pheromone gland to increase her supply so she doesn't have to worry about running out! Otherwise there would be no way she could possibly go on as much as she does.

With the pest no longer polluting the air and smothering my antennae with her irritating scent, I can finally concentrate. I give my idle sub-brains a kick and they almost begrudgingly get back to work, spinning together the Gas magic construct, the advanced form of the basic air construct. I form two at once and have each of my smaller sub-brains maintain them as the central sub-brain and my main mind get to work operating them and weaving the spells I need together.

It's a shame that Vibrant wouldn't shut up long enough for me to try this little trick on her. Ah well, Tiny gets a kick out of it.

[You ready, big guy?]

The giant bat-faced ape shakes his shoulders as he gives me a thumbs up with one of his engine sized fists, a broad grin splitting his face. The two spells aren't that hard to weave really, I mean, not compared to some others. Creating a blade of wind so sharp it can cut stone takes a bit of work after all. The first spell anchors to Tiny (a trick that took quite a while for me to get a hold on. Invidia helped a lot) and sits right in front of him. It basically splits the air ahead of him and causes it to pass by his sides.

The second is similar. It anchors behind Tiny and takes hold of the air passing around him, and then accelerates it. The net effect is that he goes super fast.

[Alright then, you're set to go! Invidia, stick close to him.]

[I am ssssspeeeed.]

[You're about to be. GO!]

And he's off! Dashing away he leaves only a blurred outline of himself, a small orb with wings hanging onto his back. That'll keep him occupied for a while. More alone time for me to work on my magic.

[Gas Magic Affinity has reached level 32!]

Whoo! Nice! Eight more levels and I'll be ready to fuse! I'm sure our invading friends will be calm enough to wait until I reach that milestone…