Mark flew home, with Isoko at his side, flying herself, which was pretty nice to see. Mark was going to call up Walaria once he was behind some basic anti-spying tech, which Eliot had at the house in abundance, but then he landed at the front lawn.

Elaria Valen, Aurora's mother and Isoko's sponsor for Mage Society, was there on the street just outside of the property. She waved and walked onto the property as Mark landed. She called out, "Welcome back, Mark! You seem to have made an interesting Alteration in your Binding."

Mark paused a little. Elaria had always treated him well, but something had changed in her vector— Well. A lot of things had changed. Elaria wanted something. Mark said, "Yes, I have. It's currently in a state of flux. 'Dangerously Incomplete'..." Mark stopped there because Elaria's desire for something tripled, her worry turned to joy, and her face went carefully soft.

Elaria easily asked, "Did Malaqua return an '<insert valid consultant here>' message?"

"… Would you like to come inside, Elaria?" Mark said.

Isoko went inside the house first, saying, "I'll make some tea."

Elaria easily grinned and said, "Thank you, dear. I would love that."

Soon Mark was sitting at a nice table on the bottom level of the house, at a little guest area, with Elaria Valen. Elaria always had snacks available, and so Mark volunteered Sally's snacks for the moment. Isoko served the tea, as was appropriate for her master in Mage Society, and then she sat to the side.

It was highly polite.

Mark didn't really want to be polite right now. "Sorry. I can't really do the whole 'polite thing' right now. I'm running on a lot of worries. Can we get to the meat of whatever this is, please?"

"Totally understandable. That was a big thing you did. Even the dragons couldn't do what you did, and Darklight knows they tried." Elaria's vision focused as she said, "4,000 years ago is when the goblins came to Daihoon. 4,000 years ago the Dragon King also fell.

"The timelines are rather nebulous from back then, so who can say which came first. The Dragon King's fall shattered civilization all across Daihoon in one of the greatest Magefalls of all time. There were 10 great empires back then, and we're pretty sure that many of them extended onto Endless Daihoon through portals that no longer exist.

"Aluatha didn't truly exist back then.

"Okuana did exist back then, in more or less the same configuration it does now.

"Stories from that time claim that Okuana tried to bring him back, but they came back wrong, and that's what the goblins are; they are the old Imperial Court of the Dragon King.

"Other stories are about how the Dragon King's death shattered the world, igniting old hatreds that he had alliance'd away, and that the goblins are Okuana's attempt at killing everyone else that was now at war with them. The goblins toppled at least 3 or 4 empires before Okuana and the demons quieted the majority of goblin strength.

"Other stories have the goblins as an ancient weapon of the demons, sent against humanity for crimes against them.

"Maybe they're all true. Maybe none of them are true." Elaria said, "But you saw Wongod, for real, and you chased him away. No one has ever done that before, Mark. So I need to ask something you have likely been told specifically to never talk about.

"What did the Wrong-Made God look like, in the Green?"

Mark considered a lot of things, quickly. He considered Elaria's position as a dependent of the Imperial Family of Aluatha. He thought about dragons lost to history, and attempted revivals, and demonic plots and deep, deep rifts in civilization. Goblins and elves. Dragons and dreams and the rainbow dark. And then he thought about Elaria and treason to Empire Aluatha, because Mark knew she was making a play of some sort, and did he want to follow her down that path? Not really. And yet, Doomo still hadn't apologized, but Mark had only been back in town for a few hours by now.

But Elaria had never led him wrong, and she had only ever helped, and maybe she could help, now?

And she had used the word 'Green', instead of 'Corrupted Forest'.

At the very least, Elaria wasn't playing at overt propaganda right now. She was a Dragonist who had been on the outs with the Imperialist Empire most of her adult life. She played the game and probably lost and gained more than Mark had, at least at this point in his life. And, whatever she was after, it was to Mark's benefit… probably.

That's what made Mark decide to trust her.

Mark wasn't just some bit player anymore. He was a big deal, and he was going to get all the answers he could, from all possible sources, about anything he wanted to know, ever. With answers to big questions, Mark would make better decisions going forward.

Walaria had no right at all to try and control what Mark said to this person, or that person.

Mark said, "Wongod was an ethereal green tree floating in the dreaming dark, surrounded by green ghosts that danced and played songs I could not clearly hear. Those green ghosts ate the dark, devouring dreams, even as they reached through me, out of my skin, out of my mouth, holding me down, crushing me small.

"I was a light in the dream, held open and unwilling to be transformed, but they kept trying. I saw other lights out there in the dream, beyond the Green. Those lights flickered and faded fast, and I think they were people or monsters being goblinized, the Green pouring through them to transform them.

"I saw Wongod in the real world, standing tall and proud in Salter's miasma, as Puppet, Stupid Goblin, and Greeplox worked my magic to heal him, through me.

"At first, Wongod was a gnarled, old tree, with rotten bark and chains on his roots and bugs in his canopy, but then Union purified him and turned more and more of me into a goblin. It was Quark getting goblinized, though; I know that now, but at the time it didn't seem that way. I was reduced to just my astral body, I think. As for Wongod, as Purity cleansed him, the Green tree began to gush putrescence. A big obsidian shard slowly pushed out of him, into the Green.

"In reality, tiny black flakes fell from his goblin skin, as he got taller, stronger. Little pinker. No wrinkles. Big ears. Black hair. Sort of like Goofy, but lesser.

"The rest of it was confusing.

"I went into the dream, took some parts of me that made up my Union, which allowed me to bring in Strength from others and make it my own, and moved them around into my Body and then replicated them everywhere. It looked kinda like a waterwheel, surrounded by Protective hexes." Mark opened a hand, showing off the solid black metal. "I was briefly just a core, I think, with Quark surrounding my real body, and then I broke out of Quark to give chase to Wongod. That's when I became… this."

Mark imagined he would have to tell a version of that story many different times.

Elaria listened patiently, looking at Mark, and then looking at his hand, and now she sat there thinking deep thoughts.

Mark waited.

Elaria deeply, strongly, said, "Thank you for those words, Mark. I will have to think on them for a while. Is there anything I can do for you, for now, to help in any way possible?"

"I went to get scanned. It said 'Dangerously Incomplete' near my readout for Body, which is now Incorruptible Adamantium. Malaqua's scan returned 'Consult your local <insert valid consultant here> if you wish to learn more.' and I have no idea what that means. He did say that it would settle by the next time I slept, though. Do you know what that means?"

Elaria's eyes went wide, in a calm way, and it was like she was seeing the sun rise for the first time in an age.

With a soft, sure voice, like she was finally able to say something that truly mattered, Elaria said, "Yes. I do know what that means, both historically and in actuality. The quick, correct answer is that you need to talk to a dragon or a demon that you trust. Maybe an archmage with a demon you trust? But that's still just talking to a demon.

"I could tell you what they would tell you, but much as a layperson should not speak as though they were a doctor, I will not speak as though I know what demons know. Gods and priests and mortal practitioners of magic do not qualify for this quest for an answer. You have to go to the people who make the System, to get the correct answer. It's a weird little foible that Malaqua cannot help you, though it seems like he should be able to, but he's a god, and gods are not allowed to speak for the System in that way.

"Usually that error code gets thrown when someone is actively dying from their Binding failing, due to whatever the user did to themselves.

"Good news: You aren't dying, so you can only get better. Pick an archmage, dragon, or demon to help bring your Binding back into stability how you want it to be stable.

"Bad news: You gotta pick your poison. Who do you go to for help?"

Mark sat back in his chair and the chair almost broke, sending Mark into a reflexive catch and driving some bits of adamantium into the floor. Mark winced at that, but he sat up, secure, and… and he needed to know more. "Can you talk a bit more about that? About the System? I never really… Well. I thought about it. A lot. Didn't think I'd run into error messages with a god, though."

Mark felt like he should probably shiver at that thought, but he had just come back from a several-day single-person war against an entire civilization, and now he needed to fix this part of himself before it got worse.

"Of course I can talk more," Elaria said, grinning. "The System, the Tutorial, the god Malaqua and the demons that control it, used to be different than they are today. The Reveal changed a lot, and installing Malaqua into Arakino, into the Moon, changed the System a great deal as well. Malaqua's Ascension organized Skills into the Hex system, firstly. It cannot be understated how much that organization changed warfare, because now you had people that could simply stand up to witches and people who could go sword-to-claw with monsters that would normally just rip them to shreds. Natural versus Natural. Body versus Body. And then you had the warriors that could kill witches easily, and the witches that were pretty much just as powerful as they used to be. All the rest versus all the rest.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Malaqua's Ascension also changed the age of threshing from 12 to 18, and that was just about as influential of a change as the Skill Hex.

"His Ascension also codified the Sapient Monster Tutorial, which, until that point, monsters were able to enter at any point in their lives. But then, suddenly, monsters experienced Skill Maturation like humans did. Now, mana baptism, meaning the crystallization of a Binding in a person due to outside factors causing a crystallization, also locked monsters out from going into the Sapient Monster Tutorial and getting stronger, which is something they used to do all the time.

"Dragons used to enter the Thresher right after ascending to dragonhood.

"They don't do that anymore, though. A lot of species don't do that anymore, and a lot of species simply don't exist because Aluatha and otherwise hunted them to extinction. For all the things I hold against Aluatha, their purge of many intelligent, monstrous species is not something I hold against them.

"Ghosts used to be able to enter the Thresher. Particularly intelligent slimes or oozes. Spiders. Very old elementals. And now they can't, because the sapient ones are dead. A lot of species simply don't exist anymore because Aluatha and otherwise culled them, because they were horrible monsters." Elaria grinned. "Soon, we might be able to add goblins to the list, and that day cannot come soon enough."

Mark had no idea about any of that. "The Empires did that?"

"They have done a lot of shadow work that is not recorded in the history books, yes." Elaria asked, "Do you think that you might be able to eradicate the goblins, eventually? For real?"

Mark shook his head a little. "Not right now. The goblins are only regrouping."

"Absolutely. They're not stopping, at all. But… eventually?"

"I don't… I don't know. Wongod was very, very strong, and his strength seemed to rely on how unkillable his forces were, which is something I could not stop. Next time they'll be more prepared."

Elaria nodded. "You will be more prepared as well."

Mark got a little mad at the facts of life, at that moment. He asked, "Why does the System even allow… any of that? Why empower monsters at all?"

"It's theorized that the whole System is some ancient magic that used to work a lot better than it did before the Reveal. Ages and ages ago, you know." Elaria continued, "We say there are two Tutorials these days, the monster and the human, but in actuality there is only one, and it was probably meant to work for everyone. Some people even think it came about in the Dragon King's time, to bring all people together, and that his Magefall broke the System into what it became, but that's just a story that people tell because the Dragon King is a popular mythological figure. The System is probably at least 20,000 years old, though it could just be 7,000 years old, which coincides with Daihoon becoming separated from Earth."

Mark sipped his tea and thought.

Elaria took a bite of a cookie, and she waited.

Mark continued to think about dragons and archmages and demons, and seeking them out for answers to his 'dangerously incomplete' Body. In a weird, 'no fucking way' sort of way, Mark considered contacting Thrashtalon and Leash, just to see what they would say. Mark discarded that idea even before he had it, but he still had it. Mark considered Addavein, more… And he kinda stopped there, his thoughts spiraling in many different directions at once.

Archmage Steve Blackthorn and the Demon Planty might be a good choice…

Actually.

That seemed like the best choice.

Even better than Walaria… But.

Mark asked, "Would Walaria help me on this, in a real sort of way?"

Elaria sat up straight, proper, and spouted propaganda, "Walaria will help you."

Elaria had put on airs to give that answer. It was a good answer, but Mark did not want to rely on Walaria for much of anything right now. Maybe after a few years of good behavior he might decide to trust her again… Well. He 'trusted' her now. But… ehhh.

"Do you know Blackthorn?" Mark asked.

Elaria said, "I do know of him. We've met. He's a good option. I can tell you most of what he would say, though, and that is that you have options. Broadly, you can choose to solidify this thing happening to you, undo this thing happening to you, or veer down a third path. Whatever the case, I suggest you make an appointment and then spend the next day or so experimenting with the body you have. War with the goblins might have been good for learning how to survive, but actual experimentation is required. Like, do you know if you can change your whole shape? Do you want to continue down that way? Can you feel your adamantium like it is a part of you, even when detached? Do you like that? Dislike that? Did you like the part where you used your astral body to make your real body, which is certainly what happened when you broke out of a goblinized Quark and you were still alive? These sorts of things are things you should know before you speak to Blackthorn."

"I want Tactile Telekinesis," Mark said, only really sure about that. And then he added, "Not dying was great, too."

"That might be possible. I don't know, though. You'd need to ask someone a lot more knowledgeable about these sorts of things than I, but..." Elaria added, "There is a talzarki choice, too."

Mark winced.

Elaria said, "When Malaqua fixed the System, that error code you got, 'Consult your local <insert valid consultant here> if you wish to learn more.', used to say 'Consult your local demon, dragon, or other system-adjacent power, if you wish to learn more'. That's what it said when it was the Thresher, too; back when getting a System prompt was something you got out of specially-bound demons that required sacrifices of goats or particularly hated enemies to function, and they did not function well at all.

"After the Ascension, the error code was correct for a brief time, and then the Empires and Powers-That-Be petitioned the Pantheon for a censure of all references to demons, dragons, or otherwise, in the System. That's why you got that error code that you got."

"… Huh."

Elaria asked, "Do you know when you'll start the Understanding parties up again? Not for a while, I hope."

Mark blinked and shook his head at the change in topic. "I don't know about all that. I'm… occupied."

Elaria smiled and stood, saying, "On that note, I am grateful for being able to talk. Thank you for answering my question about Wongod."

Mark stood, asking, "Are you worried about him for a specific reason?"

"In the normal sort of way that one is worried about goblins; not in any special way. I heard you cleansed him some, and the last time that happened it was Total War. I don't feel that we're in any danger of that right now, especially with the Light Titan cast off into the Dreaming, but they're conquering all of D'Australia right now, and they will be stronger, later." Elaria bowed. "Thank you, Mark."

Mark bowed back, "Thank you for answering my questions, as well."

Elaria left.

Isoko came out from the other room, saying, "Let's go to Memphi?"

Mark smiled a little, and said, "I'll send Blackthorn a letter and… and that's it. Yeah. Make an appointment. For now, she was right. I want to practice with my body. See if I… like it." Mark frowned at that last bit.

Isoko smirked. "Who wouldn't want a detachable penis?"

Mark scoffed. "Isoko!"

"Seriously! You could just leave it at home if you thought it would get you in trouble— Ah. But you don't have that problem."

Mark snorted. "How about you! You wanna leave your pussy at home?"

"Or maybe my boobs! Most of the time I'd just make them bigger, though." Isoko slipped silver wind into her clothes, expanding the fabrics of her shirt with a very bouncy silver breeze. "Gotta sell those action figures~"

Mark laughed and Isoko smiled.

Isoko teased, asking if Mark could do that, and Mark vehemently said he wasn't doing that at all, which caused more teasing and then Isoko dropped it, asking what Mark was going to do next.

"I'm going to play with myself, of course."

Isoko grinned. "Let me know if you need help~"

Mark might not have had any sexual thoughts (barring one notable incident months ago), but it was fun to joke about that stuff, and Isoko thought so, too.

It made Mark feel a bit warm inside…

… though what were his insides, anyway?

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