Chapter: 391 - Behind (Patreon)

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Tala glanced back at Alefast as it faded into the distance behind her and her traveling companions.

Her unit-mates sat around her, Mistress Cerna piloting their combined, flying contraption, as she usually did.

The Paragon for this trip was a wisp of a woman, smaller even than Tala.

Her hair was a blonde so light it was almost silver.

Her skin was smooth and unblemished, and she could have been anywhere between twenty-five and twenty thousand.

-Probably in the middle somewhere.-

Yeah, I think Master Xeel is among the older Archons, and he’s only a millennium and a half old.

-...only.-

Fair.

Tala might have assumed the Paragon was a slender dwarf, but she could see the evidence of the gate within the Paragon easily.

It was funny that she left her aura open for just such verifications.

She probably knew what she looked like.

Or she has an item like my through-spike.

-That way lies paranoia. Anyone could have one.-

That’s true, I suppose… Are you really what you seem, Alat? Are you using a through spike to fool me?

The alternate interface huffed a laugh within Tala’s head. -Fair.-

The group was heading to yet another cell that was near to breaching.

There was something odd about this cell in particular, but no one could quite tell what it was.

The general assessment was that it would either be laughably easy for their unit, or they’d be calling in backup before even opening the door.

Master Grediv had begun to rotate through the units, sending them out in something closer to an actual rotation instead of just sending out the smallest units again and again.

The number of cells appearing this waning was truly extraordinary, and the various units had been theorizing as to why.

While it was fun to theorize about a time when disaster was striking every week, with some new world-ending threat that the peoples of the day had to contend with, that just wasn’t realistic.

That theory was made less viable by the fact that cells decayed at somewhat random rates. So, the alignment of cell degradation had almost nothing to do with when the cells were originally created and filled in relation to one another.

A more realistic, popular notion was that the increase was the result of a cascading effect.

Since there was already greater stress in the region, cells that might have endured another cycle or two were coming in need of maintenance sooner.

It was a good theory, all things considered.

Much better than Tala’s own original theory.

I still think reality is especially angry, and it’s breaking cells down more quickly as a tantrum, or an attempt to wear us down or something.

-...You know how I feel about that theory.-

That it lines up too well with the facts, except that it would require reality to have the ability to ‘choose?’

-Precisely.-

It could also be that one of the cells which is weakening contains a powerful Reality Mage, and he or she is the one ‘choosing.’

-And that’s why I don’t dismiss your theory out of hand. Do you have any idea how maddening it is when you spout foolishness, then put reasonable backing behind it?-

Tala felt herself smile. Considering that I’m doing it to myself? I imagine it is pretty maddening.

Alat laughed within Tala’s mind, purposely making the sound a bit manic.

I do hope that isn’t the case, regardless. I’d rather be wrong than have to clash with a Reality Mage. They sound… less than great.

-Agreed.-

Tala lifted her gaze up to Terry, where he perched in his usual place, eyes closed, simply enjoying the wind streaming across him, ruffling his feathers.

He was a wonderful companion.

Flockmate. She corrected herself. Friend and partner too.

Her gaze flicked back toward Alefast once more.

It had been a week, and while Rane was up and moving around, some indefinable spark had gone from within him and was yet to return.

He moved slower—a bit more deliberately—as if to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

He spoke less and seemed to be thinking even more than usual. It was either that, or his mind was wandering without purpose.

They hadn’t specifically discussed the Refining session, yet, and she wasn’t looking forward to that talk.

Still, she had seen him everyday, but it had mainly consisted of her just being there while he recovered.

As she herself had experienced, magical healing couldn’t remove the worst of the symptoms.

He had to adjust to the changes in his body, and come to grips with the weight of what he’d been through mentally.

She thought back to the last time they’d interacted before the Refining session, her birthday.

It had been the day before his first session, and Tala had thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with him.

She hadn't expected anything, and he had masterfully surpassed her expectations.

Several others had wished her happy birthday when she’d seen them, her unit-mates included, but she’d still elected to spend the day almost exclusively with him.

Now, he was clearly not in his usual state of mind. After all, he had apparently refused to see Master Grediv.

Rane was understandably upset with how differently the session had gone than his expectations.

Master Grediv wasn’t too put out by the rejection. He had apparently become rather used to that reaction from those he led to this stage long ago.

Regardless, Tala and Rane also hadn’t discussed her being in the room with him for most of it. Though, he had said a simple ‘thank you’ on several occasions.

Honestly, Tala would be fine if they never discussed it beyond that.

-Yes, because then you wouldn’t have to think about all of the implications.-

Tala didn’t acknowledge her alternate interface’s comment.

-Of course not, because ignoring yourself works out so well.-

Instead, she turned her attention back to the diminutive Paragon, who was watching her with curiosity.

When their eyes met, the woman smiled. “Mistress Tala, correct?”

Tala nodded.

The Paragon lifted from the platform and shifted to sit beside Tala, all without her limbs or muscles moving.

Tala saw the woman’s aura expand a bit, but then all the magic was worked within that shroud.

That’s a clever application. Still, she must be using incredibly little power to be able to hide it so thoroughly.

-Or she’s just that good.-

Yeah, that could be it.

“So, you're the new one in the unit?”

“I am, Mistress Sigyn, at least relatively. It’s been more than half a year, now.” After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “What magic did you use to move over here?”

Mistress Sigyn tilted her head to the side. “Just now?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, it’s rather boring, really.”

It wasn’t.

Apparently, she was skilled at manipulating temperature differentials.

The Paragon tried to explain how that would allow her to float about, but Tala was so out of her depth, that the discussion didn’t last too long.

Even so, Mistress Sigyn didn’t leave. Instead, she returned to what seemed to have been her purpose in coming over. “So, how are you settling in? This is your first waning as well, correct?”

“It is, yes.” Tala was a bit hesitant. This should be freely available information, but she supposed it was just small-talk.

“It’s a slag pile of a waning to be your first, ridiculously full of attacks and cells in need of repair.” She huffed, shaking her head. “I’ve already been involved in more cells this waning than any full cycle, previously.”

Tala’s eyebrows rose, but Master Clevnis chuckled, interjecting, “Mistress Sigyn, you’ve helped with two cells this waning, including the one we are going to now.”

The woman nodded solemnly. “Exactly. I am being pulled from my research again, and the waning has just begun. Something is odd, let me tell you.”

Tala found herself nodding. She was cautiously curious to get a Paragon’s perspective, and Mistress Sigyn seemed more talkative than most. “What do you think it is?”

Mistress Sigyn sighed, shaking her head. “I study genetics, Mistress Tala, not cells.” She hesitated. “Well, I study cells, but not this kind of cell.” She chuckled. “I also don’t study reality, or wanings, or…anything that would give me meaningful insight into what is going on. I only know enough to strengthen and reseal a cell at need.”

Tala cocked her head, frowning. “So… why are you in a waning city?”

“I’m trying to determine if the people who either chose to stay in waning cities—or those who choose to come to them—have any genetic similarities.”

Tala sat for a long moment, considering. “Huh. I had never thought of that. If they did, wouldn’t that go against free will, though?”

Mistress Sigyn leaned forward, a bit excited. “Does the fact that we get hungry go against free will?”

Tala slowly shook her head. “No, we can choose what we eat, and even choose to ignore our hunger if we want to.”

“Exactly.” The Paragon’s face was lit with excitement.

She thought she understood. “I see. So, you're looking for predispositions?”

“Generally, yes. There is the issue that, with free will involved, no data-set can be clean. There will always be those who overcome their own nature to come and those without the means to leave. I am still in the gathering phase of my research. I only have six full wanings of data so far.”

“How do you gather it?” Tala found herself leaning forward in interest.

“Oh, that’s easy. A part of entering any city is tacit agreement to being monitored by the city’s magics. Part of that is verifying no pathogens are spreading through the populace. Because some can modify people’s genetic code, the city keeps a single record of each occupant and checks it against their current genetics every week or so. The information is generally only accessible to the city magics, and it used to be obliterated when a person died, or when that city was abandoned. I have campaigned to have the data kept.” She grimaced. “They’ve only agreed to do so for waning cities for the time being.”

Tala was a bit conflicted. “That seems… invasive?”

“Oh, it is, and it isn’t. It costs them nothing either immediately or in the long run, but it is very real information about them.” Mistress Sigyn grimaced. “It would be nice if it was black and white, but like most things, it isn’t.”

Tala was silent as she took in a long, deep breath. “I’m not sure how to feel about that?”

“Oh? Do you get permission from everyone around you before you Archive your every thought? From what I’ve observed you can see past physical barriers, do you censor out that information from what you store?”

It was Tala’s turn to grimace. “I suppose not…”

“Information is power.” Mistress Sigyn nodded. “Power is what we need to keep humanity alive.”

Tala found herself agreeing with that sentiment, even if it felt odd to do so. It helped that she knew that all Archons had to have at least some altruism, even if it manifested differently for different individuals.

Mistress comes to mind. That woman was… interesting.

-Yeah, what was going on with that lady?-

I don’t know. I suppose she could have been an arcane? But I don’t think so. I don’t think we checked for a gate when we saw her even if she did offer to trade Archon stars…

“Have you… learned anything interesting? Anything helpful?”

Mistress Sigyn nodded enthusiastically, “I have actually, though not in line with my direction of research, not yet. I was able to find several markers that correlated with degenerative diseases of several varieties. We are in process of getting the findings confirmed, and if they are, we will likely initiate a program to remove the defective genes.”

Tala paled, thinking of only one easy way to remove genes from a population. “How?”

“Voluntary gene alteration.” Mistress Sigyn gave Tala a knowing glance. “We don’t kill people, Mistress Tala. Not to ‘improve’ the population.  That would be counterproductive at the very least and immoral in the extreme.”

“Oh… right.” Tala chuckled awkwardly. “Do people actually go for that?”

The Paragon shrugged. “We usually pay people to undergo the procedure, after building it into an artifact style device. It takes less than a minute, and is generally relatively painless.”

“That sounds like it could be abused…”

“Yes and no. It has to be voluntarily agreed to. I could probably enact the changes forcibly, but an artifact can’t. It lacks the magical weight.” She smiled. “Just as your body is better at resisting outside magics than the air around us, our genetics have proven to be even more resilient.”

Tala tilted her head to the side, considering. “Huh, I didn’t know that. Is it because it is more ‘us’ than even our bodies?” She frowned. “Then, wouldn’t our minds be more resilient?”

Mistress Sigyn smiled. “I think our minds are designed to take input and make changes, but our genetics generally don’t change, some exceptions aside. By their very nature genetics are less malleable than our minds, and I think that factors in.”

“Fascinating.”

The two women continued their discussion well into the morning as they streaked through the sky, just below the speed of magical resonance in the ambient zeme.

* * *

“Huh.” Tala examined the writing on the wall alongside some of her companions. “Is this… real?”

Mistress Sigyn was grinning broadly. “I think it is, and it is a welcome surprise.”

Master Clevnis had already sat off to one side, slowly slicing small bits off of a rock that he found. He was clearly sad that the cell was likely to lack excitement.

Mistress Vanga was reading her slate, and Master Girt was reading a book.

Master Limmestare and Mistress Cerna were beside Tala and Mistress Sigyn.

Terry had returned to Kit when they’d landed in a forest clearing beside the cliff-face.

The cell didn’t even have an antechamber.

Those who created it would clearly have been happy if anyone were to open it in the future.

A simple message was written beside the entrance to the cell.

Tala was quite happy that she was able to incredibly easily identify the entrance with her threefold sight. Unfortunately, it didn’t really show her much. All that she could see was just something that looked much like a reality thread connecting an otherwise innocuous point on the wall to something in between increments.

Something in the void.

-It does make sense to have the cells segregated off within the void.-

Yeah, it also lines up with what we’ve learned about them as well.

The message read: ‘If the world has survived, may what is contained within help you to rebuild and endure.’

“It’s a doomsday vault?” Mistress Vanga was looking to Mistress Sigyn. “I’ve heard of those, but I haven’t encountered one myself.”

The basic concept was rather obvious.

There was something that made people of the time fear that the world would end in one way or another in the future.

Unfortunately, whatever it was couldn’t be contained in a cell, so the people of the time took the opposite approach: They tried to send resources into the future to help when they would be needed most.

Thus, they gathered what they thought would be needed if the feared disaster came about and put them in a safe place, to hopefully help society restart, or remember, or just survive.

Some were even from the time before the unification of language, often even from before the Archive, or at least from a time when the Archive wasn’t widely used—or not used in a way that would allow a legacy to be easily left.

Or the information was left in the sections that were deleted when some fools tried to breach them.

Regardless, given the information provided, this should be a very easy process.

They would open the cell and determine if the items within were of use. Then, they would either seal it back up—noting what was in it in case there was ever need—or empty it and recover the cell-core, if one had been used and if it was recoverable.

Generally, the existence of a cell-core—or the lack thereof—would be a heavy factor in whether or not the cell was maintained.

Cell-cores were the items crafted so that humanity could still place something in a cell at need if they lacked a Mage capable of doing so with their own magics.

Currently, Tala understood that humanity had four Archons who were capable of such, but they might not be nearby when the need was identified.

Also, the number was only that high due to Archons being so long lived.

Thus, every city had at least one or two cell-cores for such emergencies.

Tala had yet to see one and had only heard them referred to obliquely.

That is, until now.

“So… what does a cell-core look like?” Mistress Sigyn looked her way, and Tala shrugged, continuing, “If we’re going to be seeing if this cell has one, I’d like to know what it should look like.”

The Paragon quirked a smile. “Well, for starters, it won’t be in the cell. It will be on the reverse side of reality, anchoring the cell while helping to hold it suspended in the most robust, physical void we know of.”

There was a lot to unpack in that statement, but one thing stood out, causing Tala’s eyes to widen. “The Doman-Imithe?”

Mistress Sigyn nodded. “That is as good a name as any for it. The arcanes, for all their faults, do have a depth and history of knowledge that shouldn’t be ignored.”

Tala tilted her head to the side. “Should I… go look?”

Her whole unit stopped, turning to look at her even as the Paragon shifted to face her fully. “You can… go there? On purpose?”

Tala shrugged. “I believe so. I haven’t done so under my own power, not yet, but I have been considering doing so at some point. If it would be helpful, I can try now.”

The Paragon grimaced, rubbing between her eyebrows. “Mistress Tala… Why do… I don’t…”

The woman rubbed at her temples, clearly a bit at a loss.

Mistress Cerna walked over, next to Mistress Sigyn. “Mistress Tala goes about things in odd ways at times, but she does get the job done. If she says she believes she can, then most likely she can.”

The Paragon sighed, looking up. “Oh, I don’t doubt her word. I’m just a bit flabbergasted. Most Refined aren’t even aware of the Doman-Imithe, and she can most likely go there, directly.”

Tala cleared her throat. “She is right here, and I’m still waiting for your answer.”

Mistress Sigyn nodded slowly. “My apologies. I was simply sorting through the possible implications.” She seemed to consider. “Can you get back?”

“Absolutely. I am much more confident about getting back than getting there.”

Another moment passed, the Mistress Sigyn nodded again. “Alright. It will be a quicker, easier way to get a definitive answer than the methods I have at my disposal.”

Tala smiled, taking Kit off her belt and tossing her against a blank wall, where she grew into a door into the sanctum.

There, a nice anchor if nothing else.

-Good thinking. It would have been rather embarrassing if we got stuck.-

…Your confidence is inspiring.

-I am exactly as confident as you are.-

Tala sighed. Yeah. I figured that was the case.

-Shall we explore the great behind?-

Tala hesitated, stifling a laugh and almost choking.

-Hmmm… I was going for ‘the great beyond’ but the Doman-Imithe is ‘behind’ Zeme. The combination did not work as well as I thought it would.-

But it definitely made me smile.

-There is that.-

To the great behind! Tala sent mirth to Alat within her mind.

-I really, really don’t want us calling it that…please?-

Alright. Tala took in a deep breath and let it out, nodding once. “Let’s do this.”

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