Chapter 60 – Realisations.

It hadn’t taken long for the wildlife to take advantage of the scar, a herd of plains animals gathered at its edge, drinking the water. Exactly what they were Crystal wasn’t at all sure. Light was flying too high for her to have any hope of being able to make them out, but it also meant that the animals hadn’t noticed them either and hence hadn’t scattered. The cat-foxes were able to do some preliminary scans of the leylines from this height, so it was good for an initial run, but once they had an idea of the area that they wanted to look at they’d have to loose quite a bit of altitude. Their current position wasn’t that useful to them either, but the plan was to travel to the end of the scar, and then go westward from there, doubling back once they had travelled out far enough. Hopefully they’d be able to find something suitable on this side, as having Odinsphere travel back inland to find another suitable leyline to take it to the coast seemed like a complete waste of time.

Light banked, heading south west, the day clear with only a few patchy clouds littered across the sky. The suns warmth was was always welcome, especially with the chill of the wind that rushed past them, and it was so much better to be flying on Light’s back than in the skimmer. Sure they had their uses, but this was the life. The plains stretched out in front of them and in the distance ahead she could just make another mountain range. The Storm Reach Mountains according to Clocky, south of which was Caylinhold, home of another Channeller. She was pretty sure that they green smudge at the bottom of it indicated that there was some forests at its base, but she wouldn’t know for sure till they got much closer. She was tempted to have Light fly past Caylinhold for a look, but that would probably draw unwanted attention to them, not that the moving of Odinsphere wouldn’t have already.

Crystal sighed and leaned back into Rachael enjoying her warmth and scent as Rachael held her close, arms wrapped around her. This was definitely one thing that they couldn’t do when piloting a skimmer. She really was going to miss Light and Ashling something chronic when Myne parted ways. There was however other things that needed more urgent consideration.

“What’s on your mind,” Rachael enquired quietly in her ear.

“A very drop dead gorgeous dragon,” Crystal replied, a smile on her face as she wrapped her arms over Rachael’s.

“In your mind then,” Rachael said, a playful edge to her voice as she freed one of her arms and them proceeded to tease Crystal’s horns. On the back of Light in mid flight probably wasn’t the most appropriate place for that, not that Crystal had any intention of complaining.

“Right now, oh most definitely you!” Crystal declared, before shifting a little and looking back up at Rachael. “On the more serious notes though, something’s odd about Odinsphere.”

“Everything is odd about Odinsphere. Anything in particular beyond it’s sheer existence, the technology behind the Arkchildren, it’s aspects, or the fact that an Ancient has made it’s home there?”

“Well yes, but most of those are well beyond us. How they even managed to start building it in our age is another mystery, but not what I’ve been thinking about.”

“So what has my sweet darling been mulling over?” Rachael's arm went back down, holding her close and tight.

“How exactly is Odinsphere managing to use the mana and convert it into energy or electricity for its use? As far as I am aware, in order for technology to be powered by mana, there had to be an interface, or transformer I guess might be just as good a term, between the two.”

Rachael made a confirming noise as she nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking on the same thing since we used the skimmer. Channellers are the conversion conduit for the technology they use, and we perform a similar role for the Arkchildren. If we weren’t needed they’d be autonomous and they’d probably all be active.”

‘And quite lonely too,’ Spectre chimed in. ‘Ignoring your necessity, we’ve grown rather fond of the company. As to if that is a part of our code, I have no idea, but we’ve definitely become more aware of it.’

“You have each other as well though...”

‘Yes, but it is a very different style. Don’t forget that we are bonded to you. It equates to more than just being in someone’s presence.’

That was very true. She’d gotten quite used to it, but even her surface thoughts were like spoken conversation to Spectre, unless she actively tried to suppress that connection.

“And of course it was either you or Clocky providing the power for the skimmers,” Crystal resumed. “So how is Odinsphere doing that conversion?”

“Hmm. While arrays can interface with the mana of the leylines, they still require human interaction. The light switch arrays in the palace and in the temple complex in the Innerlands required us to activate them, as does the leyline shifting ones, though after that they seem to run by themselves. But that is all magically aspected,” mused Rachael, “and no technology is involved there.”

“And however Odinsphere is doing it, it has been since it was built, so for a thousand or so years.”

“Yeah, well before they really had the time to develop their knowledge on the topic.”

Crystal wasn’t that happy with any of the possible explanations that she could come up with, and all of them seemed to stretch or break the established rules about magic and technology that she had thus far learnt. The most obvious answer was that it had an array that performed a direct conversion, but that failed almost instantly, as the Outerlands had almost zero magic from the start, and hence no knowledge in that field, and Arcane had only just recently infiltrated the floating city. So it had to be something else.

‘You’re going to investigate, aren’t you?’ Spectre queried.

“Definitely,” Crystal answered, Rachael nodding in confirmation, probably having gotten the same message from Kitsune. The cat-foxes had been doing that of late, which was convenient for telepathic conversations, and they had actually double checked to make sure that they were being told the same thing. It wasn’t as much doubt in the cat-foxes as making sure that there wasn’t any misunderstandings.

“It’s as good an excuse as any to have a poke around Odinsphere.” Rachael added. “I know we’ve already been given permission, but this gives us an objective at the same time, and I really want the answer. Something tells me it’s rather important.”

“What if Odinsphere doesn’t want to give up its secrets?” Crystal mused. What they were seeking after all was probably behind locked doors, and as accommodating as it had been thus far, to a fashion, as they were mostly adhering to it rather than the other way around, there would be limits.

“It needs us. We’re a necessary part of the journey. As it said, trust is earnt. We’re trusting it with our lives while we are in it, perhaps it just needs to learn to trust us too.” Rachael had a scheming grin on her face.

‘I don’t think you two will have too many issues. As you say, Odinsphere values you both. Do you want me to seek permission?’ Spectre looked up at her, an amused grin on its face. ‘That whole trust thing after all...’

“Sure...” Crystal nodded. Spectre did have a point.

Light descended down towards the plains. It seemed that fortune was on their side.

Actually, that could be literally true, if there was an Ancient for that aspect. Which was highly likely. But also a very dangerous line of thinking which could quite quickly spiral out of control. Some things you just didn’t want the attention of, especially ones that could blur the lines of choice. Ignorance had its place, and Crystal was quite happy only having to think about a small number of Ancients at the moment. Though she couldn’t deny that she was just a little bit curious about which ones had been involved in their being made complete. Not to mention how long they’d been involved with them for. Long enough to know of and create the Pyre figurine.

most of them wish to remain in the shadows of anonymity at the moment.

That was of course fair enough.

i would have you as my paladins,

though the choice is yours.

Crystal sat up in surprise, Rachael also tensing. That was out of the blue. She blinked, and looked at Rachael who looked just as confused.

“I certainly can’t deny that we’d love to, but what does that entail beyond already being your chosen?” Rachael asked out loud. “And how does that interact with us already being the champions of Dawn and Arcane?”

“Actually, what do the titles all entail and do in the first place?” Crystal added.

even we don’t know the full impact,

nor does arcane,

even if we made the declaration.

it forms part of the connection,

the bond,

between you and us,

something that is still developing and evolving as things rapidly change.

another to the myriad that you already have,

part of the balance.

as chosen, you were gifted my blessing.

as paladins, you also carry part of me,

as do i of you,

a representation of what we have.

perhaps she meant it as a fail-safe,

but it has become much more than she originally thought.

so very much more.

will you accept this part of me?

Rachael looked at her, Crystal nodding in affirmation. “Of course!” Rachael then declared. Ignoring their taste for battle, Warrior had been a constant companion for them, for better or worse. She could feel the bond there, the presence strangely comforting and a part of who she was now. Not to mention that she felt like she owed Warrior for what she had done for them. As to why Warrior had even asked though, she still had no clue.

then it is so.

champions of dawn,

aspects of dawn,

chosen of warrior,

paladins of warrior,

priestesses of arcane,

champions of arcane,

children of dragon,

progenitors of dragon,

marked of the ancients.

rachael, pyre.

the only ones to hold more than one title.

Nothing felt different, but Crystal wasn’t expecting it to. But why did Warrior still refer to her as Pyre?

that is the name written on your soul.

from dreams and aspirations,

when you glimpsed the real you.

and from those who desired you.

crystal, pyre.

Crystal gave Rachael a questioning look, Rachael just blushing in response.

There were also new titles there too, that hadn’t been there when they’d been made complete. She sought of understood Aspect of Dawn, given the whole leyline thing, or at least that was her assumption, but Progenitors of Dragon?

it has been declared due to events that have happened,

both each a source.

on that you will see,

in time.

That didn’t really answer anything, but Crystal was certain she wouldn’t learn anything more even if she tried asking further. Something about those statues was niggling at her though. Not just the what (above the obvious for one of them), but also the how.

Light circled over the area, now only a hundred meters above the ground, as the cat-foxes continued their scan. It seemed that fortune was on their side, or at least things were working out if she wasn’t directly involved. Crystal wasn’t going to go any further along that train of thought anyway.

North of the Tippiladies River, about halfway along that section of the scar, they had found another strong leyline that ran close to the scar. It then ran parallel with the river till it approached the Stormreach Mountains, then headed north-west, splitting into two branches shortly after that. One branch headed straight into the mountain range, and probably went down to Caylinhold, while the other meandered its way around the outskirts of the range before it then snaked right up to the coast. It would be perfect for them to shift Odinsphere over to, especially since it appeared to avoid any settled areas, and now that they had returned they were checking to make sure that there was enough power for them to pull from all of the surrounding leylines to form a bridge between the two. They would need to bolster both leylines first, and then form the connection between them. They were fairly certain that they could get it to work, but they had to be absolutely sure. Odinsphere would probably check again once it was in range as well of course, but they wouldn’t hold it against it.

By the time night had fallen they had finished casing the area, the cat-foxes confirming that there was indeed enough power available in the area. Some of it would have to be pulled more than what they had done so far, but they’d expected that, and even if they managed to pull only as much as they had with their first attempt they’d still be able to form the bridge. If they managed to surpass their most recent one then Odinsphere would be able to make the transition in just a few hours, the bridge likely to be more potent than the leylines themselves.

The following day saw them planting the arrays for the final boost to the current leyline before they attempted the bridge. Both were rather keen to start their investigation, but if they didn’t get the transition of power out of the way then Odinsphere would halt within a day, possibly falling if there wasn’t enough power close to the surface in the current section of the leyline. Which of course would not go down well. The whole power and responsibility thing, not to mention Velvet was relying on them too. Once done, according to Odinsphere’s calculations, it would take it another four days to reach the bridge location, and they knew for a fact that there was enough power at the crossing point for Odinsphere to just hover there, the leyline almost as close to the surface as it was at its original location. That would give them plenty of time.

The mana density at The Watch had also settled down enough that the citizens were able to return to the town if they wished. It wouldn’t be comfortable for them yet – that was still a couple more days away, especially since there would be some leakage from the new connection, but it was keeping them calm enough. All things considered they had handled the situation well, the last of those who had initially remained in the town finally haven woken. There didn’t appear to be any detrimental effects to any of them, but Crystal wasn’t sure if there was actually any way of them knowing if there was. Time would tell she guessed. The children of the town had seen the experience as an extended holiday from their normal routines, even venturing outside of the wagon circle to play as the adults watched over them. Whether everyone would just go back to how they were once they were settled back into their homes was also an unknown. She certainly hoped so, but there could well be those for whom the experience would have a lasting effect, such as Raewyn, who seemed to get along rather well with Fairweather. What the future held for her was anyone’s guess.

Once the residents had mostly completed their transition back, Clocky, Fairweather and Vorsce would be returning to Odinsphere, who were also keen to do some exploring. What Myne would do was anyone's guess. While Saylin and Abigail had spent most of their time inside Odinsphere, Saylin had managed to acquire a laboratory and had been messing around with the reagents that she had gathered earlier. Apparently Odinsphere was a wealth of knowledge on that sort of thing, which was enabling her to get better results than she had managed thus far with just her power alone, and she had managed to not destroy the lab. Saylin had also been making some noises about joining either groups expedition, Rachael suggesting Clocky was probably the better choice given their objective.

They managed to avoid any shock-waves this time, repeating the same trick as last time, but adding in additional regulation segments to the arrays, as well as a decaying delay on the flow. Watching the mana flow between the leylines was kind of satisfying, or maybe that was just a consequence of being exhausted. They still had to physically drag the mana between points.

Crystal quite happily collapsed onto the bed when they returned, dragging Rachael down with her and snuggling her close. She was too tired to purr properly, just managing a low rumble.

mogust

I was originally going to have them start the exploration this chapter, but then Warrior wanted to do her thing, and we ended up with this one, which I guess lays the groundwork instead.

The titles are somewhat important (they are in the glossary as well), but they may also be a mostly background thing (maybe - I'm still writing after all). After her saying that she didn't need champions (which she still doesn't ish), there are "reasons" (TM) for what Warrior's done. Words have power, especially those of the Ancients, so they aren't just for show either...

I am rather curious to hear what people think the actual answer is for Crystal and Rachael's excuse to deep dive Odinsphere - how is it interfacing with the mana of the leylines. Feel free to speculate ^^

Thanks for reading as always. Comments are always welcome.

The next chapter (Chapter 61 – Delving the Layers) will be out early next week.

As an aside, I helped beta proofread the second volume of The Tipsy Pelican Tavern (formerly Even a Hero Needs a Vacation Now and Then), a story about a hero taking a vacation. Definitely worth a read.