Chapter 86 – Temple Viewing.

Myne blinked as the intense light from the shift faded, the magic sliding off her like silk along her skin. Pleasant and familiar. The power of the dawn. One of these days she’d have to learn how to use the array herself, but her magic wasn’t intrinsically compatible with it like it was for Velvet. Not that she wouldn’t be able to do so, she most certainly would, just the cost would be significantly more. On the plus side, given her sensing magic, she would be able to travel anywhere, unlike the restriction that the two girls currently had.

She could feel the intensity of the leylines around her, the strongest that she had ever felt, even more so than the Nexus Temple and the ones that ran through the Tempest Storms. It was quite likely that this was one of the magic poles of the world, where all leylines eventually converged, one way or another. After all, no line was isolated, all eventually merging with another, even if only by the tiniest thread. An interconnected network.

Myne didn’t know what had been here before, if had been empty, or if some other structure had occupied the valley like area where the pole was, but it was Velvet’s domain now. Her temple, the reflection and representation of who and what Velvet was, something that Myne instinctually knew, dominated it, its presence unmistakable. The temple itself was impressive, stretching up into the sky, easily the height of Light or Ashling and then some, its area twice that again. Its white marble walls were embossed with images of dragons in all aspects of their life, and scenes of the dawn, glowing a sun yellow in the morning light. Not just traditional rider dragons either, but all dragons. Myne chuckled as she saw images of both of the deep dragons on the walls, stylised but still perfect replicas of how they were at the moment. Given the nature of the temple, she was certain that the images would change over time, reflecting their growth until they reached the height of their power. It was no wonder that riders were so enamoured with the girls, and it would probably only get worse.

It was very reminiscent of the Southern Temple of the Sisters of the Radiant Dawn, where Velvet had awoken. Fitting really. Above the entrance, a large stained glass window adorned the front, currently just an image of a morning sunrise over an idyllic hill, a meadow stretching off to the front and a forest off to the side, clouds lazily floating in the sky. Clouds that were moving. Like the rest of the temple, it was a living thing. Five spires rose up from the roof, statutes of dragons surrounding their bases, one at each of the corners of the temple, and one in the middle, set just a little back from the front. Unlike the images adorning the walls, the statues were all of traditional dragons, some vaguely recognisable as paying homage to the did or had existed.

The entrance itself was rather modest, large enough that lattice soul’s dragon could fit through, but not the massive prime accommodating size that the Southern Temple had. It wasn’t necessary for Light and Ashling after all, and there weren’t any current known primes. While they did have the size in their full forms, Light and Ashling were definitely not primes. They were something well beyond that. The doors themselves were made of rosewood, engraved with living images of dragons, Mythril hinges and braces attaching the doors to the temple. Kind of fitting given the town that Velvet had grown up in, her adoptive being miners and all that.

Large gardens surrounded the temple, stretching out for a half a mile in each direction, the colours bright and vibrant, every variety of flower that she could think of, and then multitudes beyond that. Circling the entire valley that the temple sat in was a dense forest, the trees identical to the ones in the Weeping Forest, and half a mile beyond that rose the slopes of the mountain. She was pretty sure that they were at the peak of the mountain though, the spires of the temple higher than the slopes that surrounded them. Definitely at the peak, her magic confirming as such to her. A wide path cut through the forest and gardens straight up to the temple, loose gravel crunching underfoot. Three fountains flowing with crystal clear water were were spaced along its length, the head pieces of course being dragons.

After all she was Dawn, Queen of Dragons. Something akin to an Ancient now, and standing there beside her. Nervously, as Ashling and Light took a bath in the nearby fountain, spraying water everywhere. She couldn’t recall having seen them ever do that before. Myne couldn’t help but smile as the strangeness of it all.

‘We’re allowed to be clean,’ Ashling huffed at her, amusement in his voice. ‘You’re just jealous that you’re not currently doing the same with her.’

Pfft. There was things that she would love to be doing with Velvet, but bathing in a fountain certainly wasn’t one of them. They’d have plenty of time later though to do things.

“I like it. It’s nice. Extravagant, but nice.”

Velvet smiled, looking embarrassed and ever so cute. “I just chose the location. The temple took on it’s own form.”

“A reflection of you though?” Myne teased.

“Yeah.” Velvet gazed around her. “Of me, the power, and the concept.”

“Did you really have much choice in the location in the end though?” Myne queried. After all, there wouldn’t be that many poles in the world.

“Five. This one spoke to me the strongest though. And it wasn’t at the depths of the ocean either.”

Myne laughed. “That’s a bonus.”

“Mind you, I could always create a new pole. It would just take time.”

“True. You have them as part of your aspect now. The girls can certainly do some interesting things with them too, though I suspect that they are just scratching the surface of their abilities.”

“That would be an understatement.” Velvet gave her a knowing smile.

“Are they even going to be able to find this place?”

“They will, yes. If they decide to actually look for it. Or they can just use their link to me to get here, if they think about it. They have access to the magic after all. It’s not like I’ve hidden it, it’s just out of the way. I can do without hordes of pilgrims if this place somehow became common knowledge. Not to mention the additional secrets that are housed in the temple itself.”

“True. Location won’t stop them from trying, even if the mana is to dense for them to be able to move in. They’d be stuck part way up whatever mountain range this is.”

Velvet laughed. “I forget about that at times. I went from no magic to far too much, and have never had that issue. We’re in the Basat Line, another in its multitude of secrets. This area perhaps even more so, given the nature of the leylines.”

Myne concentrated, her magic flowing out from her, giving her a very detailed overview of the surrounding area as it continued to spread. “That makes sense. They leylines make my imaging a little fuzzy, but I can place us now.” They were in the eastern part of the Basat Line, between the Circle Sea and the eastern pass. Deep in it. She couldn’t recall any accounts of anyone having even tried to breach the area that they were in, and it was no wonder why.

She then let her magic go, the image fading from her magical sight, but still very much a part of her memory, like everything that she scanned or sensed with her magic, every signature still there, filed away. “Given all the changes, of what you did, won’t you need an accessible location for people to find?”

“In time I guess. It wouldn’t be hard to do, though it will still present its own challenges to those who desire to visit given my nature. But for now, it can wait. I’m far too well known, thanks to the two pulses.” Velvet sighed. “I’d probably have to make multiple ones, both in the Innerlands and the Outerlands. I have no clue as to what I should be doing though. This is all new. For all of us. The dawning of a new age.”

“The dawn, created by dawn.” Myne laughed, unable to help herself. “You have the girls though. They are your champions after all aren’t they.”

Velvet smiled, Light flying over to rest on her shoulder as Ashling reclaimed his spot of Myne’s. “True. And touched and involved with others as well. I don’t think any of us understand or realise the true power of the titles and declarations. That magic has a life of it’s own. Raw and powerful, more so than any array. Arcane underestimated what she was using, the others saw more of the truth of it than she did. Crystal and Rachael, and those touched and around them are very much woven into our story, and ours theirs.”

“They are their own people though,” Velvet continued, “and I have no desire to influence their lives, even if I will end up doing anyway because of the connections.”

“We all make our own choices. If they aren’t happy with how things are, they will fight it. After all, they did choose to side with your vision when you were called back, rather than whatever utopia Arcane showed them.”

“Indeed. Speaking of them all, how did the reclamation of Caylinhold go?”

“Shouldn’t you already know?” Myne tried a serious expression, but failed miserably.

“I’m not some all-knowing, all-seeing being. Far from it. Yes, I get some level of unconscious feedback from the two, but it’s nowhere near as detailed and comprehensive as say what Warrior seems to be able to glean from them. I’m new to all of this!”

Myne chuckled, leaning in for a kiss, Velvet hungrily accepting and pulling her close. Her lips were so soft, her body so warm. And her blood, she could feel it’s power even without having to taste it. The last time had been more than divine, and she was still sated. They stayed that way a bit, Ashling making his usual complaints about their actions, before Myne reluctantly pulled away.

“Warrior seems to be a special case, especially since they’re not even her champions. She even kissed Crystal of all things!”

“The Influence goes both ways,” Velvet answered, a sparkle in her eyes. “I have no idea where I stand on all of that, given that I am still my own champion as well, on top of everything else. Hopefully far less susceptible than the others though.”

“The Dawn Angel, the most unique of them all!”

“So, Caylinhold...”

Myne lay down on the soft grass, Velvet sitting down beside her as they basked in the warmth of the suns rays.

“Catlin has reclaimed control of the city, and the people were more than happy to have her back, especially since the attacks of the shamblers have abruptly stopped. Partially because we dealt with the source, and partially because we spent the next couple of days eliminating any remaining ones. Yes, I could have scoured them from the city all by myself, but where’s the fun in that. I was just an observer after all.”

“Yet you still helped them locate them all.”

“Well, yeah. I needed something to do, and you weren’t back yet.”

“Sure, sure.” Velvet’s laugh so soft and sweet.

“Hey, you want the details or not,” Myne huffed.

“Sorry, go on,” Velvet said, faking admonishment.

“They certainly are going to have their work cut out for them though. Even with the shamblers gone, the whole Curse of Odinsphere belief is strong, and what the people saw and went through isn’t easily forgotten. The unrest that was there beforehand will still be present, though hopefully significantly diminished. They’ll be hard pressed to purge it all, but I guess that is the nature of any city. Even the clan wasn’t immune, as you well know. There will always be those unhappy with the status quo. So long as they don’t do anything stupid though it should all work out.”

Myne paused before continuing. “Merce was indeed still alive, locked up in their powering nexus. She collapsed in tears when they let her out of there, and I’m pretty sure that she won’t be going back in there in any great hurry. She was fond of Matt, even with all of his apparent faults, and his death did not go down well. But she is still fond of Tsugua and Catlin, loving them like parents I’ve even be inclined to say. Evrik is dead, just as Clocky said, though it took a while to find his body, gauntlet still on his arm. I’m not sure why Seymor hadn’t used it. Perhaps he thought it was special or had a particular use for it, but at least it gave them closure on that front.”

“The city isn’t going to be able to function as it had. As Catlin said earlier, Seymor was a fool, and with only three channellers remaining, one of them rather young, there is no way that they can keep it running at the same level. Sure, having Tsugua or Catlin powering it all would make a massive difference to what they’ve had in their absence, as they have been doing somewhat since their return, but they have things other things that they need to be doing. The cost of technology I guess. There needs to be a source of power for all of the convenience that it provides. Something that Crystal said those from her age really took for granted.”

“They have the agreement with Odinsphere. Surely there is something that can be done?”

“It all comes back to that infrastructure thing, and the efficiency of what they have versus the requirements of the population. If they had significantly more solar panels and wind turbines, as they definitely have the space for them, then it wouldn’t be as much of an issue, hopefully, but like everything else their capability to actually produce them is virtually nil. It’s still too advanced for their manufacturing capabilities, and more importantly, it takes time. A lot of it. It’s also make them a target, as they’d be valuable and useable in any city, not just in the mountain fortress. Sure, Odinsphere could probably manufacture them, and they could somehow ship them over, and I’d hazard a guess that that will actually happen, but I suspect that both parties have an alternative plan in mind as well.”

“Repopulating Odinsphere,” Velvet stated without hesitation. “It was designed as a floating city after all, even if that was secondary to it’s main purpose at the time.”

“Yup. It has all of those pre war era luxuries that most Outerlands citizens only dream of as well. Sure, it has a resident Channeller that spends her entire time powering it, but to almost everyone it just appears as if it is perpetually powered, and even if something happens to her, I’m sure that someone will be able to take over. From what I have learnt, there is an aspect of immortality to that position.”

Velvet nodded. “The magic of the leylines as well as the technology of Odinsphere has sustained her thus far, and it shows no signs of failing. I think that there is more to all of it than just that. Call it my intuition.”

“The only complication is convincing people to go over, and then kickstarting life there.”

“There will be plenty who will be willing. It’s getting the talented ones, those who can provide something to the whole that will be the difficult part.”

“Odinsphere may not have much of a choice.” Myne shrugged. “We did get Raewyn from The Watch though, having extended the invitation to her. To say that she was ecstatic was an understatement. She was more than keen to return to Odinsphere, and requested that it be permanent even before we had brought that part up. She didn’t go alone, a few others agreeing, likely infected by her eagerness. Sure, most of them were just farmers, but their skills will be valuable. She’ll go far there I think. She feels like she is right in her element.”

“There will be plenty others like her. Get a few gems from the Innerlands to join, and they’ll have their travel issues sorted as well, freeing up the two channellers to do whatever else they need to. Since everyone else will be gone by that point.”

“They’ve all left already. It’ll be interesting to see how Carmen fares in it all. I was a little surprised that she decided to work with Catlin and Tsugua given that she had just left Brightswater, but obviously something in it all appealed to her. She’ll probably end up spending as much time on Odinsphere as elsewhere, and she’ll be able to fly her own craft as well.”

“She has her arkchild now?”

“A small bat like thing.” Myne rolled her eyes. “Another reconnaissance model. Seem to be rather popular. I swear that Kyla still has the most powerful of all the ones that I have seen. Even Dark Wing doesn’t quite pack the same punch, even with it’s size.”

“Works in Odinsphere’s favour.”

“That it does. Though I do wonder at times, given what we know about Crystal and Rachael’s era, how the hell did they even manage to build that thing. There’s nothing else like it that has been found yet. Not in the Innerlands, nor from what I’ve seen or heard in the Outerlands. Even Kyla’s said as much at times, though I guess she is a bit biased as she still sees it as her home.”

“That would be a very good question.” Velvet looked thoughtful.

“On a more serious topic though,” Myne started.

“Hmm?”

“You felt it, didn’t you?”

“The fragment of power leaving Seymor? Yes.”

“He called him Zorthanalias as well.”

“They’re still being cagey about him, but that is the Demon King’s true name. It’s going to cause some complications.”

“As is that. We had thought there was only two. Now we have no clue. Nor how much he had shed before we fought him last time.”

“It is a troubling development, but one we really should have anticipated.”

“Yeah, it was too easy after all. He’d planned a lot further ahead than we’d thought. Was he even trying at that point?”

“I think he was, given everything that had occurred. Had he succeeded, he would have gotten what he wanted then, but perhaps the shedding was all part of that plan, even if it left him weakened. Had we not awoken, or had Arcane not done what she did, we would have lost. But we did not, even if all of that was just a part of Arcane’s larger plans. Games of the Ancients.” Velvet shook her head. “Now though he’ll need that power back, and I’m pretty certain that it’ll consolidate into something much more powerful than what he was originally. He was effected by what I did, just like all the rest.”

“They're forcing us to be involved, aren't they?”

“Well, as much as we can be. It’s a consequence of what I have become. But there is a limit to what we can do. Much of it will rest in others hands. Even before, there were rules that the Ancients had to abide by, part of their very nature. That hasn’t changed, and it applies to me as well now. Some of that flows over to you too.”

“But not the girls?”

“No. That’s what makes them even more special, and why Arcane is afraid of them. Especially since she has realised that she doesn’t know exactly what she made when she joined their souls, and gave them their first title. Everything since them has just complicated it further.”

“Do they really have the potential to kill an Ancient?”

Velvet shrugged. “The true core? No. There is no way that a concept could be destroyed, and the effect that would have on reality would be catastrophic. Our avatars? Who knows. Losing that in itself would have a significant impact on an Ancient, even though it isn’t their core. Everyone is different, and as was said, our power levels vary widely. Arcane is amongst those of us with the most power at the moment, and seemed to think so, so make of that what you will.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just see what the future brings. I doubt anyone will try and lay a hand on you, and if they do, there is going to be hell to pay.”

“My protector huh?” Velvet teased.

“Yup!”

Velvet chuckled, amused, but not denying her, her hair a glowing blond as the wind played with it. Here, in this place, she was leaking power, and Myne could feel it washing all over her and the entirety of the temple grounds. Warm, caring, welcome, and loving. And hers. She so very beautiful, and she really had missed Velvet over the last decade. She loved her so much, and there was no way that she was going to let something like that happen again, even if Velvet possessed immeasurably more power than she herself did now. She would be Velvet’s protector if she wanted to be, and together they would face any problems that came their way.

“Okay. I accept,” Velvet stated, pushing hair away from her face as she leaned over Myne.

Myne felt something shift, but she paid it no heed as she smiled seductively at her lover, pulling her down to her, their lips touching again. Right here, right now, there was other things that they both wanted to be doing.

---

Crystal sat on the edge of the hanger platform, looking out over the Circle Sea, swinging her legs lazily. The light of the sun had a strange glow about it as it shone through the tempest storms, the magic twisting and changing it in unusual ways, a myriad of colours dancing on the clouds when it was at just the right height. At other times it would go a majestic purple or a embered orange. Add into that the reflective nature of Odinsphere and you got a scene that you probably wouldn’t find anywhere else. Well, she wasn’t completely sure of that, given that she hadn’t been everywhere, but given the circumstances around its existence it was highly likely. The maintenance spiders were running along the hull, performing their repairs and replacing some of the panels that had been ripped off on their arrival. It was rather amusing, seeing a group of them dragging the large sheets of metal into place and not all tumbling down into the ocean below or being torn off by the winds and still being thrown down there, as had already happened to some of their brethren. Yet even given the size difference they managed, designed for their task and able to perform it well as long as nature wasn't hell bent on stopping them.

It was also rather quiet too. Well, not out here, even weakened the winds still roared, but in Odinsphere itself. All of the others were now gone, or doing their own tasks. Saylin, Abigail, Vorsce and Petunia had left of course when they had headed to Caylinhold, and now that Catlin had regained control of the fortress city and they'd cleansed it of the undead as best they could, the two channellers and Carmen were spending most of their time there as they sorted things out. And Myne had left, summoned by her lover. Literally, the shift array appearing around her straight after Velvet had told them via her connection that she need Myne’s presence. Crystal couldn't blame her, they'd been apart for so long, they deserved to spend as much time together as they could. Which just left her, Rachael, Clocky, and Fairweather. Oh, and Raewyn and a few others from The Watch of course, but they were deeper in the floating city, at one of the hydroponic farms, setting it up as they learnt about how to use it. If people were going to be living in the floating city again on a more permanent basis, a stable source of food was gong to be needed. It’d take time, but once the first crops had matured then they’d be on their way to self-sustainment. Crystal had no idea how good a teacher Odinsphere was, but they’d find out soon enough.

‘They’re picking up on it rather quickly, according to Mother.’

That was a good sign then.

Raewyn had been over the moon to be back on Odinsphere, and that enthusiasm hadn't abated at all this far. She'd also been touched by the second pulse, in ways that couldn't be seen. Yet. Crystal wasn't sure exactly how she knew this, but she did. Something instinctual, part of her nature. Something that said this girl is also an other race. Some thing to do with her titles from dragon perhaps? Another thing that time would tell.

But there were more important things on the horizon.

Well, along with snuggling up with Rachael, and just plain spending as much time with her as she could.

Soon they'd be going back to the Innerlands.

To the part of the world that was drenched with magic.

And that had dragons!

Well, okay, they were manifestations of the rider’s magic, and you didn’t get one without the other.

But still. Dragons!

“Heh,” Rachael declared with amusement as she wrapped her hands around Crystal, kneeling down behind her, her breath tickling Crystal’s ear. “You really have developed something for them, haven’t you.”

“But it’s not a bad thing...” she added as she pressed closer.