On our way back there was one more place we needed to stop by. It had been a long day, but Celine's explanation got my alert and curious again. She said that there was a way for us to communicate on short notice whilst she was in Horthel. She claimed that there was a two way message relay system set up between the city and the academy that could transfer a message near instantaneously. The specified recipient would still need to go to hear out the message at the right location, but they could be sent a runner to alert them, for an additional price, in case of an urgent message. It was how Mela had called her over on short notice the previous night. 

"You shouldn't include anything really confidential in the message. They have a good reputation, and you can request to have privacy when sending or receiving the message, but we are still relying on a business managed by others for this. It's a recently implemented system, so I don't want to rely on them too much."

"How is it even possible though? I doubt they could have managed to build a spell array that would cover such a large distance, so they must have thought of a way to target the effects of spells over large distances instead, right?"

If my speculation was correct, it was probably the most exciting thing that I'd heard of since waking up to this new era. The effects of a spell were inevitably largely localized to their arrays, which meant that any control over them was lost once they were directed beyond the effective reach of that array. They had to have figured out a way to target a spell with far more precision than I knew to be possible, and I didn't even know what they could have possibly done to manifest the spell, once it reached the target location, in a way that could impart the actual meaning of the message.

"Their method is proprietary, so I couldn't tell you any details even if I was able to understand the theory behind it. All I can tell you is that they use different devices to send and receive the messages, and I guess they are linked to the other type in the other location. I was planning to show you how it works for a customer, but that's the best I can do."

I just nodded. I could see that she felt awkward trying to answer, seeing my barely contained anticipation. I hadn't told her about my ability to sense mana, and I figured that just observing the mentioned devices at work would give me some idea of what kind of spells were involved. It wasn't like I was planning to steal their business, so there wasn't any harm in satisfying my curiosity, right?

We headed into one of the larger buildings on the academy grounds. From the people we passed by, most of them with pins that marked them as instructors, and the less spacious structure of the building, I soon figured out that it was probably mainly used for administrative purposes, rather than for classes. It made sense that the means to send messages to Horthel would be kept adjacent, but what was a little surprising was how small the space dedicated to it was, which we reached after just a short walk in the building.

There was a door to an adjoining room, perhaps for when privacy was requested, but the operation looked rather limited in scope from what I could see upon entering. The first thing that caught my attention were the two large, rectangular metal containers, almost the height of a person, at each end of the room. They stood out from the rest of the decor in a rather jarring way, with only sheer metal surfaces visible from where we entered, built to hide whatever was inside. I could sense heavy traces of mana from inside one, and an active spell from the other. Clearly they were the devices that Celine had mentioned, but they actually seemed a little small for that, considering that they apparently held arrays for some pretty astonishing magic.

Next to each of these devices was a large desk with a person sat behind it, the people who, I assumed, operated these devices. They looked young, and didn't really seem comfortable with the simple uniforms they were given for the job. They were probably students at the academy, which of course made sense. You wouldn't look elsewhere to hire people for a job that required handling magical equipment when at Altrel academy. They were the only people present, so both of them looked up at us when we entered. But Celine didn't head over to either of them just yet, instead putting the bags with my clothes on one of the seats the lined the wall next to the entrance. Then she pulled out a small object from a pocket and turned to show it to me.

"We use these when sending and receiving messages here, and for other confidential services, for identification. They are made by the academy, so each student has one and people from Horthel can also have one made for a fee. I'll help you find yours when we get back to your room, since it's important to keep at hand. I'll go send a message now, so you can sit down and watch."

She spoke a little quietly as she showed the approximately palm sized rectangular metal plate to me. There was a complex pattern of intersecting lines carved into the plate, which I presumed was unique for each plate. I nodded and sat down as she instructed. I guessed that the plate would be used as part of a spell arrays, since such a complex pattern would make for a useful component. Celine headed over to talk to the person working one of the devices.

After a moment the young man she was talking to wrote down something and she then handed over her plate. My guess was proven right as he appeared to insert the plate into the device, in a place that I couldn't see from where I was sitting, and then poured in some mana, activating a spell array that had presumably been completed by addition of the plate. The spell was completed in just a moment though, and, after he said something to Celine again, he activated a second spell array that had been built into the device. I hadn't really heard what they were talking about earlier, but Celine raised her voice a little, probably to make sure that the message was delivered clearly, as she spoke out.

"Boss, I've sorted things out and I'll be back at work tomorrow. I'm leaving a message since it's going to be too late when I get back. See you tomorrow."

The utterly mundane nature of her message really underlined how much of a convenience this system really was, as well as her rather casual relationship with whoever it was that she worked for. The procedure that she had wanted to show me was really quite simply, but it was certainly still an instructive example, as I could sense what went on within the device at the same time. The second spell was finished once Celine was done speaking, and then I could see the person operating the device start to activate yet another one, which was considerably more complex and required a far greater quantity of mana, and seemed to entangle with the spell that had just completed. I was rather shocked when most of that concentration of mana seemingly vanished, leaving behind only a trace, which I presumed to lead in the direction of Horthel.

As the spells worked in quick succession, I could only get vague hints of their forms, so at best I could make some educated guesses at their functions. Namely, I figured that the first spell was to allow for the identification of the message on the receiving end, the second one simply a recording of the message, and the third spell to send it over to Horthel. The first two were not especially complicated spell, but it was very impressive to see how all three smoothly interacted with each other to create and send a message over long distance, all within the limited amount of space in the device. Perhaps even more impressive was that all of the spell arrays seemed to be entirely permanent, excluding the input of the identification plate, and thus easy to operate even without much knowledge of how they worked.

Excitingly, what I could feel from the shapes of the arrays was that a lot of machinery was involved. Not only was this a feat of magic in my specialty that surpassed my comprehension, the size of the device and the lack of noise seemed to indicate this component of the array clearly included some very finely crafted mechanisms. I couldn't even tell what set these pieces of machinery into motion, so the source of the energy may also have been hidden within the device. I desperately wished that I could have observed the arrays with my own eyes.

As Celine was paying for the service, I could feel a new flow of mana, this time from the other device, the one that had been maintaining an active spell. It must have been maintained by the person operating it, perhaps to receive any messages from Horthel and to alert them. I saw the person handling this device jump into motion a moment after I'd detected the change, and push their mana into another prepared array within the device. This time the second spell was maintained as well, possibly as a way to hold the message until the individual it was addressed to was present. Operating this second device seemed like a more draining task than handling the other one, since it demanded serving as the conduit for multiple spells simultaneously and for long periods, but it seemed like the arrays were once again doing most of the actual work.

I wished I could have waited until I could see someone receive a message at the station. I wanted to know if it worked like I assumed and yet another spell, one that used the addressee's identification plate, was required to hear out the message. But Celine was already done and we headed out, so I pestered her with yet more questions instead, and managed to learn one more interesting fact: The mage that had designed the devices, and apparently the whole system, was supposedly still a student at the academy. Unfortunately they had chosen to remain anonymous, but I was still excited to learn that there was a chance I could meet them while studying there.

I suggested to Celine that I could make my way back to the room alone, so that she could get home and to bed earlier, but she insisted that she would help me unpack my new clothes. It seemed that her primary purpose in that regard was to make sure that I threw away Mela's old clothes, but I couldn't really argue about that, since the wardrobe wouldn't have had the room to fit the new clothes otherwise.

After how much I'd walked around during the day, I actually didn't mind when Celine insisted that we take another bath. Whilst helping me wash, she took the chance to educate me thoroughly on the use of the various things she'd purchased to help me care for my skin and hair. Mercifully, she concluded that makeup wasn't really a priority for me, and that it could wait for later. It seemed that the number of items that women required to maintain their appearance had multiplied in the past three centuries, but I couldn't really be certain, having never given the matter much thought before.

When I was stepping into the bathtub after Celine, I suddenly felt her wrap her arms around my waist and pull me down. I couldn't help letting out a surprised and slightly scared yelp, but in the end I found myself safely sat down, just with my back against Celine instead. At that point it was already clear that part of the reason she insisted on shared baths was for bonding in such a way, but it was definitely still slightly embarrassing.

At same time it was also strangely comforting. Whatever part of Mela remained in me definitely still thought of Celine as her elder sister. And the way we were sat in the tub, it definitely felt like she was the older one. Our height difference was quite apparent then, as I was sat on her lap. And I still wasn't going to ask her age, but I had to acknowledge that she was probably older than me in actuality as well, regardless of the fact that she was also my great-granddaughter. But as Celine didn't say anything, and just remained still whilst tightly hugging me, I could tell that that there was something else on her mind.

"I know you aren't Mela. Or at least I've been trying to convince myself of that all day today. But you really just seem so alike."

When she finally started to talk, Celine spoke quietly and with more raw emotion than I'd heard from her until then. I felt another pang of guilt, and I couldn't tell whether it belonged to Tannel or Mela. I knew that she wasn't trying to make me feel guilty, but it just felt like there was no good way to answer. So I just decided to answer honestly, even if it came out like a cheap appeal to Celine's emotions.

"I think in some ways she still remains, alongside me. Not just this body, but much of what she felt as well. Like how much she loved her sister."

"It's not just that. It's also the endless curiosity that you look at everything with. And you are exactly the same when you try to put on a brave face. The way that you are trying to shoulder all these difficulties is the same as well. You didn't ever even think of saying no to whatever it was that she wanted you to do, right?"

She wasn't wrong. I might have argued that it was probably Mela that took after me, but nonetheless it seemed that Celine could see through me with ease. It was a little exasperating, after how much of the day I'd spent trying to make sure I didn't worry her, but maybe it was pointless from the start, when I was the body of the little sister that she knew so well. I didn't feel like I deserved her concern, but that was probably the last thing she wanted to hear. The way she accepted her sister's decision still astonished me. 

"I don't know why Mela thought that she needed to do all of this. And it wouldn't do any good even if I knew. I trust that she was right, and so I'll just do anything that I can to help you do what you need to do. But I want you to promise me that you won't do what she did."

She didn't need to specify for me to know what she meant. It wasn't that I thought that it was something admirable, thinking about it after the fact. To me it might as well have been yesterday that I had made a decision not unlike the one that Mela had made. And once I was alive again, and able to think back on it, I had barely even begun to sort out my many regrets for how everything had happened more than three centuries ago. So I couldn't help my self-deprecating tone when I answered.

"You know, I fear that she's the one that followed my example, poor as it was. I've already sacrificed myself once–"

"No! I want you to promise that you'll find a better way!"

As she squeezed me even tighter against her, it seemed that she was closest to tears that I'd seen her until then. Finally, it seemed, I could see the child that had lost her sister. As much as I struggled to convince myself of the irrationality of blaming Mela's decision on myself, it really seemed like she didn't care about any of that. And however little I felt my own worth to be, she'd already made up her own mind on the matter. I tried to conjure back my best calm and soothing tone, the one that I had often spoken in to Mary in the months after I had brought her into the world. I spoke the only words that I could, whether I could hold to them or not.

"I promise."

After we finished with our bath, Celine went out for a bit and then came back with a whole small meal, already prepared and still warm. As we ate, I asked Celine about whatever occurred to me about my new life, and she mentioned whatever else she could think of that I'd need to know. She told me where I could get a map of the academy and its surroundings, and promised that she'd show me around Horthel some time. And we managed to find Mela's identification plate, so if necessary I would be able to send her a message. Soon enough Celine recovered her good cheer, but when it was time to leave I could see that she was still reluctant, so after a final hug I almost had to drive her out.

Even though it wasn't that late, when I was finally able to get to bed I was utterly exhausted. I had lived through a day as Mela, a person that I couldn't claim to truly even know. However deep the connection was that I had left with my lost great-granddaughter, I desperately wished that I knew even just a little bit more about her. And since Celine had left, there would no longer be anyone around that even knew that I wasn't Mela, that knew that I'd ever been known by a different name.

At that thought, it finally occurred to me to wonder if I hadn't actually just gone mad. Was I really Tannel, the supposedly famous founder of a house of mages, just in a different body, and not living some sort of elaborate delusion? And supposing that I wasn't delusional, did that even mean that I could call myself Tannel anymore? In what sense was I the same individual as a person who had perished more than three centuries previous in a whole different body? Did it even matter, since I would have to continue living as Mela from the next day onward?

It was a relief that Celine as gone, I thought. I felt that I was about to start crying again, and I wanted her to have a chance to at least start mourning her sister instead of worrying about me. At least I had managed to ward off these doubts about my own sanity long enough to hopefully not have shown such concerns. But realistically, it was probably only Celine's company that had kept me going through the entire day, whether it was the new and interesting things she'd helped me learn, or the times she'd made me simply made me feel too embarrassed and silly to think such thoughts. When I was left with only my own self for company, a self that I could no longer recognize, I felt very lonely indeed.

SootShade

I had thought that I would cover up until this point in chapter 5, and then I expected that I'd have to awkwardly have the end of the first day left in the middle of a chapter, but it turns out that it's hard to cover many scenes in such short chapters. I'd still like to keep to this length though, because they'll only keep getting longer if I don't keep track of it.

And I think my chapters are starting to resemble my usual unedited writing more, with increasingly detailed explanations popping up everywhere, now that I'm starting to get a better understanding of the setting and the plot. But now that a lot of set up has been done, I'll hopefully be able to start progressing the plot at a better rate. That will hopefully mean that I won't have to start doing my usual thing of several edits per chapter to keep things from getting too longwinded.

I'll be trying for a Mon-Wed-Sat release schedule. I can slowly start saving up some chapters, if I manage to write more than that; The next time I wake up with a headache, like happened today, I'd honestly rather be able to just skip writing for the day.