Ar'Kendrithyst

Erick and Tasar stepped down onto the beach near the t-station. Riivo had appeared less than a minute ago, looking like the kindly old iron man that he tried to be. A block of platinum a meter across held in the air next to him, shining bright with reflected light; it was 21 metric tons, and taking it through the t-station like Riivo had was the same as blipping 21 people, so it must have cost a fair bit of mana to move. Erick commented on that if only to be polite and to start the conversation. Riivo said it was no trouble at all, and then went through some pleasantries of his own. When those were done Erick introduced Riivo to Yggdrasil.

With a pleasant smile, Riivo bowed to the meter-wide iridescent eye of Yggdrasil, saying, “Hello, Yggdrasil. I’m Riivo of Archmage’s Rest. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hello, Riivo. I am Yggdrasil of Erick.” Yggdrasil tipped his eye, saying, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Riivo had a little chuckle while Erick and Tasar grinned at Yggdrasil’s introduction.

Moments later, Erick set down the block of platinum inside his Privacy space, upon Yggdrasil’s boughs, while Tasar and Riivo sat down at the table. Yggdrasil’s tiny [Scry] eye prowled the Privacy, watching the newcomer as he had watched Tasar earlier. Ophiel did the same, but from his various perches around the room. Both of Erick’s summons had much the same reactions to new people in this space; they didn’t quite like it. Possibly because Erick didn’t quite like it, either, but it was what it was.

Erick offered, “Would you like any tea? We have some here, courtesy of Tasar’s mother, Otaliya. It’s quite good.”

“I have always enjoyed Otaliya’s blends, so I would gladly take some tea,” Riivo said, “I would also enjoy speaking of Kydyr’s final days.”

The mood was already somber because everyone knew that this was going to happen, but at Riivo’s declaration it was time to actually start that conversation. So, as Erick began making tea, talking all the while. He spoke a little of how his lessons with Kydyr went, speaking of how he had problems with shadowork and how Kydyr had helped. He still didn’t think shadows were ‘real’, but that didn’t really matter. Mostly, he spoke of how Kydyr had acted before the Fae Magic incident. And then… How he acted after. He spoke of how Kydyr had gone raging mad, and how he had no idea what he had done, so Kydyr explained, and then went on to explain quite a lot. Erick had never heard of Elemental Fae before then. Kydyr warned him away from further Fae Magic, and started warning of the ‘Flowery Murderess’ with a little rhyme that he purposefully didn’t finish, because he realized he was rhyming, and apparently that would have called her down on him. Eventually, Erick offered to kill the Flowery Murderess with Kydyr’s help, but Kydyr said no.

Erick said, “Then there was talk of the Worldly Path, and what sort of magic I should try to get a Wizard to make in order to complete [Gate] without Melemizargo.”

Riivo nodded solemnly. Tasar sighed.

Riivo said, “I would prefer to discuss the [Gate] business after we know of Kydyr’s full final day.”

Erick nodded. “Then Kydyr helped me to make the standard runic web spells, though he did want me to do the Object variants. I did not do that. I made the full [Concealment] and [Intangibility] spells, and then we moved on to runic webs.” He continued, “Several hours and meals later, Kydyr said I was as competent as anyone hoping to graduate from apprenticeship, but that I would forever have trouble because I have no Runic Class, or Class Ability which grants runic assistance.

“Kydyr casually spoke as though he wanted to move to Yggdrasil’s cavern, and I approved. I was happy about the move. So I began to set down some small rules, which mostly involved making sure Yggdrasil was comfortable with the move before the move… And Kydyr rescinded his desire, calling it a flight of fancy. I tried to get him to come, but…

“Since we were done, he told me to go.” Erick said, “He thanked me for killing Ar’Kendrithyst and I moved on toward talking of what was coming next, and how I hope the Headmaster didn’t ask me to go into Ar’Cosmos to kill a bunch of dragons for him. And then…” Erick frowned. “He spoke as though all dragons deserved to die, for they’ve all ‘done horrible things to innocent people’. I now believe that he knew what was coming for him, though I did not understand as much at the time.”

Tasar and Riivo had listened the whole way through. Both had sipped their tea, but most of the caramel-colored liquid remained in their cups, growing cold.

Riivo spoke first. “He always thought himself guilty of some great crime.”

Tasar scowled. “He was not guilty of anything. He tried, and he failed, to purge the world of Ar’Cosmos, along with a great many more of us. There was no crime committed except for the crime that can exist between nations attacking mass murderers.” She added, “And that whole thing was done with! We had a treaty. Our treaty enforced certain lines but the Flowery Murderess—!” Tasar glared at nothing. “She broke treaty.” She breathed, then she relaxed, and said, “Theoretically, anyway. If the Dark’s words prove to be true then there might be another war. A more solid one this time, too. Less small solutions to small problems. More permanent solutions to apparently permanent problems.”

Riivo frowned. “Outright war is likely not the best solution.”

“Ar’Cosmos is not going to give up their progenitor, and executing the Flowery Murderess’s current persona of Letter Killer is not going to be enough.” Tasar said, “The Shades are dead. Erick is going to make [Gate] within the year time limit given to us by Stratagold. We wrought will enforce peace and prosperity across this world, and that means inside Ar’Cosmos, as well. Kirginatharp is undoubtedly going to call for a purge—”

“I do not care for that bloodthirsty man.” Riivo said, “And you should be less eager for what the changing world will bring. Destruction will come before stability, and I am not looking forward to that first half of the coming changes. The dragons are not a threat at the currentmoment, even with the Flowery Murderess’s action, but if we push, they could become a threat. This is what almost happened last time.”

Tasar frowned at the old iron man, saying, “Ending an existential threat to the world should not be a problem for you.”

In that moment, Erick was conflicted. He saw in Tasar’s words his own words, reflected and changed but embodying the same sort of emotion as his own emotions, when he had spoken those same words about the Shades.

Riivo calmly said, “Tasar. To start: A Geode Guardian should be more concerned with defense than offense, but also, I do not wish to have this conversation at this moment. I wish to discuss Kydyr’s death; not the full implications of what his murder means for troop movements.”

Tasar pulled back. She relaxed. “Of course. I will say one last thing, though. The dragons threatened to march on the world before but the Shades dominated the Surface and stopped them. With the Shades gone, the dragons will choose domination again.”

Erick could no longer be a bystander in the conversation. “I have a question about that.”

Riivo froze, as though realizing Erick was here, and then he nodded. Tasar gasped a little, a sudden dark gleam in her eyes. Both of them had briefly forgotten about Erick, but now, they realized what their conversation looked like, and especially how it looked to Erick. Tasar had focused on the vengeance…

But Riivo had focused on… too much to narrow down. He was especially hard to read in that transformative moment.

Erick said, “To make sure I am understanding correctly, the dragons of Ar’Cosmos have Dragon Essence and therefore the Dragon Blood Curse, so they can’t enter the world, but the threat you’re talking about are the specific houses of Fae, Carnage, and Death. Correct? Those are the only ones that can actually enter the world, and search for more Wizards to bring back to expand their Houses, unless I misunderstand something. What are we actually looking at, if war were to happen?”

Riivo said, “An offensive war, delving into Ar’Cosmos itself, is going to be terribly bloody.”

Tasar had a great deal more to say, though. “There is an estimated half a million people living inside Ar’Cosmos, though personal accounts vary wildly between 5,000 and a few million. It’s a realm so deep in the mana that space itself is twisted and tangled, so there is some discrepancy on true numbers, and none of our scouting missions have ever been terribly successful. All we have are estimates.

“But the three Houses of Ar’Cosmos are somewhat known to us, and each one holds between 20 to 50 full powered dragons, with Essence that has been shifted to their house’s Element. Each one is as strong as a real dragon, though those strengths have been shifted toward their specific power base. Maybe 1% of the people in there are these dragons.

“Them going on the offense means we will have between 30 to 50 full powered dragons entering the world. We can actually deal with that, and mostly, they can escape at-will back to Ar’Cosmos, which is why they remain inside. The Shades would have ended them too if they stepped out, but that is not something we would have ever counted on.

“Almost every other permanent resident of that place is either a dragon working to be elevated to a House, or a dragonkin that has yet to try and grow their Dragon Essence into something large enough to where they can become a true dragon, and thus become eligible for elevation to a House. This is about 25% of the population.

“Then there are the transients that live in Veird, and participate in dragon society inside Ar’Cosmos. These people enter the Forest of Glaquin and call to that Twisted Vision, and the Twisted Vision answers with a [Gate], providing a safe and private passageway which leads to the city itself.” Tasar said, “Once inside the city, the guest dragons will sometimes bargain to store their eggs until they can hatch in the safety and power of the Old Cosmology, though that is rare. Mostly, though, the transient dragons try to have something of a shadow society with banned books and the terrible learning of harmful magics and stripping Veird of anything valuable to bring back to Ar’Cosmos in the hopes of elevation to a House.

“And we’re probably going to have to go there because they do have [Gate] magics.” Tasar frowned as she nearly growled out, “All because of that Flowery Murderess! I don’t understand why she had to kill Kydyr. Gods above!” She breathed hard, then said, “We had a good thing going. We had peace.” She glared. “But the dragons… And That Fae. They saw a weakness. They took it. That’s who they are. And we’re going to have to go the full distance this time. The Shades are gone.”

“I disagree.” Riivo said, “Emotions are heightened right now and though war will likely happen, it will not happen simply because one hermit of an archmage was murdered— And I know that was awful to say, Tasar, but it is the truth.”

Tasar buried her feelings, saying, “We have lots of good reasons for war, and absolutely no reason to let them strike us first. Or again!”

Erick needed to shove the conversation away from war before he started asking questions about dragons and likely received horrible answers in turn. So he said, “I want to talk at length about Ar’Cosmos, but there are other topics which need hammering. My first concern should go quickly, but then I wish to talk of [Gate].”

Tasar sat up a bit, most of her anger purposefully crushed down in favor of magical discussion.

Riivo smiled softly, saying, “I have lots of time today for this, for I too, wish to talk of [Gate].”

Erick nodded, then said, “My first concern is that I will be making a runic web here, with the metals you brought. But I wish to know if I have actually secured your vote for the inquiry.”

Riivo nodded in thought, then he said, “I have a question, in turn. About the kill spell the Dark has revealed and you have turned on its head with your stunt in the embassy. What is the nature of the boon, to counter the burden?”

And because Kydyr had likely already told Riivo…

Erick simply said, “She helped me select a race of people; sorting out the question mark on my Status.”

Tasar went wide-eyed; surprised and full of questions.

“And the nature of this race?” Riivo asked, acting surprised, but not, because Kydyr had already told him, no doubt.

Tasar glanced at Riivo, surprised that he would ask such an invasive question. Matters of meetings with gods were always private affairs unless freely given.

Erick answered, “Between me and her, and no other.”

Riivo frowned a little, then said, “Kydyr had told me something like that, but I wasn’t sure and he had no further answers… Very well. Thank you for answering my question at all.” Riivo said, “Kydyr also told me that you were rather competent for your experience, so I doubt I will need to verify whatever [Fairy House] you construct in this location, but I would ask that you allow me to do so, anyway, whenever you manage to complete the project, or sometime soon afterward. As for the inquiry: I ask that you fulfill a few outstanding quests at the Rest so that I can give you the vote you request. If you complete these quests before Bright Tea, then I will be excited to call myself your ally in that venue.”

Erick smiled, and said, “Then I can do those quests after this meeting. On to [Gate]?”

Riivo said, “Please, yes.”

“What thoughts have you?” Tasar asked.

“I’ll lay them all out there, and then we can talk as you want.” Erick took a deep breath, then began, “Mana is an alternate reality that we connect to through our souls, which touch upon all possible realities at the same time. Fae Magic, in particular, can form an alternate reality and actually allow the user to stepintothemana. You can see this from inside a [Fairy House] rather easily; when another thing moves from outside the space into the space, that other thing appears to be an illusion, or at least what an illusion would look like through [True Sight].

“So does [Fairy House] allow the user to step into an alternate reality inside the mana? Possibly.

“Could [Gate] be a deepenoughstepintothisalternatereality, and then the inhabitant steps out of another location? To an outside observer, this would appear like [Gate]. Only the time spent in the alternate reality separates such an action from being [Gate], itself.

“So is the Wizardly part of this experience to shorten the time spent in the alternate reality? To create a door between one part of this material space that passes through this alternatespaceinsidethemana, to then exit in another location?

“As a side note, it could be possible to create a construct in the mana that [Teleport]s someone down the path, but this would go against the 1000km limit of [Teleport] and maybe this idea isn’t the full idea, or even part of the idea, but I speak of it anyway, for completion’s sake.

“But back to alternate realities:

“What does the Dimensional Ban ACTUALLYDO?” Erick added, “And then there’s more about how Fate Magic is actually Spatial Magic, but maybe both Fate and Spatial Magics are truly Fae Magic? Which is actually Dimensional Magic? I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of puzzle pieces here and very few definite answers.”

Tasar was on the edge of her seat, looking like she wanted to speak up right as Erick mentioned alternate realities, but then Erick continued to speak. As he went through his ideas, Tasar looked less ready to speak, and more ready to listen, and think. She also frowned a little for any number of reasons; possibly about the idea of ‘realities in the mana’, but Erick wasn’t sure.

Riivo had a much calmer reaction, just listening.

When Erick finished, Riivo said, “Mana is not an alternate reality. The Dimensional Ban prevents transitioning to new realities. What Fae Magic does is trick, and deeply. Deep enough that we can call a place like Ar’Cosmos a fragment of the Old Cosmology but it is not actually that. In my learned opinion, this idea of Fae Magic acting like [Gate] is likely a good ending point for the Worldly Path, for a Wizard could likely Paradox such a thing into working as [Gate] appears to work.” He sighed. “But now, if this is true, then that means you must find a Paradox Wizard who is also learned in Fae Magic, which… I must be honest. You will likely fail.”

Tasar found something to say in that moment. “Riivo is correct that we could spend our allotted year searching for a Paradox Fae Wizard, or… We could just go to Ar’Cosmos and take whatever Fae-aligned Wizard they already have, for they have to have at least one for Essence Shifting purposes.”

“Oh!” Riivo perked up. “Yes. That might work. House Fae likely does have a Fae Wizard locked up… Or possibly drugged into compliance. Or…” His voice trailed off as he wasn’t sure how to say what needed to be said.

Tasar had no such trouble speaking. “Politeness is for polite times, Riivo.” Tasar said to Erick, “To tell it like it is: House Fae likely has at least one Wizard soul-mutilated into Fae Paradox, and compliance. Such a kidnapping mission would be beyond deadly, but it has the highest chance of us actually finding and securing a Wizard before the year is out.” She added, “We could search for a Wizard on Veird. Such a search would be difficult, but with a lot less potential for danger, though we would likely have to break such a Wizard along the Fae-Paradox axis ourselves, which I am not comfortable with… Or the Worldly Path could provide.” She did not look happy as she added those last words.

Letting the Worldly Path decide anything seemed like a bad idea to Erick, too.

Riivo nodded. “Better to kidnap such a mutilated Wizard out from under Ar’Cosmos, fully break them to acquire [Gate], and also to release them back into a normal life.”

Erick was awash with a dozen different emotions, from relief that the two wrought had instantly tried to solve [Gate] in the way that Erick had ‘solved’ gate, but through more exact, specific means, to how Tasar spoke openly about how they would need to rescue a Wizard from Ar’Cosmos, which was also nice. But then she mentioned fully breaking the Wizard for their own uses, which was… What they were going to have to do, Erick supposed, or leave it up to the Worldly Path, and Erick wasn’t sure which option was worse.

And then Riivo suggested a ‘release back into a normal life’, which was also nice, but in a creepy sort of way, because he spoke like it was only right and proper for him to decide the fate of others. But that’s what wrought did, Erick supposed.

Erick went back to the beginning of Riivo’s words, though, to focus on what he needed to understand. “So this idea of mine where [Gate] magic is primarily Fae Magic, but also Spatial Magic and Fate Magic and the construction of a sentient passageway in the reality of the mana, has merit?”

Riivo said, “On the surface, I should say so, especially that part about sentience, for Twisted Visions certainly have sentience. But I don’t understand what you mean by ‘alternate reality’, exactly. Dimensional Magic is Banned, as I have said. It could be that I am misunderstanding you, though.”

Tasar said, “I would also like more information.”

“Okay. Then first...” Erick asked, “Can you tell me what you think the Dimensional Ban does? From the top, please.”

Riivo sat back a moment in thought.

Tasar got right to it, saying, “To understand the Dimensional Ban, one needs to first understand how the Old Cosmology worked. Back before the Sundering, one could deepen one’s connection to any of the Elemental Planes that existed inside the mana and thus create rifts that radiated pure mana from any of the planes one could reach. The planes of Fire, Air, and the like, were easiest to reach, but there were also many others. In this way, the old mages were able to take in Fire mana, for instance, and then use that Fire mana to cast fire spells. This form of magic still exists to this day in the form of Rift Magic, but it’s not the same function at all.

“Not all Elemental Planes existed everywhere, but the primary six usually did.

“The Sundering had the effect of creating—

“Let me back up. One of the major theories of the Sundering is that someone created a Primal Tear in Old Cosmology, which then manifested as Primal Lightning, which crossed the entirety of the Old Cosmology, leaving behind massive voids in the manaocean. Veird, and all of the rest of the Old Cosmology, was sucked into one of these voids, to end up here, in this New Cosmology. It was only through the efforts of everyone within the proto-Script that they were able to manifest the Grand Translation, thus bringing Veird into physical alignment with this New Cosmology.

“The Dimensional Ban was meant to maintain the veil on the other Elemental Planes that exist inside the manasphere, preventing us from reaching them as the mages of the Old Cosmology routinely did.” Tasar said, “Therefore, your idea that [Gate] is some sort of dimensional hopping spell is likely not correct, since that magic was specifically Banned.”

Erick sat back in thought.

Riivo said, “That is the short version, and there’s some discrepancy about how Wizards create new Elements, but I agree with Tasar’s condensed explanation.”

Tasar nodded, then sat back and waited.

“Could Melemizargo’s Wizardry be enough to break that Ban?” Erick asked.

“Yes.” Riivo said. “If this Quest looks to go in that direction I suggest you stop and make do with t-stations.”

Tasar was sad at losing out on [Gate], but only for a moment, then she nodded, accepting Riivo’s words, adding, “Any Wizard we find won’t be able to break the Foundational Bans, anyway, so if this goes that way, we need to stop as soon as possible, if only to prevent further death through Fate’s tribulations as we keep trying to reach for something that we cannot grasp.”

“… Well. The good news is that I do not believe we need to break the Dimensional Ban.” Erick said, “But also, I believe that Fae Magic gets around this ban. Allmagic gets around this Ban, as you have stated it to exist.”

Riivo frowned, hummed, and said, “Controversial. But please continue.”

Tasar was all ears.

“I can make a [Sun Rift] that pours mana out of it to boost and harm in equal measure. Boosting magic is sort of like the mana alignment that you spoke of when you mentioned ‘mages taking in elemental fire’, Tasar.”

Tasar frowned a little. She did not believe him, but she wasn’t about to countermand his ideas before he was done with them.

Riivo had much the same reaction.

“Anyway.

“Fae Magic is weird, because everyone’s Fae Magic disrupts everyone else’s Fae Magic.

“Some magics get along fine, like overlapping [Ward]s work well together. Two people can cast two [Fireball]s on the same location, and while there is some fluid dynamics stuff going on with that, mostly, the spells coexist. For a lot of spells, there are fluid dynamic interactions, or strict Health versus Damage interactions, but almost all magic can coexist in the same space because mana has a lot of space inside of itself.

“I postulate that the reason that Fae Magic disrupts Fae Magic is the same reason that it is hard to cooperative cast; all individualized mana is anathema to all other individualized mana, unless people work hard to smooth away that discrepancy.

“But Fae Magic is crushed into the same category by the Script.

“Therefore, all of the ‘alternate reality’ of Fae Magic is therefore trying to occupy the same reality, but it can’t. There is some wiggle room, of course, but broadly, the Script denies the breadth of magic that the Fae used to enjoy in the Old Cosmology.

“Perhaps this is why the fae were truly killed off. They could simply not physically or magically coexist.

“For all Fae Magic exists as a specific power/area in the manasphere; its own instantiated reality. Maybe not as strong as a true break in the Dimensional Ban, but it’s close, and if you go deep enough with it, you can reach beyond the scope of the Bans, but that’s not important for this discussion. It will be important for a discussion about assaulting Ar’Cosmos, though.

“Anyway. In all of these ways, Fae Magic is more like DomainMagic than any other magic out there because it inherently needs access to the alternate reality designated as ‘fae’ inside the mana and Script in order to function. You can see as much when you’re inside a [Fairy House] and someone tries to walk through the space. It is like they are illusions, and you are real, so perhaps Fae Magic is able to accomplish this because it is a true perspective shift, and… That thought isn’t fully fleshed out yet.

“Moving on.

“A Domain is an area of power attuned to your desires which automatically denounces the desires of others by the simple fact that you got there first. When two Domains collide, what happens there is that two people are comparing strengths of influence in the mana, and the stronger one wins.” Erick said, “Two different Domains cannot exist at the same time; they naturally fight.

“And when one Domain wins, their will becomes absolute. Perhaps even strong enough to evade the Script. So, in this way, I think that someone with a Fae Domain might be able to make their influence inside the mana near-absolute. Or perhaps just strong enough to produce all the effects that we know exist inside Ar’Cosmos; the ability to evade all outside Sight, differing rules of magic, a pacification of the Dragon Blood Curse, and the ability to control the length of reality inside a [Fairy House], for instance, thus producing an effect functionally identical to [Gate].

“So.” With his heart hammering in excitement, but also subdued by the fear of being wrong, Erick asked, “Do you know anyone with a Fae Domain I could speak with in order to verify any of this?”

For a long moment, no one said a word. Tasar looked quietly surprised, while Riivo frowned at nothing in particular, both of them thinking. Erick’s heart thumped loudly in his chest as he waited.

Tasar rhetorically asked, “A Fae Domain to mimic the workings of [Gate]? I… I could see that.”

Erick’s face broke into a smile.

And then Riivo both crushed and refined Erick’s hope, saying, “Only the Fae can get a Fae Domain. I know of no mortal or immortal with that capability.”

Erick cautiously nodded, saying, “I expected that.”

Tasar rapidly spoke, “But how would the math work— Perhaps the math is different inside Fae… Space? Fae Space? Sure. Let’s call it that, for now.” She said to the two of them, “It… It could be very possible that the math of Fae Space would allow for this sort of spatial transition that would mimic what we see when we look at [Gate].”

“I know nothing of math, but I assume you have a Spatial Domain, Tasar.” Erick asked, “Do you have [Fairy House] as well? We could test this right now.”

“No; I do not.” Tasar said, “Never cared for the stuff. I learned a bit about runic webs and illusionwork through Kydyr and knew many of his fae spells, but I never had a knack for that school of magic.” She frowned at nothing in particular.

Erick asked, “Would a Spatial Domain work inside a Fae Spell? What could you do with a Spatial Domain?”

“No. See.” Riivo said, “As soon as you activate a Domain inside Fae Space, the Fae Space collapses.”

Erick perked up, remembering how he had activated his Domain on Ophiel when Ophiel was inside the Twisted Vision of Ar’Cosmos, and thus Ophiel got instantly noticed and sucked all the way to the edge of the city inside. That was when he met that pink/green/white fiery smile, too.

And then he had another thought.

Erick said, “I… Had my Domain active at all times while with Kydyr. I could have broken it then?”

Riivo brushed off Erick’s sudden, new concern, saying, “You can compensate for other people’s Domains in a runic web; Kydyr had compensated for this.”

Sudden relief!

“I can work my own Spatial Domain to not disrupt Fae Space, but that’s about it.” Tasar said, “My own just cements my position and lets me alter the positions of others. Having a Spatial Domain is about the only way to make short-range Spatial Magic work in the Underworld; everything over line-of-sight is blocked. My Domain was what allowed me the insights into making the t-stations work, but I have no… ‘same reality’ [Fairy House] with which to experiment with.”

At that moment, Riivo decided, “This Fae Space angle has merit. Perhaps I need to take a walk through the old stories and read up on Fae again. I seem to recall many old, old tales of people getting lost in the woods and ending up thousands of kilometers away from where they started. Old Cosmology stories.”

Erick just laughed. “Yes! We have the same stories, specifically linked to rings of mushrooms; step into one ring of mushrooms and end up in another world, or somewhere far beyond where you first walked into the woods.”

Tasar smiled brightly.

Riivo nodded, saying, “That’s how a fair bit of Old Cosmology fairy tales begin, though this ‘mushroom ring’ is a nuance I have never heard before.”

And then Tasar couldn’t hold back her mirth. She giggled, saying, “It could be that this is the true secret to [Gate]. Maybe two spells, and that’s it! [Fae Domain] and [Spatial Domain]. Through probability manipulation at two different doors in two different locations I can make someone step through one and exit the other. I never managed this much with my summons holding onto my Domains, but maybe inside Fae Space… it’s different!” She rapidly added, “I would need to thoroughly investigate a [Fairy House], though, to check on the math of it all. Would you mind aiding me on this, Erick?” She scowled. “I need to make this spell myself.”

Erick said, “I’ll help you in both ways, Tasar.”

Tasar giggled.

“Such a combination of spellwork is a difficult proposition.” Riivo said, “I am unaware of anyone ever managing to combine Spatial Magic and Fae Magic, though the second is much more rare than the first. Combining Domains is even worse. Impossible, even.”

Tasar said, “The twisting of magic into something not normally possible is well within a Wizard’s capabilities, especially if they already have the two previous magics themselves. There’s one way to know if this is the proper Path, though!” She excitedly asked Erick, “Did you get a Quest update?”

“Ah. No.” Erick crushed Tasar’s sudden hope. “No update.”

“Ahh. Dammit.” Tasar frowned. “Ah… You might not everget another update, I suppose, if what that Dark said was true; You’re already at the end.” She resolved herself to strength, then said, “These seem like big pieces. We just need to put them together, without the help of the Dark.”

“I would like some verification of your ideas about how Fae Magic operates on a small scale.” Riivo asked, “Could we do some experiments? I might as well see your [Fairy House] in action, and whatever proof you have of this ‘alternate reality’ idea. I confess, I too, never delved deep with Fae Magic. I wish Kydyr had survived.”

“It’s the Worldly Path.” Tasar said, darkly. “If Kydyr were alive we would be able to answer these questions. This is Melemizargo keeping us from solving these questions ourselves.”

Erick felt a sudden stab of guilt, but Tasar hadn’t meant it like that, and Riivo didn’t mention Erick’s culpability, either, so Erick simply stood, saying, “Let’s try some Fae Magic.”

Riivo and Tasar stood with him.

Soon, they were on the boughs of Yggdrasil and Erick had summoned some passageways with [Fairy Stronghold], creating short ‘houses’ with two doors opposite of each other, about five meters apart. First, he showed how objects not in the House appeared as Illusions when they passed inside the occupied space, and then Tasar tried to [Teleport] across the length of [Fairy Stronghold]. Normally, at this depth of the Underworld, [Teleport] moved the caster about one centimeter. This fact remained true even near Yggdrasil, and all throughout Stratagold. The only time this truth was broken was inside the anti-Dark protections of the t-stations, and then only when moving between t-stations.

But perhaps, inside the ‘alternate reality’ of ‘Fae Space’, this truth would break.

Tasar blipped—

And reappeared exactly where she had been. Perhaps a single centimeter forward.

Erick frowned—

But Tasar laughed loudly. “If that had worked I was going to be soangry! I would have needed to redesign all of the t-stations to include— well. No. That’s too much Fae Magic.”

Riivo nodded, saying, “People who dive too deep with Fae Magic almost always meet unfortunate accidents, which we had attributed to the last surviving fae, but perhaps that was attributing her too much power? Perhaps ‘going too deep’ is the very nature of Fae Magic itself, but without a Domain to secure it against breaking… Erick.” Riivo spoke strongly, “I must caution you on an unforeseen issue that I might just now understand: Perhaps, going too deep into the Fae Magic, and then getting that magic disrupted around you, is what kills all middling practitioners. It could be that they experience a [Partial Teleport] situation and they die to bifurcation, or other such horribleness. But! It looks like this is the Path to follow.”

Tasar calmly nodded, agreeing with Riivo.

Erick said, “The warning is sensible, so thank you for that, but also, I agree: Fae Magic seems like the way to [Gate]. Maybe I need to make a very, very large [Fairy House], along with a nested house, to see how deep I can go with the magic, to test your theory of [Partial Teleport] dangers.” Erick said, “I could send Ophiel into those depths to do some experiments with manual [Teleport]s.”

Tasar was unsure, as she said, “I would stick to the shallows, for now. Let me look into the maths of Spatial Magic in illusionary and fae spaces, first. See if someone else has done any research in that direction.”

“… Then I can experiment with that later.” Erick said, “For now, I’d like to explain a theory about planars, how we get here, mana streams, and some stories of fae on Earth…”

Riivo and Tasar were all ears.

They moved back into the Privacy, where they spoke for a few hours about everything from fairy stories, to esoteric [Gate] theories, to all of Tasar’s experiences on her own Path (which mostly involved running from Melemizargo; he didn’t like wrought on the Worldly Path, at all), to the creation of the t-station network and how the greater systems all worked.

Toward the end of the day, Riivo said, “I would ask after [Renew] before we finish up here. Have you any luck with that?”

Erick flinched, and then he realized he shouldn’t flinch. He played it off as nothing, saying, “I could do it at tier 4, I think. But that’s not what I want, so those theories don’t work for the final goal.” He shrugged.

Tasar said, “Maybe when we’re forced to capture a Wizard out from Ar’Cosmos you can have them make it for us.”

“Hmm. Yes. Ar’Cosmos seems like your final destination, Erick. Try to do what you can to not go there, though. Anyway!” Riivo smiled wide, then happily said, “Ah… This has been a good experience, but I would like to move on to my request for some monster hunts. Would you be willing to help with that now, Erick?”

“Sure.” Erick asked, “What needs doing?”

“There have been some reports of aquatic terrors crawling up from the underocean, beneath the Vibrant Falls. The Gemslicers have been unable to help in a satisfactory manner, therefore I need...”

- - -

Not too long later, Erick had cleared out some variant tangled hydras called abyssal decay seekers and a bunch of other horrors from the underocean, all around Stratagold. Riivo was pleased. He left Yggdrasil with a true joy on his face at having problems solved, and at having a profitable meeting; he said as much and seemed not to be lying, either.

Once the old iron man was gone, Erick began setting up a [Fairy Stronghold] according to the plots and plans he had made with Tasar. Getting some actual walls was rather nice, and though Erick would prefer not to have a keeper, Tasar was incredibly excited about getting to experiment inside Fae Space and to take measurements of everything. Her joy was infectious, and Erick gained a small bounce in his step as he spent effectively hundreds of thousands of mana making a simple longhouse with two short towers on either end, on Yggdrasil’s upper boughs.

A large central room, a kitchen, a library, a bathroom. Separate rooms on either side of the house. And above those rooms, two separate private spaces. While Tasar was moving into her space, Erick filled his upper room with a nested Privacy, and, to his joy, discovered that it did work exactly as he wanted it to; Tasar covered the outside of the [Fairy Stronghold] with her sensory magics, and Erick could retreat to his Privacy to have some alone time. But not right yet. It was time to eat.

Visiting the embassy was a lot easier this time, but only because Erick went in differently than normal.

Erick and Tasar went up the back way to eat in Tasar’s office, with her mother, Otaliya. The aged copper woman had been working with Erick’s EIPC people rather closely, once Melemizargo’s appearance got out. She had wanted to talk to him earlier, but that just simply didn’t happen, though the outcomes of his boon/burden revelation were quite another [Fireball] to ride out. With a professional, yet happy tone, and while Erick ate a nice burger and fries from the world diner’s market, Tasar’s mother launched into a wardlight presentation regarding all the major rumors going through the embassy, and how that talk affected public opinion.

“The boon/burden revelation has had profound effects among many of the staunchest opponents, which wasn’t too many people at this point, to be honest. Some of the barons who requested meetings with you, who you denied, are disappointed or angry, but since the goal is getting a good inquiry the people of the lands surrounding Stratagold are less important than the major players inside the Geode.” Otaliya said, “With the work you’ve done for Archmage’s Rest to clear out the underocean, and especially after the Offices of the Inquisition refused to comment on your situation, almost every detractor has gone quiet. Of the smaller voices out there, almost everyone believes that Rozeta does have a kill spell in your heart, and quite a few people are calling it an injustice, but not many.” She continued, “Of the farmworker fields, which are overseen by...”

Otaliya talked for quite a while, and it all sounded great. Toward the end, Otaliya suggested Erick wait a week to see if anything came of this Letter Killer stuff, but other than that, he was likely good to go to take Bright Tea, and then move on from there to the inquiry.

After that informative dinner, Erick bid Otaliya farewell and went back to Yggdrasil with Tasar.

But instead of going into the [Fairy Stronghold] that he had very ‘publicly’ made, since he was under no illusions (ha!) that he wasn’t being observed all the time, he and Tasar landed in a separate Privacy bubble that already had copies of various items, like a bed and a library. There was no actual [Fairy Stronghold] around this open area, though. The [Fairy Stronghold] was left completely alone, but with an Ophiel inside, watching, and waiting for someone, anyone to show.

They had a small discussion about sleeping inside Privacys, and Tasar reluctantly agreed.

So Erick bid Tasar good night and went to his room, where he cast a nested Privacy, and he relaxed. Tasar set herself down in a chair in the living room, cast her detection spell across the outside of the space, and began to write out a bunch of maths on a bunch of paper; traditional Spatial Magic.

Laying down on his bed in what was likely a private space, Erick kept his cool and his anger firmly shoved down for a little while longer. He had been fighting his rage for the last few hours. It had been hell getting through dinner with Otaliya, reporting on how he was close to being accepted, but it would still take effort to actually get there.

Didn’t these people understand the good he had done!

Ugh. But that was just his rage yelling at him.

Erick ground down his rage and cast another Privacy around himself, nesting himself twice over, hoping that Tasar wasn’t actually peeking in on him. If she was, then things were about to get very ugly. But if she wasn’t… Then everything would be fine.

… Erick switched to his Other Self.

Nothing happened.

Tasar remained where she was.

He channeled [Renew] into his body as he cycled his mana. Rage cooled. Comfort filled his muscles and his core as he stretched out on his bed and sighed a great sigh. He blinked, relaxing, and when he had cycled enough, he switched back to his Normal Self.

And then he regarded the woman lying in bed with him.

She looked human, 30 or ageless, with one eye bright pink and the other bright green. She wore an airy pink dress, but with a white leather corset around her midsection, with green lacing. Erick supposed she wore the leather because it was rather sexy, in a protective sort of way. Everything about her was either pink or white or green. There was a distinct space around her neck that Erick’s eyes slid across without finding purchase; he wouldn’t have noticed that discrepancy without his Perception. The slippery area was likely hiding the Amulet of Non-Presence; the only way she could have evaded all the tricks and traps Erick and Tasar had layered around this land.

She smiled upon Erick with the brightest smile he had ever seen on a person, like she had been given a gift of the highest order, or maybe she had finally identified her soulmate. She had not been there in his bed before he sat down. She had appeared somewhere in the middle of his cycling, but she had said nothing. She had just watched, calm and knowing all the while.

“This is very rude of you, Fairy Moon.” Erick sat up, saying, “I did not welcome you into my home.”

Fairy Moon smirked, then sat up, saying, “Veird’s values are all twisted and tapered so I go where I grant myself the motion to be, but in this instance, Melemizargo marked you, youngling. At Mel’s insistence, I insist on a true talk of weighty words, quick as a quip.”

“… Undo the utterances of this talking trap, and you may stay awhile while speaking plain parlance.”

Fairy Moon’s eyes went wide and her smile matched, then she got down to business, saying, “A true talking might make for—”

Erick glared at the woman; she was still talking in reinforcing rhyme.

Fairy Moon sighed, then spoke with a much more subdued speech, “When they discover you’re a Wizard they will try to end you, for the wrought are nothing but stagnation. I propose a different path. Come to Ar’Cosmos, learn how to break dragons of their Curse, and you can benefit from the same good fortune that I experience; safety and power and obscurity whenever I desire.”

“I would prefer to be left alone to my own devices.” Erick said, “Therefore, your offer has no weight. It will have even less weight in a hundred years when Yggdrasil finally starts spreading to other worlds, and I can get lost among Forever.”

Fairy Moon nodded, saying, “There will be war long before that. Wars, perhaps. Wars of dominance. Wars of control. Help me ensure that the wrought aren’t the only strong power in the world. Use your Wizardly breaks to cure the Dragon Curse, and we can protect you on this world or any other, for all time.”

“Why did you kill Kydyr?”

“He obliterated an orphanage as a way to weaken—”

“Did he kill the orphanage, specifically? Or was it a result of war?” Both were horrible, but one was worse than the other.

“Specifically. As a way to weaken Ar’Cosmos for generations to come, even if their main attack failed.” Fairy Moon stressed, “Erick. Please understand that I am a Judge of Justice, first and foremos— Apologies. I did not mean to speak like that.” Fairy Moon continued, “All actions stem from that base. Kydyr deserved to die for crimes committed—” Fairy Moon frowned, then continued, “This is difficult for me because you are so very close to everything I desire in a complementary existence. You have been absolutely magnificent, Erick, and I truly wish we could have met in better circumstances. What you did with the orcol commune in Treehome? And then with Terror Peaks! Amazing.”

Erick said, “I find your sincerity hard to believe.”

“Proof of sincerity can only come with time, of course.” Fairy Moon paused, and then stated, “Stratagold will demand something of me in recompense for my rightful execution of Kydyr and I will demand something of them in return. I plan to involve you. If you do not agree to the arrangements I accomplish, then know that I have information about you that could be dangerous and disastrous for others to know. Idonotdesiretodothis, but I will do what I must. I desire your freedom. I also desire for you to learn how to properly use the magic of my people, because if you’re successful then that means I, too, can finally leave this tiny, overly-controlled planet.”

And then she was gone.

Erick felt a sudden, complicated rush of tangled emotions flow through him, leaving his muscles cramping in their wake. She hadn’t cast any magic on him, for she probably couldn’t with that amulet around her neck, but… He had no way of knowing. He wasn’t under any spell he could see, though; he had been Sighting and sensing himself, the room around him, and Fairy Moon ever since he switched back to his Normal Form. He was not about to have a conversation with the woman until at least those many precautions were taken.

… Fairy Moon had never overtly cast anything on him…

But who the fuck truly knew!

Erick felt tangled in a Gordian Knot. He was going to have to cut this knot, and soon, before it strangled him into an early grave…

He contemplated not telling Tasar, but it was highly likely that Fairy Moon would speak of this meeting elsewhere, and he couldn’t take the chance of Stratagold thinking of him as non-trustworthy. That would lead to problems down the road. So he canceled the Privacy and went to Tasar.

He told her about the encounter.

Tasar flipped her shit.

Erick explained better. He left out the important parts about his own secrets being given away, but he told her about how she wanted an arrangement out of him that she would try to secure through Stratagold.

And then Tasar spoke about how it should have been impossible for someone to cross her Spatial Domain without her knowing, for that’s what her shadowy, green-glittering spell was; her Domain. Rather rapidly, though, Tasar calmed and calculated. Soon, she started telepathically talking to someone outside of the space.

While she did that, Tasar spoke to Erick, “Apologies about losing my temper. I had thought my defenses were— Doesn’t matter what I thought. The enemy is a fae who—” She glanced away, sending to someone else, then she turned back, saying, “I apologize for not realizing that you were this competent with fae for it doesn’t sound like you made any deals with her. I would like to remain with you until we discover the nature of whatever deal she is trying to conjure, though. I feel that you are still in danger.”

Erick hadn’t been too sure about what Tasar’s deal was when he first met her, for she was on-edge and they hadn’t met under the best of circumstances, but he was pretty sure he had a good read on her these days. Mostly, Tasar just wanted everyone to be secure and happy. She went about it like how a watchful mother would baby a teenager, so that was rather infuriating but ultimately forgivable.

Erick had played along with Stratagold’s orders for long enough, though. It was time to push back.

Erick said, “We might as well start living together for the rest of this Path if you want, but I will be putting up my own private spaces, and we can move into an actual runic web house. To that end, I wish to know more of your capabilities as an archmage. Mainly, what to expect and how to work with you. I saw a lot when we walked through the mana stream tunnels, but I know that you have more than that, and I know that you know practically everything that I can do.”

Tasar paused for a moment, then she said, “Of course. We can do that.”

“Also. Not to [Strike] overly hard, but this is my Path, Tasar.” Erick said, “I appreciate and understand your position as a Geode Guardian and your desire to complete this Worldly Path with me, and I appreciate all that you’ve already done, and all of the knowledge that you bring to the table, but I’m the one Walking this Path, this time. So unless you have good reasons for me to sequester myself in certain spaces and in certain ways, then I’m going to do my own thing, exist in my own private spaces when and how I want, and I ask that you accept this.”

Tasar went tense in shoulders and face as she considered how she wanted to proceed. Eventually, she said, “I will accept these limitations if you will accept my counsel when necessary.”

“I will always accept your counsel, Tasar. You have been around this world a lot longer than I have, and I respect that.”

Tasar relaxed a fraction, giving a stiff nod. “Thank you. My first counsel is that we should not be out of each other’s sight for more than five minutes. Less, if we can help it. This part of the Path is exceedingly dangerous, Erick, as you have just found out. No more sleeping in Privacys, please.”

“… Okay. No sleeping in Privacys.”

Tasar nodded.

“Then.” Erick added, “Tomorrow, I will start [Fairy Stronghold] experiments with regard to [Teleport] distances and otherwise, and I would appreciate your input on that. I will also attempt experiments with Ophiel and [Fairy Stronghold], though Yggdrasil will not gain this spell yet, for I don’t wish him to be instantly broken by that strange interaction. Perhaps if I gain a Fae Domain, then that will change.” He glanced toward the block of platinum sitting to the side, saying, “But for now, I’m going to work on a runic web for a [Fairy Stronghold] to live inside since my plans for sleep have gone awry and the failure-state of ‘meeting the dangerous fae’ has been rendered obsolete.” He asked, “I assume?”

Tasar simply breathed, then said, “Yes. Her power is vastly limited while out here, but… She’s a great deal more dangerous when inside Ar’Cosmos, and any interactions had with her out here might transfer into there. So. Be careful, when you meet her again.” After a moment of indecision, she added, “Many immortals cannot venture into Ar’Cosmos because of the small ways in which they have interacted with her before; she would kill them instantly, and without difficulty. I have not had interactions with her, so I am mostly safe. I would prefer if you maintained a similar distance from her, for the safety of us all.”

“Thank you for explaining the exact danger.” Erick said, “I will do my best to follow your advice.”

With a certain uncomfortable tension, Tasar nodded, saying, “Thank you for listening.”

Erick went to the block of platinum and started stringing it into lines. Tasar, meanwhile, spent a great deal of time telepathically communicating with others. Eventually, though, she began to help with the construction of a new, solid house in the crook of Yggdrasil’s upper boughs.

A day later, the new [Fairy Stronghold] had three floors and more than enough rooms for Tasar, other guests, a room for Jane, enough space for Poi, Kiri, and Teressa if they wanted to visit, and a private tower stuck on the side, for Erick. Tasar tested the space with the smaller Fae Magics she possessed, and there wasn’t even the slightest disturbance to the runic web, or to the house itself. It wasn’t as fancy or as structurally changeable as Kydyr’s house, but it was hidden from the world, and once inside, a person was literally untouchable by the outside.

It was perfect.

Erick went to his temporarily private space in his new room, [Renew]ed his Other Form, cycled mana till he was satiated, and then switched back, removed the Privacy, and went to bed.

Sleep came easy, either because he felt truly safe for the first time in a while, he and Tasar had come to a real understanding, or perhaps, because he finally knew all the players on the board.

… Most of them, anyway.

He still wondered about certain, smaller things that would likely come back to bite him on the ass sometime in the future, or sooner. The Patriarch of Terror Peaks was still out there with his mysterious soul spear benefactor. The Mirage Dragon assassin and her family of Fae Dragons, as well as that one dragon from Ooloraptoor, were still out there. Whoever it was that attacked Yggdrasil at Holorulo. Candlepoint with all its shadelings who were simultaneously their own person, and also potential mouthpieces for Melemizargo. Securing trade routes and nice lives for all the shadelings, even though no one would trust them, and as soon as Erick came out as a Wizard, people would descend on Candlepoint like locusts. The world would descend upon Yggdrasil, too. The Red Dot mage was either in the wind, or locked up in Messalina the Life Binder’s dungeons getting soul tortured. Fallopolis was still out there. The rest of the Shades were out there doing who-the-fuck-knows-what. Kiri’s mysterious encounter in the halls of that Old Dragonkin museum had never been answered. The cultists of Nelboor were trying something, but Erick wasn’t sure what...

And something was happening at Spur.

Erick hoped that Jane and the rest of them could resolve that problem on their own. He had given them a lot of help, or at least as much help as Silverite was willing to receive. It would have to be enough.

For now, though, he was comfortable, sated, secure, and ready to get on with Bright Tea and the inquiry, and then to leave Stratagold behind.