Chapter: 509 – The Twilight Edge

Tala and Rane buckled down to learn what they could in their limited time with the Pack.

As their third week came and went, Lerra informed them that they could only stay another week or so without starting to be in danger of harming themselves due to temporal torsion.

Thus, they would spend a total of four weeks within the Lunar Hunt, seemingly equal to four days for Zeme.

They were having a wonderful time—with the sole exception of confirming that advancement to Paragon did not allow them to conceive a child—and learning much, but they were still left with a hard decision before them.

Once they left the Lunar Hunt, they could go to the northwest, aiming for one of the city sites that were under either preparation or construction—Tala had always wanted to see those—or they could go more northeast and end up on the wandering plains, where the moving settlements of humanity—and some arcanes—could usually be found.

She really did want to track down Howlton and see what had happened with the clockwork thunder, especially now that she understood what a cell actually was and knew that the thunder was most likely a prisoner within one.

That said, there was a sense of danger and adventure involved in preparing new city sites and then building the new cities that appealed to her. Moreover, it was a mystery that she wanted to investigate. She couldn’t truly comprehend how it would work, even if she understood most parts of the process.

At least ten years of site prep, then roughly twenty five years of construction with an average loss in the neighborhood of sixteen people per day at each given site—obviously biased toward the beginning of the ventures, and usually in bigger groups spaced out rather than actually occurring per day. It’s a heavy toll to pay for a city for a million people to call home.

-And that doesn’t factor in the loss of life getting the citizens to the new city…-

Yeah… The cycling cities couldn’t be avoided at the moment because of how gated were, but it truly required a staggering cost in order to keep the remainder alive while not irreparably harming their world.

Such a loss of life was with Archons on high alert, extensive magical constructions to make things safer, and dedicated professionals involved at every step. They were essentially retaking entrenched positions from magical and arcane creatures who had had centuries to embed themselves and their magics into the very landscape at every level, in addition to the standard hazards of construction. Clearing the mining tunnels alone… She shook her head and shuddered.

Someone like Master Xeel could probably keep most people safe if he wholly devoted himself to the task, but he—and all of those with his level of ability—were needed elsewhere. They were, in fact, needed more places than they had Archons capable of fulfilling the need.

-You’re sort of skimming over some of the greatest sources of death outside of new city work, those that Master Xeel—and many like him—does help with.-

Yeah… arcanes coming in on infrequent skirmishing runs is another problem I wasn’t considering.

-If it were more often, it might be more predictable. Once every few months is frustrating enough, but there are bursts and groupings of daily raids on occasion. At least, that’s what I’ve gathered from poring over the data that we’ve been given access to. Most of those end up in the death of the arcane, too, allowing any houses involved to easily claim it was a rogue actor… every time… Unfortunately, we aren’t willing to truly start up the war again over such things. We simply can’t. No matter how devastating such strikes are, a war would be worse.-

…You are making the city sites sound depressing, not adventurous. If the strikes happened mainly around upcoming cities, I’d likely be interested. It’s been too long since I got to fight an arcane… one who wasn’t a prisoner. The rest… She grimaced.

-…I’m just giving you the facts.-

Tala turned to Rane as he opened his mouth to take a bite of a gloriously constructed breakfast sandwich. “I think we should go straight to the wandering plains. Would that be alright with you?”

The man hesitated, clearly having a war within himself.

She grinned, finding herself chuckling. “Take your bite and think, love. I don’t need you to drop what you’re doing the instant I make a comment or ask a question.”

He smiled even as he took his truly massive bite, some of the runny yolk trailing a fiery orange down his fingers and dripping onto his plate.

He chewed slowly, clearly savoring the enormous bite. When he was done, having swallowed, set his sandwich down, and wiped his hands, he met her gaze once more. “I’m fine with that plan. The city sites can be interesting, but I’ve never heard more than passing rumors—and your stories—from the enclaves of humanity in the plains. The Lunar Hunt has been less… violent than I expected, but I guess that makes sense. Even though it’s called a ‘Hunt,’ if you hunt so close to home, I suppose you’ll eventually drive away all the game.” He grimaced slightly. “And I don’t think I’m ready to hunt the four-dimensional creatures…”

She nodded firmly in agreement. “Indeed. The one clash I had with a little creature of that description was more than enough for me, for the time being.”

“Indeed. But I’ve shifted the subjects and gotten us off track. I’m fine with your plan. We’ll go north and east to the plains then. That sounds like an excellent idea.” He nodded once for emphasis before picking his sandwich up once more.

Tala nodded once in return, smiling and returning her focus to her own breakfast. “Then it’s settled.”

* * *

Sooner than they really realized, the four weeks in the Lunar Hunt had flown by. Ironhold was closed up—all citizenry inside—and Tala, Rane, and Terry were standing on the twilight edge of the Lunar Hunt.

They’d bid their Pack teachers goodbye already, and only the Alpha of the Pack remained to part ways with.

As for the god-beast himself? He sat on his haunches, sized to be barely Tala’s height when so seated.

“Thank you, acknowledged of the Pack, for gracing the Lunar Hunt with your visit.”

Tala and Rane each bowed in gratitude. Terry trilled his jubilation before flickering to Tala’s shoulder.

“Humanity’s next great test will set the stage for the coming… centuries. When you clash with the Leshkin, if you are able to push them back to their forest before they retreat and reinforce themselves for another cycle, we will come. If you show that much competence, it may be time to reset the stage, removing the Leshkin for good.”

Tala almost responded with joy at the very idea, but something in the wolf’s tone made her pause. After a moment’s consideration, in which she recalled much of what he’d said previously, she gave a slow, respectful nod. “Doing so would cost you much.”

“Yes, young ones. My Pack would need a worthy ally for the time I will require to recover.”

So many things flashed through her mind. Master Xeel’s comments on the lack of unity among sovereign-level beings. The fact that Anatalis and Vidarra were seeming exceptions to that, possibly only ignored because their focus was on their children, their Pack. The Pack’s approaching humanity, and so, so much more.

Things were moving in Zeme, and in such times of turmoil the whole balance of power could shift.

Lisa’s words—given so recently—came back to her as well. She, herself, stood in a place of power, existing as a sort of rusted conglomeration of Major House and rogue humanity.

…This was way over her head and had implications that she couldn’t even begin to parse.

-I’ve flagged this memory—and that of the conversation with Lisa—for review by Mistress Ingrit for thoughts and proper distribution.-

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Thank you, Alat.

-Of course. I am happy to take on such tasks for us. I’m as much out of my depth as you are. We’re in this together.-

To whatever end.

-To whatever end.-

Rane’s hand found hers, giving a careful squeeze.

He—her husband—was there with her too. Their fates, like their souls, were inextricably intertwined.

The coming centuries would be… impactful.

She almost laughed at the thought, given her scant thirty years of life so far.

As if he had read her thoughts, Anatalis’ chuckle rolled through the landscape one last time. “I can see you understand some of what lies ahead of us. I will not burden you with yet more. Good hunting, safe den, swift travels.”

With that last benediction, Tala, Rane, and Terry found themselves standing at the edge of a normal forest, alone.

The omnipresent moon that had hung over their heads for the last four weeks was gone.