Chapter: 623 – Always One More Secret

Tala and Rane both felt that they had years of insights revealed in the ignition of the city script. In talking about it later, they also both came to the conclusion that if they hadn’t been Paragons, it might have been useless to see as much as they did.

That made them excited to watch another ignition in the future, once they’d achieved their Reforging.

They also agreed that the memory of the event didn’t seem to hold the same weight as experiencing it. Well… that wasn’t quite true. In reviewing their own memory, they had second, third, and so on looks at the insights they gained and were able to deepen their understanding. However, when they observed—or even when they were submerged in—the memories of the other, the insights were almost entirely absent.

There seemed to just be something about experiencing the thing with their own particular senses, perspective, and mindset, that the memories of another just couldn’t replicate.

They’d experienced instances like that before, where the memory of a thing was interesting, but didn’t hold the depth of benefit that actually having personally experienced the event did or would have had.

Regardless, they were each left with much to consider.

On Rane’s side, he conveyed that experiencing the unity of purpose, the leveling of individuals into a united whole with a guiding principle and goal resonated with his desire to serve as an equal, not as one ‘superior’ to those he protected and provided for.

Tala, for her part, felt the most resonance with the intricate harmonies between the various magics. These nth generation city magics were designed so that the very twists and ripples of one magic either strengthened another or counterbalanced the ripples of others. The end result was both far, far more powerful magics, and an almost entire lack of disturbance within the zeme. More than that, there was actually less turbulence than before the truly massive spellforms had been ignited.

That showed the true mastery in the working.

She’d understood the concept before. Rust, she’d seen and used it herself, but observing it—being inside it—on such a large scale had been something else, and it opened her eyes to quite a few subtleties within Mistress Holly’s schemas that she’d never picked up on before.

In retrospect, the inner-interactions between the various portions of personal inscriptions were likely one of the delineations between a master inscriptionist and everyone else. They sought this exact effect on a smaller, more intricate scale.

That started a rabbit trail of research on Alat’s part, and she and Tala came to the conclusion that this very fact was one of the aspects that set Mistress Holly apart. The inscriptions that she created had resonance and beneficial overlap greater than any other inscriptionist whose work they could find examples of.

Moreover, Mistress Holly’s schema for Tala’s Reforging seemed to be even a step beyond Mistress Holly’s usual. It was as if the woman had set it up so that Tala had no hope at all of matching, let alone exceeding, its perfection.

That sent Tala into a couple hours of frustration, and since they were taking their flier back to Bandfast, she was able to slow their progress marginally and exit in order to beat up several Refined level magical beasts in the mountains to the east of their flight path.

It was gratifying to work up a sweat with no need to hold back, and since she didn’t use any of her ranged armaments or magics—or even Flow—the various creatures served that purpose nicely.

She didn’t find a solution through her venting of course, but it was good to work her physicality after finding frustration on the cognitive side of things.

It’s like she didn’t want me to be able to succeed…

-You could ask her?-

No… Not again. This doesn’t really change anything. Last time I asked, she just said she was glad I appreciated the work that she put in, and she knew I’d get to what I needed in time…

-I remember, and you’re probably right, I doubt she’d say anything different if we reached out again.-

…It is pretty irritating that you ask questions—and prompt lines of conversation—that you already know the answer or end to…

-But they help.-

…That makes it more irritating… Thank you.

-I aim to please.- Alat sent a comforting smile. -We’re in this together.-

Always.

Lea continued her training and study.

Terry filled his time sleeping and lazing in the sun.

To be fair, the trip only took about a day given the implementation of all the various techniques that Tala and Alat had been perfecting.

It was fascinating, really. As they got better and better at minimizing issues during fast travel, the number of gated with them came into sharper focus.

At the moment, they had seven: Master Simon, Mistress Petra, Artia, Lyn, Tala, Rane, and Lea.

For the first time, Tala was truly grateful for how careful Lyn had been in selecting families with no gated, as even those seven each caused resonance both with Zeme and with each other as they moved so rapidly, dangling stoneward of superficial.

After passing near a fount and noticing that its proximity caused an increase in the work she had to do to mitigate damage to reality, she had another realization. It’s a version or manifestation of how spellforms interact, but on a larger scale… Her eyes widened. Alat!

-Oh… oh!- Alat changed one of the large panel displays that were hovering in front of Tala and Rane on their dais to a top-down map of the cycling cities. -Let me see… I can add the fluctuations that the leveling of the zeme would cause in the surrounding regions… I have our recent experience as a model…-

Various colored lights began radiating from each city location. It was a chaotic patterning for a moment, that only seemed to grow worse over time, causing Tala to frown. Then, she grinned. “The city spells change through the cycle.”

Rane shifted. “What?”

Tala waved vaguely. “Talking with Alat, sorry.”

He focused on the changed displays, coming fully out of his internal thoughts. He opened his mouth momentarily, but then stopped, clearly dialoguing with Enar as the alternate interface brought him up to speed.

-Requests sent for maps of the zeme around each city… oh, we already have access? Well, that’s easy then.-

The minute ripples coming from each city changed, none of them exactly identical, and suddenly the whole region took on a nearly uniform hue.

“-Well, rust my biscuits.-”

Rane snorted a laugh, and Tala rolled her eyes. “But what does it mean?”

“-I have no idea. Though… If I had to guess, I would say that it’s a suppressive effect that levels and dampens magical density in the environment across the whole area.- Alat modeled how it would look, first without the new city, and then replacing it and going forward in time with Alefast Waning’s end.

The other cities—based on the information that Alat had found they had access to—would have slow, subtle changes to their magical profiles that would account for and counterbalance the loss or gain of a city, along with other alterations.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was very good.

Rane shook his head slowly. “Well, that explains yet another reason the cities are spaced as they are.”

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“Indeed.”

They stared at the representation for a long moment before Rane glanced toward Tala. “Does this… change anything for you?”

Tala sighed, then shook her head. “No… I suppose it doesn’t. You?”

“Nope.”

Another moment passed before they both laughed, returning to their various tasks, smiles across their faces and their hearts a bit lighter for the momentary distraction and camaraderie.

Without much thought, their hands intertwined on the shared, extra-wide armrest of their thrones.

Alat sent the impression of an eyeroll to Tala, then returned the commandeered display to a depiction of the exterior of their flier as it continued to zip across the sky.

* * *

As seemed to always be the case, the sight of Bandfast coming into view brought a smile to Tala’s face.

It had been more than a decade since the city had been her home, and it hadn’t even been her home for that long back then. Regardless, it was where her journey started, and that meant it had a special place in her heart and always would. After all, Lea came to be here as well.

I wonder if that will last even through cycles… She hoped that it would, but she didn’t really know.

Tala exited the flier outside the range of the city’s defenses before tucking the construct away and striding forward, coming in alone on foot out of respect for the defenders. Everyone else came along in the sanctum and Ironhold, but on the superficial? She walked alone.

-Hey now. I’m beside you, like your shadow.-

So, my shadow’s the only one that walks beside me?

Alat snorted. -In this case, I suppose so.-

Well, since that’s still me, I walk alone, I walk a—

-Enough of that. Enjoy the sights.-

Fine, fine. Tala chuckled.