~~ Beneath Fort Braddock ~~
"Hey, what's that?" A thin copper haired boy stared into the darkness, eyes that had seen nothing but dark picking up the faint glimmerings of something in the distance.
"Let's check it out." His blonde friend said while peeking behind them to where their guardians spoke in hushed tones nearby.
The first boy looked back as well, more to note just how long the two of them had before the adults realized that they were missing. Seeing the beginnings of an argument, he nodded to his friend and with a mischievous look, they took off.
The great philosophers say that time is a manmade thing. What is time to a people who have not seen light as we have in, as we would reckon it, an eternity?
That is why two days later, the boys were still running, chasing the ever elusive shadow in the distance.
"I can see it better now, but why haven't we reached it?"
"The old masters say that the best treasures are the hardest to obtain."
"Oh, don't act so righteous, Glive. You know as well as I do that they meant knowledge."
"Ooooh. A big word."
So it seems that sarcasm is not limited to one race only.
"This would go faster if we flew."
"You know I can't fly this low."
"SO we'll go higher up."
"But we can't see how low the caves are."
"There's plenty. The Mikzorn (Mick- zorn) aren't here and you know how those little creepycrawlers are. They're everywhere except open places. Let's go."
Glive, the so-called righteous one, sighed. "Fine." They spread their wings and smoothly went from running to flying.
A short while later, they landed.
"That wasn't so bad. This is a good stretch to practice on."
"Can you focus on what we have here? Honestly."
They stood in silence and admired the fallen rocks.
"It's a cave in."
"Really?"
"Glive..."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go up there."
"Is that safe?"
"You gone Vitrole on me?"(Vit-role_a chicken like creature that runs from everything
"Of course not, I'm being practical. Don't look at me like that! I mean it. Besides, it doesn't feel right. It's too... I dunno."
"Let's go see. What's the worst that could happen to both of us?"
"Don't make me say it, Glive. You're the one who's always quoting the masters."
"C'mon Zieet." (ZI- eat) Glive tentatively climbed the rocks and stepped into the odd circle shaped hole. "Look. It's not even a real hole, you Skyza-waste."
"Hey, I am not!" Zieet scurried up the rocks to stand with his friend. "What's that?"
The two boys peered up while shading their eyes. They dropped their eyes to stare into each other's faces, slow grins spreading in their faces. Without another word, they jumped into the air, wings pumping hard as both tried to be the first to the top.
"FIRST!!!" They cried in unison, spinning wildly and heading in separate directions, only to double back and land on the ground.
"Whoa! Ouch." Glive muttered as he slipped on the dew-covered grass. "What is this stuff?"
"Hey, guess what I found."
"Is it dead?"
"I think so."
"Alright! I wanna see." They shoved each other out of the way to peer at the dead thing laying in the grass.
"What is it?"
"Wow. It's like we found a whole new world up here."
"We could rake up if we built a Shortcut here and charged people to see the new world..." Zieet gave a devilish grin.
"It moved." Glive said, springing backwards.
"No it didn't. See." He poked the thing.
"Wait for me." came a ghastly voice. "Please. I can fix it."
"Told you so." Glive said. Nevertheless, the two Vulgates inched closer to observe their wounded 'thing'.
"What are we gonna call it?"
"What is it?"
"Let's ask the masters."
"Will you ever just give that a rest? Everything's about them with you!"
"Kurt. Evan. Where?" the thing shook miserably.
"Kurt? Isn't that what the grownups call Goldeneyes?"
"Alright. Help me get it back through the portal."
"The what?"
"The interdimensional portal, you idiot! What other portal is there?"
"Oh. Okay."
They gently lifted the creature and between the two of them, managed to lower it through the 'interdimensional portal' without damaging it further.
"Why is it leaking?"
"Because. That's its defense mechanism. It thinks we'll be scared away by the funny colored water."
"But it's thi-"
"Shut up. I have to concentrate. Lend a hand, will ya?"
The creature continued whispering, but they tuned him out and focused on building their shortcut.
Everyone knows the fastest way from point A to point B is a straight line. There are those who believe that is it faster to bring point B to oneself, but to rearrange the world requires power that many don't possess. Shortcuts are a type of merger of the beliefs. They employ the idea that straight lines are the fastest way to get anywhere and that using magic to bend those lines through dimensions where distance is measured but how long you seek to be at your destination, instead of how long you travel to your destination. The logistics are left to the scholars, but simply put, shortcuts start at point A and travel through a place where time and distance are more quickly traversed than our dimension. From there, the shortcut ends at the location specified by its creator, be it in this dimension or another.
While it is easily explained in this way, it takes a great deal of magical strength and concentration to accomplish. The chances of the shortcut leading to the wrong place, or of it being intercepted, or any of a million other horrors are far too great for many who are capable to even try to build a shortcut. Only the most seasoned and confident Mages used shortcuts.
"I don't think you're doing it right."
"I told you to shut up. If you're so smart, you do it."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"Then you'll look stupid."
"You're a mean brute, Zieet. Fine. I'll do it."
Building a shortcut can be likened to threading a needle who's eye is only as wide as the thread. A mistake could mean the thread doesn't make it through the eye and hangs there. If luck is with you, you notice before you begin to stitch, if not, your thread is left behind and the needle is lost. Of course, there are worse things that being dumped into a void of lost souls. If you try to thread the needle and it splits, there's no telling where you'll end up, maybe on the other side, maybe lost, maybe right back where you started.
"I think I have it. Who's gonna go first?"
"I am of course. You aren't strong enough to carry it."
"Whatever you say, Zieet."
"Er. On second thought, I don't want to face the grownups alone."
"I knew it!"
"Let's go already."
The two young Vulgates, with their new pet, stepped into the shortcut.
"Hey, what's that?" A thin copper haired boy stared into the darkness, eyes that had seen nothing but dark picking up the faint glimmerings of something in the distance.
"Let's check it out." His blonde friend said while peeking behind them to where their guardians spoke in hushed tones nearby.
The first boy looked back as well, more to note just how long the two of them had before the adults realized that they were missing. Seeing the beginnings of an argument, he nodded to his friend and with a mischievous look, they took off.
The great philosophers say that time is a manmade thing. What is time to a people who have not seen light as we have in, as we would reckon it, an eternity?
That is why two days later, the boys were still running, chasing the ever elusive shadow in the distance.
"I can see it better now, but why haven't we reached it?"
"The old masters say that the best treasures are the hardest to obtain."
"Oh, don't act so righteous, Glive. You know as well as I do that they meant knowledge."
"Ooooh. A big word."
So it seems that sarcasm is not limited to one race only.
"This would go faster if we flew."
"You know I can't fly this low."
"SO we'll go higher up."
"But we can't see how low the caves are."
"There's plenty. The Mikzorn (Mick- zorn) aren't here and you know how those little creepycrawlers are. They're everywhere except open places. Let's go."
Glive, the so-called righteous one, sighed. "Fine." They spread their wings and smoothly went from running to flying.
A short while later, they landed.
"That wasn't so bad. This is a good stretch to practice on."
"Can you focus on what we have here? Honestly."
They stood in silence and admired the fallen rocks.
"It's a cave in."
"Really?"
"Glive..."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go up there."
"Is that safe?"
"You gone Vitrole on me?"(Vit-role_a chicken like creature that runs from everything
"Of course not, I'm being practical. Don't look at me like that! I mean it. Besides, it doesn't feel right. It's too... I dunno."
"Let's go see. What's the worst that could happen to both of us?"
"Don't make me say it, Glive. You're the one who's always quoting the masters."
"C'mon Zieet." (ZI- eat) Glive tentatively climbed the rocks and stepped into the odd circle shaped hole. "Look. It's not even a real hole, you Skyza-waste."
"Hey, I am not!" Zieet scurried up the rocks to stand with his friend. "What's that?"
The two boys peered up while shading their eyes. They dropped their eyes to stare into each other's faces, slow grins spreading in their faces. Without another word, they jumped into the air, wings pumping hard as both tried to be the first to the top.
"FIRST!!!" They cried in unison, spinning wildly and heading in separate directions, only to double back and land on the ground.
"Whoa! Ouch." Glive muttered as he slipped on the dew-covered grass. "What is this stuff?"
"Hey, guess what I found."
"Is it dead?"
"I think so."
"Alright! I wanna see." They shoved each other out of the way to peer at the dead thing laying in the grass.
"What is it?"
"Wow. It's like we found a whole new world up here."
"We could rake up if we built a Shortcut here and charged people to see the new world..." Zieet gave a devilish grin.
"It moved." Glive said, springing backwards.
"No it didn't. See." He poked the thing.
"Wait for me." came a ghastly voice. "Please. I can fix it."
"Told you so." Glive said. Nevertheless, the two Vulgates inched closer to observe their wounded 'thing'.
"What are we gonna call it?"
"What is it?"
"Let's ask the masters."
"Will you ever just give that a rest? Everything's about them with you!"
"Kurt. Evan. Where?" the thing shook miserably.
"Kurt? Isn't that what the grownups call Goldeneyes?"
"Alright. Help me get it back through the portal."
"The what?"
"The interdimensional portal, you idiot! What other portal is there?"
"Oh. Okay."
They gently lifted the creature and between the two of them, managed to lower it through the 'interdimensional portal' without damaging it further.
"Why is it leaking?"
"Because. That's its defense mechanism. It thinks we'll be scared away by the funny colored water."
"But it's thi-"
"Shut up. I have to concentrate. Lend a hand, will ya?"
The creature continued whispering, but they tuned him out and focused on building their shortcut.
Everyone knows the fastest way from point A to point B is a straight line. There are those who believe that is it faster to bring point B to oneself, but to rearrange the world requires power that many don't possess. Shortcuts are a type of merger of the beliefs. They employ the idea that straight lines are the fastest way to get anywhere and that using magic to bend those lines through dimensions where distance is measured but how long you seek to be at your destination, instead of how long you travel to your destination. The logistics are left to the scholars, but simply put, shortcuts start at point A and travel through a place where time and distance are more quickly traversed than our dimension. From there, the shortcut ends at the location specified by its creator, be it in this dimension or another.
While it is easily explained in this way, it takes a great deal of magical strength and concentration to accomplish. The chances of the shortcut leading to the wrong place, or of it being intercepted, or any of a million other horrors are far too great for many who are capable to even try to build a shortcut. Only the most seasoned and confident Mages used shortcuts.
"I don't think you're doing it right."
"I told you to shut up. If you're so smart, you do it."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"Then you'll look stupid."
"You're a mean brute, Zieet. Fine. I'll do it."
Building a shortcut can be likened to threading a needle who's eye is only as wide as the thread. A mistake could mean the thread doesn't make it through the eye and hangs there. If luck is with you, you notice before you begin to stitch, if not, your thread is left behind and the needle is lost. Of course, there are worse things that being dumped into a void of lost souls. If you try to thread the needle and it splits, there's no telling where you'll end up, maybe on the other side, maybe lost, maybe right back where you started.
"I think I have it. Who's gonna go first?"
"I am of course. You aren't strong enough to carry it."
"Whatever you say, Zieet."
"Er. On second thought, I don't want to face the grownups alone."
"I knew it!"
"Let's go already."
The two young Vulgates, with their new pet, stepped into the shortcut.