Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me, for centuries
Centuries - Fall Out Boy
I feel the unease bleed away from my mind as my blood ignites, and I am filled with a new, inquisitive energy. The darkness gradually fades away as the trees are illuminated by an ethereal glow, one I've learned to associate with magic. Despite this, I feel a different sense of unease, a kind of warning, from the back of my mind. Something about this place is dangerous to me.
I stand up straighter, and look about as blue-green fireflies chase away the shadows, and the trees take on many shades, bright bronzes and reds contrasting with the bleak death of The Forest of Sorrows. Their leaves are strange, too, conical structures consisting of thousands of tiny and hollow tubes which guide air in one end and out in a strange dance. Whatever their primary purpose, the trees also whistle in the thin wind, a melody-less tune that drowns my fear in wonder.
Leanna drops my hand in amazement, reaching up to touch one of the strange leaves.
"Lumentrees? I thought they were extinct."
"Poi!"
Forest squirms wildly in Amelia's arm. He wriggles free and hops around in glee. As he hops, he opens his mouth wide, but loses his balance (how?) and blinks as he falls on his head.
"Poi?"
After a few more confused seconds, he shakes himself and tries again. There must be a lot of magic here.
Amelia smiles at the self-contained insanity.
"As should be readily apparent, we have made it through the Forest of Sorrows."
Zack looks over at her.
"So, Embermyst is close?"
"The natural concentration of crystal energy would indicate we are on the right path."
Leanna looks away from the trees, startled.
"What do you mean 'on the right path'? Haven't you travelled here before?"
Amelia shakes her head.
"No, this is my first journey-"
Leanna's eyes widen in horror.
"You mean you had us travel through one of the most dangerous magical hotspots on Terra without knowing for sure that it would lead us to Embermyst?"
"This is correct."
Leanna gapes at Amelia. After a second, Zack clears his throat.
"Well, we did make it through, and if we do reach Embermyst, then she would've delivered on her promise."
Zack nods at Amelia while she looks curiously at him. While deep in thought, it looks like she's reworking a previous analysis of him. Then, she nods back.
Leanna opens her mouth to argue, but then stops, sighing.
"I suppose it doesn't matter now that we're almost there."
"If that is all, then let us continue."
We trail behind Amelia, Forest blissfully hopping along while she navigates us out of the rest of this forest. As my residual fear bleeds away, I look around more closely, paying attention to the wildlife in this place. The trees glow dimly, reflecting the light that surrounds them, and though their leaflike structures are still green to catch sunlight, it is clear that the evolutionary structures did not have photosynthesis as their first priority, with thin wisps of warm, passionate energy cycling through the cones, infusing the trees with life. As the tides move through me, I feel queasy, the sudden rush of energy overwhelming me.
Seeing this, Forest hops closer, adopting a perch in my arms and drinking in much of the energy I attract. As my head clears, I realize the problem. Blanks and ambient magic don't mix.
"Thanks, Forest."
The pango smiles up at me, wriggling with delight that his friend has had too much to eat.
Embermyst… Oraphros lies just beyond the edge of the forest, and soon we approach the walls of the city. In place of a gate, two tanned men with some form of bronze armour and carved wooden staves inlaid with rough crystals stand guard. Said staves are crossed, and the light seems to shimmer as it catches the negative space between the staves. Some sort of shielding magic?
The guard on the left speaks 'common' in a thick accent which I cannot assign a geographic location.
"Please state your business."
I mean, I doubt they get many visitors out here, after all. Fortunately, Amelia has prepared some lines.
"As students from the Mage Academy, we seek an audience with Elder Issim."
The two of them look us over, and it takes considerable effort to stand still beneath their gaze. While their expressions seem blank, there seems to be a sense of vigor surrounding them. Vigor… and sadness? After… whatever that was, they close their eyes, and the minute crystals on their staves glow, causing the world about them to shimmer and reach out throughout the city. My blood starts to prickle as the field grows close to me, and I take a few steps back.
After a few minutes, the guards reopen their eyes, and look at me with a certain curiosity. They discuss something in what I can only assume is the local language, then their aura reaches out towards me again, stretching and deforming space around me. I tense, but rather than burning brighter, the fire leaves my veins, and the light disappears.
"It is safe for you to approach."
After that, they are silent. I glance at Leanna, who is already looking in my direction. I whisper at her.
"Do you think they'll let us in?"
She shakes her head uncertainly. Meanwhile, Zack crosses his arms but otherwise doesn't seem bothered by the situation. Amelia stands confidently and waits patiently, and I wonder how much of it is real and how much based on the fact that seeming confident will make the desired outcome more likely.
I can wait for ages, but it seems that my usual systems for dealing with boredom only work properly when I have a hard endpoint for the static time-period. Waiting for a verdict I'm uncertain of isn't something I'm used to. The closest I've ever been to that was that month-long wait over while Triumph processed my application, but with all the other stuff I had to do, it isn't the same as now.
Fortunately, as I am beginning to run out of willpower to remain still, a figure steps from behind the archway: an old, squirrely man with a set of glasses that are precariously balanced upon his hooked nose. He wears a faded and wrinkled black robe with red trim, fastened by a brooch which clearly had some sort of design on it a long time ago.
Amelia regards the man.
"Elder Issim."
He takes a step forward, blunted eyes drinking in every detail that they can.
"Yes? Who is it?"
Amelia smiles.
"I am Amelia Estelle, and these are my associates. We have gone through a great deal of trouble to find you, and would like to inquire about your work."
"The Mage Academy, then?"
He adjusts the glasses on his nose and peers at Amelia.
"Yes, yes…"
One by one he looks at the rest of us, perhaps trying to parse our roles and importance. He barely glances at Zack, but looks at Leanna with interest when he recognises her emblem. Finally, his gaze lingers upon me, as if he's trying to place me but can't. Then, he shrugs.
"Well, come on then. If it's answers you seek, we won't get anything done standing about."
The guards break away as he beckons us in, their translucent shimmering disappearing. I feel a slight twinge when I pass through this area, but nothing more. After that, I relax somewhat, feeling certain that I shouldn't have to worry about ambient magic for a little while.
After we pass through the gates, I look back right before the guards resume their original, watchful position, and see a set of metal doors swing shut. I guess they noticed we were coming a long ways off.
Elder Issim shuffles along the dirt path and leads us through the city. Unlike the Contemporary/Medieval style that dominated in Havengarde's cities, Oraphros' buildings are mostly made of what appears to be pottery, and the tallest are maybe three stories. I see evidence of rooftop gardens, subterranean structures, and a number of unmarked shops that I am made aware of only through their vibrant displays of their products. Textiles, spices, artwork, and a number of other things are prominent along this stretch of the city, but I do notice something odd. While the way the citizens handle themselves and the commonality of the staves suggests some form of martial culture, and the fact that this society clearly works metals if the ringing sounds of a forge are anything to go by, there don't seem to be bladed weapons anywhere. Instead, the majority of people carry the wooden rods topped with crystals, and wear plain, loose fitting tunics adorned in one or two places by some kind of bronze-based jewelry.
To top the weirdness of this town off, as we walk through the centre of town, I see a large palace. It is open air, and I can see inside it, to what appears to be a bronze throne decorated with a number of precious stones, but aside from a small number of citizens who tend to a flame in the centre of the throne room, the entire building looks empty and unused. While carefully maintained, I can see the lines of wear in the stone and bronze, the hallmarks of a structure that has stood for a thousand years without ever being replaced by something newer.
After passing through that part of the city, we soon arrive at a strangely-shaped hut of the normal style. From the concentric circles that line the walls, I imagine a gigantic pottery wheel, where the denizens of Oraphros spin great blobs of clay into pots for their people to live in. Then, recalling that this place is the home of the first group of humans to practice Fire magic, I consider that this may actually be what happens. Covertly touching the walls nets me a feeling I am unfamiliar with, as it isn't really like any polymer or metal. It is cool, but not conducting. It grips, but isn't rough.
I look around for a place to sit, and spotting no chairs and an abundance of cushions, surmise that those are the correct seating places. With all of us seated, the Elder speaks.
"How were you able to find this place?"
Amelia reaches into her bag.
"Through you."
"Eh?"
She then produces a worn tome, which Elder Issim immediately recognizes.
"My old research! I thought I'd lost this…"
As he carefully turns the pages of the book, Leanna clears her throat.
"We were told you can help us."
He raises a bushy eyebrow.
"By whom?"
"Professor Exavier."
Elder Issim blinks, and then lets out a loud laugh.
"Oh, Carlson, I owe you several crowns! Not only did you stick with the change, you actually became a professor!"
This lasts for a little while.
"I have no idea why it became so important to him, but he was a very entertaining student. Always had some strange and unintuitive way of understanding magic theory, but his ways always found the correct place."
He frowns.
"Regardless, I've been out of touch with Havengarde and the Academy for many years. I'm not sure how I can help."
Leanna fills him in on the cleaned-up version of what's happened so far, beginning with spiked energy readings, and ending with Exavier's hypothesis. It is very simple and to the point, painting me as more of a concurrent investigator than a result of dimensional cross-pollination. The Elder listens thoughtfully, growing more excited the longer Leanna talks.
"The temporal rifts! It's been so long since I really researched them. I'm afraid I've been rather distracted lately. Even so, you are here to discuss one of my pet hypotheses, and I'm more than happy to oblige."
He claps his hands excitedly.
"Where should we start?"
As I'm about to answer, a deep rumble beneath the earth stops me.
"What was that?"
"Hm? Oh, just the volcano. Nothing to worry about."
My mouth falls open.
"Did I miss that remedial class about how volcanoes actually spit glitter and rainbows or something? How is that not cause for concern?"
Elder Issim shrugs.
"Old Ember Mountain has been active for thousands of years. Minor lava boils are fairly common, but the attendance of the Dal'kana has ensured nothing beyond this occurs. It's just the main consequence of living on top of the place where fire first came to Terra."
I raise an eyebrow.
"Okay…"
If it's fairly commonplace and the locals have systems in place to deal with it, then I guess it's no different from the geothermal syphons that are capping the remaining lava chambers at Yellowstone. I briefly wonder what exactly the Dal'kana are doing to the mountain to hold it in this stasis.
I glance about at the others. Leanna looks perturbed while Amelia and Zack both stay alert. At least I'm not the only one who's uneasy.
"Still though. Aren't tremors concerning?"
"Oh, no, they're just a sign that we need to step up a bit. After all, the fire elemental does the bulk of the work holding the embers within. Every now and then it's up to us to trap what little escapes his notice."
Wait a minute. Fire elemental? Are we discussing something physical, or a deific entity of some kind?
Amelia jumps in ahead of me, seemingly interested in something.
"This fire elemental of which you speak: you are referring to the ancients, are you not?"
"Precisely."
Zack crosses his arms.
"The ancients are only a story."
Okay, hold on. I clear my throat.
"Okay, what's going on. Who are these ancients? Do they do anything?"
Amelia is the one that answers me.
"According to legend, the ancients represent the elements of Esaria. Their arrival at the five conduits supposedly brought magic to the first organized human societies, marking the beginning of The Thaumic Era, and the Age of Winds."
Zack scoffs.
"The Age of Winds is a fairy story. Misinterpreted and misrecorded manuscripts written by barely Thaumic people who didn't know what they were talking about."
She gestures to Elder Issim.
"I have investigated several of his claims on my own time. While I do not possess conclusive evidence as of yet, both the research he has done and my own review indicate that magic crystals do not form naturally. There is a legend that explains this, where the greatest mages of the age gather under the guidance of the ancients to make magic safe and portable, creating a grand and self-propelled spell that would allow crystals to form. Interestingly, as no one had been doing much with dawn magic at the time, we don't see it mentioned, and we also have no examples of dawn crystals. All dawn magic is still done the same way it was during the Age of Winds."
Leanna looks uncertain while Zack scowls.
"Crystals aren't natural? Why crystals, then?"
Amelia shrugs.
"I do not know. As I said, in order to reach a proper conclusion regarding the ancients, I will need more data. Regardless, their existence seems likely enough at the moment. It does not change much of how I live, so why not believe what seems to be true?"
"Then where have the elementals been all this time?"
She shakes her head.
"Again, I do not know. Perhaps we should return to the issue at hand."
With that, we all return our focus to Issim.
"Er, I suppose I do have a few ideas on that as well… but intelligent actors like the elementals are a lot trickier than temporal rifts."
He shifts a bit, settling into his cushion.
"The stories of the ancients span a very long period of time, predating the Thaumic Era and perhaps, according to the myth Amelia so helpfully brought up, the existence of crystals themselves. It's been speculated as to why the last, most recent story told of them is of the creation of crystals, and why they've not contacted humanity since then. For a lot of people, this is good enough to dismiss them, as this premise seems very similar to a lot of other beliefs and practices with less consistent mythological backing. The thing that stuck out to me, though, was the consistency in their characterization across the various human societies where we find records of their interference."
He gets up, starting to rummage through a wall of small alcoves, each of which contains a piece of the past. From the markings on some of those items, I can tell they were dug up from sites all over the continent. The slight differences in dirt hue and the vast differences in their styles and apparent age makes that much clear.
"Did you find those yourself?"
He pauses for a moment, regarding me.
"Of course not. I managed to find someone to contract out to for these before I left the Academy. Surprisingly enough, she found me again a few weeks ago, years after her last shipment, with new things to sell. Lovely girl, very inquisitive, you should meet her."
Finally finding the thing he was looking for, Issim sits again, presenting Amelia with the manuscript.
"Despite their formal language, the elementals just don't sound divine, in any text I've come across. They create masterful works of magic, act like guiding figures while our societies are in their formative times, and look the part if the descriptions and artwork is anything to go by, but they don't appear to have any sort of creed at all. As shown by their presence as observers during The Founding Wars, they didn't seem to… care who won. Even the Nixian Celestium, whose stated goal was the abolition of the worship of the ancients failed to draw any ire from them, and their Patriarch was noted as having a certain amount of their favour, being a Drawer of the Winds according to legend."
He pointed to a place on the parchment in Amelia's hands.
"See there. The Shadow Elemental stating that the best human civilization will be the one we find for ourselves. There isn't any other creed I know of that does that."
He sits back up.
"I think the reason they've never interfered since the Age of Winds is because they don't feel the need to. The only thing they consistently consider is 'is the world safe for magic'. Everything else is secondary. I don't think I need to tell you that our modern world would be right on track according to that logic. But, of course, we can't really be sure unless we could ask them about it. On the other hand, some people here think that the wild magic surges are a sign of the continued presence of the elementals. Can't say I believe that one, but it is interesting, and would make sense if I'm right about them being temporal rifts."
I look at him, interested as he speaks, while Amelia hangs onto Elder Issim's every word. Leanna passively pays attention, though from her fiddling with her manipulator I can tell that this type of investigation might not be her favourite thing, or that she's dealing with implications she considers uncomfortable. When she speaks, there is a nervous air to it.
"Have we considered that they might have been drawn back to their home to deal with some sort of threat?"
"There is much speculation surrounding the seeming abandonment of humanity by our patrons, ranging from apathy, to some kind of intricate plan, to giant swarms of evil rabbits. Unfortunately, it is all conjecture at this time."
My mind swarms with questions, but I fight them off, focusing back on what we're here for.
"To return to the original topic…"
The Elder nods.
"Rift Theory, yes."
"How would one go about creating a stable chip in reality?"
"Ah, well, that would be difficult. You'll need an incredible amount of energy - more than any one human or crystal can contain. The only places that hold the concentrations of energy you'd need are the temples of the elementals: they're the primary places where magic flows into Terra, and they're built to contain massive amounts of power. Aside from that, assuming that you could shield yourself from destruction and prevent yourself from circling back around to another part of this world, all you'd need is some matter from that world to guide you back, as well as a good idea of where you want to end up when you cast."
"You said that there was one in this village?"
"Yes, the fire temple is here in Embermyst."
I feel the warmth of hope flood my body, as the indomitable spirit of humanity once again claims victory against the inclemency of the universe! I have my way home. All that's left is to use it.
"To be more precise, it's on the outskirts of the city, built into the side of the volcano closest to the tap. It isn't a far walk, but this place was originally built a safe distance from uncontained fire magic."
Leanna nods, standing.
"Then that's where we need to go."
The rest of us push ourselves to our feet as well. As Issim rises, his face falls.
"Leaving so soon? I was hoping we'd have a longer chance to chat. I have many questions about Illumia and the Academy. As you can imagine, one does not exactly get a lot of news out here."
I smile.
"Perhaps upon our return?"
"Ah, yes, of course. Best be on your way then."
Amelia smiles fondly at the old professor.
"Elder Issim, it truly was an honour to meet you."
Her cheeks flush as Elder Issim grins. She must really respect him. It finally occurs to me how much smaller she appears next to fully-fledged warriors, even myself, a soldier of a Nanite Age society. Her pride in her accomplishments and faith in her own abilities seem to fill up the space she is in, and so does Amelia seem larger than she is, but without all that? She seems almost dainty, like a porcelain doll, a showing of human youth amidst the mature bodies and slightly more mature minds of the others in this room.
We all say our goodbyes and exit the hut. Once outside, we scan the horizon, trying to orient ourselves towards the volcano, eyes tracing the path that will lead us to our destination.
"So, what do you think we'll find at this 'temple'?"
Leanna shakes her head in uncertainty, though she does offer some information.
"Not long after the time period given for the creation of crystals, worship of the elementals fell off rapidly. Their holy sites were abandoned, and because of the nature of Havengarde's formation, the other civilizations had better things to do. With the sites of their old capitals no longer valuable, they drifted away towards the newly forming towns and cities whose natural resources were far greater."
"Wouldn't they still be magical hotspots, and thus create crystals?"
"According to modern records, these societies went through a dark age. Crystals were only discovered around seventy years after the end of The Second Founding Wars."
Huh.
Amelia speaks up.
"Unless any of us have further business in Embermyst, let us ascend the volcano."
A/N: ADVENTURE, AWAY!
Embermyst is somewhat generic in the original story, largely due to how little we get to see of it. It feels like a standard fantasy hidden society, but there are little bits of culture thrown in through the appearance of things. So I changed up some stuff, added some background things, and gave them a backstory and an alternate name for their city - Oraphros, the City of Embers, - from which its modern name is derived in meaning. Phoros is definitely a word in ...whatever their language is called, I'm not going to make up a name on the spot and pretend I've thought long and hard about it, and means ember, but also ash, and probably a few other things.
Also, I totally forgot to post yesterday. I blame my tired brain and the existence of Peanut Butter Chicken Curry. The stuff melts you.