by Philip Read
He nods with a frown on his face seemingly unsatisfied with the response.
I look at my audience again catching their eyes before I try to express to them the beautiful addictive snake pit that is Omega.
“I will start with one of the cities, one of the most famous because of it’s vast treasures, exotic from all over the universe including dimensions in time vortexes. A city that is alive in the literals sense of the word, the city of Elantris.
There is an Ascension Gate from Gaia on there that leads the lucky few straight into the slimy depths of its filthy alleys. The stink of the city is without equal and the garbage and human faeces can be found at the dark corners of some of the houses of the lower suburbs.
The city itself is great because it is a dungeon. The entire city is the most elaborate and well-designed dungeon I had ever heard of. Everything authentically made to be on par with everything found naturally on Omega, allowing even the most powerful giant troll go all out without fear of crumbling the buildings.
As we fight and kill within the dungeon we gain power and purer and denser ether that condenses quicker into our systems. And the more powerful our opponents and the more difficult the fight, the greater the power gained after a victory. The environment caters to a complete bloodbath unless it’s every person against the dungeon creatures right?
But that’s not how the city runs. The dungeon creatures are the at the most powerful you can be before the dungeon kicks you out. Every single one of them is practically overpowered at power level maximum and can never be defeated in single combat by a single person within the confines of Elantris and they serve at the city guards.
They deal out punishments for murders, theft and general unlawfulness to the extent that they imprison you for years or simply maim. But they can never kill you, not unless you attack them or one of their own direction and lose. People have stopped trying to work together to take them down many centuries ago now.
Instead, people make their lives inside Elantris, living their everyday lives, going to work making ends meet. And all those simple tasks are rewarded by the dungeon. People gaining skill in strange things like pottery making, weaving, bricklaying, building design or even haggling. Skills that are actually acknowledged by the world and interpreted as power skills even outside the dungeon to the extent that even products outside the city are grades on the scale of poor, average, superior, rare, legendary, mythical and divine.
The scale of the product by which a person is graded to determine their mastery over it. Only craftsman or workman that can produce superior products being ever allowed to leave the dungeon, Elantris. But there is a catch in left as well for everyone that leaves the city can never return, it becomes an instance to them forever out of reach.
There are creatures is Elantris said to have been residents for hundreds of years. Slugs that are slimy and intelligent Awakened beasts 20 meters long and able to hold a coherent and interesting conversation with the best of them. No offence Quintin but I have always assumed Awakened beasts were stupid or unlearned for some reason.”
“None took, we get that a lit from you humans.” He rumbles in his chest voice.
“Thievery and murder are not prevented by the presence of the guards though, on the contrary, it emboldens people to try even more daring crimes. To get away with a criminal act in Elantris is have achieved something and all achievements in Elantris are awarded by an infusion on dense ether and sometimes the development of skills.
Very few places within the city are deathmatches and even wanton slaughter completely sanctioned but yea they exist to for the crazy fuckers that like to live on the edge. Knowing they could be attacked at any time. But if you stay alive for ten straight days there the dungeon rewards you with ether and coins. The Stela is surprisingly the currency of choice within the dungeon of Elantris, or at least something like it.
There is also a slight time dilation within Elantris so that a single day outside is two day in Elantris. Not much in the short term but a let you consider someone that spends 100 years of their life there getting stronger and come out and only 50 years have passed.”
“Is that were you ascended to, this Elantris?” Sisi asks with a whisper.
I shake my head sadly, “No, this is not where I came up to. I Ascendended onto the soft moist floor of the Dark Forest, home to the tall sun blotting Black Widow trees and of course giants of all kind.”
I look around the room and it seems I still have the attention of my audience, with Questica not actually writing notes as I expected but actually writing the entire story already in her own words in a beautiful flowing script. I should have known she wouldn’t actually need to take notes to remember everything I say a word for word. That annoys me for some run as on, that I missed that minor detail about her, it’s almost like she deliberately misled me. I have no idea why I don’t like this lady but I’m starting to suspect it’s a supernatural reason.
“I know we have some pretty big creatures and being here on Gaia but I can tell you now you haven’t seen a giant until you see a red giant. The things are big and wide and in proper proportion with the giant trees of the Dark Forest.
“I remember minutes after Ascending into the forest and see the red giant coming I thought it was just a normal sized person and my battle sense was broken from the Ascension. I hadn’t yet realised how to hug the trees where me as a scale when I saw them looking normal to my charging opponent ahead.
But then I did realise nothing was broken and this thing is now only 200 meters away, only a few steps to reaching me. The ground didn’t shake though and I kept thinking how the ground was so still below my feet. Normally when something of that size runs at such speeds with such obvious power there is usually shaking of the ground with every step. None of that’s here as I faced my first of many opponents on Omega.” I say with a sigh.
*
We take a break for me to explore the grounds and meet other people that live here that aren’t part of the founding 17. There compound is more extensive than I initially thought it was going at least 10 stories down underground with ceilings 6 meters high and wide corridors. More than enough space to accommodate someone of Quintin’s stature but not enough to actually accommodate giants, not that there are any true giants on Gaia.
The lower floors are extensive and not just having rooms but wide open halls with underground gardens and other empty growing areas for the apothecary and other projects of some of the residents.
Not everyone in this compound is actually super strong I’m relieved to find. Some of the people here are mundane and others don’t seem like warriors of any kind. This eases some of my tension especially since Sarah said these people aren’t servants but actually trusted peers.
“Hello there, I haven’t met you before.” A voice says from the side drawing my attention to the speaker. A gnome that is selling vegetables it looks like, though selling may be the wrong word.
“Hello, I am Zaraya a guest here. Sarah is showing me around but she has wandered off somewhere.”
“Yes we all know who you are, we were informed of your arrival a few days ago, this is a small close community. Gossip and anything novel spreads quickly and having an Ascendant amongst us is a great honour.” The white-bearded gnome walks forward and stretches out his hand for a greeting. “I’m Yoshinda.” He says flaring his mana signature slightly as our hands meet.
With my skills and my mind, I will always be able to identify him by his signature now, even find him from a distance unless he learns to cloak it. It’s not the first time I’ve been greeted in this way here and it’s actually staring yo make sense to me that people should know each other’s signatures if they don’t intend to be enemies.
“I can’t believe you call this a small group, there must be at least 300 people in this hidden compound you have in this forest,” I say as I try to place his face and energy that seem so familiar.
“The compound has only recently been built in the last five
years, the land was claimed by Sistysis. A woman that was a naga, one of the founding members of the Conclaves and an old friend of grandfather Aaka.”
“I can see the resemblance between you and your grandfather. So you said she was the claimant of this terrifying, what changed? It still feels like it’s claimed territory to me.”
“The story goes that after she defeated a wyvern that challenged for this part of the forest she was too injured to survive on her own and went into the pocket dimension where they’ve been building their world all these years. There she used the last of her energy to bind herself fully with the planet though it meant she died quicker, she left a part of herself behind. And now so long as that world is connected to this one at this point the territory stays hers.”
“Interesting dilemma to have, what happens when another creature tries to claim the territory.”
Yoshida shrugs, “Anyone that has stayed here long enough can act as a proxy in such cases, and it doesn’t even have to be one on one. Don’t worry, with the current accumulated strength that is here right now, no creature on Gaia would dare to challenge for a claim.”
I wasn’t really worried but I keep my mouth shut as Sarah arrives and takes me from Yoshi’s hands. There are children here I notice, and some of the children resemble the founders too much for it to be a coincides.
“You all have children here?” I ask Sarah as we walk through an area that looks and feels like a natural cave system with moss and mushroom and precious minerals sparkling on the uncut walls. I can hear the distinct flowing of water from one of the passages but we don’t go there.
“Most of us that can have children do have children at some point, our children eventually have children of their own. It is inevitable.” She says, softy.
We continue our tour mostly in silence as I greet new people and explore the extensively reinforced and warded underground compound. In places, there are glow balls that are mounted on the walls to slightly increase the lighting, in others the walls themselves glow slightly and in others still, there is complete darkness as those beings that have a high darkness affinity also need to be catered to.
We go outside and I explore the immediate surround forest as well. The is an Ancestral beast only within a 100 km of this place I sense and a number of other string creatures. It isn’t long before I’m back inside setting up on the table with a slightly greater audience to continue my story.
Chapter 42
Zaraya
“Omega is the first and last stand between the mortal realm and the rest of the unknown universe. The deep dark maw that encampuses the everlasting spiritual, nether and the primordial realms where beings of spirit, chaos and primordial entities reside.
“As the closest planet to the spiritual realms, it is the most likely route for any creature from those parts of the universe to ever come towards us. Thus, as the first line of defence in case of something ever went wrong or when spirits descend to the mortal realm as they are known to do, Omega needs to be a powerhouse without equal in all the realm of creatures with physical bodies. And it is, it is a powerhouse.
“From the stories I gathered there the world was shaped into being by the Trinity itself but its true designer is the Universe. The world is alive like most powerful worlds are known to be but in a strange way that is completely unlike what we know of from Gaia, not sentient or sapient in a way we can understand but it’s still awake.
“The size of the bloody planet is almost incomprehensible to the human imagination. I mean I’ve been there and I’m blessed with the 4D visualization skill of the psionic path but I still had a hard time putting everything into scale in my head. If you are to fully appreciate the size and majesty of Omega you have to have an inkling of the vastness of outer space and the galaxy at large.”
“We are aware of some of the basics, Serus is an avid studier of astrology, astronomy and mathematica. Please speak freely expecting us to fully keep up with you.” Aaka says to alley my worries, gesturing towards the scared old centaur that is also in the room.
I nod towards this Serus and continue with my description, though I know I can’t really do it justice with just words.
“Omega is a mammoth of a world that I’m sure none of you has ever even imagined possible in all your wildest dreams, I know I hadn’t before I got there. It is so big and so dense that it acts as the anchor of its solar system.” I pause there to try to gauge how well they might understand that implication. A few people look surprised but some don’t seem to get it but at least they will think about it.
“Seven stars revolve around Omega, think of that for a moment. Seven suns revolve around the planet at all times but every part of the planet still gets the sunless night a few times a year.” I let them digest that a moment as I sip at my tea to clear my throat.
“How big are these suns you’re talking about ‘cause stars aren’t equal by any measure.”
The ever silent but always attentive Cyrus asks in a low senious voice that cuts through the room like a cold wind. Now I know why the man never talks, I think to myself as I watch the dark outline of hid silhouette in one of the only shaded corners in the entire room.
I use focused sight and see him for the first time since I’ve been here. His eyes are cloudy and hooded, chestnut in colour and quite pleasing to look at. His eyebrows slightly arched giving him a slightly displeased look, his skin tone honeyed ebony that looks too beautiful to be on a man, let alone a human man. He has high cheekbones and a chiselled jaw that accentuates just how attractive the man is.
His hair is black shaggy and unkempt falling on his forehead slightly but short at the back, not flowing past his neck at all. He stands at about 1.8 meters with a compact body with a narrow waist and calloused hands. He is in a raggy black cloak that seems to be billowing as though blown by the wind even in this windless room. His frown deepens as I see him and he sees me seeing him before blackness envelopes him like smoke and he disappears from the room leaving a lingering aura of cruelty and power that’s almost like a taste at the back of my throat. I want him.
“To answer that question two of the stars that revolve around Omega are blue giants comparable in size to our own Rigel, which has an estimated radius of 105 million km. The other four are smaller dwarf stars that are more stable and less luminous, the last is a black hole.
“Each of these stars is always at some point in its revolution around Omega, only being eclipsed a few times a year by one of the other stars in its own revolution. The eclipses are beautiful I should add and great sources of power for witches and ritualists, no one fucks with witches on Omega or at least not without making sure the witch is dead along with its entire coven.
“A day on Omega is calculated by the amount of time it takes the world to revolve around its own axis, a year by how long the system takes to revolve around the centre of the galaxy. One of the suns revolving around the planet is referred to as The Black Sun, it’s presence felt by the radiation storms and gravity fluctuations it leaves in its wake. But luckily the Black Sun is furthest from Omega and it’s attractive forces mostly nullified by the grav of the other suns.”
“That’s the black hole you mentioned.” Serus extrapolates correctly.
I nod in the affirmative. “That is the black hole I mentioned.”
“So in comparison to a day on Gaia how long does it take the planet Omega to revolve around itself, how long is a day really?” Someone else asks I haven’t caught his name yet so I can’t really place him in the hierarchy of this place. But he must be imported to something to be here today.
“A day on Omega is very long, the fat planet takes about 10 Gaia days to finish a single revolution around its axis.”
“So you’re telling us that a thousand hours make up a day on Omega?” An incredulous short human asks from behind me. The glasses on his face to assist with sight tell me he is a mundane but the aura he portrays isn’t simple.
“I mean more or less, time there moves different
ly so I can’t really be sure when it comes to time, and the one Time Mage I met was a completely dangerous existence I tried to stay as far away from as I could while I was in Elantris.”
“Don’t mind the interruptions Zaraya, please continue,” Sarah says with a hand on my arm again, I nod and continue.
“There are 64 tributary planets that revolve around the gravity field Omega projects. Some of them are stuck in orbits around one of the six stars but most of the habitable ones are satellites around Omega itself, acting as moons and homes for some of the creatures and power brokers of the world. Some of the most powerful species of creatures collect themselves and make homes in one of the 36 habitable planets orbiting Omega. Allowing immigration or refugees as they see fit and as the world allows, but by far the most individually powerful creatures are found on Omega.”
“I think that is enough for a few hours at least,” Sarah says standing up and pulling my arm so I stand with her. “Zaraya and I need to go get some shopping done so she gets to interact with more normal people for a while.”
Arnold grunts and stands to leave, everyone else starts dispensing, thanking me for the information. Some in their own thoughts hardly noticing where they are going, I know it’s a lot to take in but at least they are all getting this information from the comfort of a chair worlds removed from actually being there.
“You ready to visit one of the neighbouring peoples for some socializing and trading?” She asks me with a smile as she also pulls a mildly protesting Sisi with us towards the upper floors.
“How do you guys travel anyways, this place seemed so remote and isolated when I landed,” I ask truly wondering how they build all this without leaving a noticeable trail through the forest.
“We ride of course,” Sarah says before sending out a long ultrasonic sound wave, only perceptible to me because of my psionic ability.
“Ride what?”
And in just mere moments I get my answer as a snake the size of fucking alabaster tree slithers between the bushes smoothly, hardly displacing a leaf even with its prodigious size.
