Beyond?

by Andur

  All of us are back in our embassy's safe room and at the end of our nerves. We already feared that we had fucked up and caused a war, but nothing happened.

  Only this idiot Eliot didn't care and continued to follow the direction his penis pointed in.

  Nikita rubs salt into his wound. “I hope you learned something from that experience. The women here are too big for a small boy like you.”

  Eliot starts shivering. “I just wanted to investigate if she is the techno mage who is constantly spying on us! Therefore I tried to win her over... uuhh...”

  Saana covers her eyes with one hand. “Stop making those noises, it sounds like you are still doing her. You chased the tails of the local girls since we arrived here. Now that you finally found one who isn't disgusted by you and you end up like this?”

  Eliot crawls to his knees. “I'll become a monk. Never again! The women here are scary! It felt like I am just a toy to her! She didn't stop, even after I started to ... It's them who are supposed to bleed! Huhuuu... and then she used healing magic... and continued. The thing between her... so scary... but I couldn't resist. The pain and pleasure. The fear and lust... then she asked if it's supposed to be that small!”

  Nikita shakes in disgust while looking at the figure on the ground. “Someone should release him from his misery. Obviously he encountered a girl who has more stamina than him.”

  Saana hits the table with her walking stick. “Even so. We have to decide what to do in regards to the soul mage. The guys from Nict have a fucking soul mage in their midst and act like nothing is wrong. Am I the only one who has a problem with that?”

  I bow to her. “Sorry, but what can we do? At the moment we seem to be safe and his attention seems to be focused on those black magicians. I am not eager to fight someone who can take out an underground organization on his own. He has to be at least on the level of one of their clan heads in fighting power. That equals one of the direct subordinates of the Great Shaman. We don't have the abilities to stand against someone like that on our own.”

  Saana snorts. “I knew that he meant trouble. It's disturbing that I still underestimated him.” She turns towards Padma, who isn't participating in the conversation. “And pay attention Padma. This is important.”

  Padma looks up from the stack of papers in her hands. “But this is important! Here! It's a copy of Azir's new invention, the mana net. It has huge similarities to our crystal net, but instead of using the energy within the metallic veins of our mountains, it uses the ambient magical energy all around us. It's the explanation!”

  Nikita leans back and stretches her legs. “What's so great about that? We had the crystal net since long ago. Let them have that little bit of technology, they are still far behind us in terms of science. Nict lost almost all their technology during the war, we confirmed that they are still rediscovering what they lost. If their ancestors hadn't built their stuff so sturdily, they would live in caves now.”

  Padma shakes the copies. “But someone who can devise something like this is certainly able build those spying devises which are haunting me. That bastard sat right next to my door and laughed at me while I racked my brain on who could have the knowledge.”

  “Weren't the golden cards strange enough?” Saana asks.

  Padma denies vehemently. “No. Especially since I can't take them apart. We would have to explain why it's destroyed. But this is the proof.”

  I rub my temples. “Great. We have a soul magician living right next door. And incidentally he is also an extraordinary techno mage, not to forget his fighting power. Did I forget something? Ah, yes. Now he has a maid who is a techno mage too and probably helping him, not to mention that she fucked Eliot to the afterlife. Eliot, is there really nothing you can tell us about her?”

  Nikita points at Eliot. “He stopped moving a while ago. I think he is out cold.”

  Saana snorts once again. “Great. Wait, is that blood under him?”

  “Blood?” Nikita stands up and kicks Eliot, rolling him over. “Hiii! It's coming from between his legs, get a healer!”

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Stella

  We are together in the kitchen and eating dinner. Ivy turned out to be an extraordinary cook, which surprised me. But when I asked her on how she managed such a wonderful dinner, she simply answered that she was copying a cook through one of her remotes... damn cheater!

  But I admit that having her at my side throughout the day helped me to stay focused... even though she is a freak.

  Azir is stuffing himself with the food. If he continues like that I have to take care that he doesn't get fat.

  Suddenly he looks up and swallows. “That reminds me, Ivy. How did your first experience with Eliot go? He seemed to be happy to have found someone who didn't dismiss him immediately.”

  My eyes widen. “Ivy? And Eliot? No way!” She is a... she is a... what exactly is she?

  Ivy continues to chew her food with care, then she swallows and answers. “Of course my studies of organic behaviour include the relationship between genders. Eliot was a welcome opportunity, though I might not be able to grasp where the fun lies in this sex-thing.”

  I curl my tail behind me. “Why not? Wasn't he good enough? He always boasts about his stamina.”

  Ivy's expression turns concerned. “Well, he lasted an hour the first time. Then he tried to run off, but since I am female I thought that I have to take the lead. It was my first time and I thought that I might have done something wrong. Then the second session went better and I kept him up for two hours, though his body didn't take it too well. After a little healing magic I used my newly gained experience and the knowledge from the Creator's memory mirror.”

  She takes a sip from her glass with water. “The mirror's knowledge was a big help and the third round lasted a little over four hours. Though it didn't feel that good for me, maybe his dick was too small. The size difference seems to be a problematic hurdle between the races. Next time I need to find someone from my body's race.”

  Azir coughs. “It might not have been so smart to use the techniques from the mirror for your first time.”

  I smack my forehead. “Azir, what did you create? And Ivy, try to do it normally the next time. I wanted to ask for a long time now, but why did you even choose a female body?”

  Ivy raises an eyebrow. “Why should I want to be male? This society is oriented on a female matriarchy and the females generally get the better positions. I am not a masochist who chooses a weak starting position on purpose. My choices are well planned and properly calculated. I doubt that I would have found employment close to the Supplier so easily as a male.”

  “... stop calling me Supplier...”

  49. ~Secrets.~

  “And the Master granted each of his servants a part of his power.”

  -The forbidden Chronicle.

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Azir

  Who would've thought that the mana net has such a huge impact? I lean back on the chair in my laboratory and look at the statistics. Within the first week after my publication nothing much happened. I just spread the idea of an information network and how to build a floating artefact, which grants access to it.

  One of them is floating at my side. It's a disk and has a diameter of about ten centimetres. There are runes on its surface, but otherwise it doesn't look like a great invention. These artefact create a static field and use the ambient mana in their surroundings to run something similar to a computer network.

  You can store and call up information from this network. It's also possible to create programs which ease your interaction with the mana net. The only requirement are an ability for basic mind magic, which almost everyone has, and being registered.

  It grants you access to something like a command line interface, which appears in your field of vision and allows you to ask for information. Though that's all you can achieve at the moment.

  If you are better, then you gradually gai
n access to more complicated features until you arrive at a visual interface and are allowed to program your own features.

  The mana net will not only allow me to spread knowledge, but also to control and spy on almost everyone. I am relatively sure to have the lead in knowledge on this field, not to mention that I already have a pretty good idea on its possibilities. It'll take a while until hacking charms, magical viruses and spying tools appear.

  And if worst comes to the worst, I still have the master key to the whole thing.

  My thoughts return to the statistic. As expected it took a while for the people to realize the potential. In the first days of the publication literally nothing happened. Then a few people with interest in artefacts stumbled upon the idea and built their own connection points. They belonged mainly to the Siorda. I wonder if Louise told her people to take the lead in dealing with the new technology?

  Then everything literally exploded in the third week and the mana net started growing exponentially. I designed the disks to be produced cheap and fast. The downside is that their bandwidth is small and limits the support of users. People will start to figure out the principle behind the technology soon enough and improve it on their own.

  By now there are thousands of mages connected to the net and it has been just a little over a month since I started everything. Fate also granted me the perfect observer for my new creation. Ivy is using the net like her remotes to great effectiveness.

  I look around and sigh. Somehow I miss her being a small spider robot, always handing me the right tool while I work, being always at the ready with a glass of water. They grow up too fast.

  Now she is always one floor upwards, in Stella's laboratory, helping her in her research. Stella mentioned that it's a great help in her studies to have a corpse around... I don't want to know what they are doing up there.

  Ivy mentioned that she is helping Stella in her research to keep her body functioning and stop it from decaying. Yesterday they arranged a feast to celebrate Ivy's first heartbeat since she took over the body. I don't understand what's so great about a heartbeat if you are a corpse.

  A corpse... should I tell Eliot that he committed necrophilia by doing Ivy? Hm, I might do that the next time he annoys me, though he has been acting very docile since his adventure with her.

  My eyes wander to the drone, which I am building to explore the world. It even has wings and uses solar energy to stay in the air day and night. I am not the adventurous type, so I prefer to stay at home and let others do the work. One drone of the same type is already up in the air and flying towards the north to cartograph Dwem and the countries behind it. The next one I'll send south to have a look at the southern nations.

  Too bad that I lack the manpower to put a satellite up into orbit. Well, I can't have everything and spying drones will do the job too. Maybe they'll pick up on the radiation of my little nuke, then I know from which direction we have to expect trouble.

  Why do I have the feeling that I forgot something important?

  Free City States of Nict, Tri

  Stella

  “Are you sure that it's okay for me to visit your family's mansion like that? We didn't even announce our arrival.” I ask Azir who is pushing me down the corridor. “And why did I have to dress myself up?”

  He smiles. “It's alright! We are invited to a party and are indeed a little late!”

  “Late? What did you forget this time?” Hopefully I am not headed for something embarrassing.

  He starts fiddling with his hands. “My aunt's child is being introduced to the family.”

  I roll with my eyes. “Do you have a nice present at least?”

  Azir nods eagerly and pulls out a little necklace and an earring. “Something for the child and the mother. You put this onto the little critter.” He raises the necklace. “And this onto your ear.” He points at the earring. “And then you'll always hear what's happening around your child.”

  The corners of my mouth curl upwards. “The child will thank you for it.”

  Then we enter a room of average size with a few people inside it. I sigh, at least it wasn't something like a big official party. Seems like only Azir's immediate relatives are present.

  As it turned out we came two hours late and the little girl, Zana, had already fallen asleep. Her mother Jade was a nice enough person to forgive our late entry and was delighted by the present. She is a wonderful match with her husband, Daylen.

  And to be honest the party is a little boring since I knew most of the people only from seeing them a few times. The only exception is Valeria, but she wasn't able to keep me company all the time and so I have to entertain myself with Azir.

  At least until a certain person arrived at the scene. “~Hello. It has been a long time, Azir.~” A woman with brown hair and a round face walks towards us, her horns are two small spikes protruding from her forehead and she is smiling warmly at Azir.

  He stiffens upon looking at her and his hand reaches out to pull me between him and her. I almost fall over my own tail upon the unexpected movement.

  His hand holds my arm forcefully while I am standing between him and her, looking dumbfounded.

  “Laney! Indeed, long time no see.” His voice comes out a little agitated.

  “~Ohoho...~” The woman holds one hand in front of her mouth. “You don't have to be so stressed around me. The times when we saw each other daily are long over.” She corrects a strand of hair behind her ears.

  “What do you want?” His voice didn't change and he is still holding me.

  “Aw... don't be like that. Your mother wished to see you, she is in the training hall.” The woman gestures with the glass in her hand towards the exit.

  “Thanks, I'll be leaving then. Stella, sorry.” Azir walks away fast, almost running.

  “O... Okay. Don't worry about it.” My eyes return to the strange woman. “So you are Laney? My name is Stella, I am Azir's fiancee.”

  The woman smiles and I notice a few grey hairs on her head. So she is one of the older mages. “Glad to meet you my dear.”

  “Would you be so nice as to elaborate the relationship between you and Azir?” I gesture at the exit where Azir hurriedly disappeared to.

  Laney places one hand on her cheek. “Oh, he didn't talk about me? And I am like a second mother to him. I am the personal healer of the Zait's main family, Laney Edinus. I don't belong to the clan, but am treated like a family member since I have been a permanent employee since... sixty... sixty three years.”

  She offers me her hand and I shake it. “So you've known Azir since-”

  “Since he was born, yes. Like I said, I was like a second mother to him. Though he doesn't seem to appreciate my attention, he was such an interesting object to study.” The woman nods in thought. “You are so beautiful. I knew that he would become a prince charming from the day he spoke his first words.”

  “Is that so? Then would you care to tell me a few stories about his childhood outside of school? I am studying medicine and chemistry by the way.” I gesture towards a nearby table.

  Laney smirks. “With pleasure.

  Free City States of Nict, Tri

  Azir

  “You took your time.” My mother stands in the middle of the training hall, waiting. Her hands are crossed in front of her chest and she looks at me with an annoyed expression.

  Great! She's peeved. I wonder what I did this time. “I came as soon as I got the message.”

  “That's because I sent Laney.” She sighs. “I called you to teach you more about our ability.”

  I blink. “Didn't you refuse to teach me until I completely mastered my ability to gather mana?” She was adamant about the point that further teachings don't make sense until I have a complete grasp on my ability.

  She tilts her head in thought. “The situation changed. A week ago Helen called all leaders of the main clans to the palace. She announced the mobilization of the army. That doesn't mean that we are going to war, but it puts our milita
ry into a state where it could march within one hour. Additionally the sea ports were reopened and the construction of a fleet started.”

  Valda snorts. “She refused to tell us why exactly these steps were taken and reasoned that in light of the underground network, which you uncovered, we have to be prepared. Helen isn't somebody who gets jumpy without reason. She knows something which she isn't telling us.”

  I attempt to say something, but Valda interrupts me by raising one hand.

  “And it's her right to have secrets. A country's leader can't blurt everything vital around. Not even to the clan heads... especially not to the clan heads.” She nods. “Since the situation became uncertain, I decided to advance your knowledge and training.”

  “First, the need for having complete control over your ability was a lie.” My mother proclaims flat out. “Sorry, but I had to make up my mind about teaching you any further. This knowledge isn't supposed to fall into the wrong hands.”

  I open my mouth and close it again. “What!? Then why now? You decided that my hands are the right ones?”

  Valda closes her eyes. “Helen wouldn't take such drastic actions if the situation couldn't turn into something grave. I am not talking about the army, but the ports. Our country isolated itself for generations. Then the Dwemer send a group of ~exchange students~, the southern nations are agreeing to peace talks, an evil underground network with strange motives gets uncovered and the fleet is being rebuild.”

  She starts tapping onto the floor by using her foot. “This could blow up in our faces. Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. And I want to have someone who can succeed me. What I am about to teach you is normally only taught from clan head to clan head.”

  This seems to be something grave. Is my mother fearing that something could happen to her? “Ahem. Then why not teaching my sister? And what about Quarma? Shouldn't she know the secret too?”

  Mom shakes her head. “Quarma is too old to teach it. She exceeded her limit long ago. Don't you wonder why she never uses her ability? She burned herself out during the last big invasion by the southern nations.