And as horrible it is to admit, I’m still here.
Mom, Dad, if you can hear me, I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye. I could never repay you for raising me to be who I am. I’m forever grateful. And please, look over me. And , Caroline, I’m sorry I lied.
My hand went to my forehead surreptitiously. I’d all but forgotten that dream until Eva relayed the grim information. Or was it even a dream? I could feel the soft grass prickling my skin and the sun warming me as it did now. Caroline’s gentle touch; the sensation of her lips on my forehead ever present, almost as if they never quite left.
Her words echoed back to me. “I hope you live a long and happy life.”
A lump formed in my throat and I could feel my eyes watering. I rubbed them furiously and gave a halfhearted chuckle, staring out at the majestic plains.
Can’t be happy if I’m crying, I thought with a bittersweet smile. If I couldn’t save you, then the least I can do is be happy for you and live.
“Al?” a voice called from behind.
I turned and saw Neepa stepping out of the door way, wrapped up in a blanket, a look of worry etched into her face.
“Are you okay?”
I looked back at the rising sun and drew in a long breath of air, then exhaled it slowly. “Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I think I’m going to be.”
Chapter 9
The next day went quietly. Neepa changed my bandages and fed me soup, and more her medicinal, bitter cocktails. Eva slept the entire day, only once coming out of her room dressed in nothing but a long white tunic to use the bathroom before returning to bed. The majority of the day was spent getting my room ready, which was just used for storage up until that point. It only featured a bed, a trunk, and a lone shelf. Very barren, but it was somewhere to sleep. I ended up turning in early that day because my body was still sore, and moving around only exacerbated it––my episode through the woods certainly set me back some.
Come bedtime, Neepa came to my room to bid me goodnight, with a kiss of course. A long, drawn out kiss leaving ours faces blushed and our breaths husky. She eyed the wall nervously after we finished; the wall that separated my room from Eva’s. For whatever reason, she didn’t want to reveal what we did.
Eva already knew, but if Neepa was too embarrassed to admit it, then I’ll let her work it out in due time. She gave my cheek a comforting peck and left me to a dreamless sleep.
I woke up feeling just as bad as the last day, like all my joints were swollen. The tender morning kiss Neepa delivered helped offset the pain.
After helping me downstairs, she swapped my bandages for fresh ones. Then made me breakfast. A sort of porridge that smelled of cinnamon and had bits of dried berries in it. Simple, yet surprisingly good.
Eva came down not long after I was served, dressed in her casual attire, and helped herself to some fruit that was left out. Neepa bid her good morning, but Eva only replied with a grunt. Then, with her bow, quiver, and satchel, left without saying goodbye. Didn’t so much as make eye contact with me while she was downstairs.
“Where’s she going?” I asked.
Neepa sat down with a tea pot and poured each of us a cup.
“Training,” she replied, handing me my cup. “She has targets set up in the field behind our home. She’ll be out there for several hours with her bow, and then go off into the woods to hunt or do more training for another several hours.” She sipped her tea and sighed contently. “That’s just her routine.”
“Huh,” I said, then drank from my tea. It tasted herbal, like it was good for me, but I’m more of a coffee guy. Not bad though. “Tell me, why… or how did you two end up living together out here?”
She set her cup down and stared at it for a moment. “Why do you ask?” she asked, looking up from her tea.
“You two just seem like complete opposites. She’s a soldier; you’re a witc… uh, mage,” I sloppily corrected. “And she’s kind of…intense.” I had a few choice words that would’ve been better suited, but not appropriate to say in front of Neepa. “While you’re very gentle.”
Neepa dipped her head down and let her long black hair fall into her face, hiding the blush and smile that I knew was hiding under there.
“Eva can be kind. When she wants to,” she added after a long pause. “I’m sure after enough time you two can be friends.”
“How long does it usually take for her to make a friend?”
Neepa gave me a very strained smile and brushed her thumbs along the brim of her cup. I waited for her to say something, but then it dawned on me that there was no answer.
“Well then,” I started, trying to change the topic, "How did you two end up living together, then?”
“She was adopted by my foster mother and we spent most of our childhood together. This is her home, actually.”
I craned my head around and gave the inside another once over. Did seem kind of big for just two people.
“Where’s she?”
Neepa’s gaze fell and she sat as a few seconds passed. “S-she was a mage conscripted for the Arms of Earus. She went on an assignment and… never came back.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
She let out a breath and gave me a wan smile. “Don’t be. Being a soldier or an enlisted mage has its hazards; she instilled that in us every time she left, so we’d be ready for it.” She let out a sad sigh. “I do miss her dearly, though.”
“What was her name?”
“Olea.”
Olea the late foster mother, huh?
I was tempted to ask about her parents, but, from experience, that would’ve been a touchy subject, and I inadvertently stumbled upon one such subject when asking about her housemate.
I decided to switch to something that’s been bothering me. “Neepa, there’s actually something about this house I’d like to ask you.”
“What would that be?”
“The bathroom… how do you have heated, running water?”
She gave me a curious look and tilted her head. “Did your world not have running water?”
“What? No, yeah, we did, it’s just… surprising considering, well, everything. Do you guys use some sort of electricity, or is it a steam engine?”
“Electricity?” Neepa parroted with her brows furrowed. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. And what’s a steam engine?”
Ok, now I was confused. “What’s pumping and heating the water?”
Neepa guided me outside to the back of her home. Attached to the side of the building where the bathroom would be was a large copper tank, resting atop a stone foundation. The thing looking like an incredibly early prototype of what a water heater would look like from back home. Pipes jutted out of the tank and ran into the ground, which I assumed connected to the spigot I saw inside.
Neepa knelt in front of the base of the tank and pulled a flat stone free from the foundation. “This is how the water is moved and heated.”
I knelt down next to her and peered into the dark, damp enclosure. Mounted on a wire frame and positioned directly under the copper tank was a glowing red crystal outputting enough heat to warm my face. Next to that, however, was a clear glass housing that joined a series of pipes. Inside of it was another glowing crystal, this one was a cloudy white.
“The red crystal is imbued with the element of fire and keeps the water stored in the tank hot, for whenever we need it,” Neepa informed. “The other crystal is imbued with the element of wind, drawing water to and from the underground streams.”
“Holy shit,” I muttered.
Neepa giggled. “You’re the first person I’ve seen taken aback by plumbing. I can’t wait to see your face when you see how things are like further in Scintillion.”
“Magic is still something I’m trying to fathom,” I said while inspecting this strange blend of magic and engineering. “Must’ve been a nightmare running pipes down into the stream.”
“No, the mages can do that easily enough. Charging, making, and imbuing the crystals are
the laborious parts.”
“Mages? As in plumbing mages?”
“There’s no such thing,” she snorted. “Earth and metal mages help with development and building because they’re capable of doing the work of hundreds in less than half the time. Earth mages can part the earth, move massive rocks, make bricks for homes, or form clay pipes. Metal mages can pull raw ore and morph it to their will, making stronger metal pipes or frames for homes. Their metal is also magically imbued, making them more resilient and less prone to corrosion. However, they can’t produce steel or manipulate gold or silver. Only very, very advanced mages can perform such a feat.”
I gave the interior another look before replacing the stone into the foundation. “And what about the crystals, like how and who makes them?”
“The who depends on what the crystal’s purpose is. Unfortunately, I don’t know very much about the process other than it ranges from a few days to a few months to imbue an element. But, once they’ve been imbued, they’ll work so long as they are charged periodically, which anyone can do.”
“How often is that?”
“Oh, once every month or two.”
“Wow, so as long as you have magic then they’ll run forever?”
“Not quite. The crystal will wear out and crack eventually, and then we’d have to get a replacement. You see, Al, these crystals are man-made, which means they are far from perfect; perfect crystals formed in the earth are extremely valuable and rare. Not only are they capable of handling more power, but they last much longer.”
“How long do these last?” I asked, gesturing to the two in the enclosure.
Neepa placed a finger on her lip. “Hmm, given their quality, about six years.”
“And a perfect crystal?”
“One of equivalent size… about fifty years.”
Fifty years?! That red and grey one was just a little smaller than my palm. How could something so small put out energy for so long?
Well, magic, I guess.
“What about a big one, say…the size of this tank?” I asked, smacking the copper container with a dull, resonating ding.
“Oh that, hmm…” Neepa tapped her lip. “Thousands of years? Maybe more. But one of that size would be comically rare. And if one were to exist and be found intact, it could take a hundred years with scores of advance mages working day and night to imbue it.”
“So not very practical, huh?”
Neepa brushed aside a lock of dark hair and gave an appeasing smile. “It can be an invaluable resource, but it would take a tremendous amount of work. Such a thing could aid the people greatly, but man-made crystals are more than enough to make our lives more comfortable.”
Amen to that. Not sure I'd be able to adjust if I couldn’t bathe regularly.
I rose from the ground, grimacing a little and holding my stomach. Neepa, alarmed, held her hand over mine and draped the other over my shoulder.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I glanced at her and saw nothing but worry on her features. The sight made the corners of my mouth curl into a smile.
“Just a little sore, not as bad as a few days ago, trust me. You don’t have to dot on me like that.”
Neepa withdrew her hand and clasped them together in front of her, gazing bashfully to the side. “Sorry,” she muttered.
This girl, I thought, shaking my head playfully. I took her hand back in mine and she looked up.
“I don’t hate it, though.”
Neepa’s cheeks flushed and she smiled back. “Would you like me to make you some medicine?”
“Please.”
We went back inside and Neepa went about making her good ol’ green potion. I asked her more about the crystals and magic while she worked.
Turns out, the candle sconces I saw around the house didn’t actually have candles in them, but crystals. If anyone wanted to turn them on, basically, they just have to touch it. The force required to power them is so minuscule that even children could manage with no trouble.
Nothing happened when I attempted it. Still cool as shit, though.
And since we were on the subject, Neepa informed me that she was a light mage, technically. When I asked her to clarify, she said that Olea was a light mage and showed her the basics; however, she was only taught for a few years before Olea never came back. Her main field of study was botany; that was her main area before coming into Olea’s care. Outside of that, Neepa had gone to a small school to get certified as a service-ready mage for the military. She hadn’t continued studying beyond that.
I asked if she still attended to study light magic, but then said she was competent enough and fell quiet afterwards.
Instead of dwelling on another touchy subject, I asked more about the mages and the Arms of Earus.
The Arms was basically a guild, one meant for people who wanted to be soldiers. They functioned sort of as the official military because they’re the largest and most far-reaching guild on the world, and other worlds. Because of their influence and numbers, they’ve taken up other public services like maintaining the peace, running jails, city sanitation, and other odds and ends. Their first and foremost duty was training soldiers and fighting the Null wherever it appeared.
Aside from them, there are scores of other guilds. There are hunter’s guilds, mercenaries’ guilds, blacksmith’s guilds, scribe’s guilds, leather’s guilds, and even baker’s guilds. And some, like the soldier’s guild, are based throughout numerous kingdoms and worlds.
Mages were a different story. Academies took the place of guilds. The Mage’s Hall was sort of like a formal office that coordinated the academies’ duties. Basically the board of education for mages. Policies are decided, instructions are issued, standards are set, and aspiring students are managed and admitted to academies based off a series of factors.
Protecting the people from the Null is their primary mission, yes, but academies really work towards understanding more on the power of the One. While they may still have strong ties to their origins, knowledge does degrade over time and certain things can be lost or forgotten. The academies work towards rediscovering lost knowledge or discovering new knowledge through rigorous study and experimentation. Sigemond told me that the power of the One existed in many forms; naturally, there’d be numerous different kinds of magic and academies to study them.
Mages typically affiliate themselves with academies to be trained in the art of magic, then, once capable, go off into the world wherever they are needed. Many would go off and fight with the military, but some would either be independent contractors, public servants, or continue their lives in academia.
As Neepa explained it, magic was a lot like math. Everyone can easily learn the basics and apply its utility for many different situations. To demonstrate, she lit the fireplace with nothing but her hand. After arranging the logs, she took some dried kindling in her palm and focused until it smoked, smoldered, then caught fire. Soon, flames were licking the bottom of a pot of water. Vibration is a key aspect to manipulating one’s power, so even most laypeople can manage basic applications.
However, like math, there’s a certain level where it becomes so complicated and convoluted that only a special few can hope to decipher the madness. Some get it, others don’t.
“Actually, I think I have a good primer on the mystic arts,” Neepa said as she handed me her medicine.
Honestly, despite having drunken it several times already, it never got easier.
She perused the shelves of her library while I forced down the brew.
She pulled a worn, thin, leather-bound book from the shelf, then sat back down to present it to me. “It’s elementary at best, but it should offer you some insight, if you’d like to learn more.”
I took the book and began to open it. “Thanks, I’m actually looking forward to reading...” I trialed off as I scanned the page before me. Complete gibberish. “I can’t read this.”
Suddenly, like I just turned a corner and walked into a pole
, it hit me.
“Actually, Neepa, how is it that I can even understand you, everybody for that matter? My world alone had over six thousand different languages, what are the chances your world happens to speak the one I know?”
“I’d say zero,” Neepa said with a light giggle. “I’m not speaking your language; I’m speaking my own tongue. Just as you are.”
“Aaand you lost me.”
“Magic,” Neepa said simply.
I ran a hand through my hair and groaned. “Right.”
Neepa placed a reassuring hand on my forearm. “Do not worry, I’ll explain. You recall that we do not dabble in worlds that are oblivious to the war, yes?” I nodded. “Well, in order for us to know whether or not a world is aware, we have to talk with the natives. Some worlds are in the midst of battle against the Null and know it under other names or have a different lore, but if they are aware of the danger, then we present ourselves and form alliances.
"However, worlds, like yours, who have had the luxury of peace, are left alone. The Council of Scintillion would vote whether or not to intervene in a world’s affairs and introduce them to the struggle; even then, some worlds would reject and even fight us. Regardless, we have gone to your world at some point, and recently if I sound fluent in your tongue.”
I sighed. “Still lost.”
“You recall the three principles of the One, yes?”
“Yeah. Kind of hard to forget a bombshell like all that,” I muttered.
“For a little background information: all forms of magic fall under one of the three,” she said, raising three fingers. “Earth and metal mages, for example, fall under matter. However, mages that handle purer natures, as they’re called––like water and fire––fall under energy. Mind and dimensional mages fall under spirit. Through the use of mind mages’ magic, they devised a way to connect people at a spiritual level, thus allowing us to understand any native tongue.”
“But how do I understand you, then?”
“You must be a descendant of one of the original natives that met my people, or at least within the region. When one spirit gains knowledge, it passes it off as another spirit comes into being, one’s descendant.”
Heart of the Resonant: Book 1: Pulse (Resonant Series) Page 13
