Millennial Mage

Tala dumped all the power that she could into her chair via as many large void-channels as she could sustain. She felt that power expand through the pocket dimension like a wave.

Like a very slow wave…of some incredibly viscous fluid.

She grimaced. “They cut more corners than I think we realized.”

Gallof cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“The hold ends a bare two inches below the ground. The rolling hills are faked with a non-uniform dimensional space. It’s no wonder there are no trees in here.”

Tala would have sworn that she could feel Kit’s influence expanding as a vehicle for her own power, worming its way through the hold, establishing itself and claiming mastery.

“It only extended about ten feet up, too. Just enough to not be noticeable on casual inspection.”—Well, the taller sub-species might have noticed.—”The artificial sun isn’t even really there, it’s a clever, but weak, illusion. No wonder the grass looks stunted.”

Thorn grunted before shaking his head. “Well, this will still be better than commissioning a new hold.”

Be-thric nodded, his enthusiasm slightly dimmed. “Indeed. The last one we commissioned took more than a year for delivery. Spatial craftsmen are always in demand.”

Tala flicked through Tali’s memories, testing if Tali would say what she really, really wanted to. She would?

Alat barked a laugh within Tala’s head. -Do it! Ask.-

“I would be fascinated to know how all of this works.”

Be-thric nodded absently, seemingly lost in contemplations of other thoughts. “It is a fascinating area of study. Gallof, please be sure to procure a set of books on the theory for my Eskau.” After a moment’s pause, he waved a hand. “And any other subject she’s interested in. I won’t have my Eskau seen as uneducated, and nothing fuels education like interest. Thorn, I want you to see if there are any other holes in her knowledge, other than those that interest her, and we can fill those too.”

Tala blinked in shock. Is that…it?

-Seems so.-

Gallof was beaming. “We’ll want a library in here for sure.”

We’ll want to get all these books back to the Archive, for sure.

-They won’t all be new to the Archivists.- Alat hedged against Tala’s glee.

But some will.

-Undoubtedly.- The alternate interface let some of her own excitement bleed through.

How has no one done this before? She faked a moment’s though. Right, because all it takes is being kidnapped by people who want to rip out my soul. She suppressed a shudder.

-I’m actually glad there isn’t trade between the human cities and these arcanes. The most likely thing humanity could offer would be undesirables for use as founts…-

That’s…dark. She grimaced slightly before she schooled her face. Yeah. There would definitely be people willing to make that trade for some of the things we’ve seen. Better to keep civil contact a distant thing.

Thorn turned towards Tala, examining her hand with evident awe, shaking his head almost unconsciously. “So much power. How long can you keep that up?”

Tala frowned, considering. “The limiting factor is the strength of my will.” She knew what she needed to say next, it’s exactly what Tali would say, so she gilded herself and continued, “So, I can continue for as long as my Pillar desires.”

The words felt gross on her tongue, but she didn’t show her true feelings. It is I, who am using you now, you self-centered— She cut herself off before she could drift towards violent thoughts or intent.

Be-thric grinned broadly, completely oblivious to her inner thoughts. “As I’d expect from my Eskau. Powerful, wise, and loyal. Don’t harm yourself, however. I suspect it will take at least a day or two for you to fully subsume this hold, using your item and the scripts in-built.”

Tala felt a wave of revulsion as her power, along with Kit’s influence, reached the first remnants of violence.

The storage unit simply...processed the organic material.

What?

-Well, that answers the question of: ‘What’s been happening to all the food scraps?’-

Is that normal? For a dimensional storage item to eat things? Did it just move them into the soil somehow?

-Be-thric seemed to suspect something like this. Ask?-

Tala cleared her throat, drawing the three men’s attention. They had each been examining the magics acting around them, seemingly testing various aspects of the hold as it was devoured.

As they all looked her way, Tala asked her question, “It seems that my dimensional storage just…ate? I think it ate one of the bodies. Do you know why?”

She could feel the influence nearing others. It was going to ‘clean’ the whole hold.

Be-thric grinned triumphantly towards Gallof, and the latter sighed. “You were quite correct, my Pillar.”

“But of course. Please, do explain it to her.”

Gallof bowed. “As you wish.” He turned and bowed to Tala. “Eskau Tali, the dimensional storage you previously held was not, in fact, a basic dimensional storage device. It wasn’t even simply an advanced one, taken from a fallen foe of great power. Somehow, it was, and I suppose still is, a tamed devouring dimension.”

“What now?”

-What now?-

The orb spoke up for the first time in the last few minutes. “It surrounds us even now. What a glorious day, we shall be consumed, together, friend and foe, forever locked in the belly of the beast.”

They all ignored the oddly excited, doomsaying sphere. Well, they all ignored it, save Terry. He flickered over to where Thorn had set the thing on the ground.

“What creature is this? Shoo. Go away.”

Terry nudged it with a talon, and the orb rolled away across the smooth floor.

“WAAAAH. What’s happening?”

Terry crouched down, wiggling before springing after the small sphere, which was just larger than Tala’s clenched fist.

He’s acting very well. If he were really hunting, he’d be flickering after it.

-He plays a young terror bird quite well.-

Tala was reminded of the time, right after they’d begun traveling together, when Terry had taken on this guise as well. He’s better at it now.

-So it would seem. He must have had a lot of practice while waiting for us to…return.-

Tala felt a wave of sadness wash over her, but she shoved it aside. I’m back now…We’re back now, and Terry’s back with us too.

Gallof cleared his throat and continued, despite the ongoing wailing from the orb and Terry’s happy trilling pursuit. “You see, most dimensional storage items are simply that: pocket dimensions or expanded spaces of various sizes. Devouring dimensions appear the same to all inspections, unless they are incredibly rudimentary or foolish.”

“Foolish? You mean…they’re intelligent?”

“In a sense. Not sapient, at least not by any research I’ve read. That means they are either not intelligent in the way we standardly think of intelligence, or they are clever enough to beat the tests and investigations. But as I was saying, they appear the same, but they aren’t. First, they seem to be able to sense the intent of their users, innately. They utilize this ability to convince their user to place more within them, more for them to devour.”

Color drained from Tala’s face. “So, we’re all about to die?”

Gallof blanched, giving her an almost offended look. “What? No! Of course not. If it was that dangerous, we wouldn’t have tested it while inside, ourselves.”

“Then…what are you saying?”

“Pillar Be-thric guessed that the foe he won that item off of had tamed the creature, somehow.”—Gallof shrugged.—”The methods for such a process seem to be closely guarded secrets of the most experienced hold-builders, the few that have supposedly managed it. After Our Pillar’s victory, the creature must have liked you well enough to transfer its affections to you.”

“I…I have been giving it power, just as Pillar Be-thric instructed.” She frowned. “Wait… How is it magic-bound to me, if it had a previous owner?”

As soon as Tala asked, she realized her mistake. It can’t. This is a direct contradiction of Be-thric’s narrative.

Be-thric turned her way, and shrugged, his face unusually calm. “These creatures can sometimes bend the normal rules. It is one reason I suspected it was more than it appeared, actually. But, I wouldn’t expect it to work again. This hold, this sanctum, is yours now, and no one can ever take it away for you, from us.”

He smiled then. To Tala’s eyes it seemed forced, because she knew the truth. Tali wouldn’t have noticed, however, so Tala smiled in return. “Truly, you have been generous with me.”

“As a Master should be to those who serve him.” The Pillar shook his head, turning back to the matter at hand. “But as we were discussing, this is an excellent development. Often times, the processing of unwanted materials is a core issue within holds. You will not have that problem. More than that, I believe we detected morphic magics in your dimensional storage. It should be able to reshape this sad excuse for a hold into a true sanctum, worthy of my Eskau.”

Even as they were speaking, Tala felt the hold reshaping. Every part that her magic and Kit’s influence spread to was compressing and reshaping into a sphere, centered on Tala and her oddly comfortable throne.

“You are once again correct,”—she lowered her head to hide her difficulty in getting on the next words—“my Pillar.”

He smiled. “Oh?”

She described what was happening, and Gallof nodded. “That makes sense. It will make the claiming process easier if your influence can push out in all directions at the same time.”

The orb went rolling across around the base of the raised platform on which they stood. “Please just break me, or get this thing away!”

Terry squawked happily and bumped the sphere to greater speeds, slapping it with his beak to change its direction around the circumference.

All four of the people found themselves watching the odd display.

Finally, Thorn cleared his throat. “What are we going to do with that fount? Its inscriptions are…lacking, as well as frustratingly permanent.”

“BREAAAAAAK MEEEEEEE!!!!” The voice came back with an oddly rolling cadence, likely due to the orb’s motion.

Be-thric sighed. “I’d hoped we could extract the fount, but it might cost more to do that properly than to just get a new one.” He shook his head, then seemed to consider. After a moment, he waved dismissively, “Tali, your pet seems to like it. You may keep it until such time as it is needed.”

Tala pulled back slightly. “But…isn’t there a danger of Terry breaking it?” He just casually set aside a human soul as a plaything for his Eskau’s pet…

-Did you expect anything else?-

It’s just a new level of…ick.

Be-thric gave a derisive chuckle. “Oh, bleed and bury me, no. Thorn would have a difficult time affecting that orb even a small amount, and he specializes in eroding and destruction. The vessel of a properly tamed fount is incredibly resilient. That is one reason they make such good armor. Larger items lack some of the resiliency across the whole item. Rather, it is usually concentrated around the physical location of the fount within the armor. For a sphere? That’s all of it. It is a shame that this oddly broken personality was forever ingrained into that vessel.”

“You’re…oddly broken…personality.” The sphere shouted their way, some of its words being lost against the ground.

Apparently, Terry had found where its voice was coming from and was entertained by the intermittent speech.

Be-thric just shook his head. “If it annoys you, we can lock it in a sound-proof box until it is needed.”

Tala shook her head, thinking about being the soul, trapped in such a place. “That isn’t necessary. I will do as you ask and keep it.”

He smiled her way. “I am glad to hear that.”

She turned her mind away from the thought of a soul in torment, which she couldn’t help, and towards the task at hand. So, I’m going to be here for a couple of days.

Be-thric seemed to be thinking in the same lines that she was. “Now, everything seems to be going well. Gallof and I will begin the preparations for the next steps. Thorn will stay here, to attend to any needs you may have.”

Gallof bowed her way. “I will return with the first of those books, Eskau Tali. At that time, we can discuss what other sorts of information you would be interested in.”

Thorn sat down and pulled out something that seemed to be an odd jumble of wire. “I’ve several ideas on how we can pass the time. We’ll begin working on this, if that meets with the Pillar’s approval.”

Be-thric’s eyebrows rose, and a smile bloomed across his face. “Excellent!” He drew out the word.

In that single word, Tala heard, once again, the horror of the man’s voice. How it echoed blood and death and an end to all that she held dear. How have I gotten used to that voice?

She barely suppressed a shudder. Gallof did seem to shiver, though he wasn’t in Be-thric’s line of sight. He glanced her way, as if to see if she had noticed. She had, obviously, but through her peripheral vision. She gave no indication to the gray-man.

The Pillar continued. “That is a wonderful tool for training the fine control of, and efficiency with, magic.” He looked towards Tala. “Especially while you are already dumping so much power into this sanctum, it should prove a worthy challenge for you.”

Tala nodded her head in acknowledgement even as Thorn bowed.

“My Eskau, I will return tomorrow, so that we may discuss the acquisition of my armor.”

As Be-thric and Gallof turned to go, Tala felt something. It was as if she had another limb, though that wasn’t right. It was as if she knew Kit was capable of performing a specific action that she’d not used before. “Wait. I think I can…”

She presented her desire to Kit and felt a flex of power just off to the side of the elevated platform.

With a slight distortion in the air, a door appeared. No, not ‘a door.’ It was the door that they’d come through to enter the hold.

Be-thric and Gallof glanced back her way, and she shrugged self-consciously. “It seemed like that would be possible?”

Gallof laughed. “Well, that will make doing this so much easier. We’ll need to bring in a lot of dirt, stone, and other building materials. Being able to just dump it through the door will be a boon to be sure.”

The two left, seeming happier for the bit of last minute, good news.

The door vanished as soon as it was closed.

“This”—Thorn turned her way, holding up the tangle of wires.—”is a magic nest.”

Tala gave him a flat look.

He grinned. “It is usually a child’s toy, but I quite enjoy it. Watch.”

Tala saw him flex his power, a tendril of magic flowing into the tip of one wire, causing it to slowly begin to move.

She saw that as he wiggled his power back and forth the wire moved as well. It was only then that Tala saw that it was a single wire.

Thorn’s demonstration wasn’t over, so she didn’t let her focus waver. When the wire with his power in it touched a non-claimed part, small, previously invisible inscriptions lit up on the magic nest and his power was ejected.

“So…What’s the point?”

He grinned. “Untangle the wire.”

He handed her the misshapen ball of wire, a tangled mess of a thing.

She took it on reflex, not really understanding.

“What.” There was no question in the word.

Thorn laughed. “When you can untangle this, we can move on from the child’s version.”

She scrunched her face, then sighed. “This will help with my efficiency?”

“No, with your control. We’ll address efficiency later. But that takes control, so…” He hesitated. “In a roundabout way… yes?”

She huffed but smiled. “Fine.”

The next four hours, until Gallof returned, were some of the most frustrating in Tala’s life.

Thorn’s demonstration hadn’t shown that messing up caused an unpleasant sensation to echo throughout her entire body, like an extremely mild, electrical shock. She’d let out an undignified yelp the first time it had happened, but Thorn had pretended not to notice anything.

Instead, he was studiously absorbed in his book.

That rusting jerk.

-He’s testing you, seeing what kind of person you are.-

Are you sure? I think he just wanted a laugh at my expense.

-Everyone has their own way of testing the waters.-

Tala took a deep breath and decided to ignore the dwarf.

There had been many, many more jolts.

Interestingly enough, when Gallof entered, he entered at the edge of the hold, not where the door had been, to let him exit.

That mean that Tala felt him enter the hold nearly five minutes before he walked into sight.

She didn’t let herself stop trying to untangle the infernal thing.

She’d gotten used to the jolts, though she still didn’t like them. The worst part was, when she messed up, the entire thing would twist back in on itself, changing its configuration randomly.

The most that she had extracted before a failure was a measly, single foot.

She didn’t have the heart to ask Thorn how long the wire was, in total, but she suspected it was close to thirty, if not longer.

I’ll conquer you eventually, you stupid thing.

Gallof carried with him a bag of books, and a smile. “Not only was I able to find an exhaustive set of primers on hold construction, nothing too advanced mind you, but I was able to find a likely source for other materials, depending on your subjects of interest.”

“Thank you, Gallof. Books would be a welcome reprieve.”

The gray-man looked at the tangle in her hands and smiled. “Ahh, I remember playing with one of those. So many ways to learn and grow all in one little tangle.”

He gave a contented sigh.

Tala grimaced.

“Books, please.”

He pulled out one and handed it to her. “Here’s the first.”

She nodded her thanks, dropped the magic nest and buried herself in the book. Now, let’s see what secrets there are for the taking.

That lasted all of three minutes.

Terry, of course, came over and bit one end of the wire, which made up the magic nest. There was an odd ripple of power that drew Tala’s attention, and she watched as the entire thing simply…unwound.

Thorn had also felt the power, turning to see what was happening, and he simply gaped.

Gallof, who Tala noticed was still there, waiting, had comically wide eyes.

In less than a minute, the entire thing untangled, flawlessly. Then, Terry tilted his head in seeming curiosity, dragged the wire over near the blessedly, momentarily silent sphere, and let go.

His magic left the wire, and it immediately snapped back into a tangle…around the orb.

The sphere made its displeasure known, instantly screeching out a wail of surprise and distress.

Thorn walked over and pulled the orb free of the magical nest, grimacing against the continued pulsing cry.

That cut off instantly as the ball-like-thing was pulled free. “Well…I suppose I should thank you for—”

Thorn turned and threw the thing as hard as he could.

The orb let out a squeal, which faded into the distance as the sphere traveled a surprisingly long way, bouncing and rolling into a dip in the monotonous, slightly rolling landscape.

Terry immediately took off after it, letting out a relatively mild, exuberant trill.

As that single playful cry faded, Thorn sighed. “Blessed silence.”

Tala turned to Gallof, who still seemed in shock. “Why are you still here?”

“I need to confirm—” He massaged his temples. “No. I’m sorry. Are we just going to ignore the fact that that creature just…solved a magic nest?”

The poor man seemed beyond himself at the very idea.

Thorn grunted. “Seemed like a clever bird.”

Tala pointed to Thorn, while looking at Gallof. “Yeah. With his level of magic, Terry’s probably older than he appears.”

Gallof’s eye twitched. He looked back and forth between Tala and Thorn before finally letting his head fall back into his hands. “Fine. We won’t look further. We’ll just ignore the clearly hyper intelligent murder bird who has infiltrated our hold.”

Tala smiled. “You forgot something important.”

Gallof looked her way, incredulity clear on his face. “And what might that be, Eskau Tali?”

Her smile morphed into a near-malicious grin as she let some of Tali show in her expression. “He’s my hyper intelligent murder bird.”

Gallof’s eyes widened again, but then, he seemed to regain mastery over himself.

He closed his eyes, nodded, brushed his clothing unnecessarily, and bowed. “As you say, Eskau Tali.”

He opened his eyes and gave a politic smile.

“Now, I need to confirm what foods you find the most appealing, so that we find compatible strains and subspecies. We will begin the installation of the ambient vegetation, rock formations, gardens, orchards, and animal facilities as soon as you have full command of this hold. Until then, the exact magics for integration into such will need to be researched. We can begin work on that beforehand, specifically now. It will be a full growth cycle before most can be of use to you, but some things complete that cycle quickly, and some natural magics are already available, which match your own.”

And so, Tala and Gallof discussed the base ingredients they were going to begin to provide for her sustenance and magical advancement.

She really enjoyed pork, so pigs would be a core part of this project. As she remembered Terry’s own desires, she suppressed a shudder. Then, she asked for another, non-magical herd of swine to be included in the layout of the sanctum.

These could be free-range as they wouldn’t really need to be caught or harvested for Tala. They would simply need to be kept from getting into anything important.

There, Terry should like having his own prey to hunt in here.

-It seems unnecessary, but it’s a nice gesture.-

Thank you. I thought so.

She and Gallof discussed the types of trees and other vegetation that Tala liked, so that those could be transplanted.

Remembering the juice that she and Tali had been served with their breakfasts, Tala asked if ending-trees were a possibility. She wouldn’t have mentioned it if the juice hadn’t been served to her since her capture.

Gallof’s reaction made it plain that he had expected the request. He seemed resigned as he promised that he would see what could be done.

All in all, it didn’t take too long before Tala was able to return to her book.

She waved absently, calling up a door for Gallof to exit through.

When he was half-way out, Tala called to him, “Gallof?”

The tall, gray man hesitated, glancing back her way. “Yes, Eskau Tali?”

“Knock next time. If you do, I may be able to call the door back here, so you are closer to me when you enter.”

He bowed. “Of course.”

“And Gallof?”

“Yes, Eskau Tali?”

“I think Thorn and I could use some dinner.”

Thorn looked up in surprise.

Gallof looked his way, and the dwarf shrugged. “That sounds excellent to me, sir.”

Gallof gave a reserved smile and bowed once more. “As my Pillar’s Eskau wishes, I will obey.”