Abyssal Road Trip - 335 - Alien (Patreon)

Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar)

Amdirlain let the media speculation build and focused on the demi-plane project while Jal’krin prepared more songs. A few weeks spent crafting demi-planes saw Amdirlain’s levels and True Song rise further. As she considered the latest notification, the amount of experience she’d been pulling in from the work made her question what level Orhêthurin had achieved. While not as high as the experience from Sarah’s demi-plane, this one should be challenging for level twenty teams.

[Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals)

Grouped by type

Self-sustaining continent-sized biome (small)  x1

Bonus elements - Training Challenges:

• Gathering challenges x715
• Low-tier combat challenges x2146
• Tier twenty monster zone biome x1

Total Experience gained: 1,007,500,000

Ostimë: +503,750,000

Ontãlin: +503,750,000

True Song Genesis [M] (98->99)

Note: You’re going to spoil the dwarves with those mining challenges.]

Yes, Gideon. Compressing the time I take pushes the power but increases my recovery time. Getting close!

Now that she’d stopped to consider her progress, Amdirlain had to admit to avoidance, having not even contacted Gail of late. Since Sarah had shared the news of Roher and Isa’s discovery, Amdirlain had worked with growing intensity. Standing atop a mesa modelled after her old office block, Amdirlain sent the demi-plane’s details to Isa. Breathing slowly, she tried to acknowledge the nervous tension twisting inside herself without smothering.

Isa didn’t leave her to wonder, appearing barely five seconds later in her Anar form with a cheerful. “Hey, stranger.”

Though there wasn’t a hint of accusation, Amdirlain still winced at the choice of wording. “Sorry.”

“Hush, my friend,” Isa said gently, and she stepped closer to hold out a hand to Amdirlain. ”This has got to be a head trip for you. How long have you known?”

Amdirlain took the offered hand and gave a lopsided smile. “A while.”

“Please don’t make me reference that movie,” groaned Isa dramatically.

“That would be your fault,” huffed Amdirlain.

“Sarah pointing out Edward was gaslighting Belle completely ruined it for me,” grumbled Isa with strained playfulness. “Come on, how long did you know?”

Amdirlain fixed her with a concerned look. “Does it matter? The Lómë were in too dangerous a place to share, and you’d lost your Hidden protection soon after we reunited.”

Isa paused and nodded sheepishly. “Very true. What is Sarah’s situation then?”

“Orhêthurin took some precautions. I will say Sarah knows things I don’t; however, the rest is her choice to share,” replied Amdirlain. “Where do we go from here?”

“You’re the Songbird reincarnated?” questioned Isa.

“A fragment of her-”

Isa interjected with a reproving scowl. “Stop right there. You might be a reincarnation, but you’re Amdirlain. You’re not a fragment of anyone, miss. That sounds like putting yourself down.”

“I possess a fragment of Orhêthurin’s peak strength and might never recover it all. She mauled herself, pulled parts of her Soul away,” clarified Amdirlain. “If she hadn’t, that Anar King would have never gotten the vines in place.”

Isa swallowed and paced about before peering over the mesa’s edge. “Okay, that clears up many questions I had immediately.”

“Now you just need a silly mid-off,” quipped Amdirlain.

“Cricket? Blah,” blurted Isa.

“How un-Australian,” huffed Amdirlain.

Isa rolled her eyes. “Mori wondered if Orhêthurin had more up her sleeves than simple age.”

“I remembered a set of cups Orhêthurin had created for herself and Mori commenting on not hearing another’s song in them,” admitted Amdirlain.

“Sounds like she wanted to give herself away,” noted Isa, and she gave Amdirlain an enquiring glance. “Did you?”

Amdirlain grimaced. “I had put some things in place to conceal the crystal I used at Nolmar.”

“That was a weird visit. We intended to ensure your project was okay and give the others any help they needed. Then when we approached the town, Roher heard the crystal.”

“It was a bit hard to check if someone else could hear them, I guess I’ll need better concealments,” commented Amdirlain lightly

“What you did blocked me. Even knowing the crystal is there, I still can’t get past the concealments without his help,” admitted Isa, and she grinned brightly at Amdirlain. “Though the crystals in the Mousekin burrow are more of a giveaway. Unbreakable crystals that behave as if they’re enchanted without Mana being present isn’t a thing you know.”

“How many people would test if those crystals by the doors will break? Or even assume the enchantment isn’t elsewhere using the crystals as a focal point?”

“People that are looking for answers,” replied Isa.

Amdirlain coughed. “Yeah, I need to learn to moderate my generosity‌.”

Snorting in disbelief, Isa looked at her sceptically. “Like that will happen. Do you have many of her memories?”

Blinking at the sudden topic change, Amdirlain hedged while considering what to say. “I’ll at least stop using crystals that are approachable. As for Orhêthurin’s memories, barely more than a fragment. The bits and pieces I’ve regained are enough to know some of her pain and heartbreak. I’ve recovered years of her life, but they’re all hours or days scattered across billions of years.”

Isa nodded understandingly. “Yeah, that was my worry with Mori and the others. Losing myself amid all that history. I don’t know how Sarah keeps herself together.”

“Natural Dragon capacity, for them, it's like a history archive, with emotionally impactful movie footage,” advised Amdirlain.

“Does anyone else know besides Sarah, Roher, and myself?” enquired Isa.

Amdirlain nodded. “Erwarth, and so Ebusuku, and a few primordials, along with the aspects.”

“Shit, with that many knowing, I’m surprised you kept it a secret this long,” laughed Isa. “Luck must be on your side.”

“Kismet,” corrected Amdirlain.

Isa frowned. “What?”

“The name of the principal Aspect of Luck,” clarified Amdirlain. “Except her paying attention to you isn’t always good. She represents blind luck‌, from the most likely events to the improbable.”

Isa waved a reproving finger. “Now you’re just trying to distract me.”

“Guilty,” sighed Amdirlain.

Nibbling on her top lip, Isa looked out over the landscape. Amdirlain waited her out nervously and avoided listening to her song or public mind.

“How many of these places are you creating?” Isa asked, spreading her arms wide.

Giving her a sheepish smile, Amdirlain dodged the question. “Some of them are more complex than others.”

“That doesn’t answer the question of the number you need, and are they all the same size?”

“Most; between nineteen and thirty-one thousand. I created thirty demi-planes to act as a training complex for one city, but I might extend it to fifty-two. Each environment generates creatures, and most give the teams harvestable materials, meat, etc. I’ve been churning out a bunch of standard seeds and then altering details in each.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Isa smiled. “What’s the biggest monster you’ve created?”

“Sarah got me to make some godzillas,” advised Amdirlain.

Isa blinked slowly and started to snicker. “Really?”

“I gave it a plasma breath weapon, so she has to take it seriously,” said Amdirlain.

“What did you mean by standard seeds?”

“These are the standard planes, modelled off mainland Australia as a memory exercise.”

“I imagine two thousand kilometres, coast to coast, gives plenty of space to throw in challenges,” observed Isa. “But it's not just the size, is it? This area’s layout seems like a petrified version of buildings near Darling Harbour.”

“All the capital cities are mesa-like regions like this one, but all the suburbs I visited have the houses I remember as rocky outcroppings. I’m considering creating some hollow earth and ring planes,” clarified Amdirlain.

“Is that so you have more space for the critters?” asked Isa.

“I need to build up to creating a world’s atmosphere and weather patterns,” explained Amdirlain. “So I need bigger challenges to stretch my capacity.”

A frown line appeared on Isa’s brow as she considered Amdirlain’s explanation. “Don’t weather patterns occur naturally because of the planet’s rotation and the effects of solar radiation warming it?”

Amdirlain nodded. “In part, but that’s what makes it a challenge. On a Plane you can set rules within the seed, like an Anarch controlling an area of Limbo but without having to maintain it. With a world you need all the components to maintain the atmosphere, ecology, and weather patterns, or it will all collapse.”

Isa wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, because we’re just casually talking about building worlds now. What happened to the three girls from western Sydney?”

Laughing, Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”

Isa stepped forward to wrap her arms lightly around Amdirlain and pressed her nose against hers. “Are you okay?”

Shifting position to press her cheek against Isa’s, Amdirlain wiggled an arm free and held her properly. “No.”

“Then, I’m just going to hold you for a bit, and I’ll listen to whatever you want to talk about,” Isa whispered.

“I’d rather talk about my project than how I am,” muttered Amdirlain.

“If that’s all you want to discuss, I’ll still listen,” Isa said reassuringly. “These demi-planes? Or something else?”

“What I’d like to do is a long way off,” hedged Amdirlain.

Rolling her eyes, Isa motioned for her to spill. “Of course it is, but I said I’d listen. Did you want to talk about your long-term goals? I’m here.”

“It might change before I have the power to do it. The lower planes were created because Orhêthurin had only witnessed realms like ours during the Greek era. For her, the Plane of Hades was normal, but why should a Soul be damned for eternity?” asked Amdirlain.

Isa tilted her head. “You believe the souls transformed into demons don’t deserve it? Why did you blow up Viper then?”

“Viper got formed from the corruption of the Abyss that mirrored my flaws. Some of them are ending where they belong, but some could do with a second chance. Certainly some born demons have proved they do,” replied Amdirlain, and she stopped to consider the examples she’d seen. “There was the first gestating Succubus I saw. She’d lived a screwed-up life partly because adults broke her in childhood. Still, she made her choices, so no getting off scot-free. In the same measure, her Soul’s route to a better state gets forever sealed off. That should also be a no. The Soul should face punishment but get to try the wheel again.”

“If Nic and Ori set up the lower planes that way,” said Isa. “Didn’t they have a plan?

“They didn’t start that way. primordials in the Abyss experimenting with souls caused the Abyss to start transforming souls into demons. Orhêthurin believed in utter accountability, and so she left it. Anyway, fixing that is long-term. I must deal with Balnérith, a wound to the Far Chaos in the Abyss’ depths, then handle Moloch and rein in Orcus before I’ve even got a hope of doing that. Not to mention the stronger Eldritch that are trapped in the Abyss.”

“Just a few things?”

“I know it sounds arrogant,” sighed Amdirlain.

Isa smiled. “It’s Julia all over, wanting to sort out problems and leave things in a better state. I’m worried that nowhere on your list does it talk about getting rid of your Fallen state.”

“I’m afraid,” whispered Amdirlain.

“Of what?” Isa asked, and she shifted her hands to rub Amdirlain’s back.

“What if I just die? My Soul got stuck in a shell formed by a curse, and I got placed in this Fallen state. But without the shell, do I stay alive? You and Sarah transformed from your species. The plinth will remove the Fallen state from my Soul. That’s not a transformation or evolution. What will happen?”

Isa’s smile turned strained. “Maybe you’ll get properly isekai’d and get born with all your memories?”

Grumbling under her breath, Amdirlain glared at her. “Are you mocking me for my light novel collection?”

“You don’t have that anymore,” countered Isa. “We’d find you and help you remember everything. Plus, you’ve got that Phoenix’s thingy now; trigger it off as you get cleared for duty, right? Wouldn’t he have warned you if it wouldn’t let you stay alive? He told you one option was to leave and get reincarnated, I don’t believe he wouldn’t have warned you about dying here.”

Smirking, Amdirlain started. “If you’re-”

‘“Not paranoid by now, you obviously haven’t been paying attention,” finished Isa. “Besides being worried, do you have another reason to hold off returning to the plinth?”

“Isa, I’ve destroyed lives on Qil Tris. I don’t know how the plinth will judge all the families disrupted by the memories I’ve wiped; fathers, mothers, and children whose age I reversed,” advised Amdirlain.

“Please, and also saved a billion lives,” argued Isa. “Are you going to min-max the benefit of being a Fallen?”

“What?” huffed Amdirlain. “I just told you I’m afraid of what will happen.”

Isa glared at her suspiciously. “Don’t play innocent with me, miss. You were already talking about getting the best Class improvement.”

“I am trying to get the best Prestige Class I can for my True Song evolution, but that’s my main focus. If I get a good combination for them unlocked, I’m not worried about what Fallen transformation I take,” advised Amdirlain.

“See, still talking about taking a Fallen transformation. So you can clear the decks and gain more levels. I see how it is,” huffed Isa.

Smirking, Amdirlain opted to change the subject. “So they went to Vehtë.”

“Yeah, they’re living in a forest city now; it’s such a head trip to my memories from life as Mori,” said Isa.

“What happened to Roher’s arm?” asked Amdirlain.

“A temporal destruction effect; it was splintered forward in time, so he might not be able to regenerate it until he lives past the time of the furthest temporal piece,” explained Isa. “Gail and I can hear part of the theme, but our True Song isn’t strong enough to touch the Spell.”

“Ouch, that sounds bizarre,” huffed Amdirlain.

Isa shrugged. “Any less than the three of us ending up back here?”

“Perhaps karmic ties drew us home,” suggested Amdirlain. “Sarah said she has memories that we’d been in each others’ lives after dying when the cities fell.”

“One thing I do find amusing,” said Isa. “is that both of you used to give me grief for believing in reincarnation.”

Amdirlain disdainfully snorted. “Don’t get me started; you also loved every conspiracy theory that sounded good?”

“That wasn’t because I believed them; it was the mental exercise of, what if this were true,” laughed Isa. “Reincarnation, on the other hand, I believe in, even if some people were frauds. Are you done working on this place, or have you got some details to finish?”

“The song work here is all done. Why?” asked Amdirlain.

Isa grinned. “I don’t suppose you’d show me a freshly grown one and let me listen to your singing?”

Amdirlain opened a Gate to a barren mountaintop and waved Isa through.

Rather than rush the work, Amdirlain sang each piece from the foundational sections while Isa nodded along to the main theme’s beat. She didn’t speak until Amdirlain had finished singing the entire plane’s elements into place.

Isa frowned. “The number of voices you manage now is insane, and I’m sure I was only hearing part of them.”

“You were; a bunch of it was on the Lómë frequencies,” responded Amdirlain. “Do me a favour and bring Roher for a visit. I’d like to see if Kadaklan or I can help his arm. We can discuss other matters and clear the air there as well. Okay?”

Isa nodded. “Will do.”

“Thanks.”

“Can I listen to you work for a while, or should I run off home?”

Amdirlain laughed. “Fine, you can stay for a bit.”

* * * * *

Isa lingered for a few hours, listening to Amdirlain setting up the challenges in the demi-planes she’d made. When Isa left, Amdirlain heard Roher’s summons draw her back to Vehtë. Left alone, Amdirlain quaffed more poison, and as the agony ground in her spiritual net, she sped up her efforts. Moving from seed to seed, she created dozens of training grounds with the new biomes she’d worked out. The last insight into Senior Master rank remained elusive. It finally came with creating the most complex self-sustaining training area she’d designed for the cities.

[Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals)

Grouped by type

Self-sustaining continent-sized biome, with day-night cycle (small)  x1

Bonus elements - Training Challenges:

• Magical gathering challenges x570
• Tier fifty search and evasion challenges x1090
• Tier fifty monster spawn zone biome x1

Total Experience gained: 6,221,640,000

Ostimë: +3,110,820,000

Ostimë Level Up!

Ontãlin: +3,110,820,000

Ostimë Level Up!

True Song Genesis [M] (100) -> [S] (1)

Tier 7 Prestige Class: Alindë unlocked!]

Breathing out slowly, Amdirlain reactivated Phoenix’s Rapture to its passive state and considered the meaning of the Prestige Class. The Power flushed the poison from her system and restored the health True Song had drained.

Depending on the elven tongue, it could be a complete song or complete singing. I didn’t expect anything until hitting Grand Master in it. Well, I’m only level two-hundred-eleven; I’ll have a look at it when I get home. Do I keep pushing? Rest, review, and think it over.

With the details of the last demi-plane finished, Amdirlain still waited until she was in full health before she signalled Sarah to summon her when ready. A summons beckoned to her only a few minutes later, and Amdirlain allowed it to draw her between planes.

“Your three special guests are at the apartment,” stated Sarah, pulling the circle’s mithril into her Inventory.

“Three?” queried Amdirlain. “I was expecting two. Did Ilya come with Isa?”

Sarah chuckled. “You’ll see.”

Amdirlain took on her regular form, teleported them outside the apartment, and heard the themes within; Isa, Roher, and Gail.

I’ll keep my Class offer to myself for now.

“Too chicken to appear in the place?” teased Sarah.

“Depending on who it was, I might have wanted to run,” said Amdirlain dryly.

When Amdirlain came in the door, a black-furred Gail looked her way. As the door closed behind Sarah, Gail bounced towards Amdirlain, trailing gold and green silk. “Auntie Am. You’re so busted, superstar! Nanoĸ rightly pointed out that I didn’t blend in, but you took ‘subtle’ out the back and beat it to death.”

“I blame my Charisma for being out of control,” laughed Amdirlain.

“I’m so going to tell Mother about this! I’ll have to listen to every trace of yours and give her memory crystals,” laughed Gail, and she grinned at Amdirlain. Gail had picked a form that matched her standard height, causing her to loom over Amdirlain. Clasping Amdirlain’s cheeks, Gail leaned in and rubbed noses with her. “You’re so adorable!”

Slipping past the pair, Sarah moved to a couch close to the kitchen.

“Brat,” grumbled Amdirlain after Gail continued to fuss.

Nodding happily, Gail released Amdirlain’s cheeks and started to scratch her ears, gushing happily. “Your tufted ears are so cute!”

“Change your ears then,” advised Amdirlain.

Gail sniffed in mock disdain. “I wouldn’t be as cute.”

“Why did you copy the local style of clothing to blend in for a quick trip?” questioned Amdirlain.

Stepping back, Gail spun about and flared out the sides of her dress. “They make some sweet outfits here. I went shopping since we got here while you were out. Anyway, who says we are leaving quickly?”

Layers of song hid Roher’s elven form behind dark blue fur and black-on-black apparel. He had risen to his feet at Amdirlain’s entrance, but hesitated in the wake of Gail’s exuberance. Beneath his calm mask, sadness, suspicion, frustration, and awe roiled and churned, and a word slipped free. “Why were you always with us, yet never told us?” asked Roher, his gaze tearing with sorrow. “Were we a mistake from the very start?”

His words relaxed the tension from Amdirlain, and she stepped close and put a hand on his cheek. “That wasn’t anything to do with the Anar or Lómë. Ori was unhappy. She’d felt alone and isolated and wanted to blend in and be one among many.”

“And we failed her,” whispered Roher.

Amdirlain tsked. “No! That wasn’t on any of you. She didn’t handle it well from her end; she already had too many aeons of established habits. I wasn’t expecting that to be your first concern.”

Roher nodded. “I’ve considered our conversations since the revelation of your identity. You were trying to be gentle in the information you provided. Did she not want our respect?”

“Respect wasn’t her concern. Orhêthurin didn’t want anyone worshipping her,” explained Amdirlain, and she gently clasped his good shoulder, listening to his wound as she spoke. “I remember when Orhêthurin was young, and her mother and thousands of others had died at the hands of the Greek gods. She asked Nicholaus to take the divine spark from her because she didn’t want to grow into something as evil as them. He said he would, but the problem was that she wasn’t a God; she was a Primordial, and it was a promise he couldn’t fulfil.”

Roher frowned in confusion. “The same Greek gods that died on Vehtë?”

Amdirlain nodded. “They were the reason all the planets contained traps. Nicholaus’ father left him a message telling him that the Greek gods would eventually weaken and need refuge one day. That would be their opportunity if they wanted to hold them to account. Between them, they created a place with rules that meant they and mortals could hold the weakened Greek gods and others accountable.”

“So many people died because of a grudge?” questioned Roher.

Amdirlain frowned. “They had a grudge against how the Greek gods had treated them, but still set it up so they could have avoided it. The Greeks just had to show that they’d changed their ways. If they’d become kinder to others and treated beings fairly, other gods would have assisted them to get free of their mantles. Instead, they kept to their vicious backstabbing ways and paid the price.”

“As Amdirlain said, they set it up to hold them accountable, not to destroy them without justification. It was unkind to the mortals, but powerful gods and primordials with access to a planet keep the realm safe from the Eldritch,” added Sarah.

“Isa explained the work you were doing here,” stated Roher. “I’ve not told anyone except Isa about your identity, not even Laergul.”

“How did Gail learn?” asked Amdirlain.

Even as Isa coughed and raised her hand, Gail smiled at her. “She already has mental protections.”

“No wonder your previous dad helped me,” giggled Gail. “It truly is who you know‌.”

Amdirlain didn’t roll her eyes but moved to sit on the closest couch to Roher. “I was nervous about you finding out, Roher. I’m not sure if all the Lómë would take it so well,” said Amdirlain.

Roher bit the inside of his cheek and nodded after a moment. “Some would be ecstatic, but I’m not sure it would be everyone; I can see some reacting badly. You freed our daughter from her torment, Laergul and I will always be in your debt even without this news.”

“You’re-” cutting herself off from refusing the debt, Amdirlain bowed her head politely. “You’re welcome. I hated my cursed state, but I’m glad I returned in time to set some things right.”

“Hated it?” asked Roher.

Amdirlain shrugged. “The plinth discounted those I’d helped from its tally, but it still made me aware of the difference I’ve made. I don’t know if it was meant to be a clue or not for going forward. Isa’s messages mentioned that the reaction to the Anar births had not been comfortable.”

Roher nodded. “It took some adjusting. It was part of why we forsook the cities of crystal even though Isa and Gail offered their help to build accommodations.”

“I was after the experience,” Gail said, earning a disbelieving snort from Roher.

“I’m pretty sure you have enough infrastructure projects in the kingdoms,” critiqued Isa.

Gail firmly shook her head. “No, I’m ensuring people can support themselves, not doing everything for them.”

“Except where certain species are concerned,” commented Amdirlain.

“The Gnarls are an entirely different matter, but they’re hard to track down. They’re all up and down the two continents, mostly deep underground. I’m worried some have trekked across the polar ice,” huffed Gail. “Given their breeding capabilities, if I don’t wipe out all of them, they’ll return to being a threat.”

“True, with the Gnarls, it’s not a breeding pair that is of concern; a single specimen can repopulate the species,” agreed Amdirlain. “I’ll need the details of the song you used to detect the Gnarls, and I can make you some orbital surveyors.”

“Thank you kindly. Livia told me about those and how you used them here,” said Gail.

Isa spoke up quickly. “There is one thing we’d like you to do for us?”

“What’s that?”

“Whatever else you need to do to progress the Redemption’s Path, you make that your priority,” replied Isa, her tone softening. “We want you free of that curse, Amdirlain.”

“I’m trying to help people, Isa. I don’t know if the plinth will count anything that’s happened on Qil Tris towards achieving redemption. My reason for being here is about stopping the Eldritch, and they aren’t beings within the realm’s rules,” explained Amdirlain.

Sarah nodded. “But they were around when the Redemption’s Path was created, so it’s not like the Hidden situation.”

“There is another factor,” admitted Amdirlain.

“What?”

Amdirlain bit her lip and glanced between them. “I don’t know if I’ll even be able to handle the Abyss or its depths after I get free. I’ll need to ensure that Balnérith and the wound are dealt with first.”

Isa and Gail both drooped at her words, but Roher frowned. “What wound?”

“I didn’t get that either. You dumped a lot on me, so I didn’t think to ask about it,” added Isa.

Repeating the information Custodian had shared with her had the trio bristling in concern.

“You’re shitting me,” hissed Isa. “Can you just tell her she’s got it wrong?”

“This is Balnérith. Do you think she’d even believe me?” asked Amdirlain. “I’ve already set someone to slow her down.”

Grumbling in frustration, Isa shook her head. “Who?”

“I sent some toys to Ebusuku’s grandmother. She’s currently hunting Balnérith for her enslavement,” stated Amdirlain.

“Please stay away from Ebusuku’s grandmother,” requested Isa.

Amdirlain frowned. “My main concern is what Balnérith might get up to before I’m strong enough to take her out. That’s why I sent her a few things to help hunt Balnérith.”

“Don’t get so focused on one threat you leave yourself open to another,” cautioned Isa. “What can hurt Balnérith is also viable against you.”

Amdirlain sighed. “I’ve got so many threats looming that I don’t have time to deal with them all.”

Her thoughts caught her in a loop, but Roher’s reverent gaze disturbed her enough to break her loose. “Please don’t look at me that way, Roher.”

“You’re the Songbird, the Titan’s equal in the realm’s creation,” declared Roher. “How else am I supposed to look at you?”

“That’s exactly why Orhêthurin was never comfortable sharing the information. Her husband didn’t react well to the knowledge; he lashed out at her and threw around accusations.”

Isa blanched. “Oh Amdirlain. What happened after that?”

“It's why they divorced. Then he asked Orhêthurin to make him forget she’d ever told him and to erase his love. That broke something inside her and eventually she mauled herself. I don’t know how much his reaction and later request played a part, but being rejected by one she’d loved didn’t help,” said Amdirlain.

Sadness rose in Roher’s gaze, and he nodded in understanding. “I sometimes have nightmares about losing my wife. Too many close calls over the years trapped. Did she still love him when they parted originally?”

“She’d never stopped loving him, making his requests even more painful. He asked to forget, but also to stop loving her. She had hoped that he might see things differently after he cooled down. While Orhêthurin understood he didn’t want to go back to living a lie, removing his love for her was a knife wound that lingered and sickened.”

Isa tilted her head. “I don’t think she managed it completely; I remember him talking about her. But it makes her reluctance to talk about him understandable,” observed Isa. “It was another thing that Mori found out of place and strange about Orhêthurin. Other Anar would move between relationships, and Orhêthurin, to her knowledge, had never had a second, not even a fling.”

“No, she had flings, but with aspects who had no concern for her power and who didn’t expect her to stop what she was doing,” said Amdirlain. “She took after her father in more ways than one.”

“Both workaholics?” quipped Isa.

“Very much so,” agreed Amdirlain, and she smiled at Isa. “How did you guess that?”

“Memories of Orhêthurin and the number of stars out there. I doubt very few of them are single-planet systems,” Isa said.

“There are a few, even some with just stars alone,” corrected Amdirlain, and she pushed back the urge to get up and pace. The ongoing discussion pricked under her skin and stirred up discomfort.

“That seems odd,” commented Roher.

Amdirlain shrugged. “I can’t remember all the reasons. It involves balancing out certain forces and experiments; sometimes the reason is a burr at the back of my mind.”

“How strong will you need to be to patch the wound?” asked Roher, drawing them back to Amdirlain’s goals.

Amdirlain shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. It needs a supernova to cauterise a wound to the Far Chaos on the Material Plane. Any method of me sealing a wound in the conceptual layer of the realm will need something approaching that power.”

“Not necessarily; the supernova unleashes some of its energy across the breach,” argued Sarah. “Try a delicate spot welding approach rather than simply fireballing the cracked bank vault until molten metal seals the fractures.”

Roher nodded. “Precision removes the necessity for brute force. Livia said Gideon had given you a list of songs. Have you been working on them further?”

“It’s a wound, not an object to repair. The realm is alive, so planes like the Abyss act on major events and adjust. As for Gideon’s songs, some I’ve used but others not directly. I’ve been using lots of them in the demi-planes to implement things,” said Amdirlain.

“What can we do to help you?” asked Roher, motioning to Isa and Gail as he asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Amdirlain.

“Exactly what Roher said. Is there anything we can do to help you?” asked Isa.

Amdirlain huffed. “That’s not why I asked you here. I was worried and wanted to clear the air.”

Roher smiled. “If we’re out of our depths let us know, but is there anything we can do to speed things up for you? If our helping wouldn’t work, that’s fine, but we wanted to check.”

“Yeah, we’re the junior leagues, we get it,” laughed Isa. “But is there any piece of work the plebeians can do?”

Rolling her eyes, Amdirlain created a memory crystal and handed it to Isa. “Fine, you asked. Now consider yourselves drafted; this should keep you out of trouble.”

Isa clutched it to her chest and squealed. “Do I get to make worldlings?”

“That isn’t an actual word,” Sarah huffed. “Where is Ilya? I feel that’s her line.”

“She’s playing guardian angel to the kids,” Isa advised. “I told her we had secret squirrel business to discuss, and she told me to stay out of trouble. What’s on the crystal, boss? There is a lot of music in here.”

“You get to make worldlings,” laughed Amdirlain. “It's the songs to create the demi-plane seeds, split between Anar and Lómë. Send me the details of the seed’s signature after you create them, and I’ll work on them and link them to a training complex.”

Isa nodded in appreciation. “After you created the demi-plane for Gail, I’d looked through the Lómë libraries and found nothing.”

Amdirlain created a second copy and handed it to Roher. “The Anar and Lómë were drifting apart; they only stuck together because of the extensive use of True Song Crystal. I’m not sure we’ll ever know how much got lost over the aeons.”

Roher nodded. “Far too much. Personal libraries would have contained many things, and she scattered many in the Abyss. Erwarth and I will work with Gail and Isa. We won’t involve any others. How many cities do they have with these gods’ graves?”

“Slightly over six hundred major cities whose population exceeds a half million, plus a few thousand with populations over a hundred thousand.”

“How many demi-planes will you need? Isa said you had considered creating out to fifty-odd for this city. Given the city count you mentioned, that’s nearly two hundred thousand demi-planes?”

“Around that,” agreed Amdirlain. “The benefit of the demi-plane setup is I can extend them without having to get re-summoned to the world. So if we start with even ten or twelve per city, that creates viable training complexes. Then I can monitor them and extend those when people reach the last demi-plane.”

“We’ll work towards forty-three thousand then,” declared Roher.

Amdirlain gave him a smile of appreciation.

“We can’t just beam them all up?” asked Isa

“There are nearly one point two billion people on this planet,” replied Sarah. “You want to go alien abductor on the lot?”

Isa grinned. “I just thought of something; Amdirlain’s the alien in the room as far as the realm is concerned.”

“Wrong,” chirped Gail, and she pointed at herself.

Sarah snorted. “We’re all alien to this world. Little Miss I’m-going-to-stay-out-of-politics has taken swings at a despot; ‌I’d suggest the creation of the demi-planes take place elsewhere.”

Amdirlain nodded. “I am glad you all came through. And Roher, would you like me to fix your arm?”

“You can? Is it like what happened to you?” asked Roher.

“Not even close. You’re Mortal, so you don’t have a spiritual net. You have the chakras and meridian points to handle your body’s Ki,” explained Amdirlain. “I destroyed my body’s concept of having legs, whereas the Spell tied the temporal effect to you, so it’s just a little snip.”

Roher nodded. “What do you need to do?”

“Are you going to be subtle?” heckled Sarah, and she set Gail giggling.

“Subtle? Let’s not go there, but precision is a different matter,” huffed Amdirlain. “I’ll sever the rest and heal you up; some of it has a dimensional aspect outside of the Time Affinity.”

“Dimensional aspect?” asked Roher.

“Yep, they’re related, but not quite. If you’d severed it, the Anar side would have come apart. I’m surprised one of you can’t hear it, even if Isa’s True Song wasn’t strong enough to deal with it,” noted Amdirlain.

Isa smiled. “Seems you have access to some of Ori’s range. We’ve already dealt with all the themes I and Roher can hear.”

Amdirlain frowned. “I guess pieces of the dimensional framework were foundational parts Ori didn’t want to risk sharing. While I compose the song to break it, will you tell me what happened in the tower?”

Giving her a nod, Roher gathered his thoughts, and Amdirlain caught at his memories.