Interlude: A Message From Afar II (Patreon)

For a while, the room was silent of words. Kalina examined the new arrival with critical eyes, noting a small resemblance with Mistress Prime. Is this man some kin of the Mistress?

"When did you get back?" Mistress Prime broke the pregnant silence.

"... a little under two decades ago," the blonde-haired man replied.

"And you never thought about sending a message," Mistress Prime accused through clenched teeth. "A simple 'I'm alive', would have sufficed,"

A nonchalant shrug of the shoulders spilled dark residue over the room, evaporating before it hit the floor. "You know me cousin, a greeting is not something I practice often. Besides, I have been touring Set's so-called 'Empire'..." the man defended himself with raised shadow-hands. Glancing down, the man looked at the boy beneath him. "And then I stumbled across someone that captured my complete attention."

Mistress Prime seemed ready to rip the shadow-man to shreds with her bare hands, up until the moment the boy came back into the conversation. The clenched hands of the Mistress twitched but eased in tension. "... yes… I can see why."

Kalina could see the reason behind the man's apparent fascination with the boy, as well. Neutral Energy.

The theories as to what Energy was, where it comes from, and its relation to Mana and a few other registered types of manipulative mediums similar to Mana, number in the dozens. Every Master or Mistress that ever used Energy had some explanation, almost all of them unique in some way.

Not to be outdone by her elders, Kalina also had a theory about Energy— though it was still lingering in its infancy. As if she ate something spoiled, a bad feeling rose from her gut. A realization overcame her, as her face fell.

The existence of neutral Energy completely undermined the whole foundation of her carefully constructed theory. When she took a moment to think it over, over half of the existing theories crumbled along with hers. That small thought restored her mood greatly. At least I'm not alone…

Energy was always under someone's sway. Always. The so-called 'Springs of Energy'— described by Grand-Master Tergaron as 'tears in reality that leak Energy from another dimension where Energy can be found in apparent abundance'— was the closest that Energy ever came to be to a state where it was under no one's control. Closest before this neutral Energy appeared.

Kalina had to use her Personal Energy to morph the Energy of the Spring, refine or taint as some called the process, into her own. In the beginning, while still learning how to do it, this led to a major loss of Personal Energy which had left her skills dry of growth. The Energy from a Spring was relatively easy for Kalina to take under her sway and resulted in a gain almost every time, now. The problem was that it had taken her decades of training to be able to accomplish to turn the loss into a gain. To morph someone else's Personal Energy into her own was still a pipe dream while controlling someone else's Energy directly … it was supposed to be impossible. Until this Energy. This Energy begged to be tainted, so much that Kalina had to restrain herself.

The first thing she had to master was sensing Personal Energy, a task where most mages failed because the Energy was such an integral part of someone's being— practically indistinguishable. A developed Well helped mages sense that Personal Energy much more clearly. Kalina had spent her youth, middle ages, and more, dutifully developing her Well and Repository points, respectfully, daily— ignoring all the pleasures of life that others enjoyed. In her late forties, with a Well much more suited to a mage in their eighties, Kalina had sensed her Energy and then wrestled with it for almost another decade before she got her Energy Manipulation. It was only after that skill that she had started studying with Mistress Prime on how to rejuvenate herself using her Personal Energy. That had taken a lot of points and time…

To see a boy of eleven cycles have the same skill as she had … left Kalina strangely jealous. When she realized that he had the potential to get the same knowledge for which she had to pay with blood and sweat for free in the Test Rooms, was the drop that almost spilled the glass…

"Did you figure out where—better yet, how the boy does what he does?" Mistress Prime asked and Kalina focused her complete attention on the exchange. If Kalina could do the same thing as the boy…

"No, I did not, though I do have a few hypotheses. Before you ask, let me answer that question I saw in your eyes. No." The man said definitively, seemingly offended. "I did not read his mind. The boy is no criminal to warrant such intrusions that could damage him, especially by my untrained mind and skill,"

Mistress Prime chuckled at those words. "You never had an affinity for mind magicks, as I recall,"

"That has not changed much, Prime'era. Since I said my farewells, over six centuries ago, I only went where no other sentients existed. On whom would I practice?"

Six CENTURIES! ALONE? Kalina's mind spun. Kalina must have done something, as when she regained the shattered pieces of her mind, two pairs of blue eyes looked her way.

"Perdin'nar, this is Kalina, one of our youngest. Kalina, this is Perdin'nar, one of our oldest."

An open left hand was placed on her heart as she bowed her head in greeting. "Master,"

"Kalina," the Master called her name and she raised her head, the minimal formal greeting complete. "And what do you mean oldest? There are plenty of geezers older than me…"

"Not as many as you might think," Mistress Prime shook her head. "Time comes for us all, eventually. The last few centuries have seen us fragmented too much, Perdin’nar. With Mentor gone for so long… and me not being in complete control of the Repository… Well, you can imagine… Come over for some tea and I will inform you of who is still with us,"

The Master shadow-message shook its head. "If I come over, others will learn that I'm back. I'm not in a mood for chatting with anyone… this conversation non-included…"

Mistress Prime laughed. "When have you ever been in a mood for a chat?"

"Just tell me about Akva, Durr, and Set— the rest I have no interest in."

Mistress Prime shook her head sadly. After a pregnant pause filled with apparent grief, Mistress said, "Akva and Durr had a daughter together and then went their separate ways two centuries ago, just after their daughter passed away. The girl never got the hang of rejuvenation, the chamber at the Pyramid eventually lost the ability to help her, and no skill of enough potency ever came her way,"

"Akva designed and built an ingenious underwater vehicle of giant proportions— out of your sturdy Magi-glass actually, only she improved it with crystals— and she went beneath the waves. Marine life in the Central Ocean and further has seen a major improvement since then, with Empire's crude ships never daring to enter the depths. She reports every half a decade or so and sometimes takes a sixth-year student or three from our Academy to teach when the mood strikes her.

"Durr has taken over Mentor's research into bloodline skills and has been a major source of headaches for me, ever since he left a cycle or two after Akva. Not a word from him since, though I suspect that he is somewhere in Zagea. He has to answer for a few criminal charges, so he is keeping low.

"And don't let me get started on Set. He gave up on his social experiment out of sorrow, I suspect, just like we warned him that he would. It gets difficult, just watching people age and die. No one wanted to take over for him— no surprise there— so we just let things unfold and that’s what led to the unbridled Empire of today. He only stayed with them until the fourth generation and then packed his things and left…" Mistress Prime shook her head. "I don't know where that sorry bastard is, but when he comes back, all hells will break loose. It's probably why he keeps away…

"It has to be said that the relatively calm atmosphere the Empire has, had led to many discoveries and new sources of inspiration over the years, which is why most of us are willing to tolerate its apparent outburst against us. Though I don't know how long the calm will last… internally, I mean. The usual way the 'Imperials' have held sway over their nobles will effectively be null and void as soon as the Permit that Set has taken elapses… most of us expect something like the Wars of before to resume…"

The two elders exchanged information well into the night, mostly about events that Kalina only read about in history books. At one point the boy, Tercius, got up and Master Perdin'nar's shadow-message had to hide.

"When did you become the boy's Mentor?" Mistress Prime asked as they followed the boy downstairs. "I need it for the records. It will be kept confidential…"

"Never, Prime’era, nor will I. You know me…"

They followed after the boy and still, the elders talked with Kalina absorbing everything like a sponge in the background. Morning arrived and they watched the boy make an Energy construct only to keep it in his body. How inefficient…

"Make sure you take that Energy from him, Prime'era, let him open his Well as soon as possible.” Master Perdin'nar said.

Mistress Prime waved her hand over the boy, taking the weaved ball of Energy and the traces his body had all over him with ease that left Kalina’s throat parched. “It just leaps to be commanded…" Mistress Prime said, a reverent tone in her voice, as she held the Energy in her hand. Kalina’s nose twitched.

“I know…” Master Perdin’nar nodded in the same manner. Then something happened that Kalina absolutely despised when it came to occur. The Master spoke in Magik so fluently that Kalina had no way to follow, nor make head or tails. At high fluency, Magik became a code so convoluted that only those who knew the key of the conversation could understand the words spoken.

“This Energy has brought me much closer to finishing my own work… Soon… Prime’era, so soon. I have the boy to thank for that. I have taken everything he wasted over the years… Now that I have an example of what it looks like, I will soon be able to morph my Energy into that kind of Energy…”

"The others will mob you for that knowledge, Perdin'nar, if they find out and you don't give it to the Repository. Hells, even if you gave it away to the Repository with the price that will be placed on something like that, they might still go after you— laws be damned. You might be in even greater danger than the boy is…" Mistress Prime said darkly.

“I can take care of myself, let them come. My knowledge is my own. I only give to whom I want to give. And this is the reason as to why I sent the boy to you, cousin. He can help you and you can help him, as your Mentor used to say it's ‘the best arrangement that exists’. Take the boy and teach him, he will need to stand on his own, Prime’era. How reliable is this girl you brought with you?”

“It was this girl that found your boy, cousin dear, not me. I spend my time away from the Pyramid, nowadays. So much politicking … A waste of time and it gives me headaches. She’s … she’s reliable enough… I think,” Mistress Prime answered curtly. “And you are still an idiot, no matter your age! I can’t take the boy under my tutelage, it would only draw attention to him. I will have to think of something…”

Mistress Prime went into deep thought, her hand gently cupping her chin. "Tell you what… I will do this for you IF you promise to come to my Millennial— Thrice stubborn Energy, I almost forgot! They reactivated the Pylons at the Academy grounds, recently. The boy can't go back there, not until I go about solving that… without raising suspicion… somehow… you present me with some wonderful puzzles, cousin. I'm glad that you are alive and back,"

They chatted in Magik, while Kalina just listened, until a ripple ran through the figure of shadow-message. "My spell is reaching its end, Prime'era. Kalina, it was my pleasure to meet you."

“The pleasure is all mine, Master,” Kalina said with a bow of her head.

“Prime’era, take care. I leave him in your hands.” The Master said and with those parting words let his shadow-form dissipate. There was a silence that lingered for a long while.

Mistress Prime exhaled, slowly and deeply, seemingly tired and yet Kalina spotted some excitement at the same time.

“What now, Mistress?” Kalina spoke.

“Now that’s a good question, Kalina. What now indeed...”

***********

AN: When I wrote this interlude initially, I thought that I have revealed too much, then I cut it in pieces. I published the first piece and brooded over publishing this one because of how much it reveals... I don't know. Part of me want to reveal it, part of me doesn't, so I brood and can't manage to write anything new.... my mind is occupied. I want it published, I want it left behind in some folder somewhere, over and over again in an endless circle. Since I can't bear to not use it, and it would become obsolete later, I reluctantly jet forcefully publish it now, just so that I can move on. Tercius will still have to discover all of this, by himself. I'm sorry for this chapter, I really am. It's like a kitten that you don't want, yet can't bear to toss away... I envy G.R.R.Martin's willpower. That's it.