Ch. 46 – Zephelam I (Patreon)

Now arriving in ‘Verse #34,212 – Zephelam.

As they stepped through, their armor warped and shifted – becoming much lighter-weight versions of their existing gear. Their weaponry grew lighter as well. In front of him, Felix saw Tinuriel’s skin color shift, becoming a pale-yellow, as her face adopted avian features, and a pair of wings sprouted from her back. Less than a moment later, he felt an intense itching sensation on his own back, and glanced down as his skin took on a similar type of tone.

Tinuriel turned and balked slightly before reaching up to her own face and feeling around – a look of dread coming across her visage. “What happened?” she asked losing her stoic demeanor.

“(P) Multiverse Adaptation,” Lucifer replied. “According to the System, most of the residents of this Universe are avian-esque humanoids who live on these floating islands. There’s nothing alive in the ocean below – the remnants of some powerful spell from a war long past.”

Felix tried to move the wings on his back and felt them respond. The muscle control was tricky, but he was able to figure out that flexing and unflexing his latissimus dorsei he could propel himself up a few feet off the ground. He landed a second later. “It’s not like Fallen Flight where I just think of where I want to go.” He looked up at Tinuriel who was still feeling her face, “I don’t know how you’re going to swing your sword while flying. Try flexing your back.”

Tinuriel snapped out of her shock and nodded, expertly controlling her muscles as she began to flap her wings and lifted a few feet off the ground before coming to a shaky landing. Her horror at the transformation was overcome with a sense of elation that spread across her face as she extended her wings. “I can fly!” She flapped powerfully and took off, flying up higher and higher before she swooped down and landed again.

“We should practice a bit,” Felix said as he followed suit. The two took turns ascending before swooping down and landing. Thanks to the (P) Multiverse Adaptation Talent, just a few minutes of practice led to the two being able to traverse the skies as if they were born with wings. It wasn’t as easy as with Fallen Flight; the control was not as fine-tuned, and it took energy akin to jogging at a decent clip. They would need to take breaks. Thankfully, there were plenty of small chunks of rock floating in the sky in between much larger landmasses.

Far above them, he could see another large chunk of floating land – and the underside was full of what appeared to be geode-esque crystals. There was an odd, green-blue hue that emanated from the crystals that appeared to repulse the air below. “That must be how they stay aloft,” he muttered.

“Querying System for Crises”

[Crisis: Zephelam – Several Options are available. Solving multiple Crises will result in extra Multiversal Charges.]

1.      Reverse the Great Flood.

2.     Return the Floating City of Zesperia to the surface.

“Exploration is the name of the game, then.” Felix closed his eyes and tried to will the (P) Dungeon Delver Talent to activate.

That’s not how that one works. It’s Passive, so it’ll just kick on when you get close to a Dungeon.

“Detect Object,” Felix replied, holding his hand out and focusing on the closest Dungeon.

The golden line shot outward and went over the edge of the grass knoll. He walked over and looked down as the glittering, golden line descended all the way to the waters below. “Hey Lucifer, if we go down there, will we change again? To be able to travel underwater?”

“Querying…Does not look like it.”

“Dungeons will have to wait,” Tinuriel commented. “We should find some people. If there are ruins under the water, they may have a way to traverse it.”

Felix nodded and raised his hand once more, “Detect Object,” focusing on finding denizens of this Universe.

The line shot off and went far into the distance. Tinuriel ran forward and leapt off the ledge, extending her wings and swooping down before evening out into a glide. Felix followed a moment later. Their flight was steady and even – both still feeling out their capabilities. Thankfully, several floating rocks – with the odd geode-crystals on the bottom – were readily available to land on if they needed a breather.

“We should practice,” Tinuriel shouted as she pulled out Valiant Edge, trying to take several practice swings and faltering mid-air as she did so, spiraling down for a moment before recovering and flapping back up.

“I don’t think heavy weapons are useful mid-flight,” Felix commented as he drew his Hardlight Recurve. Thanks to the magical property of the weapon, there was no real effort required to use the weapon, and the simple act of moving his arm back just required him to stutter-flap for a brief moment to facilitate aiming. He practiced shooting at several geodes on the underside of a few of the floating rocks. The hardlight cracked several of the crystals, and the disturbance in the air around them wavered for a moment before the whole rock fell down.

“What did you do?” Tinuriel asked as she got back up to Felix’s height.

“I think I figured out how they stay up,” he replied. “The crystals are keeping them aloft. And that was a small rock. I bet if you slowly chipped away at a larger one, you could reduce the rate of descent.” He flapped his wings to gain more height as he looked around for a larger rock to test his theory on. Spotting one, he took single shots as the hardlight arrows impacted clusters of the crystals. To his satisfaction, his theory was correct, and after chipping off two of the crystals, the rock began a steady descent. “Now we know how to return this Floating City to the ground once we find it.”

“Depends on where it’s going to land, too. You don’t want to cause it to go to the surface and sink again.”

“That’s true,” Felix replied.

The duo kept flying after the golden thread, having to push themselves to gain more height as they began an ascent towards an enormous landmass. Felix could barely see the edge of the large expanse which had to be the size of a large city on its own. When they crested the edge, his breath was taken away.

The grassy expanse gave way to shaped stone and houses carved from the same type of crystals as the geodes on the bottom. There were calm, blue pools, and several dozen avian humanoids who were walking or flying about. A group of younger-aged avians flew towards him and Tinuriel, flapping in circles around them. They were colored bright blue and green, like parrots.

“Who are you?”

“New people!”

“Strangers? Go tell mom!”

The three flew off and Tinuriel chuckled gently as she followed them. Felix was just a few flaps behind her, as they made their way to the city and landed in the town center.

The three children had gone inside one of the crystal buildings, and other villages approached, saying variants of ‘welcome.’

An older looking person, with a crooked, greying wing, walked forward. “Ah, our friends from the Sunset Isles. What brings you visiting this far?”

Felix glanced at Tinuriel who gestured for him to take the lead, “I’m Felix Winters – a Versewalker. This is Tinuriel. We’re looking for a place called Zesperia.” As he said this, he heard muttering and whispers all around.

The older avian shook his head, “The floating city has been lost for ages. Come, let us speak with the priestess-”

“That is quite alright, Elder Flavot.” The three children stood behind a middle-aged looking woman who was colored just like a macaw parrot. “I am Priestess Vhrisal. Welcome to our village. Sunset Islanders I’d presume by your coloration?”

Felix shook his head, “Not quite. I’m a Versewalker.”

The woman’s face expressed shock for a moment before she regained words, “We are quite lucky indeed.” She turned to the children, “Go ask him for a blessing!”

Lucifer? Mind filling me in? Felix thought as the kids sheepishly approached.

Remember, Versewalker is what you say, but they hear whatever the closest approximation is. It translated to ‘miracle-worker’. Just put your hand out and say something that sounds like a prayer.

Felix nodded and knelt on the kid’s level. He held up his hand. Can I just use Anima to make a visual effect using an Affinity?

Yeah. It’s a bit of a waste, but if you want to put on a show? Go for it.

Felix willed Anima into his Netherlight Affinity, and the cloud of silvery-white energy surrounded the whole of the village center. “I…” Um…a little help with the wording?

Just repeat after me…

Felix repeated each word Lucifer fed to him, “I, Versewalker Felix Winters, grant this village my blessing. May you always prosper, and your wings find steady winds to guide your way.”

There were statements of gratitude as the children said thank-you’s before retreating to their mother. The Priestess let out a laugh and bowed her head, “My thanks for your blessing.” She waved for the two to follow her, “Please, come with me.”

Felix and Tinuriel followed her as the village slowly resumed its usual activity. She led them into the geode-house structure. It was well-furnished with furniture that appeared to be woven from the grasslands surrounding the village and stuffed with spare feathers. The Priestess gestured for the two to sit. “Why do your people not carry weapons?” Tinuriel asked.

“Well now I know you really aren’t from around here. None carry weapons. There is no need.”

“You’re a Priestess – what do you worship?” Felix asked.

“The Sky-Crystals that lifted us up before the great flood took everything below. The powerful stones that blessed us with the ability to fly and soar among the clouds, to survive.” She smiled as the three children ran over and sat on something analogous to a bean-bag chair.

“Tell the story!”

“Yeah! The whole ‘sky fall’ cry!”

“It’s not called that.”

She raised her hands and shushed the children, “Very well. The story of the Weeping Skies…”

Long ago, Zephelam was a terrestrial world – much like Earth based off her description – where various humanoid races lived in relative peace and prosperity. There was not much strife as natural resources were plentiful. However, they continued to plunder the land for resources as they grew more and more advanced and delved more and more to find metal. Felix guessed they had obtained the equivalent of the Iron Age. This delving revealed Sky-Crystals; chunks of gems that defied gravity and would float up. The larger the crystal, the higher it could ascend.

Discovering this, several groups started to mine for these crystals specifically, and dug under their cities, embedding the crystals, and ascending to the skies. This created a two-tier society, where those in the sky lived a much simpler life – an austere life – as they did not have ready access to trade goods. Over time, this turned into a monastic existence, and the worship of the Sky-Crystals began. Some did not appreciate their new existence and sought to find a way to return to the ground below. They could not find a way, and so they consigned themselves to their new fates.

There was a consequence of lifting large chunks of the earth. This disrupted the natural order of the world, and changes to the surface began to reveal large caverns that went deep. Then, waters issued forth and began to cover the land in an endless sea. Fresh, clear, clean water with no lurking creatures or monstrous forms. But this forced the rest of the populace to flee skyward as well, leaving behind all but the bare necessities.

Proximity to the Sky-Crystals changed the denizens over time, transforming them into avian-humanoids that were more suited towards living in the skies.

“…and this is true of all of our people,” she concluded. “Save for Zesperia. The last city to ascend. The largest to ascend.” She pointed up, and the three children craned their eyes upward, “Come, I will show you.”

The children ran after her with Felix and Tinuriel a step behind. She pointed up and to the side, “Far away, up there in the sky, is Zesperia. A place that makes our village feel tiny in comparison. With enough ground separating the Sky-Crystals that its denizens never changed. It is truly an enormous place.” Her voice was tinged with a tone that implied she had fond memories of the place at one point, but Felix didn’t want to push his luck with the hospitality they’d already received. He didn’t press the issue.

Tinuriel squinted her eyes and peered where the Priestess pointed, “I can’t see it. And I have great vision.”

“It is far,” the Priestess replied. She rubbed the children’s heads, “Go and play. Go on!” The trio ran off before flapping up into the air. She turned back to Felix and Tinuriel, “Why do you seek Zesperia?”

“I’ve been charged with returning it to the surface below.”

The Priestess shook her head, “You’d have to fix the flooding to do that.”

“That’s another one of our tasks,” Tinuriel replied.

“Unless you can breathe underwater, I don’t see how that’s possible.”

Felix nodded, “We thank you for your time and your instruction.” He glanced around, “This place seems very peaceful…do you want for anything?”

She nodded, “Seeds for new crops. Our rovers that go to various landmasses have not found any new seed-crops. Eating potatoes day after day is quite a bore.”

Felix smirked, “Well, give me a few hours, and I think we can fix that.”

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