Draith
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Chapter 11 - Through the Gate
🕑 Added 2025-02-23 20:56:52 +0000 UTCIn the aftermath of dinner, I discovered that there was a second way up, a simple cargo lift built into the cliffside.
Still, I didn’t take it. Despite the terror I felt, I made myself ride the cage back up. The lift had more important things to do in the wake of the attack. Such as taking the injured up. I was relieved to hear the woman I’d tended would make it, though she’d need extra healing to address the sloppy work I’d done.
The elves had vanished, though the Dauntless still hung near the portal. It felt a lot more threatening as I watched it through the bars of the cage as we ascended. I clutched the side just as hard, though this time Nexxa left me alone. Mostly because she’d overdrawn her mana and was half-asleep.
Despite the attack, everything at the inn was calm. There was talk of Magus Dominus Aranor arriving at the restaurant in person.
I was glad we’d missed him.
The next morning came, and we departed the inn. The Dauntless still hung there as we left the city behind. I only lost sight of it when we moved onto the bridge. The bridge was almost as grand as the Dauntless, and that gave me some reassurance. It easily stretched wide enough for two dozen carriages to pass side by side, yet most of the bridge remained empty. The sole exception was another carriage a short ways ahead of ours.
It almost felt like a waste, but most folk wouldn't want to be on the inner side of the rift, even before the Terra Vistans went crazy. The true purpose of the bridge could be seen every half mile or so, with only a narrow path passing through the center of the towering walls. The entire bridge was a defensive formation, designed to allow monsters that slipped through from the Front to spend their strength on these fortifications.
That they hadn't been approached in a hundred years didn't change the Hundred Kingdom’s stance on maintaining them. Arcadia itself was one of the younger kingdoms, yet it had stood for over a thousand years, more than half of them with the current king ruling over it. I imagined he personally remembered a time when these walls had been needed.
I wondered if he’d been showing up to address the massacre from the night before. Or was this just a minor political incident to him?
As we passed through the last of the walls, the staging area for the gate came into view. There were hundreds of steel boxes lined up alongside a set of four rails, leading back for almost two miles and extending past the gate just as far. Most of the boxes were secured, their contents long since packed away. There were a few folk waiting around open boxes at the front of the line, which our carriage moved towards.
When we pulled to a stop, we were only three boxes from the front. Calbern and I would be in the third, and Nexxa was in the fourth.
To our left, next to the second box, was a group of folk laughing and smiling, their eyes following us as we got out. It took a moment for me to notice their large ears, their dress being so similar to the residents of Belten I'd almost mistaken them for locals.
It seemed there were several elves going along for the ride. They didn’t seem affected by the events the night before, based on the laughter. But then, it wasn’t like a civilian had anything to do with what their military did. And I was pretty sure the Bladesongs were part of the Terra Vistan military.
I didn't stare, having long learned that was a good way to draw unwanted attention. Instead, I looked to our other side, where the carriage that had been ahead of us was unloading. A single young man stepped out, his eyes blazing with the sort of intensity that spoke of a strong fire affinity. He met my gaze with a nod, which I returned, before he strode directly into the fifth box. A nearby attendant immediately moved up, sealing the open side behind him.
"Guess this is it, isn't it?" Nexxa asked, looking towards the Gate in the distance. It was barely visible, just a small ring that was barely larger than the boxes we'd be riding in.
"The end of one journey, and the beginning of another," Calbern said, somehow managing to stand even straighter.
"Yeah. It's… almost sad. But exciting too," Nexxa said, rocking back on her heels.
“Not as exciting as last night,” I muttered, earning a playful shove from Nexxa.
A whistle sounded, three sharp notes echoing through the air. Immediately, the elves moved into their box.
"That'd be our signal," Calbern noted, moving towards our box, which had been mostly loaded before our arrival. I couldn't help but notice they'd used magical cords to secure our supplies.
"See you on the other side," Nexxa said, holding up her hand in farewell.
"On the other side," I replied, returning the gesture as I followed Calbern up the three steps into our box. Whoever had packed our box had even arranged our supplies so we'd have sturdy seats.
We didn't have to wait long after the box was sealed before it jerked over to slide into place on the track. There was another jerk as it started moving, and then we were both pressed backward against the wall.
The acceleration was insane, eclipsing any car I’d ever drove.
Then there was a twisting sensation in my gut. For the smallest fraction of a second, we were completely weightless, all the momentum just… gone.
As suddenly as gravity disappeared, it returned. We had just enough time to brace before the pressure returned, though in reverse. Thankfully, it was much gentler, easing off our speed until we came to a complete stop.
Less than five minutes after we'd been sealed inside, our box was popped open, a smiling young man waving us out.
A chill breeze greeted me as I stepped out into the surrounding hub bub.
Unlike the quiet on the other side, there were hundreds of folk waiting for us. It was organized chaos as horses and other pack beasts I didn't recognize were brought forward, men yelling at each other while unloading boxes.
Our attendant escorted us to a caravan master, a grizzled old man who'd been arranged to transport us and our cargo to Althon. Because of course the capital city was named after the local Dragon-souled. Nexxa and I were escorted to a carriage while Calbern discussed our cargo.
"Getting us out of the way so they can do the real work," I said, shaking my head.
"We all have our areas of expertise," Nexxa said with a lazy stretch while gazing out the window. Now that we were in the carriage, we could actually take in our surroundings.
The Infinite Rift was present even here on the far side of the continent, though its width was greatly diminished, as was the bridge stretching over it. I doubted more than two carriages could fit side by side on this bridge. Nor was there an airship watching over us.
It didn't take the caravan master long to get our supplies unloaded from the box and into a wagon. As our carriage moved away from the gate, I said, "Amazing how different it is, isn't it? "
"Quite so, master Perth. It seems even the language is different," Calbern said, his brows furrowed. "I'm afraid we may need to spend some of our limited funds on translation artifacts."
"Mumble Magits here? They don't speak Anvian? Thought old man Althon still was one of the leads when the started spreading imperial standard?" Nexxa asked.
"In the capital and along the front, yes. But Risham indicated that most of the Peaks speak a version of Elinder."
"They speak elf?"
"That is what I was told," Calbern confirmed, somehow managing to maintain his posture even as we rode down the bumpy road. Seemed Althon didn’t value smooth roads as much as the Hundred Kingdoms.
"Guess that means I'm gonna need a tutor," I said, watching as the far side of the Rift came into view. Only a handful of buildings dotted the edge, all sheltered beneath a tower of gleaming metal. Atop the tower was a clear blue crystal, slowly building in radiance before dimming again. It was a stark contrast to the wooden buildings below, which were simple but sturdy construction.
"If it's just the one language. And we're going to the capital first, right? We might be able to hire someone with an Imbue Language spell. Pump it right into our heads," Nexxa suggested, holding two fingers up to her head and pushing it to the side.
"That!" I replied, pointing at her. "We're doing that, if we can."
"I shall endeavor to find such a mage once we arrive," Calbern agreed.
"Glad that's settled," I said, settling back. "Now we just need to wait."
The passage to the capital took us three days, during which we mostly remained in our carriage. There weren't many settlements on the road, this side of the gate, and those we passed were mostly waystations. We passed alongside tall mountains running along steep cliffs only to plunge down into thickly forested valleys before making our way up once more.
And these were the lowest of the Frigid Peaks.
When we reached the capital, it stood out like a glistening sapphire amidst a hoard of emeralds. It rested in a valley that stretched out of sight, a glistening river running along the center, over which much of the capital was built. From the banks stretched orchards, vineyards and fields, rising to the edges of the mountains. There were no city walls, because the mountains themselves served that function. It took our carriage six hours to descend from where we first glimpsed the valley to the valley floor.
The abundance of greenery reminded me of Perth's home, though I couldn't help but notice how much weaker the nature mana was. The manasphere was as strong as I was used to, even hours out from the city, but the pervading flavor was one of water. Considering that was supposedly Althon's dominant affinity, it made sense.
Still it was interesting how it affected the absorption rate of Mana Draw. More accurately, the conversion rate. Since I had no affinity with water, I gained half as much from the air as I had from the equally dense manasphere at the family complex.
I hadn't considered the importance of affinity on absorbing mana before. In a way, it reassured me. It meant there was an additional benefit to following the path of an archmage, other than the versatility.
Well, as long as I had a strong source of mana nearby, anyway.
The style of dress in the city was different than we'd seen since arriving. Most of those outside the capital had worn heavy jackets over thick leather outfits.
Now that we’d descended from the peaks, even the laborers were draped in silks as they moved through the fields. That was another thing different from Perth's home. The Gardeners handled harvests with a few simple spells and arcane constructs, and little else. None of the workers in the fields were using magic. Everything was done with steel tools.
As we approached the edge of the city, our carriage slowed.
Risham, the grizzled caravan master was waiting for us when we exited, his hat held in both hands as he bowed to us. Behavior he hadn't exhibited prior to this point.
I immediately had a bad feeling about the sort of culture we were going to encounter within the city. If even grizzled old Risham thought it prudent to show deference, what would the locals be like.
Glad we had Calbern to navigate most of the conversations for us. Once my Domain was secure, I was gonna have to pay him more. I knew he wasn't helping me for the money, but it was the principle of the thing.
It didn't take long for Calbern to arrange our transport into the city. He even convinced Risham to deliver our cargo to the east side of the city, since no matter what territory we were assigned, it would be in that direction.
I paid more attention than I'd given such matters before we left. There wasn't much more for me to do other than practice my magic and until I opened my first spell slot, that was mostly just keeping Mana Draw active. I was close, but I figured I wouldn't be there for another few days.
So, in the meantime, I listened and learned.
Now that we were on the water ways, we moved into a boat. It reminded me of a gondola, though that might just be because those were the only kind of boats I knew of that had people standing at the front. The young woman who stood in the front of ours started singing a low song in a language I didn't recognize while holding a small balloon in the channel. The fins on the balloon seemed to catch on something and the gondola was pulled along as the woman wove the stick back and forth.
Despite not knowing the words, the song the young woman sang evoked feelings of loss and long winters. It was beautiful, yet felt out of place in a city with such plentiful food surrounding it in every direction.
The gondolier continued her haunting melody the entire trip, and at times when we'd draw close to another boat, it would change ever so slightly to merge with the others. They all had their own songs, all in the unknown language. Most of the others had a higher or more upbeat rhythm, at least while we were within earshot. Somehow, their rhythms provided a harmonious counterpoint to our pilot’s somber song.
It wasn't magic, at least, not of the sort I was learning, but it certainly felt like it.
When we drew close to another boat with a melancholy song, the notes of our gondolier grew less despondent, as though acknowledging the other. I was pretty sure we circled a building once as both of our pilots sang their song together.
No one complained.
By the time we pulled up in front of the white stone steps of our guest house, Nexxa had silent tears trailing down her cheeks.
I hadn't thought myself moved as much, yet I still found myself unable to speak as we followed the servant who greeted us upward a set of white stone steps that disappeared below the waterline.
Thankfully, Calbern recovered his usual poise, despite having teared up during our journey, greeting the servant and confirming we were in the right place.
As we ascended the steps up and above, the capital was once again laid out before us. Only this time, we were much closer to its center. Our guest house sat at the apex of one of the larger bridges that arched across the river, giving us a commanding view of not only the city, but the central palace a few arches away.
Like the rest of the city, the palace was made of white stone. And like the rest of the city, it was supported above the pristine water.
That was where the similarities ended. Where most of the city looked as though it'd been worked by skilled craftsmen, the palace looked as though the hands of the divine themselves had shaped it.
Which, I supposed, was accurate, seeing as it was likely the work of Althon himself. A Dragon-souled was about as close as I figured I was going to get to a god in either of my lives.
"Gotta admit, didn't expect it to be so beautiful," Nexxa said, leaning on the low stone wall as she gazed out over the city.
"Yeah," I agreed as I moved up beside her. "I was picturing… a lot more cold, for one thing."
"Yep. Not… this," Nexxa said, waving her arm as if to encompass the entire city. "You think our domains are going to be as grand?"
"Doubt it. Though who can say. The more I learn about the far corners of Ro'an, the less I feel I know."
"Ha!" Nexxa laughed, punching my shoulder. "Wisdom comes from the strangest places. Where'd you read that one?"
I just gave her a small smile, my eyes drifting to the gondola that had brought us there.
When Nexxa saw where I was looking, she leaned forward, her arms draped over the low wall. "That was… haunting."
"One of the lesser magics, I believe," Calbern said, stepping up behind us. "An old art, similar to the Bladesong. One I'd thought was only practiced by the Elves of Terra Vista."
"Guess not," I replied while pulling out my latest journal. If there were other forms of magic in the world, that bore investigation. None of my research in the family library had hinted at anything like the enchanted singing of the gondoliers. It hadn’t even occurred to me that the elves who ruined our dinner might’ve been using a different form of magic.
What else had I missed while focusing on the runic system the Aranor family followed?
"The house Mastara has informed me that Althon will see you both in the morning. Shall I have dinner arranged, or would you prefer to visit one of the city's diners?"
"Oh, come on, Calbern. Is that even a question?" Nexxa replied, bumping his shoulder.
Calbern maintained his posture, simply arching an eyebrow at her.
"We're going out. And I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling like fish," I said, my eyes drifting downward to the clear waters.
"I'll see what the House Mastara recommends," Calbern replied, giving a short bow before stepping away.
"Fish, huh? Thought you didn't like fish, Perry," Nexxa said after Calbern was out of sight.
"I…" I stopped, calling on Perth's memories. She was right. Perth hadn't enjoyed fish. Not because of the taste, but because he'd always believed it was for commoners. "That was before we came here. Before father made me a Magus Dominus."
"Hmm, if you say so," Nexxa replied. "Doubt we'll be eating much fish once we're out there, fending for ourselves."
"You know, I read once that there's a type of fish that's born high in the mountains. They swim out to the ocean, then swim all the way around the continent before swimming back up river, only to breed and die."
"Damn, Perry. That's depressing."
"I mean… sure. But just think about it. Maybe fish'll be on the menu after all."
Nexxa just laughed until Calbern returned. We went for dinner, and I had a dish that was very close to fish and chips, just missing a touch of lemon.
Under the rising moons, Nexxa and I enjoyed one last night of freedom before officially accepting our mantles of Magus Dominus.
