Chapter 400: Eternity
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Chapter 400: Eternity
Tala sat in silence as she considered deeply, flying back to Alefast with her unit.
She thought about the poor girl who was at the heart of the cell theyd just come from. She was innocent, at least relatively speaking.
Master Girt hadnt been able to find any evidence of movement or activity within the cell, and so hed taken the time to explore some.
There had been a few prisoners in the dungeon of the central castle, but theyd been in relatively comfortable accommodations, if not really lavish or something that theyd likely want to stay in.
From what little he could see, it seemed like a nice enough city-state, filled with people.
Not perfect, not evil, just people.
And they were all trapped.
Either theyd be trapped until Zeme failed, and theyd die with everyone else who was around at that time, or somewhere down the line, someone would cure them, and they would wake up to a world utterly changed.
Eternity can look so different for different people.
She almost mentally reached out to engage Alat in a discussion on eternity, but she hesitated.
Tala had never really talked with her unit-mates about eternity, not in any direct sense.
That would likely be a more productive avenue than talking to herself again
-Yeah, Im great, but Im still you. Talk to them.-
Mistress Cerna?
Yes, Tala? The Refined glanced Talas way before turning her gaze back to the direction they were flying.
What is your view on eternity?Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience
Master Smarags eyes opened, seemingly with interest, but he didnt otherwise react.
Mistress Cerna glanced to Tala again, briefly, smiling. The fate of those people?
Yeah, its weighing on me a bit. I didnt even see them, but knowing that they are effectively trapped, awaiting a savior who may never come? Tala grimaced. It has me thinking about my own future. There are powers in this world that I am utterly impotent to resist, after all.
Mistress Cerna nodded. Maybe unsurprisingly, I see the worldand time itselfas a tapestry, being woven by our actions and interactions.
So? Tala leaned in, listening intently.
So, eternity is simply the fact that the tapestry will continue forever. Individual threads will come and go, but the pattern continues.
You just see yourself as a thread?
The woman smiled. A long thread, but yes. I know that, regardless of my longevity, I will eventually leave this world in one way or another.
Tala bit her lip, thinking for a moment before smiling. Thank you.
Of course.
She turned to Mistress Cernas husband next, Master Clevnis?
My view on eternity?
If you would be so kind, yes please.
I suppose I see myself as a rock skipping across the water.
Tala blinked a few times, then shifted, confused and hoping that he would continue.
As a Refined, I now have no friction, nor loss of energy between skips, but I could still catch a ripple badly, or strike a fish as it surfaces. I just have no idea when it could all end, but until then, it is quite the trip. He grinned. And even when the skipping is done, the stone is not destroyed, it simply has another journey, this time in a new direction, a new world.
Master Limmestare chuckled. So, youre just skipping through life?
Master Clevnis grinned in return. For as long as I can.
Tala nodded, understanding even if she didnt necessarily agree. What about you, Master Limmestare?
The man straightened just a bit, putting on a fake air of authority. Eternity is a story, of course. It switches narrators, but the story goes on.
Tala gave him a narrow-eyed look, remembering a certain prisoner.
Master Limmestar chuckled. You can check my records if it will ease your mind, Mistress Tala. I have had this view for decades.
Very well. But if were all in a story, whats the point? Arent our actions predetermined?
Ahh, you misunderstand. Each of us is a narrator, guiding where the story goes. Conflict comes about when two or more narrators try to tell conflicting stories, and the best timesthe best talesoccur when two or more narrators work together to tell a story which is better than any could have brought about on their own.
Hmm Tala considered. There is some beauty to that.
Thank you.
What of the girl? Her city-state?
Few stories are happy all the way through, Mistress Tala, as much as we might wish that they were. That said, the best onesat least in my opinionhave good endings. I work to influence as many narrators as possible toward that end.
Tala smiled at that. Thank you for sharing.
Master Limmestare turned to Mistress Vanga. What of you, Mistress Vanga?
So, you know my siege orbs?
Yes, Mistress Tala. I am familiar. Mistress Vangas smile grew a bit.
Well, Im going to try to create one out of water.
The woman blinked a few times. I see. How far away shall we be waiting?
They both turned to look at the large cube of water that floated a dozen yards from them, or so.
Tala was suspending the liquid through an act of will, basically constantly moving the water to be where she wanted it to be, despite its propensity to crash to the ground.
Mistress Vanga sighed.
Tala quickly spoke. I wasnt going to enact the working this close. I was just verifying that I could keep the water in place.
The Healer looked skeptical, but didnt say anything further.
Tala coughed, and then willed the water to a distance of a few hundred yards.
Mistress Vanga nodded. Very well. I think with this amount of distance, so long as you dont do something astral, we should be fine, here.
Astral? Tala frowned. Maybe she means stellar? No, thats not a good term for it either.
Having to do with the heavens. Maybe not the correct term, but I dont generally think of things in that way. But, given your abilities, Im concerned you might just devote enough power to make a mini-star, or black hole, or the like.
Oh, I dont think Ill get anywhere near that pressure. Tala smiled. I appreciate the faith you have in my abilities, though.
Mistress Vanga cocked an eyebrow while still smiling as she asked another question, And you're starting with?
A ten foot cube of water.
Alright, then. She sat down in the provided chair, taking a glass of a cold juice that Mistress Petra had provided and Tala had set out on a nearby table. Begin whenever you wish.
Tala nodded.
She already had a perfect visualization of the water. After all, not only was she seeing it with her threefold sight at every level possible, she was willing it to be where it was, keeping it in place.
So, with that visualization in mind, she began to pour power into her gravity altering magics, affecting the water's gravitational attraction to itself.
She focused, even while those looking on began to chat. They were all familiar enough with her that they knew it would take a bit to build up to anything worthy of paying much attention to.
After a few minutes of devoting nearly her full throughput to amplifying the effect of gravity upon the water, that water began to pull inward just ever so slightly, getting smaller under the building pressure.
Honestly, if Tala understood correctly, that meant that it was under a lot of pressure.
Unfortunately, the liquid was also beginning to heat up, which was inconvenient.
It wasnt shedding its excess heat as readily as the air did during her creation of siege orbs, partially because water could take in a lot more heat energy than air could.
Well, this is my sanctum. My water. My heat.
Kit was soulbound to her, and through Kit, Tala had utter mastery over the contents of this space.
With an act of will, Tala pulled the heat from the water, not aiming for any temperature in particular. Instead, she just pulled the heat away, even as she ramped up the gravitational attraction.
Given the multiplicative effects of her magic, the water began to shrink at a noticeable rate even as it heated up more and more quickly.
Because of that, she pulled out more and more heat. She wasnt being delicate about it, simply dumping the heat into a pocket in the ground deep on the far side of this section of Kits interior.
The water under the influence of her magics began to become solid, but she wasnt sure if it was due to the pressure or the temperature, given she was pulling so much heat uniformly away from it, trying to stay ahead of the heating effect.
Then, when the water had compressed to a bit more than half its previous volumeand Tala had pulled a truly ludicrous amount of heat out of itthere was a resonant thrum, and she saw in real time as the water molecules rearranged.
At least, that was her guess as to what was happening.
She couldnt actually see the water molecules themselves, not really, but there was an odd rippling through the entire mass of the now somewhat rounded block of ice, and Talas working vanished.
Her mental understanding of the water simply no longer being true enough to let her magics keep hold.
Tala gasped, staggering at the sudden loss of a place to dump her gushing power.
It felt as if shed had a leg kicked out from under her, but she recovered quickly enough.
Even so, the shock of losing a target-lock also caused her to lose her will-power hold on the no-longer-water, and it dropped a couple of feet to the ground, where it just sat there.
Master Simon came forward, Mistress Tala? Are you alright?
She nodded and let Mistress Vangas magic wash over her, verifying her condition.
Once that was established, he returned his attention to his Archival slate.
Brandon and Adrill were similarly engrossed with their magical readings.
Rane was standing, simply staring at the ice in the near distance, clearly intrigued.
Master Simon finally shook his head, clearly a bit dumbstruck for a long moment before turning back to Tala, What did you do?
Honestly? Im not quite sure?
After a long moment, he nodded. Well, I guess that we should go find out.
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Chapter 400: Eternity
Tala sat in silence as she considered deeply, flying back to Alefast with her unit.
She thought about the poor girl who was at the heart of the cell theyd just come from. She was innocent, at least relatively speaking.
Master Girt hadnt been able to find any evidence of movement or activity within the cell, and so hed taken the time to explore some.
There had been a few prisoners in the dungeon of the central castle, but theyd been in relatively comfortable accommodations, if not really lavish or something that theyd likely want to stay in.
From what little he could see, it seemed like a nice enough city-state, filled with people.
Not perfect, not evil, just people.
And they were all trapped.
Either theyd be trapped until Zeme failed, and theyd die with everyone else who was around at that time, or somewhere down the line, someone would cure them, and they would wake up to a world utterly changed.
Eternity can look so different for different people.
She almost mentally reached out to engage Alat in a discussion on eternity, but she hesitated.
Tala had never really talked with her unit-mates about eternity, not in any direct sense.
That would likely be a more productive avenue than talking to herself again
-Yeah, Im great, but Im still you. Talk to them.-
Mistress Cerna?
Yes, Tala? The Refined glanced Talas way before turning her gaze back to the direction they were flying.
What is your view on eternity?Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience
Master Smarags eyes opened, seemingly with interest, but he didnt otherwise react.
Mistress Cerna glanced to Tala again, briefly, smiling. The fate of those people?
Yeah, its weighing on me a bit. I didnt even see them, but knowing that they are effectively trapped, awaiting a savior who may never come? Tala grimaced. It has me thinking about my own future. There are powers in this world that I am utterly impotent to resist, after all.
Mistress Cerna nodded. Maybe unsurprisingly, I see the worldand time itselfas a tapestry, being woven by our actions and interactions.
So? Tala leaned in, listening intently.
So, eternity is simply the fact that the tapestry will continue forever. Individual threads will come and go, but the pattern continues.
You just see yourself as a thread?
The woman smiled. A long thread, but yes. I know that, regardless of my longevity, I will eventually leave this world in one way or another.
Tala bit her lip, thinking for a moment before smiling. Thank you.
Of course.
She turned to Mistress Cernas husband next, Master Clevnis?
My view on eternity?
If you would be so kind, yes please.
I suppose I see myself as a rock skipping across the water.
Tala blinked a few times, then shifted, confused and hoping that he would continue.
As a Refined, I now have no friction, nor loss of energy between skips, but I could still catch a ripple badly, or strike a fish as it surfaces. I just have no idea when it could all end, but until then, it is quite the trip. He grinned. And even when the skipping is done, the stone is not destroyed, it simply has another journey, this time in a new direction, a new world.
Master Limmestare chuckled. So, youre just skipping through life?
Master Clevnis grinned in return. For as long as I can.
Tala nodded, understanding even if she didnt necessarily agree. What about you, Master Limmestare?
The man straightened just a bit, putting on a fake air of authority. Eternity is a story, of course. It switches narrators, but the story goes on.
Tala gave him a narrow-eyed look, remembering a certain prisoner.
Master Limmestar chuckled. You can check my records if it will ease your mind, Mistress Tala. I have had this view for decades.
Very well. But if were all in a story, whats the point? Arent our actions predetermined?
Ahh, you misunderstand. Each of us is a narrator, guiding where the story goes. Conflict comes about when two or more narrators try to tell conflicting stories, and the best timesthe best talesoccur when two or more narrators work together to tell a story which is better than any could have brought about on their own.
Hmm Tala considered. There is some beauty to that.
Thank you.
What of the girl? Her city-state?
Few stories are happy all the way through, Mistress Tala, as much as we might wish that they were. That said, the best onesat least in my opinionhave good endings. I work to influence as many narrators as possible toward that end.
Tala smiled at that. Thank you for sharing.
Master Limmestare turned to Mistress Vanga. What of you, Mistress Vanga?
So, you know my siege orbs?
Yes, Mistress Tala. I am familiar. Mistress Vangas smile grew a bit.
Well, Im going to try to create one out of water.
The woman blinked a few times. I see. How far away shall we be waiting?
They both turned to look at the large cube of water that floated a dozen yards from them, or so.
Tala was suspending the liquid through an act of will, basically constantly moving the water to be where she wanted it to be, despite its propensity to crash to the ground.
Mistress Vanga sighed.
Tala quickly spoke. I wasnt going to enact the working this close. I was just verifying that I could keep the water in place.
The Healer looked skeptical, but didnt say anything further.
Tala coughed, and then willed the water to a distance of a few hundred yards.
Mistress Vanga nodded. Very well. I think with this amount of distance, so long as you dont do something astral, we should be fine, here.
Astral? Tala frowned. Maybe she means stellar? No, thats not a good term for it either.
Having to do with the heavens. Maybe not the correct term, but I dont generally think of things in that way. But, given your abilities, Im concerned you might just devote enough power to make a mini-star, or black hole, or the like.
Oh, I dont think Ill get anywhere near that pressure. Tala smiled. I appreciate the faith you have in my abilities, though.
Mistress Vanga cocked an eyebrow while still smiling as she asked another question, And you're starting with?
A ten foot cube of water.
Alright, then. She sat down in the provided chair, taking a glass of a cold juice that Mistress Petra had provided and Tala had set out on a nearby table. Begin whenever you wish.
Tala nodded.
She already had a perfect visualization of the water. After all, not only was she seeing it with her threefold sight at every level possible, she was willing it to be where it was, keeping it in place.
So, with that visualization in mind, she began to pour power into her gravity altering magics, affecting the water's gravitational attraction to itself.
She focused, even while those looking on began to chat. They were all familiar enough with her that they knew it would take a bit to build up to anything worthy of paying much attention to.
After a few minutes of devoting nearly her full throughput to amplifying the effect of gravity upon the water, that water began to pull inward just ever so slightly, getting smaller under the building pressure.
Honestly, if Tala understood correctly, that meant that it was under a lot of pressure.
Unfortunately, the liquid was also beginning to heat up, which was inconvenient.
It wasnt shedding its excess heat as readily as the air did during her creation of siege orbs, partially because water could take in a lot more heat energy than air could.
Well, this is my sanctum. My water. My heat.
Kit was soulbound to her, and through Kit, Tala had utter mastery over the contents of this space.
With an act of will, Tala pulled the heat from the water, not aiming for any temperature in particular. Instead, she just pulled the heat away, even as she ramped up the gravitational attraction.
Given the multiplicative effects of her magic, the water began to shrink at a noticeable rate even as it heated up more and more quickly.
Because of that, she pulled out more and more heat. She wasnt being delicate about it, simply dumping the heat into a pocket in the ground deep on the far side of this section of Kits interior.
The water under the influence of her magics began to become solid, but she wasnt sure if it was due to the pressure or the temperature, given she was pulling so much heat uniformly away from it, trying to stay ahead of the heating effect.
Then, when the water had compressed to a bit more than half its previous volumeand Tala had pulled a truly ludicrous amount of heat out of itthere was a resonant thrum, and she saw in real time as the water molecules rearranged.
At least, that was her guess as to what was happening.
She couldnt actually see the water molecules themselves, not really, but there was an odd rippling through the entire mass of the now somewhat rounded block of ice, and Talas working vanished.
Her mental understanding of the water simply no longer being true enough to let her magics keep hold.
Tala gasped, staggering at the sudden loss of a place to dump her gushing power.
It felt as if shed had a leg kicked out from under her, but she recovered quickly enough.
Even so, the shock of losing a target-lock also caused her to lose her will-power hold on the no-longer-water, and it dropped a couple of feet to the ground, where it just sat there.
Master Simon came forward, Mistress Tala? Are you alright?
She nodded and let Mistress Vangas magic wash over her, verifying her condition.
Once that was established, he returned his attention to his Archival slate.
Brandon and Adrill were similarly engrossed with their magical readings.
Rane was standing, simply staring at the ice in the near distance, clearly intrigued.
Master Simon finally shook his head, clearly a bit dumbstruck for a long moment before turning back to Tala, What did you do?
Honestly? Im not quite sure?
After a long moment, he nodded. Well, I guess that we should go find out.
Chapter 400: EternityTala sat in silence as she considered deeply, flying back to Alefast with her unit.She thought about the poor girl who was at the heart of the cell theyd just come from. She was innocent, at least relatively speaking.Master Girt hadnt been able to find any evidence of movement or activity within the cell, and so hed taken the time to explore some.There had been a few prisoners in the dungeon of the central castle, but theyd been in relatively comfortable accommodations, if not really lavish or something that theyd likely want to stay in.From what little he could see, it seemed like a nice enough city-state, filled with people.Not perfect, not evil, just people.And they were all trapped.Either theyd be trapped until Zeme failed, and theyd die with everyone else who was around at that time, or somewhere down the line, someone would cure them, and they would wake up to a world utterly changed.Eternity can look so different for different people.She almost mentally reached out to engage Alat in a discussion on eternity, but she hesitated.Tala had never really talked with her unit-mates about eternity, not in any direct sense.That would likely be a more productive avenue than talking to herself again-Yeah, Im great, but Im still you. Talk to them.-Mistress Cerna?Yes, Tala? The Refined glanced Talas way before turning her gaze back to the direction they were flying.What is your view on eternity?Visit noveLbin.com for the best novel reading experienceMaster Smarags eyes opened, seemingly with interest, but he didnt otherwise react.Mistress Cerna glanced to Tala again, briefly, smiling. The fate of those people?Yeah, its weighing on me a bit. I didnt even see them, but knowing that they are effectively trapped, awaiting a savior who may never come? Tala grimaced. It has me thinking about my own future. There are powers in this world that I am utterly impotent to resist, after all.Mistress Cerna nodded. Maybe unsurprisingly, I see the worldand time itselfas a tapestry, being woven by our actions and interactions.So? Tala leaned in, listening intently.So, eternity is simply the fact that the tapestry will continue forever. Individual threads will come and go, but the pattern continues.You just see yourself as a thread?The woman smiled. A long thread, but yes. I know that, regardless of my longevity, I will eventually leave this world in one way or another.Tala bit her lip, thinking for a moment before smiling. Thank you.Of course.She turned to Mistress Cernas husband next, Master Clevnis?My view on eternity?If you would be so kind, yes please.I suppose I see myself as a rock skipping across the water.Tala blinked a few times, then shifted, confused and hoping that he would continue.As a Refined, I now have no friction, nor loss of energy between skips, but I could still catch a ripple badly, or strike a fish as it surfaces. I just have no idea when it could all end, but until then, it is quite the trip. He grinned. And even when the skipping is done, the stone is not destroyed, it simply has another journey, this time in a new direction, a new world.Master Limmestare chuckled. So, youre just skipping through life?Master Clevnis grinned in return. For as long as I can.Tala nodded, understanding even if she didnt necessarily agree. What about you, Master Limmestare?The man straightened just a bit, putting on a fake air of authority. Eternity is a story, of course. It switches narrators, but the story goes on.Tala gave him a narrow-eyed look, remembering a certain prisoner.Master Limmestar chuckled. You can check my records if it will ease your mind, Mistress Tala. I have had this view for decades.Very well. But if were all in a story, whats the point? Arent our actions predetermined?Ahh, you misunderstand. Each of us is a narrator, guiding where the story goes. Conflict comes about when two or more narrators try to tell conflicting stories, and the best timesthe best talesoccur when two or more narrators work together to tell a story which is better than any could have brought about on their own.Hmm Tala considered. There is some beauty to that.Thank you.What of the girl? Her city-state?Few stories are happy all the way through, Mistress Tala, as much as we might wish that they were. That said, the best onesat least in my opinionhave good endings. I work to influence as many narrators as possible toward that end.Tala smiled at that. Thank you for sharing.Master Limmestare turned to Mistress Vanga. What of you, Mistress Vanga?So, you know my siege orbs?Yes, Mistress Tala. I am familiar. Mistress Vangas smile grew a bit.Well, Im going to try to create one out of water.The woman blinked a few times. I see. How far away shall we be waiting?They both turned to look at the large cube of water that floated a dozen yards from them, or so.Tala was suspending the liquid through an act of will, basically constantly moving the water to be where she wanted it to be, despite its propensity to crash to the ground.Mistress Vanga sighed.Tala quickly spoke. I wasnt going to enact the working this close. I was just verifying that I could keep the water in place.The Healer looked skeptical, but didnt say anything further.Tala coughed, and then willed the water to a distance of a few hundred yards.Mistress Vanga nodded. Very well. I think with this amount of distance, so long as you dont do something astral, we should be fine, here.Astral? Tala frowned. Maybe she means stellar? No, thats not a good term for it either.Having to do with the heavens. Maybe not the correct term, but I dont generally think of things in that way. But, given your abilities, Im concerned you might just devote enough power to make a mini-star, or black hole, or the like.Oh, I dont think Ill get anywhere near that pressure. Tala smiled. I appreciate the faith you have in my abilities, though.Mistress Vanga cocked an eyebrow while still smiling as she asked another question, And you're starting with?A ten foot cube of water.Alright, then. She sat down in the provided chair, taking a glass of a cold juice that Mistress Petra had provided and Tala had set out on a nearby table. Begin whenever you wish.Tala nodded.She already had a perfect visualization of the water. After all, not only was she seeing it with her threefold sight at every level possible, she was willing it to be where it was, keeping it in place.So, with that visualization in mind, she began to pour power into her gravity altering magics, affecting the water's gravitational attraction to itself.She focused, even while those looking on began to chat. They were all familiar enough with her that they knew it would take a bit to build up to anything worthy of paying much attention to.After a few minutes of devoting nearly her full throughput to amplifying the effect of gravity upon the water, that water began to pull inward just ever so slightly, getting smaller under the building pressure.Honestly, if Tala understood correctly, that meant that it was under a lot of pressure.Unfortunately, the liquid was also beginning to heat up, which was inconvenient.It wasnt shedding its excess heat as readily as the air did during her creation of siege orbs, partially because water could take in a lot more heat energy than air could.Well, this is my sanctum. My water. My heat.Kit was soulbound to her, and through Kit, Tala had utter mastery over the contents of this space.With an act of will, Tala pulled the heat from the water, not aiming for any temperature in particular. Instead, she just pulled the heat away, even as she ramped up the gravitational attraction.Given the multiplicative effects of her magic, the water began to shrink at a noticeable rate even as it heated up more and more quickly.Because of that, she pulled out more and more heat. She wasnt being delicate about it, simply dumping the heat into a pocket in the ground deep on the far side of this section of Kits interior.The water under the influence of her magics began to become solid, but she wasnt sure if it was due to the pressure or the temperature, given she was pulling so much heat uniformly away from it, trying to stay ahead of the heating effect.Then, when the water had compressed to a bit more than half its previous volumeand Tala had pulled a truly ludicrous amount of heat out of itthere was a resonant thrum, and she saw in real time as the water molecules rearranged.At least, that was her guess as to what was happening.She couldnt actually see the water molecules themselves, not really, but there was an odd rippling through the entire mass of the now somewhat rounded block of ice, and Talas working vanished.Her mental understanding of the water simply no longer being true enough to let her magics keep hold.Tala gasped, staggering at the sudden loss of a place to dump her gushing power.It felt as if shed had a leg kicked out from under her, but she recovered quickly enough.Even so, the shock of losing a target-lock also caused her to lose her will-power hold on the no-longer-water, and it dropped a couple of feet to the ground, where it just sat there.Master Simon came forward, Mistress Tala? Are you alright?She nodded and let Mistress Vangas magic wash over her, verifying her condition.Once that was established, he returned his attention to his Archival slate.Brandon and Adrill were similarly engrossed with their magical readings.Rane was standing, simply staring at the ice in the near distance, clearly intrigued.Master Simon finally shook his head, clearly a bit dumbstruck for a long moment before turning back to Tala, What did you do?Honestly? Im not quite sure?After a long moment, he nodded. Well, I guess that we should go find out.
