Leviathans

An hour or so later, after Rayne took over piloting the airship, Lucy sat on the floor across from Heinric. He shook the vial of acid he had diluted earler in front of his eyes. He had spent the last fifteen minutes explaining what he hoped the acid would now do, and Lucy had listened intently. Now, it was time to experiment. She helped him prepare. First, they assembled a metal box, two feet or so across. Four of the sides were a tough metal alloy, with the side facing them and the top being a thick glass compound that could absorb minor explosions without shattering. a blast box, he had called it.

Heinric looked over their handywork, nodding his assent for them to continue the process. “could ye make some fifty grams o’ blastin’ powder?” he asked, eyeing the vial of acid carefully. Lucy looked over at him, unsure. “I’m not sure I’ll get it right, Heinric.” she answered. He looked at her, and his expression softened. “Ye’ll get it right. ye only need ta do the first couple o’ steps.” he encouraged. “Ah need ta test other explosive mixtures too.” he explained, and Lucy understood. It would take that much longer if he had to do it all himself.

Lucy carefully gathered what she needed.She then chose one of his mortar and pestle sets, this one made of a heavy white stone. She slowly poured the ingredients in what she thought were the correct proportions into the mortar and begun to grind. As she did, she occasionally looked up to watch Heinric mixing together various powders, liquids, and oils. The ingredients that she could identify told her that he was preparing multiple other explosive mixtures. It seemed that he hoped to test the diluted acid as thoroughly as possible.

He turned to her, and gave her a meaningful look. “Be careful, or you might kill yourself.” Lucy muttered to herself, knowing that it was what he meant. The powder was volatile, and if she accidentally hit it too hard, it would could explode. And so, she turned her eyes back to what she was doing. It was deceptively simple, Lucy thought as she ground the ingredients into a finer and finer grain, mixing them as she went. She watched carefully, making sure that everything was a powder. It was a long process, and she found herself singing under her breath as she worked.

Some time later, she examined her efforts and decided it was the best she could do. Lucy brushed off the pestle and set it aside before carefully pouring the small amount of powder onto a square of incredibly fine cloth. Heinric had shown her the squares early on in what she now regarded as a somewhat clandestine apprenticeship. Lucy’s surprise had been evident. In her mind it must’ve been incredibly expensive, and for what? to put blasting powder on?”

Heinric had explained that it allowed him to store portioned amounts of the stuff in the chests he delved with, letting him experiment and restock in smaller quantities. When she had clarified that she meant the quality of the cloth, he had shrugged. It had to be fine or the powder would sift out over time. Lucy had grudgingly admitted that it was a good idea. Better, after all, to be prepared. This way, he always knew exactly how much was in any one of the small pouches.

She shook the memory away, folding the square into a pouch before tying it closed and moving towards Heinric, who had already prepared another series of compounds. His eyes went up to her, and Lucy held out the pouch, almost shyly. He took it from her carefully and opened it, examining the blasting powder within. His eyes seemed to twinkle. “Ye said ye’d never done this ’efore.” he said, and she nodded. “Well, Ye’ve got talent. This is good powder.” he affirmed, pouring a small amount into a pile inside the blast box.

Lucy smiled, giddy at her success and his praise. “Now. On to the tests.” Heinric spoke, having her sit in front of the box, looking through the glass. “Firs’, we’ll test it pure.” he explained, cutting a long length of fuse.

He lit it, quickly placed it into the blast box so the unlit end was touching the blasting powder, and closed it. Heinric took a step back, sitting next to Lucy. His eyes were attentive as he leaned forward. Lucy followed the flame that ran along the fuse as it got closer and closer to the powder she had ground. She expected an explosion. What she didn’t expect was for the powder to ignite and burn away in a flash. She jumped a little, and Heinric chuckled.

“Why didn’t it blow up?” she asked in surprise, pointing at the new black patch against the metal. “Only explodes when ye contain it. Otherwise, it jus’ burns fast.” he answered, pulling at his braided beard in thought.

He poured another small amount into the blast box, but this time poured a few drops of the diluted acid onto the pile. It gave off a tiny amount of colored smoke. Heinric’s eyes were glowing with excitement, and his smile was wide.

“This might be wha’ Ah’ve been lookin’ fer.” he breathed, mixing the acid into the powder carefully before lighting another fuse and repeating the process from the first experiment.

Lucy watched again. Heinric’s excitement was infectious, and Lucy had to struggle to keep from jumping up and down as the fuse burned down. It reached the powder. An infinitesimal pause. A spark. a small concussive explosion shook the blast box with a loud pop. Lucy jumped again. Heinric began to laugh. They began to hear the sound of footsteps, and Lynn stuck his head into the door. “Are you well?” he asked, concern on his face. “I heard something.”

Heinric turned to face Lynn, his laughter dying down. “We’re alrigh’. Better, actually.” He said, ecstatic. Lynn frowned, glancing over at Lucy for confirmation. “We’re okay, really Lynn. Thank you.” she answered his gaze. He shrugged, and left just as quickly as he had arrived. “Does he do that every time?” Lucy asked. Heinric stared at her for a moment, as if unsure how to answer. He shrugged, as if to say “yes, but we have more important things to do right now”. Lucy sighed. She still held onto the hope that the delvers were somewhat normal under their exteriors. Her hope was fading quickly.

Still, Heinric was right. This was definitely more important. And Lucy found herself excited about the future. Rayne had found herself after their escape from their city. Now Lucy sought the same thing. It was, she thought, a good feeling. One that she’d hold with her on the rest of the trip to Altressa, as she continued to watch. And she continued to learn.

Twelve days later, they approached the capital city of the Kingdom of Altressa. As soon as Richard gave them the news, that just past this next ridge they would finally see the place they had been traveling to find, Rayne had sighed in relief. For the first time in her life, the temperature in her jacket was turned up to warm her up for reasons completely unrelated to magic.

The chill that left her cheeks red and caused her to sleep with as many blankets as she could physically put onto the bed crept up on them slowly. She began to resent having to avoid wearing her jacket to avoid being outed to Batari as a technomage. After leaving Nekas, they had traveled above the trees for another day or so before they began to thin out, revealing a swamp underneath. Somehow, there were ruins even here. Something that may have once been a tall watchtower had collapsed in on itself, and it’s stony skeleton lay half-submerged and covered in plant life.

As they flew above the scattered ruins they heard a deep, guttural roar that shook Rayne to her bones. Batari had matter-of-factly complained about how loud black wyverns could be. At the look of confusion on Ranye and Lucy’s faces he had launched into an explanation of the difference between dragons, which he claimed had mostly died out, and wyverns. Somehow, the two girls had managed to keep up the facade that they were anything but technomages. Rayne was thankful, because she genuinely enjoyed Batari’s company, after she had gotten used to his eccentricities.

Sure his manner of speech was difficult to pick through, at times, and there was the matter of his increasingly obvious dislike of runic technology. Lucy had onced asked him why, and his face had grown dark and serious for a moment before she had waved the question away. Still, talking to him was always an… adventure? that was probably the word Rayne would use to describe it. He seemed to jump from one topic to the next with such speed that not even Rayne could follow him properly, and his enthusiasm for what he spoke about was infectious. She could only hope that once he inevitably found out that they were what he hated, they could remain what Rayne thought of as friends.

After Batari’s lecture, and the swamp, had come a marsh. wooden buildings on what looked from their height to be thick stilts were perched above the murky water. Boats cut through the underbrush, their paths clear from the airship’s vantage point. Rayne had watched with interest, trying to imagine the lives that the people below lived. She shared the thoughts with Aria, who had just shrugged in response.

They had continued onwards, as the marsh returned to swampland, and then to another sparse forest. Rayne had never thought she’d become immune to the sight of so many trees, but she had been wrong. As they flew above the forest, and into a valley, they were met by a heavy thunderstorm that had forced them to ground. Lynn had spoken in worried tones about how the weather was becoming more erratic almost day by day. Batari shared similar thoughts, confessing that the earthquakes that occasionally rocked Nekas had begun to increase in strength. Rayne and Lucy had shared a meaningful glance.

After the passing of the storm, had come the snow. It fell slowly at first, drifting down to meet them. Lucy had looked at the pure white flakes quizzically, holding out a hand to catch one. She had recoiled in surprise at the sudden cold. It would not leave them again, and near-constant snow had assailed them since. The ruins that dotted the whitening landscape increased in number as the days passed. When Lucy had asked why Lynn had answered, his eyes glowing. “We now fly above Altressian land, Magi. These artifacts are the heritage of our people.” he had explained, his tone a mixture of reverence and pain.

As they approached their destination, it seemed that Lynn became more and more tense. He and Heinric had gotten into more than one argument, only to have Richard defuse it before it came to blows. Eventually Lynn had retired to the cargo hold, leaving the room he had shared with Richard and Heinric with two occupants instead of three. Lucy, for her part, had spent more and more time with Heinric.

The occasional explosion had become as mundane to Rayne as the dark green nettles that broke through the snow below them. Still, she couldn’t fight off a twinge of jealousy. It was her hope that things would return to normal, or as normal as they could be, once the delve started. And so, as they came to the capital city of Altressa, Rayne had breathed a sigh of relief.

The airship was nestled inside of a large tunnel. The walls sloped upwards into a ceiling of stalactites above them and large, misshapen shadows were cast by the runic lamps that were set into the stone walls. It felt to Rayne like they were flying through the throat of some great beast. The sounds of a river cutting through the mountain below them echoed around them, cradling them in sound. Light poured through the large gap ahead of them, blotting out all details.

The “ridge” as Richard had called it, though Rayne thought calling it a ridge was a bit disingenuous, was a rise in the floor below them. It curled up to meet them almost softly, the river falling away to one side. They emerged from the cavern, and the sudden brightness forced Rayne’s eyes closed. As she opened them again, the feeling of relief that she felt quickly became amazement. Before them, was perhaps one of the most beautiful vistas Rayne had ever laid eyes on.

“Ar’Kuearo da Alvar.” Lynn breathed, and Rayne noticed him standing beside her. She didn’t understand his words, but the emotion in them caught in her chest. His eyes glittered, and Rayne swore that some of the shine was from tears. A small, almost guilty, smile rested on his face. Rayne turned away as Lucy opened the door to the deck. Lucy began to speak, but her words died on her lips as she came to stand next to Rayne. “wow.” She said instead. Rayne didn’t think she’d heard of a greater understatement in her entire life.

The lip of the cavern fell away beneath them, joining the river in its downward fall. The mountains that they had passed through curved away to either side and came together again, forming a rough circle. A field opened itself up in Rayne’s field of view. The river turned lazily, and cut down the center of the field before gathering in a large lake in front of the mountains directly across from them.

Farms were spread along the foothills of the mountains, the multicolored plots of land revealing the breadth of foodstuffs being cultivated. Mills arranged themselves evenly along the river with the occasional runic power station gathering magic from the flowing water with large, stiff metal nets.

Wide paved roads ran along the river, before splitting off like the branches of a great tree towards all of the farms on the outer edges of the circle of mountains. Moving inwards from the farms were large structures whose purpose Rayne couldn’t discern. Many of the mills had conduits leading to them, however, and Rayne imagined that they must be pulsing with magical energy.

After the buildings, at the very center of the circle, stood a garden. An incredible variety color in great, swirling, swatches decorated the garden. Bright reds, deep blues, glowing violets. Rayne’s eyes found them one after another. A statue of an armored knight raising a strange overlarge sword to the clear sky decorated its center.A park extended its way past the garden, dominating an entire slice of the circle. The massive park held a multitude of meandering paths leading to the mountains opposite them. Rayne felt sure that she could lose herself within for hours, if not longer, and never see it all.

And then, at the very base of the mountains, sat a lake. A structure, that from their distance looked delicate, was poised above it. A multitude of polished metal bars had been set at an angle around it. each one curved inwards until they met, and then flared outwards. They held a platform, above which floated a single massive sphere. Around it coiled yet more of the curved metal bars, which dipped downwards to the center of the platform. The blueish metal shone in the sunlight, giving the impression that the stone sphere was encased in a gigantic frozen fountain.

Past the fountain, was the city. It had been carved into the mountains themselves, as if by giants. Archways and bridges connected the multitude of structures. The city climbed ever upwards against the mountains, it’s height giving Rayne a strange sense of vertigo. A palace sat atop the city. Set in the center and above all else, like a crown jewel. It was an apt comparison, Rayne thought. The mountains the circlet. The city the gilded setting, and the palace the jewel. And like a jewel, it commanded attention.

Rayne stared in awe. It was then that she noticed something. There was no snow on the ground. It fell here as surely as it had before, but a new warmth filled the air. Somehow, Rayne knew it was the work of runic technology, and the sheer scale of the application baffled her. A smile grew on her face, giddy at the prospect of speaking to one of the technomages that maintained the system.

Her eyes, the ring of cool silver in them shining, look towards the sky. Airships crisscrossed her vision, stopping at many of the structures within the circle. Some took paths through tunnels that must lead outside. Two of the airships approached, blotting out increasing large portions of the sky. They looped slowly around them. They were big, four or five times larger than the sleek airship Rayne and Lucy had stolen. The barrels of cannons jutted out of portholes on either side of the ships, and they flew large white flags emblazoned with a wolf howling at a crescent moon.

Lynn, his wide-eyed smile quickly becoming a worried grimace, called for them to stop. Lucy, who was at the helm, slowed the engines. Their rumble slowly died out as the airship came to halt. Rayne watched, her own worry beginning to grow, as the two airships flanked them. Soldiers stood on each of their decks, hands on their weapons. All of them were uniformed in clothing that pulled tight against the multitude armored plates each soldier wore underneath. Each had a pauldron in the same style as Lynn’s, though none was quite as ornate. Rayne noticed that they all had different colors in their hair as well.

One of the soldiers, this one in a full suit of armor that was all jagged lines of a dark gray metal, stepped forward. It seemed to Rayne that if he had wanted to he would be able to cross the small gap between both airships, suit of armor or no. “Why do you approach Alvar.” He said, his grumble of a voice carrying the same lilting accent as Lynn’s. Richard, who had been reading on the deck, stood casually and stepped forward to meet him. His hands went to his head, removing the hat that so often sat atop it. “My name is Richard Perin, renowned explorer. I come seeking an audience with the Empress.” He answered with a bow.

Before the soldier could answer, his eyes found Lynn standing just a few steps back from Richard. The man’s hand went briefly to the hilt of his overlarge sword, this one even bigger than than Lynn’s and seemingly mechanical as well. His brow furrowed and he frowned. “Su’Kengos qus yei Altressa” he shouted, clearly a challenge, in a language that Rayne gathered was Altressan. Lynn gave him a tight smile. “Os sai, Nanar’Kenaro” Lynn shouted back. The man grimaced and opened his mouth to answer before he shook his head. “Your name is known to me, and to the Empress. Go, then. This filth will not step foot in my city, however.” He commanded, glaring daggers at Lynn. Richard bowed again, and Lynn followed suit, a look of anguish crossing his fair features.

As the two warships retreated, Richard sighed audibly. “Must you answer them, Lynn?” He asked. Heinric laughed. “Aye. Perhaps ye’d not be an exile if ye weren’t such a little shit.” the old alchemist prodded jovially, his arms crossed. Rayne raised an eyebrow, eyes searching the three of them. Lucy, who had joined them on the deck, appeared confused as well. Lynn glared at Heinric for just a moment, before giving a short laugh. “Pardon me, Richard. I will control myself in the future.” He answered respectfully, bowing his head. “I shall retreat to the cargo hold.” He continued, not looking up at the doctor before quickly moving away.

Richard followed Lynn with his eyes. Once the door was closed behind him, Richard sighed again. Lucy raised a hand and waved it, catching Richard’s attention. “Could you please explain what just happened?” She asked, still confused. “I’d like to know, too.” Rayne said. Richard pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger before answering.

“The captain said ‘you were commanded to never step in Altressa’, Lynn answered ‘It is good, then, that I’m not stepping on it.’” He translated. Rayne blinked as she absorbed this information. “Not… because he was on an airship instead of the ground?” Lucy asked, her confusion turning to humor. Heinric laughed.

Rayne shook her head, and looked out at the warships. “Altressan sounds very different from any of the other languages I’ve heard.” she commented, and Lucy nodded. “We heard a lot of different ones on the beetle, but nothing quite like that.” Richard placed his hat carefully back on his head. “Altressa was a small, isolated kingdom until around one three or four hundred years ago. Their language developed separately from any others.” he explained, stepping towards the helm.

“I get that you’ve probably had to deal with Altressan before while delving, but why does Heinric know the language?” Lucy asked, looking over at the alchemist. “Ah’ve dealt with lots of people in mah time.” Heinric shrugged. Richard, who was now accelerating their airship towards the city, snorted. “You sell yourself short old friend. Heinric was a renowned blacksmith in his younger days. Clients came to see him from all over the known world.” Richard said. Lucy’s eyes open in surprise and Rayne couldn’t help but feel the same. “Tha’ was a long time ago.” Heinric said gruffly, looking away in embarassment. His expression betrayed pain.

“You never told me, Heinric!” Lucy complained, slapping his arm lightly. He grunted, still not looking at her. He turned around, and gave Richard a pleading glance. “Perhaps he simply didn’t want to talk about the past. He has his reasons.” Richard suggested quickly. Lucy searched first Richard and then Heinric with her gaze. “Okay.” He shrugged at her inspection. She said, her voice small and disappointed. “Et’s jus’ not somethin’ I want to talk about.” He said, scratching at the back of his head with one hand. Lucy bit back a sharp retort. She had told Heinric about her life, about her dreams, while they worked. Now, it seemed that he didn’t trust her enough to do the same. “Alright” Lucy sighed, “I’m going to go try out a few mixtures.” She left, leaving Heinric standing on the deck.

Rayne glared at Heinric. Lucy had looked more hurt than she let on. Rayne’s friend didn’t like talking about it, but her family hadn’t been exactly close. In Rayne’s eyes, Lucy had been looking to Heinric as more than a teacher. “Well done.” Rayne chided, before leaving to follow Lucy. Before she closed the door behind her, Rayne heard Richard’s voice and paused.

“It might do you good to talk to her about it.” The doctor said gently. Heinric turned to face him, eyes wet. “Maybe yer right. She jus’ reminds me o’ Katherine.” he admitted. “Nobody can replace your daughter Heinric, or any of your family. but maybe someone can help you heal.” Rayne quickly went down the stairs to join Lucy, unsure as to whether she should say anything about what she had overheard or not.

A few minutes later, Heinric found Lucy in his room. As she had said, she was mixing different alchemical reagents together. His chest swelled with pride at the sight. Rayne sat on his too-small bed, watching Lucy with interest. Henric looked at her, and smiled weakly. Rayne nodded slowly at him. Heinric turned his eyes back to Lucy, waiting until she had carefully stoppered and put away the vial she was holding before coughing to get her attention.

Lucy turned to face him. Rayne watched him carefully, shifting so that she was poised almost defensively over Lucy. The blonde looked over at her, and nodded. “I’ll be fine, Ray.” Heinric moved to the side as Rayne stood and walked into the hall. A shiver went down his spine as their eyes met, as if he had a premonition.

Rayne shut the door behind her. She sighed, and walked towards her room. Without knowing how long Heinric was going to talk to Lucy, she figured that she might as well try to open the flame orb again. After all, she was fairly certain that Richard would call her whenever they docked. She opened her door, to find Batari in her room. It came as a surprise more so because she hadn’t seen him for a few days, a feat she didn’t understand given how small the airship was, than any other reason. “Batari?” she asked, and he whirled around. “Oh. Hello.” he said. Rayne cocked her head to the side. “Generally, it’s considered impolite to go into someone’s room without asking. What are you doing?”

“Documenting. Too much runic technology. would like to turn off non-essentials.” he answered in his strange way. Rayne noted the lack of an apology, and her annoyance flared. At the moment, he reminded her of the apprentices who tried to break into her room.

“I wouldn’t shut anything down. it all draws power from the reservoir. Trying anything might cause trouble. It would be a pain to fix, and I’ve had to do plenty of that already” she pointed out. His eyes narrowed. “You speak like a technomage.” Rayne rolled her eyes, tired of the facade. “That’s because I am a technomage, Batari.” she said flatly. His eyes widened.

“You lied.” he breathed, disbelieving. “Richard lied. I just didn’t correct him.” She answered, deflating somewhat at the hurt look on his face. Anger blossomed on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but seemingly thought better of it and snapped it back closed.

After taking a moment to collect himself he glared at her again. “I thought we were becoming friends. Friends do not lie to one another.” he spat, pushing roughly past her into the hallway. His words cut into Rayne. She hadn’t been a good friend to Lucy recently either. The jealousy she felt at the time Lucy spent with Heinric fresh in her memory.

Rayne rubbed at the sore spot where Batari had pushed past, and sat down on her bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she began to think of the time she had spent with the delvers. It had been short, certainly, but it was also some of the most fun she had ever had. Here, with this “band of misfits” as Richard had called them, she had found warmth.

Her eyes went to the dresser, and she felt as if she could see the fiery gem hidden within. Her thoughts went to the leviathan. Rayne still hadn’t found much about them, not that she had too much time to do dedicated research since leaving her city. Her hands found the flame orb on her dresser, and she paused again to look at herself in the mirror.

Somehow, she looked different. Rayne didn’t know if it was a trick of the light, or something else, but she looked more alive than she ever had. With a shake of her head, she banished the thoughts and sat down. Her fingers ran over the flame orb for what felt like the thousandth time. Her mind wandered back to the leviathans. The only thing she’d seen of them since her first encounter was on the ceiling at their first delve. A faint hope had cemented itself in her then. She hadn’t told Lucy, but Rayne planned to keep delving until she had answers. For now though, she would have to be content with what she had. Her eyes found the orb in her hands. Her ears heard sobbing. It wasn’t Lucy’s. The voice was too deep.

Rayne sighed, and pushed the thoughts away, trying to focus. She stared at the etchings in the sphere in her hands, hoping desperately that one of her episodes of insight would strike. one minute turned to two. Then to five. Then to ten. A knock sounded against the open door. Rayne’s eyes snapped up. Aria stood leaning against the doorway. “You look stressed.” she commented, a hint of worry in her voice. “What happened?”

“Lucy and Heinric.” Rayne answered, looking back down at the orb in her hands. There really wasn’t much she could explain. In all honesty she didn’t really understand what had happened herself, sometimes she understood people and sometimes she didn’t. this was one of the times she didn’t. When Rayne looked up again, Aria was sitting next to her. Aria laughed as Rayne jumped in surprise. “You do that a lot.” Aria said, and Rayne shrugged. “It’s cute.” Rayne stared at her for a moment, trying to decide whether she was being made fun of or not. Aria’s half-smile didn’t make it very clear. Rayne shook her head. “Thanks, I guess?” she finally answered, and Aria nodded.

“Do you want me to help you relax?” The warrior asked. Rayne passed the orb from one hand to another, still studying it absent mindedly. “What do you suggest?” she asked, and Aria shrugged. “Just a back rub.” Rayne considered her proposal for a moment before she nodded her consent. Aria shifted until she was behind Rayne. “You’re going to need to let me get under your shirt for this.” She warned. “Your hands go anywhere near my chest and I hurt you.” Rayne warned jokingly, and Aria laughed. “This isn’t how I would start that anyway” the woman answered.

Rayne closed her eyes as she felt Aria’s hands reach up under her shirt. The warmth in Aria’s fingers bled into Rayne’s cold back as the woman slowly massaged. “Your muscles are tight.” Aria observed clinically, increasing the pressure. Rayne gasped, but when Aria asked if

she should stop Rayne shook her head. As Aria worked, Rayne watched the orb. Her mind seemed to drift outwards. Her half-lidded eyes scanning the orb. Her fingers once more ran along the etchings.

And then she felt it. It came over her slowly, much more slowly than it had in the Technomage tower’s library. That strange sense of knowing exactly what to do, of being able to see into the orb, came over her. A small twist, and one of the orb’s divisions curled away. That same elation flooded her. Rayne worked more slowly, relishing the sense of certainty that she felt. Another small movement. Another. She became dimly aware that Aria had stopped. As the first one had, this orb morphed at her touch. It felt liquid in her hands as it opened like a flower. Inside, was another one of the fiery gems.

Rayne froze. She could still feel Aria’s hands, now still. She could hear Aria’s breaths, now excited. After a few moments of silence, Aria moved. The rustle of her clothing on the bed startling Rayne. “That looked incredible.” Aria breathed, sitting next to Rayne. “That stone… what is it?” Rayne shook her head, taking a second to collect herself.

“It’s just a power source. The orb is like a puzzle box.” Rayne lied, turning her eyes away from Aria. She didn’t know what the gem was, but if Master Ethan had told her to hide the first, she would do the same with the second. At least, until she figured out what they were. “Oh. boring then. watching you open it though…” Aria said, looking up at the ceiling. Rayne smiled at her and carefully pulled the stone out of it’s intricate golden setting before pocketing it.

“Thanks for helping me relax.” Rayne said earnestly, and Aria gave her a guilty smile. “Anytime. I enjoyed it.” Aria answered truthfully. A sound interrupted them. The door opening. Both women turned at the sound of creaking hinges to find Lucy standing in the doorway. Her eyes were puffy, like she had been crying. Her hands, which were pulled up to her chest, shook. “Ray. can I talk to you?” she pleaded, her voice small and her eyes large. Aria glanced at Rayne, and then back at Lucy. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Rayne watched Aria leave and then stood herself, worried. Before she could say anything, Lucy walked up and hugged her hard. After a moment of surprise, Rayne held her. “What’s wrong?” Rayne whispered, and Lucy shook her head. “Heinric he… his family…” she sobbed, burying her face into Rayne’s shoulder. “What about them?” Rayne asked carefully. Lucy took a shaky breath, steadying herself. “They’re all dead. A group of Nekasi mercenaries killed them” she breathed. Rayne’s eyes popped open in surprise. “I… what?” Lucy let go of Rayne and went to sit on the bed. Rayne followed.

Lucy was staring at her hands. They trembled on her lap. “ they asked him to make them weapons. He did. Afterwards, they killed his family to make sure the weapons were high quality and as ‘payment for his services’” she explained. “That’s horrible.” Rayne said, her voice shaking. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like. An image of Lucy dying in front of her eyes came to mind and she quickly pushed it away, her body growing tense.

Lucy dry swallowed and nodded. “That’s why he isn’t a blacksmith anymore.” Lucy looked at Rayne. Her eyes swam with tears. “His daughter… they… they made him watch, Ray.” She continued, voice strained. Rayne hugged her, unsure of what to say. unsure if there was anything she even could say. “He’s still looking for them.” Lucy whispered. Rayne nodded. She understood the sentiment. If anyone tried to take Lucy away from her, she’d hunt them to the edge of the world. “We’ll be in Altressa soon. They’ll let us know. For now, let’s just stay here.” Rayne suggested. Lucy nodded slowly. Outside, Rayne could still distantly hear sobbing.

A few hours later, they were docked. Rayne and Lucy had felt the ship slow, the hum of the engines that could be felt no matter where they were on the ship dying out. Rayne had braced herself for the stop. Undoubtedly it was Richard at the helm, as they hadn’t really taught anyone else to pilot the ship. Richard, however, was far worse at it than Rayne and Lucy were. The first few times he had tried to smoothly stop the airship, everything inside had jolted forward instead. It seemed he was finally getting the hang of it though. At least I wasn’t thrown off the bed this time. Rayne thought to herself. Lucy, who was emotionally drained after her conversation with Heinric, had fallen asleep.

Rayne stroked Lucy’s hair, a book in her lap as she waited for someone to come get them. She wanted to see the city, yes, but she didn’t want to leave Lucy alone right now. Besides. They had been greeted by warships. She doubted they could just leave the airship once they had docked. Just as they had been stopped by a dock authority at the beetle city - a thought at which she paused to consider that she still didn’t know what that particular city was called - they would certainly be stopped at the capital of Altressa.

She turned a page. The rustle of paper mixed with the occasional creak from the airship’s wood. The book Rayne was reading had been one of the ones she found in the airship. It was fiction, and told an overly complicated story about a man on a quest to save the world. Truth be told, she wasn’t particularly enjoying it, but it was better than staring at the ceiling. Besides she thought, It’s not like I’m actually paying attention to the story anyway. Instead, as her hands and eyes were occupied with the book in front of her, she let her mind wander.

With Lucy’s sudden entrance into the room, Rayne hadn’t had much time to think about the fact that she had one more of her episodes. She also hadn’t had time to put away the gem. More importantly, however, she thought that she might finally be connecting how her episodes happened. Each time, her mind had been focused on something else. Focused wasn’t the right word. Distracted? no, that wasn’t the right word either, Rayne didn’t think. It was almost as if her mind was empty, but sharp. Like she wasn’t paying attention to anything in particular, but could grasp the world around her with uncanny accuracy. That’s what it felt like, at least. Now, Rayne supposed, it was just a question of figuring out how to get there again.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Lucy shifted, her eyes opening. “Come in.” Rayne answered as Lucy sat up, still a little disoriented from sleep. “well, that’s cute.” Aria commented off-handedly. Lucy blinked at her, and then shook her head. “What is?” asked Rayne obliviously, and Aria laughed. “You’re very unobservant sometimes.” Aria pointed out, and this time Lucy laughed. “It’s strange isn’t it?” Lucy added, with a smile. Aria nodded, and then looked back out the door, as if hearing something. “Anyway, we’re heading into Alvar. Richard wants you both to come. See you on the deck.” She said with a wave as she left.

Rayne, who was still trying to understand the exchange between Lucy and Aria, remained on the bed as Lucy stood. Lucy’s hair stuck out of her ponytail at odd angles, and she mumbled a curse while running her hands through it. Deciding that whatever had happened didn’t matter, Rayne went to put on her technomage clothing. Lucy, who at this point had given up on trying to brush her hair with her hands, and had undone her ponytail so that she could brush through it instead, watched Rayne put on the jacket with interest. “Aren’t we supposed to not let Batari know we’re technomages?” she asked, curious.

Rayne’s face flushed with embarrassment. “I might have told him because I was annoyed.” came her answer. “Really?” Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah. sorry. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me anymore.” Rayne said, genuine distress in her voice. “It’ll be okay, Ray.” Lucy assured her, quickly grabbed her own jacket. She had missed wearing it, and not only because it would let her stay warm. She redressed herself quickly, adjusting the temperature in her clothing with a contented sigh. “oh how I’ve missed you, climate control.” she breathed with a smile.

“It makes a big difference, doesn’t it?” Rayne agreed, grabbing Lucy’s hand and pulling her through the door. “Anyway let’s get going. I hope we get to meet some technomages here! This city looks amazing!” She continued, and Lucy nodded her agreement as she followed Rayne’s rapid pace up the stairs. Rayne pushed to door open to find everyone on the deck except for Batari and Lynn. Heinric was chatting with Richard, his voice low and somber. He seemed more reserved than normal. If Lucy had been affected by his story, than it must’ve been even worse for him to force himself to remember. Aria sat off to the side on top of the railing, absently looking towards the dock, her normal stern expression on her face. She looked like a hawk.

Rayne switched her attention to the rest of the docks. Like the rest of the structures that snaked their way up the face of the mountain, it was carved out of their very stone. Intricate details, sweeping curves and straight lines that never met at a right angle decorated the ground. The entirety of the docks was full of different airships.

Some of the docked airships were different from the others, and were obviously merchant vessels from different parts of the world. Most of them were, however, similar to the warships they had encountered earlier. They were blocky, and appeared unaerodynamic to Rayne’s untrained eye. Every single one of them, however, had massive engines. Rayne felt certain that they could all hold their own against any of the airships she had seen before. It was an impressive display of technomagical mastery. Rayne gradually grew more and more excited as she began to notice how runic technology permeated every aspect of the docks.

“Ray!” Lucy called, and Rayne refocused onto her. “Huh?” she asked, and Lucy shook her head. “I had to call you five times before you answered. Do you want to go into the city or do you want to stare at it for the next few hours?” Lucy asked jokingly, and Rayne gave her a repentant look. “Shall we go, then? I wouldn’t want to keep the Empress waiting. She has no sense of humor” Richard said dryly over his shoulder, his feet carrying him past a stony-faced Heinric. “Wait, what?” Lucy asked, quickly following after him. Rayne remained on the deck. She looked over at Aria. “Empress?”

“You heard him. He’s nervous. He’s been planning this for a long time.” She explained, hopping off the railing she had been sitting on. “Let’s go. He really isn’t kidding. I saw her once. The Empress, I mean. She was covered in blood. It wasn’t hers.” Aria continued, almost lazily chasing after the others. Rayne watched her for a few moments before she reassessed. Lazily was, perhaps, the wrong word. Graciously, was probably a better description, given how fast she had closed the distance. Rayne sighed, and went after her. She passed Heinric, who was still standing in silence. After a few moments, Rayne heard his footsteps behind her.

Rayne caught up with the others just in time to hear Richard confirm what Aria had said. They were, in fact, going to meet with royalty. Not with an envoy, or an ambassador, or some other bureaucrat, but with the Empress herself. “How is it that a delver gets an audience?” Lucy challenged, and Richard shook his head. “A long story. Suffice to say that I have met her before. Granted, our meeting was due to rather unfortunate circumstances.” he said, more to himself than in response. Rayne decided that he did seem nervous. His movements were stiff, and instead of his usual smile he wore a frown. His eyes, which Rayne was used to seeing creased in laughter were instead flitting around as if searching for support. Or escape.

Still it seemed there was nothing else to do but move forward. and while we do... Rayne thought to herself as she let her eyes wander to the space around her. They had already begun moving away from the docks but unlike in any other city that Rayne had ever been in, that didn’t mean that they went inwards. They went up. Step by step, staircase by staircase, they climbed upwards. The docks were situated toward the bottom of the mountain face, and being as the city didn’t actually go more than a few layers deep, most of it grew in a haphazard circle.

People moved around them, largely ignoring their group. While not anywhere near as cosmopolitan as the beetle, it seemed that Alvar dealt with enough foreigners that they weren’t particularly strange. Their dress was bright and colorful, and most of it fit tightly around arms and legs while flaring around the shoulders and waist. It gave Rayne the impression that they were trying to imitate the suits of armor she had seen on the soldiers. The light fabric was deeply at odds with the snowy landscape that spread out around the mountainous ring, and even to some extent with the cool air that surrounded them now. Still, she supposed it was possible to get used to anything.

The streets they walked through were immaculately clean and the lack of dust, dirt, or litter was off-putting to Rayne. Armored soldiers stood at corners, conversing in altressan. Bits of their speech reached her. It was a strange language, Rayne thought. She hadn’t heard anything quite like it before. Signs, which Rayne assumed were meant to give directions, were spread throughout their path. At least they use the same alphabet, Rayne thought before reading one of the signs aloud. “Delair” she said, sounding it aloud. Richard turned back to face her, a hint of his usual smile back on his face. “The ‘L’ is longer, the ‘a’ is soft, and you don’t pronounce the ‘r’.” he explained. “It’s what they call the palace” he continued, in answer to Rayne’s inquisitive expression.

A few minutes later they passed a bakery, the scent of fresh bread nearly intoxicating. Rayne marveled at the fact that it was a singular block of stone. The entire building had been carved out of rock. Instead of being a blocky and rectangular structure, however, it was smoothly designed to appear delicate. Rayne lifted a hand to touch wall, the smell that surrounded them all and Lucy’s requests that they stop to get some fading away. Her fingers met the building and then pulled back, the illusion caused by the craftsmanship so complete that she had half-expected the stone itself to melt away at her touch.

The natural veins of color in the stone beneath her hands lent it breaths of color that varied throughout the city. Rayne looked up at the ceiling, which she realized must simply be the foundation of the next tier up, and began to count the different colors as she walked. Distracted as she was, Rayne nearly walked straight into Lucy. She caught herself at the last moment, stopping with a start. Lucy turned to face her with a sigh. “You should really pay more attention, Ray.” She chided, only half-jokingly. “we’re here.” Richard said, from the front of their small procession. “Please remember to be respectful, everyone” he said, looking at Aria. “What?” she asked with mock indignity.;