Daniel

Progress came swiftly, even on foot. First, they visited the four nearest Terminals to get everyone a complete set of the six magic items. Then they were weaving through nodes and zigzagging through lightyears of space. Daniel knew this promenade of planets might become tedious after the first dozen. For now, though, it was an adventure.

He saw so many suns in their skies, so many singular moons as they crossed between night and day again and again. They passed forests and rivers and mountains and deserts and beaches on every world, each unique but strangely similar. Struck again by the similarity of these many worlds, Daniel got suspicious.

:Rana, why are these worlds alike?:

:Sure you want to owe a favor for this? It’s obvious.:

He grimaced, then assured Wendi it wasn’t her grip when the devil girl asked. :What are you going to do with all these favors anyway?:

:Wouldn’t you like to know?: Then, after slime-sliding to the base of a hill, she continued. :Maybe I just want an Angel of Ruin indebted to me?:

Daniel surrendered. :Whatever. You keep track from now on, I need answers.:

:They have a common model. Ask me, ‘Why are all the Progeniture, even inorganics like Paul, variations on human?’ Well, the Progenitors used Adam and Eve as their template for people and an original ‘Earth’ for terraforming planets.: Rana completely blew Daniel’s mind.

When his brain finally restarted he sent, :What about the spaceship in Eastwood, UE 000? Who made that?:

:Humans. The Atlanteans played a major role towards the end of The Second Great War. The Fall of Atlantis isolated the remaining human colonies. In a few generations, the survivors lost all memory of their once-towering technological might.: The tremendous loss of knowledge disturbed him. Rana saw the look on his face. :They weren’t nice. Drove a whole race to extinction in a show of strength, though it backfired. Nobody wanted them as neighbors.:

He spent the afternoon contemplating while watching the scenery.

They elected to pause for respite in a pine forest with knee-deep snow. Whereas Daniel brooded, the others enjoyed their freedom to the fullest. After releasing Daniel with polite aplomb, Wendi plowed headfirst into the white banks—showering them with snow before anyone unpacked their winter coats.

His companions’ clothes morphed into thicker materials and warmer fashions. No wonder they hadn’t discussed laundry; their garments appeared to be self-cleaning judging by the lack of stains from yesterday. Thinking back, he’d been too caught up in the action yesterday to concern himself with it, but Cassie’s clothes morphed with her as if part of her body. The same went for Paul’s transformation.

Meanwhile, Daniel’s robe remained inert as his feet evaporated the snow beneath, and his toes turned blue. He’d never known why his clothes didn’t turn to dust at his touch. No memories of his mother explaining things came to mind. Perhaps Daniel took the world at face value before he met Mary.

Daniel turned to Rana for help as she and the others layered purloined winterwear on top of their magical clothing.

The frog girl confronted cold with abiding enmity. She donned her gear with calm efficiency despite probably wanting to dive headfirst into a pile of mittens—the girl had impressive self-control. He could barely find Rana’s eyes under all the coats, scarves, and hats when she finished. Rana never showed discomfort on her face, though her miserable shivering body language screamed complaint from her self-appointed watch post.

He hoped his question would take her mind off the weather. :You never told me about this…: He plucked at his robe for emphasis.

Her green and gold patterned eyes flicked his way. :The magic in your body determines eye color, your emblem, and grants you your ‘raiment.’:

Daniel prodded the biggest hole in that explanation. :Okay, then why do humans have normal eyes and no raiment?:

:‘Normal?’ What is ‘normal?’: True, watching human television for three years had colored his perception. :Technology is human magic.: Rana tapped her earmuffs. :Humans aren’t strong individually. Their power comes from Civilization.:

:How do I change my robe into something heavier?: Daniel’s questions weren’t idle curiosity—a near-zero body fat percentage had his body shaking itself to pieces to stay warm.

:Imagine what you want and will it into reality.:

Easier said than done. Or not. With new understanding, his raiment’s responsiveness surprised him. He turned his robe into a black hoodie and long pants, adding shoes and gloves to prevent frostbite. The new look didn’t ‘wow’ him, though. Something about his familiar robe he didn’t fully comprehend felt right. Daniel stuck his hands in his pockets and watched the others.

Rana continued, as much to distract herself from the freezing air as to help Daniel, :Downside is your raiment can only gain so much mass. Upside is you can’t lose it.:

:And, critically, I don’t have to go naked because I can’t control my magic.:

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

:That too.:

Daniel’s shoes propagated his aura of ruin, dissolving anything they touched, but did a great job protecting his feet. He might keep the shoes. After fiddling with the hoodie, he decided to join the fun.

Wendi made snowmen with snow shovel hands. They did snow angels—Daniel’s the deepest by far. A snowball spattered to dust striking his head. Daniel turned to see Kenta with a damning expression of triumph. Plus, fresh snow clung to the Kaminoke’s mittens.

Daniel shrugged and held out his arms as if to say, ‘Nice aim, but what am I throwing back?’

The red devil girl charged in shouting and laughing, “I’ll save you Daniel!” scooped up two giant handfuls of snow and hurled them at Kenta.

“N-n-no!” Interposing all his prehensile hair, Kenta scarcely avoided a live burial. Then a snowball exploded against his bare neck.

Kenta turned to see Paul nearby, smiling. “You started it.” Paul shrugged without apology.

“Really!” Lea shook her head and watched the whole thing unfold. “How are you all so immature—”

—Cassie dive-bombed Lea with all the snow her leg-hands could carry.

Lea brushed her face clear, her expression flat. Then she grinned. “If I am going to play this game, I may as well win.”

Her eight black orbs whirled in a spiral of churning snow, funneling it at an evading Cassie and covering anyone the bat girl flew over. Kenta’s hair divided into a dozen braids that formed and threw snowballs like a machine gun.

They didn’t make any more progress on the road that day, but no one complained. That night they camped in the woods. Rana taught them how to build a fire, though Paul’s candleflame helped. They melted snow for water, roasted marshmallows, and raised an extra-large tent to share. Daniel could stay inside if he sat cross-legged on Wendi’s open palm.

Tired from playing in the snow, the others huddled in blankets and watched TV from Cassie’s archive. Paul and Kenta played a game Daniel didn’t recognize. They used Shew Stones, those cloudy crystal balls, to project an illusory board and pieces. Daniel depended on their collective body heat to warm the tent, too cold to kindle the will to play. He promised himself he’d work on getting to know Kenta soon. Maybe they had a common interest in strategy games…

As the fading sun set on this world, Rana regurgitated one of the magic quartz crystals and tossed it to Daniel. “Give us some light.”

He fumbled the gem. Picking it up, he confirmed this too shared the Terminal’s invulnerability through some connection. Daniel activated the crystal like he’d been taught to use his Portal Ring.

An alien, not-white illumination filled the tent. It rendered everything in black and white, stripped of all color. This light cast perfect shadows with razor edges.

:Close your eyes.:

He did, but shock reopened them. Then he shut them again, and yes, open or shut, his eyes didn’t matter. He saw his surroundings in perfect clarity regardless, with the shadows being total voids.

:Wow.:

:Aurvandil, gift of the Urim, Angels of Light and Knowledge. These gifts allow us to borrow the powers of other races by channeling their magic through an object.:

Through further study, Daniel noticed dim light from Paul’s candle head touched the otherwise perfect shadows and colored the otherwise blank white surfaces. ‘Study,’ in this case, involved Daniel repeatedly opening and closing his eyes while looking around the tent.

Rana cleared her throat to get his attention and threw him a pendant. :Rosetta Stone, gift of the Harmony. Translation plus telepathy, limited to line of sight, or same planet if the recipient has one too.:

Then the healing coin. :You know about Raphael’s Token, what mages call Charon’s Obol. Gift of the Seraphim, Angels of Life and Healing.:

He knew the healing coin helped them in Eastwood. He remembered the others discussing why the coin wouldn’t work after Wendi… Daniel skirted the memory. The gift-givers’ names interested him, but he really wanted to know, :Why offer their power to other races?:

:Peace offering. Ancient history. Nothing to do with us,: Rana sent, aggravatingly brief.

“Time to turn off the light, Daniel,” Cassie said as she disentangled from hugging Rana to slide into her sleeping roll. None of them wanted to stay up after a long day made longer by multiple time zone changes. The others shifted into nightwear and crawled into their sleeping bags. Kenta’s hair filled the tent’s canopy. Paul transformed into a candlestick to minimize his flame’s smoke.

Daniel stowed the light gem to discover his eyes already adjusted to soft candlelight, his vision sharp in the flickering glow. The wind whistled outside, and light snow sprinkled the tent. Then he had a terrible thought.

:Where do I sleep?:

Daniel always slept on the ground. Soft sand felt pleasant, and the previous night on bare soil hadn’t bothered him. However, the bald spot on the grass and the ground indentation he’d leave behind would break Rana’s ‘No trace’ rule.

Anyway, he’d freeze to death sleeping outside, but he’d ruin the tent if he slept on the floor. Daniel hated how his magic caused these uncomfortable situations.

Though Rana rolled over with her back to him, he swore she was giving him a look. :You’re sleeping with Wendi. Get over it.:

:You can’t just decide that for her!:

:Then ask her.:

:Ask me what?: Wendi sent. Daniel flushed with embarrassment as he realized Rana sent that last line to both of them. The red devil girl reclined beside him on a blanket with her legs tucked in. Though he sat on her hand, Daniel hadn’t noticed Wendi reposition. That muscle control! Wendi could maneuver her body with one limb anchored in space.

At least Rana spared him from starting the awkward conversation. :Can I sleep with you?: He braced for rejection.

Wendi blinked at him, dumbfounded. :Yeah, of course. Where did you think you were sleeping?: She cracked a smile. :Did you think we were going to kick you out of the tent?:

Her teasing comforted Daniel. What had he expected? That she’d be offended? That she’d yell at him for implying some nonexistent intimacy? His awkwardness came from irrational fears. The others had long since considered the consequences of his addition to the group dynamic.

However, while her hand was large, he’d have to curl up like a cat to fit. :So, uh, how do we do this?:

:Put your head here.: She pointed to her collarbone. :Lay down in the crook of my arm, and try not to roll off in your sleep.:

He complied with trepidation, triply careful where he put his hands. Wendi adjusted to help him onto his side facing her with his feet dangling off the tips of her fingers above the floor. Her raiment shared her devil skin’s resistance to his ruin magic. Daniel rested his cheek against her shoulder and closed his eyes.

Daniel felt their hearts beating. Hers slow and calm. His pulse erratic. He couldn’t remember the feeling of another’s heartbeat except… when Rana kissed him—gave him CPR. His heart thrummed faster.

He’d never heard Mary’s heart through the plastic barrier of a hazard suit. There must have been one other time… Deep memories surfaced of when he was small, and his mother held him close. A thought so vivid, he could smell her hair and feel her warmth. Daniel relaxed, and his pulse slowed.

Finally, he saw why Wendi and Rana had his sleeping place planned before he’d said a thing. They were family now, and family cared for each other. He’d thought he understood that, but he had a lot more to learn.

Daniel shivered in the night air. Wendi covered him with her other hand like a blanket and held him close. She braced its weight not to burden him. He stopped shivering and fell asleep.