Chapter Sixteen: The Spheres Are in Commotion
Fourth Tower Year 4771, 8.5.2
The Holy Kingdom of Zah’paht Dur
City of Threshis
As they walked through the city, Marc marveled again at the wonder of the large merchant metropolis. Threshis was different than Clearwater in nearly every way imaginable, just as it was unlike any city that he had ever heard of on Earth.
Resting at the base of a large mountain, the giant city was many times larger than Clearwater in both population and size. Unlike the claustrophobic walled fortress, beast incursions near the city were unheard of. People had seemingly unlimited amounts of space to spread out. Instead of tall towers and stacked apartments, Threshis boasted large estates and sprawling plantations. To navigate the vast territories, there was a complicated network of man-made canals that ran throughout the city and took the place of the roads Marc expected from an advanced urban center. In fact, there were no vehicles at all, other than the various riverboats that navigated the canals. Transportation on the waterways was free and paid for by the city, goods and materials were also transported this way, while magically powered floating carts, similar to the ones used in Clearwater were also common.
Ba’eth and Marc rode riverboats to her family’s estate, switching boats several times along the way. Marc had grown to appreciate the slow and relaxed flow of the city. Everyone understood that moving took time and rarely did anyone seem to be in a hurry to get to their destination. In cases of emergency or truly urgent circumstances, there were faster transportation options, but they were only used for truly vital and critical situations and the costs of using them were a strong deterrent.
Marc looked wistfully at the various flying tamed beasts that were used as the express transportation system for the city. Larger animals like Wyverns were reserved for inter-city runs, Marc had learned. After all, having a large dragon land on your house to deliver a letter would be a bit overkill. Instead, the air was full of a variety of birds and other flying beasts in a huge variety of shapes and sizes.
Flocks of pixies flitted around in large numbers, carrying around small objects. The large birds resembled hummingbirds but were roughly the size of a fully grown barn owl. Marc also spotted a few Nue in the air above them. The Nue were truly fascinating to him. They resembled a large tiger, were pure white, and had three tails. They also had a head that looked more like a teddy bear than anything else. Two forward-facing black eyes and a small black nose as well as the rounded ears completed the effect. He had been more than taken in by their cute appearance when he first saw them in the air above the city. Completely wingless, they ran through the air using a form of natural air magic to “step” on footholds in mid-air.
For a few weeks, Marc had been obsessed with the magical creatures. He had learned they used to be predators, more feared than Vampyr before they had been tamed and domesticated. Now, they were primarily used as personal transportation by the city leaders and important individuals in Threshis, although the Guild would sometimes contract them for critical and time-sensitive missions. Marc’s interest in them had waned somewhat after he had finally seen one feeding. Their large toothy maws were well hidden most of the time and were not where one would expect, based on their cute appearance. Still, he marveled every time he saw one jumping on invisible steps in the air above the city.
When they finally reached the estate, it was already well past midday. Marc had stayed here for a few weeks when he first arrived, but had not been back since he had moved into his dorm near the smithy. It was a large campus with several hundreds of Ba’eth’s relatives living there. This seemed to be a common cultural behavior of Dwarves. Blood relations lived close together and shared resources. Leaving the family estate would in many ways cut off your support network and signal a separation from the familial organization.
The exceptions were cases such as Ba’eth who left her home due to responsibilities that arose from her work. Working as a Guild Head would bring honor and respect to the family and she was seen as more of an ambassador while she was away. Once she returned to Threshis, however, it was expected that she would again take up residence in the family compound.
Instead of going to her family home, a large building she shared with three generations of her direct family, Ba’eth guided Marc to a corner of the estate that he had never been to. Situated near the outer walls encircling the campus, there was a small building surrounded by a moat. Marc thought it resembled a temple inside an Asian garden like the ones he had seen in movies and magazines back in his old world.
Compared to the giant, robust structures that were the norm in Threshis, a city renowned for producing some of the most powerful Earth mages in the world, this was a tiny and delicate-looking building. They crossed over the moat via a small red bridge and stood in front of the round, two-story structure. Marc was amazed by the detail and skill displayed in the construction.
The normal style for buildings in Threshis was more utilitarian. They favored strong and imposing styles, stone, and metal-clad structures, with simple, clean lines and sharp angles.
The structure he stood in front of now was the complete opposite. It was an intricate and delicate mix of wood, stone, metal, bone, and… glass! Marc saw that every open gap was actually protected by tempered glass windows. While he had seen glass made in this world, windows were a very rare thing. He had seen them in some of the special rooms at the Guild Hall in Clearwater, but never in a residence or common structure.
When he had asked, he would get strange looks. The common answer was that it would be strange to block the air from freely circulating. Access to natural light and natural were viewed as the same thing, and blocking only one was an unpopular limitation.
One thing that helped to reinforce this practice was the lack of small flying insects, namely mosquitoes and flies. When Marc realized this fact, he was particularly pleased. A world without those pests alone was worth the price of admission.
He was intrigued by this strange building, even more so since discovering the hundreds of flawless, clear glass windows visible from every side. The glass even curved to match the circular shape of the temple, which Marc had decided the structure must be. The beauty and detail were far too impressive to be a normal building.
As they crossed the threshold and entered the first floor, Kira suddenly shouted into Marc’s mind.
《OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!》
“What!?” Marc shook his head as the power behind his interface’s outburst bordered on a mental attack.
《ITSALLHERE! OMG! HOW? THE WHOLE TIME IT WAS HERE?》
“Seriously Kira, calm down. What is going on.”
“I’m assuming that Kira is excited? As I suspected, she couldn’t detect this place before.” Ba’eth said as she looked and Marc’s pained expression.
《YOU KNEW? MARC SHE HID THIS! HOW COULD SHE? THIS IS IT! THIS! THIS! THIS IS EVERYTHING!》
“Kira! I mean it! You need to explain what is going on.”
Marc looked at Ba’eth, hoping for some kind of explanation for why Kira was going berserk.
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“She couldn’t detect what was in here because it was protected. I wasn’t sure that it would be like that, but seeing your reaction it must be true. I can see now why Isabella was so obsessed with the creation of the glass.”
Marc remembered the name. It was the name of the Traveler that gave Ba’eth the Catalyst. Her childhood friend.
“Yes, This place was Isabella’s Sanctuary. She built it herself, although I made sure to keep it maintained since she left. Very few people, even within the family know of its existence. To most, it’s just an odd forgotten library.”
《A LIBRARY? NO! IT’S A TREASURY. MARC YOU CAN’T IMAGINE-》
“Can you stop shouting into my head? Can you please explain what you are going on about?”
“This is the -“
《All of her res-》
“…where she cou-“
《I can understa-》
“…why the glass ha-“
《…so many secrets. If onl-》
“Ahh!” Marc raised his hands to stop Ba’eth from speaking. Both of them talking at the same time was making it even worse.
Ba’eth stopped, understanding that Marc was getting hit from multiple fronts.
Kira also stopped. For a moment, then she started again.
《Fine! Watch this.》
Kira appeared in front of Marc standing further inside the library.
“Here, is this better?” She asked impatiently.
Before Marc could reply, Ba’eth stammered in a shocked voice.
“Kira?”
Marc looked at the Dwarf, then followed where her line of sight led. She was looking directly at Kira, his interface’s imaginary, invisible holographic avatar.
“Wait… What?” First, she knocked him down this morning. Now she was visible? Was this because of the upgrade?
Ba’eth was stunned speechless. That was something Marc could not even imagine, so it was disturbing to see. Meanwhile, Kira was dancing and twirling around the room.
“You can see her?” He said to the Dwarf.
Ba’eth simply looked at Marc, then nodded slowly.
“Since when-“
“Just now. It’s this place. This wonderful, amazing, place! Oh! Isabella, I LOVE YOU! Why did I get stuck with this dud of a Traveler? Isabella. She was a GENIUS! Why couldn’t I have been her interface? It’s not fair. You have no idea. How could she have done all of this? How did she learn it all? I LOVE HER! How could she leave? Leave me alone with this idiot? It’s not fair. TAKE ME WITH YOU ISABELLA!”
Marc was almost too shocked to be upset by the shade being thrown at him by the crazy dancing girl. Then he realized that Ba’eth could also hear anything. The humiliation he felt flared when he thought he could detect a smirk hiding under that heavy beard.
“KIRA!” He shouted so loud it stunned the young woman into stopping her spinning. She looked up at him, then started gushing again.
“You won’t believe what this place is. What she left here. It’s everything. Her books, her notes, her inventions. I couldn’t see them because this library is shielded. I’m, not sure how. Not yet. I think there are some notes here that explain it. Yes, this glass, it’s special. It is tempered to block Mana. Can you believe that? How she ever came up with that I can’t even imagine. She was a genius. It’s all here in her notes. It’s a treasure. Everything she learned about Mana, about the dimensional boundary. I can’t even understand half of the things written here. It’s your fault. I have to do this with your pathetic intellect. If only I could have met her.”
“HEY!” Marc yelled.
“Yeah, fine,” Kira said, rolling her eyes.
“This is Isabella’s library. She left her books and notes here so that other Travelers could come and benefit from her work. She’s not the only one. Other travelers in the past have done this as well. They leave their legacy behind. She found some of them as well and used their knowledge to help her in her own research. But she did so much on her own. She was truly a genius. You knew her Ba’eth! You were so lucky. Oh, I wish I could have met her so much!”
Kira ran up and stood uncomfortably close to the esteemed Dwarf.
“Yes,” Ba’eth said with a sigh. She was my dear friend. We grew up here together in this estate. We were cousins, well, before she remembered who she really was.”
Kira moved even closer to the Dwarf, making Marc flinch in fear that she would get so close she would stick her face into the former Guild Head’s beard.
“How did that even happen? She didn’t write any of that down. She was different. She didn’t start here as a Traveler. She only inherited the memories of a Traveler. How was that even possible?”
Ba’eth took a step back. Something else Marc never even imagined he would ever see. Kira must be unnerving the Dwarf enough to get her to retreat even if only by a single step.
“I don’t know. She didn’t know. At least not until the end. She became obsessed with going home. She found some notes, and then one day she left. She left behind the catalyst and we used it to communicate for a while as she searched for her answer. Then one day she told me she found it and would be going back home.”
Kira seemed not to notice the sad tone in Ba’eth’s voice.
“So these are only her old notes? Maybe she had more? Where did she go? There must be more that she left somewhere else. Where was she when she left.”
“Enough!” Marc had enough of this hyperactive eight-year-old act.
“I’m sorry Ba’eth. Kira gets crazy when there is new information. This must have broken something in her head.”
“It’s fine. I’m sorry I can’t answer more about Isabella. I don’t know much more. This place is all I have left of her, and I don’t know even a fraction of its secrets.”
Marc now felt guilty for taking the Catalyst, and even Kira seemed to realize her own insensitivity. She stepped back, then held her arms out from her sides and presented herself to the elderly Dwarf.
“This! This avatar. I can be seen inside this room because of the amazing technology your dear friend made. You brought me here and I can now see her notes and books. In this instant, I have learned more than I have in the last 10 years in this world. Thank you Ba’eth. I owe you a debt I can never repay.”
The Dwarf was again struck speechless. Then she looked at Marc who shrugged.
“Yeah, what she said.” It was all he could think to say. His mind trying to catch up with everything that had been revealed.
The Dwarf chuckled, again showing Marc a new side to her normal granite-like stoicism.
“So tell me,” She asked the smiling young woman, “what have you learned?”
----------------------------------------
In order to protect her work for the ages, Isabella had created a vault underneath the library where she had kept copies of all her research. Even Ba’eth had not known about its existence. It was invisible to Kira until she crossed inside the special protection created by the materials and design of the library. Now, with her sensory abilities, Kira had copied everything. They would not have to dig up the vault and could leave it without disturbing the building.
Marc was more curious about the glass that both blocked Kira’s sensory abilities and also helped create a field where her holograms could be made visible to other people, but Kira said that the production technique and blueprints of the library were also in the notes, and at some point, they should be able to replicate both.
Marc decided to spend the night at the dormitories within the estate so he could spend a bit more time appreciating the unique structure. Ba’eth stayed a while longer as well. Joining the pair, she shared with Kira more about what Isabella had been like as a person. After a short time, Ba’eth excused herself. She had lost much of her stamina from her injury during the fight with the Calamity beast, so Marc understood. Before she left, she spoke to Marc directly.
“The reason I didn’t bring you here when we first arrived… I didn’t intend to hide this from you. This is her legacy. It always belonged to you. I simply wanted to make sure you were ready to receive it.” She said.
Marc nodded. He had wondered this exact thing after he had learned what this place contained.
“Isabella… She changed. Once she found out there might be a way for her to go home. She became obsessed. She lost interest in everything else. She left her home to continue her search. I never understood why. I thought she had everything she would ever need here, but she never shared with me what her life was like back in her original world, or why she was so determined to go back.”
Ba’eth looked over at Kira who was tracing the lines of ornate carved wood surrounding the windows.
“Kira is an amazing being. Isabella had no interface, although she learned much about them. Marc, you need to be careful. They are an impossible existence. You saw in the mines what she is capable of. She will only continue to grow more and more powerful with time. I like Kira. She genuinely cares about your existence, your happiness even, but she is not a mortal being.”
Marc coughed when she said that.
“Are you kidding me?”
Ba’eth smiled. Well, he thought she might be smiling under her facial hair.
“Not all interfaces are like that from what I heard from Isabella. In fact, she seemed to look at them very critically. After I spent some time with Kira however, I decided to trust her and trust you. I don’t know if your partnership is ready yet. Since the mine, however, I know you are ready to test it in the world. You are probably planning to leave Threshis soon. Maybe as soon as you complete your apprenticeship.”
Marc was happy to see the calm, competent, and wise Dwarf he had followed to this city again. He nodded.
“I brought you here so you could receive the legacy before you move on. Also, I want you to know that this place, along with possibly others like it exists in this world. That there are things in this world for you.”
He could hear the old and nearly forgotten sadness in her voice as she spoke.
“You now hold in your heart the legacy of Grenn, protector of Clearwater, as well as Isabella, the rogue scholar. These are an honor and a responsibility.”
When she said the last word, Marc recalled the discussion with Buchee that morning. He nodded and watched as the Dwarf walked off across the bridge.