As they arrived back at the estate, both warriors were in pretty good spirits. The ever-growing bond between helped Saga find an anchor in this new world and it seemed Saga's aggressively curious spirit was helping lift Sasha's own. The two were chatting as Saga kept asking about whatever came to their mind as the notion of the Jarl being very strict about no wasted food and taking care of the less fortunate ones was something Saga had not considered part of such a warrior based social structure.
Sasha was in the process of explaining that the Jarl had been slowly moving away from centering the wealth and experience around his warrior for some time now when the two saw Indrada awaiting them at the doorstep of the longhouse. The older woman stood as regal and imposing as ever, with her sharp eyes meeting Sagas and locking them in a scrutinizing gaze. The woman's eyes were so utterly intense it made Saga nervous just locking eyes for a few seconds. The second her gaze moved from Saga to Sasha, they found themselves releasing a breath they didn’t even know they were holding in. Such immense pressure was new to them, Olaf and the others had not given them even half of that. If it was out of control and kindness towards them or the lack of some skill Indrada possessed, they did not know. But they were keen on finding out.
“Sasha. Will you allow me to take up Saga's time for a while?” She asked with the barest hint of a smile, her voice neutral and as stoic and regal as her posture. Sasha stiffened as if facing down a poisonous spider. It'd be a comical sight if Saga hadn't been feeling the same way just a second before.
“I should work on my forms so…” Sasha began and gave Saga an apologetic smile. Saga simply nodded, feeling the same kind of abandonment as a kid about to be made to take extra classes. Which in a way, was likely exactly what was happening.
“Excellent” That gaze flickered back to Saga who immediately froze up again. When the pressure from before didn't manifest, Saga relaxed a bit, curiosity taking over instead.
“How did you do that?" They asked, peering closer.
“Do what? You need to be specific in your answers if you're to seek the truth in any meaningful capacity.” Indrada answered their question with one of their own and Saga immediately knew what they were in for.
“What? Seek the truth?” Saga blinked but caught themselves as they saw a disapproving look from the old woman before them. They were similar to Olga but where Sasha's aunt was very straightforward and terrifyingly blunt. This woman was speaking far more like some of Sasha's old university professors. They looked at Indrada curiously as they mulled the words over.
“How did you exert pressure over me, by locking eyes with me. It wasn’t just some mental thing. I felt something. Something vague and threatening” Saga said, growing more confident in their questions. "Was it a skill?"
“Good,” Indrada said with a nod. "It is not a skill as such. Magic is innate. It seeks connection with the world around you. As mine is stronger by quite a margin, I could use the threads connecting us to convey that disparity. Now, follow me." Indrada explained as she walked up to stand before Saga. As she did, the berserker could see how gouts of flame would lick across the woman's skin without burning her or her clothing. Before Saga had the chance to say anything, the woman stood right before them. “Despite possessing a low mental attribute, your spirit is picking up the slack perception-wise.”
“Picking up the slack?” Saga was starting to feel as if they were back in university, being picked apart under the scrutiny of some teacher.
“Yes. We will go through it all in detail at a later point. But for now, let us focus on the magical aspect, shall we?” She said as she motioned for Saga to follow. Saga cast a glance to Sasha who simply nodded and smiled at them. With a shrug, Saga followed.
“Where are we going?" Saga inquired as they found the woman's pace to be surprisingly brisk. It seemed she had no trouble moving about today, where she had needed to be helped down the stairs the other day.
“Your first lesson will be similar to what my son had you do. But we will use my mediation chamber for it. It is far better suited than trying to go out meditating in the wilderness at night.“ Indrada said with a tone that reminded Saga of an old school teacher. Saga studied the back of the woman's head, she was so small compared to most of the humans they met so far. Yet they carried themselves as if they were a head taller than everyone else.
“So, I will be training my channeling?” Saga asked as they were halfway down the main street that led down towards the river. The city was alive with movement and people going about their ways and where Saga sometimes found it hard to weave through the crowds, people seemed to step slightly to the side where Indrada went. As if unknowingly pushed gently aside.
“What do you know about magic?” The old woman asked suddenly as Saga could see the river up ahead.
Only a little, I have to admit. I know there are spiritual affinities and they control a lot of what magic and abilities you get together with your Path.”
“I see. Well, that's less than the barebones of magic.” Indrada said in a flat tone that told Saga exactly what she thought of her son's attempts at mentoring. Indrada seemed like a woman who expected a lot out of her sons.
***
Eventually, they arrived at a house that while sizable, was still a far cry from the longhouse at Attrids estate. It seemed to have been built out from the sloping river cliff and to Saga's amazement, they could see that the house was built partially into a peer with a submerged building underneath it.
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“What is it that you do exactly?” Saga asked as they approached the house.
“Before I came to these cold lands, I lived in Melan's Grace. There I was a pyromancer, meant to live in service to the city as one of its defenders. Here, I am a teacher of sorts and a retired one at that. ”
“Melan's Grace.” Saga said the name as it reminded them of the conversation Ordan once had with a dwarf when they were just arriving at the city limits.
“The City of Witch Queen. The old seat of the Great Queen Melan herself.” Idrada's otherwise measured and flat tone wavered.
“I heard something about Melans Tear when Ordan was speaking to someone. A neighboring city?” Saga hazarded a guess.
“Not a neighboring city, it is the very same.” Indrada sighed before straightening her back. Saga could tell she was preparing herself for something. Something that to her must be difficult. But Saga forged on because they needed to know as much as possible.
“The same?” They inquired.
“You are Deathsworn now. Do you know of the undead across the frothing seas? The continent that is locked in a never-ending war with the undead?” Indrada's eyes locked with Saga's and that very same pressure as before came back tenfold.
“Yes. Both Ordan and the Lady Death have spoken of it.” Sagas' words came out from behind gritted teeth as it felt as if the world had just decided to collectively sit on their shoulders.
“If you are to understand the weight of magic and your charge. Then I believe it important you understand the history of my family, as you and I are linked through the rarity of our Rebirth Affinity. The pressure you are feeling is the culmination of my craft and my life.” She fished out a heavy iron key and pushed it into the keyhole of a heavy oaken door. As she let the pressure drop from Saga, they found themselves on their knees, sweating profusely.
“Your family history?” Saga asked weakly as they tried to gather their wits about them again.
“The continent you are on right now is known to people here as The North. It is one of 10 continents. My birthplace was that of Evigen.”
“Wait. 10?” Saga looked up. The notion of this world being that much bigger was a little bit mindboggling.
“Yes, ten. Am I to understand from your reaction that your world is a fair bit smaller.”
“We have seven continents.” Saga answered.
“I am assuming they are likely smaller or about the same size as ours, that would make our world quite a bit larger. I can see how that can be quite the surprise." She said as she pushed the heavy door open. "Our world is generally known as Kaleido. This content is known as the North, but the official name is 'Nodrung' which essentially just means 'The Northernmost Place' in old giant," She said as she moved over to the fireplace. She flicked her wrist in a way very similar to how they had seen Ordan light his fires. The fireplace crackled to light with a shining blaze that was downright impossible to look at for a few seconds before it died down to a more even, steady heat. But the flash flame had seemingly driven all the cold air out of the house in seconds.
“The continent I come from is called Evigen. It's the old Elven word for Eternal. Named so by its once-dominant population of Gray Elves.“
“Grey elves?”
“The oldest of the elven species and so steeped in magic to the point that the God of Magic himself was their patron god,” Indrada said as they moved to pick up a few thick books out of a very ornate bookcase. “Functionally Immortal, the Gray Elves had lifespans impossible even for other elves. Such lifespans come at a cost, however. They are not divine or cosmic beings. They perceive time just as we do. The older you get, the shorter the days seem, and the more they start to meld together. ”
Saga listened, knowing this was part of a lesson as well as a glimpse into who this severe, intense woman and by extension Ordan, was.
“Eventually, they reach a point where it is too much and the disconnect they feel towards the rest of the world makes it so that no amount of stimuli is enough. This is where a Gray Elf embraces a form of quasi-death, known as the gray sleep.” Indrada said as they fished out a green vial that sparked within. As if it contained a spark of lightning contained in the liquid within.
“ I have heard stories like this, in books and stories. A lot of stories in various cultures back home treat immortality as something of a curse. Eventually, you get so bored nothing works. That you can no longer remain empathic or human.”
“Do they talk about the follies and the corrupting nature of it?”
“Yes. That is pretty much all they talk about in certain forms of texts. Even in the more generous depictions, where authors explore how awesome it can be, there is usually someone who reaches a point where they seek death..”
“I suppose a world without magic, still has the intellectual capability to philosophize around the implications of immortality. ” Indrada said with a nod of approval. “ In order to achieve such levels of longevity, you need impossible amounts of raw magic. Such as the god of magic himself having created your species when the world was still young. And raw magic is the most terrifying power in the universe." Indrada shrugged out of her coat as Saga did the same, the house had an extremely even and cozy level of heat from a single fireplace which they assumed had something to do with the old woman's grasp on fire magic.
"Raw magic?"
"Raw magic. When tapped into it can grant an almost endless amount of vitality, and the power to defy some of the most basic laws of thaumaturgy, as the latter is built on the rigors of controlled magical output." Indrada continued as they picked through books and tools.
“Were they the caused the undead on your continent?”
“Their High Sorceress, the leader of their people, did. The others of her kind were mostly victims like the rest of the continent. At the loss of her only heir, her desire for a legacy and her refusal to embrace the Gray Sleep became an increasingly dangerous problem. That they tried to help her, found themselves unable to reach her, as she drifted further and farther away from even accepting the concept of mortality. In a bid to stave off the gray sleep entirely, she abandoned her old god for another.”
“Abandoned her god. The God of Magic?”
“Aye. She sought a true life eternal. To elevate herself and her people so that none may ever have to die again.”
“Oh. I see where this is going.” Saga said as they felt that they already had a good idea of what happened.“Is there a god of Undeath?”
“Yes. I see you can tell where it was going. However, there wasn’t supposed to be one.”
“She created a god?” Saga's eyes widened but Indrada held up a hand to stop any further questions. Instead, she countinued.
“No, that is the purview of the two Cosmic twins. But in a way, she did something far worse.” Indrada led Saga into what appeared to be a study. Several massive maps hung across the 4 walls, 10 in total. The continents. One of them was seemingly divided across the middle along with a massive mountain range. The text above was unreadable to Saga, but they knew what it said. Evigen, the eternal continent.
"No," Indrada clarified as she stared at the small marker on the man.
"She didn’t create a god. She invited one into our world."