Randidly sat in his bare and cobweb-ridden storeroom, meditating on the facts he had learned from Armel and Demetrius yesterday. He pushed his Nether senses as far as he dared, following the flow of significance. Definitely, the upcoming trial in a month would be an important point in history. Tensions within the Aether lands were high. Elhume himself was directly involved in the dispute.

But what he couldn’t quite figure out was how everything would happen.

Randidly opened his eyes. More than that… I want to make sure I can break down Drane while I’m here. Give him a taste of his own bitter medicine. But without knowledge of what exactly is going on, I’m not sure how I can do so…

His Nether Core revved in his chest, giving him access to marginally more of his powers. Releasing a long breath through his nose, he stood and walked out of the storeroom. Night had fallen across this portion of the Nexus, but that didn’t stop him from working. For now at least, the farm was his primary concern. It grounded him and gave him a way to establish influence in the memory.

He would need it, to keep abreast of the developments that he assumed would soon flood down around him. Despite how unreliable Jotem and his connections seemed in the abstract.

His daily farm chores began. First, he utilized the Stillborn Phoenix to cleanse any strange image fragments that had made it into the crop. The hungry image greedily slurped up everything it could reach. Then he physically blurred around the area, checking for pests and weeds near the plantings. Luckily, the windy and rain-filled environment made sure that bugs weren’t any sort of problem. But that might change now that he moderating the weather in the immediate area, so he wanted to get into the habit of being thorough.

The Arakis Beasts woke up from his movements and crept out of the small burrow they had made nearby. Their eyes were curiously vibrant in the darkness, grey-purple and inscrutable as they fixated upon him. Earlier, Jotem had explained they had fixated on him to one day try and overcome him physically. They had some innate Skill that allowed them to observe his actions and goad their body into mimicking it.

Randidly wished them the best of luck.

He then proceeded back to examine the Ara Fruit plants in detail. He was still trying to gather all the factors involved in the growth of the purple pumpkins, so he didn’t want to change anything without a solid understanding, as Jotem had. He considered the fruits along the mounds, trying to look for patterns. He pushed aside leaves and pursed his lips in thought.

Halfway through, he paused and headed back to the Arakis Beasts. “Hey, one of you, follow me. I need a professional opinion.”

The three beasts blinked and then looked at each other. About ten seconds of furiously tumbling, snarling, and wresting followed. Randidly yawned and cracked his neck while he waited. The victor raised its thin head proudly and trotted over to him, while the two losers slunk on their bellies back to their small burrow.

Randidly brought the beast over to the Ara Fruits and gestured around. “Is there a way you can tell which fruits are the best?”

The beast, as though to ask if this was all he wanted, tilted his head to the side. Randidly nodded.

Raising its narrow snout, the Ara Beast scampered back and forth amongst the mounds. Its movements were quick and efficient as it screened them all and headed back to Randidly to indicate its findings. It took him back to the few Ara Fruits that smelled the most appetizing and sweet to it. Randidly noted each of them; it was clear the Ara Fruits that were tormented by wind smelled the tastiest. Not that the others were bad, but pressure and movement due to natural elements must assist in the fruit's growth.

Perhaps the parasites that helped the Ara Fruit develop also fed on its particular flavor. The more time concussive force kept those parasites stunned, the better.

Humming to himself, Randidly began digging a new area South beyond the mound labyrinth. He created a deep and long trench out beyond the previous limits of Jotem’s farm, to the point it might be more accurate to call it a small canyon. Out here the weather remained wild, quickly soaking Randidly through his robe. Wind howled around him. He transplanted some of the fatter Ara Fruits being blocked by the arrangement of mounds and planted them along the canyon walls. He cheated a bit and added some of Yggdrasil’s image to the Ara Fruits, to solidify the hold their roots had within their new homes.

Quickly, his ‘green corridor’ had come into being. Randidly put his hands on his hips and nodded in satisfaction. Hopefully, the tight space would funnel wind through its confines and shake the Ara Fruit constantly.

Finally, he came back to the farm and began to set up the grand array he and Demetrius had worked on. From his circuits of the area, the only wood in he had discovered were strange, giant tubes he found deposited in the ground. At first he was confused, but then he realized they were also root vegetables, growing down and creating giant wooden cucumber-looking growths.

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Chewing on it was bitter enough it made him grimace and spit out splinters.

Still, it looked and felt like wood, once Randidly sliced through the bark. It would work fine as a medium to hold the patterns. He gathered up a bunch of these and their seed blossoms, digging and planting a bunch of them to the West of the farm, just so he didn’t have to wander so far afield next time for more lumber. These he also blasted with Yggdrasil and Animation Nova, willing quick growth. He could almost hear the ground grumble as dirt was pushed sideways by these developing underground trees.

With the sliced wood, Randidly Scrawled the little pieces of his strange, integrated Nether Ritual/ Living Engraving Pattern. One by one, he tossed up the pieces and used a combination of image and physical force to buoy them out, spinning around wildly, into the storm. The little beacons went far into the surrounding countryside, setting up the base of what he wanted. In total, Randidly created about two hundred pieces.

And these just created the outer circle.

Once he had tossed up the last piece, lines of energy flared to life on each of them. The limit of the working was established. Randidly chewed on his lip and squinted at the result, then cursed; he had made a slight mistake in one. He quickly chopped off another small square of the wood and replaced it. Again he activated it.

They flared briefly, releasing the sapphire radiance of Mana in a wide circle. Then the pieces of wood fell dormant, just becoming more debris pulled up by the constant storms.

Already he noticed some issues, but for today, it would work. With the wider framework established, Randidly began creating the three hundred small squares that would comprise the rotating middle circle. These were more complex, to account for the movement and diffusion of the force. Each took more time so that the angry red sun began to rise above the horizon before he had finished the task.

Of the others now staying in Jotem’s farmhouse, Armel was actually the first one up. He walked outside and stretched. When he noticed Randidly working, he hurried over. “Sir, is there anything I can do to help?”

“Unless you know Engraving, these need to be done by me,” Randidly responded frankly. His hands blurred, weaving a complex network of Mana-infused lines across the wood. He tossed the finished product up into the air, guided it along the correct air currents to carry it into position, then pulled out the next piece to work.

Inwardly, he also admitted that even if the man could Engrave, he physically would take so long copying the pattern that his help would be more trouble than it was worth. Randidly’s high Stats paid dividends in a lot of ways.

Armel sagged somewhat at the direct rejection, but his expression brightened when he saw the partially chopped pieces of wood laying on the ground. “Oh wow, you are quickly lucky to find these. Apparently, they are relatively common out here, but it is almost impossible to discover them unless you dig right down on top of them…”

Armel glanced back at the farmhouse. “Obviously I am quite thankful for you saving me… but I think it’s pretty obvious the farmhouse will soon become a little cramped. Please, allow me to repay your group by using any spare wood you have to build an addition to the house. Even if it is small, a little space can go a long way. An individual needs room.”

“I should be able to find more,” Randidly glanced over toward his own growing ‘orchard’. Already he sensed that each of the twenty plantings was the size of a person; that was the power of supercharging the process with his image. The ground around each cracked and trembled as the lumber swelled-- he definitely should have planted them further apart. “How big of an addition do you think you could make?”

“My father handled the planning, but it was my hands that helped assembled Drane Swacc’s current residence.” For a moment, a flash of fear crossed his features. “Ahem. Obviously, we don’t have the manpower for something of that size, but probably doubling the area of the house wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Then I’ll find the wood,” Randidly continued to scrawl. His eyes flicked around to make note of the changes.

Carrots. Ara Fruit. Apple seeds he had in his interspatial ring when he came here. Now these weird giant underground trees for lumber. This place really was beginning to round out into a proper farm.

His stomach rumbled slightly. All he needed to do now was find some meat.

*****

Freewall Yuuryin squinted at the clunky energy display. The assistant engineer waited next to him, clearly extremely nervous. After all, the possible irregularity had cropped up during his watch shift. He would be held responsible if it turned out to be a disaster.

Freewall used his stubby, furry fingers to rub his eyes. He was incredibly tired. Around them, the hum of the engine generating the defensive barrier around Malloon was a constant presence. It crept into the skin, then into the organs, before finally settling in the senses and rubbing them nearly raw. For those who had worked in the engine rooms for along time, the shaking became an almost constant companion, even when they were off duty.

Freewall Yuuryin had maintained the walls of Malloon for almost twenty years. Only here, as his body adjusted to the constant pressures, did his vision sharpen. He looked at the display one more time.

“What’s your opinion?” Yuuryin asked.

The assistant engineer squirmed. “...that the defensive Engravings wouldn’t react without a reason. I checked the sensors and the internal mechanisms; there are no deviations. Nether is present in the environment.”

“There is Nether in every environment,” Yuuryin squinted, checking other areas of the rough mechanical display. The new panels were better than looking directly at the internal systems, but only just. Energy outflow was clean, weather was mild, exhaust valves hadn’t built up to too much pressure. “Are you saying there is a Nether Ritual in the surroundings? Is a Nether King trying to hold Malloon hostage?”

The assistant shook his head. “No, no. That would be impossible.”

“So which is it?” Yuuryin sighed.

“Perhaps…” The assistant engineer shrugged. “Perhaps the environment is just changing? Nether content is rising? Perhaps they have begun encroaching on Aether lands once more. Slowly, by adjusting the air.”

Yuuryin grunted; this he could work with. “Alright. I’ll notify the Protectorate Squads to be on guard. Thank you for your work.”