Mevi passed through the fortified seal first, her companions close behind her. As the metal door shut the last glimpse of captain Hez and his Legion disappeared. The sealing process went by, and the metal wall opened like a sudden portal as the door seamlessly slid from the wall and opened to the Magi facility on the other side.
Returned at last to what Zelkan would call ‘civilized territory’, Mevi was surprised to see something waiting for them on the other side. In the barren marble and old-metal clad hallway, was a mechanical minion, one similar to the mechanical servant of Odion from the spire those few days ago. The frame was small, with 3 legs, and a clear dark screen in place of a face. The automaton had gears, tubing, wires, and mechanical wizardry exposed with only a few pieces of protective chassis.
The screen on the automaton’s face suddenly lit up, glowing a warm green with wisps of white, “Detection: Mevare Bensari.” Said the automaton in a crackling robotic-like voice. Buzzing and whirring sounds like its thinking process took a great deal of effort followed, “Message /// delivering….” After a few more sounds of its processing thoughts a voice that boomed like crackling rock echoing with an imperius might. A voice entirely unlike the automaton's commanded such presence all of Mevi’s retinue fell to a knee and began to sweat as they stared down at the ground avoiding looking towards the tri-pedal device. “Apprentice, you have accomplished your task. By my will, I hereby order the adherence of your next. Retain what you received from the one who cannot be recorded, keep it with you always. Prepare. Ascend to your duty, complete your mission on the planet below.” A brief pause, and almost in a whisper in the back of her head she could feel, hear, and almost remember the sense of a cool breeze blowing away troubles and lifting her spirit. The last message, however the strangely pleasant sensation was sent to her, seemed imperceivable to her companions who, unlike her, remained rigid in prostration. A final declaration, once again in the automaton’s crackly robotic voice, “End of message /// Accomplished /// Returning… Enact program: Departure Protocol. /// Message: Glory to the Lords Magi, blessed be their wisdom.” Then the automaton turned and left the moment its final message was delivered.
The strange appearance and sudden proclamation of the automaton left Mevi and her companions in stunned silence. Hellion, despite what Mevi would have assumed, had taken a knee at Odion’s booming voice the same as the others in Mevi’s retinue. Hellion was also the first to rise back to his feet after the automaton disappeared around a turn in the hallway. Even with his confidence shaken, Hellion tried to lighten the mood, “My first day back outside the Undercity, and we received the royal welcome? I must be lucky.”
Zelkan muttered, “How dare you…” as he also stood.
Everyone rose to their feet, the tension left by the mechanical automaton lingered despite Hellion’s attempt. Ouapi, surprising Mevi with her breaking of the silence, said, “We should continue. I have just received a missive that our departure vessel is almost prepared. Before we leave, however, we should do something about your newest companion…” Ouapi gestured towards Hellion dismissively.
“What must we do? I suppose it would be strange to bring someone not within the Lords Magi’s service with us…” Mevi asked.
“It is a simple enough process. As a Magi’s Apprentice, especially to our gracious patroness, the High Lord Counselor Maphet, you have certain privileges. When it was apparent we were bringing him with us, I took the liberty to contact Alestair ahead of time. Our archives compiled known and suspected information about the subject, and concluded he is no threat to us. If we proceed to the above facilities I will lead you to our lord’s Chamber Devoti. Where we may bind into service your new… companion…”
“A Chamber Devoti? Ugh, you’re kill’in me doll…” Hellion exclaimed with a heavy, and overly dramatic, sigh.
“What is a Chamber Devoti?” Mevi asked, as usual, the only one out of the loop.
Ouapi gestured to have Mevi follow her. They began the trek back upwards to the above facilities, and a promise of another new adventure. As they walked up the hallway, the tall, elegant, and almost hypnotically alien woman slowly tried to explain to Mevi what a ‘Chamber Devoti’ was, “The holy chamber is where new conscripts are taken to be inscribed with runes and oaths of loyalty to our beloved Lords Magi. In most cases, when a Tributary, Initiate, or a special recruit becomes a full Acolyte of a Magi, they are subjected to a blessed ritual to prove their loyalty towards their prospective master. In some cases, it is also a required practice to enforce some kind of order onto a more unruly subject.”
“Little lady, don’t let the religion fool ya. Its a coller’in factory. They put chips ‘n tiny bots in ya that lets em zap ya if you ever do somethin’ they don’t like” Hellion interjected.
“A crude interpretation, but not entirely incorrect. The devices implanted during the ceremony within the chamber serve other purposes, like complex language translation and access to the Nerve Net.” Ouapi continued. “The benefits outweigh any fear a lesser might feel at the implication of the ritual, especially if one remains loyal.”
Ouapi gave Hellion a sort of knowing glance, and Hellion for the first time seemed almost worried or ashamed at whatever he saw in the woman’s deep eyes. Mevi wasn’t sure what to make of the description of the place, if Hellion really was telling the truth she didn’t like the idea of anyone holding a remote that could hurt her companions. Then she realized, did she have such a device inside her as well? She must’ve made a worried face because Zelkan noticed and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, “My lady, do not fret. You received no such implant against your will. The ceremony our gracious Lord Magi Odion and Lord Counselor Maphet employ is remarkably different than most others. The main difference being that they have never, to my knowledge, implemented the implant without the consent of whoever would receive it.” Reassured Zelkan.
“Most Lords Magi don’t care ‘nough to make it a matter of ‘consent’.” Pointed out Hellion.
Mevi looked hesitantly towards Hellion as they walked, “Would you? Would you consent to this? We could still bring you back to the Undercity, after all it felt like you only followed us because we could protect each other until we escaped Modrak.” Mevi asked.
“No worries, little lady. I decided I like you, that’ll be your biggest compliment you’ve ever gotten by the way. ‘Sides, I got tired of the Under-Town anyway, too much back stabb’in for too long. Anyway, I know a thing or two about gettin weird implants out on my own, if I need to.” He reassured.
Then, as if on cue to have more tension added to their conversation, the Sentinel became stiff and rigid. Without a moment’s notice the Sentinel began walking down the hallway without Mevi, and without any notice where it was going. Mevi tried to pursue, but Zelkan suddenly grabbed her shoulder, “My lady, I just received a request for the repair of your Sentinel. When we reentered the facility the diagnostics it uploaded indicated injuries, and the loss of its weapons, so it needs to report to a repair depot.”
“The Sentinel isn’t in trouble is it? Its not at fault for losing the weapons…” Mevi asked, worried where her constant protector was going without her.
“Of course not my lady. The diagnostic I just received only indicated a need for minor repairs and the replacement of weaponry. It will return to us before we leave for the surface, there would be no scenario where a Magi’s Apprentice would travel to an unknown planetoid without an accompanying sentinel, or more often several more than that.”
“Then I suppose that is fine…” Mevi said, the mood souring even further.
As Mevi walked silently through the hallway, following Ouapi lead the way to this strange ‘Chamber Devoti’, her thoughts became jumbled and mixed. Her protector was gone and this seemed to leave a hole in her heart where a constant confidant should have been. After silence had fully set in, Mevi was left with grim ideas and worried thoughts. Yet Hellion and Saerin didn’t let a dour tension take hold if they could help it, and began their idle chatter to pass the time. Mostly talking again about stories that made one or the other more impressive, which led again to dramatic accusations and vying for Mevi’s favor to cement their superiority. The entire walk through the old hallways, and then soon traveling between facilities via bridged connections between building and spires, Mevi couldn’t help but worry. Every once in a while she noticed her hand reaching to the back of her neck, as if to scratch an itch that wasn’t there, and the memory of the first day she had met Kalesi returned to her.
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Awakening disoriented, submerged in strange gooey liquid that somehow didn’t make her feel wet but held her in place regardless. As bright lights had shone down into her eyes, all she could make out was a shrouded figure. When the pod she had been kept in opened she had seen Kalesi for the first time, but she spoke some strange language of gibberish and twisting words rought with unknown meaning. Then suddenly Mevi began to understand the words, almost by magic. Kalesi had mentioned then, some kind of procedure or device had successfully activated and Mevi would be able to understand her. Mevi didn’t pay much attention to the words given off-hand at the time, but had she been subject to some strange implant against her will by the Magi Falcier?
Mevi’s attention snapped back away from her daydreaming. They were crossing a short span on a suspended bridge as wide as the roads within the City of Light. A structure clearly meant to allow many people to walk to and from the buildings it connected, but no one but Mevi and her companions walked the bridge. The structure was partially revealed to the outside, large panes of thick glass-like coverings allowed a sense that it was open air, but in reality it was closed to whatever elements might prey on those outside.
Mevi had been jostled by Saerin, who had mostly been quiet throughout the last few days preferring to be the mood lifter or quiet observer. Mevi tried to figure out what she wanted, but all Saerin did was point up. Mevi followed the direction she indicated and beheld a remarkable sight she might’ve missed dwelling in distracted thoughts. The bridge they crossed didn’t just connect them from one building to another, but to a mighty temple. The first real temple or religious structure Mevi had seen which was controlled by Maphet and Odion, two creatures Mevi had never seen as the religious icons other Magi seemed to try to become.
The Chamber of Devoti, a gloriously massive structure of spiraling towers clustered together with long-arching pathways and connectors, built with an almost gleaming polished white marble that made the rest of the facilities seem dirty in comparison. The design pierced Mevi’s memory, and she remembered the days spent looking through odd texts and data pads scrolling through pictures. Ancient castles, things of myth and legend that were built so large and powerful that their design had carried over from wherever her people originated to their apparent ‘original colony’ in the system of Baes. These mighty castles were built in the thousands across the supposed original colony, and what few tales Mevi could decipher told of their fight against monsters and wars that crashed against their tall stone and metal walls like harmless waves. This new place was like a thing pulled out of those legends from her people, a complex tower of marble and stone brick emblazoned with countless runes and designs depicting the Magi, the Barge, and other unknowns across almost every surface. It radiated a gleaming golden and silver light but had no source, like the place itself was so radiant and blessed it simply had to exude beautiful light. The collection of towers were closely held together, the amount of which was difficult to tell, but this castle of the Lords Magi was an awe-inspiring sight. One Mevi had almost missed.
Crossing the rest of the bridge, after a brief moment for Mevi to take in the scene of mythically-styled architecture, Mevi and her companions had finally arrived at the Chamber Devoti. Within the tower was just as pristine as the outside suggested. Smooth marbled halls that shined with diligent polish, runes of power, knowledge, and history etched into the walls glowing with blue arcana. Golden inlays within the marble’s natural blemishes caused the floors and walls to sparkle golden, and silver trim along where the walls meet floor and ceiling. An extravagant display of wealth and beautifully unknowable runic scripture.
As Mevi followed Ouapi through the halls of the Chamber Devoti, still processing every new icon, rune, or lined scripture along the walls, their walk ended as they approached an ornate door. Decorated with so many lines of scripture etched into the surface, Mevi couldn’t tell if the door was made of marble or from solid gold. Before she could touch the door, curious to even just inspect the masterwork detail, the door swung open inward into the chamber beyond.
Opening to a wide circular room, one that would easily fit several dozen people comfortably, Mevi and her companions entered. The room was short compared to what she’d come to expect, the ceiling only about eight or ten meters above her. There were also strange runes and a circular sigil etched into the marble floor in a contrasting black obsidian. The rest of the room was bare, even the walls were simple polished marble, but the space was still beautiful regardless of the sudden lack of decoration.
When Mevi fully entered, her companions followed close behind. Ouapi went ahead and stopped in the center of the room. After waving a hand, a thin pedestal seemed to almost grow out of the ground to reach her waist. She placed her hand on the pedestal, which was topped with an orb-like obsidian stone, and the room began to move and change. The walls twisted to reveal hidden icons and racks with various elegant instruments clearly meant for surgery. As the room shifted and morphed its structure more, it felt like Ouapi was searching for something as she fiddled with the pedestal. The revealed secrets, strange implements, and new icons shifted in and out of the walls to appear briefly, only then to be put away again, until finally Ouapi came to a setting she seemed to like.
The room had changed greatly, the black obsidian twists and circular patterns on the floor now stretched in wild directions and even crept up the walls to touch the ceiling. A single part of the wall showed various implements on small racks; the devices didn’t seem intended for surgery or cutting, but instead had many items with display panels or round lenses. Ouapi finally turned to look towards Mevi, “The room is prepared, we may begin when your companion is ready.”
“What exactly is going to happen?” Mevi asked.
“I will operate the procedure from this console, because we are lacking proper time, we will forgo the normal ritual and subsequent celebration.”
Hellion interjected, “Ah gee, ‘ere I thought I’d get a feast.”
Ouapi ignored his comment and continued, “The implant is small, and easy enough to insert with this room’s devices. After the implant is secured, your companion will speak an oath. After which we will conclude the service and depart for the shuttle.
Mevi turned to Hellion, still uncomfortable with the idea of implanting machines into people, “Are you ok with this, Hellion? We could still bring you back to the Undercity if you wanted.”
“Oh you worry too much, little lady. ‘Sides, like I already said. I know a thing or two about removing unwanted implants if worst comes to worst. It’ll be fun to follow you around, at least thats what my gut tells me.” Hellion reassured.
“My lady, the procedure should be completely painless, if that comforts you at all.” Saerin added.
After thinking for a few moments, her companions waiting for her answer, Mevi finally decided, “Please proceed, Ouapi. If Hellion consents there is no reason to stop you.”
“Good.” Was all Ouapi said in reply.
What followed was a short and strange procedure. Hellion walked to the section of the wall that revealed the odd devices, and sat down in a chair that Ouapi had appear from the floor. The wall then opened up further, revealing two long and spindly manipulators that began probing for the devices held on the racks nearby. A quick investigation of Hellion’s body, aided by the various odd devices, satisfied Ouapi. Then the devices twisted and turned to reveal sharp implements and needles hidden within the thin chassis. The operation was over in a flash; a quick insert of a needle that barely caused Hellion to wince, and then a cut into Hellion’s left shoulder so small Mevi wasn’t sure if there was even a wound. As the last part of the procedure a tendril-like mechanical arm stretched out that was barely the thickness of a piece of thick string, it snaked quickly into the tiny cut and just as quickly pulled itself free. After one of the manipulators used a sort of scanning device on Hellion, the procedure seemed to finish. The devices, manipulators, and even Hellion’s chair each receded into the wall and floor once again. The deed was done.
“So just to check, no feast, right?” Hellion asked, rubbing his shoulder.
“Maybe we should have a feast after we return from the planet? We have a lot to celebrate recently, I think!” Saerin said, partly looking towards Mevi and Zelkan like she was asking for permission.
Mevi smiled and looked at Zelkan, “It could be fun! We haven’t had a chance to relax together yet. Could we, Zelkan?”
Suddenly being subject to begging and eager eyes, Zelkan folded his arms and seemed to think hard while trying to ignore the pressure from those around him, and he finally caved, “Well…” he sighed heavily, “I don’t see why not… When we return I will be sure to get something prepared.” He suddenly held up a hand to stop any early celebrations, “But! We mustn't get used to this kind of decadence. Serving the Lords Magi should be its own reward.”
“Of course, oh chief advisor Zelkan!” Saerin teased.
Despite the strangeness of the procedure, Mevi felt confident somehow. Her companions were so willing to stay with her despite the trials thus far, it felt like nothing could dampen her mood as her friends teased each other and she was strangely looking forward to following the Magi’s will so she could finally have a time to be some kind of happy with her people.
Ouapi let the friends talk and tease for a couple minutes before reminding Mevi of their task. With Hellion’s procedure finished he still had to make an oath. In a strange moment of seriousness the blue-skinned roguish man looked to Mevi, and without prompt or instruction bent to a knee and placed one hand on his heart. Closing his eyes and looking to the ground, Hellion spoke as if he had somehow had the time to practice this speech before, “I pledge my blade and body to our lords Magi. To the endless knowledge of our Lord Magi, Maphet, and the peerless wisdom of our Lord Magi Odion. I pledge myself, I give my oath to you; Lady Apprentice, Mevare Bensari. Till my death, or until you have no need of me, I will be yours.” Hellion looked up, smiling his confident grin once again.
“Do you accept his oath, ‘o Lady Magi’s Apprentice?” Ouapi asked.
Suddenly realizing she had to speak formally again, Mevi tried not to hesitate, “Yes! I accept your oath.”
Zelkan whispered, “Until your death… or until I have no need of you, I accept you as my retainer.”
Mevi quickly repeated Zelkan’s words, “Until your death, or until I have no need of you. I accept you as my retainer, Hellion.”
Hellion rose to his feet again, grinning with overconfidence as usual. Saerin seemed pleased, and despite her rigid and formal exterior even Ouapi seemed satisfied with the outcome. Mevi was simply happy she didn’t mess anything up, thanks to the proud-standing Zelkan beside her.
With the brief ceremony concluded, Ouapi led the group of them out of the Chamber Devoti. Their destination was a shuttle, which would ferry them to the great unknown. Yet despite the excitement of the task, and the promise of a celebration, what Mevi longed for most was for her new family to be put back together again and to see her Sentinel once more.