Rai held up the silver charm bracelet. “This bracelet is another useful magic tool. It currently has two charms attached, the maximum. Relatively small items can be turned into these tiny charms by touching them to the bracelet and reverted by plucking the charm off.” He used his other hand to pull off the wand charm, which transformed into a ten-inch wand with the appearance of transparent glass. “This looks like a wand, but somehow, the ancients figured out a way to make a wand with infinite charges instead of a limited amount. The catch is that it only holds one charge at a time and recharges itself every midnight. It holds a spell called Exploding Stars, which shoots out five exploding stars.”
He reattached the wand to the bracelet, whereupon it turned back into a charm. He then pulled off the rod-shaped charm, which turned into a three-foot straight rod of silversteel. “I assume that at least some of you are familiar with the spirit mage and divine mage spell Recovery, which can heal some amount of damage to ones physical, mental, or spiritual attributes: strength, dexterity, bodily constitution, intelligence, sensory awareness, magical affinity. This rod can do the same, targeting the first three for a significant amount or the last three for a significant amount depending on which command is used. Like the wand, it can be used indefinitely, but only twice per day.”
Reattaching the rod, he placed the bracelet on the table with the Strap of Tongues and Circle Booster Ring. He took out the copper pendant with its central blue orb surrounded by six smaller green orbs.
“This one is pretty exciting,” he said with a grin. “How would you like to be able to hold conversations with people scattered all across the continent? Because that’s exactly what this enables. The wearer of the pendant with its blue orb is the only one who can initiate the group conversations, but they can start conversations with everyone in possession of a green pendant at any distance at any time without limitation – and no amount of ambient noise will interfere with the ability to hear one another.”
There was a lot of excited murmuring at that.
“If we could study that and find out how to replicate it…”
“It could revolutionize long-distance communications!”
“Imagine the implications for international communication…”
He set it down on the table.
“I’ve got a few more things to share, and then we can get on to the magical devices and books.”
Those few more things were the seemingly glass sphere made of smaller spheres fused together, which was a weapon that could generate a large explosion once per day; the purple shirt, which allowed the wearer to teleport in any direction a distance of how far they could travel by foot in six seconds up to thrice per day; and the dress, which had the magic property of being able to transform into any of several dozen outfits.
He then brought out all of the books – except for the biological experimentation journal – and handed them out to be passed around, along with some notebooks that had what he had copied over into the modern tongue. This, even more than the magic items, captured the interest of the attending scholars, due to the fact that they were written in the ancient runic script. An olive-skinned beardless dwarven man wrinkled from age, another professor from the Magic Tower, was especially delighted and threw himself into slowly reading the Administrator’s journal.
“So I take it this is all legitimate, Master Gold?” Rai’s father asked the dwarf.
“I can scarcely believe it, but… yes. This is definitely the ancient runic script. I’ve never seen so much of it all in one place like this before; usually its just a rune or two on ancient objects, or a short series of runes strung together by Tower Era fanatics, either in their research or in their fake documents. But this… there’s no way even the most devoted of Tower Era fakers could make this. If the contents of these works back up the details of the Tower Era… then this is hard proof. By Holy Morxi’s nutsack, this changes everything.”
The beastfolk professor clapped his hands loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Everyone! I think it best if we keep this under wraps as much as possible,” he said. Several people started to protest. “I’m not saying we ignore it, or pretend that it’s not real! But I want to point out a few things. While the discoverer was fortunate to find such a treasure trove, I find it exceedingly unlikely that nobody has ever found anything similar before now that we know the things actually exist. This implies that either they decided not to share it… or someone prevented them from sharing it. According to what we’ve been told, there is at least one organization that already attempted to silence our young friend. It is entirely possible that they may target anyone who has knowledge of this. We mustn’t paint a target on our backs.
“Additionally, if it was confirmed that Tower Era relics are out there, it might instigate an international race to recover them, which could leave to conflicts and possibly even war. The continent is currently at peace, but that could easily be shattered with the wrong impetus. Therefore, keeping this quiet is undoubtedly in our best interests, at least at present.”
“Well said, Dean Derx,” Elliot said.
The group burst into chatter.
“Everyone!” Rai called out. “Let’s discuss this in an organized fashion.”
And thus began the discussion over how to treat the publicity of the subject matter. Rai pointed out that their had been a public notice in the Library and that some curious individuals had visited him already, but Dean Derx was insistent, and soon the discussion became intense. The Magic Tower advocated for secrecy, the unaffiliated scholars for publicity, and the schools were divided in their opinions. Eventually, they settled on a compromise.
“We’ll publicly announce a great historic find, but not make mention of the Tower Era. Within our institutions, we’ll announce that it might be related to a period that was mythologized into the Tower Era. Is everyone agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Rai was unhappy with the decision. “I will still claim it’s the Tower Era,” he said. “But I understand your decision to not have the rest of you make public agreement.”
Once the decision was made, Rai also showed off the tetrahedron found in the bedroom, holding back the one for in the biological experimentation lab. He explained that it was an information storage device but he had yet to figure out how to work it. After that, they all spent time with the books, sharing the Strap of Tongues around.
So passed the first day of what became known as the First Tower Era Conference. All the guests returned to inns to spend the night before returning the next day. The two main topics of study over the next two weeks were attempting to work out how to duplicate the magic items and attempting to translate and copy the books. Rai and the kobolds served as supervisors, with a few of Henrik’s servants being extra eyes to make sure that none of the scholars tried to damage or steal anything.
And then the first of the scholars disappeared. One of the independent scholars didn’t show up one morning, and when the others went to check on his inn room, they found no trace of him or his possessions. It was technically possible that he had run away, the researchers acknowledged, but considering the circumstances it was vanishingly unlikely. When the second scholar vanished a few days later, the remaining people began rethinking their stay in the city. By the end of the second week after the first disappearance, four of the schools had their representatives leave, along with two of the remaining three independent scholars, dropping the numbers down to six from the Magic Tower, two from the Evergrass School, and one unaffiliated. Those who left said they were still interested, but would wait until further discoveries had been made to continue with the research – and that they would bring guards when next they came.
-x-
A loud bang sounded out and Rai was thrown backward into the wall, flying away from the tetrahedron that had been in his hands.
“Ow.”
“Rai! Are you okay?!” Torval exclaimed.
“No. That really hurt. But it’s nothing Isa can’t cure with her blood healing.” Rai picked himself up off the floor. “Dammit, I really screwed that one up. I thought I was skilled enough to avoid that problem. Trying to force the thing was apparently not my best idea.”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“I have to say,” a female voice said from the entrance to Rai’s lab, “I am amused by your… straightforward approach.”
Rai turned toward the speaker as she walked in. He had never seen her in person, but he recognized her from pictures: the Chancellor of the Magic Tower. The illustrations had not done her justice: she was more than just pretty; she could probably charm enemies without using magic at all just by smiling, like she was doing now. It was impossible to tell her age; while elves aged at one third the rate humans did, he knew that she was far older than her appearance would suggest, since she had been Chancellor for over ninety years.
Still not as beautiful to me as you, Mizeiya, Rai thought.
“Lady Chancellor. I didn’t realize you would be coming yourself. It is an honor.”
“I came to pick up my people, but it would seem that they are enjoying themselves. You must be Rai Flamme, Elliot’s son.”
“That is correct.”
“So, this is your research laboratory?”
“Yes, Chancellor. Lord Henrik Amit has provided me with resources, from materials to this lab itself, and while I may not be as well-equipped as the Magic Tower, I find the conditions more than satisfactory.”
“I see. And the device you just caused to discharge energy, is it something you haven’t yet figured out?”
“I haven’t figured out how to activate it, and I definitely haven’t reverse engineered it – that thing is incredibly complex – but I know what it does. It records and stores information, sorts it, and then presents it to the user on demand. I believe it has text, images, and sound. I am certain that if I can just get it to work, it will provide complete proof of the Tower Era, even more so than the texts I recovered from the ruin.”
“May I take a look?”
“Of course… so long as you acknowledge that it belongs to me, even if you get it to work. No offense, Chancellor, but I’m not about to let someone else steal all the credit, even if it is the Chancellor of the Magic Tower.”
She nodded approvingly. “Good. Far too many young scholars are starry-eyed and foolish, allowing their mentors and sponsors to swoop in and steal what should rightfully be theirs. I promise you that you will retain ownership and receive full credit for the discovery, even if I can activate it.”
“Then by all means, go ahead.”
The elven woman walked over to the device and picked it up, her eyes lighting up with a blue flame. She turned it over in her hands, examining it closely.
“Oh, I see,” she said. “That’s clever. I understand why you had so much trouble – this thing is magically locked to prevent unauthorized individuals from activating it. It will require some sort of authorization key before it will accept the commands that make it work. I might be able to brute force it, but that runs the risk of triggering a self-destruct routine. You’re lucky you just made it blast you with energy.”
“…I feel like an idiot,” Rai said, sighing. “I don’t know if this will work, but given it worked to unlock the bedroom of the person who had it, it probably will.” He took out the authorization pendant from the dimensional pouch, which was attached to his belt, then walked over and held out his hand. The Chancellor passed the device to him, and he pressed it against the pendant.
The device flashed.
“Now the activation words should work,” he said. “Heshselika.”
The rune meaning “Ruler” flashed.
“New magical signature detected,” an emotionless feminine voice said in the ancient language, which he understood thanks to the fact that he was wearing the Strap of Tongues. “Assessing…” Suddenly his hand started to hurt. “Bloodline: Human. Mage Type: Soul Mage. Query: How did you obtain authorization access to this Record Tetra?”
“I am a scholar who obtained the both the authorization pass and the Record Tetra from ancient ruins,” he answered in the same tongue. “The civilization to which both belonged is long fallen, becoming an era relegated to myth.”
There were several seconds of silence. “Identify the current year,” the voice said after a moment.
“Year 734 of the Arcean Calendar. The previous calendar, the Altemitre Calendar, lasted for 2890 years. The names of prior calendars are unknown, usually referenced as negatives of the Altemitre Calendar.”
There was another pause. “Unrecognized Calendars, unable to verify current year relative to last activation. Assuming Cataclysm Protocol. Identifying current user as Primary User. Please set Password Lock.”
He pondered. “Set Password Lock to: Mizeiya,” he said.
“Password Lock recognized. No one may access this Record Tetra without first saying the Password; authorization pass no longer required or recognized. Please state your name.”
“Rai Flamme.”
“Welcome, Rai Flamme. You may now customize the interface.”
Several large rectangles filled with lines of runes appeared in the air, glowing green. An androgynous three-dimensional life-size image of a nearly-featureless humanoid, also made of glowing green light, appeared several feet in front of Rai on the other side of the rectangles.
“Is the current text-based, avatar-guided interface acceptable?”
“Yes, it will work for now,” Rai said, scanning the lines of runic text. “Actually, is it possible to change the language of the interface?”
“Unfortunately, it is not.”
“I see. What are you?”
“I am the artificial intelligence that governs this Record Tetra. Most current-generation Record Tetras have governing artificial intelligences, as it makes for a more adaptable device.”
“Utterly fascinating,” the Chancellor said, waving her hand through the image of the avatar. The rest of the researchers gathered around. “Mind sharing what exactly is happening?”
“The device, called a Record Tetra, interrogated me as to how I obtained authorization access when I am a human soul mage, and when I told it the truth, it asked for the current year. I answered, and it decided to ‘assume Cataclysm Protocol,’ whatever that means. It asked me to set a password lock to replace the old authorization and designated me as the primary authorized user. Then it pulled up this interface.”
“So the device is intelligent?” Derx said with interest.
“It called itself an ‘artificial intelligence.’ I don’t think it’s actually got a soul. I’ve heard legends of intelligent swords and the like, but they’re basically magic items with souls of their own. This feels more like… an impossibly complex set of magical protocols that operate together to mimic intelligence.”
“I agree,” the Chancellor said. “I’ve seen intelligent items before, and they all have a certain feeling of being alive. This doesn’t. Rai; see if you can find the locations of all Magic Towers.”
“Sure. Do I need to activate the other sides to see information related to them?”
“No. Simply place the device on a surface with the Ruler side down and touch the desired side to access.”
Rai walked over to the table and set down the Record Tetra, tapping the side with the rune for Tower. The text rectangles changed.
“Show me a map of all Magic Tower locations,” he said.
The text rectangles vanished and were replaced by a relief map spreading outward in all directions from the Tetra. The map continued to spread until it covered a large portion of the room.
“Wait a second,” Derx said incredulously. “This map doesn’t just cover the continent… it covers the whole world! Or at least, that’s what it looks like, considering that we barely have contact with other continents. But…” He frowned. “The continent looks wrong.”
“Is there an updated map for after the Black Sun Starfall?” Rai asked.
“No.”
“This must be from before the Black Sun Starfall,” Rai said. “Whatever that was must have altered the continent, if not the whole world. This map won’t be a hundred percent reliable. But it should give us something to go on when searching for more Magic Towers from the Tower Era.”
“Yes indeed,” the Chancellor agreed. “Try to find out more information. See if there are any records made that are addressed to the new owner.”
“Tetra, are there any recordings made by the previous owner intended to be reviewed by the new owner?”
“Yes. They are marked as Cataclysm Protocol Recordings. Would you like to see them?”
“Yes. Starting with the first.”
The map vanished, along with the avatar. In its place appeared a perfectly rendered illusion of a draconic biped. The entity was tall enough to reach the nine-foot-high ceiling and looked like a humanoid dragon with humongous musculature, complete with dragonlike head, wings, and tail. Rai assumed she was a female, because she was wearing a tight-fitting sleeveless dress; her scales were pitch black with the occasional red marking. Her arms were crossed in front of her.
“Hello, future owner of my Tetra,” the draconid said in a low-pitched alto voice. “Congratulations of not only finding it, but gaining access. This is the first of several messages I will leave to you. I know not who, or even what race, you might be, as I have no idea how long it will take for someone to find this. But… well, I should start by introducing myself. I am Chief Administrator Caligra Ashspark, right hand to King Malachite of Dragonia. I decided to create the Cataclysm Protocol to ensure that even in the event that our city was destroyed, our history would not be lost. The Black Sun Starfall has heralded the beginning of the end, and I fear that the war that will soon begin will lead to the destruction of not just our city, but our entire civilization. Our magical infrastructure is failing, and many mages with more than six mana circles have gone completely mad, as have powerful magical beasts – including many dragons. And so, I need to make sure that not everything is lost. I shall fight on for as long as I can, but even one as powerful as I – perhaps especially one as powerful as I – will, eventually, fall on the battlefield.
“You, person of the future, will be the one to unearth our legacy, perhaps even revive our lost civilization, or use the knowledge of it to advance your own. But to do that, you must come to understand us: our good, our bad, our successes, our failures, our greatness, and our flaws. The Black Sun Starfall, as horrible a cataclysm as it was, was just the catalyst that will lead us to our doom. It is our hubris, our pride, our arrogance, our belief in our own infallibility, that will destroy us. It is our greed, our ambition, our envy, and our hatred that will be our downfall. Our civilization is the greatest to ever exist. That is fact. Yet we are not perfect, and even the best things have flaws, cracks that mar their beauty. Our end was as inevitable as our rise.
“And so, I reach across time to you. May you do better with knowledge of us than we did.”
The image disappeared.