Chương 197: 130, 2/2

Kiri stood in a familiar room in one of the towers of Nosier's Roots, near the top. The orcol-projection of the Arbor stood in front of her with his hand hovering above her head. Erick watched as a profound number of eyes opened in the manasphere, and gazed upon the young greenscale. The eyes blinked, and then departed. Nosier said, "Clean. Minor soul damage from some recent event. A day of rest and you should be fine." Kiri sagged just a bit; relieved. This was the last such scan for Erick's people.

Everyone else had already gone through this process. Erick stood to the side and saw the end of his involvement with Arbor Nosier, but he didn't quite know if he should ask the question that was on his tongue. He decided to ask, anyway, "Is the generalized soul damage I see on people's souls out there on the street from some mental issue, or from something else?"

Nosier smiled wide, and then instructed, "The harshness of life is often a cracking force upon the soul; this is the nature of existence, and there is nothing to be done save to strive for greatness and then to achieve it. But in practical terms: they probably just tried to make some spell or otherwise, as I guess your apprentice has done. Knowing which has happened usually requires asking the person in question. And now for my question—"" That's not good enough."

Erick said, "If you want to exchange questions, I need a better answer than that."" My question is not that large, and your answer just now was the best I can do, for I do not work in soul magics except for defense." Nosier moved right along, asking, "What are the requirements for Particle Mage?"" Nope." Erick added, "And I cannot believe that you think those two questions are anywhere near the same value."" I need not find out from you. Someone in this world will have met the requirements besides your apprentice."

He looked to Kiri.

"Congratulations, by the way. I can tell you gained a Class and I believe I know which one. I offer you the same question, and the same level of reciprocal answer." Kiri shut that down, saying, "I cannot, sir Arbor." Nosier shrugged. He turned back to Erick, looming over him, saying, "Someone will let me purchase that information. Somewhere in this world, someone has achieved Particle Mage aside from you and your apprentice. The value of this answer is limited only by a time frame."" Still: no."

Erick said, "Ask a different question." Nosier sighed. Then he asked, "Where are you going to plant your next Yggdrasil? Surely you have seen the 'Expand Treehome' Quest? Yes? When are you going to formally ask us about that Quest?"

"… Ah." Erick glanced at his blue box for Yggdrasil, then turned back to Nosier, saying, "I can't plant another one yet. Not sure what the limitations are, there."" So you are planning on partaking of our offer?"

"… Yes." Erick had been toying with the idea of 'Expanding Treehome' with Yggdrasil, but it wasn't till then that he decided, "Yes. That is the plan. But I'm not sure why I haven't gotten another planting."" What's the wording? This does not count as reciprocation; if you are planting him here, I need to know." Erick considered the strategic information Noiser was requesting, and then decided that if anyone would know how this 'arbor-thing' was going to go, it would be Nosier.

And he was right; you couldn't very well 'Expand Treehome' without the consent of the current Arbors. So, Erick said, "All Yggdrasil are the same creature, but only one Yggdrasil is the World Tree. The World Tree has yet to be planted. Summon Yggdrasil has as many maximum summons as the World Tree allows, with a minimum of 2. Current Maximum: 2." Erick said, "I am almost completely sure that the Yggdrasil at Candlepoint is the main trunk, but I am not so sure. I'm not even sure how multi-trunk Arbors work.

None of you all are multi-trunk summons, are you?" He added, "Not even Redarrow is a multi-trunk summon, though he looks like a grove of trees." Nosier leaned back, thinking. The emerald mana in the air around him turned thicker. His eyes clouded over in green. And then he came back to himself.

"In all things, time is necessary for growth. Yggdrasil will grow more than most. Him having multiple bodies is a nuance to the usual working…" Nosier glanced at Yggdrasil's [Scry] orb, saying, "Your Yggdrasil is a unique specimen in that we know what he will become if given time. Yggdrasil is not unique in the ability to have multiple bodies." It might seem to the world at large that the creators of us Arbors only made single-trunk Arbors. But this is not what has happened. This is survivor's bias."

Multi-trunk Arbors have never worked out for one reason or another, but mostly because the split of power from one to ten weakens the whole, making them susceptible to soul attacks, or other infections. For multiple reasons, I doubt Yggdrasil will have this issue, but all multi-body summons have some issues in their first years of real life that single-body summons do not." Nosier glanced to Ophiel, sitting on Erick's shoulder, as he said, "For your Ophiel, I suspect there will be a fight for dominance.

There will be differentiation of minds, souls, and bodies. Shifting biology will come, of course, and that first attempt at procreation will be awkward for all involved. There is a possibility that you, as the summoner, might try to control the life you have made, thus becoming an accidental slaver in the process." He added, "I doubt you will have the Slaver-issue, but Yggdrasil will have some of them."" But that's a hundred years away?"

Erick glanced at Yggdrasil's [Scry] orb, saying, "He has time to learn before he becomes himself." Nosier smiled softly, saying, "A hundred years is nothing, Erick. It will be over before you know. I still remember being an Arbor of Treehome a thousand years ago, back when our community was much different. We used to have a sister-city on the southern side of the Wyrmridge Mountains, but then Ar'Kendrithyst erupted from the center of that land and then the Crystal Mimics came.

With your obvious ability, I have no doubt that you will either plunge this world into untold ruin, or you'll be around for longer than I am, helping where you wish to help." With a shrug, he added, "Unless you get yourself killed. Which can happen to anyone." Erick didn't know exactly what to say to that, so he said, "I didn't actually ask for an answer."" Ha!" Nosier said, "We can dispense with the [Strike]-for-[Strike].

With the day's final Scans, our little foray into Cleansing the Forest has come to a close, and you have proven yourself as a valued guest of Treehome. Speak openly. Ask what you will. Go and come as you please. My library is open to you whenever you wish, Erick, so don't hesitate." He said to Kiri, "And you, too, Miss Flamecrash." He asked, "Are you going to stay in Treehome for a little while longer? Or are you moving on? I haven't heard anything about that Converter Angel."

Erick felt a warmth in his chest as Nosier spoke. He replied with that warmth, saying, "Thank you, Nosier. I haven't heard anything regarding the Angel either, except that it's still on Celes. Kiri is going back to Spur tonight, but the rest of us are headed off to the Old Dragonkin lands in search of a Gate."" Oh!" Nosier brightened.

"You are? I did not know if that was actually going to happen. You must speak to Redarrow. He runs the Old Dragonkin Expedition Center—" He paused. He said, "Hmm. I was going to tell you a secret, but I will inform Redarrow instead. It will be his prerogative if he wishes to speak with you. Anyway. Speak to Redarrow about adventuring in search of a Gate. He might know a location to search, but all the ones I knew about are long gone... Actually. I would go for another round of [Strike]-for-[Strike].

For starters: You didn't see a Gate out there when you were Imaging the whole Damned Forest? Surely you know that they're giant squares of solid metal. That should be searchable."

"… I looked, but I did not find one. I researched what they were supposed to look like, so I know what I'm looking for, but I still got no results." After he switched away from Imaging for Gates, Erick got quite a lot of results when he searched for specific metals of all kinds, but those maps were wholly blue and not very helpful; there was a lot of metal in the Forest. Besides that, he was in the middle of Imaging for monsters, anyway.

Erick said, "I'll go see Redarrow, but I had a bargain of trade from Tenebrae that I was going to use for that, specifically because he said he knew the location of an intact Gate." Erick sighed.

"But Tenebrae seems unwilling to want to telepathically talk with me." Nosier laughed.

"He is a rather ornery little man, isn't he. Just go talk to Redarrow, instead, and don't mind his weirdness; the people of the ODEC will tell you how to behave. And take care, Erick. Don't go dying out there."" I'll be seeing you around, I'm sure." - - - - While Erick was busy cleaning up his parts of the hotel room and Imaging some of the Forest to make sure that he didn't miss any obvious Gates hiding in the Green, Kiri was already done with her room. Kiri laid in bed, resting for a little while.

They were all waiting for Jane and Teressa to come back to the hotel. Kiri was waiting for something else. Poi opened the door to her room and came inside. Kiri sent, ' Thanks for doing this.'' It's no trouble, except that it's troubling it needs to be done, at all.' Poi, ever the professional, asked, ' Do you consent to a [Lesser Deep Scan] with regard to missing or altered memories?'' Please, and yes. I consent. It had to have happened recently, right?''

It could have happened anywhere in the last year, ever since you came to Spur and became part of Erick's entourage.'' I know you have to lie as part of the job, Poi, but I'm absolutely sure I've been scanned for memory alterations before now. You probably do this routinely. So why didn't you tell me I had been altered?'' I do NOT do this routinely. I NEVER do this without consent. Never insult me in this way again.' Kiri winced.' Sorry.' Poi sighed. He breathed.' Apology accepted. Shall I proceed?''

Yes; I'll shut up now.' Poi closed his eyes. Tendrils of intent flowed from him to touch Kiri from head to toe, connecting with her entire nervous system; connecting with her entire mind. Kiri forced herself to relax. Relaxation wasn't necessary, and the Scan did not hurt, but it was still a vulnerable thing to put herself into. A minute later, Poi opened his eyes. He shook his head. He frowned.' Nothing?' Kiri frowned. She sat up, onto the edge of her bed.' Nothing?'' No memory alterations.

No soul-shifting, according to Nosier; I don't check for that. No lingering scars on your history. No oddities at all, except for those events that introduced you to Mind Magic in the first place.' Poi said, ' You do have some rather high aspirations, but aside from those eventually killing you if you play them wrong, I see nothing too abnormal at all.' Kiri's frown deepened.' Okay. So. Why do I have the Class Ability: Mental Defenses? Should I take it? I really feel like I should.'

'… I'm going to have to get back to you on that one. You might need to visit someone else for a better Scan.' Poi said, ' But aside from that: You're already high-profile, Kiri. I would suggest you stay away from any Mind Magic. [Sense Emotion] is already treading a line. Erick's [Call Lightning] already puts you on several watchlists the world over. You already have a history with us, and that gives you some goodwill, but to actually go further means that you are either tied to us even more, or…'

He seemed to decide something, then he said, ' Or bad things happen and you will never know they were done.' Kiri felt a chill. He asked, ' Why not go for Draconic Denial? That's always a good one.'' For all your ability to read people, you would think that I would go for the Denial option? Please.'' It would be hard on Erick if you died to your own magic.'

'… Yeah. But…' Kiri had no further response to that. She did not want to hurt the man who had raised her as high as he had. But at the same time… Limiting herself to lesser magics? No.' Maybe I'll just go with generalized less spell damage taken. Or Mana Shield.'' Those are always good fallback options. I wish Erick would have taken Mana Shield. He could probably survive almost any one attack, if he had.'' Better than Blood Mana, for sure.' Kiri shivered, involuntarily. Poi said, ' Blood Mana is not that bad.

He barely uses it. I thought I'd have to be explaining to Silverite why my charge was bleeding everywhere whenever he cast, but thankfully that has not been the case.'' I'm sure that will change, given time.' Poi shivered.' Not funny.'

'… It was a little funny. Besides! You're there for him!' Poi grumbled. - - - - Arbor Redarrow was a stately grove of grey-bark trees of fifteen trunks in total with a looming, bright-red canopy. He, for Arbor Redarrow was just one tree despite looking like fifteen, sat atop a land of volcanic glass. Composed of black buildings with sharp edges and sharper looks, Arbor Redarrow's District was home to many dragonkin, and the proud host of the Old Dragonkin Expedition Center.

The ODEC was one of the main buildings in that volcanic-black set of buildings directly under Redarrow. That museum boasted the largest collection of Old Dragonkin lore, artifacts, and history, of anywhere on Veird." Except for probably the Headmaster and other similarly strong or hidden forces out there," Kiri said. Erick, Kiri, Poi, Teressa, and Jane, walked down the street, toward Arbor Redarrow, toward the ODEC. Jane was focused on a different problem.

She stated, as though in disbelief, "And you're really going back to Spur. Right before we go explore Old Dragonkin ruins. Really."" Silverite asked me to come back, and so I will." Kiri said, "I don't appreciate it, but I am going to comply. Besides. If there is a Gate out there, it will no doubt be underground and well guarded by either dragons or wyrms or some other awful monster. I don't need to get in Erick's way any more than you do." Erick said, "Hey now. No one is getting in anyone's way.

I will not be able to do this alone, but if Silverite needs help, and Kiri is willing to give it, then that's fine with me." He asked Teressa, "How dangerous is the usual expedition into the Forest?" With a glint of something joyful in her eyes, Teressa said, "We're going to need all the help we can get." Kiri winced. Jane smirked. They had to navigate the crowds a little, but they reached the ODEC and walked inside.

Erick introduced himself to the receptionists, weathered a bevy of disbelieving stares and words, then someone who knew what was going on came out from the back. After a few profuse apologies from the staff, for the Chieftain was out, and after being given a few instructions to follow when meeting with Arbor Redarrow, Erick stepped up an obsidian staircase, headed toward an audience with Redarrow. Jane, Kiri, Teressa, and Poi, followed.

- - - - Under the Arbor, at the top of the building, in a place both familiar to Erick, and not, they met. Instead of craggy black teeth rimming the land, there were grey arbors. Instead of nothing in the flat caldera of this recreation of the volcanic crater of the gods, there was a shallow pool of unnaturally clear waters. Instead of mists filling the air, steam curled here and there. A path of dry volcanic stone led from the edge of that pool, toward the center.

At the center was a raised basin of water, barely shorter than Erick, that overflowed with clear waters. Steam rolled away from that fountain, across the stone and obscuring a man who was not a man at all. Their guide had pointed Erick toward the staircase, but that guide was all the way back at the bottom. The only ones in this sacred, steamy and yet cool place, were Erick and his people. Erick proceeded. Others followed. A wind blew from the side. Steam cleared.

The person in the center of the surrounding Arbor was not an orcol, but a dragonkin, and also not. Their soul was as diffuse as the steam in the air, while their body was a construction of intent, without any blood. Redarrow lifted his head, flicked his tail, and Erick almost stopped, in shock. The man was a bright scarlet dragonkin with a tail, a muzzle, and a triplicate set of horns that surrounded his head like broken halos made of twisted spears. He stepped to the side.

He had legs like a bird's, with the talons to match. And he was large. Not as large as Nosier, at least not by body-height. Maybe he was only most of the way to being orcol-sized. But by another metric, he was much larger. Wings lifted from Redarrow's back. Large, massive wings, each at least three meters across, each as brilliant a red as a sunset, stretched out across the small spit of land around the man. Steam curled as he moved. He was stretching. He had likely been staring into that basin for a long time.

His wings relaxed, then wrapped down around his shoulders to act like some sort of bat-wing cape. The only thing he seemed to be wearing was a simple pair of tan shorts. Those shorts were clean and stylish, and kinda at odds with his whole dragon-ness." Greetings!" Redarrow extended a hand down and out, his claws open and inviting, as he called out, "Did y'all come for a reading?" Erick kept walking forward, but his stride broke as he heard the slight twang in Redarrow's voice. A reading? What was that about?

He kept going, though, as he had been instructed to lay his problems out there as fast as possible and to let whatever happens, happen. Erick said, "We seek a Gate of Old Dragonkin make, out in the Forest, if you've anywhere to look." He added, "And to know of anything else you might wish for us to know, perhaps with regard to Yggdrasil." Redarrow's head bounced as he said, "Oh! Okay okay okay!" He lifted both hands out from below his wing-cape, extending his open claws to both sides of his water basin.

He closed his eyes and breathed in the steam— He stopped, suddenly. Erick stopped on the edge of Redarrow's somewhat-dry spot of land, in the center of the not-caldera, where his basin flowed steam and waters that flowed into the air and splashed atop the black, glassy ground. Redarrow opened his ruby-red eyes and stared at Erick. He had no pupils; just light.

"You're Erick Flatt! Right. I knew that. You've been in Treehome for a while. We just did some readings for you two weeks ago." He looked away. The light of his eyes flickered strong, then dimmed back to a low heat, as he turned back to Erick.

"That seems to have gone well. Moon Reachers Dead. Deathsoul Shrooms dead. A thousand other, smaller targets of opportunity… also dead. Some stragglers in the mountains that might make themselves known in decades to come. But that's acceptable. I will warn the appropriate... people… Hmm." He looked to Erick, his eyes turning brighter once again.

Erick would have been lost if he hadn't been warned that Redarrow liked to go off on tangents if he deemed them more important than the petitioner's questions, but what Erick had not been told, was that Redarrow was obviously some sort of prognosticator; those people had been mentioned more than a few times while Erick had been helping to clear out the Forest.

He did not actually know who the Prognosticators were, until this moment, for he hadn't asked, partially because he doubted he would have been told, but mostly because once he had been told, he knew that he would seek these elusive people out… And then he'd set his magic back weeks, or more, attempting to figure out exactly how 'prognostication' worked. Erick almost jumped for joy at having this piece of the puzzle of Treehome finally fall in his lap.

He had expected to talk to Redarrow about a trip out to the Forest, possibly involving logistics or whatnot. He had not expected to actually find one of Treehome's elusive future-tellers. … The guide back there, at the bottom of the stairs, had never given this away. Erick had assumed this would be a normal meeting. Erick smiled. His joy was short-lived. With bright red eyes, Redarrow's words came out stilted, "What has..." He glanced to the side, at Kiri. His face fell. He sighed.

He said, "You were touched by a powerful force, and recently. When did it..." He looked to Poi, then glanced over everyone else.

"No one else…" He looked to Kiri again.

"It happened right below— What! Right below? How... When you visited that exhibit that was on display, when you first came to Treehome." He narrowed his bright red eyes. He was angry.

"They come into my home and…" He focused on Kiri.

"I cannot see which power messed with your winding thread, but it did happen, and it was the work of a complete professional. I have rarely ever encountered someone who has been so smoothly fate-fucked, and possibly mind-fucked. I am only guessing at the second occurrence; Mind Magic is not my field." Erick's eyebrows went up as he smiled, disbelieving what he was hearing. Then he asked everyone, but mostly Redarrow, "... What?"

He had even more questions, now, as his smile left him, he realized there was no joke, and he focused on the most important part of what he had just heard. He looked to Kiri.

"Is she safe?" Kiri's eyes were wide, her face pale. Jane angled toward the greenscale, while Poi jolted, and Teressa looked like she wanted to take a half a step away from Kiri, but then she thought better of that. Teressa remained where she was, at Kiri's side. Redarrow forestalled any immediate issue, saying, "I barely saw what had been done to your apprentice until just now, and only because I looked further and deeper than I usually do, and only because something unexpected has occurred."

He leveled his burning eyes at the young greenscale, saying, "Your fate was tied to Erick's rather tightly until today. Today, you begin what others might call a divergence, but what I would call a shadow cast by the light. An echo of what has come before; similar, yet different. For your future, I tell you this: Boldness has always served you well, but if you falter, you will falter hard. Good luck." Erick almost spoke up again, but Redarrow was not done. The large, winged dragonkin turned to Erick.

"By your feats of prowess and your power, you have earned two readings. One has been chosen for you, for you would not have picked the correct reading. I will allow you to choose your second." Erick rapidly thought, then said, "I did not come for any readings, but to talk of events and logistics and to ask—"" Oh! I see. I see." Redarrow said, "My mistake. You want directions to a Gate? Trying to recreate that network? Ah. Yes. I see. I will help with this…"

He glanced away, his eyes brightening, before he turned back.

"If Tenebrae accompanies you, he will die. If he does not, others will die. Hmm. What is the value of a life? A pinprick of light upon the background of reality? A beacon in the darkness; a lighthouse, perhaps. What is the value of a life, when comparing bonfires to candles?" He added, "All of that is barely-there misty Fate. Choose as you will and already have. Maybe Tenebrae will simply be humbled. Maybe everyone will live. The chances of either are rather low. But!

What I see does not always come to pass, while what comes to pass, is always seen before it arrives." The man sat down onto a small bench Erick was sure had not been there before now. His wing unfolded from his shoulders, to lay behind him, as he leaned over his bird-bath of bubbling waters. He stared into the steam. He said nothing else. Erick got out, "Red—" Redarrow interrupted him, "The Arrow of Time is done. Please come again another da—"" I have one boon left."" Bah!" Redarrow's eyes glowed bright.

"I have given you two! We are quits! No more quest—"" I can interrupt, too. I can be a bastard, too." Erick said, "You answered me without me asking the question. In such a case, how can it be that you have answered anything I asked of you, at all?" Redarrow paused. He looked at Erick. Then he grabbed a piece of paper out of the air and folded it up a few times. When he was done and the paper was not directly readable, he said, "Go ahead. Ask your questions." Erick nodded, then said, "So what's that supposed to be?

A list of—"" Gods dammit." Redarrow unfolded the paper.

"You were supposed to ask the questions I already wrote out! Not just jump right to demanding to know what this damned thing is!" He crumpled the paper and threw it at Erick. It sailed five meters and bounced off a sheet of light, then landed in a grip of Erick's light. Redarrow said, "Read it at your leisure!" Erick held up the paper. It was absolutely filled with tiny text. Ah. He understood.

Redarrow had written this out with the plan of showing that he already knew everything that Erick was going to ask, for he had written down all the answers ahead of time. Erick began reading," Erick: What is the purpose of life?" Redarrow: What you make of it! Ask me a real one." Erick: Where is the Gate?" Redarrow: Where Tenebrae says it is." Erick: What happened to Kiri?" Erick paused his reading, then said, "Really? You thought I was going to wait till question three to ask after her?

And I already know the purpose of life. I would have gotten to Kiri at question one. Two, at the very least." Kiri softly said, "Erick." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Erick glanced at her. Kiri was stiff, and silent, and obviously did not want to be the focus of anything right now. So Erick let that issue go, for the moment." The future is not always a sure thing."

Redarrow nodded at the paper in Erick's hands, saying, "That is the answer to question ten, and also question twenty five, by the way, as it deals in teaching you prognostication, which is questions and answers twenty through thirty four." He said, "I will admit, though, that what is happening right now is something I failed to predict." His eyes glittered red as he stared at Erick, saying, "And that is interesting."" W—"" It's interesting because this rarely happens. Questions forty and forty one.

The answers are thus: Most people are simple. I am not disparaging them. They simply are simple. They work routines. They have dreams they attempt to achieve. This applies to everyone from peasant to emperor. Adventurers are a bit tougher. This is bec—" He stopped. He flinched. He asked, "Why do you think this is?" And then, finding his question correct, he nodded.

"Yes. I should ask you why you think this is. Tell me?" Erick glanced to the paper in his hands. It certainly did hold a lot of answers to a lot of questions Erick had thought to ask. He read and understood each of them with just a glance, and then he looked to Redarrow, and said, "The reason I'm messing up your future-telling has something to do with Spatial Magic."

"… You're rather sure of that. How interesting. I see my written answers are not good enough. I will explain." Redarrow said, "There is something to be said for Spatial Magic's influence on Fate, since there is a lot more overlap between those two schools of magic than most would guess. Personally, and according to all the history I have ever experienced, Spatial Mages and Prognosticators get along just fine; both schools of magic don't unduly affect the other.

I have even met other planars, so the bubbling idea you were about to ask me about if your planar-ness is messing up my prognostication? That might account for some variance in my foreseen futures, simply due to the fact that you have come to Veird from a very, very long way. But this does not account for all of my problems reading you. Not by a [Long Bolt]." He added, "Do you know why Melemizargo considers us all to be fake people?"

Several questions Erick had barely thought to ask, came to the forefront of his mind. Chief among them were, 'Is Melemizargo right about Veird being fake?' and as a corollary to that, came another: 'Am I actually on my deathbed in some hospital back on Earth, out of my gourd and imagining all of this?' Both were unprovable either way, so Erick mostly ignored those every-so-often nagging notions. He focused instead on the ideas of Spatial Magic.

All Spatial Spells, from [Blink] to [Teleport] worked on the idea of a person temporarily inhabiting a different present, and then fully inhabiting that different present; in effect, 'teleporting' from one place to another. This, obviously, must have something to do with future-telling. But Redarrow did not seem to think that Erick's long distance 'Teleport', or more appropriately, the [Gate]-ish event that brought him and Jane to Veird, was a wrench in Redarrow's ability to Prognosticate.

And now he was talking of Melemizargo's thoughts that this world was fake? Erick could roll with the conversation, though he seemed to be rolling a bit further than usual. He did have something of a theory about Melemizargo considering everyone fake, but it was not complete. He decided to answer Redarrow in a manner which would likely demand more information. Erick said, "Because he's a Prognosticator even more powerful than you."" Close. But rather far from the truth. And now we're back to my written answers."

Redarrow smiled, and said, "It's the concept of time, itself. Gods live beyond time; they are timeless. But also… Not. They see this New Cosmology like we would read a book. Some of the best Prognosticators are barely able to read a paragraph ahead. Some can read the title. Very, very few are able to see the synopsis, and lo! What a skill that is! Once in a millennium Prognosticator! Even I am not that good. Even I have never met someone like that.

Back when the Grand Eye walked the world, I was but an idea in my creator's mind. He took up after her in order to create me, but I never got to meet her." But that is a tangent, and unimportant for the Now. Back to time. Back to gods. Back to Melemizargo and his idea of a fake world." You see: Gods live among the library. They can see every book and read every variable copy." This is a simplification." And it was not always this way." Redarrow said, "I understand that in the Old Cosmology, time flowed differently.

It was more subjective. People could control their own time, to a certain degree. Gods controlled time the best. Where they tread, everyone lived at the same time. It had to have been awfully confusing compared to what we have today, for though I have heard of how it worked —second hand and through many different sources— I still cannot quite wrap my head around it all." But to Melemizargo, this world must seem rather false. Perhaps he is too close to the library.

Perhaps he is too close to a simple reader, passing through. Or perhaps he has read every single book there has ever been written. Gods can deal with this level of simplification, I think; they can deal with living in a smaller world where things seem simple.

If they were not able to do this they would have gone insane and killed us all, just like Melemizargo, therefore, they have some way to mitigate this tendency toward insanity because all they have to play in is the single sandbox with all the pieces of sand already counted. Melemizargo, however, sees everything around him from both his draconic eyes, and godly eyes. He cannot shut off his ability to See, and it drives him insane reading the same damn thing all the time." I am lucky in that I am not a god.

I imagine I would get bored rather fast." Redarrow smiled.

"But you, Erick… You, and even Jane there. You are moving targets, more so than most. You are not simple. You are chaos, and your Particle Magic is even more chaos. Perhaps, even Chaos. I gotta tell you, it's making this Telling quite a chore. I have had to revise my conversation with you a hundred different times since we started, and I am still getting it wrong, even now." Erick started, "—" HOWEVER." Redarrow spoke over him, "I am going to call it quits, here. I am not Melemizargo.

I don't take pleasure in not knowing what comes next. I imagine this is because I am technically mortal. If I was multi-millennium old, I would likely be the other way— Ah." He glanced away. His eyes brightened, then dimmed. He looked back to Erick.

"Just checking. Yes. You haven't changed that future. Good to know some things remain true even in the face of Chaos. Now be off with you. You have your answers. You have gotten more than most… Wait." He stared down into his basin of steaming water.

"Okay." He looked up.

"One more question. Make it good, and before you ask, know that knowing a version of the answers rarely lets you avoid the pitfalls." Erick instantly asked, "Who shot that antirhine missile at Syllea?"" Another surprise!" Redarrow laughed, then said, "Cultists. Syllea came here a week ago and asked after that very same thing. I believe the man's name was 'Edolphis'. He's dead now. Unmarked Forest grave. He was injured by stray spells when you and Syllea fought, only to succumb to his wounds afterward.

We raided the man's hideout before you started on the Moon Reachers." And to answer the question you should have asked: Search the Wyrmridge west of the Firemaw volcanoes. It is there where you will find Tenebrae."

"… Thank you." Erick looked to his answer sheet, then said, "This helps, a lot."" I know it does. It was the easiest way for me to set you upon the proper trajectory." Redarrow said, "Please go, now. I was hoping that we could be best friends, but I really do not like what Fate does when you're around. Think of me when you're off your Worldly Path. And no: the Path should have made your Fate even more solid. You should be easier to read. Not harder.

I have no idea what's up with the Angel and I am not getting involved with that. Thanks for not asking me. Anyway! I'm always happy to answer questions of the past for allied archmages. Just… Not for you, and not right now. Goodbye, Erick. And don't tell people that I'm a Prognosticator. I prefer when they discover that for themselves. It makes for more correct Readings." Redarrow's words felt final. So Erick left it at that. Erick nodded, saying, "Goodbye, Redarrow." He turned, and left.

Kiri, Poi, Teressa, and Jane, bowed toward Redarrow, then followed Erick out of there. - - - - At first, Jane had been transfixed that Redarrow was a dragonkin like Apogee, the former Guildmaster of the Wayfarer's Guild, back in Spur. BUT WITH WINGS! How awesome would it be to have wings all the time? And they folded down like a cape! How fricken' cool was that?

(Jane had tried that with her [Polymorph] but wings on a human body were either decorative, stressful on her back, or really awkward to use; not very pleasant. But she hadn't tried bat-wings! She would try that, later.) And then the Arbor started talking like he knew things. And then he did know things. He was the Prognosticator for Treehome! He likely had a whole slew of other people who he worked with, but he had to be the main one.

Sure, the reveal that Kiri had been fucked with was rather awful— Jane glanced over to Kiri, as they walked down through the volcanic innards of Arbor Redarrow's obsidian glass buildings. The greenscale seemed a bit more green than usual. Erick whispered after her feelings. Kiri spat fire, literally, then stopped herself. Poi glared at her. Erick just went with the flow, talking about how, 'You're walking around, and you feel fine, don't you? Then you're fine. Poi. Tell her she's fine.'

Those were not his words, and Poi's resulting words were similarly not the ones he said. Their words didn't matter, for Kiri was having none of any of it. She was angry. She was furious, really. And she was also beyond hurt. Erick tried to help Kiri, for of course he tried to help. But so what if Kiri had been messed with? She was fine, wasn't she? Jane wasn't about to step onto that landmine of a conversation, so she stayed out of it. Her mind was on the events of the last ten minutes.

And then she thought of her current future. There had been three things on her list of necessities. Getting a mana sense, getting a Domain, and getting [Greater Prismatic Body]. [Greater Prismatic Body] was a matter of pushing her [Prismatic Body] further, and that would come with time. A Domain would likely come with time, too. Jane had considered making a variable Domain; something she could switch at a whim, to whatever Element she was using at the time. A Prismatic Domain would likely cost way too much.

She suspected that [Greater Prismatic Body] was already going to cost a base of 50 mana every second, and that was a lot. But now, seeing Redarrow, and knowing that [Future Sight] came from unlocking the sight spells with a competent mana sense… Jane moved 'attain mana sense' to the top of her list. She would work on that later tonight. … As long as nothing exploded. Jane smiled, thinking of using [Future Sight] in a fight. How awesome would that be! Kiri spat, "Why are you smiling at my misfortune!"

Jane left her thoughts and came to the Now. They were walking through an exhibit for some dead city state or something, and Kiri was glaring at her. Jane said, "I was considering how awesome it would be to use [Future Sight] in a battle. It had nothing to do with you." Kiri frowned, her rage turning to something lesser. Something more internal. Teressa said, "Using [Future Sight] in battle is extremely difficult. I've tried." Kiri startled. She stared at Teressa; her own issues temporarily forgotten." Oh!"

Jane said, "What are the complications? How does it work? Dad just got it, but he hasn't even used it yet." Erick looked to Teressa.

"I didn't know you had [Future Sight], too."" Yeah... You were talking about all the Sights last week and one thing led to another." Teressa shrugged.

"I worked all the way up to [True Sight] while you were Cleansing the Forest. But I've had [Future Sight] for a while. It's not all that great because I'm not good at it. Soon as you act upon any divergent path you see, it all changes. The more you include others in your vision, the more that path diverges." She said, "I have no idea how the Prognosticators do it." Jane said, "I'm interested more in the battle applications. Ten seconds out. That sort of thing."" [Future Sight] is a variable cast time—"" Teressa?"

Kiri yanked the conversation away from Jane, as she asked, "Could you please [Witness] this area?" She asked Erick, "Did you find anything, yet?" Jane would ask more questions later, when they weren't busy with Kiri's trauma. Jane was not making light of what had happened to Kiri, and she probably should have waited till after the current drama to talk about [Future Sight] with Teressa. But she knew that [Witness] wasn't going to find anything; nothing was going to get solved right now.

Trauma did not heal through revelation; only with time. Jane's unspoken prediction turned out true. Erick was the first to fail. He hadn't had much experience with [Witness], and that inexperience proved itself in how much he was able to see, which was nothing. He could barely see to a day ago, after all, and Kiri's mind-fucking —for that's what it had to be, in Poi's opinion— had happened almost two weeks ago. Teressa had more luck, and skill.

The orcol woman said, "I see Kiri walking through the exhibit, looking at things. Someone is there, beside her. But…" She shook her head.

"There's nothing. The presence has been erased and filled in, almost perfectly. The blank space is not blank. Hmm. No one else around Kiri and the assailant are reacting to the presence next to Kiri. They're not even reacting to Kiri. I don't think anyone sees either of you. This is very high-level magic. I have never seen this level of mana-stitching before." She added, "Other people might have. Here." Jane, and everyone else in the group, received a telepathic packet; an image.

Kiri was looking at a map of a land in the middle of the rise to empire. Beside her was a scratchy blot on the manasphere, barely different than all the rest. Jane knew she would have missed the discrepancy if Teressa hadn't spoken of it, first. What followed next was Erick searching for DNA, finding none that was not contaminated by multiple sources —this was a highly active museum, after all— Kiri growing ever more despondent, and Jane wondering, privately, what was for dinner.

The museum staff got involved when Erick started casting spells inside the museum, but their sudden worry turned to sudden acquiescence once more than just museum security got involved. An hour later, Kiri's despondency had become something less depression-like. It wasn't long till Jane saw the exact moment when the woman decided on some hard choice. Good for her, Jane thought. This sort of thing was never easy. Kiri stood taller. Her eyes focused.

Ten minutes later, after 'one more [Witness] attempt' from Erick to see if he could see what Teressa had seen so easily, Kiri called it off." We're done." Kiri said, "Thanks for trying, Teressa. Erick." She looked to Poi, and seemed to solidify her decision from earlier.

"I'm taking that Ability, Poi." Poi frowned, then nodded.

"There will be consequences, but you probably should." Jane didn't know what that was about, and she'd likely never know. Kiri and Poi switched to telepathic conversation after that. Sending messages between themselves was a rather rude thing to do, considering they were in a group setting, but no one blamed them. Jane guessed Kiri was talking about some Mind Mage Ability that had shown up when Kiri got her Class. Kiri had a history with the Mind Mages, after all, but Jane didn't know much more than that.

She said her guesses to her father, later, when they were mostly alone and killing time while Poi and Kiri went off somewhere else. Teressa was in her room, cleaning up her stuff. Erick agreed with Jane's guess, but he wouldn't get involved with that.

"She probably has to give up something if she's taking a mental Class Ability."" But what, though?" Jane said, "I don't really understand how they enforce their Mind Mage society, either. You know anything about that?"" Nope." Erick said, "But I can guess that they don't enforce it with much mental controls. Otherwise there'd be no rogue Mind Mage users at all, out there."" Maybe there are, but then there aren't."

"… Erasing mental abilities from a person if they cross a line? That seems… That seems reasonable. Much easier to wipe the offending memories of a few than the existence of a person."" Maybe it's easy to erase people." Jane said, "I want to say this whole Mind Mage faction thing seems very 1984 to me, but I don't know enough about the Mind Mages to say that."" What's that book about, again?"

Jane recounted what she remembered about 'Unpersons' and 'Thought Police' and the systematic denouncement of anyone who was not of 'The Party'. Teressa had joined them somewhere around the beginning of Jane's recounting. When Jane was done, Teressa said, "The Mind Mages aren't like that, at all. They're always the Solid Man in the plays and books I've read. Poi is the perfect example of a normal Mind Mage."" That's a look they purposefully cultivate," Jane said.

"You've heard Poi talk about propaganda in books and such before. There's absolutely no way he doesn't know the image he puts out there into the world."" Everyone wears a mask," Erick said.

"To me, the Mind Mages seem more like a persecuted people who turned hard. They project the image of strong and secure, but in the background, they are ruthless toward those who would make them appear as anything less than honorable. This is their survival strategy, and it only seems suspicious because they can communicate with each other to ensure compliance. This seems fine to me. I'd rather not deal with people messing with my mind." Jane looked at her father. He was holding something back.

She said, "You know something else." Erick sighed.

"No I don't." Teressa looked at Erick.

"Yes you do."" Okay. Yes. I do." Erick said, "But I doubt either of you two would ever have to deal with what I know, so I'm not going to put those bad thoughts out there. I'm sure if I was Poi I would literally be itching from all the bad thoughts I know must be out there." Jane said, "Okay. Fine. I'm going to speculate, and you stay right there dad, so I can read your face." Erick forced his face and his shoulders to go slack. His voice was so even-keeled and forcefully pitched deep that it was almost comical.

"Give me your best shot." Jane smirked, then she narrowed her eyes, playing her part, too, as she tried, "They're all secretly cannibals who get their Mind Mage powers from eating the brains of children."" What the fuck, Jane," Erick said, his mask readily breaking. Jane laughed. She had won! Teressa eyed Jane, then chuckled.

"What the fuck."" I'm spitballing, here." Jane said, "And that one was mostly a joke, but Unicorns and Moon Reachers get their powers from eating brains. So. How about this: They control the minds of everyone to make them believe that they're harmless."" I'm pretty sure that's the exact opposite of what they do," Erick said." Okay. But they have to erase people, for sure." Jane said, "Teressa?"" I don't know about that."

Teressa said, "But I've heard that as soon as a Mind Mage puts a [Mind Control] on a person, the controller gets labeled a Slaver and the controlee gets the Kill Quest for that Slaver." She asked, "Is that what you're talking about?"" No. But… Go on." Erick's eyes went a bit wide.

"No. That's not what I was thinking… That happens with Mind Magic? The Slaver and Slave sub-Classes?"" Really rare; but yeah." Teressa said, "I've read those case files. Rogue Mind Mages that try to control people usually end up dead when the controllee gets the automatic rescue from Slavery. Those automatically-rescued people are readily found by other Mind Mages, and then the actual Mind Mages come down hard on any mind controllers. People don't always rescue themselves, though.

Any middling Mind Mage will know enough to have their controlled person deny that Quest." She said, "Guardmaster Merit had me read some of those case files as part of the oddities I needed to look out for, but they were under the 'almost never happens' part of that workload. I was told the Mind Mages try to keep that sort of thing quiet, but you can try asking Poi if he's ever caught any people like that.

I doubt he'd tell you, but I'm pretty sure that one of the things he routinely 'listens' for is for the presence of the Class: Slave."" Well that's interesting." Jane listened, filed away those thoughts, then changed the subject, "So. Teressa. How much have you done with [Future Sight]'s combat applications?" The large woman shrugged, saying, "A lot. But also not nearly enough. I've no teacher for that sort of thing, and I'm more focused on viewing the past, anyway.

[Future Sight] isn't much use for detective work."" Oh reeaaaally?" Jane said, "But what about scanning the future for a time when you solve the murder, say ten days from then, but then you use that scan to solve the murder on that very same day? Does that work?"" Doesn't work." Teressa said, "Looking at the future changes the future. Looking at your own future changes that future more than most other glances. And like…

This has been my experience with [Future Sight]: I'm lucky to see an hour ahead of time, and only if I really try, and only if I don't interact with that timeline at all. As soon as I touch that timeline with any sort of actual force, then it moves. Most every future teller I have ever met always speaks in riddles because of this reason. I have literally no idea how Redarrow was able to do what he did, but even he got it wrong. And man! That meeting… That was a revelation on so many levels.

A lot of things make sense, now." She smirked, adding, "Now I know why I could never get any good reading on Erick. No one can." Jane smiled at that. … And then she wondered if the same was true for her." His paper list had a few riddles on it… I was wondering why the riddles." Erick said, "So. Back to [Future Sight]. There is this Shade that survived the Feast. Her name is Goldie. The Shade of Assassination. I told you about her, yeah?

She does what I think you're thinking of, Jane, and that ties into what you're talking about Teressa. Goldie can see the near future, rather perfectly, for five minutes out. She got the drop on Tania because of it. Of course, Tania shrugged that blow off, but Goldie was still able to strike her through her core. This means that Goldie is both able to see her own near-future and then plan around that future." Goldie can also casually read the far-future.

She told me that Yggdrasil will be able to plant roots on other planets, eventually. My other source confirmed this as well." Erick asked, "But can you see that? A hundred years out? Seems like a massive, massive event. It should be visible in the manasphere. Theoretically." Jane sat back in her chair, stunned. And then she smiled. She had heard of Goldie from her father, of course, but maybe she hadn't listened. Well Jane was certainly listening now!

Apparently, you could warp [Future Sight] into some sort of [Prescience]! That was almost even more awesome than a winged dragonkin that was actually a tree. … Winged dragonkin were rather awesome, though. There were so many awesome things about this Worldly Path! Sure, there might have been some deaths, and Kiri was having a bad day, but there was also a lot of good, too! And her father was actually out of the house and exploring, and Jane was there with him! All good things.

Teressa brought Jane back to the moment, smiling, and saying, "I'm glad you think so much of me, sir, but I am not that good at this. The most I've ever noticed about what you're describing are certain inevitable things that 'color' the background of a [Witness], like the sun rising or falling; you can't ever see the sun, but you can see its effects on everything else. Eclipses are rather powerful events, too. There's one coming up, I think. But…

If I were a guessing person, I'd guess that you'd need some sort of far, far ranging [Witness] in order to see an event like Yggdrasil becoming a real being. Or you'd at least have to be on-location." She added, "Even then, you'd need a wide sight in order to see the larger events."" Oh. That's a very good point. If it doesn't happen in the mana, then you can't see it happen." Erick decided something, then nodded.

"My soul is almost healed, so I'm going to try and figure out all of those spells as soon as I can. Maybe do that before traipsing into the Forest."" Let's not have another week of down-time." Jane said, "You can make magic in the Forest, too."" Yeah. But… What if I need it before then?" Jane shrugged.

"How much need is there for new magic when you can blast out fifty [Shadow Beam]s and a hundred [Shadow Bolt]s all at once?"" But that's so… Crude. I'm right, right? That's crude." Teressa smirked.

"Yes. That is crude."" It works!" Jane said." Doesn't get you any closer to a Domain," Erick countered.

"… Fair." Teressa spoke up, "So. Sir. I would like to take you up on that offer of [Lightwalk] from the Headmaster's dungeon." As Erick brightened, Teressa went ahead, saying, " Eventually. Not right now, and maybe not for a while. But. Eventually."" Of course, Teressa!" Erick said, "Of course." - - - - Dinner was great. Erick made it a whole big thing to see Kiri off, but she was having none of it. She kept the evening subdued, saying that she'd be back if he needed her; all he had to do was send the word.

Erick nodded politely, and knew that he wouldn't be calling her back. She had been flustered, quite a lot, by the revelation that she had been mind-warped by some oversized power, all while directly under Redarrow. She didn't say so, but Erick got the distinct impression that her opinion of the Arbors of Treehome had soured, quite a lot. It didn't help that Redarrow didn't seem broken up about what had happened.

Jane unhelpfully suggested that maybe Redarrow had done something to Kiri, and that by letting them know that something had been done, he was throwing out 'red herrings' for them to chase. It was a poor joke. Kiri didn't get it. All she got was fire-spitting angry. Jane apologized as soon as she could, but the damage had been done. Kiri accepted the apology, but Erick knew she didn't really. Erick saw Kiri off right as the sun was beginning to set.

He held her tight for a long moment, and said, "I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm always here if you want to talk." Kiri hugged him a bit tighter, then let go. She smiled, even though tears had rolled down her face.

"Thank you, Erick. Good luck with the trip into the Forest." Kiri blipped away. Erick sent an Ophiel ahead to Spur, to watch as Kiri arrived. She didn't arrive till twenty minutes later. She did not look as if she had been crying, and that was likely why she took so long to get back to Spur. She was only 20, but she was professional, through and through, as she walked up the tall Courthouse steps, to meet with whoever she was meeting. Silverite, probably.

- - - - Late at night, and unable to sleep, Erick sat up in his bed. He couldn't do anything for Kiri that he hadn't already done. She would be fine, in time. They would find out who did that to her, and why, and what, exactly, had been done. From the [Witness]es Teressa had taken, it seemed as though all Kiri and the Mystery Person did was talk.... Kiri was fine. Erick couldn't sleep, though, so he decided to try out a spell. He held up his hand and listened to the sound of [Healing Word].

It was a staccato beat overlaid and an ethereal romance for the body; a love born of wholeness and purpose. Erick easily separated that beat from the whole. A blue box appeared. Quick Spell, instant, self, 10 mana You may cast your next Quick Spell right away. He smiled, as he compared [Quick Spell] to [Healing Word]. Healing Word X, instant, medium range, 10 MP Speak, and heal a target for 25 + ½ WIL. You may cast your next Healing Word right away. That second line was the same in both spells.

His first attempt at [Quick Spell] had different, and probably lesser, wording. He channeled mana through [Quick Spell], and to make sure he was hearing what he was hearing, he had Ophiel repeat the sounds coming out of his mana. Ophiel twittered in a 'Pip-pip-pip-pip-pip' like a machine-gun, firing almost too fast to hear, but this was exactly what Erick was already hearing. He smiled, again. Erick combined [Quick Spell] with [Force Wall], producing a new spell.

Quick Wall, instant, medium range, 50 mana Create a stable, stationary wall of hardened mana. Absorbs 500 damage before breaking. Lasts 10 minutes. You may cast your next Quick Wall right away. Erick's eyes went wide. Except for the duration, which was 1/10th of the original, his [Quick Wall] was just as good as [Force Wall]. Force Wall X, instant, medium range, 50 MP Create a stable, stationary wall of hardened mana. Absorbs 500 damage before breaking. Lasts 10 minutes per level. Erick wondered…

He flicked his lightform through the air, manually casting [Force Wall] after [Force Wall], one right after the other, only half a Script Second apart. They were small, thin things, and Erick stopped after four walls. He didn't put too much effort into making any of them, so they would probably collapse under their own metaphysical stresses in under 10 minutes. Ah. So. [Quick Spell] was an inherent part of an Elemental Bodies' ability to cast as fast as the user could shape their magic.

Apart from that minor revelation, Erick looked at himself with Ophiel's [Soul Sight]. His soul was healed. He dismissed the walls of light hanging in the air and laid back in bed. Today had been a day of trials, but none of them were what he had expected. He had expected nuclear bombs and other horrors, even if Atomic Magic had been Banned; he still expected it. There had been no eruptions of Particle Spells, anywhere. No stray [Call Lightning]s over Candlepoint.

No odd weather patterns that he, himself, had not put in the sky over Spur. No [Withering]s, but for non-monsters, rolling through Treehome, or Portal, or Kal'Duresh, or Frontier. No [Red Dot]s, or similar magics. No reports from Caizoa about the Converter Angel. No… Nothing. No major tragedies at all. … There had been one major, minor tragedy, but Kiri would be okay. Eventually. Erick closed his eyes, and hoped tomorrow would be more of the same, or even easier.

If it was calm, then he'd seek out Tenebrae, maybe talk to Syllea about some Gates, do some magic, and then? It was off to the Forest, to hunt through what might have been a grand civilization at the dawn of the New Cosmology, but which fell to the Death of all Halves only 25 years into Veird's new existence. From what he had seen already, he'd likely have to dig through mountains of trees and canyons of monsters to reach anywhere near any old, forgotten Gates.

Everyone talked like there were ruins sitting out in the open out there, but throughout all his Imaging of the Forest of the last two weeks, Erick hadn't seen any old buildings or otherwise. Just… Thousands upon thousands of kilometers of green.