Chương 7: Fabrisse opened his mouth to say something, possibly profound

Nobody actually knew what the Eidralith was. Supposedly, someone had dug it out of a crater older than the Synod. The popular explanation blamed the same celestial visitor that had scattered magic across the realms, though Fabrisse wasn't sure what evidence anyone had for that. At least he knew one thing about it now: it could fly very fast. Fabrisse hit the floor face-first. His left ear rang. Something warm ran over his lip, and when he licked it, he tasted blood. Oh, wonderful.

He reached for his nose, then promptly stopped. That hurt far too much to investigate further. His septum could remain wherever the Eidralith had put it until a healer arrived. Something flashed above him. [PRAXIS NODE SYSTEM – INTERFACE BOOTED] This time, it... lengthened. > Legacy Fragment Detected > Node: Silico-Dormant Obscura [28] > Historical Registry Confirmed. Origin: Epoch 9e7 > Status: Authentication Token — VALID > Welcome, Apprentice Kestovar_28 > Initializing User Calibration Protocol… …

A non-specified number of footsteps resounded in his ears. Draeth's voice was still booming about something in the background. [SYSTEM PROMPT] You are not a recognized Arch-Level Operator. But you hold a valid Legacy Token. Manual override initiated. What is happening… Was the Stupenstone a Legacy Token? What were the odds? Why him? Did the Eidralith scan for the person with the worst graduation odds and lowest lunch credits? [SYSTEM SUGGESTION] Operator combat proficiency falls below recommended threshold.

Operator cognitive synchronization incomplete. Guided Mode strongly recommended. Would you like to activate Training Overlay? [Yes] [No] [Report Error] The apparition faded just enough for him to groan and clutch his nose, which felt like it was shaped wrong now. At some point had a stunned circle of robed silhouettes towered over him. Their mouths were uniformly hung open for some reason. It was astonishing how in sync they were. Only one face wasn't merely stunned.

Severa stood near the front, her burning eyes locked onto him with an intensity that made him wonder whether she was about to demand answers or personally verify that he was still alive. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Did—did anyone else see the box fly at my face?" he croaked. No one answered. [SYSTEM NOTICE – Audio Feedback Engaged] Query received: "Did — did anyone else see the box fly at my face?" [...] Response: No. Congratulations. You are now bound to the PRAXIS NODE Calibration System (Beta). Please do not ingest any additional rocks. Fabrisse stared at whatever was in front of him. Was this some kind of arcane delirium? It was all too much.

He wanted to curl up in a non-sentient boulder and wait until whatever cosmic process was piloting his brain stopped introducing new variables. Wait. The Stupenstone. The Eidralith had reacted to the stone. His Stupenstone. Cause and effect. It had to be. He reached out mentally and selected the only option that made any sense whatsoever: Yes. > Training Overlay Activated… > [OBJECTIVE RECEIVED: Initiate Contact with Dormant Node "NEMESYS-LINK"] > Distance to Target: 9. 3 light-years.

> Estimated Travel Time (On Foot): ∞ Fabrisse opened his mouth to say something, possibly profound. Lorvan slapped him across the face. Chief among the things Fabrisse noticed was pain. Lorvan's hand still glowed, aether clinging to his palm and fingers like a tight film over the skin.

"Don't lose consciousness!" he said. Fabrisse lurched back into reality just in time to realize that the Eidralith was no longer hovering majestically over the dais. The Eidralith lay on the floor beside him, still pulsing. Most of its light had gone out. Fabrisse rolled onto his side. Slapping someone after aetheric shock was standard practice. Unfortunately, he suspected most victims of aetheric shock hadn't first been struck in the face by the source of said shock. People had begun crowding around him.

Archmagi, mentors, senior acolytes. Nobody seemed willing to come much closer.

"Did it choose him?"

"Impossible. He can't even maintain a scry-orb."

"He brought rocks into the sanctum again. Could there have been some kind of residual contamination?"

"They're rocks."

"Did he feed the Eidralith?" Fabrisse pushed himself up on one elbow.

"I, uh… I didn't mean to activate any epochal astral sky-thing," Fabrisse told her.

"Not without protective gloves, at least."

"What sky-thing?" Lorvan asked. Really? His name was still there. Nobody was looking at it. Someone stepped straight through one of the glowing sigils without so much as blinking. Oh. They really couldn't see it.

"We need to take him to the infirmary," a woman said somewhere behind Lorvan.

"No. He is to be transferred to a contained observation chamber until we understand what occurred." This voice was Draeth' s.

"You cannot be serious." Lorvan's voice resounded.

"He is barely conscious."

"That is precisely why he requires controlled observation."

"He requires a healer." Then several voices joined in at once.

"The Eidralith reacted—""The calibration sequence—""A Legacy Artifact has never—""Someone should check whether the boy is—" Fabrisse closed his eyes. He just wanted to fall asleep. Then one voice drowned out the rest.

"I have a solution." This was Rolen's. Fabrisse opened one eye. Rolen stood at the edge of the circle holding a thin regulation manual. Nobody looked happy to see it.

"No," Draeth said.

"Yes," Rolen replied.

"According to Section Fourteen, Clause Seven of the Student Welfare and Institutional Liability Charter, any student injured during sanctioned academic activity by means deemed anomalous may, upon clearance from the Healing Wing, return to their registered residence and remain there until formally recalled." Several magi visibly aged.

"Preposterous! Who wrote that regulation?" Draeth rumbled. Rolen answered, "You did, to prevent the Synod from assuming responsibility and liability for catastrophic incidents involving students." Draeth ran his hand down his face. Before he could object again, another pair of robes stepped through the ring of Archmagi. Fabrisse squinted until the face resolved itself.

"Healer Rao?" She smiled.

"You remember me. Good. That's one test passed already." Rao crouched beside him and gently moved his hand away from his nose.

"Follow my finger." He tried.

"Excellent." She glanced over her shoulder.

"Pupils responsive. He's lucid." Draeth said, "That does not alter the circumstances."

"Therefore Section 14 still applies," Rolen added. Rao looked back to Fabrisse and smiled again.

"Let's get you checked over properly first." She helped him sit up.

"Then let's get you home." Supported on either side as the healers escorted him from the sanctum, Fabrisse felt something brushing against the hem of his robe. He glanced over his shoulder. Did someone touch me? Nobody was close enough apart from the two healers, none of whom had their hands anywhere close to his robe. Still... he could have sworn it had been a human touch. Maybe he'd imagined it. Getting struck in the face by an ancient celestial reliquary had already produced floating text.

A phantom touch hardly seemed like the strangest symptom.