Beyond?

“And six servants did the Emperor's bidding. The first general of the Emperor was a strategist beyond all others, with a mind as clear as the purest diamonds.

~

The second general commanded the legions of fire, leaving only ash in his wake.

~

The third general was the strongest of all, as he needed no army to serve the Master's will. He walked alone, clad in an armour of light.

~

The fourth general governed the castles, fortifying them with his will. And their walls and troops suffered not a single scratch if blessed by his hand.

~

The fifth general's hand raised the fallen from the ground and no wound, nor sickness could make him fall.

~

The last servant of the Emperor didn't fight, but crawled the shadows and killed with a thought alone on his Master's behest.

”

-The forbidden Chronicle.

***Free City States of Nict, Capital***

***Azir***

I am sitting alone at the university's main plaza. The bench I am sitting on is made out of stone and cold, but I don't care. Stella is even worse affected by the situation than me and I don't really know how to help her. At least I stayed with her for three days and ignored my tasks at the university. But I've been gone for over a week by now and staying away from our classes for too long isn't good.

So I took Stella out to her classes and persuaded her to start working again. Maybe she can distract herself with her studies. I am not good with stuff like that, but I guess that staying at home and drowning yourself in self pity doesn't help to feel better.

Tapping with my foot onto the ground I try to remember my attack on the warehouse. This guy's ability to completely negate my spell is bugging me. Was he able to negate the improvised nuke too? Nah, nobody can take a ten megaton blast to the face.

But their skills alone imply that our enemies have access to a few disturbing abilities. First the shroud spell from those assassins, which is as much mind magic as it is influencing light and mana. I was able to replicate it with Helen's hints and it's a neat trick which helped me greatly. Then this guy... and not to forget the portals, they don't match the technology of Nict either.

Then I sense someone behind me and turn around. I find Ivy standing there, looking off into the distance with glazed over eyes. Probably she is spying on someone through her remotes. “Didn't I instruct you to stay at Stella's side?”

Ivy's eyes focus again and she looks at me. “Her lessons right now include laboratory work. I was told that I haven't the clearance to enter the university's lab. Since she is working together with other people who keep her occupied, I thought it unproblematic to abide to the rules and leave her alone for the time being. Have you already set your plan in motion?”

I wrinkle my forehead and look at the bag between my legs. There are several books inside, books which I wrote since I got access to the library. They bridge the gap to the lost knowledge of the ancient Empire of Nict and make other interesting inventions possible. Especially the mana net. “I am not sure if I should dump all this knowledge onto this society.”

Ivy looks surprised. “But you conferred with Helen and Lucas about it, revealing that your understanding of magic transcends your age by far more than being just a genius. They weren't against it. I was just listening in from my remote, but it seemed to me like they were delighted.”

I scratch my chin. “I don't think that they fully understood the implications of what I am intending to do. Though it felt like boosting Nict's capabilities was of their utmost concern. There is something going on which they didn't want to share.”

“But you already gave the blueprints for the teleportation platform to them. The military is in the process of deploying the new technology to set up a network of outposts on the border. That alone has a huge impact. Not to speak of the other technologies, which can be deduced from the platforms. Once the people start to think, a whole set of new devices will be created.” Ivy turns and looks down the plaza. “I believe we'll get company soon.”

“I know, but the platform was just a smart application of existing knowledge. This will be totally new. Until now the people thought that I am just a genius who is playing around. I have to add that I don't like attention, being seen as a genius was disturbing. Now they'll realize that my knowledge can't be explained away with being an unusually smart guy.” I end my rant as I notice some of my friends turning around the edge of the faculty.

It's Karsen and Louise, behind them are two of the Dwemer. They are Adala and Eliot. Karsen raises his hand and waves to me. “Azir! We didn't know that you returned! Since when were you back?”

Louise crosses her arms and stands in front of me. “You are lucky that I wasn't there to hit you when you left Stella on her own. Where is she and who is that?” She nods towards Ivy with flushing cheeks.

I roll my eyes, knowing Louise's preferences. “She is our new maid and her name is Ivy. Her speciality is techno magic. Helen forced her onto us to keep the house in order while Stella doesn't feel well.”

Ivy smiles and bows to them. “It is nice to meet you.”

Eliot's expression turns lecherous. “Woah, she is a bomber. And a maid at that!”

Adala elbows him and whispers. “Use your head for once!”

Karsen shakes his head at Louise. “Don't be like that towards him. He didn't go nuts on that assassin without reason.” Then he faces me and places a hand on my shoulder. “How are you doing?”

“Better.” I try to smile and notice that all of them are avoiding to mention my usage of strange magic.

Adala asks innocently. “So, where have you been recently?”

I remove the smile from my face, which is relatively easy. “Killing people.” I fix Adala's eyes. “It was a lot of trouble to follow their network back to their headquarters.”

Adala nods with a cramped up expression. “I see, please accept the sympathy of my nation and us. Stella is my friend and I was shocked when she got attacked in front of me.”

Don't think that I didn't find out about your attempts to contact the black magicians. Just be glad that I didn't find anything beyond that. “Thank you.”

My attention returns to the others and I realize that all of them have troubled expressions. I pick up the bag between my legs and hold it up. “Don't be troubled about it. I think I got the ones who carried immediate responsibility. This is a day to celebrate, after all I'll publicise my first works.”

“Hoooh...?” Louise raises an eyebrow. “May I see?”

I shrug my shoulders. “There is no harm in having a look.” I pull the book about the mana net from the bag and hand it to her. Louise takes the book and skims through the first pages, then her face turns absent minded and her eyes start flicking into random directions.

Since it looks really creepy, Karsen pokes her cheek, but gets no reaction. When he is about to poke somewhere improper, I slap his hand away. “Hey!”

“Aw, come on. It was just for fun. Siordas are creepy when they do that. She should have a little respect towards us normal folk and do that in private.” Karsen rubs his hand.

Eliot looks worriedly at Louise. “What's happening to her?”

I make a dismissive gesture. “She is just accessing her memory to understand what she is reading. Siordas may have a perfect memory, but it's also as much a hindrance as it helps. Imagine you would perfectly remember every minute since the earliest day of your childhood. At some point you would simply go insane because of the burden on your mind. You would have problems to tell the present from memory. For that reason a young Siorda learns from the earliest days of her or his life to purposefully forget unimportant knowledge.” I gesture at Louise. “As for the important knowledge, they train to suppress it in something like a library inside their mind. When they access their library it looks to outsiders like they have some kind of epileptic attack.”

Adala asks worriedly. “What happens if someone doesn't learn to control his ability?”

Karsen shrugs his shoulders with a sad expression. “They go mad and die. Some retreat into their memories and don't return. That's why Siordas pay regular visits to specially trained mind magicians in order to sort out their psyche. I wouldn't want to have myself scanned at regular intervals.”

Louise finally stops her strange behaviour and shakes the book at me. “Do you know what this is!?” She gasps. “Instant communication and information storage for everyone!? All you need is basic mind magic?”

I tilt my head. “You are overestimating it. Basic mind magic gives you only access to the most basic functions of the mana net. But you are right when you think that it is a huge invention.”

“This will make us Siordas obsolete! Nobody will need us if a technology like this is in place.” Louise's hands start shaking.

I chuckle. “You see this from the wrong perspective. The mana net will be huge and supply everyone who needs it with knowledge. But there'll be too much knowledge for the average person to sort through. People with superior skills in terms of archiving and applying knowledge will be needed. If someone needs information, they'll come to you in order to find it. If anything, then it'll make the Siorda stronger. And aren't most of the best mind magicians Siorda?”

Louise blinks. “You... are... right. I didn't have time to think about that. Though how did you come up with this? It's revolutionary! To use the latent mana in the vicinity to create an information and communication network throughout the whole country is brilliant!”

I shrug my shoulders and gesture at our surroundings. “You forget that I am a Zait. I can sense and see mana. Each day I walk around and feel all this unused power all around me. Why not use a small part of it for something that's beneficial to all of us.”

Not to mention that a system like that helps spreading my other inventions. Like the idea of using electricity for lights. Communication devices for everyone, of course with everything a little manipulated so that I... hrm... the rulers have it easy to find dangerous elements.

Then knowledge about science and machines like Ivy... well better not like Ivy. I think I made a mistake with that one. Let's start with those which don't develop their own will and start talking back.

Everything should develop on its own once I've kicked them into the right direction. They just need to be shown how to apply the stuff in their books. There rest much bigger inventions than the knowledge I am giving them in that old library of theirs.

I return from my daydreaming and realize that Ivy is gone. Louise is still studying my book and Karsen is talking with Adala. “Did anyone of you see where Ivy ran off to?”

“I didn't think that she is into the exotic type.” Karsen points behind me and I turn around, seeing Ivy turn around a corner. Eliot is right beside her, having one hand on her ass.

“Eeehh...” I don't know what to say. Should I be disgusted?

Adala asks worriedly. “Is there a problem? I hope she is strong enough to turn him down if he gets too pushy.”

“Naaah... pff... hahahaha... I just think that he might be the one who is in for a surprise.” I wave my hand take my book from Louise. “Goodbye, I've to turn these in before noon!” Without waiting for an answer I walk away. I don't want to be here when the shit hits the fan.

***Free City States of Nict, Capital***

***Adala***

“Come on, get up Eliot! I warned you several times not to seek intimate contact with the girls here. I hope for your sake that she isn't pregnant or got any vital information from you!” I call out to Eliot, who is lying in a corner of the room. He is in a foetal position and groaning since we started our meeting.

All of us are back in our embassy's safe room and at the end of our nerves. We already feared that we had fucked up and caused a war, but nothing happened.

Only this idiot Eliot didn't care and continued to follow the direction his penis pointed in.

Nikita rubs salt into his wound. “I hope you learned something from that experience. The women here are too big for a small boy like you.”

Eliot starts shivering. “I just wanted to investigate if she is the techno mage who is constantly spying on us! Therefore I tried to win her over... uuhh...”

Saana covers her eyes with one hand. “Stop making those noises, it sounds like you are still doing her. You chased the tails of the local girls since we arrived here. Now that you finally found one who isn't disgusted by you and you end up like this?”

Eliot crawls to his knees. “I'll become a monk. Never again! The women here are scary! It felt like I am just a toy to her! She didn't stop, even after I started to... It's them who are supposed to bleed! Huhuuu... and then she used healing magic... and continued. The thing between her... so scary... but I couldn't resist. The pain and pleasure. The fear and lust... then she asked if it's supposed to be that small!”

Nikita shakes in disgust while looking at the figure on the ground. “Someone should release him from his misery. Obviously he encountered a girl who has more stamina than him.”

Saana hits the table with her walking stick. “Even so. We have to decide what to do in regards to the soul mage. The guys from Nict have a fucking soul mage in their midst and act like nothing is wrong. Am I the only one who has a problem with that?”

I bow to her. “Sorry, but what can we do? At the moment we seem to be safe and his attention seems to be focused on those black magicians. I am not eager to fight someone who can take out an underground organization on his own. He has to be at least on the level of one of their clan heads in fighting power. That equals one of the direct subordinates of the Great Shaman. We don't have the abilities to stand against someone like that on our own.”

Saana snorts. “I knew that he meant trouble. It's disturbing that I still underestimated him.” She turns towards Padma, who isn't participating in the conversation. “And pay attention Padma. This is important.”

Padma looks up from the stack of papers in her hands. “But this is important! Here! It's a copy of Azir's new invention, the mana net. It has huge similarities to our crystal net, but instead of using the energy within the metallic veins of our mountains, it uses the ambient magical energy all around us. It's the explanation!”

Nikita leans back and stretches her legs. “What's so great about that? We had the crystal net since long ago. Let them have that little bit of technology, they are still far behind us in terms of science. Nict lost almost all their technology during the war, we confirmed that they are still rediscovering what they lost. If their ancestors hadn't built their stuff so sturdily, they would live in caves now.”

Padma shakes the copies. “But someone who can devise something like this is certainly able build those spying devises which are haunting me. That bastard sat right next to my door and laughed at me while I racked my brain on who could have the knowledge.”

“Weren't the golden cards strange enough?” Saana asks.

Padma denies vehemently. “No. Especially since I can't take them apart. We would have to explain why it's destroyed. But this is the proof.”

I rub my temples. “Great. We have a soul magician living right next door. And incidentally he is also an extraordinary techno mage, not to forget his fighting power. Did I forget something? Ah, yes. Now he has a maid who is a techno mage too and probably helping him, not to mention that she fucked Eliot to the afterlife. Eliot, is there really nothing you can tell us about her?”

Nikita points at Eliot. “He stopped moving a while ago. I think he is out cold.”

Saana snorts once again. “Great. Wait, is that blood under him?”

“Blood?” Nikita stands up and kicks Eliot, rolling him over. “Hiii! It's coming from between his legs, get a healer!”

***Free City States of Nict, Capital***

***Stella***

We are together in the kitchen and eating dinner. Ivy turned out to be an extraordinary cook, which surprised me. But when I asked her on how she managed such a wonderful dinner, she simply answered that she was copying a cook through one of her remotes... damn cheater!

But I admit that having her at my side throughout the day helped me to stay focused... even though she is a freak.

Azir is stuffing himself with the food. If he continues like that I have to take care that he doesn't get fat.

Suddenly he looks up and swallows. “That reminds me, Ivy. How did your first experience with Eliot go? He seemed to be happy to have found someone who didn't dismiss him immediately.”

My eyes widen. “Ivy? And Eliot? No way!” She is a... she is a... what exactly is she?

Ivy continues to chew her food with care, then she swallows and answers. “Of course my studies of organic behaviour include the relationship between genders. Eliot was a welcome opportunity, though I might not be able to grasp where the fun lies in this sex-thing.”

I curl my tail behind me. “Why not? Wasn't he good enough? He always boasts about his stamina.”

Ivy's expression turns concerned. “Well, he lasted an hour the first time. Then he tried to run off, but since I am female I thought that I have to take the lead. It was my first time and I thought that I might have done something wrong. Then the second session went better and I kept him up for two hours, though his body didn't take it too well. After a little healing magic I used my newly gained experience and the knowledge from the Creator's memory mirror.”

She takes a sip from her glass with water. “The mirror's knowledge was a big help and the third round lasted a little over four hours. Though it didn't feel that good for me, maybe his dick was too small. The size difference seems to be a problematic hurdle between the races. Next time I need to find someone from my body's race.”

Azir coughs. “It might not have been so smart to use the techniques from the mirror for your first time.”

I smack my forehead. “Azir, what did you create? And Ivy, try to do it normally the next time. I wanted to ask for a long time now, but why did you even choose a female body?”

Ivy raises an eyebrow. “Why should I want to be male? This society is oriented on a female matriarchy and the females generally get the better positions. I am not a masochist who chooses a weak starting position on purpose. My choices are well planned and properly calculated. I doubt that I would have found employment close to the Supplier so easily as a male.”

“... stop calling me Supplier...”

.