Beyond?

“And the Master granted each of his servants a part of his power.”

-The forbidden Chronicle.

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

***Azir***

Who would've thought that the mana net has such a huge impact? I lean back on the chair in my laboratory and look at the statistics. Within the first week after my publication nothing much happened. I just spread the idea of an information network and how to build a floating artefact, which grants access to it.

One of them is floating at my side. It's a disk and has a diameter of about ten centimetres. There are runes on its surface, but otherwise it doesn't look like a great invention. These artefacts create a static field and use the ambient mana in their surroundings to run something similar to a computer network.

You can store and call up information from this network. It's also possible to create programs which ease your interaction with the mana net. The only requirement are an ability for basic mind magic, which almost everyone has, and being registered.

It grants you access to something like a command line interface, which appears in your field of vision and allows you to ask for information. Though that's all you can achieve at the moment.

If you are better, then you gradually gain access to more complicated features until you arrive at a visual interface and are allowed to program your own features.

The mana net will not only allow me to spread knowledge, but also to control and spy on almost everyone. I am relatively sure to have the lead in knowledge on this field, not to mention that I already have a pretty good idea on its possibilities. It'll take a while until hacking charms, magical viruses and spying tools appear.

And if worst comes to the worst, I still have the master key to the whole thing.

My thoughts return to the statistics. As expected it took a while for the people to realize the potential. In the first days of the publication literally nothing happened. Then a few people with interest in artefacts stumbled upon the idea and built their own connection points. They belonged mainly to the Siorda. I wonder if Louise told her people to take the lead in dealing with the new technology?

Then everything literally exploded in the third week and the mana net started growing exponentially. I designed the disks to be produced cheap and fast. The downside is that their bandwidth is small and limits the support of users. People will start to figure out the principle behind the technology soon enough and improve it on their own.

By now there are thousands of mages connected to the net and it has been just a little over a month since I started everything. Fate also granted me the perfect observer for my new creation. Ivy is using the net like her remotes to great effectiveness.

I look around and sigh. Somehow I miss her being a small spider robot, always handing me the right tool while I work, being always at the ready with a glass of water. They grow up too fast.

Now she is always one floor upwards, in Stella's laboratory, helping her in her research. Stella mentioned that it's a great help in her studies to have a corpse around... I don't want to know what they are doing up there.

Ivy mentioned that she is helping Stella in her research to keep Ivy's body functioning and to stop it from decaying. Yesterday they arranged a feast to celebrate Ivy's first heartbeat since she took over the body. I don't understand what's so great about a heartbeat if you are a corpse.

A corpse... should I tell Eliot that he committed necrophilia by doing Ivy? Hm, I might do that the next time he annoys me, though he has been acting very docile since his adventure with her.

My eyes wander to the drone, which I am building to explore the world. It even has wings and uses solar energy to stay in the air day and night. I am not the adventurous type, so I prefer to stay at home and let others do the work. One drone of the same type is already up in the air and flying towards the north to cartograph Dwem and the countries behind it. The next one I'll send south to have a look at the southern nations.

Too bad that I lack the manpower to put a satellite up into orbit. Well, I can't have everything and spying drones will do the job too. Maybe they'll pick up on the radiation of my little nuke, then I know from which direction we have to expect trouble.

Why do I have the feeling that I forgot something important?

***Free City States of Nict, Tri***

***Stella***

“Are you sure that it's okay for me to visit your family's mansion like that? We didn't even announce our arrival.” I ask Azir who is pushing me down the corridor. “And why did I have to dress myself up?”

He smiles. “It's alright! We are invited to a party and are indeed a little late!”

“Late? What did you forget this time?” Hopefully I am not headed for something embarrassing.

He starts fiddling with his hands. “My aunt's child is being introduced to the family.”

I roll with my eyes. “Do you have a nice present at least?”

Azir nods eagerly and pulls out a little necklace and an earring. “Something for the child and the mother. You put this onto the little critter.” He raises the necklace. “And this onto your ear.” He points at the earring. “And then you'll always hear what's happening around your child.”

The corners of my mouth curl upwards. “The child will thank you for it.”

Then we enter a room of average size with a few people inside it. I sigh, at least it wasn't something like a big official party. Seems like only Azir's immediate relatives are present.

As it turned out we came two hours late and the little girl, Zana, had already fallen asleep. Her mother Jade was a nice enough person to forgive our late entry and was delighted by the present. She is a wonderful match with her husband, Daylen.

And to be honest the party is a little boring since I knew most of the people only from seeing them a few times. The only exception is Valeria, but she wasn't able to keep me company all the time and so I have to entertain myself with Azir.

At least until a certain person arrived at the scene. “~Hello. It has been a long time, Azir.~” A woman with brown hair and a round face walks towards us, her horns are two small spikes protruding from her forehead and she is smiling warmly at Azir.

He stiffens upon looking at her and his hand reaches out to pull me between him and her. I almost fall over my own tail upon the unexpected movement.

His hand holds my arm forcefully while I am standing between him and her, looking dumbfounded.

“Laney! Indeed, long time no see.” His voice comes out a little agitated.

“~Ohoho...~” The woman holds one hand in front of her mouth. “You don't have to be so stressed around me. The times when we saw each other daily are long over.” She corrects a strand of hair behind her ears.

“What do you want?” His voice didn't change and he is still holding me.

“Aw... don't be like that. Your mother wished to see you, she is in the training hall.” The woman gestures with the glass in her hand towards the exit.

“Thanks, I'll be leaving then. Stella, sorry.” Azir walks away fast, almost running.

“O... Okay. Don't worry about it.” My eyes return to the strange woman. “So you are Laney? My name is Stella, I am Azir's fiancee.”

The woman smiles and I notice a few grey hairs on her head. So she is one of the older mages. “Glad to meet you my dear.”

“Would you be so nice as to elaborate the relationship between you and Azir?” I gesture at the exit where Azir hurriedly disappeared to.

Laney places one hand on her cheek. “Oh, he didn't talk about me? And I am like a second mother to him. I am the personal healer of the Zait's main family, Laney Edinus. I don't belong to the clan, but am treated like a family member since I have been a permanent employee since... sixty... sixty three years.”

She offers me her hand and I shake it. “So you've known Azir since-”

“Since he was born, yes. Like I said, I was like a second mother to him. Though he doesn't seem to appreciate my attention, he was such an interesting object to study.” The woman nods in thought. “You are so beautiful. I knew that he would become a prince charming from the day he spoke his first words.”

“Is that so? Then would you care to tell me a few stories about his childhood outside of school? I am studying medicine and chemistry by the way.” I gesture towards a nearby table.

Laney smirks. “With pleasure.”

***Free City States of Nict, Tri***

***Azir***

“You took your time.” My mother stands in the middle of the training hall, waiting. Her hands are crossed in front of her chest and she looks at me with an annoyed expression.

Great! She's peeved. I wonder what I did this time. “I came as soon as I got the message.”

“That's because I sent Laney.” She sighs. “I called you to teach you more about our ability.”

I blink. “Didn't you refuse to teach me until I completely mastered my ability to gather mana?” She was adamant about the point that further teachings won't make sense until I have a complete grasp on my ability.

She tilts her head in thought. “The situation changed. A week ago Helen called all leaders of the main clans to the palace. She announced the mobilization of the army. That doesn't mean that we are going to war, but it puts our military into a state where it could march within one hour. Additionally the sea ports were reopened and the construction of a fleet started.”

Valda snorts. “She refused to tell us why exactly these steps were taken and reasoned that in light of the underground network, which you uncovered, we have to be prepared. Helen isn't somebody who gets jumpy without reason. She knows something which she isn't telling us.”

I attempt to say something, but Valda interrupts me by raising one hand.

“And it's her right to have secrets. A country's leader can't blurt everything vital around. Not even to the clan heads... especially not to the clan heads.” She nods. “Since the situation became uncertain, I decided to advance your knowledge and training.”

“First, the need for having complete control over your ability was a lie.” My mother proclaims flat out. “Sorry, but I had to make up my mind about teaching you any further. This knowledge isn't supposed to fall into the wrong hands.”

I open my mouth and close it again. “What!? Then why now? You decided that my hands are the right ones?”

Valda closes her eyes. “Helen wouldn't take such drastic actions if the situation couldn't turn into something grave. I am not talking about the army, but the ports. Our country isolated itself for generations. Then the Dwemer send a group of ~exchange students~, the southern nations are agreeing to peace talks, an evil underground network with strange motives gets uncovered and the fleet is being rebuild.”

She starts tapping onto the floor by using her foot. “This could blow up in our faces. Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. And I want to have someone who can succeed me. What I am about to teach you is normally only taught from clan head to clan head.”

This seems to be something grave. Is my mother fearing that something could happen to her? “Ahem. Then why not teaching my sister? And what about Quarma? Shouldn't she know the secret too?”

Mom shakes her head. “Quarma is too old to teach it. She exceeded her limit long ago. Don't you wonder why she never uses her ability? She burned herself out during the last big invasion by the southern nations.

And regarding Valeria, she isn't on the same level as you. Neither in maturity, nor in ability. She has to wait until she is ready. If worst comes to the worst, you have to teach her. Given that you don't want to play the clan head.”

I gasp. “Something like that is possible? Why didn't you tell me? And stop talking like you are going to die!” It's important to know if you can destroy your ability by overusing it.

“Don't worry. Someone who isn't fully trained can't overuse his ability. And this is just a precaution.” She gestures for me to follow her and walks to the far left corner of the training hall. There she pulls away a stack of dusty training mats and places a hand on the wall behind them. “This is our clan's biggest secret, so keep your mouth shut.” A second later the floor cracks open and reveals a staircase.

My eyes bulge. “What the... a hidden room?” I lived in this mansion for such a long time and would've never thought that there is something like that!

Valda walks down into the darkness, summoning a light globe. After a moment I hear her voice from the dark pit. “What are you waiting for? Afraid of narrow places? Oh, that's right. There was something like that. Don't worry, this isn't a cave.”

“Oh, damn!” I follow her and as I walk down the stairs, they fold themselves back into the walls and heavy granite plates flow back into their place. Valda continues to walk downwards into the earth.

After a while she decides to talk again. “Activate your mana sight and tell me what you see.”

I do as told and shrug my shoulders. “You, the stairs, the corridor, your light orb.” What else is there?

Valda nods. “I see all that and the enchantments and mechanics behind the walls. I see the people in the mansion above us. What do you see when you look at me.”

She can see mana through the walls? “I see you? A figure, glowing in blue. There are a few different shades, indicating how much mana you are emitting.”

She turns around and looks at me. “I see the veins in your body, your muscles, your bones, your beating heart. Everything is there if I focus on it. I can even see the weak points in your magical seals, hidden under the surface of the door to your laboratory.” She smiles. “The problem with our ability isn't the control Azir. It's what we can sense! If you can't sense the mana, you can't use it.”

My eyes widen upon the revelation. That's how she can steal my gathered mana! If she can sense parts of my mana which aren't under my conscious control, then she can assert her own control over them without much effort. “That's cheating... and it allows so many other possibilities.”

My mom forces a smile onto her face. “I guess I won't be able to best you after this. There are just a few minor tricks left in my repertoire. Promise me that you won't use this ability for something bad. It's more powerful than you can imagine.”

I spread my hands. “Are you kidding me. The ability to see mana in such detail is cheating in itself. The control aspect is minor compared to that!” I halt. “Isn't that dangerously close to the rumoured ability of the emperor?”

Valda stops and looks at me. “The Emperor's ability wasn't restricted to seeing. He immediately understood what he saw instinctively and could use it the same moment.”

I notice her choice of words. “You talk like you know? And how can I train seeing?”

She smiles. “The Emperor isn't important. What's important is this.” She points at a light at the end of the staircase.

We continue to descend. The staircase led us at least two hundred metres deep. At the end of our little journey I enter a huge cavern, but it's not the cavern that's taking my breath. It's the unbelievable flow of mana which is circulating through it.

I stand there in awe and start to giggle. “It's a mana stream!” A stream of flowing mana, created by the planet itself! “But so close to the surface? They are supposed to be down in a planet's core! How can this be so close under our mansion?”

The ten metre wide stream of mana can be seen with the naked eye. I don't even need my mana sight. It exits a wall at the left side of the cavern and vanishes in another wall at the right side. My skin is prickling just from standing close to it.

“It has always been here and it's the answer to your question. By stepping into it, you can blind your senses and train to see what lies beyond the stream. I'll guide you.” Valda explains.

My smile vanishes. “That's pure mana! It's not exactly healthy to step into such a dense stream of energy.”

*Smack!*

Valda hit the back of my head. “Of course you don't simply step into it. You'll bend the mana around you, so that it blocks you from the rest of the world. I'll stay close at the beginning to make sure that nothing happens while you concentrate on your sight. Such dense mana can overwhelm you. And we'll train just half an hour a day, then we leave. I'll show you how to open the secret passage, then you can come on your own.”

I nod and can't take my eyes from the mana stream. So much energy! And I sat right on top of it my entire life!

.