Beyond?

“The newly issued ZJ-M01-Assault-rifle has reached the state of mass production and will replace the formerly used bows. The weapon is based purely on scientific principles and can be used by every soldier. The weapon is a semi automatic design with twenty shots per reload. It's geared towards precision, rather than firing speed. I expect it to have a huge impact on the battlefield, which requires us to think up new strategies and tactics.

The fact that we have to concentrate our troops around magicians remains. It's far too dangerous to have regular soldiers operating on their own, even if the range of the new weapon allows new scenarios. What may become possible is to split our battle formations into smaller groups to make it easier for them to pick out certain targets.

The new coating for our armour is also in the last stages of development. I was promised that we can convert our old factory lines to the new materials without problems. The biggest problem of our army is its bad mobility. The new armour may change that since it provides the same protection with even less weight. A problem which has to be mentioned is that our troops have to be retrained, which certainly won't happen over night. There is a lot of work to do.”

-Weapon report I. Free City States of Nict, Armoury.

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

***Azir***

I levitate within the mana stream and try to relax. It's important to concentrate only on the important sensations. My ability is an annoying mixture of taking everything into account, yet ignoring the unimportant stuff.

My mind wanders to the recent events. A few months have passed since Jeremiah showed up and got himself arrested. Lucas interrogated him very thoroughly about his misadventures throughout the continent and according to Jeremiah's testimony the so called Saviour is the main reason why the southern nations are so fragmented.

Some could say that the current situation is good for Nict, but at the same time it allows our hidden enemies to influence our neighbours. The southern nations seem to be gathering their forces, but we aren't ready to go on the offensive.

Of course we could launch an attack and cause chaos, but we don't have the manpower to keep the conquered land. There is no sense in attacking if we can't ensure law and order afterwards.

Dwem is still occupied with the barbarians and our visitors from Quinn have established an embassy in our capital. Unfortunately they aren't in a better position than us. It looks like we have to enforce peace on the main continent before we can deal with the second one.

My drones brought their first images from the second continent. It's largely green and wild. There are some civilized areas, but they are strangely mono-form. I can't help myself. The pictures of the recorded cities and fields look like someone drew everything on a map. The placement of fields and buildings didn't develop naturally.

What's even more disturbing is that the people in those villages act like ants. Everybody moves in straight lines, nobody is standing around to talk and there are no children to be seen anywhere.

Whatever is happening on the second continent, it's creeping me out.

The drone operated only a little over two hours until it was found and shot down. Hopefully the second drone version, which is currently being finalized by my research group, will give us a little more information.

I let my attention wander and follow the mana stream trough the rock of the cavern. I try to ignore everything and watch only the mana stream. It goes on and on towards west. Squinting my eyes I try to see even further. Almost at the end of my sight I find the mana stream turning into a big bright light and splitting to the left and right.

Following the stream to the left I find the fine line slowly vanishing into nothingness. Something is hindering my sight in that direction. I frown and end my training session by slowly bending the energy around me and exiting the mana stream.

Outside I find Valda and Quarma waiting for me. Valda smiles as I descend to the ground and land at her side. “You ended your session earlier today. How did it go?”

I shrug my shoulders. “It was okay I guess. I tried to see as far as possible like you instructed me to. There was a big bright light at the end of the stream and it split up from there. Running roughly back towards us, but not directly.”

Valda nods with an earnest expression. “That's good. It means that you've almost mastered your ability. You can stop using the stream from now on.”

I protest. “What? But I still can't see as much details as you!”

Quarma pokes her finger into my chest. “That's not a matter of using the stream. You've got an idea on how to see through physical matter by using the stream. From now on you have to train what you see and how deep. The stream doesn't help with that.”

Returning my attention to the mana stream I follow its entire length with my eyes until it vanishes in the wall. “Say. The direction of the stream goes roughly towards the capital, right? And the point from where it splits... I could swear that it runs towards Di and Tetra from there.”

Quarma nods. “You are right. Back in the time when I still had my ability, I saw it very clearly. I think the mana stream converges under the capital and runs towards all six border cities.”

My head snaps back to her. “But that's important! What if that's somehow connected to the Emperor's vault? There are six cities, six mana streams, six artefacts!”

Valda nods, but she isn't as enthusiastic as me. “You are right, but didn't you notice that the stream goes deeper into the earth towards the capital. It has to be several kilometres under the ground over there.”

“Do the other clans have access to the mana stream?” I ask.

Quarma shrugs her shoulders. “If they have, then they are keeping their mouths shut like us.

But we came here to instruct you of the dangers you are now facing by using your power.”

Valda nods. “Yes. Since you are able to manipulate mana at a far bigger scale now, you also have to be more careful. There is an important rule to manipulating mana. Never try to interact with mana which is firmly attached to an object!”

“But I already interacted with mana that's inside matter?” I don't understand what she means.

Quarma takes over. “Until now you only saw the mana which is freely available and loosely bound. It's existing in form of energy and warmth, but once you start seeing finer details, you'll notice that everything consists out of energy. All solid matter is power. Someone might think that our ability is able to influence solid matter too, but it's beyond us.”

Valda pulls out a small smooth peddle. “Our ability is all about reshaping energy into another form, or redirecting it.” She concentrates on the round pebble and a few pearls of sweat start forming on her forehead by watching it intensely. Slowly the pebble changes from a round shape to a cube, then she hands the pebble to me. “That's the most I can do without overusing my ability. Of course there are easier and less straining ways to do this, but it was just to show you the limit of our ability.”

Quarma nods with a sad expression. “Never try something bigger than that. When I fought in the Southern-Borderwar I encountered an enemy on a reconnaissance mission. He was my equal in ability and we fought each other to a standstill. Neither of us could afford to turn our back on the opponent to escape. Finally we had used up all our mana and I had even emptied our surroundings, scraping together the last bit of energy I could find. He had a stronger physique than me and in my desperation I used my power to reshape the ground under his feet into a spike. It worked and I killed him, but by doing so I overused my power. Since then I've never felt any mana outside of my body.”

I grimace and try to think over the implications. “But the Gejene can influence matter like it's nothing. Isn't that essentially the same process? Everything that's to it is that the mana is in form of physical matter.”

Valda shrugs her shoulders. “Certainly, the Gejene's ability and ours are related to each other, but for some unknown reason we are positioned on two different ends of the spectrum. We govern over all forms of non-physical energies. The Gejene have influence on matter itself.”

My grandmother smirks at me. “That's why Helen is so excited about seeing her grandchildren. Your union with Stella may produce something unexpected since our abilities root in similar principles.”

I gulp. “Something unexpected? I don't want little brats with unknown superpowers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep someone like that under control?”

Valda pats my back. “I am sure you'll do fine.”

After a few more interesting tips on how to start the next stage of my training I head home while I try to think about the implications of my new discovery. Valda and Quarma are underestimating the fact that the mana stream splits under the capital. I'll start investigating this further right in the morning, but today I am tired.

The stairway back to the surface helps me to gather my thoughts and from there on it's just a short walk to the next stepper plate.

It's evening and at home I find Stella in the kitchen. She is munching on a salad, so I take some for myself and start telling her about my day. It's the usual story about university and my work at the research facility. And Louise gave the military the new designs for the armour just recently.

Upon mentioning Louise Stella suddenly reaches for my face and closes her hand around my chin. Did I say something wrong? Did I make her angry?

She summons a light globe and waves it left and right in front of me. “Did your eyes always have this metallic shimmer?” She asks in deep thought.

“I think so? They were always greyish.” I try to continue my meal, but Stella grabs my left horn and pulls me with her. I manage to grab the plate just in time. “Hey! I am still eating!”

She isn't impressed and leads me down into her laboratory where I am placed on a broad chaise.

Stella reaches for a magnifier to inspect my pupils. “Your eyes are strange. It's like something metallic is in there.”

“Really?” Now I get a little disturbed too and reach for a mirror to risk a look myself. Indeed my eyes have changed. Instead of the usual plain grey iris which turns dark towards the outside there are some silvery veins added to the mix. It doesn't look bad, but it's still frightening if you don't know what's going on with your body.

“Look.”

I turn to Stella who is holding a strange device to my face. A flash of light blinds me and I see stars dancing despite having my eyes closed. “Fuck! Warn me!”

“It doesn't work if you close your eyes.” She rummages through the room and something pokes my neck.

“Hey!” I reach for the spot where the needle penetrated my skin, but it's already gone and the rummaging starts again.

“Were you exposed to unusual amounts of mana recently?” She asks and I try to blink, but there are still after-images in my field of vision.

“No? Yes. Maybe? I was forced to use that time spell and the training of my ability makes exposure to large amounts of mana necessary.” I answer.

“The bad news is that there seems to be a large amount of lingering mana in your body. That has to be the cause for the change of your eyes. The good thing is that there don't seem to be any other problems.” My hand is taken between Stella's soft fingers and placed on the chaise. Something clicks and I am suddenly unable to move my hand properly.

My vision returns and I find myself being chained to the chaise. Stella pushes me on my back and closes a second handcuff around my other hand. “Stel? What are you doing?”

“Oh, that's just an artefact to stabilize the flow of mana within the body. You have to stay connected to it for a while.” She explains.

I feel my power being drained away as I try to get up. “I can do that myself Stella. There is no need for this stupid thing! Where did you even get it?”

Stella watches me struggling while I am lying on my back. “Don't worry. Ivy builds much medical equipment for me, she is so helpful. The cuffs work perfectly fine, I already tested them myself. You have to endure just a few hours. There is no need for you to take such a creepy form as the nomad chief from back then.”

I try to remember the chief's disfigurements, which were caused by high exposure to mana, and stop struggling. Stella pulls at her lower lip while looking down at me. “But having you in this position is kind of interesting... and you can't move.”

“Stella. Your expression is strange...” Don't continue on this path! Look away! Don't take that route!

She starts chuckling manically and leaves the room. I try to free myself, but the handcuffs are good work. Ivy put all her skills into making these items.

A sigh escapes me when Stella returns with a pillow and a thick blanket. I already imagined the worst.

She places the pillow under my head and lies on top of me, throwing the blanket over us. “Tonight you aren't allowed to move.” She whispers into my ear and slips her hands under my clothes. “Louise told me about a few interesting techniques.”

She bites into my neck and starts moving her body against mine. This is even worse than torture! Does she intend to let me hang in the air until I scream for it? Maybe my first idea would've been kinder?

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

***Stella***

I stir in my sleep as faint noises reach my ears. My eyes flick open and I raise my head from Azir's chest. He is still snoring loudly, not caring about his surroundings. The noises repeat and my tired brain finally makes the connection. “Oh my... they are hatching! Azir!”

Shaking Azir doesn't wake him up. I get out of our makeshift bed and grab his foot, pulling him with me. There is no time! His body suddenly stops and I am thrown off balance, landing on the ground.

Cursing I turn around and open his handcuffs. Then I grab his foot and pull him with me to the upper floor.

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

***Azir***

Such a nice dream. Don't wake me up, Mom. Stella is currently sitting on top of me and moving in a very dirty way. Just five more minutes!

But my sister grabs my leg to pull me out of the bed and I land on the cold floor. That's normal, I've perfected the art of immediately falling asleep again.

Whoever is dragging me across the floor doesn't give up. The offender has a lot of strength and my sleep is stirred by my left horn scratching over the ground which transmits really annoying vibrations to my skull. I don't give up and force myself to fall asleep again.

My head bobs up and down while hitting something edgy. Am I being pulled over a staircase? There is no staircase in front of my room.

My eyes open and I find myself being pulled around the corner of a corridor. “Stella? What's happening?” I still don't know what's going on.

Stella's face appears in front of me. “They are hatching!”

She grabs my left horn and I feel like a sack of potatoes as she pulls me the last few steps to the room with our eggs. Apparently there is compulsory attendance on this event.

Arriving in the room Stella drops me and hurries to the eggs, which have already a few cracks. The room is empty, except for a pedestal in the centre. Both eggs are resting in their incubation chambers on top of it. Stella opens them with brute force and takes out the eggs, the entire action reminds me of a child opening a gift pack. Then she places them on a soft mattress on the pedestal and dances in circles around it, inspecting the eggs.

I get up and approach the eggs. Stella gets to my side and hugs me. “We are both here! I am so happy that we can watch them hatch.”

“I am happy too. Though is it really that special to be present?” I watch tiredly as the cracks in our eggs widen.

Stella pulls at my cheek. “Of course it's important! Children are imprinted on the first persons they see after they hatch! That's why the hatching is a sacred event where no strangers are allowed. You really don't pay attention to the most important stuff!”

I raise an eyebrow and watch with suspicion as a shard of the egg with the female inside it falls to the ground, leaving a dark, black hole behind. “You mean like real birds? Will they follow us wherever we go?”

Stella sighs. “You know... on second thought... please duck now and hide. It's bad if they get imprinted on you.”

“Too late.”

“Aw... we didn't think up names yet!”

A glowing, red eye appears in the dark hole of the egg which we designated as female. My grandmother's words from earlier today pop up in my mind.

The menacing eye from within the egg searches the room and then it fixates on us.

Was it really the right decision to have children with Stella?

.