Chapter 837 Haven

Chapter 837 Haven

Ilea spread her wings and flew up about ten meters, the others following her, Aki helping the enchanters but they quickly denied.

The fields and hills Ilea had known from her training had changed. Much of the wild vegetation, the trees, boulders, and trenches were gone. Replaced by a well structured mesh of facilities, all of it exposed to the artificial light. Crates made of stone, held aloft by moving metal poles, dozens of layers stacked atop each other and filled with soil, plants growing from each and every one of them. Hundreds of people patrolled the area, casting spells where they saw fit. Entire platforms had been added, all built in a half circle around the sun, likely to capture the optimal exposure. Ilea could see bridges and stairwells, entire roads that led from one part of the facility to the next.

“The soil in the Haven has always been exceedingly fertile,” Aki supplied. “Now, with nature mages using this system developed by dwarven and human engineers alike, the results are quite staggering.”

A high reaching stone wall had been built around the lake. Ilea could still see the occasional demon spawn walk out of it, quickly taken out by any interested Shadow standing atop the defenses. Centurions and Hunter Praetorians patrolled the enclosure to make sure nothing could break through. A reminder from the day Adam Strand had summoned thousands of demons into the city. All to reach Kohr, and his daughter.

“Did anyone investigate it by now?” Ilea asked, looking at the lake. A connection to Kohr was one thing, and so far no larger creature had come through, but if there was a Source here, the lake could become more of a risk than it already was.

“Of course,” Aki sent. “Mages of the Hand tested the residual magic and found some of the runes had stabilized from the surge of blood magic that flowed into them when they were first used by Adam Strand. They’re essentially still summoning beings from Kohr, though the few that are present are in no way powerful enough to summon anything beyond lower level spawn. No Mind Weavers have come through so far.”

“Still seems like an unnecessary risk. With all those mages working close by,” Ilea said.

“The security is extensive. Claire made sure of that even before my inclusion. The enchantments and countermeasures built into the walls are vast. More effort perhaps than what the removal of the residual runes would’ve required. The Shadowguard and your very Sentinels use the demons for various training applications, and some Shadows too. A well controlled dungeon with known creatures is not easily given up,” the machine explained.

“I guess,” Ilea murmured, thinking of the monsters she had fought that morning. If one of those were summoned, the damage could be extensive. “How long will the runes last?”

“At this rate, the estimation is another year and eight months,” Aki sent.

At least it’s not here forever.

“You seem more worried than I expected? You knew about this lake for a while now,” the Executioner sent, looking at her with its glowing green eyes.

“I saw some things in that ocean,” Ilea said. “Just think it’s best if those kind of creatures stay where they are.”

“You cannot protect everyone, Ilea. And you shouldn’t,” Aki said.

“I know. Suppose that’s one of the reasons I’m not more involved,” she said with a smile. Seeing the Haven made her think of all the time she had spent here with her team. Eve, Trian, Claire, and Kyrian. The world had felt larger then, in a way.

“That is no Source,” Nes spoke, the Ascended floating next to her.

“You mean the big sphere in the sky?” Ilea asked, looking at it directly. The bright light didn’t bother her eyes, not like it used to. “It looks like one, but yes, the heat is nowhere near what it should be.” They were only around two hundred meters away still. The sphere itself appeared to be floating, at least a hundred meters in diameter. The warmth felt nice, and the thing obviously provided something to all the plants that were grown in the Haven.

“It is peculiar,” Ormont said, the ancient dwarf moving a hand through some part of his extensive beard. “It feels like a sun.”

“What would a dwarf know of such matters?” Scipio asked.

Ormont chuckled. “Oh. We know. For millennia we have tried to emulate something that could more efficiently grow crops, herbs, and trees. The Taleen do enjoy living underground, but we are living beings too, and not beings of death or dark. We tried, and if we failed…”

“Then there is nobody else who could’ve done it?” Ilea asked, with a slight smirk. “Maybe the Mava did this.”

“You are far too young to provoke me, Ilea,” he said with a smile.

Sun, the Fae sent.

Ilea looked at it. “Right? Could you do something like that?”

It considered, then shook its head. Slowly, the fae raised its hand towards the massive sphere of light and heat.

“You want me to fly into it?”

It looked at her with large white eyes, its many wings twitching.

“To see what would happen,” Ilea said, nodding slightly. She understood. They had to try.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Scipio murmured. “Why are we even here? This is a waste of our time.”

Ilea enjoyed his slight annoyance, spreading her wings.

“Come and look at this!” Chris shouted from below.

So close to greatness, Ilea thought. She turned away. “We’ll do it after,” she telepathically whispered to the Fae.

She followed the others down and landed near the enchanters.

They had dug a hole in the ground but she could see nothing at the bottom. Her dominion hit a wall farther down. Smooth, with magic permeating everything. An impressive display, but neither as powerful as anything she had felt from the Source in Iz or as complex as even the defensive enchantments she had found in the vaults of Baralia.

“Now that is interesting…” Nes murmured.

Iana smiled, her eyes glowing with the strange blue hue of her magic. “Looks familiar to you, doesn’t it?”

“It does. I had not expected a human to be familiar with our runes,” Nes said.

“Your runes?” Ilea asked.

“Ascended. There is metal below, the deeper enchantments masterfully hidden by reasonably complex layers of… well I wouldn’t say mundane…” Iana spoke. She shrugged lightly. “Layers of mundane enchantments. I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t known what to look for. But it’s there, all over. This place was built by someone with knowledge of Ascended runes.”

“How has nobody realized that so far? The Haven is well studied,” one of the Executioners spoke.

“Well studied by humans. Humans that are not familiar with our work,” Nes said. “This one is,” she added, her white eyes taking in the woman. “Impressive. Even I might have missed it, if only due to my arrogance. It seems whoever set this up was familiar with both of our kinds.”

“Who would have knowledge of Ascended runes, and be able to set all this up in secret?” Ormont asked.

“Apparently a guy called Eregar,” Ilea said. “Or it could be built as a dedication to him? You said you knew him?”

Scipio shook his head. “In passing. There were stories about the mercenaries of Eregar, of Ravenhall. Shadows. Killers. Trained by ruthless men and women, humans forged to take on any threat of the wild. Your order still retains some of that reputation, but then… it was different. People did not rejoice at their coming.”

“What about the man though? Did he build the Haven?” Ilea asked.

“He took part in the invasion of Kohr, that is all I know. Him and many of his mercenaries, though I had not expected they would manage to steal a Source. It was him supposedly, to build this place, though I was not particularly interested, I’ll be honest. The side project of a powerful man, at the top of his Order,” he said and gave Ilea a meaningful glance.

“You’re right. I should build a pyramid or something. Well, have it built. Can’t waste my own time,” she said. “Ilea’s… hmm… grand library? No, that doesn’t fit. Lilith’s coliseum.”

“Grand coliseum,” Christopher suggested, to the annoyance of everyone else.

“Right, yeah. So we’re assuming Eregar actually built this thing? So he had knowledge of Ascended runes?” Ilea asked.

“That, or someone helped him,” Nes said. She touched her metal chin. “I just can’t begin to imagine who.”

“We know very little about this place,” Ormont said. “May we investigate further?”

“It does sound like the best course of action,” Aki said. “How do we proceed?”

“Can’t pierce the solid ground with my perception. There are enchantments in place,” Ilea said.

“Then we should find the entrance,” Iana said.

“Or make one?” Ilea asked, raising a questioning fist.

“No, the cascade of reactionary runes in place could destroy this entire facility, or worse,” Nes said, her eyes glowing a little more now, her gaze aimed towards the dirt. “It will take some time to decipher all of this.”

“We don’t have to,” Iana said.

“What do you mean?” Nes asked.

The enchantress smirked. “If there were humans involved in the construction of this place, I assume there is a physical access somewhere.”

“Why would there be one? Anyone with this knowledge could setup a short range teleportation array. It would include unnecessary weaknesses, would it not?” the Ascended said.

“Humans, especially those using a lot of enchantments, I just found that they like emergency exits. That don’t rely on magical power alone. Might be because we’re not born into all this knowledge. There is some, I’d say, healthy skepticism, even with our own work,” Iana explained.

“Peculiar,” Nes spoke.

“Doesn’t your hideout have a door?” Ilea asked, her brows raised.

“That…” Nes said. “That is a fair point. I did ask Scipio before, why he wished for it. What was your reason again?”

The man smiled ever so slightly. “Just to be sure.”

Iana mirrored his expression. “Exactly. Just to be sure. Let’s hope Eregar or whoever made this felt the same, otherwise we’ll be here for a few weeks.”

“So what are we looking for? A small shaft? Hatch? A door?” Ilea asked.

“No. We’re looking for patterns in the mesh that connects all of the runes below. A physical doorway would have to be inlaid. The setup of such a complex mesh would change significantly, and no matter how good they were, there are tells. Always,” Iana said, giving Nes a questioning glance.

The Ascended looked back, before she focused on the ground again. “Always.”

“I too confirm that assumption,” Ormont said.

“Proud old man,” Scipio said, activating his own spells to help with the search.

“Dwarf, not man. And I hear you’re as old as I am,” Ormont said, magic flowing from him, his eyes taking on a glint of green light.

“Aged better,” Scipio said.

“That is entirely subjective,” the dwarf said, the two ending their battle, both likely entirely sure of their own victory.

Ilea stood to the side, watching the five individuals spread out with their eyes and magic focused on the ground. She crossed her arms.

Violence? The Fae sent.

“I wish. I feel like a sixth wheel,” Ilea sent with a sigh. She glanced at the Executioners nearby. “At least you’re not particularly helpful either.”

“If that makes you feel better,” Aki sent.

Ilea didn’t miss the small movements of the Executioners. “You’re helping too, aren’t you?”

“Just a little,” the machine sent.

“I don’t even want to know,” Ilea murmured, finding a rock before she sat down. She glanced behind herself when she heard a strange thud, expecting to have found some hidden switch to reveal whatever lay below. Instead it was just the rock shifting due to her supposed weight. Alright. Alright. I get it. Not my expertise.

She summoned a bottle of ale and watched the others, remaining in case they did find something. And because she wanted to keep an eye on them. Ilea only truly trusted Iana, Chris, and Aki, but she couldn’t deny that the abilities and knowledge of everyone present would be helpful.

“What’s our plan if we do find something?” Ilea sent to one of the machines.

“That depends on what exactly we find,” Aki sent back.

“We could make another one of you, right?” Ilea suggested.

“That seems like an unreasonably risky option,” Aki sent. “If there was another source, our main concern is securing it. What the Taleen have created in Iz may just be an optimal setup, however any plans to include others in the construction of something like that is obviously going to be a tense prospect.”

“Yeah, everyone wants the suns,” Ilea mused. She drank from her ale as she waited, creating an ashen copy for the little fae to play with. When she was done with the drink, she teleported the creature onto her shoulder and stood up. Spreading her wings, Ilea looked up at the bright sphere. She focused. Streams of fire moving about. Bubbling heat. It looked nice.

“Ready?” she asked the Fae, receiving an affirmative giggle in response.

Her wings moved, her form rushing up with speed. The distance was short. She arrived near instantly. She held her breath right before the splash resounded. Fire enveloped her, bright and hot, though she found herself able to move through with ease, most of her surroundings apparently just flame. A few seconds passed before she popped out on the other side, a broad grin on her face as she laughed. Now that’s deserving of a title!

Her armor wasn’t even singed. The heat was enough to keep the Haven warm, but in no way even began to compare to the hallway leading into the One without Form. Neither was there some secret portal placed within. For there had surely been more than a few Shadows betting with each other to pass through the flames. I wonder why we never did it. Guess I’m the only truly crazy one in the group.

She smiled as her wings moved to keep her afloat, giggles resounding in her mind.

Violence!

And so she dashed through once again, this time speeding up. Should I?

I should.

____________________________

Cless balanced atop one of the crates. She was careful not to damage any of the plants. People always got mad when she stepped into the dirt. Not that she understood, there was so much of it! And they even removed her favorite tree. It was a travesty.

Not as bad as when Squiggly died, but she was annoyed. At least she knew that Squiggly went to heaven. Just like her turtle Nelke. Maybe they would play together? She wasn’t so sure about it. Nelke was slow and kind of boring, whereas Squiggly was fast and interesting! She squatted down, trying to see more closely. No bugs.

Something was wrong with all the plants here. Did the bugs not like them? Maybe it was all the people. She felt a tingling in her head. Her Warning spell. Summoning her book into her left hand, it opened at the page she needed. A thin paintbrush appeared in her right, Cless focusing for a split second before she drew a single vertical slash through reality itself. She couldn’t help but giggle when she heard the yell, jumping into the portal before the door closed behind her.

She landed on the red and silver carpet. The nice one she had borrowed from the noble council hall in the city. The people there didn’t even know it was missing! If they couldn’t even appreciate art, they didn’t deserve it! That’s what Merthan always said, the nicest guard at Claire’s office. He was old.

Looking around, Cless smiled at the many paintings displayed on the broad walls of her room. She had painted everything in here, and now it was there. But the carpet she took. It was easy with her Reality Grasp spell, though weirdly it didn’t work on any creatures or people. She really wanted to show her room to Claire and Merthan but it didn’t work.

Her spell activated, one of the kelnfruits from a nearby table appearing in her hand. She took a bite and watched her floating book. The pages moved as she wished, many paintings within. The Meadow’s domain, Claire’s office, the Golden Drake, Viscera, the Haven, even the Pit, though she was scared to go there. Everything smelled weird and people were rude.

She focused on another angle of the Haven and spoke the words whilst chewing. “Canvas step.” A mischievous smirk spread on her face when she appeared back in the Haven. She knew they wouldn’t be looking for her. Nobody could catch her.

And so she ate and balance on the annoying plant boxes, if only in memory of her favorite tree. She saw a strange light in the corner of her vision and turned to look. Near the big sun, there was something blue and black. Her eyes blurred slightly when she saw it. At first she thought it was a Sentinel but the way it moved, the way the magic flowed, it was Ilea. And she had something new, something she hadn’t seen before.

It was beautiful. Like a blue shooting star of magic. Bright and pure, more dense than most things she had seen before. A canvas appeared right where she stood, floating in mid air as she started to paint, the brush moving with fast and precise slashes, paint appearing where she willed it. Ilea moved too fast for her to capture, the blue streak going in and out of the sun, up and down, around, and back through the fires. And so she followed the light, her mana burning quickly as she strained the magic in her eyes. Cless had forgotten about the people that may be looking for her. She had to finish the piece, no matter what.

Archon, a part of her mind thought as she was in a trance of painting, imbuing the canvas with more and more of her magic.