Millennial Mage

Chapter 461: The Plate Itself

Tala, Terry, Rane, and Walden walked back through the forest to the exit.

It took Tala a bit to notice, but while she, Terry, and Rane were treading down the grass—which quickly recovered—Walden’s hooves and forelegs seemed to meld with the grass as he walked.

It wasn’t like they were passing through, either. As he moved, the grass would pull toward him, becoming a part of him before falling back away as he moved out. Thus, the foliage was rippling behind him, but in a completely different way from that behind the two humans or the terror bird.

It didn’t take that long to return to the entrance of the cell. When Walden saw their bunker, he stopped in place and huffed. “Foolish humans.”

The very ground vibrated to produce his words, some loose stones jumping with the force of the utterance.

Alat had been in communication with Tala’s unit, but they hadn’t disassembled the structure yet.

Mistress Cerna and Master Clevnis came into view. “Mistress Tala. Is everything finalized?”

Tala nodded. “Yes, and the agreement has been approved. I will be required to report to Master Grediv as soon as we return to Alefast, so that he can inspect the results.”

The two nodded. They’d likely already been told this. They’d agreed beforehand that she would convey some trivial truth when returning, to demonstrate that she was who she claimed—and appeared—to be.

It was well within the potential abilities of the elk to create a fake. Given all the other supporting information, it was unlikely, but their job required them to be as sure as possible.

Walden was obviously irked by the dome-like structure, and his continued words confirmed that, “Remove that from my forest, or I will. Once that is done, get out before you further damage my herbaceous undergrowth.”

Masters Girt and Limmestare unwove the stone and glass fibers that had made and reinforced the structure, returning the entrance of the cell to the state in which it had been previously, at least roughly speaking.

When that was done, the unit withdrew, and Walden stamped his hoof. A wave of power and greenery swept low over the bare earth, returning vegetation to the churned soil. Somewhat satisfied, the elk turned to Tala. “I will await you, here. I trust that I will feel the alteration.”

“That is my understanding as well.” Tala gave a tight-lipped smile. And you think you just might take a massive step toward Sovereignty immediately if I’m a fool.

That was one thing that Tala did know about magical beasts—and the Paragons and others involved in the process had made sure Tala didn’t forget—a magical beast could and would tap into all magic within their domain, and all of it counted as within their body for magical density.

In theory, Tala could uplift Walden at least a bit if her power were to enter his forest and suffuse it fully.

-Though, it wouldn’t be sufficient to allow him to reach the level of a god-beast as we know it.-

Yeah, that would take much more. Though, it wasn’t actually out of reach.

If she were to fill her whole sanctum with her magical density once she reached Paragon advancement, and then granted the entirety to the elk? That might be sufficient for the task. There were obviously other requirements, but no one who knew what those might be was willing to share such with Tala.

The elk hadn’t mentioned magical density or power during their negotiations, and that alone was a bit suspicious given Tala’s knowledge. He was clearly betting on her ignorance, and hoping to claim a lot of power via that ignorance.

Tala had, likewise, not mentioned something that the elk would have likely wanted to know: specifically, her authority within Kit.

As Walden hadn’t known of voidlings—at least he’d claimed not to—he wouldn’t know the features of dimensional storages based upon them.

On Zeme—and in the cell or any other storage that he could be forced into—Walden’s authority over his forest was essentially uncontestable. Auras could exist overtop of it, but that didn’t change the fact that the very land and everything in it was his, essentially a part of him and magically bound to him.

Once it was in Kit, though? Once it was fundamentally a part of Tala’s soulbound storage? Tala could theoretically take it from him.

It wouldn’t be easy by any means, but it existed as a last line of defense. Honestly, it was likely the major reason that the Paragons and other powers that had a say were willing for her to give this a try.

Tala and Rane bowed to Walden before walking back out through the tunnel.

Terry stayed, staring at the elk for a long moment before flickering after his humans.

When they exited, Mistress Terra smiled, finalizing the re-closure of the cell. “Done.” The Paragon then gave a wry smile and caught Tala’s attention. “And now you’re going to undo all my work, eh?”

“If all goes well, yes.”

Mistress Terra grinned. “You know, that’s usually what I do, undo other’s magical work I mean.”

Tala found herself grinning in return. “I suppose it is. Thank you for your graciousness.”

“But of course. Let us leave this atrium so you can do what you need.”

Tala bowed. “Thank you.”

After everyone was outside the expanded space, Tala created a portal to her sanctum with an edging of elk leather for a physical boundary.

Huh. I haven’t been needing that as much, have I? She’d forgotten that she had needed a physical opening to make portals, but that requirement had fallen away over time, allowing her use of Kit to more closely match her bonding vision.

-You are growing closer with your bonds as you advance, and increasingly skilled as you use your abilities more and more.-

She’d noticed such in little things, but it was nice to have solid confirmation. Good to know. Thank you, Alat.

-I am happy to assist.-

Kit’s portal rolled over the tree in which the entrance to the atrium resided, quite obviously devouring it, root and branch.

-Sovereign and god-beast?-

Tala grimaced. That was such a cop-out answer.

-Well, he did offer it for free, and he did warn you that you wouldn’t like it.-

I know…

There was a trembling within the fabric of Existence visible only to Tala via her threefold sense. By Terry’s leery looking around, his own threefold perception was showing him something similar.

-Yup. He can see it too, and his interpretation is that it appears like a gathering storm.-

A moment later, Tala gasped as she felt Kit straining, drawing incredibly deeply from her gate. Tala slapped as many—and as large as possible—void-channels as she could into the mix, but she still physically staggered at the sudden magical requirements put upon her.

Her very soul was bearing up under a heavy load.

Rane was there, stabilizing her without her even needing to ask. She smiled his way even as she felt somewhat faint.

Thankfully, the feeling seemed to stabilize and her extreme reactions—both internal and external—faded, allowing her to return to standing on her own once more. Even so, she kept herself pressed against Rane’s side, his arm over her shoulder, across her back, and down to allow his hand to rest on the top of her opposite hip.

It was only then that she noticed Mistress Vanga’s hand on her shoulder also, the one that wasn’t currently pressed into Rane. “How are you feeling, Mistress Tala?”

Tala nodded in response. “A bit off-kilter, but otherwise good. That forest was… it was basically the size of Irondale. I would say my dimensional storage just increased in size by close to ninety percent. That… Kit was a bit hard pressed to devour all of it as quickly as was required.”

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Mistress Terra grunted. “The fact that you could do it at all is impressive. Come on, open up and let’s inspect the results.”

Tala blinked up at the more advanced woman. Did Mistress Terra know that she would be placing herself under Tala’s will? Rather than just wonder, Tala asked, “You know of my authority within the space?”

The Paragon smiled. “Of course. If I was concerned about your motives, we would be having an entirely different interaction.”

Tala smiled at that. It did make sense. “Very well.”

Kit’s portal stabilized at a size to let any of them walk through easily. On the far side was what seemed to be the same clearing that had been the atrium before.

As they all passed through—into Tala’s sanctum—Tala did as she’d promised and stripped off the height of the forest, leaving the elk a large, rough cylinder of space one hundred eighty feet from top to bottom.

She moved most of the dimensionality to Irondale for the moment, weaving the stone she’d taken from the bottom into the underlying foundations of the pocket-city space.

She did have to add some height to the very edges of the forest, as it had been a rough—moderately squished—sphere before.

As they worked quickly, Tala and Alat had actually found that they quite enjoyed interleaving the various strata within Irondale to create patterns, a type of art that they alone could ever appreciate fully.

Tala would have to remember that and come back to it when they had more time.

-Rane might be able to appreciate it as well, one day.-

Tala colored, suddenly feeling Rane’s warmth against her much more starkly. That’s not helpful, Alat.

-Well, it actually is, just not toward what you want help with at the moment.-

Tala glared internally, causing Alat to cackle in glee.

Regardless, they were soon once again within the clearing, the tunnel into what was previously the cell already open before them.

As the portal closed, they looked back, seeing the central hill of Tala’s sanctum in the distance, the dais standing out starkly.

-You placed the entrance to the forest to be aligned directly with the front of your throne. Symbolic much?-

Tala shrugged. Seemed like a good place. It’s not like I actually sit in the chair very often.

-Throne.-

It’s a chair.

-What is a throne, but a chair that symbolizes authority?-

Tala didn’t have a ready response to that, so she returned her attention to the entrance to the immortal elk’s forest.

There was something odd, perceptually, about the entrance now, which hadn’t been in evidence previously.

It was obviously open before them, and they could even see the other end, but they all had a sense like they were looking down a long shaft rather than peering straight ahead. They spoke briefly, and confirmed that no one could really say why they felt that way, but they agreed that it seemed accurate.

It’s extending into the void.

-Yes, that is likely the source of the feeling, but not the cause.-

What do you mean?

-The dirt in the water makes it dirty, but that doesn’t tell you where the dirt came from, or how you were able to see it.-

Ahh. Yeah.

Nevertheless, they could all see the elk standing in his forest past the long hallway, regarding them in return.

Tala lifted her hand in greeting, and the elk bowed his head.

She regarded her unit-mates. “I am going to go speak with him.”

Mistress Terra nodded. “And I will inspect the results of the… devouring.”

“Thank you.” Tala smiled at the Paragon. “I do appreciate you double-checking the results. I don’t want anything to go wrong here.”

“Of course.”

Tala looked to Rane and Terry. “Want to come?”

Terry flickered back to her shoulder, and Rane smiled. “I’d love to.”

Tala proceeded down the tunnel slowly, not bothering to move herself with her will and authority. There would be time to flex that authority, but such hadn’t come yet.

When she stepped back into the forest, she was faced directly with the feeling that she’d been getting indirectly from this part of Kit from the moment of the devouring.

The forest both was hers, and it wasn’t. It’s like food I’ve served onto a guest’s plate…

No, that wasn’t right.

It’s like the plate itself—and the cutlery—at a feast I am throwing. It is unquestionably mine, but others have a superficial, momentary claim over it right now. Moreover, it would be rude in the extreme for me to take it from them.

Alat approved of the analogy and didn’t see any obvious flaws—even while obviously being imperfect—so they decided to go with it.

Walden dipped his head toward Tala, just slightly. “You have been good to your word so far, Tala. I appreciate that you leveled out the entirety of my forest. The trees at the edge were feeling cramped. Now, you promised me that my forest would expand.”

He waited, eyes locked on her. She smiled and gave a nod in return. “Of course.”

With an act of will, a thousand cubic feet of dimensionality was transferred back to the forest, this time on the edge rather than above the trees or below the ground.

Tala then filled the top of that dimensionality with air and the below ground portion of space with the appropriate materials to match what already existed and withdrew her direct authority.

She passed her guest another spoon.

-Still an odd analogy, no matter how accurate it is…-

Walden’s—now superficial—authority poured into the space, and the elk visibly shivered. He then shook himself as if to shed water from his fur, his great antlers arcing through the air back and forth with a great whooshing sound.

Finally, he seemed to master himself, and he bowed his head once more. Her smile widened slightly. “Is that to your satisfaction?”

“It is, Tala. You have shown yourself capable of honoring your word.”

“So, our deal is confirmed as we agreed? You will accept inquiries from Mages for one hundred cubic feet per complete answer or magical scan?”

He dipped his head once again, clearly resigned to what she and Rane had convinced him to agree to. “So long as they are non-invasive, and do not disrupt or damage my forest, yes.”

Alat?

-I have notified Mistress Ingrit, and the others who need to know. One hundred and fifty cubic feet of dimensional storage space for such.-

Tala smiled internally. And we will provide the facilitation and materials for the space in exchange for our fifty cubic feet. Thus, his forest will grow—Kit will grow even more—and everyone will get what they want.

-So shall it be.-

“So, do I get the full answers to those questions?” She let her internal smile show outwardly. After all, I’ve already paid you.

Walden puffed a great lungful of air, shaking himself as his voice resounded around them. “Yes.”

“Good. Thank you. Shall we start with the difference between Sovereign and god-beast? I feel that your answer was designed to be obtuse.”

“As I said, you have a surprising lack of knowledge.” He settled down, clearly getting comfortable on the thick grass. “Both are the ends of branching, diverging paths. Both find their purpose in drawing in that which they are exposed to and processing it in some way, in order to pass it on. They both also each use a bit of what they draw through themselves.”

“And in this analogy is Zeme the tree? Existence itself?”

“Zeme is closer to the truth, if we are to stretch the analogy. But to finish my imperfect analogy, roots draw from what is directly around them, and in that they are limited. Even so, it is easier to remove a branch than a root of the same size. And a branch? What do you think I will say about one of those?” Walden flicked his nose her way.

She frowned. “A branch… takes power from what emanates far away.” It clicked for her, then. “Sovereigns are the branches? Accepting power which is radiated their way and god-beasts are the roots, drawing from that in which they are steeped?”

“Precisely.”

“And both use their power, after absorbing it, passing it back to Zeme, changed.”

“Correct.”

“Alright. I understand that much. What is the difference in regards to advancement?”

“Both are claiming authority over something. God-beasts are, generally, gaining authority over a location in one sense or another. Sovereigns gain it over a concept, generally.”

“City Lords are striving for authority over a location.”

The elk shook his head. “Yes, but mostly no. Unless much has changed, the arcane City Lords are seeking authority over the concept of their city, not the land itself.”

Tala blinked a few times. Wait… oh. Oh! That makes so much more sense.

-Yeah, if they were simply claiming the location, the people being there or not wouldn’t actually matter. A city is a conceptual thing, made up of physical things. They are seeking authority over the concept.-

Yeah. I feel like we knew that in a sense, but hadn’t really put it to words.

-That makes sense.-

“What of Anatalis?”

The elk’s head twitched, Walden clearly checking for the presence of wolves. “The great wolf still lives then?” He shook himself. “But of course he does. The god-beast Anatalis claims the location of his pack.”

Tala just stared. Rane, on the other hand, shook his head. “That seems like cheating. Why wouldn’t every Magical beast then just claim ‘the land upon which they stand?’”

“The land upon which a Magical beast stands is not sufficient to power it, young human. The land upon which the pack stands is.”

Rane opened his mouth to argue, but then, he hesitated.

Tala could practically see the gears turning within his head as his mouth slowly closed. Tala felt herself smile as she went through a similar process before nodding in understanding. “That’s why he revives those that die.”

“That is one of the reasons, yes. If he had a soul as you did, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he was soulbound to his entire pack. Which brings us to the second difference, god-beasts do not have souls in the same way Sovereigns do. It may seem a small difference, but we beasts do not pass on, we return to the greater spiritual existence of Zeme. The souls of humans and arcanes leave this place, never to return.”

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