Millennial Mage

Chapter 214: Sanctum

Tala dumped all the power that she could into her chair via as many large void-channels as she could sustain. She felt that power expand through the pocket dimension like a wave.

Like a very slow waveof some incredibly viscous fluid.

She grimaced. They cut more corners than I think we realized.

Gallof cocked an eyebrow. Oh?

The hold ends a bare two inches below the ground. The rolling hills are faked with a non-uniform dimensional space. Its no wonder there are no trees in here.

Tala would have sworn that she could feel Kits influence expanding as a vehicle for her own power, worming its way through the hold, establishing itself and claiming mastery.

It only extended about ten feet up, too. Just enough to not be noticeable on casual inspection.Well, the taller sub-species might have noticed.The artificial sun isnt even really there, its a clever, but weak, illusion. No wonder the grass looks stunted.

Thorn grunted before shaking his head. Well, this will still be better than commissioning a new hold.

Be-thric nodded, his enthusiasm slightly dimmed. Indeed. The last one we commissioned took more than a year for delivery. Spatial craftsmen are always in demand.

Tala flicked through Talis memories, testing if Tali would say what she really, really wanted to. She would?

Alat barked a laugh within Talas head. -Do it! Ask.-

I would be fascinated to know how all of this works.

Be-thric nodded absently, seemingly lost in contemplations of other thoughts. It is a fascinating area of study. Gallof, please be sure to procure a set of books on the theory for my Eskau. After a moments pause, he waved a hand. And any other subject shes interested in. I wont have my Eskau seen as uneducated, and nothing fuels education like interest. Thorn, I want you to see if there are any other holes in her knowledge, other than those that interest her, and we can fill those too.

Tala blinked in shock. Is thatit?

-Seems so.-

Gallof was beaming. Well want a library in here for sure.

Well want to get all these books back to the Archive, for sure.

-They wont all be new to the Archivists.- Alat hedged against Talas glee.

But some will.

-Undoubtedly.- The alternate interface let some of her own excitement bleed through.

How has no one done this before? She faked a moments though. Right, because all it takes is being kidnapped by people who want to rip out my soul. She suppressed a shudder.

-Im actually glad there isnt trade between the human cities and these arcanes. The most likely thing humanity could offer would be undesirables for use as founts-

Thatsdark. She grimaced slightly before she schooled her face. Yeah. There would definitely be people willing to make that trade for some of the things weve seen. Better to keep civil contact a distant thing.

Thorn turned towards Tala, examining her hand with evident awe, shaking his head almost unconsciously. So much power. How long can you keep that up?

Tala frowned, considering. The limiting factor is the strength of my will. She knew what she needed to say next, its exactly what Tali would say, so she gilded herself and continued, So, I can continue for as long as my Pillar desires.

The words felt gross on her tongue, but she didnt show her true feelings. It is I, who am using you now, you self-centered She cut herself off before she could drift towards violent thoughts or intent.

Be-thric grinned broadly, completely oblivious to her inner thoughts. As Id expect from my Eskau. Powerful, wise, and loyal. Dont harm yourself, however. I suspect it will take at least a day or two for you to fully subsume this hold, using your item and the scripts in-built.

Tala felt a wave of revulsion as her power, along with Kits influence, reached the first remnants of violence.

The storage unit simply...processed the organic material.

What?

-Well, that answers the question of: Whats been happening to all the food scraps?-

Is that normal? For a dimensional storage item to eat things? Did it just move them into the soil somehow?

-Be-thric seemed to suspect something like this. Ask?-

Tala cleared her throat, drawing the three mens attention. They had each been examining the magics acting around them, seemingly testing various aspects of the hold as it was devoured.

As they all looked her way, Tala asked her question, It seems that my dimensional storage justate? I think it ate one of the bodies. Do you know why?

She could feel the influence nearing others. It was going to clean the whole hold.

Be-thric grinned triumphantly towards Gallof, and the latter sighed. You were quite correct, my Pillar.

But of course. Please, do explain it to her.

Gallof bowed. As you wish. He turned and bowed to Tala. Eskau Tali, the dimensional storage you previously held was not, in fact, a basic dimensional storage device. It wasnt even simply an advanced one, taken from a fallen foe of great power. Somehow, it was, and I suppose still is, a tamed devouring dimension.

What now?

-What now?-

The orb spoke up for the first time in the last few minutes. It surrounds us even now. What a glorious day, we shall be consumed, together, friend and foe, forever locked in the belly of the beast.

They all ignored the oddly excited, doomsaying sphere. Well, they all ignored it, save Terry. He flickered over to where Thorn had set the thing on the ground.

What creature is this? Shoo. Go away.

Terry nudged it with a talon, and the orb rolled away across the smooth floor.

WAAAAH. Whats happening?

Terry crouched down, wiggling before springing after the small sphere, which was just larger than Talas clenched fist.

Hes acting very well. If he were really hunting, hed be flickering after it.

-He plays a young terror bird quite well.-

Tala was reminded of the time, right after theyd begun traveling together, when Terry had taken on this guise as well. Hes better at it now.

-So it would seem. He must have had a lot of practice while waiting for us toreturn.-

Tala felt a wave of sadness wash over her, but she shoved it aside. Im back nowWere back now, and Terrys back with us too.

Gallof cleared his throat and continued, despite the ongoing wailing from the orb and Terrys happy trilling pursuit. You see, most dimensional storage items are simply that: pocket dimensions or expanded spaces of various sizes. Devouring dimensions appear the same to all inspections, unless they are incredibly rudimentary or foolish.

Foolish? You meantheyre intelligent?

In a sense. Not sapient, at least not by any research Ive read. That means they are either not intelligent in the way we standardly think of intelligence, or they are clever enough to beat the tests and investigations. But as I was saying, they appear the same, but they arent. First, they seem to be able to sense the intent of their users, innately. They utilize this ability to convince their user to place more within them, more for them to devour.

Color drained from Talas face. So, were all about to die?

Gallof blanched, giving her an almost offended look. What? No! Of course not. If it was that dangerous, we wouldnt have tested it while inside, ourselves.

Thenwhat are you saying?

Pillar Be-thric guessed that the foe he won that item off of had tamed the creature, somehow.Gallof shrugged.The methods for such a process seem to be closely guarded secrets of the most experienced hold-builders, the few that have supposedly managed it. After Our Pillars victory, the creature must have liked you well enough to transfer its affections to you.

II have been giving it power, just as Pillar Be-thric instructed. She frowned. Wait How is it magic-bound to me, if it had a previous owner?

As soon as Tala asked, she realized her mistake. It cant. This is a direct contradiction of Be-thrics narrative.

Be-thric turned her way, and shrugged, his face unusually calm. These creatures can sometimes bend the normal rules. It is one reason I suspected it was more than it appeared, actually. But, I wouldnt expect it to work again. This hold, this sanctum, is yours now, and no one can ever take it away for you, from us.

He smiled then. To Talas eyes it seemed forced, because she knew the truth. Tali wouldnt have noticed, however, so Tala smiled in return. Truly, you have been generous with me.

As a Master should be to those who serve him. The Pillar shook his head, turning back to the matter at hand. But as we were discussing, this is an excellent development. Often times, the processing of unwanted materials is a core issue within holds. You will not have that problem. More than that, I believe we detected morphic magics in your dimensional storage. It should be able to reshape this sad excuse for a hold into a true sanctum, worthy of my Eskau.

Even as they were speaking, Tala felt the hold reshaping. Every part that her magic and Kits influence spread to was compressing and reshaping into a sphere, centered on Tala and her oddly comfortable throne.

You are once again correct,she lowered her head to hide her difficulty in getting on the next wordsmy Pillar.

He smiled. Oh?

She described what was happening, and Gallof nodded. That makes sense. It will make the claiming process easier if your influence can push out in all directions at the same time.

The orb went rolling across around the base of the raised platform on which they stood. Please just break me, or get this thing away!

Terry squawked happily and bumped the sphere to greater speeds, slapping it with his beak to change its direction around the circumference.

All four of the people found themselves watching the odd display.

Finally, Thorn cleared his throat. What are we going to do with that fount? Its inscriptions arelacking, as well as frustratingly permanent.

BREAAAAAAK MEEEEEEE!!!! The voice came back with an oddly rolling cadence, likely due to the orbs motion.

Be-thric sighed. Id hoped we could extract the fount, but it might cost more to do that properly than to just get a new one. He shook his head, then seemed to consider. After a moment, he waved dismissively, Tali, your pet seems to like it. You may keep it until such time as it is needed.

Tala pulled back slightly. Butisnt there a danger of Terry breaking it? He just casually set aside a human soul as a plaything for his Eskaus pet

-Did you expect anything else?-

Its just a new level ofick.

Be-thric gave a derisive chuckle. Oh, bleed and bury me, no. Thorn would have a difficult time affecting that orb even a small amount, and he specializes in eroding and destruction. The vessel of a properly tamed fount is incredibly resilient. That is one reason they make such good armor. Larger items lack some of the resiliency across the whole item. Rather, it is usually concentrated around the physical location of the fount within the armor. For a sphere? Thats all of it. It is a shame that this oddly broken personality was forever ingrained into that vessel.

Youreoddly brokenpersonality. The sphere shouted their way, some of its words being lost against the ground.

Apparently, Terry had found where its voice was coming from and was entertained by the intermittent speech.

Be-thric just shook his head. If it annoys you, we can lock it in a sound-proof box until it is needed.

Tala shook her head, thinking about being the soul, trapped in such a place. That isnt necessary. I will do as you ask and keep it.

He smiled her way. I am glad to hear that.

She turned her mind away from the thought of a soul in torment, which she couldnt help, and towards the task at hand. So, Im going to be here for a couple of days.

Be-thric seemed to be thinking in the same lines that she was. Now, everything seems to be going well. Gallof and I will begin the preparations for the next steps. Thorn will stay here, to attend to any needs you may have.

Gallof bowed her way. I will return with the first of those books, Eskau Tali. At that time, we can discuss what other sorts of information you would be interested in.

Thorn sat down and pulled out something that seemed to be an odd jumble of wire. Ive several ideas on how we can pass the time. Well begin working on this, if that meets with the Pillars approval.

Be-thrics eyebrows rose, and a smile bloomed across his face. Excellent! He drew out the word.

In that single word, Tala heard, once again, the horror of the mans voice. How it echoed blood and death and an end to all that she held dear. How have I gotten used to that voice?

She barely suppressed a shudder. Gallof did seem to shiver, though he wasnt in Be-thrics line of sight. He glanced her way, as if to see if she had noticed. She had, obviously, but through her peripheral vision. She gave no indication to the gray-man.

The Pillar continued. That is a wonderful tool for training the fine control of, and efficiency with, magic. He looked towards Tala. Especially while you are already dumping so much power into this sanctum, it should prove a worthy challenge for you.

Tala nodded her head in acknowledgement even as Thorn bowed.

My Eskau, I will return tomorrow, so that we may discuss the acquisition of my armor.

As Be-thric and Gallof turned to go, Tala felt something. It was as if she had another limb, though that wasnt right. It was as if she knew Kit was capable of performing a specific action that shed not used before. Wait. I think I can

She presented her desire to Kit and felt a flex of power just off to the side of the elevated platform.

With a slight distortion in the air, a door appeared. No, not a door. It was the door that theyd come through to enter the hold.

Be-thric and Gallof glanced back her way, and she shrugged self-consciously. It seemed like that would be possible?

Gallof laughed. Well, that will make doing this so much easier. Well need to bring in a lot of dirt, stone, and other building materials. Being able to just dump it through the door will be a boon to be sure.

The two left, seeming happier for the bit of last minute, good news.

The door vanished as soon as it was closed.

ThisThorn turned her way, holding up the tangle of wires.is a magic nest.

Tala gave him a flat look.

He grinned. It is usually a childs toy, but I quite enjoy it. Watch.

Tala saw him flex his power, a tendril of magic flowing into the tip of one wire, causing it to slowly begin to move.

She saw that as he wiggled his power back and forth the wire moved as well. It was only then that Tala saw that it was a single wire.

Thorns demonstration wasnt over, so she didnt let her focus waver. When the wire with his power in it touched a non-claimed part, small, previously invisible inscriptions lit up on the magic nest and his power was ejected.

SoWhats the point?

He grinned. Untangle the wire.

He handed her the misshapen ball of wire, a tangled mess of a thing.

She took it on reflex, not really understanding.

What. There was no question in the word.

Thorn laughed. When you can untangle this, we can move on from the childs version.

She scrunched her face, then sighed. This will help with my efficiency?

No, with your control. Well address efficiency later. But that takes control, so He hesitated. In a roundabout way yes?

She huffed but smiled. Fine.

The next four hours, until Gallof returned, were some of the most frustrating in Talas life.

Thorns demonstration hadnt shown that messing up caused an unpleasant sensation to echo throughout her entire body, like an extremely mild, electrical shock. Shed let out an undignified yelp the first time it had happened, but Thorn had pretended not to notice anything.

Instead, he was studiously absorbed in his book.

That rusting jerk.

-Hes testing you, seeing what kind of person you are.-

Are you sure? I think he just wanted a laugh at my expense.

-Everyone has their own way of testing the waters.-

Tala took a deep breath and decided to ignore the dwarf.

There had been many, many more jolts.

Interestingly enough, when Gallof entered, he entered at the edge of the hold, not where the door had been, to let him exit.

That mean that Tala felt him enter the hold nearly five minutes before he walked into sight.

She didnt let herself stop trying to untangle the infernal thing.

Shed gotten used to the jolts, though she still didnt like them. The worst part was, when she messed up, the entire thing would twist back in on itself, changing its configuration randomly.

The most that she had extracted before a failure was a measly, single foot.

She didnt have the heart to ask Thorn how long the wire was, in total, but she suspected it was close to thirty, if not longer.

Ill conquer you eventually, you stupid thing.

Gallof carried with him a bag of books, and a smile. Not only was I able to find an exhaustive set of primers on hold construction, nothing too advanced mind you, but I was able to find a likely source for other materials, depending on your subjects of interest.

Thank you, Gallof. Books would be a welcome reprieve.

The gray-man looked at the tangle in her hands and smiled. Ahh, I remember playing with one of those. So many ways to learn and grow all in one little tangle.

He gave a contented sigh.

Tala grimaced.

Books, please.

He pulled out one and handed it to her. Heres the first.

She nodded her thanks, dropped the magic nest and buried herself in the book. Now, lets see what secrets there are for the taking.

That lasted all of three minutes.

Terry, of course, came over and bit one end of the wire, which made up the magic nest. There was an odd ripple of power that drew Talas attention, and she watched as the entire thing simplyunwound.

Thorn had also felt the power, turning to see what was happening, and he simply gaped.

Gallof, who Tala noticed was still there, waiting, had comically wide eyes.

In less than a minute, the entire thing untangled, flawlessly. Then, Terry tilted his head in seeming curiosity, dragged the wire over near the blessedly, momentarily silent sphere, and let go.

His magic left the wire, and it immediately snapped back into a tanglearound the orb.

The sphere made its displeasure known, instantly screeching out a wail of surprise and distress.

Thorn walked over and pulled the orb free of the magical nest, grimacing against the continued pulsing cry.

That cut off instantly as the ball-like-thing was pulled free. WellI suppose I should thank you for

Thorn turned and threw the thing as hard as he could.

The orb let out a squeal, which faded into the distance as the sphere traveled a surprisingly long way, bouncing and rolling into a dip in the monotonous, slightly rolling landscape.

Terry immediately took off after it, letting out a relatively mild, exuberant trill.

As that single playful cry faded, Thorn sighed. Blessed silence.

Tala turned to Gallof, who still seemed in shock. Why are you still here?

I need to confirm He massaged his temples. No. Im sorry. Are we just going to ignore the fact that that creature justsolved a magic nest?

The poor man seemed beyond himself at the very idea.

Thorn grunted. Seemed like a clever bird.

Tala pointed to Thorn, while looking at Gallof. Yeah. With his level of magic, Terrys probably older than he appears.

Gallofs eye twitched. He looked back and forth between Tala and Thorn before finally letting his head fall back into his hands. Fine. We wont look further. Well just ignore the clearly hyper intelligent murder bird who has infiltrated our hold.

Tala smiled. You forgot something important.

Gallof looked her way, incredulity clear on his face. And what might that be, Eskau Tali?

Her smile morphed into a near-malicious grin as she let some of Tali show in her expression. Hes my hyper intelligent murder bird.

Gallofs eyes widened again, but then, he seemed to regain mastery over himself.

He closed his eyes, nodded, brushed his clothing unnecessarily, and bowed. As you say, Eskau Tali.

He opened his eyes and gave a politic smile.

Now, I need to confirm what foods you find the most appealing, so that we find compatible strains and subspecies. We will begin the installation of the ambient vegetation, rock formations, gardens, orchards, and animal facilities as soon as you have full command of this hold. Until then, the exact magics for integration into such will need to be researched. We can begin work on that beforehand, specifically now. It will be a full growth cycle before most can be of use to you, but some things complete that cycle quickly, and some natural magics are already available, which match your own.

And so, Tala and Gallof discussed the base ingredients they were going to begin to provide for her sustenance and magical advancement.

She really enjoyed pork, so pigs would be a core part of this project. As she remembered Terrys own desires, she suppressed a shudder. Then, she asked for another, non-magical herd of swine to be included in the layout of the sanctum.

These could be free-range as they wouldnt really need to be caught or harvested for Tala. They would simply need to be kept from getting into anything important.

There, Terry should like having his own prey to hunt in here.

-It seems unnecessary, but its a nice gesture.-

Thank you. I thought so.

She and Gallof discussed the types of trees and other vegetation that Tala liked, so that those could be transplanted.

Remembering the juice that she and Tali had been served with their breakfasts, Tala asked if ending-trees were a possibility. She wouldnt have mentioned it if the juice hadnt been served to her since her capture.

Gallofs reaction made it plain that he had expected the request. He seemed resigned as he promised that he would see what could be done.

All in all, it didnt take too long before Tala was able to return to her book.

She waved absently, calling up a door for Gallof to exit through.

When he was half-way out, Tala called to him, Gallof?

The tall, gray man hesitated, glancing back her way. Yes, Eskau Tali?

Knock next time. If you do, I may be able to call the door back here, so you are closer to me when you enter.

He bowed. Of course.

And Gallof?

Yes, Eskau Tali?

I think Thorn and I could use some dinner.

Thorn looked up in surprise.

Gallof looked his way, and the dwarf shrugged. That sounds excellent to me, sir.

Gallof gave a reserved smile and bowed once more. As my Pillars Eskau wishes, I will obey.