#5. NABRAS KAHN II

Nabras sat within a small cafe, a cup of tea and a scone in front of her. The food, though, was dwarfed by the piles of tomes she had brought with her. She sat a table for four with her wide brimmed hat slung across the back of chair. She was the only one at the table, but the books took up enough room for three. They each sat crookedly, piles threatening to fall over, yet Nabras didn’t care. She sipped at her tea, nibbled at her scone, and kept on reading.

Today, she studied “Thainan’s History of Arkanite & Red Mysterium.” She knew most of these details already, but this particular book was new to her, and also required reading for most of her classes.

She read over the facts, one after another with methodical practice.

Arkanite came into prominence almost 1000 years ago. Red Mysterium was banned and replaced with Arkanite. This new substitute is 450x less efficient than Red Mysterium was in the Crimson Era. After Red Mysterium was destroyed, Arkanite was all that remained to do magic with.

These facts, she knew well, but others showed themselves to her for the first time as she read. She had not known that the Institute of Arkanite was originally the Arkanite Militia. She hadn’t ever read that most royal heirlooms from the Crimson Era had to be destroyed because they were infused with two much Red Mysterium to be safely contained. She hadn’t ever heard of Goust, a legendary Red Magus who, rather than surrender to the Arkanite Militia, destroyed himself in a blaze of light that consumed a city.

She considered a position such as that, of being trapped and threatened with permanent imprisonment. She tried to justify killing everyone for leagues in each direction to escape that fate.

She couldn’t, it turns out.

She closed the book, the story of Goust leaving a dark imprint in her belly. Of course she had always known that the power of Red Mysterium, but even his story seemed… exagerated. “How is something like that even possible?” she thought.

She of course knew her Arkaturgy, the science behind the use of Arkanite. Yet what she knew of the strange, synthetic crystal did not allow room for such powerful acts. Even with 450 two gram Arkanite chips, she would not be able to destroy a city, the energy needs were just too great. Her mind tumbled over some numbers, and though she wasn’t sure, she was positive she would need more than 6000 Arkanite chips to achieve the same goal.

She shook her head, picking up the book once more. The story had to be fake.

She opened it, perusing the details, looking for unfamiliar information. Where Arkanite is made? Everyone knew that. Where Red Mysterium was found? “Nowhere, it all had been destroyed,” she thought. Methods of Red Mysterium use?

That was something she knew very little about.

She felt her heart begin to race as she read about the seemingly sadistic and fantastical ways people would use Red Mysterium. Mages need it on hand, within reach to access the magical power within the stone, so over the centuries of its existence there had been numerous methods discovered for this end.

She read the list, at first excited, but as it went on and on, her mouth grew dry at the invasivness of it all. “Magi will wear the Red in jewelery and encrusted into their clothing. The malleability of the raw gem makes it easy to shape by a skilled Magus.”

The text was accompanied by a diagram of a swirling pattern of gemstones coating a leather coat. Her hands quivered at the thought of that much Red Mysterium so close at hand.

The details became more disturbing. “For Magi who wish to keep themselves from ever being disarmed of their ability, they will ingest, infuse, or otherwise bind Red Mysterium directly to their bodies. Surgical implants of the Red in the bones, adding flakes of it into the diet as to saturate the stomach. Or, if one is okay with their eyes, tongue, teeth, nails, and skin turning red, can inject a solution of Red into their blood.”

Nabras felt she had to switch books after that.

She put the book away, instead picking up a slim volume in blue leather, “Tenodae’s Perturbance Manual.”

She opened the front page, read through the foreward. It was dry, but she learned the much like her, Tenodae had been a self-started Magus, the first of her family to attend an Academy.

The turned the page, reading her description of a Perturbance. “A Perturbance is the magical wavelength of the mind. Regardless of exposure to Red Mysterium or Arkanite, it has been discovered that all beings put off Perturbances. From the lowest mold to the largest Wyvern, a skilled Magus will be able to determine, feel, and even decode perturbances from other beings. This skill can be honed through the use of Arkanite, and there are many who are able to use it without the aid of Arkanite.

“The 1st Law of Perturbances states that Perturbances are not caused by Arkanite or Red Mysterium. The 2nd Law of Perturbances states that it is the common existential quality between a Perturbance and Arkanite/ Red Mysterium that allows Magus to unlock this ability. The 3rd-“

Nabras jumped as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, saw one of the cafe workers standing there. He looked down at her with practiced judgement, scowling.

Nabras waited for him to speak, but when he didn’t she asked, “Can I help you? Or are you trying to be creepy?”

He sighed, pointing to a sign near the door. Nabras turned to read it. “Studying Prohibited for more than 1/4 Hour. 10 Gold Per 1/4 Hour passed.”

She sighed, turned back to him. “How long am I over?”

He shrugged. “13 minutes.”

She cringed. She was sure she could clean up in two minutes, but it would be a rush. “I will be gone soon. Can we say I stopped studying now?”

The man grinned, a wickedness in his eyes. He was getting enjoyment out of this small play of power. “We have to say ‘studying’ ends when the table is clear.”

She cursed, whipped out her Spellbound Satchel. A last minute gift from her parents, it had come in handy more than anything else she had ever owned. Book after book she placed within, stacking them up on the soft, darkness-stitched bottom of the enlargened space within. In only a minute, she had them tucked away and the Satchel slung over her shoulder.

By the time the cafe worker returned to collect payment, she was on her way to the door, adjusting her hat to sit perfectly atop her head. She summoned as radiant a smile as she could, waving excitedly to him. “Thank you! Have a wonderful day.”

She skipped off into the afternoon, looking forward to laying down with Kalfis in her room.

But as she skipped, she couldn’t help but feel her own elation was at odds with the world. She passed a group of people, all somber as if they had received bad news. Then another. Then a group of people consoling a couple sobbing women.

She stopped outside of a sweets shop, a small crowd at the door. The shopkeep, a portly Darhal whose head just barely stood above those at the base of the stair, was waving his hands to the crowd.

“Quiet down, the lot of you! They’re starting it over.”

Nabras saw then the man was adjusting a Voicecaster near his front door. The conical, ringed glass apparatus stood on a tall metal stand. A wire ran across the floor and up into the roof to, Nabras presuming, a receiving module.

She slowly came closer to the crowd until she was a part of it. There was gentle music coming from the Caster, what she recognized as the relay music usually played in between cycles of a Priority Message.

Unlike what normally played on the Voicecaster network, such as music or educational seminars, Priority Messages took precedence over anything else playing. Nabras hated these messages normally, but standing there, feeling the tension of the crowd, she waited with baited breath.

Three sharp, crsytalline tones sounded out before a voice began to speak.

“My name is Bahkis, Geomancer Supreme of the Arkanite Institute. I have a message for all the Realms of Tytanis. The Leylines have encountered a dangerous flux, a magical aberration that has affected the Leylines that go to the Realms of Rupu, Hotan, and Miupo. If you hail from these lands, or have family from these places, we send you our sincerest condolences. All travel between any Realm and these three has become expressly forbidden.” The man stopped speaking for a moment, but quickly picked back up. “We must not despair. This is a unique challenge, but soon we will figure it out. Together, we will find a way to reconnect with our lost brothers and sisters. My name is Bahkis, I am the Geomancer Supreme of the Arkanite Institute. To all those affected, you are in my heart tonight.”

Three sharp crystalline beeps sounded, and the harmless, inoffensive music began once more.

The effect on the crowd was immediate, as some people’s outbursts of emotion could not be contained. Nabras departed immediately, not wanting to get caught up in anyone losing control of themselves.

As she walked, she couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. Not with the situation, that was terrible enough, but with the explanation she had just received.

“The Leylines have never experienced a flux, whatever that is,” she thought. As far as she knew, that terminology didn’t mean much. She felt a well of frustration in her gut. Her hands tensed into fists and she stopped to stomp on the ground.

She came to Yearma to learn the truth. Why was it that now, in the center of all the knowledge she could ever want, things all seemed to be mired up in secrets, conspiracies, and hidden agendas.

She took a few deep breaths and readjusted her hat. She continued walking, intent that she would find some semblance of truth about this all.

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