162. Ascending Izmittor I

Where the dry grasslands of the Empire met the gray rocky foothills of Izmittor, Tercius, his mount, and his Mentor arrived in the early morning hours. The seal on his Well was tightened the previous evening and now nothing else remained but to venture forth.

"You should find the first tribes directly northwest from here. Farmers and hunters, maybe even some anglers. If a village has four dozen or so people, then you can expect at least one spirit, maybe even someone who can interact with it." Mistress Kalina pointed at the rocky hills. Few things grew here, on the far southern border of the Izmittor mountain range, what with little to no precipitation, no waterways to speak of, and a land that was more gravel than dirt, but some kind of greenish-yellow bush seemed stupid or stubborn enough to adapt and thrive on the land.

“These outlier communities are used to trading with caravans from the Empire, but even so your appearance will still provoke interest. You will be seen as a solitary outsider there. Some might find you interesting for it, while others might find your mere presence offensive in some way. Be mindful of both.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Tercius nodded as he checked the knots on the saddlebags.

His recently trained mount, Lucky, was a great mountain ram, a massive beast that could easily carry three grown men on his back and was still able to jump. The space on the gray ram's back was plenty and Tercius had used it all to prepare accordingly for the journey ahead. He had entire bags with biscuits and dried fruits, enough to last him a week, he had waterskins with enough liquid to last him five days, along with two large warm blankets and a set of thicker clothes for when the altitude changed the climate. One of the leather saddlebags was specially made of hardened leather and then padded with soft insides to safely contain the glass vials and its precious contents, some of which were meant for him to use in trade for whatever he needed. Another had flintstones and coils of rope and everything else he thought might be of use in the mountains. Pots, pans… you name it, he had it. A veritable mountain of goods rested on Lucky's large back and the beast barely noticed it.

“If you see any of the special signs I’ve told you of, then do not approach— no matter the circumstances, yours or theirs. Go the long way around, even if you have to lose hours in doing so. If you’re late to spot the signs, then… don’t mince words with them or try to wiggle out. You won’t be allowed to leave no matter what, so there will be no need to remain civil. You need to make it very clear that you can harm them seriously and that you are prepared to do so, should they try anything—” Mistress Kalina huffed, pulling bright orange springs of hair out of her mouth with a slender finger.

“Yes… Mistress,” Tercius hid a smile. This was the third time she was repeating it all, and he figured it wouldn’t be the last time. “Mentor, we’ve gone over this multiple times already. I’ve memorized all your instructions—”

“I know you’ve memorized it all, Mathetes. That is not my point." His Mentor's eyes flashed and Tercius stood a little straighter at her use of his formal Title.

Mathetes in Magik. Disciple, in Empire's Common. She only used that one when she was serious about something and didn’t think that he was paying enough attention.

"I won't go as far as to ask that you trust me on my word— you should always be mindful that my words are colored by many influences, some of which might not have your best interest in heart— but I need to know that you will obey my command, should the time come. This is a fact. They will harm you if you fall prey. You need to strike first. Show them that you can take them on and live. Make them understand that the wound they would receive by going after you would leave them weakened and bleeding for decades— if others of their kind let them live that long. Then get away from there as fast as you can."

Tercius looked at her eyes and found two serious emeralds gazing back. Swallowing a growing lump, he nodded. “Trust me, Mentor, if anyone were to make the choice to take the skin off my back, I won’t just roll over and let them,”

Mistress Kalina breathed out and gave him a tight smile. “I suppose you wouldn’t.”

"Of course, I wouldn't. I have places to be and things to do…"

Both stood still in silence for a while, aware that everything was set and ready, and that it was time for Tercius to go.

Should he say something to his Mentor in parting? He couldn't just turn around and leave without a word… Several times Tercius tried to say something, but then he thought otherwise, all the while his mouth kept opening and closing slightly. Would a goodbye work for this situation? That was, probably, too simplistic. What then?

“I… I—” Tercius finally cleared his throat. Simplistic it was then. “I’m not very good at this, so… Goodbye, Mistress.”

Mistress Kalina briefly touched his shoulders, looked him square in the eyes, and nodded. “Fare well in your endeavor, Tercius. May your senses be keen and mind sharp, always. And… remember, if you put proper preparations in place, things that are difficult now will always be easier later.”

Tercius nodded and turned to Lucky. “Time to go, buddy,”

The entire saddle was custom made on a rush order and that alone had cost him a tiny fortune, but he had to say that they were worth each coin. Lucky was just too damn tall and wide for a normal saddle. He grabbed the leather handles that hung on the sides of the saddle and with little difficulty climbed atop Lucky. Lacking Tercius’ weight to hold it down, the lower of the two-step stirrup shrunk back to match the height of the upper one and Tercius’ collected it with his foot.

He nodded to Mistress Kalina and then turned his narrowed gaze at the distant mountains whose peaks hid inside white clouds.

*** ***** ***

Tercius and Lucky traveled without stopping, the ram’s size, skills, and expertise in dealing with tricky slopes and rocky terrain allowing for a smooth ride for him. Crunching gravel and rocky ground vanished below Lucky’s massive legs at incredible speeds.

They were making excellent progress so far, but things were about to get more difficult.

Pleasant hours of the early morning had turned to day proper and, with Sogean summer being what it was even this far north on the continent, the heat had started getting unpleasant. A few hours later and the heat was unbearable. Tercius used the end of the scarf to wipe the rivers of sweat off his face as he looked for something where they could take a little break. No trees, no caves, nothing big enough for him and Lucky to hide inside, under, or behind.

Right about now, everyone sane all around Sogea was probably already indoors or under shade, but he had to settle for a white scarf wrapped around his head. They never once got sight of a stream or any other sources of water, even though they should have. The map he had was old, the original made around three millennia ago according to his Mentor, but both Tercius and Mistress Kalina had thought that the waterways would still be around. Tercius grunted and licked his dry lips as he scanned the terrain for anything that might shelter them. The next few hours would get even worse and it was time he and Lucky hid somewhere as well, at least while the worst passed.

They rose atop a hill and Tercius saw a solitary boulder in the distance, tall and wide and with a color of tar that glinted with sunlight. Despite the heat, the sweat, and sore thighs and buttocks, he smiled.

But then the smile went away as caution took hold.

{Mana Sight} made his dark green eyes glow with an eldritch light, as he inspected the site for any already present denizens. Tiny and vague mana signatures abounded in the area, swirls of green for plants and red for reptiles, insects, and mammals, all tiny. When his search found no major threat in the area, Tercius had Lucky climb the hill and approach the boulder slowly.

His glowing eyes observed from up close, but still, he found nothing. The flat plateau atop the fill was free of anything he should be wary of, as far as he could tell. Still, there were some snakes and scorpions capable of concealing their mana— some of them found in the area, he knew— but proximity should allow him to spot them in time to handle them. He dismounted and led Lucky to the boulder, his step careful and eyes watchful.

Tercius approached and placed a hand on the smooth block of khanak. Skills couldn't shape it, man-made tools couldn't chip it. Boundary stones, people called them. These blocky monoliths could be found everywhere on the continent. In fact, be it Sogea, Nogea, Zagea, Isgea, or others— all continents had them. Speculation on them and their purposes were many, but Tercius had recently learned about them, learning their name and true purpose.

All khanaks were an enduring remnant of a time when the Society of Magi had been at its peak, a time when millions of Magi walked the world, instead of tens of thousands of today. According to Mistress Kalina, every one of these rocks was extracted from deep within the earth, then heated, put under tremendous pressure, and then shaped in special ways by ritual efforts of thousands of Magi. During its making, spells were woven inside to make them endure all kinds of harm and allow them to remain unchanged. What stood before him was only the very tip of a khanak, while the rest ran deep into the earth, the other end tapped into something that Mistress Kalina called soronna.

Tercius took a step back and gawked upwards at the runes, gently inlaid into the stone, barely visible on the smooth surface. At one point in their history, all settlements that Magi built were structured around these things. By using certain spells that all khanaks were designed to accept, a Magos could tap into the power found deep within the earth and either link their structures and items to power them or even draw power for their own use if they knew how to transform it properly of course.

To Tercius, at first thought, it seemed as if the Magi of old had tapped into the thermal energies of the planet's core, but with Mana and Energy around he was not quite sure. For all he knew, khanaks tapped into ley lines, or something of that kind. Tercius patted the rock gently. Without a Magos who knew the spells to work with its enchantments, this khanak was performing the role of a simple rock and it would stubbornly do so for as long as it lasted. Right now, all it was good for was to provide some shade.

Once upon a time, thousands of trustworthy Magi knew the spells to tap into the khanaks, but how many knew them today? Did his Mentor know them? As one of the leaders of the Repository, she just might. Perhaps her role required it even. Did Perdinar know them? Maybe…

The Repository surely kept the spells at a high price, provided that they were even available for exchange to the general public.

Reluctantly peeling himself off of the khanak, Tercius went to provide water to Lucky, and then he let the bleating ram rest in the shade. He picked up some hard biscuits for himself and started examining the khanak with both mundane and magical senses while he ate his lunch with some water to soften it.

To his {Mana Sight [55]}, the khanak was non-existent.

To his {Energy Sight [30]}, the khanak was non-existent.

Tercius frowned then bit into the hard biscuit. {Mana Sight} was rare and {Energy Sight}… beyond rare. Atop that, both were fairly well developed, and yet he only saw… some vague outlines of tar-like threads of silk shifting inside the darkest of darkness. Obscuration of the highest order was hiding the enchantment.

Trying to use his mana to blindly tinker with the enchantments inside was not something he was willing to try, and not only because someone might be currently observing him. A failed attempt would result in nothing at all, while a successful one would likely get him electrocuted or frozen or something like that, perhaps even a mental jolt sent back through the very mana that would be used for tinkering. Tercius tsked. If the Magi who were in charge of designing and creating the security parts of the enchantments were particularly vicious in their work, like Tercius would be if he was in their shoes, then all he had to do was destroy the intruding mana. That, in turn, would create a mental feedback that could make the poker and prodder suffer from anything from a nasty headache to a blackout or even worse things that would outright destroy the intruder's mind and leave them a drooling mess.

Tercius hummed as he tapped his nose with his index finger and observed the black rock with narrowed eyes. No, the enchantment in this rock wouldn't get cracked by a would-be Magos in training. But he could, perhaps, destroy it. In theory, all enchantments could be destroyed in a rather simple manner. All you had to do was channel a certain amount of power into the enchanted object to overwhelm the stability of the enchantments and erode the structure away into oblivion.

That was why the seal on his Well would stop functioning eventually. The natural movement of mana inside the body would slowly degrade the structure of the enchantment and the seal would just stop working properly.

Still, he could only imagine the power required to wash away an enchantment that was designed and made specifically to endure and channel power enough to run entire settlements full of other enchantments. But… hypothetically, say he did manage to do it… He had time to kill, after all, so he might as well entertain himself with something interesting.

Without the enchantments inside, the khanak would just become a pretty rock that it already was acting as— Tercius’ green eyes flashed. Or would it? What if the enchantment wasn’t some kind of a pump with privileged access, as he was given to understand, but rather a valve with privileged access? Without the valve to halt the path… the pipe was free to eject its contents… much like a geyser would.

Tercius hummed. He had no idea if the power drawn was Mana or Energy, or some combination of both, as Mistress Kalina wasn’t willing to speak on nature of khanaks overmuch, but whatever it was, if the black monolith started spewing it freely into the area, someone was bound to notice the anomaly and stop by to visit. Tercius glanced at the rocky terrain. Here, that someone would likely be a curious spirit.

The peak of the scorching hours passed slowly as Tercius examined the khanak and allowed his imagination to run wild with guesses. He also took a few moments to properly consult the map he had. Judging by the khanak in whose shade he and Lucky had found shelter, they had made far more progress than the distant mountains would suggest, but at the same time, they had gone a bit too far west than was planned. Riding straight east should cross his path with that damned stream and the routing error he made would be corrected.

Tercius approached Lucky and gave the beast’s muzzle a few strokes and pats. “Luck is with us, Lucky. Not a single large beast or human so far…”

The giant ram bleated in response.

“I just hope the quiet lasts for as long as possible…”

*** ***** ***

The stream was indeed where the map said it would be. It was there that he also found the first true flora, with green grass and flowering bushes and tall growth all around the water. There were even rare trees on the stream’s banks.

A pack of bipedal reptiles grazed the grass, their necks, and tails long and thin, scales green and yellow, none of them taller than his knees. Lisster Minor, the guidebook called them. Tercius approached the area with care. Where packs of Lisster Minors were, a Steel Beak or two were usually nearby, according to the book. Holding his breath, Tercius searched for large mana signatures but found nothing.

Breathing easier, he approached the stream and unburdened Lucky on a meadow. The beast practically lept to graze and drink and Tercius was glad that the beast finally could have its fill. Careful of the surroundings, he scooped the cool water in a palm and washed the grime off his face and neck, and then drank almost as heavily as Lucky did. He was also honestly a little relieved that he had been able to resupply his too soon spent stores of water. Immensely restored from the mere presence of water, they collected their things and followed the stream cautiously at a slow trot, until they stumbled across the first true signs of human settlement of the area.

Tercius frowned as he observed the site. He didn’t like the look of it, not one bit.

Of the enclosure made of dry-stone walls, only the base remained somewhat intact, while the rest was scattered to rubble all around the area. In the middle of it all, he found traces of what used to be a rough stone foundation. Even there, someone had taken the trouble to scatter the stones that once made the walls of a home.

This wasn’t like the area surrounding the khanak, where the last settlement had been present thousands of years ago and where, when the last Magos decided to leave the area, the Collectors of the Repository came and packed the settlement down to the last stone and piece of processed timber.

No, this was not that at all. This was… chaotic destruction, not orderly removal. It wasn’t a thing a beast would do…

Something told him it was recent, too. How recent, it was hard to say. Such things were difficult to tell with stone, but the image of it all made Tercius frown deeply. Should he change his plans, stop following the waterway and take for the hills east or west and then proceed north? A debate ensued, where he weighed the pros and cons of both, but ultimately he shook his head. Choosing to swallow his nerves, Tercius and Lucky proceeded onward as planned.

No matter how much he wanted to avoid them, and possibly whoever did this, he had business with the humans living here.

*******************************************

AN: 

I'm sorry for the spotty release rate, but with work, holidays, friends and relatives... the quiet time that I dedicate for writing has been almost nonexistent for the past week. Still, that's all temporary. Things should settle back to norm within a few days. I just need to power through it all...

 On a more broad, personal picture, things are slowly but surely looking up. :D 

I hope the same to everyone in this New Year.

If you have the time, will, and words, leave a comment on the chapter. Getting feedback is good for me, especially of the harsh, but constructive kind.

Cheers,

Humas.

Edit: There was some jumble at the start of the chapter, but I've fixed it.