Technomagica 2 : 10. Exposition

[Dante Alan Skyisle]

I dreamt of the spires of Moscow, tipped with red, shining stars. The stars revolved, folded in on themselves revealing to me that within them was fractal endlessness. I could not draw my vision away from the eternally folding fractal structures above the spires of the Kremlin.

“Smile,” the stars whispered.

I smiled.

“Work hard today,” the stars added.

I nodded, a smile etched onto my face.

I joined the throng of smiling, happy people. The smiles were everywhere. Some of their eyes looked sad, but that sadness was drowned, drained away every time when they looked upon the star-tipped marble towers.

Thick clouds rolled across the gloomy sky, rays of light cutting through the wall of clouds occasionally. Here and there hovercraft ships pierced through the clouds.

Warship Roraima hung above New Moscow, a ten kilometer long, black pyramid that blotted out the sun. The clouds warped, moved in a perfect circle around the warship as they were pushed away by its shields.

"Good tomorrow citizens of USSRA," the perfect, god-like, female voice of Wizard Revolution poured from the speakers. "Our war against the Oceania Imperium continues in full swing. Tensions with Sol are escalating as well, but we will inevitably prevail. The USSRA representative flew into the capital of Oceania this week to discuss..."

I walked into my office building waving a hand to the pyramidal overseer floating over the entrance. The overseer glittered at me with its red-star eye.

“Good morning Dr. Kerenski!” My assistant greeted me with a huge smile, pushing back silver-blue hair. “How lovely to see you!”

“Morning,” I smiled back at her. “How are things?”

“The program you designed is working perfectly,” she grinned. “Population happiness is up across the board. Enemy propaganda no longer has any affect on our citizens. We’re installing the resonance-stars in every city across the USSRA!”

“Glory to USSRA,” my mouth made the words for me as my hand moved to my heart, closed into a fist.

“Glory to the USSRA!” My assistant placed a hand upon her heart.

We got back to business. There were more towers to build across our vast nation made up of nations.

Someday we will take control of all of the sectors. Someday, we will win against the Dead Zone and then I can finally…

______________________________

I woke up with a groan.

My head felt like it had been boiled and squeezed dry like a lemon. I blearily pushed the freaky dream out of my mind. The vision had felt far too real, had far too many sharp details and colors in it was nothing like the frayed-edge memory dreams that Delta and I shared together.

That’s what I get for nearly frying my brain while trying to make Kliss a new body out of a dragon, I supposed.

I felt that someone was wiping my head with a damp cloth. I opened my eyes and saw the smiling face of my mom.

“Dante!” She said, her blue eyes looking at me over. “You’re awake?”

I nodded. It hurt to nod. It felt like a train ran over my head. Had I overdone it by that much… last night? Pushed my soul too far?

“How long was I out?” I asked, feeling like my mouth was made from cotton.

“Nearly two weeks,” she said. “I had to take care of you.”

“You?” I asked blearily. “Where’s Delta?”

“Your Great Aunt is far too busy with her Archmage business,” mom sighed. “She told me that you ran headfirst into an Imperial skyship that was set alight by dragonfire and crashed into the valley. Why did you do that Dante?”

I ignored her question, my head pounding like a thousand drums.

“Well?” She crossed her arms. “I’m waiting for a legitimate answer.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” I sighed.

“Try me,” she said.

My pulsating, aching head was making it hard to think. Even if my soul was that of an old Soviet scientist my teenage body was full of hormones that pushed me forward, made me brave and careless. I was an amalgamation of Dante and Vladislav, both and neither. My soul was ancient, but my body was young.

“No,” I said defiantly to her demands. "Water please."

“Dante,” she said as she handed me a cup filled with precious, refreshing liquid. “You could have died from what I was told. You’re a wizard’s apprentice, technically an adult now. Please make better decisions in the future. Your Great-Aunt Delta and sister are both very disappointed with you. I will be disappointed in you if you get yourself hurt again like this. You have to be more careful.”

I squinted at her.

“Dante?” She asked. “Why are you like this?”

Something in me snapped. The headache and the far-too-realistic dream of the pulsating fractal stars that ripped people’s true feelings away and replaced them with those of false happiness made me really irate.

“I won’t tell you anything until you tell me something,” I said.

“Oh?” Cassandra raised her eyebrow.

"In Alania's land, both sons and daughters bold,
Rose against the gods, with spirits brave and cold.
Built an Empire grand, with prosperity untold,
As eons passed by, archmages' tales unfold.

Hear the Skyisle's call, in our hearts it fiercely rings,
Guardians of our legacy, where the Astral Ocean sings.
We stand as the last, in our tattered wings,
Keeping Skyisle's beacon bright, to eternity it clings.

Through the Gate of Abyss, our heroes returned to fight,
Against vile foes, across Tricameron's besieging plight.
The Basq magi, pulled stars from the shawl of night,
Bathed our cities in death, a grim and dreadful sight.

Skyisle Sentinels, remember our past days,
When we touched the cosmos, our hands ablaze.
Last defenders here, in our fortress' maze,
Skyisle, our light, in its eternal phase.

Descend to the white city, in the mountain's embrace,
Reclaim your legacy, in this sacred space.
Let your Soul-Song lead, with its guiding grace,
To Tricameron return, find your ancestral place.

Children of Alania, when curse-effulgence fades,
Find your path to Tricameron, through the mountain shades.
In Skyisle's valley, where the last light never wanes,
Be the beacon's flame, where hope forever reigns." 

I sang out the words of the Alanian Sentinel's song, translating them to Ishikarian and even making them rhyme properly.

Cassandra's face paled, tears breaking out on her face.

"D-did Great-Aunt Delta teach you... that song?" She pushed the words out of herself with a sob. "Is... is that why you're acting out like this, throwing your life into danger?"

"Yes," I lied. "Academic Kerenski and Great-Aunt Delta taught me and my sister the song of the Alanian Sentinel, translated it for us. There's magic in these words, power of the Alanian magi that's still alive after a thousand years of darkness!"

Cassandra choked. 

"I want the truth," I said, trying to derail her from making me feel bad about rescuing Kliss.

Cassandra fretted for a few moments. I stared at her firmly waiting for the answer. After another minute of me silently glaring at her she finally gave in.

"It's my fault," she said. "Everything that happened is my fault."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.

"When I was fifteen my parents left me to search the Valley of Death,” mom confessed.

“I… know,” I said.

“I had a prophetic dream about having a daughter," she said, her voice trembling. "I went to the Church of Ishira at the center of the village and told the Priestess about the dream. The Priestess in attendance… Giovashi told me that my daughter would bring doom to Skyisle."

"I know that too," I nodded. "A year ago Kliss forced this confession out of you. I haven't forgotten."

"I was so scared," she said. "I was so scared that your sister... that my little Destiny would destroy Skyisle. Giovashi convinced me that my daughter would find a way to get to the ruined Citadel-city of our ancestors, awaken the ancient weapons of Tricameron, and activate the soul-powered golems that have been sleeping there for a thousand years… that I made many Vows to Ishira...."

Tears started to dance down her cheeks. I started to feel bad.

"Overseer Kliss told me and Georgi that Giovashi was evil... that Giovashi was the one who summoned Aradria and yet I didn't believe it, refused to listen o her... until Great-Aunt Delta and Academic Kerenski told me the same bloody thing!"

I nodded.

"I'm now free of my  Vows thanks to Great-Aunt Delta! I’m free… and only now do I realize how awful I’ve been to you both! I'm still terrified that I'll lose you or Destiny, have nightmares that you or your sister will rush headfirst into the Valley of Death!"

Things clicked together in my head, like a puzzle being assembled, like a clockwork mechanism ticking. My migraine was slowly clearing up.

"It's okay, Mom," I said softly after I processed her revelation. "I understand. I'm sorry I put you through more worrying. I'm only thirteen, I'd never go to the Valley of Death. Dealing with contamination there is Great-Aunt Delta's job," I lied, knowing too damn well that it was in fact my job.

Cassandra looked up at me with eyes that were no longer sky blue, but almost silver-gray and shimmering with tears.

"You're all grown up now, Dante," she said. "You have to be careful. You have to get strong so that you can grow to become a powerful mage... and protect Skyisle just like Great-Aunt Delta does. It will be up to you to carry the Sentinel's torch into the future, to watch over this Valley."

I nodded and hugged her tightly.

"The wizards of Oz will aid us," I whispered as mom sniffed into me. "They're here to help. Don't worry, mom."

Our hug was interrupted by a quartet of boots marching up the stairwell.

Delta's grinning face appeared in the doorway. She was inhabiting her human teenage body.

"Someone's finally up!" She declared. "Look who I brought, ya lazy layabout!"

Delta shoved another person into the room. It was a skinny girl in a black and red dress with hair made from ruby gemstones. The girl stepped into the light and her mane detonated with sparkling, colorful reflections.

It took me a minute to recognize her.

"Hey Dante," Kliss said, her ember, slitted, cat-like eyes looking at me.

Mom blinked at the gemstone-maned girl and then looked at Delta and then back to me.

"Hey Kliss," I got off the bed with a groan. "Damn my head still hurts like hell."

"Good! Accept the pain! It's a moral lesson to be less of a tit," Delta shook her head. "You got off easy!"

"Yeah," I said, stretching my tingling muscles. My hands felt unnervingly cold as if they were held underwater in a glacier current. I spent a lot of my power and soul, put myself further into the dangerous precipice of becoming a mindless Astral Phantom by saving Kliss.

"You should thank your mom too," Delta said, looking at Cassandra. "She was the one taking care of you the whole time you were out."

I looked at my mom and saw weariness, worry and concern in her eyes.

“Yes?” I asked her.

“Kliss… that’s Overseer Kliss?!” Cassandra uttered staring at the ex-Overseer. "I... don't understand… Why does she look like a gemstone-person?! Why is she so much smaller, younger-looking?”

“She was inside the burning skyship,” I confessed with an exhale. “She was dying. We… fixed her.”

“You fixed her?!” Mom gasped.

“Uhh… I mean... Great-Aunt Delta used Oz magic that she developed with Academic Kerenski to heal Kliss,” I lied. “There was a dead dragon nearby, so Delta used her great Archmage powers to fuse parts of it to Kliss… and that’s the end result of that, I suppose.” I waved a hand at Kliss who send me an annoyed, albeit sparkly glare.

Cassandra closed and opened her mouth.

Kliss stepped closer to us. She looked like a diamond, like a prism, no… a thousand prismatic refractions that warped, twisted and redirected the light cast into the room through the round windows. I stared at her. I had no idea that her hair would get this shiny.

The [monster>human] converter spell was only tested on bees.

To me it was mostly fractals, numbers and omnicode. When I poured power from the Dragon's body into the girl to reforge her, I had no idea what would come out in the end and by the time I had finished making her I was nearly delirious from exhaustion. The end result now standing before me was incredible, like a living, impossible sculpture, an amalgamation of a gemstone cluster and a person.

Kliss stepped to my side. Her hand moved faster than my tired eyes could track it, my defense Ward didn't activate since I was completely out of mana. The sound of the slap resonated across the room and I staggered back from her.

"That's for running into the burning skyship," she said.

I stared at her in shock. She had slapped me, not hard enough to hurt a lot, but hard enough to show that she meant it.

"And that's for saving my life," she hugged me.

I hugged her back, feeling incredibly awkward. 

Her embrace became firmer and my Astral Phantom threads sensed the warm dragonheart pulsing in her chest, like a tide of magic that was waiting to be unleashed. The chill of the Astral Ocean stopped bothering me as I held onto the girl with an eternally burning, crystalline dragonheart. I felt warm, at peace, realized that I didn't want to let go of her and wondered whether Kliss would be able to manifest supercell storms in the future with the furnace of magic held within her chest.

"Alright, you two, break it up," Delta commented with a huff after another minute.