Chapter 8: The Wall of Esthelenean

Owen Westward

Class: Technomancer

Level 3

EXP:

479/519

Lightning MP:

1/1

Metal MP:

1/1

Wind MP:

1/1

Stats

Spells

Owen stared for several long moments at the word Technomancer. Something about seeing it now, where he’d previously had no class at all, was oddly thrilling. On top of that, he’d gained a whole level, was nearly to the next one, and had three fresh types of mana. A part of him wondered what kind of mana he’d been using before, but he quickly brushed the question aside.

Start with what I can see just in these menus. Worry about what I don’t know after I’ve processed this info.

He started by clicking on his Technomancer class.

Technomancer

Class Level

1

Class Arts

Second Wind

Pull Mana from an object Soulbonded to the user. Extra mana is converted into vitality. Warning: increased distance from Soulbonded object will cause pain for user.

Well, it was just like how Azure had explained it. He could pull Mana from his Soulbonded object, which was likely his van. That would actually make sense. If a car was going to have any kind of mana, it would be Metal and Electricity. He wasn’t quite sure how Wind played into it, though. The AC, maybe? Or maybe the airbag? Or perhaps the exhaust? Now that he thought on it, he didn’t actually notice an exhaust pipe when he examined the van. Did it even run on gas?

Too many questions, he told himself. Stow them away. Figure it out when you get your van back.

More importantly, it didn’t say how to activate the Art. Just what it did. Well, it wasn’t like he could use it any time soon. He wasn’t sure, but part of him guessed that if he used this skill from too far away, it would kill him. It certainly felt like it last night.

“Um…” he said without thinking.

“What is it?” said Azure.

“How do I close the top menu without closing the whole thing?”

“Oh, that,” she said, reaching onto the screen and simply swiping the Class menu away like a tablet.

“Oh, that was surprisingly simple,” said Owen. Now, it was time to look at the next most interesting thing: Spells.

Spells

Spell Name

Spell Type

Mana Drain

Engineering Vision Lv. 1

Continuous

0

Mana Sense Lv. 1

Continuous

1/s

Lightning Touch Lv 1

Instant

Electric: 1

Metal Inscribe Lv 1

Continuous

Metal: 1/s

Wind Cut Lv 1

Instant

Wind: 1

“Huh,” said Azure.

“What? Is something wrong?”

“Why does Engineering Vision cost you zero mana?”

“No clue,” said Owen, “but I’ve at least had it since level 2, though I haven’t actually looked at it yet.”

Without waiting for permission, Azure clicked on the Engineering Vision skill. “Let’s see what it says, then.”

Engineering Vision

Innate Skill

“Innate… Skill,” Owen read. “What does that mean?”

“It means that you developed this spell as a natural part of your biology. It’s just… always on.” Azure pursed her lips. “You must be pretty good at building things, then.”

Owen scratched his head, a bit bashful. “A little, I guess. Where I’m from, I’m just a novice.”

“Where are you from, exactly?” said Azure. She tried to sound nonchalant in so doing, but her eyes were fixed on Owen’s face, reading him.

Well, Owen was never a terribly good liar. “Really, really, really, far away,” he said. “Like, farther than you’ve ever been.”

“I see,” said Azure, not digging any deeper.

Owen knew it sounded like he was dodging the question, but it was more that he didn’t know how to explain it simply. How do you say, “I actually came from another world entirely,” in simple terms? Wait--

“Well, let’s look at your other spells,” said Azure, interrupting Owen’s train of thought as she swiped Engineering Vision away.

“Right,” said Owen, picking Lightning Touch next. He could figure out how to mention where he was from later. For now...

Lightning Touch

Channels Lightning Mana into the user's right index finger. Upon contact with a surface, that Mana becomes Static Electricity and shocks whatever is touched.

Press Palm against Sigil to use Lightning Touch.

That was pretty straightforward. Though, Owen frowned. How much electricity did 1 mana convert to? Was it just a simple, “I rubbed my feet on the carpet too long,” kind of shock, or was it more like getting hit by lightning? Given that it was Lightning Touch Level 1, he figured it was the former, not the latter.

Owen swiped away the Lightning Touch menu and quickly went through the Metal Inscribe and Wind Cut menus.

Metal Inscribe

Channels Metal Mana into the user’s right index finger. Upon contact with a metal surface, that mana is used to carve a small path in the metal’s surface.

Press Palm against Sigil to use Metal Inscribe.

Wind Cut

Channels Wind Mana into the user’s right hand. User may focus to hold Mana into their hand. Upon release, the Wind mana is converted into a lash of concentrated air.

Press Palm against Sigil to use Wind Cut.

“Based on your experience, about how strong is a level one Wind Cut?” said Owen.

“Kind of like a paper cut?” said Azure, shrugging. “I’m not a Wind Mage, so I’m not sure.”

Owen frowned. “That doesn’t sound terribly useful.”

“Just wait until you level up some more,” Azure said. “I’ve heard stories of Wind Mages cutting mountains in half.”

“That’s… epic,” said Owen.

“I know, right?”

“What about you? You’re a Fire Mage, right? I’ve seen you use your Flashbang, and I’ve seen you do that little fire blast on the door lock. That’s at least two spells, plus the spell you used to burn the bodies. What else can you do?”

“I guess you’ll have to watch and find out, won’t you?” said Azure with a smirk.

“Fine, fine. Let’s look at my stats, then.” Owen swiped away the Wind Cut menu and pulled up his stats.

Stats

Stat Name

Rating

Physical

14

Psyche

15

Magic

8

“Okay, that is surprising,” said Azure, pointing at his Psyche score. “How the hell do you rate that when you don’t know anything?”

“You keep asking me questions about my stats,” said Owen, “when quite honestly, I don’t know the answer. So, why don’t we just open it and see what it says?”

“Actually, I think that might have to wait,” said Azure, glancing out the window on her side.

Owen looked up to see the first buildings of Ysvale City passing by them. They’d already made it out of the pastoral farms and woods, and they had finally reached the city proper. These buildings were larger than the ones near the gate, and they were also clumped closer together, made of a mixture of bamboo and brick, standing at four or even five stories in height and built right up to the road. The roofs were shingled, though Owen couldn't’ quite tell with what, and many of the buildings sported glass windows featuring decorative wood or metal framing.

A frothing mixture of people, wagons, and horses marched along the gravel road beside them, wearing everything from the tunics Owen had already seen, to jackets and trousers, to robes and cloaks, to even metal armor and gambesons. Some of the women wore long skirts and dresses, though just as many dressed like the men. A lot of the people (maybe a tenth of them) carried weapons. Swords, bows, knives, hammers, and more. More than a handful sported strange, intricate tattoos, while others yet bore gnarly scars. And despite all that, most of them seemed… beautiful. He couldn’t describe it, but even the elderly had a certain regality to them.

Beyond that, their hair colors were wild and varied. Owen saw blue hair, green hair, bright crimson red hair, pink hair, even multi-colored hair like Azure’s. Their eyes were similar, with all manner of colors and shapes forming their irises and pupils. One man Owen saw didn’t even have irises or pupils. Just all whites. And while most people had normal human-looking ears, some had pointed ears, not unlike that of an elf’s.

It didn’t take long for the coach to come to a crawl as it navigated the city’s traffic, even as the road turned from gravel to some sort of white concrete. They passed countless buildings and streets leading off this main thoroughfare, with Owen catching sight of markets, trinket shops, bakeries, butcheries, and more.

The smells swirling about Owen were absolutely unreal. Sure, there was the scent of horse, and that of hay, and mud. But he also caught wafts of sweet bread, charcoal, and meat on the air. He’d visited big cities before, but none of them seemed to match the sheer density Ysvale. It was absolutely wondrous.

And towering over it all, as a sentinel of white and gold, stood the Spire he’d seen from afar. He still couldn’t say its name, but it was all the more beautiful this much closer. From this distance, the city structures concealed much of the castle itself, but even still, its bulwarks rose up over the rooftops, carved with figures of men and gods in gold, silver, jade, rubies, and more.

The Tower itself was more than just a great monolith. Rather, it appeared to be an intricate series of enormous, twisting threads, forming together like hardened twine or a unicorn horn, with rings of great, alabaster balconies jutting out from it like ivory bands.

If from the hill next to the gate, the Castle and Tower were breathingtaking, then at this close of a distance they were glorious. The spire shimmered in the afternoon sun, cutting through great, white, puffy clouds high in the sky and disappearing above them.

As the carriage transported them closer to the city center, the roads widened and the buildings grew in height. Many of them now were built of stone, with large arches connecting the buildings over the different side-roads. That wood which was still in use was the finest Oak and Ash, carved with delicate detail and precision. Everything about this inner city construction exuded agedness. Moss grew on much of the stone, with the old oak doors into these bastions seeming as aged and worn as something out of a fairy tale.

Not only did the buildings change as they neared the Castle, but the people around them changed too. Nearly all the travelers on the streets now wore either battle armor or some form of intricate robes. Owen recognized some of the metals, like the steel and silver which adorned some of the knights. Other materials, however, Owen had never seen before. Brilliant blues, deep crimsons, armors as black as night and as white as snow. Some of them even glowed.

Despite himself, Owen started giving himself whiplash as he tried to take in every last person, place, and object of interest. It was all too much, too fast. And yet, he couldn’t get enough of it. There was age to this place. There was mystery. And there was power. He could feel it in his bones.

At last, they pulled from their thoroughfare onto the main road which circumnavigated the castle proper, giving him full view of the structure from up close. And looking upon it, Owen realized that he hadn't seen anything yet.

“Stop the carriage,” he called to the driver, opening the door before it had even come to a halt. There was no way he could just drive past this magnificence without getting a closer look. He knew that he’d probably have plenty of other opportunities to examine the castle walls, but he didn’t care. This magnificent structure would not wait, and neither would he.

His whole body still hurt like a bastard, compounded by sitting in a cramped carriage for over an hour, but he half-stumbled, half-walked across the road, crossing the paths of dozens of other people, horses, and more, until he came to rest at the base of the Castle Wall.

What he had seen as pictographs of men and gods from a distance he now realized were so much more. Each figure was composed of hundreds if not thousands of smaller carvings, inlaid with gold and silver. They formed runic patterns and lines, connecting encrusted jewels like stars. Even the small span of wall rising up from the ground before him was an intricately carved combination of spirals, glyphs, symbols, and text, all of which was foreign to him, and yet it was also so familiar. In a very strange way, some of it reminded him of the Sigils used in casting magic, yet this was infinitely more complex.

The wall’s material itself, he couldn’t quite place. It reminded him of alabaster, but he saw no seams for the bricks, and the towering wall structure was far too large for the material to support its own weight. He fell to his knees before the wall and brushed his hand against it, letting the texture flow under his coarsened fingertips. And he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he thought he could feel energy coursing beneath the stone, like blood beneath the skin.

“Castle Esthelenean was a gift from the gods,” said Azure, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Our scholars have studied it for centuries, and its secrets are still beyond our understanding.”

“It is beautiful,” said Owen. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“We should go,” said Azure. “The coachman is growing impatient. We haven’t much farther, but walking the rest of the way would be exhausting.”

“Yes, okay,” said Owen, slowly rising to his feet. He let his fingers linger on the stone for a moment longer, before he finally turned from it and approached the carriage once more. He felt a strange mixture of emotions, ones he’d never experienced before.

Awe. Admiration. Reverence.

And above all, he felt something else: a ravenous hunger to understand.