Chapter Twenty-Four

Lay of the Land

“If we never have to go through a desert again, that would be wonderful.” I plopped down on the ground just inside our destination and summoned a waterskin. The moment we’d stepped foot into the grasslands, the temperature had shifted from sweltering heat to a coolness reminiscent of early spring.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Nalithor reminded me.

I followed his gaze to the distant foreign structure. Our travels had been mostly uneventful aside from meeting up with Fraelfnir and Djialkan, who now circled above our heads. The place we had come to investigate, however, made my stomach twist with unease.

We likely had several more hours of waking to do before reaching the structure, yet it loomed high into the sky, managing to look threatening even from such a distance. As Nalithor had reported after his initial investigation, there were no signs of life in the lands surrounding the structure.

It looked like it had rained recently, yet the only tracks in the mud were ours.

“What do you two think?” I looked up at the circling fae-dragons.

Djialkan swooped down to perch on my shoulder. “I could do without having to return to this place. The aetheric currents move strangely, and I do not smell a single living thing aside from us.”

“The crystals near the structure were depleted or repellent to aether,” Nalithor added, crouching to nudge through the soil underfoot. “However, I didn’t check by the outskirts.”

I tilted my head, watching him poke through the ground, then turned my attention to our surroundings. To an extent, I had wondered if perhaps the landmass was meant to belong to X’shmir—or at least somewhere nearby. Now that I could see it for myself, however, I found myself agreeing with Nalithor that it was from elsewhere.

The blue-green grass had a waxy coating to it, giving a frosted look when it caught the sunlight. Much of the other flora had a similar color. None of the small flowers blooming amidst the grass were familiar. The temperature was also cooler than near Eormir or our temple.

Furthermore, everything smelled different. Even the soil.

I returned my attention to Nalithor when I heard stone scraping against stone, then arched an eyebrow when I spotted a pillar of earth rising before him. He must have grown annoyed with digging by hand.

“Finally,” Nalithor muttered, stopping the pillar. He pulled a long crystal out of the damp stone and soil, pouring water from a waterskin over it. Finally, he perched beside me and leaned closer, showing me the pale beige crystal. “The composition seems different from the crystals around both Vorpmasia and Eormir, but the aether within is stronger.”

“Stronger?” I nudged the crystal with one finger. “Do you think that’s because this land has been ‘resting’ without anyone to work it, or perhaps the Lari’xan of Earth has domain near…wherever this place is meant to be?”

“I would say the latter,” Nalithor answered. “Our research indicates that farming and other such industry don’t drain aether from earth crystals. It’s only the water crystals which weaken over time.”

“And we don’t have any idea where the Lari’xan of Earth has his domain, right?” I sighed, crossing my arms. “You seemed mildly frustrated. Were you expecting more crystals in the soil?”

“If this region’s natural location has large beasts, there would have been smaller crystal fragments closer to the surface.” Nalithor motioned with one hand. “Either because they were…deposited, or because the heavier beasts crushed the crystals of this size.”

“So, whatever fauna are meant to be here must be small?” I asked.

“Small, perhaps airborne.” Nalithor paused to glance up, then sighed. “I would think that, if someone teleported a piece of a country elsewhere, the animals and inhabitants would have come with it.”

“Do you want to take this slow, and investigate the countryside before we wander closer to the ‘temple?’” I asked, turning my gaze toward the building in question. “Or…whatever it is meant to be. You said there seem to be houses or something inside of its exterior?”

“It could be a temple complex to some unknown deity,” Nalithor murmured, following my gaze. “However, I am leaning toward the belief it is a city. When I was last here, I didn’t see anything to indicate a religious purpose. You can’t see from here, but the outer walls are damaged, from beasts or perhaps war. It’s difficult to say which.”

“Maybe both.” I grimaced. “Speaking of… I’m a little concerned we only ran into one beast between here and our temple.”

“One matter at a time.” Nalithor sighed heavily. “I believe I spotted a stream nearby. Shall we investigate that first?”

“After you.” I rose to my feet and followed him, watching the fae-dragons leap into the sky again. Their silence and narrowed eyes made me think they felt just as on-edge as I did. Perhaps more.

When we reached the stream, I climbed down the bank and stood in the knee-high water, turning over stones here and there. Under normal circumstances, I should have scared insects along the bank, scared fish, crayfish, or minnows from underfoot, but there was nothing.

Nalithor whistled to get my attention, then handed me several vials, instructing me to fill them with water. Once I placed a cork in each, Nalithor grasped my wrist and helped haul me out of the stream.

“The water is pure, at least,” Nalithor remarked, taking one of the vials from me. He tilted it a few times, holding it at different angles in the light. “The flora, at the very least, should be doing poorly without insects and other organisms present. Yet, the land seems to be thriving.”

“I noticed the desert isn’t spilling over into this region at all.” I glanced back the way we’d come, then looked up at Nalithor. “It’s like someone drew a line around this chunk of land and decreed the sand isn’t allowed to filter in. None of the desert life seem to be wandering in, either.”

“Only birds.” Nalithor pointed upward at a flock passing over head. “They seem blind to this place’s existence.”

“Blind, blind, none of them notice this place!” Daijiro popped into existence beside us, wringing his paws together. “Snakes, scorpions, mice—none of the desert creatures realize this place exists! Strange, because I don’t sense a barrier.”

“Have there been any developments regarding the structure?” Nalithor asked, watching the Vulin fidget.

“Lights at night!” Daijiro’s ears perked up. “Very pretty, it looks like a punched metal lamp. But big, very big. Turns on at the same time, turns off at the same time.”

‘Automated lights?’ I stuffed my hands in my pants pockets and stared in the direction of the structure. Lights should have meant people, but unless they had incredible food stores, I couldn’t imagine anyone living solely inside the city for long.

“It will take several days for us to properly investigate the outskirts,” Nalithor remarked, crossing his arms. He shifted to look at me and continued, “We only have a few hours before evening. I’m thinking we should use this stream as our starting point, and work inward toward the structure in a spiral pattern.”

“And use our domain for ‘camp’ still?” I asked.

“Indeed. I don’t think I can sleep with that looming over us.” Nalithor glanced over his shoulder.

“Let’s go then. Just tell me what you want me to look for.” I smiled at him.

“I want you to keep an eye on the aether, while I test the soil composition and search for hints of prior civilization,” Nalithor began, leading me away from the stream. As we walked, I switched my vision so I could examine the aether. “They must have had other towns, farmland, and more prior to withdrawing to that city. Remnants of such infrastructure should lurk beneath the surface and would give us clues as to their species and how they developed.”

“Mmm… But what if a god erected that city for them early on?” I suggested while studying the arcs of aether over our head. “You said the walls are damaged. If they’re from a predator or a rival nation, a deity could have theoretically created a city to protect their people, right?”

“It would have been very dangerous for them, but yes.” Nalithor frowned, then glanced down at Daijiro. “You said that lights turn on inside the city at night. Do you believe they are Magitech?”

“Yes, yes!” Daijiro nodded vigorously. “Most certainly Magitech, yes, very shiny. Stable. Pretty. Not fire, no, no.”

“Then we’re dealing with a nation near equal to Vorpmasia in regard to technological advancement.” I studied the building, the motioned toward a protrusion out one side. “Is that the ‘bridge’ you investigated before?” I paused, waiting for Nalithor to nod. “I think it’s high enough for them to tether something akin to an airship to. Perhaps an airship couldn’t fit inside, but it seems reasonable that several could have been tethered to the bridge at any given time. Maybe a storm or some other such phenomena resulted in the airships being tugged away while tethered, and that’s why the bridge is now mostly in pieces.”

“It is a possibility, yes.” Fraelfnir drifted down to join us. “I also agree that the structure could have been made by a deity. There are no signs of quarrying or lumbering outside the city walls, which begs the question where the materials came from. Were they transported, we should still see hints of roads carved across the landscape by carts.”

“The aether looks like it’s probably stronger toward the city too, but I can’t tell very well from here,” I added, squinting briefly. “It could just be due to people living inside the city, but I’m inclined to think it’s more than that.”

“Djialkan and I will keep our eyes on the city so that you two may focus on your other investigations first.” Fraelfnir beat his wings a few times, gaining altitude. “We will warn you should the city prepare an assault.”

Nalithor and I exchanged a look before returning our attentions to our respective duties. No matter how hard I looked, nothing about the aether in the area looked off or otherwise wrong. The longer we wandered, the more I felt that the feeling of wrongness came from the region being displaced from its original country or continent.

My companions weren’t having much luck either. Everything Nalithor found appeared normal, to a point he didn’t think the land had been farmed ever. At least, not on the side of the structure we were on. He intended to repeatedly sample the soil as we spiraled closer toward the building at the center.

We decided to continue our investigations until the lights within the city turned on because we wanted to see for ourselves if it was Magitech. Several hours without any measurable progress aside from distance traveled was frustrating, at best.

When the sun dipped behind Suthsul’s dunes, the lights within the structure flicked on instantly. Nalithor and I stood in silence for a short while, staring at the distant structure. The steady, warm light never dimmed or changed in intensity. The amount of aether surrounding the structure increased the moment the lights turned on, surrounding it in lazy swirls of gold and red.

“We are dealing with advanced architects, then.” Nalithor crossed his arms over his chest. “I struggle to think a deity could create a city so complex, or invent Magitech, without at least having some manner of reference first.”

“Well, their allies or enemies could have Magitech,” I suggested. “If a deity is responsible, they could have emulated what they saw from neighboring lands. Though, most of our reports from the Nrae'lmar Continent suggested tribal lifestyles, didn’t they?”

“On the coast, yes.” Nalithor frowned. “We have yet to wander more than a few miles inland.”

“If a deity used their power to create such a city, they might have been Exiled for abusing their power,” Djialkan stated. “We can speculate over dinner.”

I sighed, nodding, when my stomach growled.

“We will begin anew in the morning.” Nalithor made an upward motion, summoning darkness around his hand, before pressing his fingertips to a nearby stone. A sigil sunk into it, before blooming into a shadowy doorway. “We’ll return here once we’ve rested. After you.”

“I won’t argue with that. We’re in dire need of a bath.” I swatted him with my tails as I strode past.

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