Ilos Book 2 Part 9

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Greetings once again! Not much to talk about, just work and me being slow at writing as usual.
Please enjoy this next part of Ilos :)

 
As always, let me know if I screw something up or something doesn't make sense!

 

 
-Tas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earth, Day 43

 

Nick leaned back in his desk chair, stretching his arms over his head to loosen up his shoulders. He was glad he’d invested in a good chair, he’d been sitting in the thing for most of the day every day for the past week. Rubbing his eyes blearily, he leaned forward again, resting on his elbows as he picked up another rune card, this one made entirely of white-gold with an Earth rune inscribed on it. He glanced over at the status window hovering a foot or two away, recording his current amount of mana before casting Earth magic into the card, filling it to capacity. Before his mana could recover any significant amount, he typed out the mana he had left, the spreadsheet on his computer doing the math for him as to how much mana the card contained numerically. He tossed the rune marked rectangle to the steadily growing pile of the things in the corner, each a different combination of inscription and material.

They must be cranking these things out at the Terran Inquisition to be teleporting this many to us each day. I’m most surprised they haven’t come to pick all these charged cards up yet, they’re not entirely safe here. Fairly safe, considering we haven’t left this apartment in the past week and no one outside knows we’re here, but not entirely safe. I’m glad Corvid and Tasalin decided to share the teleport and status words of power with us though, the logistical value is immense. I hope their defensive preparations for the goblin attack go well. Isn’t it supposed to be another three weeks until that happens? I guess being early is better than being unprepared.

Nick shook his head. I’d better get to bed, I can barely think straight.

Blinking heavy eyelids, he saved the spreadsheet and shut down the computer, noting that it was well past three in the morning. Getting out of his chair, he took the three steps to his bed, hesitating for a second or two before climbing under the covers fully clothed. The heat from Amanda’s body warmed him, welcome in the abnormally cold spring night. It was hard to get used to sleeping in the same bed as an attractive girl whom he wasn’t dating, but she’d refused to let him sleep on the couch or the floor, stating (correctly) that he would get better rest on a bed and that she wouldn’t be the cause of him not sleeping as well. David would have stubbornly refused, citing his seemingly ironclad modesty, but Nick was not so bound by such impractical ideals.

He turned his head to look at Amanda, her face a bare foot or two away. His only bed was twin sized, and with two people there was little extra space. Her face was so different when she was asleep, lacking the worry lines and focus it had held almost constantly for the past week. She was actually quite pretty in an ordinary kind of way, her blue eyes always bright with intelligence and curiosity, though they were closed in quiet slumber now. Carefully brushing a few strands of her shoulder length brown hair away from her eyes, he felt the smile on his face fade into a concerned frown.

The pair of them had been living in his apartment for the past week, alternating researching how the material a rune card was made of affected the amount of mana it could store and spending time in Ilos to learn how to fight. With the aid of the new words of power status and teleport given to them by Corvid, they were able to accurately measure mana numerically and get supplies from wherever Jess was, allowing them to stay comfortably in the small space.

It wasn’t like Jess to be so secretive with him though. She knew she could tell him anything, but refused to give any details about where she was going or what she was doing while he and Amanda were cooped up. More concerning is that she seemed to have made several deals without consulting him whatsoever. There was the obvious deal with Corvid for the extremely valuable words of power as well as the agreement she had with the Terran Inquisition. He wasn’t sure of any details on that second one, but no one else knew about the rune cards and the volume of them he had in the apartment screamed of the well-funded organization’s involvement.

Jess wasn’t a fool, she was trying to capitalize on the power she had as more or less the only contact between Earth and Ilos, but he was worried she would get in over her head trying to broker deals without a second more knowledgeable eye on the proceedings. Whatever she was doing, Nick hoped that she was preparing for the growing backlash from her upfront reveal of magic to the entire world.

He and Amanda had kept a close eye on the news for the past week, and as expected, things were quickly spiraling out of control. The media exploded only minutes after the interview finished, each scrambling to be the first to report on it, and while they ranged between mostly supportive and completely hostile in tone, all of them acknowledged the danger of people who controlled such power.

The next day brought first violence. Some who feared the new power of magic sought out those with black headbands and tried to drive them away. Many left quickly, fleeing before the mob or group, but some with more experience in magic stood their ground. A few with Keys saw advantage in their new knowledge and thought to further themselves, committing a variety of criminal acts. A sudden increase in violence was seen in every nation as hundreds of small isolated conflicts arose. Videos were posted online by the thousands as people filmed anything to do with magic, from the crimes committed with it to their friends doing tricks to themselves making how-tos or showing off what they could do.

This was the age of information, and the rules of magic in Ilos were well documented, as well as many of the words of power. Even those who had headbands but had never used magic before quickly learned how through the internet. It was also the reason Nick had not advocated trying to keep everything a secret for as long as possible. All it would have taken was enough people figuring out they could use magic on Earth to catch on the internet and explode. At least this way the response would not be against a vague and unknown possible threat, which could have resulted in much more violence.

The second morning brought statements from many governments. Nick and Amanda had watched the Presidential address on the subject, and while not entirely supportive, was better than they had feared, though not as much as they had hoped. The speech could be boiled down to just three points: Law Enforcement would be tasked with breaking up any violent acts and taking down any aggressors that had a black headband, the call for peace in the country, and the not directly stated but very hinted at recruitment drive for the military by promising safety there. All in all a very neutral response, which made sense when the world had essentially just been turned on its head.

Other governments had different responses; many followed in the United States’ footsteps of upholding the previous status quo while also trying to take advantage, some like China called mandatory drafts of those with Keys, a few like Iran cracked down and killed those with headbands, and Sweden actually fully sided with the new mages, saying that they would be actively protected and any who came would be provided asylum with no stings attached, even if they were from other countries.

That night a video was posted with a message from Jess, though she referred to herself as Lassea. She spoke entirely in Ilosian, stated that she led a group of mages and scientists located at a hidden shelter away from the growing danger to all those who had a Key, and declared that she would be in the central plaza in Ilos the following two days to meet anyone who wanted to meet her or needed shelter. Immediately afterwards Nick got a text that he was under no circumstances to come to that central plaza or the Terran Inquisition compound.

That, along with the lack of contact, was what really concerned Nick. At that point he clued into the fact that something was going on. Jess had to have made a deal or some sort of other agreement to actively avoid contact with him and Amanda. With the advent of teleportation and telepathy magic, not to mention technological routes, it would have been easy for them to get in contact, but as of yet there had only been warnings to stay away and the ongoing assignment of investigating different materials of rune cards. At least he hoped that was the case, because otherwise he would have a lot of questions for his friend when next they spoke.

The rest of the week had brought only an increasing amount of both violence in the world and how much the spell cards they received each day were worth. Thankfully the Terran Inquisition sent food along with cards to test, and though he and Amanda didn't particularly like staying cooped up in his tiny apartment and keeping the blinds closed, it was much better than the alternative of possibly being attacked in the street.

When is this going to end Jess? Nick thought, his eyes sliding closed, mind sluggish. What deal did you make that you've been avoiding me? Let me help you. If you're doing what I think you are, you're gonna need all the help you can get...

 

 

Earth, Day 44

 

A sound drew Nick from the soft darkness of sleep. The quiet movement of feet on the floor he thought. Man, I must have been really tired if I didn’t feel Amanda get up. I should probably cut back on the late nights… Nick thought as he rolled over to take advantage of the extra space in the small bed… and ran into something warm and firm and soft. Immediately backtracking to his side of the bed, his eyes snapped open to a blearily blinking Amanda still under the covers with him. Movement stirred in the corner of his vision, and he turned his head to see Jess standing at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed and a knowing smirk on her face.

Nick felt his cheeks go scarlet as he imagined what his friend must be thinking and tossed back the covers on his side, standing to show he was still fully clothed. Jess’ grin slipped as Amanda sat up, also still dressed, but came back as a genuine smile for the both of them.

“Good morning the pair of you, are you ready to get out of here?” She looked around the small room, eyes marking clothes, shoes, rune cards, and other items. A hooks made of ice appeared and carried their shoes over to them. “Teleport.

“Well, I was going to go to the bathroom, but I guess this is fine too.” Nick gave Jess a raised eyebrow as the teleportation circle formed around him, preventing him from moving more than a foot or two from where he was standing unless he wanted to have the spell not take him along.

Jess, to her credit, blushed. “Sorry, sorry, I’ve just been so pressed for time lately I started the spell without thinking.”

The teleport circles surrounded Nick, Amanda, Jess, the pile of rune cards in the corner, Nick’s laptop, and a couple backpacks of things they always had prepped by the bed just in case they needed to leave quickly. Nick sat down, starting to pull on his shoes. “So we’re going to the Terran Inquisition compound then? I can’t think of any other place you would take the cards.”

At Jess’ nod, Amanda gave a sigh of relief, lacing up her own shoes. “Good, I’ll be glad to have access to a lab again, I’ve come up with a number of ideas I’m looking forward to testing. Honestly though, I’m surprised you didn’t come by sooner Jess, or is it Lassea now? Considering how close the pair of you seem to be, I expected you a number of days ago.”

“Right. That. As part of my agreement with Arterian for taking over the Terran Inquisition, I wasn’t allowed to accept any outside help for the first seven days. Something about proving myself as a capable leader or other such excuses. I talked him out of some of the things he wanted, like him having complete autonomy and all the scientists under his command, but that was one of the few points he refused to budge on.” She turned to look at Nick, brown splashed blue eyes locking with his own. “I know we haven’t talked much about what happened after you got kidnapped by the man, but I have to ask. Did you do something to make him not want you involved?”

Nick smirked. “You could say that.”

Seeing he wasn’t planning on elaborating, Amanda stepped in. “He manipulated the second scientist Jeremy and I into giving him confidential information, then used it to blackmail Arterian into getting full access to the entire facility and all of the correspondences between him and the Illusive Man. He wasn’t happy to have someone get a leg up on him so quickly. If I had to guess I would say that he wanted to cement his place as head scientist before Nick had a chance to block him from the position or find some way to give you more power over him than he wanted.”

Jess raised an eyebrow and grinned. “How very shady of you Nick. In this case I approve.”

Nick shrugged, firing the grin back, the teleport circle under him suddenly swelling with light as the spell neared completion. “It’s only business.”

With a flash he was no longer standing in his apartment, but now upon the large summoning circle that he once desperately used in an attempt to save himself and his friends from what he thought was certain death. He frowned at the memory, not enjoying recalling the pain he had had to put himself through to summon the mysterious black-haired girl. Maybe she was a friend of David’s? She knew my name, but why then would she be so emotional about seeing me if we haven’t met before?

Amanda dragged him along by his arm as she started heading towards the entry to the Terran Inquisition compound, pulling him quite literally from his brief reverie. Nick took a look around as he caught his step next to Jess, noting the new fortifications around the area. There was what essentially looked to be walls made of or coated in cold iron surrounding the summoning circle as well what seemed to be a ceiling of some kind being constructed. There were also a number of guardsmen with scary looking assault rifles stationed around the area, their helmets also seemingly coated with cold iron.

“We don’t want anyone to be able to access any of the rest of the facility unless we allow them to.” Jess explained, noticing his examination. “Teleportation is pretty much the only way to get to this place and we’ve been spreading the mental signature needed for this spot. Arterian managed to figure out a way to share a teleportation destination with Spirit magic a few days after he learned about teleport. If anyone is going to get in here this is going to be the entrance, so we’ve got it fortified.”

The guards at the gate into the compound saluted Jess and opened the door for the three of them. Nick’s ears caught murmured greetings of “Miss Lassea.” as they passed into the building with tones of respect. She was held in high regard around here it seemed; as expected of his friend. The inside of the complex was held at a comfortable coolness, though it was nice outside so there was no noticeable change in temperature. “So does that mean you have a steady flow of people teleporting here? I’ve been in this facility before, you’re not going to be able to house many.”

They turned a corner following Amanda, who was still holding his arm, as Jess gave him an excited smile. “The compound has grown a lot since you were here, it’s at least ten times the size it used to be now, and most of that is housing. Not to the kind of opulence of the original rooms of course, but it’s all still very comfortable. There’s enough room here for probably upwards of thirty thousand people to live and have plenty of space doing so.”

Nick frowned, eyebrows creasing. “That can’t be right. The kind of space you would need for that many people would be a huge strain on your logistics if you only have one entrance to the building and it would require a massive amount of money for upkeep. Just the cost of transporting…” He paused, eyebrows flicking upwards and a slow smile creeping across his face as he looked down Jess. She grinned back, seeing understanding dawning on him, and his smile deepened to something that could be considered sinister. “Of course, if all of your logistics could be solved instantly with teleportation and telepathy, there would be no need for any of the regular transportation methods and you could expand almost indefinitely so long as you would run water and electricity to your new housing.”

Jess nodded, sharing his conspiratorial grin. “New housing carved out with Earth magic by an ever increasing number of mages and pipes and wires run without the tools normally needed to move them into place. The more people come here the quicker we expand, and-“

“Finally!” Amanda exclaimed, shoving open a door and pulling Nick through. “Arterian!”

The older scientist jumped, startled at the sudden interruption to his isolation, then turned with visible apprehension. Taller than most, Arterian Dark cut an imposing figure with his slightly grey-streaked black hair and close cropped beard in conjunction with his intense blue eyes. The man flinched when he met Nick’s eyes, but recovered his equilibrium quickly as his daughter dropped Nick’s arm and approached. “Amanda! So good to see you! I’m glad you’ve returned safely, I was worri-“ He cut off as she hugged him hard, his arms gently wrapping around her as a smile creased his face.

Jess took a half step towards Nick to speak quietly. “As much as you don’t particularly like him, he’s still a good man. More than a bit childish at times, but never malicious.”

Nick sighed, watching the brown-haired girl he had quickly grown to consider his friend hug the man responsible for most of the trouble he had had while here. Then again, if Arterian had not decided to take those actions he and Jess would not be in the positions they were in now. “You’re right, as usual. Not that I would have tried to get rid of him now that we’re working on the same side, he’s simply too good at what he does.”

“Not to mention what Amanda would do to you.” Jess snorted, nodding towards the girl in question. “I think even our head scientist will be treading lightly for the next few days.”

As if on cue, Amanda pulled back and shoved a finger into Arterian’s chest, forcing him back onto his stool. “Don’t think you’re getting off easy for making me worry, not to mention keeping me out of the lab for no reason. You get to be my assistant for a bit now that I can test a couple ideas.” Her eyes scanned the cluttered lab tables before she plucked a marker from her pocket and started scribbling down something, Arterian leaning over to see what she was doing.

“Shall we leave them to it then?” Nick asked, turning to Jess and offering his arm.

She grinned, looping her arm in his as they turned towards the door. “I believe we shall. There is much to do yet.”

Fas!” Amanda’s voice came from behind them, followed by a flare of flame that blocked them from the door. “Get back here you two! I didn’t drag you all the way here just to have you leave without seeing what I came up with!”

They dropped arms and turned to see Amanda holding a quickly disintegrating spell card, its magic spent and the paper material it was made of not hardy enough to take the strain. Arterian continued drawing with the marker, handing her another flimsy card which she held up so the rune faced outwards. “Notice anything different?”

Nick frowned, walking forward to get a better look. Instead of any of the nine elemental runes, this one had the nine pointed star of the summoning circle. “A summoning card?”

Amanda shook her head. “Nope, try again.”

“Some kind of new element? I thought there were only nine.”

“Nope, try again.” Amanda grinned.

Nick gave her a flat look. “You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

“Think of it as payback for one-upping me the last time you were here.”

Jess took the card from Amanda’s fingertips. “Fas. Pos.” A long ice crystal and a large flame flared in front of her and vanished as the spell card disintegrated in her hand. “A universal spell card, the nine pointed star is all of the other runes overlapped upon one another. It’s a lot weaker than ones made from normal runes though.”

Amanda gave the blonde haired girl an appraising look, seeming impressed, then nodded. “They can only store about a third of the mana of the normal ones. I checked the numbers with the status screen when I charged it just now.”

Nick folded his arms and leaned back on one leg, one hand coming up to his mouth as his mind began running through the implications. It would greatly simplify things to only have to make one type of spell card, they could examine the available materials and what combination gave the best mana storage to cost ratio before putting them into full production. Jess would want as many of her people as possible to unlock their magic so they could begin gaining experience on their own without using the cards. With the Illusive Man’s seemingly unlimited resources they could produce the cards quickly enough, especially if they were reusable, but they would need mages to constantly recharge the runes. He would need to ask Jess how many people she had that could use magic already and how many of those were still needed for other projects before he could come up with a solid plan.

“Now for my next trick.” Amanda held up a card with the fire rune drawn on it. “Fas.

A tiny flame appeared a few inches above the card, staying the same distance above the center when Amanda turned the card. Then she set it down on the table, took a step back, and turned around, the tiny flame behind her remaining exactly where it was above the rune. She grinned at the pair of them. “So much of Ilosian magic is based on intent, so why should runes be any different? Instead of using the mana in the card to cast the magic yourself, you can just tell the rune to do it for you, and it’ll keep doing it for as long as you set it to or until it runs out of stored mana.”

“That’s cool, but I’m not sure how useful-“ Nick started as the card’s flame sputtered out and the paper dissolved, bereft of mana.

“Done.” Arterian announced, holding out three metal cards to Amanda, each with the nine pointed star carved into them by hand.

“Ah, thanks.” Amanda said, shooting a frown at Nick. “I’m not done yet.”

Like the previous card, she held it up, had it create a small flame to hover a few inches over the center, and set it on the table. However, within a few seconds it sputtered out, though the metal card was too sturdy to dissolve once empty of mana. She laid the other two cards on the table so the three were in a chain that touched end to end, then touched the one furthest from the one that had the flame over it.

Jess gasped as the flame relit. “That’s not possible!” She took a step towards Amanda, leaning forward. “How!? How did you do that?”

Nick shot his friend a look, frowning in surprise. That was not how Jess normally reacted, not to mention the complete 180 from her matter of fact attitude just minutes ago about the new rune.

Amanda took a half step back, obviously taken aback at the blonde girl’s vehemence. “I uh, I just told the two cards to move any mana they had to the next card in line and to wait if the card ahead of them was full.”

Jess took another step forward into Amanda’s space, her voice stern. “What made you think of it?”

Amanda’s hip bumped into the table as she tried to retreat, eyes wide with a glimmer of fright. “I uh, I just, I figured it would work, I thought… Could you maybe take a step or two back? This is kinda-“

“Tell me!” Jess commanded, her voice imperious and full of authority. The air temperature around her dropped rapidly as she glared down at the younger girl, ice crystals beginning to form on the floor at her feet.

Arterian stood up from his seat as Nick grabbed his friend’s arm. “Jess! What are you doing?” Rather than respond, she just pulled her arm free and kept her brown splashed eyes locked with Amanda’s blue ones.

Amanda seemed only a step away from cowering, tears swimming in her eyes as she tried to lean away, but words came tumbling out of her in a rush. “I figured it out last night when I tried it with some cards when Nick was asleep! I thought that if you could program the runes to do one thing with mana then you could tell them to do other things with it too! I- I was going to tell but then you showed up and then we came here and this was the first chance I got!”

In an instant the air was warm again and Jess had her arms wrapped around the shorter girl, voice colored with relief. “Thank God! I’m so sorry Amanda, I needed to be sure.”

Nick exchanged baffled looks with Arterian despite their lingering animosity, seeing the man had as little idea of what was going on as he did. The older scientist opened his mouth, but Nick held up a hand. This wasn’t something Jess could just wave off and he wanted to hear what she had to say about it, but sometimes a little silence was the best option until high emotions could calm themselves.

After a minute or so, Jess released a much calmer Amanda, who wore an expression of concerned confusion rather than the fear that had been there before. Nick’s friend turned to face him and stopped, taking in his set stance and crossed arms as well as Arterian’s glower. She tensed for a moment, then sagged with a long sigh. “I suppose I owe you an explanation huh? All of you.”

Nick nodded once, keeping his firm posture, but said nothing. Arterian just continued to glare.

Jess took a few steps to the side so she could face all three of them, her movement taking on that regal air she occasionally displayed. “I want you to know, I have powerful enemies, and if I tell you about the secrets I keep you will be placed in great danger. I must also have all of you swear an oath that you will not reveal what I have to say to anyone. An oath bound by magic. Do you still want to hear it?”

Nick nodded again, not even bothering to think about it. He’d already known whatever secrets Jess was keeping were important and probably dangerous, and had already prepared himself for an outcome something like this.

Arterian frowned, looking at his daughter. “I don’t think this is something for-“

“I’ll hear it.” Amanda stated, cutting the older man off. Nick glanced at her, unsure if he was impressed with the quick recovery of her composure or concerned with the intense curiosity that shone in her eyes.

The black hair man open his mouth again, but Amanda stared him down, expression steely. He closed his eyes, shook his head, then focused on Jess, his black eyes boring into her brown splashed blue ones. They were silent for a long time, but as the seconds drew closer to minutes Arterian finally nodded. “I will accept this oath and hear what you have to say.”

Jess looked at the three of them in turn and nodded. “Very well. Blood Bond, Kinsu.

Nick felt something pass into him, settling on his skin. It was as if he had stepped into a big freezer all of a sudden, but also as if he were roasting in the desert, heat and cold coexisting in a way that left a part of his mind reeling in confusion. The sensation was mind though, and didn’t do more than distract him for a moment.

“Repeat after me.” Jess commanded.

“By Oath and Blood
By Earth and Flood
In all places but this
Even to the Abyss
I swear my life
My line, my strife
To silence.”


 

Nick repeated the rhyme, and at the end he felt the magic fall deeper into him, seeming to coat his very bones before vanishing. Amanda, then a vaguely reluctant Arterian also recited the words, each shivering as the magic Jess had used faded into them.

“Now, let me reintroduce myself.” Jess drew herself up, then with a shimmer her body changed.

All of the changes were small, but their combined effect was dramatic. Her hair was more golden than blonde, her skin smoother, her face more idealized, her ears noticeably pointed; only her eyes were truly the same. Nick knew this appearance, and Amanda gasped in recognition.

“I am Lassea Abagail Barek, daughter of Araen and Xousani Barek, heir to the Wood Throne, Ascendant, and rightful ruler of Ilos.”

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Comments

Lucy, yous got some splainin' to do

Sadarsa's picture

Wait... huh? how is that even possible. I don't get it. The next chapter has a lot of explaining to do in order to make it even possible for Jess, a human born.. who's only gone to ilos like a few times, to somehow be it's rightful ruler.

Well, unless that's not really Jess.. if that's the case then where did she disapper to.

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

Explanations

Tas's picture

All will be explained in time, this one in particular will be fully delved into (considering it's about one of the main characters), but who ever mentioned that Jess had been born on Earth? ;)

Jess moved to the town Nick and David lived in after her parents died in a car accident when she was thirteen, and hasn't discussed her past with anyone until now.

Hopefully you enjoyed it anyway and didn't see it that end coming :)

-Tas

oops

Sadarsa's picture

"but who ever mentioned that Jess had been born on Earth?"
huh forgot about the whole orphaned part.... it's been 2 years since i read that after all :P

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

Cliffhangera

You and your cliffhangers, I would love some explanations and hopefully Lassea knows what’s going on with Aria, maybe she caused it because she knew David was trans but didn’t realize it.

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna

Cliffhangers

Tas's picture

I almost feel bad about always leaving off with something like that, but it seemed like a good end to the part for now haha

We'll get into Lassea's past soon enough, considering how relevant it's going to be going forward.

-Tas

Finally!

I've been hoping this story would be continued.

Slow writing

Tas's picture

Yep, still going! I'm glad you're enjoying it :)

-Tas

Cor!

Podracer's picture

A revelation indeed.
And I know this seems improbable, but I was in the shower this morning, and randomly thought "I wonder how things are in Ilos?" That would be about 0745 GMT. No idea where the idea came from, hadn't looked up the story, or Tas, since the previous chapter back in August. Must be magic...
Anyway, it was wonderful to spot an update this evening, thank you Tas for finding the time and inspiration.

"Reach for the sun."

Updates

Tas's picture

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully it won't take as long for the next part haha

Also, have you considered fortune telling as a career path? :)

-Tas

I did not see that coming...

That was quite a revelation. Good job!

Also... Go Sweden!

-Winlyn

Sweden

Tas's picture

I'm glad I can still catch people by surprise haha

Also, Sweden is awesome like that :)

I hope you liked it!

-Tas

Sure Hope That Oath...

...isn't literal; the wording seems to indicate that they're going to be totally mute for the rest of their lives outside of their current location, including on all of Ilos if Nick returns there. (And also any descendants they will have, given "my line" in the poem. Which would seem to suggest, even if it does just mean keeping Lassea's secret, that Arterian's accepting it bound Amanda and possibly vice versa.)

OK, we knew that Ilos was being ruled by a regent and suspected that the missing monarch (Ascendant) was female. But I was sort of expecting a Sleeping Beauty-type situation at the top island, to provide the game-changer needed if/when Aria got there. Now we know that instead it's because the true ruler was/is in hiding -- which would suggest there's a secular threat to her on Ilos along with the whole good/evil dichotomy. (Either that or Arlanus has human political allies there, in addition to the monsters and the approaching goblin threat. He did say in the prologue to Book Two that he had occasional brief communication with his "tools", but I figured he meant the invading minions.)

Now that we know that Lassea can disguise herself, I suppose we can wonder (as someone else suggested) whether she had the power to disguise David (and very possibly the other beta-group top performers, none of whom have been heard from) to avoid them being targeted as well. But I'm reluctant to give her that kind of ability -- where do you draw the line?

And where does she fit in with Xynus? Presumably he's a lot older, though I suppose now that we know she can disguise herself we don't know whether she's been around for centuries as well. (If so, were they waiting for human technology to develop before making a move?) In any case, her parents -- who do seem to be deceased -- were presumably the rulers and not her, and she seems satisfied they're not coming back.

Actually, there's another way we can spin this, though I'm reluctant. Is Lassea the bad seed -- killing her parents, deposed or exiled by Xynus and/or the Ilosians, and now arranging to spread magic all over Earth to make it too unsettled there to allow Ilos to rely on them for help? Probably no reason to think that, except for her new threatening behavior toward Amanda until she determined that it didn't seem to be a competitor who gave her the new ability. (And I don't think she was talking about Arlanus there, I think it's a more personal threat to her potential rule.).

Then again, there's not a whole lot of point to fight over ruling a civilization that's about to collapse in the next few months anyway, so it's hard to believe she's trying to make things more difficult for her home world. (Unless she thinks that with the Inquisition's help she could rule Earth instead. But Xynus, at least, thinks Earth is in jeopardy from Arlanus's chaotic forces as well if Ilos falls -- presuming Earth is the second world to which he was referring when he told the Champions that two worlds were in peril.)

Anyway, getting back to the main point here, it'd seem there are discoveries that the Inquisition is making that are new to Lassea. (Are the Illusive Man and his money her creations?) Not startling news, I suppose, that she'd know how to use it and whatever other powers she possesses without the theoretical underpinnings being well established -- and that she'd think it probable that they'll be able to do more once they've learned more.

Guess that's it for now. Looking forward to learning more in the next chapter. Two questions, though:

-- In the rewrite of your Book 1 prologue (which I'm not sure I'd read before now) you introduce Arlanus and have Xynus physically show him what Xynus is doing with his incantation. Did he actually materialize Arlanus from out of his prison to do it?

-- I've been mentally pronouncing the Ascendant's name as three syllables: luh-SAY-uh. Is that what you intended? (Didn't seem that important until now (g).)

Best, Eric

Eric

Tas's picture

It's good to hear from you, I always get so much from your comments :)

Like all magic in Ilos, Kinsu (An oath under Spirit magic) is subject to the caster's interpretation of the oath. This makes this spell particularly dangerous to those it's affecting, but it also requires they speak the words of their own will. In this case, you're right on all points, the three will not be able to speak of Lassea's secret outside of that room, nor will their descendants should they ever find out.

I decided early on on Jess' backstory, though I wasn't planning on a reveal this early. Lassea is hiding from her enemies; she knows who they are and she knows that she doesn't have the power to step into the open quite yet. As for Arlanus, I'm not going to give anything away on that :)

Lassea can discuss herself and maybe others, but she certainly doesn't have the kind of power required to enact a permanent change on someone, especially against their will. I will say that Lassea has more magical experience than anyone else and she's known how to use it her whole life so she has no trouble doing even complex spells. However, she's not overpowered considering that during her time on Earth she's only used it sparingly.

Xynus has been around for a long long time, enough that most Ilosians refer to him as the next thing to a deity. Lassea (I'll let you know now) is exactly the age she says she is, just over twenty. We'll get to her parents and what happened to them later.

An interesting idea, Lassea being the bad one, but I'm not going to comment on it. Wether any character is evil is something I'll leave for you to decide for yourself in time :)

Back to the main point, with the technology Earth has, the Inquisition can do things the people in Ilos can't or haven't thought of, which should come as little surprise haha

As for questions...
I'll have to go back and make sure I've worded it right, but it's more of that Arlanus can project himself as an unsteady image when his prison weakens rather than Xynus bringing him out.

I personally pronounce Lassea as Lass-see-ah.

-Tas

Not Knowing that Aria is David is Ridiculous!

The Illusive Man and Arterian Dark tricked Nick into summoning Cariss the Calm (AKA David). Nick almost died during the (sucessful) attempt. Since the attempt was intended to summon a WELL KNOWN SILVER KEY HOLDER, Illusive Man, Arterian Dark, and the Merc(s) would have reviewed the "file" on Cariss the Calm (which would have including a description of Cariss containing a physical description AND WEAPONS & TACTICS [fighting styles] USED BY CARISS THE CALM). When Aria appeared the weapon she held in her hands (and used) to disarm / incapacitate the Merc(s) was a quarterstaff:

During the "fight", "JELLYFISH" saw that Aria changed the direction of her quarterstaff in mid swing - the Merc(s) knew she was an expert in the quarterstaff.

"RIPPER" told "SEAL" she was really good with the staff.

The Merc(s) (based upon her appearance) thought she was 14 or 15. When asked, ARIA told them she was twenty-two (22) years old! [Well, Nick would definately know the age of David (AKA CARISS THE CALM) - What do you think the file on CARISS has as the age of CARISS???]

When PETE threatened to "...kill everyone in the building...", ARIA (David) replied "Go ahead. There's only one person I need to protect here." - behavior not typical of a young woman, but that which in the beta would be recognized as that of THE CALM"!

Aria immediately recognized Nick! - just what you would expect from David and not what you would expect from some girl aquantance of David! Also, Nick knows David well enough that the only girl acquantance of David would be Jess and Aria couldn't be Jess!!!

When offered a position with the Merc(s), ARIA said "So, why me? I'm no military ma- girl." That is definately NOT what a 22 year old man would have said! HOWEVER, it would have been something that a male who had been suddenly turned into a girl might blurt out under stress!!! Assuming this comment was picked up by a recording device or remembered by one of those present, the comment should be recognized as a BIG RED FLAG!!!

When Nick awoke, ARIA rushed over embraced him and started crying. No strange girl or girl acquantance of David would do that. There is only one person on Earth (or Ilos) that would do that - DAVID/ARIA!!!

The last thing ARIA said (to Nick) before disappearing was "Take care of yourself, and Jess too. I'll see you again." THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON WHO WOULD DO THAT!!!

A few minutes after ARIA disappeared, the Merc(s) attended a debrief. Assuming the Merc(s) are not total idiots they would have reviewed what they expected to happen and what actually happened. Since they were expecting a twenty-two (22) year old male called "Carris the Calm" and an unknown girl (also twenty-two (22) years old) showed up instead using the same weapon (quarterstaff), displaying the same skill level as the expected male and apparently very familiar with the boy summoning her and appearing to be unsure of her gender ["I'm no military ma- girl."]; AT LEAST ONE OF THE MERC(S) SAID "IS IT POSSIBLE THE GIRL AND THE BOY WE WERE EXPECTING MAY BE THE SAME PERSON?"

ON SECOND THOUGHT, those Merc(s) are so clueless that none of them was capable of adding one (1) plus one (1) and getting a result of TWO(2)!

After calming everyone down and making sure the roof isn't going to collapse, wouldn't Amanda and her father review what happened and ask themselves ""Who was that girl?""

Do you think either of them would have asked Nick about the girl?

After talking to Ananda, watching any videos and talking to one of the Merc(s), wouldn't Nick at least wonder if that girl could have been David???

Possibly stretching, but not ridiculous

Tas's picture

After reading through, you're mostly right. The mercenaries aren't idiots, and neither is the Illusive Man or Arterian. However, there are three things that don't give Nick what he needs to draw the right conclusion.

First, Nick only heard the first two words of Aria's parting wish: "Take care." The rest was lost with the way summoning ends.

Second, while there are those who might suspect the truth, Nick isn't exactly on friendly terms with any of them except for Amanda, and if the topic hasn't come up, he's not likely to have had that conversation with anyone. In the same vein, things have been going more than a little crazy and everyone has more important topics on their mind for now.

Third, Aria doesn't act like Nick remembers David. This is probably the biggest reason he doesn't think that he got the right person while doing the summoning.

While possibly stretching chance a bit, it's not implausible to say that Nick doesn't know at this point.

In any case, I will definitely be taking this in mind when I do my full editing run after the completion of this book and possibly altering some things to have things make more sense, so thanks for pointing it out! (Especially the mercenaries)

-Tas

Tas, you outran Wile e Coyote ten ft. past the edge of the Cliff

Re: "Possibly stretching, but not ridiculous"

You said "While possibly stretching chance a bit, it's not implausible to say Nick doesn't know at this point."

Not even close! Tas, you outran Wile e Coyote ten feet past the edge of the cliff!

Before being kidnapped, Nick was doing everything he could to find his (only real friend) David.

Nick almost died summoning his friend David.

In Chapter 8, you wrote:

"Amanda had described what had happened from the time the summoning succeeded to when he had woken up..." Unless she lied to Nick, she would have mentioned:

(1) The "girl" said there was only one person [obviously Nick] she needed to protect."
(2) She recognized Nick as soon as she saw him!
(3) She was armed with a QUARTERSTAFF and was very skilled in the weapon
(4) The "girl" said she was 22 years old [the same age as David - incidentally, David's birthday must have occurred while trapped in Ilos]
(5) The "girl" called Nick HER FRIEND!
(6) When offered a position with the Merc(s), ARIA said "So, why me? I'm no military ma-girl." {{Sounds of flash bulbs going off in Nick's brain!!!}}

In Chapter 8, Nick considered the thought that David could have created a FEMALE AVATAR!!!

In Chapter 9, you wrote:

" [Nick thought:] Maybe she was a friend of David's? She knew my name, but why then would she be so emotional about seeing me if we haven't met before?"

Nick has maintained contact with Sweet Dreams! He had previously asked them to try to locate "Cariss the Calm"! [note: see my next comment] By now, Sweet Dreams would have developed a theory that "Cariss the Calm" is now appearing as Aria. Due the the sacking of Travant and the failure to contact the other members of "The Seven", Sweet Dreams would have accelerated the search for "Cariss/Aria" and contacted both Nick and Jess for more information about "David/Cariss/Aria"!!!

Nick spent a week (alone) in a small room with Amanda. I can't believe he wouldn't be sick with worry about his friend David and repeatedly ask Amanda about the girl and discuss with her the question : Who is she???"

Okay Nick, let's add it all up:

(1) Appeared when David was summoned
(2) same age as David
(3) instantly recognized Nick
(4) Emotional about seeing Nick
(5) was only concerned about Nick (assuming Amanda didn't hear "...and Jess" or the words weren't picked up by recording devices)
(6)weapon of choice is a QUARTERSTAFF!
(7) very skilled with QUARTERSTAFF!
(8) familiar with pistols
(9) David could have a female avatar
(10) the girl claimed Nick was her friend!
(11) Sweet Dreams asks for more info about David and asks Nick could David be Aria?
(12) Girl seemed unsure if she was a boy or a girl ["I'm no military ma-girl"]

No way Nick doesn't figure it out!

The Great Goblin Turkey Shoot

In June, 1944 the United States invaded the Mariana Islands prompting a Naval Battle that became known as "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". Due to better TRAINING, tactics, and equipment of the American Navy, the Japanese Navy was defeated and suffered massive losses in their air groups.

Unlike the "beta", over half of the silver key champions belong to a single "MILITARY UNIT" called Sweet Dreams. Although technically a typical multi-player online game "guild", Sweet Dreams is organized like a modern military unit with a formal command staff similar to the command staff of a modern battalion. Members of Sweet Dreams are highly motivated, well organized, discipined, and very well trained.

Sweet Dreams "squad units" are smaller than the squad unit in a modern army, but are the optimum size for the environment in which Sweet Dreams operates. The training is rigorous- equivalent to "daily live-fire exercises!" Due to new (superior) technology (magic), they have instantaneous communications that were not available in the beta. When the Goblin Attack comes, (despite the Goblins being stronger than in the Beta), it is going to be a slaughter. Sweet Dreams with superior training, organization, motivation, leadership, tactics, defensive position (secondary fortress not available in the beta), communications and intelligence will crush the attack.

The leaders of Sweet Dreams are smart, experienced, highly motivated, and supported by experience and knowledge of over 2,000 years of "earth history". They are preparing for the coming battle using the same methods used by a modern Earth military. They are training their people hard, trying to obtain the best equipment and technology available, engaging in intensive planning, and working on obtaining as much good INTELLIGENCE as possible!

Let's focus on the last item INTELLIGENCE:

Probably the most important piece of intelligence is when will the Goblin attack occur. These smart people are going to start with the same timing in the beta (for lack of anything better) and then try to refine the estimate by careful analysis and additional intelligence. I spend a lot of time playing wargames (board, computer, & miniatures). I consider myself to be especially good with strategic games. Analyzing the Ilos game, I determined that there is a very high probability that the Goblin Attack is triggered by the opening of a (specific [?]) air gate. Therefore, if I was one of Sweet Dreams leaders, I would advocate for making locating and monitoring the champions opening gates [most likely the "Seven"] the second highest priority (after training) of Sweet Dreams. As a minimum, I would expect Taktik ("the strategist" aka Sweet Dreams S-3 equivalent) to share my view. Even if none of the leaders of Sweet Dreams becomes aware of the "gate opening goblin attack trigger", they would still want to locate the "SEVEN" for other reasons. One of the other reasons being the "high priority" request from Nick and Jess (the only contacts with black key holders and Earth).

Supai (the highly enthusiastic head of the Information Division aka S-2 Equivalent), would have sent out teams to locate and track the "SEVEN". The "SEVEN" from the beta were well known. Their "appearance", weapons choice (weapons used), and tactics would also be known. As a minimum, an "information division" team would have been sent to follow the original (beta) paths [three paths - three teams] used by the "SEVEN".

When two (2) teams ran across survivors of the sacking of Travant, the information was immediately transmitted to Supai (via telepathy)! Either the two (2) teams independently OR after a reply from Supai would have further questioned the survivors to obtain more information about the single champion who destroyed the city and why.

As soon as Supai and Taktik received information that "Black [dress] Demon Girl" used a QUARTERSTAFF, both would (mentally) ask:

"Is "Black Demon Girl" [aka girl wearing a black dress aka Aria] the missing "Cariss the Calm"???

Wouldn't that force Sweet Dreams to contact both Nick and Jess to report the possible sighting of "Cariss the Calm" and request more information about David???

Oh, the argument that none of the survivors saw "Black Demon Girl" with a QUARTERSTAFF, therefore no one could figure out that Aria is Cariss doesn't fly! Aria left a VERY CLEAR path (that a blind camel could follow) from the capital square to the City of Travant and continuing on to the the first gate opening.

It would take a very powerful champion to single handedly destroy an entire city. Supai and Taktik would suspect it would most likely have to be one of the "SEVEN"! In addition to the "SEVEN", most of the rest of the strongest beta players would be "somewhat" known by Taktik and Supai.

Since Cariss the Calm was the only member of the "SEVEN" to play solo, wouldn't HE be the most logical "Prime Suspect"? If Cariss the Calm is the most logical "Prime Suspect" and is missing and the "Perp" was identified as a female wouldn't Taktik and Supai CONSIDER the POSSIBILITY that Cariss the Calm is using a FEMALE AVATAR ???

Since Arlanus Was Laughing...

...seemingly in triumph when the first gate was opened, I can see where you could theorize that when a certain gate is reached, the final attack will begin.

But it doesn't make sense to me that the goblin attack would be triggered by something the Champions did. If that were the case there'd be no point in letting any Champions leave the surface; that way the goblins would never show up. The Champions would still be needed to fight all the monsters who control most of the planet (according to the part one prologue) and tried to attack the capital a while back; as you note, as magical adepts with superior technology, the Champions ought to be able to hold them back indefinitely. (Could they reverse things and take back the planet? Probably only if they could develop a doomsday weapon that could wipe out their adversaries without destroying the Ilosians along with them.)

No, it seems to me that the goblins (or their equivalent -- originally at least, I thought Xynus's goblins in the beta were just filling in for the real enemy because Xynus wouldn't know what actual threat Arlanus would come up with) ought to be showing up when Arlanus's bonds have weakened sufficiently, and entropy or Xynus's fading powers will see to it that it's going to happen soon no matter what anyone does.

The alternative, I guess, is that there's something up there so valuable to the defense of Ilos that acquiring it is worth bringing on the final attack. Possible, I suppose, but if that were the case you'd want to do it on your terms, and delay it as long as you could while Sweet Dreams and the Inquisition improved your chances with better magic and more organized defenses. Since that's not happening, the implication seems to be that the attack won't be triggered by your actions.

Eric

Sleeping Arrangements

The scene where Jess catches Nick and Amanda in a small bed was somewhat funny, but kinda dumb.

If they are going to be stuck in a small room for a week or more, why not teleport in bunk beds or an air mattress bed???

If you can teleport in people, food and cards, why not furniture???

Sleeping Arrangements

The scene where Jess catches Nick and Amanda in a small bed was somewhat funny, but kinda dumb.

If they are going to be stuck in a small room for a week or more, why not teleport in bunk beds or an air mattress bed???

If you can teleport in people, food and cards, why not furniture???

Death to the tyrant Lassea! Or why does TAS hate David?

Lassea doesn't deserve to rule! Compare her to Garia (SEE - by Penny Lane), Maiha (DOD - by Wolfjess), or several of the other BCTS stories of princesses (in stories of kingdoms at war). Garia and Maiha love their people. Their people love them and would willingly give their lives for Garia or Maiha. Garia and Maiha fought in line of battle with her subjects. I can't say the same about Lassea. Hell, Nick took a shot in the back and sacrificed himself (he thought he was going to die) for Lassea and look at how she treated him. She ran away and didn't look back. After that, she still didn't trust him. She is afraid of a guy willing to die for her - WTF!

Like Michelle, I suspect Lassea may have caused David's transformation. Only I suspect her motives were more sinister! Was Lassea trying to surreptitiously remove a rival?

If anyone deserves to rule on Ilos, it's Aria. Only Aria willingly accepted Ilos as her home! Only Aria loves the land and people of Ilos! Only Aria and a handful of the members of Sweet Dreams treat the people of Ilos as equals (people).

Aria should be the rightful ruler not Lassea. When I think of Lassea, the picture I see is Meg Foster as EVIL-LYN!

From Tas's Response to My Comment:

"Lassea can [disguise] herself and maybe others, but she certainly doesn't have the kind of power required to enact a permanent change on someone, especially against their will."

So it doesn't seem that she's responsible for David's transformation. (Or for whatever happened to the other six beta leaders.)

As for treating Ilosians like people, she was doing it (for obvious reasons) even before any of the other Champions did. Trouble is that to her, they're subjects (and possibly conspirators), not equals.

Eric

ok time to chime in on this conv.

Sadarsa's picture

While i agree that there is a WHOLE lot of evidence pointing to Aria being David... i disagree that it's as obvious as your making it out to be. The human mind is very much into facial recognition, so even if all the puzzle pieces are laid out before you, your brain just isn't going to connect the dots. It'll take either another push, or quite a bit of time to let the your monkey brain sort out what your heart already knows.

As for Lassea being evil... eh that'd be an interesting twist but jeeze i just don't buy that at all.

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

Re: "ok time to chime in on this conv."

Most BCTS readers would agree with you. A common theme in BCTS stories is a boy dressing up as a girl and not being recognized.

Unfortunately, I spent most of my adult life dealing with Navy Personnel, Accountants, and Engineers. When you spend that much time with "Vulcan Wanabees", you can't stop your mind from being contaminated by the belief that logic and "attention to detail" is infallible. I'm pretty sure that I would recognize a person I was very familiar with even if their appearance was altered (think of it as "tells" being noticed by good poker players).

I think my logic is very good and my understanding of the characters (as portrayed by TAS) is accurate. However, authors do not always make their characters act in a consistent manner.

ehh you sorta just made my point

Sadarsa's picture

well you just pointed out that only people who consistantly do detailed oriented work would notice the 'tells', or those that study people's habits (like a pro poker player)... most people don't pay that much attention to detail. You never realize just how little you know about people you thought you were close to until something happens and your faced with it. Only possible exception to that might be extreamly close family... and even then it woldn't be an imidiate recognition like your sugesting. It would take hours, or even days of observation, suspition, and internal struggle for acceptance... unless they just came flat out and said who they really were (which is not the case here). Oh i agree you'd eventually puzzel it out.. but not in the VERY short moment we're talking about here.

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

Re: Facial Recognition and Tells

Sandarsa's comment about facial recognition prompted me to take another look at a piece of the puzzle that I had ignored because I didn't think it was important.

When Nick regained consciousness, he briefly saw a girl who was "emotional". Nick was expecting to see David in a unique mental state called "the calm". That is why he was having trouble recognizing that Aria was David! If he had been concious the whole time, he would have recognized his friend (even though he had become a girl). He didn't see Aria in "the calm" when she first arrived. He didn't see her using the QUARTERSTAFF. He didn't see her immediately recognize him. If he had seen these things, he would have realized that Aria was David (remember, a lot of males use female avatars in online computer games!). Aria had dropped "the Calm" before Nick regained consciousness.

Eric had pointed this out in a comment to the prior chapter.

this i can agree with

Sadarsa's picture

but only because of a few things.
1 they were specificlly trying to summon David.
2 the quarterstaff and skill to use it
3 the 'calm' state
had he been concious long enough to witness all 3 of these then yes, he would have immidiatly figured it out.
other not mentioned factors that *could* help him would be if he talked to the soldiers about the 'girl' who came through or saw the security footage. None of these are mentioned though. From his perspective only thing he saw was some strange girl being emotional and calling him by name... then he passed out.

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~