Ends of Magic

The sea patrol kept them busy for a little bit longer, asking some more questions around the Heirs’ magical items. They didn’t seem to care much about their destructive capacity but rather the danger of some kind of magical plague or anything that could self-replicate. With just a few questions they ferreted out the ax that could turn the target into an undead, but quickly clarified that it could only make a single undead at a time and the magic couldn't spread. Then they backed off a little ways, maintaining pace a few hundred feet away from the Grace of the Mists.

“That didn’t seem like a very serious inspection,” Nathan said, watching the little craft as it glided smoothly over the swells. “They didn’t seem worried about our skills much at all. Just our items.”

“You are with me, and summoned by Sarya herself. I have named you Questorkiller, and they do not wish to offend a guest of your status.” Eolinne dipped one shoulder in a shrug. “They also hold a symphony of skills to detect danger before it enters the city. Keihona has masterful compositions of many paths, especially those related to defense. This city has stood through Endings. It will not fall to a curse of Quaz.”

Khachi raised a bushy eyebrow. “How many Endings?”

“That is a secret of Kalis. If the sayings are truthful, it was founded after the ending of Wrath, but that was long ago.”

That would mean it survived three. Storm, Deicide and Elements.

They stood in silence for a little while, watching the dark landmass up ahead grow more resolved. They’d been sailing towards it for days without seeming to get much closer. But that was the effect of the curvature of Davrar - you could see things from very far away, and they’d get clearer as you approached and there was less atmospheric distortion. Now it was close enough Nathan could pick out some mountains as little bumps on the horizon.

Eolinne broke the silence. “We shall arrive after the sun departs. If you wish to be well-rested, there is time to nap.”

None of the Heirs seemed interested, so Nathan spoke for all of them. “I’d prefer to see Keihona. It’s not every day that you get to see a city this old.”

“When will we be able to see Sarya?” Stella asked, fidgeting where she stood.

“I don’t know.” Eolinne admitted easily. “Mayhap tonight, more likely tomorrow, possibly next week. She is a Questor.” She spread her hands as if that explained everything. In a sense, it did.

The Heirs once again lapsed into silence, trying to pick out the city that had been their goal since they'd left Giantsrest. Nathan caught a few glimpses of reflected light from where the landmass met the water, but it was too soon to say anything for sure.

A couple of hours later Eolinne clapped her hands and declared it was time for their final meal aboard the Grace of the Mists. She guided Aarl through making a very fancy dish of shredded meat and roasted veggies cooked together in little pie crusts. It looked like too much effort for the amount of reward, but Nathan was pretty sure Eolinne was just distracting them away from staring at the horizon for hours on end.

Night had fallen when they came back above deck, and the city of Keihona stood out in the darkness like a glimmering jewel. From afar it looked like a welcoming torch of civilization contrasting against the soft glow of the world above. They were able to pick out more and more details as they approached, and Nathan’s first thought was that it looked like a modern metropolis from Earth.

Those are skyscrapers.

The Heirs gasped as they got close enough to make out the towers that studded the city. The only building that tall they’d seen was the Ascendent Academy, and here there were dozens of them, packed tightly against one another.

Nathan squinted to make out details, spending Focus to sharpen his senses. Each of the buildings glowed with orange light eerily similar to the color of incandescent bulbs, but their profiles weren’t quite right for a normal skyscraper. They were made of metal and glass, but each had a unique style. One had an art deco look that reminded Nathan of the Chrysler building. Another was built in flowing lines that made it look like flowing water. A third looked like a fat cigar. Another looked like a covenant spaceship from the Halo games.

His inspection continued on to the rest of the city. Keihona seemed to be built high above the ocean, atop cliffs right up against the water. A wall was built atop those cliffs that prevented Nathan from seeing the base of the skyscrapers, but in the dark it blended into the natural rock and he wasn’t sure how much was cliff and how much was wall. Underneath the city a massive cave glowed with light. Nathan watched as a sailing ship was silhouetted against its mouth, dwarfed by the massive opening.

The Heirs were all transfixed by the sight, trying to understand the scale of the city. Stella spoke quietly, as if afraid of disturbing the view. “Dragon’s Breath.”

Nathan was busy doing calculations. He counted the number of buildings, then estimated the surface area of the city. “I count forty-seven towers. There might be more I can’t see, but they’re packed pretty tightly. Probably somewhere between one to three million people." About ten to thirty times more than lived in Giantsrest. A hundred times more than lived in Gemore and all of the villages.

It’s a metropolis all right, but it’s not beyond imagination. There could be more if there’s a sprawl, but I wouldn’t expect a city that’s survived multiple endings to have suburbs.

“A fine estimate,” Eolinne said. “It is a city among cities, only challenged by the other places under the direct rule of Questors, like Esebus and Zhark.”

“Is that the port?” Aarl asked, pointing at the giant cavern underneath the city. “There aren’t any waves.”

Eolinne gave a nod, teeth flashing in the darkness. “It is. The safest on Davrar, and ruled by the strongest code of law as well. But we won’t be using it.” She pointed to the side, towards a promontory sticking out into the ocean. “That is Sarya’s palace.”

It wasn’t as well lit as the rest of the city, which is why Nathan hadn’t really paid it much attention until now. But the tall peninsula of land was covered with a collection of low-lying buildings that looked like spun sugar under the light from the world above.

The city grew larger and larger as the Grace of the Mists approached, until the cliffs towered overhead. They were just under a thousand feet tall with the walls on top. The cavern mouth that led to the underground port was five hundred feet tall and twice as wide at the opening. It looked like the massive cavern that held the port was even larger, capable of holding a fleet.

There weren’t any waves. When Nathan stretched his senses into the water he noticed a similar enchantment to what he’d felt in Litcliff radiating out from the city ahead. Here it was more subtle and better tuned, gently suppressing and diverting the waves in a much larger radius instead of harshly cutting them off closer to the city. They didn't have to go through any gauntlet of rough water to transition from the deep ocean to the coast.

The little patrol boat led the Grace of the Mists around the promontory that held the palace to reveal another underground harbor built into the back of the protruding cliffs. It also revealed the other side of Keihona - and showed that the whole city was built atop an island standing a few miles away from the larger landmass of the continent. An unnaturally straight and even causeway connected the city to the mainland, with no fewer than four sets of walls along its length.

Well, it has survived a while. I’m not surprised to see that it’s so heavily defended.

At just that moment they passed through an invisible and intangible barrier that surrounded the city and stretched out miles in every direction. It existed like an enchantment written into the barrier between the physical world and the metaphysical one where mana pools lived. Then it was gone, fading into the distance behind them. Nathan blinked, stretching his aura backwards to examine the construct and seeing that it curved inwards in all directions like a giant sphere that they’d just entered.

Well-defended in more ways than one.

He couldn’t tell what the wizardry did. It was certainly interfacing with reality on an extremely deep level. For all Nathan could tell it was changing some universal background constant within the bubble, but everything felt normal. The enchantments on the ship didn’t seem to be behaving any differently either.

Khachi noticed Nathan looking backwards with a puzzled look. The wolfman raised an eyebrow at him and tilted his head to invite an explanation.

Nathan just shook his head and looked forward again. He didn’t have a good enough idea what was going on to speak out loud and he wasn’t about to ask that they turn around so he could examine exactly what was going on in the multi-mile wide intangible barrier. Especially since people who couldn't feel wizardry couldn't even detect that it was there.

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They pulled into the smaller cave-harbor and Nathan examined it carefully. It was ten times smaller than the main harbor, but still held docks and drydocks for about twenty ships. Only half of the berths were sized for the Grace of the Mists. It was quite late at night so only a few people were around, moving cargo and doing other tasks. Eolinne piloted them smoothly into the slot that their escort indicated, and the smaller ship turned around and sped off. One of the crew waved towards them, and Nathan waved back.

The Grace of the Mists bumped gently into the stone pier. Eolinne flicked a finger and ropes reached out to tie themselves off against the moorings. She stood from her throne and clasped her hands formally in front of herself, then bowed over them towards the Heirs. “I will carry the song of this journey for as long as I make music. You are pleasant companions and powerful allies. I hope prophecy calls for us to voyage together once again.”

Then her mouth quivered in amusement. “Though that might be soon indeed. If you listen to Sarya’s plans then it is likely that I will carry you away from this city within the week.”

Khachi slammed a gauntleted hand against his breastplate in a gesture of respect. “We would be free of regret to travel with you again. May Algoa’s luck ride with you.”

The rest of the Heirs echoed the sentiment and then turned to the docks, where a trio of people waited for them. The first was probably a guard, dressed in enchanted armor complete with a face-covering helmet and a sheathed shortsword. The second was a youthful woman dressed in a sundress despite the chill wind coming off the ocean. The last was a stern-faced older woman dressed formally in something that wasn’t far off from a suit. She stood at the head of the little group, gloved hands clasped together as she politely waited for them to approach. All three of them bore myriad little patches and emblems across their outfits, sown or enchanted in place. Nathan didn’t have a clue how to read them, but he was pretty sure that they noted various accomplishments. Given how many each person was wearing they were being greeted by a prestigious group. He walked down the gangplank first, giving the formally-dressed woman a polite nod and waiting for her to speak.

“Speak your names and Paths and be sheltered in this city.” She spoke firmly and authoritatively. A strong mental skill reached towards the Heirs and presented a clear choice. They could tell the truth or they could lie, and the woman in front of them would know if they lied or made significant omissions.

“Nathan Lark. Antimage and Assassin.” He spoke clearly and proudly, meeting the woman’s eyes and daring her to judge him.

She merely blinked in surprise, then shifted her attention to Khachi.

The Heirs spoke in turn. “Khachi Cordavia. Cleric.”

“Stella Caxol. Mage.”

“Sarah Crusens. Markswoman.”

“Aarl Crusens. Fighter.”

After each one the woman dipped her head infinitesimally before moving onto the next person. When they were done she gave them a light bow. “Thank you for your honesty.” She reached into a pocket where an enchantment flashed, and withdrew five thin plates of metal, each about the size of a credit card. They were all etched with the Heirs face’s and names, as well as their paths, and then a brief string of dots and dashes that looked a bit like a QR code.

This really is a city of bureaucracy.

“These are your identification chits. Keep them on you at all times, and show them when asked by an official or shopkeeper.”

Nathan noted the minor enchantments on the items and grimaced. Their magic wasn’t very strong - it looked like some kind of preservation spell that would break if the chits were altered, as well as a divination beacon of some kind. It would be a pain in the ass to carry the chit around without stripping the magic from the enchantment.

He gestured. “I can’t carry that. The magic will break. Antimage, remember?"

The woman glowered at him with the air of a bureaucrat whose routine had been interrupted. The younger woman wrung her hands nervously and the guard sighed heavily.

“Can I carry it for him?” Aarl asked, stepping forward and reaching out a hand for the cards.

The frown didn’t go away but did lessen as she handed Aarl the cards. “Only if you stay with him. These chits prove your lawful presence in the city. If you cannot provide it when asked you will be arrested.”

Aarl nodded wordlessly, passing out the cards to the rest of the Heirs before storing his and Nathan’s in his bag.”

The woman wasn’t done. “Do you have any goods to declare?” The skill reached out for them again, requesting the truth.

Wow. Customs?

The Heirs looked confused, and Nathan sighed. “She means do we have anything valuable we intend to trade with.”

“Oh. Yeah, a few things.” Aarl reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of gems that glowed with inner light. “Primed magical gems, two dozen mithril ingots, some oricalchum, potion ingredients…” He looked up at the woman with a raised eyebrow.

Her mouth pursed again. “Enchantment and alchemy supplies, miscellaneous. Approximately how much by weight?”

Aarl shrugged and opened up one of his dimensional bags to peer inside. “A few hundred pounds. We looted a city.”

That answer did not serve to soothe the woman’s nerves, and she leaned forward aggressively. “Do you have any soul dust, death’s essence, liquid pain…” She continued to name a few dozen other ingredients that all sounded unsavory.

Aarl glanced into his pouch again. “No?” He did not sound certain.

The customs agent looked positively angry. “We will have to do a full check. You will…” She was interrupted by a cough from the woman in the dress and looked back. The younger woman gave her a meaningful look, then tilted her gaze upwards towards the palace above.

The suited woman gave an angry sigh, then turned back to the Heirs. She spoke through gritted teeth. “By invitation of her majesty, Sarya Pamaris, Questor of Keihona, you are welcome in the City beyond Endings. Break no laws during your stay.” She moved aside grudgingly.

The other woman stepped up to fill the gap and smiled brilliantly at them. “My name is Molithri. If it suits your desires, would you follow me?” She turned and led the Heirs down the dock, turning back to give them another grin once they’d gotten out of earshot. “My worthiest apologies. You must understand that the border guard are serious in their duties.” She turned to meet Nathan’s eyes, an amused look on her face. “But be confident that you are truly welcome here.”

This felt like a true welcome, not the halfhearted one the border agent had given. Nathan returned the smile. “Thank you.” He followed Molithri towards what looked like a magical elevator bank in the back wall of the giant cavern.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 8

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 6

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 8

Class: End of Magic level 834

Bottomless Stamina : 84400/84400

Indomitable

The Undeniable Strike of the Antimage

Stamina Burn

Momentum Mastery

Stoneflesh

Arcane Nullification

Galefoot

Close Quarters Mastery

Boundless Aura

Denial of Mysticism

The Ending of Magic

Aura Projection

Selective Dispel

The Living World

Class: Spellslayer level 564

Regenerative Focus: 5740/5740

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Tranquility 3

Inspiration 8

Impulse 3

Mystical Discernment 3

Forewarning 2

Arcane Insight 4

Evasion 1

Mental Vault 5

Tutoring 9

Parkour 9

Visibility Control 5

High-tier Disguise 5

High-tier Battle Cry 3

Aura Control 5