work in progress…revamping. probably only like the first 1/3rd feels good atm
Part I: Seer Encounter [TRUTH]
Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology. - Larry Niven
The full moon paints the night sky in bloody strokes. Kal finds peace in the anomaly, like the world has finally struck perfect equanimity. Around her, a night market bustles with merchants and customers haggling geometrically marked steel weapons. Travelers peruse colorful market stalls, celebrating Artheria’s annual Lunar Festival. Kal is not. She is here to learn the truth of her world.
Kal walks through the market, passing a blur of entertainers, warriors, and noblepeople. Lanterns float above the streets and the moon’s blood glow illuminates faint shimmers of ki in the air swirling in infinite patterns. The fire festival is a flattening of Artheria’s magical caste. City dwellers gather annually regardless of magic ability in order to celebrate Collective Consciousness, the first amendment right of every citizen in Artheria.
A group of dancers gather in a circle in low stances. Their arms link in a circle and their palms face up, hands cupped. Balls of fire appear between hands, and as they draw their hands apart, fire contorts into triangular fractals. The drummer strikes the bass with a resonant THRUMMM. As soundwaves meet minds, the dancers break out of the circle in round motion, fire lines swaying between them like streams. The drummer continues and the beat steadily increases - THRUM — THRUM — THRUM – THRUM – THRUMTHRUMTHRUMTHRUM. Soon they are spinning so quickly that they become a unified great bonfire lashing the sky. The audience’s heartbeats accelerate and chests tighten. They are enamored by the dancers’ incredible ki control. Just as their hearts feel ready to burst, the drummer slows the beat – THRUM --- THRUM ---- THRUM ----- THRUM. The dancers return to their starting positions, lifting their palms to the sky, and crossing their arms around their bodies to link arms. A blinding halo of white light appear at their feet. On the final THRUM, they stomp their feet and open palms wide; an entire pulse vibrates through the atmosphere and the fire ring rises towards the moon.
Kal knew that the difficulty of the dancer’s ki work was about magical control rather than depth of reserves. Fire was dangerous because it could only be emitted from a couple points at once – typically the hands – while the rest of the body laid unprotected. In their lightning fast routine, a dancer’s real challenge was to avoid burning themself and the other dancers. The upside is that it looked quite impressive to see ki emitted so far into the sky – although Kal suspected there was a trick to it, like adding oil to the ring before it left dancer hands. Still, Kal had stopped to see the full ceremony because she couldn’t help but feel a rush of nostalgia for these festivals, how it made her heart pound in resonance with the crowd’s despite an absence of heart xi.
After three re-centering breaths, Kal is ready to move on. It is time for her to walk to the meeting place.
She walks into a narrow alleyway between two merchant booths that lead to a tile on the floor. The tile is about the size of a festival stall and etched with ancient runes that Kal can vaguely decipher: “tRuTh”.
There is a small slot at the center. Out of her cloak, Kal retrieves a metal token and envelops it with her hands. The token responds to her ki, and within a second it flies out of her hands and into the slot. The tile creaks open and leads to a steep declining path. At the entrance there is a sign that says, ‘No Ki in tunnel. Disobeyers will be dispatched.’ In the pitch darkness Kal sees steely shimmers of ki in unusually high concentrations floating along the narrow pathway. Kal’s shoulders tenses on guard. The ki must be coming from something or someone.
It seems that she walks for ages down the path – it must be a time contortion spell – but eventually she sees dim light at the end.
As she steps into the light, the air feels heavy like metal. Her token flies back to her and into her cloak. Kal places her hand in her pocket and like holding someone’s hand, the token pulls her forward down the aisle. She follows its lead.
Whereas above ground the booths are welcoming and in the open, this is a steel corridor lined with pitch black doors and no windows. The hallway has perfectly symmetrical lines alongside cracked rusty walls, indicating that this hallway is a holdover from the Creation Age. No one else is in the hallway – she now suspects that the earlier pathway was a Ruminance, a maze-like waiting room that keeps you walking until the previous visitor has passed. Each hallway door has a one word sign – “Tablet’, ‘Weapon’, ‘Device1’, ‘Device2’. Kal nears the end of the hall when she feels a sharp jerk to the left – towards a door titled ‘Book’.
It comes as no surprise that her secretive truth-bringer is a collector of the most banned of all artifacts. Books are dusty, fragile objects filled with indecipherable symbols, yet the Artherian Order marks them S-ranked on the banned objects list. An urgent tugging from her pocket nearly bruises her trigger finger as it directs her towards the door. The coin impatiently buzzes and is nearly too hot to hold. She releases the coin and it flies into the keyhole with a click. The matte black door swings open, and Kal walks down the room’s unlit entrance.
Kal can make out vague outlines of book stacks. He is here.
“Hello?” Kal asks. “I’ve come here seeking truth.”
Dim lights turn on and Kal is greeted by an expansive room full of dusty books. She’d only ever seen two books before. Here, it looked like there were thousands. At the very end of the room is a large stack of books and that is where she hears gravel-like mutterings. Kal walks in that direction with a dozen questions in her throat.
The voice anticipates her intentions. “Yes. I am indeed a xi expert. No. I am not a spell. Before I bother to answer your other silly questions, show me what you have.”
Kal bows slightly, though she isn’t sure whether he can see her, and reaches into her duffel bag. She brings out a brown rectangular package tied with tweed.
She hears papers shifting. Interest. “Open it for me.”
“Of course,” Kal was told that the Seer liked succinct responses so she kept things short. Kal unties the package and unwraps the brown paper. The book is titled in Creationary script, Bhagavad Gita.
“How did you get your hands on this?” she hears.
“Through trade.”
A snort. “A lie. The only known copy of this book is in the royal treasury.”
“Well, evidently not. This is an untouched copy.”
Kal waits for his response for what seems like a silent eternity. Finally, she hears, “What are you looking for?”
“I am seeking knowledge for knowledge,” Kal responds, knowing that this would determine his willingness to share. “I want to know about the creation of the world.”
“Every child in Artheria has been taught about the creation of the world,” he says. “How would what I share be any different?”
“I’m not talking about the false tales they teach us in school,” Kal says. She wonders if the seer already knew who she was. She ventures further. “I know that the Creationary stories of Aja and Raj are devised by the Artherian Order, not the gods. I’ve done my own digging and there is no evidence of their existence.” This is a lie. Kal doesn’t have proof that the Creationary story is not real and she couldn’t find conclusive information in the multiple Archives she’d visited. She only knows that the Seer knows.
“Evidence,” he echos. “How bold of you to seek it.”
“I know who you are and that Science is your core belief,” Kal continues. “I have even used its method to test my own assumptions about the truth of the world. From this, I know that Artherian officials tell us everything but the truth. They feed us fables at the expense of our citizens’ long-term wellbeing. Nobles in power only want to keep power, while our magic source dwindles with little effort to upkeep the nation. I want to find the truth and share it with everyone. Please, tell me what you know about our origins. I am keen to know the truth.”
Long silence ensues and then Kal hears books shifting. Just as she thought that he’d left she hears -
“The origin of magic,” he says. “From the Creationary period, comes from a fundamental religion – Science. It was invented thousands of years ago and led to the creation of the artifacts we use today.
“Science used a Method. This Method provides the ability to predict the future. You use the Scientific Method to see what the world will do in 5 minutes, tomorrow, in a year from now, based on what happened in the past.
“Following this method, people built objects called Technology. Technology is the process that has built all of our magic.
“Our world is powered by ‘nanites’, a type of technology. Nanites in our blood and in our city amplify our natural abilities. There are three main kinds: to ourselves, each other, and our environment.
“I can do this with a single word,” the seer says, invoking utter sadness in Kal’s mind, bringing her to tears. Kal could not block his mind attack in time with her xi. “Because nanobots amplify my ability to affect your neural state.”
Kal notices the peculiarities of the seer’s words. By ‘neural’ Kal assumes that he means her mind.
“However, nanobots are dwindling, The nanobots that are disappearing the most quickly are type-R nanobots. Type-R nanobots must maintain themselves and have done so for thousands of years, but recently they are running out of resources to procreate. They maintain the tunnels critical to our connections, made of what are called ‘fiber-optic cables’.
“Then there was the second coming – the philosophy that came with nanobot computing power which is the Collective Consciousness.”
“We know there is a ‘collective consciousness’.
“The Artherian government is doing active research on these topics. They want to have a knowledge monopoly. They own the biggest library of books. And they keep this information completely physical because to keep them stored in artifacts means that they can potentially enter other people’s mindspaces.
“Artheria wants to do so in order to maintain order and structure in society. Yet who does order benefit? It only benefits the nobility. Non-mages would revolt if they knew that ki is not a blind magic to follow. It would lead to a complete restructuring of society. Nobles say this is bad because we will be too focused on infighting rather than maintaining a structured order to recreate ki artifacts and generate more ki. Yet even with all of their research and governmental order, they may not be able to reproduce everything in time. The people who work at the higher up levels do not feel the pressure yet. The pressure lies in the everyday people who are losing their ki. They are complacent.”
“I’ve got to go. Leave the Bhagavad Gita on the table on your left. Goodbye,” he says abruptly, with no explanation.
“One last question,” Kal quickly responds. “I’m curious, if you know all of this already, why don’t you do something about it yourself?”
“My time has passed.” She feels his shrug. “But you are on the right path. The first step is always truth. The next place you’ll want to go to is the Artherian Capital. You will find more answers there. Goodbye.”
It is an abrupt end to their conversation but Kal no longer senses the seer’s xi and knew that it would be pointless to continue asking questions. She bows and retreats, closing the door.
As she walks back, Kal ponders the conversation. Of course, she wants to test what the seer said about the scientific method on xi and ki. Perhaps then, Kal would understand how magic really worked. Kal thinks of her mom who was taken away without explanation. She thinks of how those without magic are second class and how magic has been disappearing every day before everyone’s eyes. Maybe she can bring magic to everyone.
Kal thinks of all of this and with renewed resolve, sets forward to the next place the seer had said - the Artherian Capital.
• • •
Part II: Atherian Capital [COLLECTIVE]
Why do you seek the truth?
Knowledge is lost
How do I recover it?
The Capitol vibrated with energy. Mages rapidly exchanged ki in a way that leaves Kal feeling breathless.
Kal was in the trading district which bordered the sea. Atheria was famously exclusive about who they let in. The ports were Artheria’s only connection to other countries - the rest of Artheria was bordered by coastal rock or waterless desert. Most mages were enlisted to guard Artheria’s ports from ill-intentioned foreigners. The other side of Atheria was a large expanse of desert. It was said that those who ventured there were never heard from again. Armed with these geographical gifts, the country has never been successfully invaded - though not for lack of trying.
As Kal walked around the trading district, Kal figured it could be nice to see more of the city while she was here. In the corner of her eye she saw a boy about her age energetically bartering with a merchant. He wore a beige vest and pants that implied that he was a foreign trader, yet she sensed something curious. Looking closely, she saw that as he talked he was manipulating the merchant’s heart. From a bit of subtle nudging she could tell he had a strong xi guard. Kal was impressed - he had a solid foundation of xi work, likely from his noble upbringing.
Kal supposed that he was justified since she saw earlier how the merchant had deceived others with a clunky xi artifact that non-mages could use. The boy, with a light brush, pickpocketed the merchant’s artifact and left with a friendly smile. His eyes got caught on a few women walking by.
Kal was a bit lost since she had not been to the Capitol before, having only grown up in the slums with her family. She should’ve gone to the Capitol when her magical abilities manifested, but she evaded to stay with her family. Kal bumped into the boy.
“Excuse me, can you help me? I think I’ve lost my way…” she trailed off.
“Hey there,” the boy said.”Sure thing.”
“I’d love to learn more about ki. I’m from Salas and it’s my first time here. I’d love to explore the city.”
“Want me to show you around?” the boy stretched out his hand and grinned widely, happy to oblige. “You’ll see all of what Artheria has to offer.”
Kal smiled. “That would be lovely.”
“So you’ve already seen the port,” the boy said. “But let’s go to the other parts of the city.”
They visited the financial district, where there were grand buildings and serious-looking businesspeople. They also went to the mage market, the Upper living areas, the midtown leisure area, the historic structures, the health and government facilities.
They went to edge of the Capitol bordering the slums.
“I’d avoid this area,” the boy said, looking over the railroad tracks. “It’s unfortunate but this is a rough area.”
Finally, they went to the shining center of Atheria - the Temple.
“Well,” he paused, “It’s called the Temple but really there are many structures. Each one is dedicated to a goddess or god. I’m sure you know them all. Here are Raj and Aja, the ki and xi goddesses. There are others…”
“You’re in luck - we are in Artheria’s annual Lunar festival, where we celebrate the new year of goddesses. They’re about to do Lunar rituals. Let’s check them out,” he said.
He led Kat to the inside of a colosseum. At the center, there was one man half-clothed and one in regal metal armor. They played a game where they passed the ball of fire back and forth to see who would let it go first. They got more exhausted and eventually the half-naked man collapsed. The noble beheaded him with a jewel-embedded saber.
The boy whispered to Kal, “This is one of the many rituals we have in preparation for our annual lunar festival. Sacrificial blood appeases the gods.”
Kal thought about it. “But how do you know that blood is what appeases the gods?”
The boy replied, “Our priestesses inform us, of course. They, especially High, have direct connection to the ether. They know everything.”
“What magic do you use?” she asked.
“I’m a xi user, I play with hearts and minds,” the boy grinned. “Although of course, not on you.”
He was being honest. She didn’t sense any pressure from her blocker.
The boy continued. “There’s a few pieces to xi, you know?”
Of course she did, but she nodded with wide eyes.
“May I?” he asked, extending his hand. She nodded, putting her hand in his.
This is telepathy, he thought into her mind. Just as he was about to show her more, they see a red spark light the sky. Then, more sparks.
“Ah but there,” he sighed, “is our High Priestess. She communes with the heavens. It is said she can hear the thoughts and feelings of all beings.
“We also have our Priestess of Peace. She is a ki user of fire. She led our latest victory against the barbarians to the east.”
In the ritual, the Fire Priestess did an elaborate dance, more complex and beautiful than the one Kal had seen in her local festival. The Priestess went through battle movements like a whip, like a striking snake, fire coming out of her hands. Mage and non-mage alike looked in awe. Her control was surreal.
She lifted her hands into the sky and fire dispersed. Then, the High Priestess come out adorned in white and glittery diamonds. She glimmered like the night sky. As she entered, everyone fell into a hush. Everyone’s eyes looked up at her. Attention was ki and the priestess attracted it like a downward stream of water.
The dance continued - the High Priestess extended her arm towards the Fire Priestess and immediately one was compelled to look at Fire.
Kal was curious to speak with High not just for the artifact but to understand the meaning of these rituals.
The boy whispered, “Better not to ask questions around here. Unlike Salas, questions are highly discouraged in Artheria. I wouldn’t recommend it even as a foreigner. You should also avoid ending your speech with upward tilt - end your sentences downwards. Downwards.”
Kal nodded.
“Here,” the boy took her by the hand once more, “Let’s go look at a few other rituals! Since you’re from Salas I bet you will love these bloodier rituals.”
Kal hesitated.
“I think it’s about time to find my family again. Thank you for showing me around,” she said.
“Of course. If you’re ever around again let me know.”
She felt a little bad about hiding her identity. She gave the boy a kiss on the cheek, as was customary in the Capitol.
Kal slipped away to sneak into the temple. She heard voices inside.
Everyone cheered. People wept on their knees, People had tears in their eyes. Their arms stretched out and upwards towards the platform that the Priestess stood on.
Kal had prepared for this conversation- she knew she had to speak with the High Priestess. She sensed the artifact on her dress and knew that was the next step to getting to knowledge.
Kal prepared her xi blocker to protect against High’s overwhelming force. She snuck into the inside.
Kal met High.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
I know, High said.
Kal tensed. It seemed her blocker wouldn’t work here.
The artifact you’re looking for is not on my outfit, High said. It is me. Give me your hand.
Kal hesitated, surprised.
Trust is required if you’d like to know.
High smiled wearily and all of a sudden Kal could see that she was no older than herself. Kal was reminded of the children she played with growing up.
“How did you know that I’d come here?”
I am tied to the collective. As part of my gift, passed down for generations, I am connected to all others.
Because of this I know you - and know you no harm. I only wish to share what you seek.
Kal nodded and took her hand.
All of a sudden she was completely transported - to a world of an interface where she saw all thoughts above, where she could search for particular people, search for people by descriptors and find them. She could visualize a person and they would appear.
Kal could even “see” interactions between individuals - she could find someone and immerse into their experiences - she adopted their senses temporarily.
Out of impulse she thought of the boy from earlier today and found herself in his body, as he talked with an older woman who she absorbed from his memories as his mom. Kal felt sudden disgust and - a few dimensional layers above - pulled her hand back.
“How could you do that?” she demanded. She knew the answer already but her body was riding indignant on rapid heartbeats and impulse.
This is merely an extension of what already exists. Rituals, like the one you saw today, bind collectives together. Deep connection with the collective is like feeling every other person’s senses as your own, because in real time we experience the same feelings.
I’m merely an extension, Kal, of what already exists.
Kal knew she wasn’t supposed to ask questions but couldn’t help it.
“If you don’t support what is done here, why do you stay? “
High smiled a dove-gray eyed sad smile. Please understand that I grew up within the regime. Only recently have I understood that Artheria values stability over truth. I can understand the nobles’ reasoning but at the same time see that the magical system is failing. Without truth we cannot understand why it is happening.
Rituals keep people in their place and magic is finite.
“I see,” Kal said.
Kal, High took her by the hand, you must bring truth to the world. You must help bring this world to a better place.
I’ll impart you with two gifts. They’ll lead you to what you are looking for.
The first is a gift of direction. Go to the edge of Atheria to a town called Fable. There you will find out how magic functions and find your next artifact.
The second is a gift of knowledge. It is not a book like your last one - rather, it is a xi gift. I will give it to you directly. Know that once received, it cannot be given back.
I understand if you will not take it, High said softly.
Kal thought about what she had learned so far. She thought about her mother and all those who’d be hurt by the dwindling supply of xi and ki. Kal wanted to know how magic worked even knowing that it was a dangerous path. She gave High her hand.
The Board is sacrificing me at the annual festival, High said. To give a short magical energy boost to Artheria. They say my abilities are best passed before I turn 20. She smiled sadly once more.
Fire and I, we are two sides of a coin- she is physicality, I am mentality. Together we are xi and ki. Internal and external. I only hope we can find one another again.
Kal already felt a kinship to High, sharing collective consciousness.
And she thought, how lonely it must be to experience everyone else’s thoughts but not to be seen by others. To give but never to receive. Kal gave High a big hug and left the palace.
• • •
Part III: Fable, the Village on the Outskirts [SELF]
It was a melancholic ride on the path to Fable. Kal thought about High and how trapped she was in the Capitol. But Kal kept trekking to her next destination, with deep resolve to return to Central, hopefully to see High once more.
As she rode to the outskirts, Kal examined her second artifact. It was not physical at all, but rather a gift of the mind. High had passed it directly from her body and into Kal’s mind.
Kal thought-opened the xi gift and found a library that she could search immediately. She could access collective consciousnesses just as High had. If she wanted to, Kal could tap into any person’s mind,
Kal thought, I’m here to search for the origins of magic and how it functions - and I still haven’t found that out yet I have already discovered that magic is dying.
Kal felt so much fear. She wanted to share this with others - but with whom?
At the end of the carriage path, Kal saw the village. The path went no further.
Fable was desolate and lonely. It wasn’t empty in a literal sense - there were people - yet the atmosphere lacked vibrancy. Her protection spell shuddered and fell silent. She tried casting a ki fire spark under her cloak without much success.
Kal felt bare and disconnected from others. Now she understood High’s warning about this place. She observed the villagers. While they went about their days like any other village, it was empty. It was devoid of xi.
Kal walked to the village center. It was not nearly as crowded as the center. People walked around like the afterlife.
Many villagers came together, holding hands and going through the dance motions she recognized from the previous festival. They ended their routine with palms facing the sky.
The ritual was almost the same as the ones in the Capitol, yet here villagers could not wield magic. In this way, Kal observed that their ritual was many of the same ways of doing things, yet with no real effect. Although, if it assuages community member fears then perhaps hope by itself was enough impact. She wondered again about the rituals at the Capitol - they were vibrant displays of physicality, but were they actually using xi on people’s minds?
She thought of the boy at the Capitol. She thought of how very difficult his life would be without xi magic.
Where is the magic? the crowd shouted. Bring it back. Bring it back. They chanted over and over. Kal sympathized with them. Their livelihood had been taken away.
The girl next to her whispered, “The sacrifice is about to start.”
“Do you all worship magic?”
“Not all of us worship magic. Some of us have forsaken the ancient arts.”
“We live without magic, free of its constraints as humans should. We are independent from the ether. We’ve learned to live in these ways. And we are happy.
“We feel no need to cling onto the little magic we have left. Artherian goddesses have forsaken us and so have the nobles. They say we will be forbidden with no magic, but they don’t know of how beautiful our lives are.
Kal realized that there were villagers who found xi outside of magic-filled destinations. Some were angry at the diminished magic supply, but here was a subset that accepted it as it was and thrived. She wanted to learn more of their lives in absence of magic.
“Come this way,” the girl whispered. She led Kal to a gathering.
“Our ancestors in the Creation Age built using the scientific method, not through divine interaction.
“They were mere mortals just like us. Recognizing this is recognizing the truth of this world - that it was built by mortals just like you and I.
“But they went much too far, to the point of no return. That is what we now call the Singularity. It was the point where their creations took on their own form and there was no turning back. At some point, all scientists disappeared. They were consumed by their own persuasion. Abruptly, no one knew how to operate in this new world. Now we operate with unknown tools.
“The natural resort was to find some way to explain everything with religion and dominance. Those more in tune with magic are naturally superior. And so the oligarchy was born.
Some rituals were sustained without a reason for why. Some work and some don’t.”
Kal was led to one of their houses.
“We’ll show you how awareness works. Ki and xi augments consciousness into enlarged physical representations, but even without it we are able to access our consciousnesses with meditations.
Meditation is simple. Simply sit and focus on your breath, breathing in and out. You’ll be able to feel when it comes in and out.
We used to be the strongest ki village. Dances were used to battle.
Now, all those born here do not have magic. Those who stay too long here will also lose their magic. So, try this technique.
Your last artifact is one to access your mind. The technique is simple and sound.”
Kal followed the elder’s instructions and meditated.
She felt energy flow within her body. She felt her pulse throughout her arms, fingertips, stomach. When she scanned her body she could feel her emotions as they came on. She felt it in her stomach when she was sad, anxious, uncomfortable. She felt it in the back of her head when she was so sad she didn’t want to get up.
A few hours in, she was abruptly transported to the consciousness space where she had been with High.
With High, she’d seen others. Now, she saw herself. She sifted through past memories - sifted through to find out how she got here.
Like a starfish in the sea, she drifted by past events that she could experience but when she tried touching one it floated away.
Kal knew where she had to go next. She was going home, where the last piece of knowledge was. The slums were one of the most powerful centers of magic, an incredibly dangerous place full of battle arenas.
She remembered battles with a continuous ebb and flow of ki and xi permeating the air, flowing with martial grace.
She continued floating until her mind guided her to one memory with her mother.
This is where we live, Kal.
Kal, remember -
Kal pulled herself out.
She felt reassured that even if magic disappeared, her people would be okay. She looked at the villagers again, magic-less, but this time with appreciation.
Kal knew she had to go to the edge of the slums, where there was a lush green forest.
She felt her magical ability return as she left the village, and she realizes that’s what magic was - power. It felt bad to be taken away, like any addiction.
• • •
Part IV - Forest [FLOW]
Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science. - Agatha Heterodyne
Kal walked down the path that she saw in her vision. She was deep in a lush green forest. She was surrounded by elder trees thicker than she was tall. Here she was close to the Capitol - she was actually at the center of Atheria, just a few miles off of the Capitol.
She was here in the forest. She felt stripped only moments ago but now experienced the full force of magic.
As she walked, she had flashing visions of long metal tubes as tall as a person. The visions pulsed in and out, vivid one moment and disappearing the next
So far, Kal had gotten in touch with the collective consciousness via magic and her own self without magic. She learned how these pieces of magic in her system could communicate with others and other parts of the world.
Kal now understood how energy flowed between people in the universe. Magic was merely an extension of the self, community, and environment.
She saw how ritual led to collective consciousness. Individuality of the self was still important to guide the collective to the right place. Mindfulness helped with individuality and awareness.
She understood that each person’s brain was used for computation power, alongside sustainable energy sources of the ocean and sun.
Alongside that was a realization that life was an extension of self and community. That energy flowed in and out of infinite sources, never staying permanently in a single place. Kal was merely a funnel of energy. Kal realized that High had known this all along and wanted to pass this knowledge onto Kal, in an experience since that was the only way.
Kal knew magic was an amplifier. It wasn’t necessary by any means. It was simply a means of getting more energy.
She knew she wanted to share this info with the world. She wanted to share the fact that magic is merely a system, controlled by humans. It’s all within our control.
Kal went back to the Capitol to find High to share this knowledge. She wanted to save her. However, as she tried to leave the forest, she met the queen.
The queen said to her, “Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you. Hand over your artifact for the sake of Artherian order.
“Artheria has been looking for it for generations. It is the key to how we’ll regulate collective consciousness from a central point, rather than on an individual or small group basis. By doing so, we keep order.
“But,” Kal protested, “What of each person’s desires? And magic is dying. This will not last.”
“We will find a way. Especially as we all mobilize, together,” the queen said.
“There are ways to mobilize with people retaining their free will.”
“This is the fastest way.”
“You are only concerned for your own power.”
Kal thought about her mother, brother, people in the slums. They suffered not because of the lack of magic itself, but because of the city that led to its abuse. They should have had support even without magic.
“You hoard magic. You execute those who use magic outside your regime. And your courts use it lavishly in celebration events like this festival.
You use magic as power rather than exploring it for knowledge and learning, to grow it further.
Power is a zero-sum game. Knowledge and learning is not.
The truth about magic and artifacts should be made open to the world”
Kal fled the memory room back to the real world.
• • •
Kal looked out at the ocean of the sea cliff. She saw the waves crashing, ebbing forward & back. Power and direction of each wave varied with each cycle. Wispy clouds floated by, trailing off tails into deep blue.
She plugged the artifact into server. She released the artifacts, all the ones she had, and also all her memories from this trip, to every person in Artheria. She knew this was the right decision.
Life ebbs and flows. It concentrates and disperses. Life will be rebuilt. It will be as it will be - this too has passed.