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.

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.”