I'd not expected Annah to contact me outside of the Realmsguard network, admittedly. But then again, I'd forgotten entirely about that whole `negotiating contracts' bit. Now I sat in the meeting room on the second floor of the palace instead, with both Annah and Lilita present. This time however, there were also two active, wall-mounted crystal displays running at the same time, right next to each princess.
Morrigan of course, I'd already met. Except this time, she was in her throne room and dressed in a regal-looking robe top and silver diadem. King Kormir however, was very new to me. He had entirely black fur, without any patterning at all, and the same amazingly crystal blue eyes that his daughter had. His features were chiseled however, as was the rest of him. It was hard to tell via just the face and chest view the screen provided, but I knew from listed fact that he stood dangerously close to three meters in height, and two meters wide at the shoulders. Staggering amounts of muscle and just sheer weight, came together to almost three hundred kilograms. Worn, shaped muscle from literally years of training and combat encounters from before he was a king had turned him into a mountain of a Vulkus Alpha.
It was clearly a part of who he was, given he even wore his armor on his throne. Albeit it was just a ceremonial chest piece by the looks of it. His combat armor was probably solid plate. Not that he probably needed combat armor, as I'd also heard he was a master of vita manipulation and trained in a plethora of combat styles. Yet even with all that, he wore a relaxed smile as he regarded me, promoting an air of peaceful tranquility more than anything.
``Ah, it's nice to finally meet you, Grandmaster Exes. I've been meaning to talk to you long before now, but as you're probably aware by this point, duty has a way of keeping one busy.'' Yeah, that much I knew, without a doubt. And he probably had a much fuller plate than I did. I also happened to know that I had his Realmsguard contact information too, so he also had that. He grinned after though, both wide and toothy. ``Though I also hear you prefer ditching titles as fast as possible. I'm fine with just Kormir, if you're fine with Exes.'' Bold! But... relieving at the same time.
I relaxed and nodded, smiling as well now. ``Yeah. It's... a mouthful. And it's kinda just my instinct to try to be friendly and interact with someone directly. That and I usually have no idea what to do with titles even when I know them...'' I huffed, and he gave a short, if deep barking laugh to that.
Morrigan smiled, then nodded to me before relaxing back on her throne. ``Well, I prefer things to be more straightforward when negotiating anyway. To be honest, this isn't really so much a negotiation. We both already have some generous offers for you, and they're identical. What we're really here for is to talk to you about them and try to get a feel for what you want or need the most coming up.''
Identical? Weren't they... supposed to be competing against each other? They were both relaxed however, and this felt more like just a discussion than a competition between them. Of course, rumor had it they were mates regardless in pseudo-secret. With a bit of leeway on `secret', it seemed. Kormir gave a chuckle at that and nodded to her. ``Well, almost identical! Obviously, the locale you'll be living in changes, as does who you live closer to.'' Eh? The way he worded the last bit was a bit suspect, as was Annah's flush as she heard it after. Oh, right...
But he wasn't done yet. ``...is what I'd planned on not-so-subtly implying. But I heard there was a bit of a hiccup?'' Oof.
Annah winced, ears lowering at that, as Lilita coughed lightly on the other side of the table. ``Uh, yeah, we might have gotten a little carried away. I really am sorry, Exes, like I said before. Especially in respecting your privacy...'' My eyes locked with her golden ones for a moment, and I translated that to her... invading me all the time. ``You have my promise that I'll have the utmost respect for it from now on.'' She was agreeing to not scan me anymore? Not that I could really feasibly tell when she did, if she kept it subtle.
But Annah nodded instead, after that. ``I'm sorry too, Exes. I didn't... mean to imply you were a little kit or anything. Honestly, with everything that's expected of you, that would just be unfair.'' I exhaled out at that and sagged a little. Sometimes I felt like a little kit, though.
``It's fine, really. I... shouldn't have insinuated anything either, or jumped to conclusions. It wasn't very respectful of either of you...'' Honestly, I was kind of glad it was a lesson I'd learned early. To guard against my own ego.
The Vulkus female coughed and averted her eyes again at that. ``Well, I mean, your assumption wasn't entirely without justification. We... were hunting you pretty insistently there.'' Uh... Lilita's ears flattened back at that, and her expression shifted to horror a split second later as she turned and just stared at Annah. The Vulkus huffed at her reaction, crossing her arms in front of her and flattening her own ears back. ``What?! It's true! The only thing he was technically wrong about was our intent!'' Intent...? Now I was confused again.
Morrigan slapped her forehead in the image and gave a groan. ``Stop it! Alright, this meeting isn't monitored anyway, so let's just clear the air a bit...'' My attention shifted fully to her as she gave me a slightly frustrated look instead before continuing. ``This is their first diplomatic mission of this weight, so you'll have to excuse them a bit. They upset you, I know, and I'm sorry for that.'' I relaxed a little and shook my head, but she lifted her paw up, then nodded.
``There are laws in place for conducting negotiations between clans, governments, and individuals. One of the big ones is, no trading in people. While this primarily has to deal with slaves, it also applies to mateships.'' Trading... mateships?
Kormir nodded to that, directed towards me. ``To put it bluntly, it was to do away with the ancient methods of giving away one's offspring in arranged mateships in order to secure alliances. That's completely illegal now.'' Oh, well that sounded... like a good thing, really. I wasn't certain how it applied to this, though.
Thankfully, Morrigan was there to clarify after. ``Of course, blood alliances are still allowed. That is, two people already interested in being mates and fully willing, becoming so as a sign of... trust and commitment between the two parties. Clans flex this law a bit on occasion. Say, a willing individual of the clan approaching a free individual of the target party and making their interests... very known. Nothing explicitly stated as being an incentive, but it's a way to provide a bit more weight favoring the alliance that way.'' Uh.... I frowned slowly at that, but she shook her head again.
``No, both Lilita and Annah are very willingly where they are, and are under no obligations at all. Minus the one to not offend you unjustly, of course.'' Lilita winced at that, lowering her ears again, and I gave a sympathetic look. The wrath of a mother was always painful.
Kormir gave a chuckle at that, glancing skeptically to Morrigan before shrugging. ``I'm not one to say it in so many words. Annah was already curious about you and assured me she was willing. The point of them being flirty with you wasn't so much to seduce you as to feel out potential normal relationships. If it worked out with one of them, then that would be one more legit reason for you to move to one country or the other. Not that it would be required. I'm not against Annah moving to Larid or Keldonia either. But it does provide potential for a blood alliance, too.''
I swallowed the tenseness in my throat at that. That... definitely wasn't what I'd thought at all. That was kind of the opposite of what I'd thought they were doing. To some degree, anyway. ``You... can have a blood alliance with a government?''
He nodded to that. ``Yes, you can. Well, more specifically, you'd have the alliance with my clan directly. Welcoming you as a member, with significant honor. Of course, those details are between you and Annah, not me.'' She turned a little pink at that, but offered me a tentative smile. This couldn't be legit... It didn't... He knew about the Keyhole!
My ears lowered a little at that as I looked to Annah, and she deflated a little. It wasn't... ``I don't... get why you'd be okay with something like that at all. Either of you. Whether Lilita or Annah really wanted it or not...'' Morrigan and Kormir both frowned at that, but I rested back against my chair instead, letting my gaze sink to the surface of the table. ``I'm still surprised every day that I have a pack at all, given they all know about... me. Everyone here knows about me and what getting involved with me entails. I don't get why you'd let Lilita or Annah even consider becoming involved with me, knowing that.'' Even if I really was worthy of being the mate of a princess, the fact that my lifespan was barely going to be a fraction of their own... What would they do after I passed on and they wasted twenty-five years of their life? Remate? Vulkus in particular weren't very known for doing that, at the very least.
Lilita looked uncertain, frowning towards me, but Annah sagged a little, swallowing. ``Exes... That's... exactly something the law was put in place against.'' Huh? ``We're not pawns. If we decide that we like you and want to try a relationship, it's from the exact same standing as Exia or Yimir. It means we have feelings for you and want to try. Not because we're being ordered to.''
That Lilita nodded to. ``She's right. There's no such thing as wasted love, in any case. No matter how long it lasts.'' I suppose I'd accepted that already with the others. It only felt different for Lilita and Annah because of who they were, I guess.
I closed my eyes and shrugged at that. ``I guess... It probably hits on the same thing, not feeling like I really deserve the attention of a princess as well. But... No, I understand at least. My mind does, anyway.'' The heart was always a lot harder to convince of things...
The Keld princess relaxed a bit at that and nodded to me, but Annah smiled softly, flushing again as she watched me carefully. Hmm? Kormir chuckled behind her though and nodded, himself. ``Again, that's for the future, however. If you guys want to work something out, there's always comms to stay in touch, even if nothing's decided on that front right away. What does need to be talked about are the official deals, though.'' Ah, right...
Morrigan and Kormir took turns explaining the official outline they had. It was a `baseline', meant to try to help me summarize everything they planned on offering, both if I chose them as a `host' nation, or if I didn't. I... already had some inclination of what to expect, given Calien had already gone over Larid's with me this morning. In fact, I suspected the only reason she hadn't spoken with Nara about doing the same thing Annah and Lilita were was because of the current political climate and people trying to murder each other in the capital. That, and Nara was the crown princess. Only kit, and next in line for the throne. Neither Annah or Lilita were crown princesses.
There was a baseline credit amount that they offered. Both if I was living there, and if I wasn't. The amount offered was typically less if I was residing there, but they also paid all of my living expenses in that case, so it made sense. Not that it mattered because the yearly sum they were giving me was astronomically stupid. I'd told that to Calien too, but she just laughed and assured me it was very real. I didn't think I could spend that much credits even if I tried. Especially seeing as the other two nations were offering similar investments. But... there was always donations to charity, I suppose.
Room and board with `proper' living arrangements were a guarantee no matter the country I picked. Larid only differed due to security concerns, with Calien promising to add an extension onto the palace for me, to effectively be my own manor. Morrigan and Kormir were offering straight up normal manors of significant size, freshly constructed and with all the modern amenities. Always close to the palace or keep. I was as much advisor as key public servant, I guess. That and it made posting excessive amounts of guards easier.
Travel was also of course, taken care of, in the most expedient yet comfortable manner possible. I could see their point there. If I couldn't get to the spots where True Alchemy was needed, it was kind of a moot point. To facilitate, they were apparently commissioning a railcar set specifically for my use. They had an old one already, but after a good decade and a half of disuse, it had some serious mechanical issues, it would seem. Last thing I admittedly wanted was to be traveling along at any significant speed and have the bottom of the railcar fall out on me.
Other than the stupid amounts of credits, it had all seemed pretty sensible to me. Well, other than offering me official blood alliance with their clans. Or clan, I guess? They were technically separate, but nobody seemed even slightly surprised that they had an adamant alliance together and shared just about everything. Worst pseudo-secret ever... I think it was just a formality to stop the stuck-up nobles from complaining...
I was a little dizzy by the time they were done, but nodded along anyway, having grasped the basics. Morrigan returned the nod after, as I looked over the papers spread out in front of me now. ``Those are the baseline contracts, as we said. They're obviously not set in stone if you feel like discussing modifications to them, and our goal for talking to you is to see if you had anything specific you wanted to add.'' Add? What more could I want?!
Well... there was one concern. ``If I do choose to relocate to either Keldonia or Koramir, I have to wait until my basic schooling is officially done, right?'' I'd been doing some research there.
Morrigan gave a little sigh at that, but didn't nod, surprisingly. ``Normally, yes. A person has to have basic education out of the way before they can apply to permanently move to a different country. We all agreed to that long ago, in order to prevent hasty decisions being made. Though there is a process for getting around that requirement if a reason is provided.'' Oh! I didn't know that bit.
Kormir nodded. ``You of course are a clear exception to that rule. Who you travel with, however... The country you plan on moving to would have to pass it to the courts to simply get an official ruling on it for each person you're traveling with. I assume your pack and family, as well as guards and their packs.'' Ah.
``My mother of course. Then my pack. Exia, Yimir, and maybe Kada. Then Exir is going to be my second guard, and he has a mate. Niva. I'd... want to talk to them all first of course about staying behind or following me... But the main reason I'm considering this isn't for me. It's for Exir.''
That got both of their attention, and Kormir frowned. ``Exir? Your guard and cousin, right?''
I nodded again. ``He's also recently awakened into being an Alpha. But... I'm worried about him. The only female he has is Niva, and Larid lacks... pretty much anything when it comes to handling Alphas. His A1 hormone is really high, and the changes are coming so fast he needed regeneratives so his bone structure could keep up. I'm seeing him start to get... more and more stressed out too.'' Kormir winced at that, but Morrigan slowly nodded.
``So, you were hoping to move quickly to a country that had better support for Alphas?'' Again, a nod. Then I sighed.
``That, and I was hoping to relocate somewhere more stable. I'm worried about... everyone. Once Exia and Exir are officially my guards, they still have basic education to finish out. Kada does too. And thanks to how destabilized it is here, especially because of their close connection to me... I don't want to see one day that the Academy classroom they were in was bombed or something...''
Morrigan sighed at that, relaxing back a bit again before nodding. ``That I can also understand. Larid's a mess right now. We're working with Calien to come up with solutions. She's already considering calling for additional peacekeeping aid from us.'' Ah. Well additional guards keeping everyone safe would definitely be a big help, and Keldonia and Koramir were definitely powerful enough to spare the personnel. Morrigan hesitated however, before looking over to Kormir instead. ``But as for Alphas, to be honest, I think I have to instead suggest Koramir. Paws down, they have the best support that Exir could ever need, and I already know the people there are feeling for the plight of the normal Inaga.'' Wow, she flat out called us the normal ones...
Kormir nodded. ``If you'd like, I can contact the courts right after this meeting and see about expediting the paperwork for you. If you wish to move here, that is. I'll also contact Calien and see to talking to her about all of this. But it still might take a few weeks, as a warning.'' Oh boy. Well, here was hoping Exir would be okay for that long.
I considered it all. Now I was making a choice for everyone involved with me. Even if I gave them the option of not following, I was still forcing them to choose. But... the situation in Larid wasn't giving me any choice either, it felt like. I wanted to protect them. I cared about everyone. It was a shitty situation, but... no, this was the right choice.
Slowly, I nodded again. ``This... is the right choice then. We can always move again next year, or the year after. Larid can't stay unstable forever, right? Or we might end up falling in love with Koramir instead. Heh. I'll talk to everyone today and give them the option. Even if they don't want to... follow me, the distance from me should keep them far safer.''
Kormir's expression was hard to read for a moment, but gradually shifted into a partial smile before he nodded. ``Then it's settled. I'll contact the courts and see about expediting your case. They're not going to have a problem with it, of course, but it's a necessary step.'' He was either extremely confident in that, or the court he was contacting was in for a very rough time otherwise...
Morrigan smiled and nodded to that, looking pleased herself. ``You're very mature, Exes. Definitely not a kit. Though it feels more like you're being forced into growing up far faster than you should have. Still... whatever we can do to help you, don't hesitate to ask. Is there anything else you'd like to add to either contract then?''
I paused, then gave an uncertain shrug. ``Four moons ago I was sleeping in a leather tent, on a straw padded bed over dirt. This is all so far beyond me that I don't... It's just not registering, so I couldn't possibly even fathom what I'd ask for further.'' It felt like they both appreciated blunt honesty, anyway.
She smiled to that, but Kormir gave a low chuckle, sounding amused. ``To be honest, that doesn't sound all that terrible. But I might just be missing my guard days. Still, talk things over with Lilita and Annah. They're also there to help acclimatize you as best they can.'' True. Annah especially would at least be able to tell me what Koramir was like. Apart from really cold, I imagined.
My ears flicked at that. Right! ``Oh, uh, that's one thing. Maybe some uh, cold weather clothes? I think I'll be marginally more useful to everyone in Aion if I'm not an ice block.'' They all grinned to that, anyway...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
``To... Koramir?'' Mom looked surprised as she processed it. We were all sitting in my room now, including Exir, Niva, and Mom. Everyone seemed shocked by the news, as anticipated. I nodded, however.
``I spoke with King Kormir himself, and he's going to expedite the paperwork. They have an Academy there of course for finishing out our educations. But... they also have full facilities and logistics for handling Alphas, and a much more stable political climate. I... I'm worried for everyone while we're here. A riot broke out and building burned down, literally because I simply showed up in the area.'' I sighed after, and Exia slid over and nuzzled my shoulder softly.
Yimir relaxed after another moment, then smiled softly. ``Well... I'm with you regardless, Exes. It doesn't matter where you go. I'll follow...''
I flushed at that, but Exia nodded rapidly. ``Me too, even if... it means I can't continue learning Flickerpaw.''
Mom gave a little start at that, then quickly shook her head. ``No. There's nothing really for me in Larid. Eventually I'll want to check in with the Jungle tribes, but there's no rush on that. I'll be coming too...'' I relaxed a little at that, sagging. It was... probably me being a little kit again, but the fact that Mom was coming too was... a relief.
Exir gave a chuckle, then looked to Niva, who gave a scoff. ``I already told you the answer to that. I'm going wherever you two go. I think Koramir could do with a skilled Larid ambassador.'' She patted her own chest with that, and he gave a chuckle.
``I'm... honored that you're thinking of me in all of this. It's... shocking that this is actually going to happen, but my mind is still made up. I'm following you, Exes...''
I gave him a smile and nod, then turned to Kada, who still looked shocked. My left paw found his shoulder, and he shivered, sliding forward and against my arm instead. Still... ``I'm not going to blame you if you want to stay here, Kada. Your family is here, and your friends in the Academy. We... got to make some memories together at least... and you can always follow later of course.''
He slipped into my lap instead and pressed his face up against my chest. My arms slid around him and just held him there as he shivered. ``I... I need to talk to my family. It...''
``You don't have to decide right away either. Kormir warned that it might take a few weeks...''
He looked up at me with that, though... he looked oddly distant at the same time. ``I... I think this was... supposed to happen. It feels like...'' Huh? I tilted my head to him, and he lowered his gaze before seemingly snapping out of it again.
``I just... need to talk to them about things. It... I want to follow you too, Exes. I've never felt... this connected to someone before...'' I frowned, but he snapped his head up again and quickly shook it. ``No! It's... It's not just because of the sex... Really. I... It feels like I'm supposed to. That following you is the right choice...'' I relaxed a little before nodding to him. I didn't... really want to part with Kada anyway, even if that was the selfish choice.
``Talk to your parents first, okay?'' My paw brushed his cheek, and he nodded enthusiastically to me, his own paw reaching up and holding mine to him. Kada...
Slowly, Mom nodded. ``No, I think... he's right. This is the responsible, mature choice to have made. It keeps everyone safe and moves us to an area much better equipped currently to support us. I'm... I guess I just didn't expect my little boy to make a decision like this by himself is all...'' She chuckled after, giving a more sheepish smile, and I blushed. That was...
She grinned instead though, sliding over and nuzzling into my right side instead. ``But you're definitely growing up on me. I wish you could have been a kit for longer but... I think your father would have been proud of the adult you're turning into, too.'' A softer smile, and I saw her eyes starting to get a little watery. I rested into her chest though, and she squeezed both Kada and I to herself instead, getting a little squeak from the Illan. Exia and Yimir piled on from the other side, and Niva gave a startled chirp as Exir snuggled her into Mom's back too, before grinning anyway.
``Well, I guess we're all stuck together then. Fate, right?'' I looked to Niva at that, but Kada perked, then nodded.
``Yeah. Fate! This is what's supposed to happen.'' He was making me curious now, and I made a mental note to ask him about this later.
I relaxed, resting into everyone snuggling all around me, and smiled. ``Thanks for understanding, everyone. It wasn't a... light decision, anyway. Heh, and Kormir promises to get us winter coats.'' Mom snorted at that, as did Exia. Then it was contagious, and soon we were all laughing...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Slowly, I rubbed at my temples and between my eyes, feeling the pounding slowly lessening finally. I sighed again and sat back in my chair, staring in annoyance at the black book sitting on the table in front of me. It had so far proven... problematic. The air around me hung with a certainty, like frost on glass. A crisp stillness all around me that defied all movement, and dared anything to go up against it. It was actually physically colder now in the suitcase-room. An unexpected side effect of the enchantment.
I'd created my first True Alchemy enchantment. A warding circle of stability, that anchored the area in `normality', while actively protecting against any sudden active effects that might spring up. The capacitor for True Alchemy proved radically different than normal magic, however. Where normal magic was an exercise in generating the mana to fill up the capacitor, and limited by your own internal storage, the energy that a True Alchemy enchantment ran on came from... elsewhere. The Aether, source of its namesake energy. Not that I really understood what the Aether was, as a place. Chronak's notes explained it as `in-between'. Which was frustratingly vague. I hoped. If it was literal, I had cause for concern.
Regardless, what I provided was the mana and vita required to open the door. Normal True Alchemy took enough Aether from the other side of the door to power the effects. The more powerful the effect, the `bigger' the door had to be in order to power them, and the more mana and vita it cost me. The capacitor however, was just a storage tank for Aether. It didn't require a huge door. It just required that I hold a tiny door open for long enough to fill it up.
Or... get close to filling it up. That was the trick. It filled up fast. And if it overfilled, well... Chronak had alluded to it exploding in a way truly befitting of True Alchemy, which was terrifying. So, I'd only made a small capacitor, and only filled it to about seventy-five percent. And it had lasted a while, surprisingly. A good two hours now, and it was only at half. Which was good, as I'd committed half of the initial charge to storage, to retaliate if something active did fire off inside it.
Not that the book had been terribly interesting so far. I'd run into a big problem there. Staring at the open page, all I saw was that it was in written Demonic. I... couldn't read Demonic. Of course, I'd promptly busted out the useful True Alchemy goggles that I'd used before, but they presented a different issue.
Lifting them again, I didn't fully put them on this time, and instead just peeked through the yellow-tinted crystal at the book. It... vanished, when I looked through the crystal at it. I could only assume this was the same problem everyone who wasn't me had when looking at the book. It was... invisible. Sort of. Yet it wasn't at the same time.
I'd tried using True Alchemy to scan it after the goggles failed to be able to see the stupid thing. Imagine my surprise when it scanned as a table instead of a book. Then, after a bit of trial and error, I realized I was scanning the table through the book. Not only was it invisible to everyone but me, and even me if I wore the glasses, but True Alchemy couldn't detect it either. It was as if it didn't exist at all.
I set the goggles down again and glared at the thing. This was... frustrating. I'd done all this preparation work and had hit an absolute dead end almost instantly. Well, what would Chronak do? Other than swear at it in annoyance... I slid the book back in front of me and turned to the inside cover again. It was indeed a drawing of the Grandmaster Keyhole, moving and shifting runes included. And they were actually shifting on the page, too, animated. Though given magic's ability to use illusionary script, the effect hadn't impressed me as much. Minus that there was no magic involved. But hey, True Alchemy.
What I could do was make observations at least. The paper the pages were made out of was definitely colored with age. But it was ridiculously durable at the same time. I'd tested a tiny little corner of one page by creasing it, then unfolding it and discovered there was no crease there anymore. Tearing it had proven just as futile. Whatever it was made out of, it was seriously durable. After the drawing, there appeared to be a table of contents, but it was strange. Written in shifting Demonic, it seemed to... change as I looked at it. The words moving and shifting about on the page to my touch. The book was obviously enchanted with True Alchemy, of at least a reactive nature.
Now the last page of the book... now that was interesting. Largely because I couldn't find it. I intentionally grabbed the last page and turned all of them at once, and only found a considerable number of additional pages instead. Seemingly the same amount that I'd turned to get there. And then I realized the amount I'd turned wasn't represented in how many actually were turned. No matter how far I tried to turn forward, there were always more pages... and seemingly the same amount having already passed.
Were there unlimited pages? Or just a considerable amount of them and some sort of True Alchemy hijinks going on? I already knew limited folding of spatial matter was possible through it. Did the book operate on the same principles? Further, I noticed it appeared to be directed, to some degree, by my own thoughts. I did some experimentation, and turning a page, then turning it back often yielded different results depending on what I was expecting to be on the page getting turned to. I'd tested it with section headers, and it seemed consistent. At least I assumed they were section headers. Of course, I was getting a headache by then.
I stared at the open page of just solid writing and sighed. All of these observations were fine and all but if I couldn't fucking read the thing, it didn't do me a lot of good. I looked over at the goggles again with another sigh, scrunching my muzzle up. Why couldn't they see the book? I could see the book just fine. But the goggles couldn't.
Flipping to the front of the book again, I stared at the Keyhole, frown deepening. Although... Huh. My paw traced along the outer circle, noting once again that it was an actual drawing of the Keyhole itself. A drawing... The book had drawings. At least one, anyway. Did it have others? If I could think about the section titles and have them appear when I flipped the page...
New experiment, time! I looked to the goggles instead, ears raising slightly again. Hmm. My thumb traced about halfway down the book, and I opened it up to a completely random page instead. My eyes snapped open to full size a split second later, jaw dropping. A perfect illustration of the goggles was on the left page, including schematics written up in Demonic. Holy shit!
I leaned in, looking the illustration over with sudden intense curiosity. I couldn't read any of the writing, but the drawing itself showed the different parts of the goggles and... lines and arrows. Was this how the parts fit together? There was the nose bridge, the crystal panel itself, and the arms of the goggles, including band tying behind my head. But that wind-up disk...
My eyes shifted to the right page instead, which showed just the disk by itself after... rotating? The center had a pair of tiny metal prongs that seemed to fit into groves on the crystal panel. I'd assumed those were what caused the fine vibrations to go through the crystal. Plus, there were... screws? I blinked once, then looked over at the goggles again. They were...
This was a stupid idea, Exes. No, really, this was stupid. But it didn't stop me from reaching over and picking the goggles up again, and then rotating the black disk on the right temple to the left, exactly like on the diagrams. It turned with a click, and then gently and easily came off an indent in the side of the goggles and into my open paw. The disk itself was a couple centimeters thick, and made of some sort of black metal that I didn't immediately recognize. One side of it had the windup key in the center, and the other had those double metal tabs, in the center on a little silvery metal disk.
Wide eyed, I stared at the back of it, seeing the three screws around the outside. Ugh. I didn't have another pair of goggles if I fucked this set up! Why was I... No, now I was curious. I sighed, then dug to my right for my equipment kit. From what little I poked around at mechanical alchemy with, I'd picked up a small repair kit at least.
It was easy enough to get the screwdriver to take the screws out. I kept all three carefully on the table in a row, then gently lifted the cover off the disk. After lifting it, I slowly let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I knew to... expect something that produced vibrations... but this wasn't...
Where the twin-pronged plate fed through the cover, it clearly connected to a circular plate on the inside, with fine little... almost brush or comb protrusions. They were thin and metal, and looked kind of flexible. It also looked like the plate could rotate for some reason. Connected to the side of the disk however, against the edge of the compartment, was a cylinder built into a mechanical device of some sorts. The cylinder had little runes on it, and... prongs that stuck out at uneven intervals. It was kind of random looking, though. The cylinder was close enough to the rotating comb disk that they could definitely touch, though. If both the cylinder and the disk rotated...
My claw slid in and I lightly tweaked one of the little comb strand protrusions. It caused the entire disk to vibrate for a moment, and my ears perked. That's what caused the vibrations then. The disk would rotate around and occasionally, those random prongs on the cylinder would pluck the protrusions on the disk. Pluck... My eyes widened. This wasn't... This wasn't a vibration machine. It was a music box. I sat up again, staring blankly at the device in front of me. It produced... music. Music that it vibrated into the crystal lens. That... somehow made it possible for me to read Demonic, in some sort of higher-dimensional manner.
Well, huh. This actually gave me more questions than it answered. I never thought that the vibrations could be music instead of just a vibration. I thought the crystal was what was special about the goggles, not the disk... My whiskers wiggled, and my curiosity only rose at this discovery. Hmm. I put the cover back on the musical disk and screwed it back in place before looking the metal tabs over. They were pretty fine, and the vibrations they made were awfully minimal. The crystal was sensitive enough to transmit the vibrations, but...
Well, this was a day for stupid ideas. But the last one turned out well! It took me a good half an hour or so, and a peek into the palace storage, but I had the disk mounted on an isolation plate, with the two prongs wired up to an amplifier tube and audio tuner. Just some leftover parts for doing audio editing of various magical recordings, really. I grabbed an earset too while I was there, and soon, I was wearing ear brackets wired up to the device itself. Of course, my guards probably thought I was a little crazy at this point. Especially the one who had to pull me out of the box in the basement that I accidentally tipped into upside down, with just my legs sticking out.
I adjusted the padded portions so the speakers rested properly in my ears, then sighed. What was the worst that could possibly happen? I only wanted to listen to whatever eldritch tune the disk played to make its magic work. My fingers slowly rotated the key on the bottom of the disk, and I sighed, holding it in place for a moment, before turning the amplifier and tuner on. For science! I nodded, then released the key.
My entire body jerked as a strumming white static bubbled up through my head, right behind my eyes. My vision seemed to warble, and I spasmed again, jaw dropping open. There was... I swore I felt a clicking sensation in my chest, and something rotate into place. Was that...? It was distant, but I could hear her. There was a soft... singing at the very edge of my hearing. Slowly, it built up in volume, a whisper through my head as my breath caught. No, the ward...
The ward went off a second later, releasing half of the capacitor's supply of Aether directly into me instead. I was the effect! I screamed, feeling like my skin was crawling, twisting under my fur into a thousand worms as the table shook under me! My paws... sunk into the surface of it, like it was made out of wet clay, and I felt it bubble up through my fingers, with bits and pieces of wood boiling and drifting into the air.
Her voice was all around me now as I was stuck falling forward, the energy trying to yank me back at the same time as reality seemed to come apart at the seams. Another strumming tune of silent white, in one ear and out the other. Bits of the table drifted through me as the floor opened up into a fractured black, star-studded abyss. I was frozen there; eyes widen and vision turning pink. My body gave another jerk, trying to sob but unable to catch my breath suddenly. I hiccupped, then choked as I breathed in bits of table, and my warding circle finally dug its claws through pawfuls of worms in my flesh.
There was a cracking noise from all around me, like ice fracturing under pressure, and I screamed and thrashed again before the world snapped back into place all around me. The key stopped rotating, warding energy dancing around it before it simply fell out of the disk. The sound stopped, and I gave another jerk, staring straight ahead with eyes wide open, and both paws on the table, scraping at the surface. What... What was..?
My vision was tinted pink, and I shivered, then winced. Oh... ow, fuck! I gave a gasp, painfully closing my eyes as I clutched at my face with my paws, then stumbled sideways out of the chair. I ended up pulling the device over by the earpiece wires, but they too detached from me as I hit the floor with a dull thud, writhing there. Fuck! My eyes felt like they were on fire! I slit one open as I scrambled on the floor, then drew my paw back covered in blood. Further, my vision was warping and cracking, like a corrupted magical recording. Shit! My eyes slammed closed again almost instantly. Feeling about, I realized it was coming both from my eyes and nose at the very least... but my ears felt suddenly hot and wet too!
Reeling in burning pain and a mind-shattering headache, it was on pure instinct that I managed to drag myself out of the suitcase's doorway and flop onto the floor of the library instead. The guards jerked back to attention instantly, and I heard someone swearing and scrambling, then paws suddenly grabbed onto me. The burning pain was too great though, and that star-studded blackness swelled up to greet me again, even as they lifted me up off the floor...
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