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It had been six whole months since Alice arrived in Valderon, in the time since she was summoned she had made great strides in battle. Her fighting style, however, differed greatly from many other soldiers. The way she wielded her sword was different from what her instructors knew, she incorporated aspects of modern martial arts into her techniques.
Generally, they let Alice train however she preferred as long as she could best or fight on equal terms with other soldiers, and that was precisely what she did. She trained alone, sparring against any soldier who challenged her to a match. She only lost when one of the nation's elites decided they wanted to fight her, but even then, it didn't happen frequently. There were still plenty of soldiers who refused to engage Alice because she was female, and others simply weren't willing to take their chances at being beaten by a woman. Even so, Alice continued training whenever possible, and her skills grew steadily.
One day, while walking through the castle corridors, she heard a pair of guards talking about something interesting. Lord Valderon was planning a tournament between the greatest soldiers and combatants in Valderon with no restrictions on participation other than nationality, as long as you were considered a member of Valderon, then you could join. Its purpose was for the Lord to find an heir, he himself was childless, so it was necessary to find a replacement for him sooner rather than later. This also meant there would be a lot more fighters coming from outside the castle walls.
Alice then continued on her way, she didn't exactly want to be the next ruler of Valderon, but it would at least be entertaining to test her skills against the greatest men and women in Valderon.
It was a week later that the king formally announced the tournament. He explained to everyone present that immigrants would be allowed to participate as long as they had citizenship in Valderon. The victor of the tournament would become heir to all of Valderon. That night, Alice went to bed thinking about the upcoming event, and how it might change the future of Valderon.
The following morning, Alice left the barracks just after breakfast to look around the tournament grounds. It wasn't too far away, a short walk along the main road took her directly to the entrance gates. There were still a few days left before the tournament started, but even so, quite a few people were already there, training. Many of the soldiers and guards she had seen before, but there were also peasants, and nobles as well, from the lowest farmhand to the highest lords, she rarely saw any of them but occasionally ran into some of the nobles. A number of these people looked at her oddly, and she felt like a circus freak, mostly it was because they knew her as the Hero of Valderon.
She found a place near the gate where she could sit down and watch the ongoing matches, and over the course of the day she watched many different types of battles unfold. Most of which involved duels among single combatants. She did occasionally see spell casting among the non-human species, which surprised her, so far, she had assumed that only the southerners and other members of the opened eye could use magic.
Once one of the elves left the arena for the day, she ran down to meet him. "Hey," she said, approaching him at the entrance. The elf raised an eyebrow curiously, his hair was dark and silky smooth. His skin was pale, and he wore green leather armour with silver embroidery along the collar and hem.
"Oh, I've heard about you, Second Hero of Valderon, Alice, right?" the elf replied. "How are you?"
"Fine, fine. You're going to be participating in this tournament, aren't you?"
"Yes, indeed, I am." The elf smiled slightly.
"What's your name?" Alice asked, eagerly, it was clear to see that Alice had things to ask the elf.
"My name is Elberos, Elberos Dawnrest. Are you really a hero? Everyone has always talked about you, but nobody ever seemed sure whether you existed or not."
"I do exist." She answered. "Though I don't think I'm much of a hero yet, I have my work cut out for me, haven't I?"
Elberos laughed lightly, and nodded. "Indeed you do. And what brings you here, anyway? Did you come to check out the tournament?"
"Originally, yes. But right now, I'm way more interested in you."
A flicker of interest crossed the elf's face. "I'm a very ordinary elf, well, until after the tournament, then I'll be king of Valderon."
Alice gave a little laugh. "You seem awfully certain of yourself."
"That's only because I know I can win, and that the others will lose." The elf smirked. "So, tell me, what brought you to approach me?"
"Well, from the moment I arrived, I believed that only members of the order of the opened eye could use magic." Alice began explaining. "But, I saw you using it in battle, and I realized I was mistaken."
Elberos tilted his head, "The order of the opened eye. The Arch-Wizard no doubt believes that magic comes from his god of the sun. But it doesn't, the progenitors of magic were those like me, the elves. Even Keazeiros Valderon, the founder, could use magic. But humans have forgotten the art."
"Do you think you could teach me? The Arch Wizard has refused to teach me because I don't believe in the sun god." Alice admitted.
"Maybe after the tournament, it wouldn't do to have you become the queen" Elberos offered.
"What's the matter?" she asked, "are you chicken?" she mocked.
Elberos' ears flattened, and he stopped, he turned to look at Alice "Clever girl. Use my pride against me, fine, I'll teach you the basics, but you'll have to learn how to wield it yourself."
Alice agreed. "Alright, I guess we should get started. What do you need me to do?"
Later on, in a small shack that belonged to Elberos, he taught her basic spells, and Alice learned quickly. She had a knack for magic, and was able to pick up the basics within a couple of hours. As she practised her new skills, Elberos was silent, watching her intently. After a few hours of training, the elf sighed, and sat back, "I think that will do, hero. You have all the basics down, you won't be able to challenge my powers with what you know, but at least you won't need the Arch Wizard and his sun god." He rose, and stretched. "If you're lucky, I'll let you be queen when I retire."
Alice chuckled, "I have no intention of being queen, if I win the tournament, I'll probably surrender the throne to the runner-up." she said and left the shack, heading back to the castle. She was quite excited, she would soon find herself in battle against the best of the best in Valderon.
Data Analysis -
Upon finalizing all the data they would acquire, they were then capable of identifying the origin of the large spires that surrounded the moon. It was apparent now that the spires were of the same make and nature of the previous spacecraft they had encountered in the dead star system. Whoever this civilization was, it was clear they had been active in this star system as well. A possibility there was yet more of their technology still in operation.
Perhaps the most fascinating detail of the data was just how familiar this alien technology was to their scanning systems. Finding the very basis of the raw code to be a type of reversed engineered auldran script. Having decrypted its programming, it is deciphered to have actually been designed to jam the signals coming from the planet of Lhantasia. Effectively silencing these people from the rest of the galaxy.
Crater of the Tomb -
As the king’s riders pressed on to their destination, the effects of the effluvia-like mist became inescapable as they made it through to the maw of the massive crater of the moon. This would be the very place the scilocybe mist would concentrate the most in all the northern hemisphere. This much mist was dangerous even to the Nisse as they proceeded to put on their respirators and then their chocobo’s before taking a single step further. Even still, it was not enough to stop the effects that had already began to take effect on them as their eyes began to dilate nearly completely in just mere moments. Their vision tunneling as it began to show too much to them. Their perception fragmenting as they began to see all that would come to be.
And as they did, the leader of the riders would take his scanner from his belt and activate it while aiming towards the night sky. As he foresaw the coming decent of the aliens from the dark heavens. He knew well, they were already too late to stop them. And yet they pressed on.
The Tomb, now in all its glory could be seen as it rested pierced through the sea of mist that blanketed the entire crater. A large stone sphere, intricately carved with the alien iconography of a lost people. Cracks and holes lining it all as a display of its very age. All around it were haphazardly stuck together communication relays and antennae. Wires strapping everything together and they all converged and entered the tomb through the same opening in the back. It was clear now, that this was the very place the transmission had once originally came from.
Recon Investigation -
As the recon teams would prowl on, the characteristics of the mist could now begun to be understood. As some of the mist began to accumulate on the nooks and crevices of their suits. Scans of the substance would reveal a bizarre chemical nature completely unknown to them. Some of its properties being understood as psychoactive in some capacity. As they would move through this mist, it would seem as if time itself began to be dragged through the air that surrounded it. Much like how when heat would radiate off of a surface and distort the visibility of the surrounding air.
As the recon teams moved to approach the settlements, the sight of their makeshift towns came into their full view. Massive mechanical devices all entrenched into the desert sand as they connected together from all sides and positions. All settlements were unique to each of their tribes of people with their own cultural identity and style. Some larger, some architectural. All of it quite a degree of sophisticated detail. The Nisse, a hearty people of clever decent.
It wouldn’t be long before the sun began to poke its way from over beyond the edges of the besieging valleys. Drenching all the world in its warm embracing light. The mist nearly immediately rising and evaporating as it became a soft morning dew. The Nisse now all returned home. And just as quickly, their very settlements began to lift from the surrounding sands and split into their many sections before falling into formation. They would soon discover why they are called the walking cities of Lhantasia.
Visai’s Discovery
Visai’s scans would reveal vast intricate details of the surface of the planet. Nearly if not completely mapping every continent and all its features all the way down to each of their individual settlements current location. Their largest city built deep into the cliff side of a large looming mountain. In fact, there were many of such cities all built into the earth itself. Many connecting with others hundreds of km away. Thousands of years of ruins and abandoned sights now marked on their maps on the surface for further investigation.
Apart from all this data, evidence of previous conflict to began to emerge from all over the western region. Massive graveyards of destroyed vessels and buildings would litter the land. And just above this location, orbiting it from space, the debris of a former possible space station of considerable size continuously falls towards the earth. The sheer amount of raw destruction astounding as the analysis of the area continued.
With all the technology found in this place, pointing to the same hostile species they had encountered earlier, Visai decided he should up their defense systems. He'd been planning on it already, but now with his mind focused on the existence of enemy forces that might be able to fight on par with them, he realized that something was needed to give them an edge over such a threat.
The problem lay not in the technology itself, since there were many new developments available to them, but rather in how best to implement it and where to put it. The current layout was still functional, and if nothing else, it would serve as a temporary solution until more permanent changes could be made. That meant going through the process of adding in the necessary components for each system, which wasn't exactly simple.
He sat down in the control chair and glanced at the schematics, taking note of what was missing from the plan, he had the information on each team on the planet on the other side, just in case his attention was needed. Meanwhile, he had a few more ships leave the hangar to establish a perimeter.
The Admiral, Aladia, seemingly having tracked down the source of the distress signal she received, took a direct approach to it.
She had the shuttle's pilot land not too far from the source signal. The shuttle landed with barely a thump, and the hatch opened, a beam of light extended to form a tangible ramp. And Aladia walked down flanked by a few of her own soldiers, mostly robotic. She herself was clad in a form-fitting black uniform, but with the enviro-field generator still keeping her safe from any foreign bacteria or viruses.
She ordered her troops to fan out and comb the area.
The recon teams took pictures of the city and recorded the movements of their structures, they didn't have any other orders from Visai, so they only continued their investigation as ordered. They were not to take any risks that would put them in danger.
As the sun began to rise on the horizon, the first rays of light began to illuminate the buildings. The team leaders watched carefully through their scopes for signs of movement or anything improper.
Visai was still looking over the plans when some new information was available, he turned his head to another hologram. The debris on the planet had most likely come from the same debris in space, he tapped a few buttons in an attempt to calculate the trajectory of the debris, the rate of movement of both it and the moons and planets as well as their gravitational pull.
With all this, Visai was attempting to use the systems of the dreadnought to find out what had caused the debris field.
The Tomb
From the depths of the evaporating sea of mist, the stairs that lead to the summit of the tomb would suddenly emerge before Aladia. Her shuttle’s ramp leading straight to it as they soon made contact with the ground. The echos of the clanking metal creating a deafening silence that followed it as a shift in the air could be felt amongst all there. As if something once wrong was suddenly realized, acknowledged, for the first time in ages.
The very view from this high up, astounding as there was nothing but this sole structure for miles all around as it laid in the dead center of this massive crater. Mist all around them like clouds. Slowly they would evaporate back to the skies it all once came down from. As the gentle morning light fell upon it all. Delicately caressing Aladia’s cheek it felt warm to all who could feel it. A sense of peace suddenly coming over everyone who witnessed it.
The Riders of the king soon followed as they would finally arrive to the very beginning of the stairs of the tomb. Taking just mere moments to collect themselves before instructing their chocobos to rush to the summit of the tomb. They’re respirators releasing the refined mist exhaust that would trail behind them. The leader would use his scanner’s lens to zoom in on the position of the aliens. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he would see it. After all these ages. Someone finally came. To his astonishment, a woman… was she ? Could it be ? He forced his chocobo to run even faster at the realization. His men close behind.
Aladia was now just a single step from reaching the stone stairs of the tomb. Before her she could now see that statues lined each side of the staircase and would lead all the way down and under the mist. And these monuments, were made in the very image of her people. Auldrans. Great legends she’s never once heard of before now standing true in her presence. Many of the statues half ruined, their names forever forgotten now. And at the very top of the stairs, the looming tomb was just meters from her grasp. The entrance, sealed by nothing but a massive stone wall which had been engraved with ancient sigils of a faith now lost. Above it, the lone and half crumbled emblem of the crescent of the old House of this world still hanging on as a final testament of time. The crescent of House Hypatia.
Walking Cities -
Within moments, the massive structures would begin to move through the sand. Slowly accelerating pace by pace as it appeared to swim through the thick, slippery desert sands. All across the surface, settlements from all over would begin their mass migrations to the north. To return to the great city of Irdyn.
Astonishingly organized and efficient were the lines that formed that lead the migrations. But the under the surface of their shelters, it was no easy task to achieve such a feat that would be the moving of entire cities hundreds of km.
The sun now finally present over the world. The remaining mist being absorbed by the environment itself.
Visai’s Inquiry
No matter how Visai would come to input the collected data to plausible calculations, all it would ever return would be an inconclusive result. Nothing that could concretely explain what could have caused this sight. More and more data began to be complied as he continued. Suddenly, an unlikely scenario became the central theory of the reconstruction of the seen. A like assault from the surface itself.
I’m fact, there were clear signs in the path of destruction that whatever occurred here happened within a relatively short time frame. In the realm of possibility that it did so in a single night. A sudden unseen assault that quickly overwhelmed the local forces. All semblance of control lost as entire buildings and city blocks lay in ruin. And the victim of this carnage, the Lunaelysian Empire. It was their technology that littered here. They suffered here. But at the hands of what ? The Nisse ?
Further across the surface, data began to compile on the vast amount of discovered sights that resembled a form of possible enslavement camps. Evidence suggesting that there was an interest in burying these areas.
Aladia took another step, then placed her right foot on the stone step to the tomb and walked forward, trying to look as confident and regal as she could, she glanced at the statues. She wondered if she could dupe the inhabitants into thinking she was the same species as whoever the statues depicted. Aladia herself was oblivious that these statues did actually depict auldrans, like herself, with only minor differences.
Whe she reached the top, Aladia hesitated before running her hand across the engravings on the wall. The symbol of House Hypatia was unknown to her, it didn't look like the same symbol used by the queen of the auldrans in the modern age. Yet, there was something so familiar about everything here, she just could not place it.
The recon teams did not attempt to pursue the cities, which were clearly beyond their capabilities. The crews had been trained for espionage and assassinations, not pursuing mobile cities, if there was even a program for that.
Kaniros' capital, Landowar, was however mobile, but much larger considering it was a flying island that the Sorcerer King and later the Arch-Mage routinely moved around the continent, but this city seemed to be more nomadic in nature.
The teams theorized that they moved because of a need to expand outwards to new land or perhaps just as part of some sort of plan, though no one could figure out what that plan might be.
Most of the recon teams returned to their shuttles, however Recon-7 stayed behind to search the surrounding area, for anything else out of the ordinary.
Visai thought for a moment then ordered "Gather the alien debris, but do NOT bring it aboard, we'll tow it." Visai said, he looked at the surronding holograms and wrote down some improvements he could add to the ships once they returned to Kaniros. Visai imagined that it would be easier to investigate each part of the alien debris back at Hyras.
The crew were already gathering what they could from the area by using tractor beams and wires to move it into a large clump of materials.
The Tournament continued on after the half hour was past and everyone was healed, the first match was between the mighty druid, Elberos and the ranger, Rizaren. Alice and Thardain watched them enter the ring, Elberos seemed like he would win this fight easily with all the magic he had at his disposal.
"Welcome back to the arena, we're into the semi-finals now people!" the announcer said, "You know their names already, the druid, Elberos, and the ranger, Rizaren. Let's not waste any time, let the battle begin!" with that, he hit the gong.
Elberos changed his shape to that of a Dire bear, as far as the world of Valderon knew, the dire bear was a monster bear, it weighed in at over three metric tons and was almost four meters long, in Elberos' case, he was even bigger. He had sharp claws and powerful legs. The beast roared its challenge against Rizaren.
Rizaren didn't seem worried, though. He had taken down dire bears before, none this large, but he should be able to handle it. The two circled each other warily for a moment or so. Then they charged headlong into combat. They crashed into one another with a force which made the ground shake beneath them. With an incredible burst of speed, the giant bear tackled the smaller man, knocking him backwards into the dirt. Instantly, however, Rizaren was up again, dashing forward and plunging his sword through the bear's chest. It felt like cutting stone when the blade slid across the creature's hide. Blood sputtered from the beast's chest and its massive bulk collapsed to the ground. The bear transformed back into the druids form, the elf Elberos.
"That's the match, Rizaren Ascalhorn is victorious! And he moves on to the finals, could it be that our next king will be a half-elf? Is Valderon returning to its roots?" the announcer said "We'll find out today, I call to the stage, the hero of Valderon, Alice Frost and the Sword master, Thardain, Blade against blade in the last of the semifinals."
Alice and Thardain walked onto the arena floor. She looked at Thardain and readied herself, Thardain spun his bastard sword as he locked eyes with her. "Let the battle begin!"
Then they were off, leaping forwards with blades flashing in the sunlight. Thardain took the lead instantly, swinging his blade around to strike at Alice's arm, she blocked the blow and then brought the edge of her sword down upon his shoulder. A wound blossomed there, but Thardain's thick armour protected him well enough.
He lunged forward, his sword extended towards Alice's throat, but she swung her own blade downwards and caught his weapon mid-air. Then she struck upward, striking him just below his chin, causing him to stumble backward. Before he recovered, Alice had reached behind him and grabbed hold of his belt buckle. Instantly, she yanked him closer and plunged her sword into his stomach. She released her grip on his belt and stepped away.
Thardain staggered backwards, clutching his bleeding belly, trying desperately to keep himself upright. He spat up blood before collapsing, the announcer then called out "That's the match! Thardain is eliminated and Alice moves on to the finals!" Alice walked over and started healing Thardain so stabilize him before the staff came to take him away. "Let's waste no more time, and call the other finalist, Rizaren Ascalhorn!"
Alice watched Rizaren as he walked out to face her, "I never dreamed I would stand here facing the Hero of Valderon. My apologies, but I cannot afford to lose now, I'm going all out." he said.
Alice nodded, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Let the final battle begin!!!" the announcer roared, and the two warriors rushed forwards. Rizaren attacked first, swinging his blade about wildly, aiming for every exposed part of Alice's body. He was too fast for Alice to dodge many of them, and a number of blows found their mark. One cut her leg, while another sliced deeply into her side. But still, Alice kept fighting, dodging, blocking, stabbing.
A wild slash by Rizaren slashed across Alice's torso and sent her flying; however, she managed to land on her feet, only for one leg to buckle underneath her. She quickly used a healing spell to close the wound. Rizaren drew his bow and aimed a shot at her. Alice dodged, spinning aside to avoid the arrow.
With her injured leg, she couldn't run away from the bowman as fast as she would've liked. Rizaren raised the bow higher and fired once more. This time, Alice was unable to dodge. The arrow pierced her other leg, and she fell over, Rizaren quickly ran over and placed a foot on her chest, pointing his blade at her throat.
Alice sighed, "I guess victory is yours…" she said, "I surrender."
Rizaren grinned, "Well fought, Alice Frost."
The audience cheered and applauded, and the announcer said, "That is the end of the finals, the heir to the throne of Valderon is Rizaren Ascalhorn." meanwhile, Rizaren reached out a hand, and helped Alice up. "The world is in good hands with you as the hero."
"And I know Valderon will prosper with you as the ruler." Alice smiled.
Lord Valderon then stood from his throne and looked at Rizaren as a few healers came out to give them both some first aid. "Every man and women, whether human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, half-elf or half-orc has fought valiantly." Lord Valderon said. "To Rizaren I will grant 10,000 irons, to Alice I grant 5,000. Elberos and Thardain will each receive 3,000 irons, the quarter finalists will receive 2,000 irons, the remaining contestants will each receive 1,000 irons. You all deserve these rewards, as do all those who lost their lives in this tournament, let us all remember them and celebrate their bravery in the afterlife. To each of you, may your families and loved ones know peace."
Everyone bowed their heads and offered a prayer, even Rizaren did. After that, the victor, Rizaren, was escorted to the castle and given a permament residence in one of the rooms, he later noticed, his room was right next to Alice's room.
She took a moment to admire him. "Wow, I must say, you are one of the most fascinating-looking people I've seen." She politely complimented him with a smile and blush.
She extends her hand towards him. "Could you come with me please, we should get out of this stuffy and sterile room."
The transport ship connected to the docking bay, and dropped off a total of five individuals. All of which were there for diplomacy and coordination for the ongoing conflict.
One was adorned in a Cascadian military formal dress uniform, of which closely resembled that of the WW2 American dress uniform. It was paired with a black tie and a matching-colored cap. The epalluettes he bore was adorned with a silver oak leaf, which in the Cascadian Army, was the symbol of a Lieutenant Colonel. He appeared to be in his mid-20's, and stood at the height of 6'3. His hair was blonde, and his eyes blue; overall, fairly young for a person of his rank. The name-tape on the left-side of his uniform read "Chambers."
Another man stepped out of the ship. He wore a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath, along with a black tie. He had a pale complexion, and stood at the height of 5'11. Black hair, and brown eyes. He appeared to be in his late 30's or his early 40's. He wore a calm demeanor, and maintained an attentive expression on his face. He was the Director of Intelligence for Cascadia, Patrick Mitchell.
The third person to step out was a woman. She wore the same general kind of clothing as Director Mitchell. She wore her brown hair short, and had blue eyes. She stood at a height of around 5'7. She was the diplomat assigned to this mission, by the name of Savannah Monroe.
The next two were security detail, dressed in the same attire as the two government personnel, granted unlike the both of them, their suit-jackets were fully buttoned up, concealing the tactical vests and rigs behind them. One was a man, standing at 5'9, with brown hair and hazel eyes, and a woman, standing at 5'8, with black hair and hazel eyes. They were both fairly well-built.
Together they emerged out from the transport ship, and awaited further directions.
(RP over d: )
(Inconclusive results, I may or may not explain what would've happened...)
At the edge of the universe, a planet drifted silently towards the howling, on its surface stood the single most ancient lifeform in this universe, predating it by an immeasurable amount of time. The planet was a world with no name, for the species that had reigned over it were long since gone from this universe, the only living creature there was a clone of Egregius Ultimus, E-U-2844.
His head ran billions of calculations a second, he had measured the curvature of the universe, the size, the age, and the distance between each galaxy. He knew the age of every planet and star he could see, the composition of all known elements. He knew the number of atoms in the surrounding air at any given moment, as well as their weight and chemical signature.
In his hand, he held a small device with a red button on it, with a single label that said 'Press this sucker'. He smirked and placed his thumb on it, with one swift motion he pressed down the button and the entire planet stopped dead in its tracks, less than a second away from falling into the howling.
He twisted the button and the planet began to turn until he was facing the centre of the universe, and it moved, it moved opposite of its original location, heading to the universe's centre. The planet was travelling at 3 times the speed of light, he dropped the device on the ground and crushed it underfoot.
He then went into his vast underground complex, the interior of the planet down to the core had been replaced by machinery, all kinds of devices, wiring, and computers. There were several dozen large tanks filled with water, each contained hundreds of different creatures, some were human shaped, others were just a few inches tall. Each tank was connected to dozens more, which in turn were connected to hundreds more. All told, he had thousands upon thousands of tanks, holding millions upon millions of beings, all controlled by him through a network of computers spread across the planet.
He sat down in a chair and crossed his legs, as dozens of screens took shape in front of him. On them appeared images of the stars and planets he watched pass by, another screen showing the current speed of 3 C, slowly increasing by the decimals, all according to plan.
A new image appeared before him, it showed the reports of a black hole in front of him, with a flick of his wrist, it dispersed into a million particles. He folded his hands and waited for his planet to reach its destination.
The scientists of Kaniros were hard at work at Rimessor, the planet where the Maw had been located for a few decades by now. Visai was looking at a set of readings, several contraptions and magical devices were keeping it stable.
He scratched his chin, “Hmm, I see now. The rift is a wound in the time-space continuum.” he said as he read off his Computer Implant System's screen.
Sybil Luxford was standing next to him, the Grand Admiral in charge of Military Defense, “A wound, so it's healing?” she asked, concerned about the future of Kaniros and the interdimensional nations.
Visai nodded “Yes, as we see it, the rift is a passageway through the void, by using it we can transfer between our universe to the next, even outside the Ithskjall. The gate operates by directing outgoing traffic to the correct pathway inside the rift.”
Sybil listened to his explanation intently, she knew this much, but Visai wasn't one to waste his words.
“Some of these pathways are being closed, completely, some have already closed, and there isn't much we can do about it.” he said and lowered his arm, his implant's screen disappearing, he turned his eyes to look at Sybil.
She crossed her arms and said, “Meaning?” although she already knew the answer.
Visai took a deep breath, exhaling, and said, “Meaning we cannot enter, and neither can they leave, unless they find a way to reopen the gates in their universes. I don't know what other effects closing the rift may have.” he turned his gaze back to the maw, high in the sky above him, “There is a lot of energy in the rift, far more than a mere quasar.” he said. “Closing it might unleash a powerful explosion powerful enough to wipe out an entire star system, perhaps an interstellar neighbourhood, maybe, an entire galaxy.” he said, “I've been unable to measure the full power of the rift, and I doubt anyone else ever did.”
Sybil was worried that much was clear, she had a very grave expression on her face. “What of FT-13?” she asked, concerned about the people on the other side of the rift.
“Most of them were called back to Kaniros rather than having to face extinction, but that universe was closed, it seems FT-01 is still open, and several others. We haven't lost anything valuable in this.” Visai said.
Sybil nodded, she wasn't too happy about the news, but the good of Kaniros came first, after all, and FT-13 wasn't their concern.
The Grand Admiral sighed, and asked, “Have you told the other Grand Admirals yet?”
Visai shook his head, “I didn't tell you because you are a Grand Admiral, Sybil. I told you because you will be the next High Councillor after Snowdon's assassination.”
Sybil's eyes widened, she was aware of Snowdon's assassination, but the idea of becoming the High Councillor had been a new one. “You want me? In charge of Kaniros' Military Command?” She asked, astonished at what Visai had said, “Virra is almost a thousand years old, compared to her, I'm a little girl.”
Visai looked at her, smiling, he knew she was fit for the job, “Grand Admiral Virra is a warrior to the bone, her experience, and wisdom is invaluable, but the time of a warrior has long passed, Kaniros needs someone who can use words and diplomacy to solve a situation, a person with a vision for the future, and you are just the person for that.”
Sybil blushed slightly at the complement, “Do… Has the rest of the high council agreed to that?” she asked, looking up at Visai.
“Not yet, but I'm sure they'll see it my way.” he turned and headed back to the spaceship, leaving Sybil on Rimessor, she had her fleets on standby, as Visai left she smiled, she was finally reaching the highest point a military person could reach.
As Visai sat down in his ship, he crossed his legs and folded his hands. He smirked as he thought The High Council always thinks that they are controlling Kaniros, but alas, I've been controlling them from the start. he scratched his chin. Maybe I should think about my successor, Altiris Essor could be a good choice.
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