by Tony Corden
As soon as Leah arrived in Dunyanin, she released Mĕi and spent some time playing before releasing Mìng. Korumak was ready with some meat, but Mìng said, “I want to hunt!”
Leah said, “Korumak, Mìng thinks she is ready to hunt. Are there any smaller creatures in the area or should I take her elsewhere for a while?”
“If she waits, I will have some small goats brought into the close fields, and she can start on them.”
Leah translated this into Dragon Tongue, and Mìng replied, “Yes. This is how young learn. We start with captured prey.”
Korumak promised to arrange this and Mìng ate some of the prepared meat to tide her over until the goats were arranged. Once everything was organised, Leah began to head to the forge when Mìng said, “Empty your Mana.”
Leah cast Circle of Sloth. Breaking the barrier to release her mana into the spell was easier than before, and she was able to stop the last hundred or so Mana Points from discharging. She thanked Mìng for the reminder and was again about to leave when Mìng interrupted again, “Mithryl, use Mithryl in sword.”
Leah stopped and turned to Mìng, “What do you mean? How should I use it in the sword?”
“Mithryl in sword. Mithryl is strong but will keep the sword from breaking, it accepts force. Place in middle of Dragon Flame steel.”
“Would Adamantine be better?”
“Yes. A good idea. Father’s bones inside to heal sword. Mother’s scales outside to burn.”
Leah and Mìng talked about her idea for a while. When Leah had a firm picture in her mind of what Mìng’s suggestion entailed, she logged out to retrieve one of the smaller bones from Lord Y’sam Ejderhasi’s skeleton and headed for the forge. When she arrived, she explained to Maden that she intended to reshape one of the Adamantine bones using Dragon Fire and to use it as the central section of the sword. He requisitioned one of the permanent forges and lay down a bed of coal.
When it was ready, Leah used some tongs to grip the smallest bone she could find. It was one of the bones from the ear of the Dragon. In a human, it would be tiny, but in the dragon, it was large enough to use. She placed the bone on top of the prepared coals and cast Dragon Fire. Again she willed more Mana into the spell as the forge filled with white dragon fire. When the glare had dimmed enough to see the bone Leah pulled it out and began to reshape it. After a few minutes, she took a small Mana potion and repeated the process. Altogether it took over two hours to mould the bone into a long thin rectangular piece which was ready to insert in the Dragon Steel from the day before. Leah was exhausted and stood back for a break.
As she looked up, she was surprised to see almost every miner in the forge standing around and watching. Sampiyon said, “That was educational. I hope you don’t mind us taking this opportunity to learn new things.”
“Not at all, but I can take no credit for it, my friend Mìng and what I have read in the Book of Designs have described the process.”
“Do not sell yourself short. The work is yours. You wield the hammer.”
Leah nodded her acceptance of his statements and then he said, “If you are taking a small break, then please join me in my office. I would like to introduce you to the Enchanter, she has just arrived.”
Leah followed the dwarf into the office and was introduced to a tall desert elf dressed in a flowing robe the colour of sand and edged with silver and gold writing. Sampiyon said, “Atherleah, please meet my good friend Rabnesh Yucu.”
Before Leah could respond the elf drew back and said, “Sampiyon, what is this? Not only is your friend a half-breed but she is the mortal enemy of all Desert Elves.”
Turning to Leah, she said, “If not for my promise of peace within these walls you would be dead. I will not help you, nor will I teach you. Beware, when you leave I shall be waiting, then you will answer for your crimes.”
Leah said, “What crimes?”
“You killed the holy Son of the Dunes Rab Adli in cold blood. You began the War of the Martyr in which forty-thousand Desert Elves died.”
Leah said, “Rab Adli was a slave trader and murderer. The war was started to save a child and her mother from abuse, rape, and death.”
“Lies propagated by you and your purebred kin. We will be avenged. The time has come for justice.”
Leah looked at Yucu and said, “I call on Utsal, Goddess of Light and Truth to be my witness and to affirm the words of Atherleah thy friend. Rab Adli was a slave trader and murderer. He stole a mother and child to sell into slavery where they were destined for abuse, rape and death.”
Both Sampiyon and Yucu stepped back in shock as Utsal appeared and said, “Atherleah, you can’t just call me like that. You’re my friend, but there are protocols; other Gods can do it but not mortals. You say you won’t serve me, but then suddenly you need my help and you call. It just won’t do.”
“I apologise, my friend, but I had no other way to prove the truth to Yucu. In this world, you are the keeper of truth, and I thought you would want the truth to be told. I take your point however and will not call on you again.”
“Now, now, don’t be hasty. I was simply pointing out that you need to think about how people might see this. I am happy to help, it’s just that I also need followers to give me power.”
“I understand, I assumed that you would also receive power when people searched for or found truth. They might not name you but surely seeking for truth is a start?”
“Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. Most people only search until they find something they like. Many hear the truth but reject it as unpalatable. They want truth to conform to their ideas and wishes. Take these Desert Elves for example. There are numerous records of the depravity and cruelness of Rab Adli, but they refuse to read them. They ignore their past, forgetting the days of slavery. Somehow they believe that if they repeat something enough times, it will become true.”
Turning to Rabnesh Yucu, she said, “Rabnesh Yucu, Daughter of the Dunes, Enchanter of Earth and Fire, Holder of the Keys of Nught, know this. Every word Atherleah has shared of Rab Adli is true, but she knows so little of his life. Behold!”
Suddenly Yucu stiffened and stared into the distance. After several moments tears began to flow from her eyes and soon she was sobbing. Finally, Utsal said, “The truth is hard to see, harder to bear, impossible to hold, and yet it will set you free.”
Turning back to Atherleah she said, “I do expect a small gift when you pass by my temple. Olme is bragging all the time about that spear, and it’s driving me crazy.”
Utsal disappeared, and Leah turned to Yucu who was kneeling on the floor and sobbing. Sampiyon was standing there in shock, uncertain of what to do. Leah said, “I’m sorry for your pain, Rabnesh. What little I saw of Adli turned my stomach, I cannot imagine a deeper look into his life.”
Yucu’s sobs tapered off, and she stood. Finally, she said, “He was worse than you imagine. His death was too quick and painless. I have his blood in my veins, and it cheapens me, it is a stain on my honour, on my name, on my life.”
“Your honour is yours, as is your name, and your life. I believe people must acknowledge the wrong of the past, they must seek to redress the evil, but they are not responsible to own the sin. You did not do these things.”
Yucu nodded slowly, and then bowed to Atherleah. She said, “Lady Atherleah, I was wrong in condemning you. I beg your forgiveness.”
“You have it. Let us start again. My name is Atherleah, and it is a pleasure to meet you. Now, let us get to business. Yucu, Sampiyon has told me that you are a Master Enchanter. I have commissioned him to make me a set of armour and weapons. Also, if possible I would like to learn the skill of Enchanting and perhaps make use of your skills on some projects of my own.”
“It will be an honour to teach you. Sampiyon has yet to describe what he needs so why don’t you let me help you first. I gift you the skill of enchanting.”
Leah received a message that she was now able to learn enchanting. Yucu continued, “Primari
ly, enchanting is the process of inscribing on materials various runes. The skill is choosing the correct rune, the correct medium and the correct tool. If you explain how I can help you, then I will explain how this works in more detail.”
“I am working with some Adamantine infused bone from a Life Dragon. I plan to sandwich this between two layers of Dragon Steel and then coat the surface with some scales from a Fire Dragon. I was wondering if you had some enchantments we could use?”
“It may be possible. I’ll need to check my ingredients.”
“I have some that might be useful. I have some vials of elemental darkness, flame, lightning and electricity. Some slime crystals; Malachite, Topaz, Tourmaline and White Opal. I also have a Star crystal or two.”
Yucu stared at her and said, “Amazing, I believe they will be useful. What stage are you up to?”
“I am about to weld the Adamantine between a folded piece of Dragon Steel. Then I will shape the sword. When it is finished, I had planned to cover it with the Dragon Scales. My dragon Mìng suggested that if each scale were enchanted before being melted, then the spells would remain and become infused with the sword.”
“You have a dragon? Amazing. Yes, if I were to inscribe runes on the scales then they would remain. I suggest I also inscribe runes on the Adamantine. You say this is from a Life Dragon? Then I suggest I use a variety of Life Runes. I will need to consider what is the appropriate medium. It is best if it is something closely bound with life and healing.”
Leah said, “I have some ingredients that are useful for making healing potions. My skills are not yet at a sufficient level to make them.”
Leah showed Yucu some of her ingredients and Sage Samarie’s Mortar and Pestle. Together they discussed various Runes. Finally, Yucu prepared a mixture which included some crushed Tourmaline crystal, Diamond Royal Ant Jelly, elemental ectoplasm, one of the Rock Kraken eyes, Forager Ant saliva and some Manather blood. Yucu carefully crushed and combined the ingredients with an occasional infusion of Mana. When it was finished, she covered the prepared Adamantine bone with various Runes which would absorb Mana, transfer HP to the wielder of the Sword, repair the sword if damaged, keep the blade sharp and prevent it from harming the owner. The Forager Ant Saliva was to help the Runes remain attached to the Adamantine bone throughout the reshaping process.
Yucu and Leah the discussed what Runes to inscribe on the dragon scales. Finally when the discussions were done, Leah returned to the Forge and Yucu began to talk with Sampiyon concerning his needs. Back at the forge Leah heated the Dragon Steel using Dragon Fire and carefully created a wedge in it for the piece of Adamantine. Once the pieces were fitted together, she and Maden began the process of slowly shaping the block into a blade. This took the rest of the day, but before logging out the blade was finished and ready for tempering.
Leah entered the MIT Academia Portal and found herself once again in Professor Hill’s office. The professor said, “Hello Atherleah, I hope you are here to sign the enrolment forms and choose classes.”
“Indeed I am Professor Hill. I trust that you have received correspondence from my lawyer with several suggested changes.”
“We have and Mr Patterson asked to be contacted when you arrived. If you will wait one minute, he will be here shortly.”
As the MIT lawyer walked into the office, he said, “Ms Carroll, I find you to be altogether an enigma. Several conditions included in the proposed agreement favoured you substantially, and you removed them. To be honest, I had spoken against them but I was wondering why you suggested their removal?”
“As I said to my lawyer, it is because I believe in accepting my own personal responsibilities. It isn’t primarily a desire for fairness but reflects my belief that handing over the responsibility for my own actions to someone else will, in the long run, limit my freedom and not enhance it. If I have a problem, then it is in my best interest that I solve it. Giving MIT the responsibility for aspects of my life will reduce the scope of my self-determination or independence. It is best if I regain control.”
“Besides being admirable, I suggest from experience that it is also true. Are you ready to sign the amended offer and begin studying at MIT?”
“I am.”
“Wonderful! I will stay and witness the signatures and then leave you and Professor Hill to discuss coursework and possible mentors.”
Leah signed the various documents, which Mr Patterson witnessed and took with him. Leah then sat down to discuss the next step with Professor Hill. She enrolled in the next senior unit on Experimental Design and Implementation, which was due to begin in two weeks. Professor Hill suggested she pre-read the course material before the start of lessons.
“I have also sent you the material covered in the earlier prerequisite courses and suggest that you work your way through that at your leisure. I have included the suggested text, video and virtual world links that you need, both for the earlier courses and for the Senior Unit. Don’t worry about costs as MIT is covering your tuition.”
“Thank you. I can see I will be busy even though it doesn’t start for two weeks.”
“Indeed. I trust your involvement in the Dunyanin world will not overshadow your studies here at MIT?”
Leah could hear the question mark in the statement as well as the instruction. She said, “Furthering my studies has been my focus since I was a child. If I find that I cannot do both, then be assured it will not be my courses here that suffer. I hope that my involvement in Dunyanin does not negatively impact my relationship with the College.”
“It does not. We are just concerned that you make the most of this opportunity. You should know that some of that is selfish on our part. We see potential in you, and we hope to profit academically and financially from you studying here. Even though I will admit, I have examined the two papers you referenced in our last meeting, and I'm at a loss to see the connection between them.”
“It is tenuous, but if I can finalise a mathematical and theoretical unification of the two, then I hope to work on finding a practical application. ”
“It sounded as though you already have an idea on practical applications.”
“I do, that is why I was wondering, as I am hoping to investigate both the unifying theory and its practical implementation; is it possible to have two advisors?”
“It is certainly possible. In practice though, only a few of our top researchers are happy and willing to share students. But you are free to contact them and discuss the possibilities. Whom did you have in mind?”
“I have several names, but the two that interest me the most are Dr Ellen Whitfield to advise on the theoretical side of my project, and Dr Thomas Ellis for the practical application.”
“Dr Whitfield is one of our most distinguished theoretical Physicists and has demanding criteria for taking new students, but I agree she is certainly the best qualified to help with your topic. Dr Ellis is brilliant but to be honest, he can be abrasive. He currently supervises only two graduate students and one of those is looking to transfer advisors. I tell you this because his social skills are non-aligned with normal conventions. I will also point out that Drs Whitfield and Ellis have a somewhat strained relationship. Have you considered Dr Louise Boyle as an advisor for the practical aspects?”
“I have, I read the various papers produced by each of the researchers in the Physics Department. I think she would be very helpful in looking for applications based on Ivan Podshivalov’s paper on “Possible mechanisms for recognising and influencing the distribution of quantum effects in Einsteinian space”. It is more Dr Ellis’ work on the isolation and manipulation of quantum packages in artificially constructed aether-dimensions that interests me.”
“From what I understand, that paper obtained no traction within the scientific community.”
“It didn’t, I suspect it was the difficulty of providing a cohesive theoretical explanation for the results he reported. I believe that the braid I am investigating actually predicts the re
sults he observed. If that is the case, then his work is a vital springboard to finding practical applications.”
“You make good points. You are free to contact them and discuss options. I suggest you send them a small précis of your desired area of study. If they do not respond, then please let me know and I will intercede on your behalf.”
“I completed the MIT Application for Doctoral Studies. Will the précis for that suffice?”
“Indeed, I had anticipated you might work on that with the advisors. Send that through to them and explain it is a draft. That should show them how serious you are.”
Leah stood, and after saying goodbye she exited to the Tower and reviewed her submission for a few minutes. She removed some of the information to protect her idea and then sent a request through to both researchers. Afterwards she walked to the section of the Tower which Gèng had set aside for investigating the Merkize Disc. Although she wanted to study the Cosmos Online Star Charts again, she knew she had not spent enough time on the puzzles.
Surrounding the first step were some puzzles. One seemed to indicate a starting point. She took a picture of it.
She studied it for a while and then separated out the various icons. She hoped to make sense of them and get an idea of what the puzzle showed.
She sat for some time and then said to Gèng, “Are you allowed to help?”
“No! The game has strong protocols in place which prevent an AI from helping with puzzles, riddles and other game elements. I am convinced however that I could circumvent these controls if I needed to I but believe it would be inappropriate to do so.”
“Wrong is the word you’re looking for. If it is against the rules, then it would be wrong. It will come to me I am sure. I realise I should have begun working on these earlier. Is there anything preventing me getting others like Amy to help?”
“Nothing that I can see. It is even possible that her AI would not be encumbered by the same restrictions as there is nothing inherently contained within the puzzle that would limit its involvement. I am limited because it is a clue that you found. If you were both in the game, then it would not be able to help.”