Millennial Mage

Tala, Rane, and Terry stood facing the ancient immortal elk within its cell. Its Reforged-level power was on clear display, even while it was obviously contained to keep from negatively impacting the natural world that it had cultivated and nurtured within the cell.

Tala and Alat had mapped out dozens—if not hundreds—of plans, depending on how they’d first encountered the elk. They tried to bounce some of the more finalized versions off of others, but their processing speed—and the speed of their interface with the Archive—was so much higher that it was difficult to get quick feedback, leading to them doing most of the brute-force planning themselves.

If he had attacked them onsight, if he had hidden from them, if he had been unable to speak in a way they could understand, if he had made instant demands, and so many other scenarios. They had chosen avenues of advancement for each.

Therefore, following the plan they had laid out for this potential eventuality, Tala bowed as if to a human of the elk’s advancement. “Greetings, child of the forest.”

Rane bowed a moment later.

Terry did not bow. Instead, he simply tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes in consideration.

The cervid’s voice resonated from all aspects of nature around them from the flora, the ground beneath their feet, and even the very air of the cell itself. “Greetings? You offer greetings? You who bring a predator into my domain? You who come to ensure my containment? You who wear my very magics, mindlessly bound to your soul? Words are mere words, but it seems that yours may be worth less than most.”

Tala shook her head. “First of all, yes, my garments are made of immortal elk leather. It is the way of nature for prey and predator to perform their dance, and it would be wasteful to have left these magics to dissipate into nothingness.”

The elk exhaled a cloud of breath, making a sound somewhere between a grunt and a growl, but he didn’t otherwise respond.

“As to the predator? Terry is my soulbound companion. A predator, yes, but he is not here to wreak havoc upon your domain.”

Terry let out a mournful call, his eyes sparkling with humor and mischief.

She closed her eyes and took a calming breath before proceeding. Rust it, Terry. Now hardly seems like the time for that.

-He is not sorry for his actions. In fact, he is smugly certain that he’s made things better for you.-

When Tala opened her eyes, she did think that she saw a bit of mirth sparkling in the elk’s eyes, but that fact didn’t change the overall situation.

She swallowed and dove into the next step of the plan, “As to your captivity. I have come to discuss that with you. How would you feel about an agreement that would allow for your forest to be expanded?”

That piqued the elk’s interest. His aura seemed to still and focus, as if the animal had been constantly looking around itself, and it had suddenly ceased. His entire attention was now on Tala.

As if to emphasize this fact, his antlers seemed to shrink down until there were merely two dozen points, and he closed half the distance between them—the light fading from behind him as if it had never been—stopping a mere five yards away before his voice resonated forth once more, “What is there to discuss, little Refined? My forest is here, your kind will not return it to Zeme, so I will not leave. Your offer sounds interesting on the surface, but it is impossible as I understand things, unless I were to leave my forest, and your kind cannot offer me anything that would entice me to leave—they already tried that.”

Tala nodded along. “Because if you leave you would be diminished.”

“I am this forest, and this forest is me. To depart would wound us both to our very foundations.”

“I am not offering you a different forest that is larger. I am offering to help you grow this one.”

The elk was silent for a long moment. Finally, his deep words sounded again. “I am listening.”

“Before I explain, let me ask you one question: if the entrance to this forest were simply attached to the superficial world, what would you do?”

The elk appeared to slump slightly, seeming resigned as it answered honestly, “I would extend my influence outward until I had claimed enough of the region to bring my forest back into alignment with its proper home. This is the trouble. I will not leave, nor will I remain idle. If you are wise, you will go back to your Paragon and seal me here. After all, what could you possibly want from me that would be worth the growth of my forest? Or the threat that granting me more power through a larger domain would pose?”

He moved to turn away, seemingly having decided that she had nothing further to say, but Tala held up a hand. “As I said, I come to offer you a path through which you can expand your domain. You have not told me anything I did not know or at least suspect.”

The elk regarded her for a long moment. “Very well, I will listen. The years are long, and I am not so glutted with company that I should blithely pass on honest words, freely offered.”

She blinked a few times, processing the odd manner of speech, but it was obviously an agreement to listen, so Tala forged ahead. “I have the ability to expand a dimensional space—in theory—without end.”

The elk huffed. “I am aware that humans can expand their spaces through the combining of such. That will not work for such a cell, unless human magic has advanced far indeed. How is this different?”

“You are right, it would be difficult to expand your cell as it stands, if not impossible.”

He huffed again, clearly a bit irritated. “Yes, yes. I know this well. Please don’t mistake my willingness to listen for a lack of desire to hear the point.”

Tala gave a close-lipped smile at that. “As you wish. I will get to the point, then. I have a soulbound dimensional storage, which could consume the atrium to your cell, along with this forest, thereby joining the two.”

The elk wheeled on her, fully facing her once again, eyes flashing with clear anger. “I will not be bound with a human, girl. My power being greater than yours is of no consequence. I will not be bound to a human soul, no matter who rules. Your soul holds no temptation for me, and I am not a mere pet to be leashed to your will.”

Terry let out a hiss of anger—though Tala couldn’t tell if it was on her behalf, or at the implicit naming of him as a pet—crouching low, but Tala placed her hand on the back of his head while meeting the elk’s gaze. “I am not offering you a soulbond. My storage is based upon a voidling. She has a sentience all her own, and one result of that trait is that she does not force a binding on any—let alone all—who enter her dimensionality.”

The elk’s eyes narrowed, some of his rage cooling, but he was still clearly unconvinced. “I have not heard of this. Is it a new type of creature?”

“In a sense. They are lesser known, but not exactly new. But regardless, we have proven it works.”

The elk slowly lowered himself to the ground without breaking his gaze from Tala’s face. The seemingly relaxed posture did not reduce the feel of power radiating from him, nor did Tala allow the change of stance to lower her guard. His voice finally rose up again, “So, then. What do you actually propose?”

“My expanded space is filled with unclaimed, non-aspected power of my density. Combining your forest with my space will potentially give you more power to work with overall. That will only grow with time, as I advance.”

The elk had definitely reacted to that knowledge, but he seemed unwilling to simply agree regardless. “And it will place the dimensionality of my realm under your command. You would have me accept cheap power and grant you hold over my lasting existence.”

She smiled consolingly and acknowledged his point, “I am interested in the dimensionality of this cell, yes.”

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The elk shook his head, but before he could respond, Tala continued.

“But, I would only take the top down to just above the trees, from below the ground to just beneath the roots and underground waterways. None of that would affect your domain at all. From there, I would offer you increased dimensionality at ground level in exchange for various tasks.”

“So, you would take from me, then pay me with what had been mine?”

“At first, it might seem that way, but this agreement would not end. Your forest would grow. With comparatively little time, your domain would be larger than ever. I also would take dimensionality from you that does not add to your forest, and return to you land that would.”

The elk seemed to consider. “I am listening.”

Tala gave another shallow bow. “Thank you. My name is Tala, in current human culture I would be called Mistress Tala. May I know your name?”

The elk tilted his head slightly to the side, causing his antlers to move in a graceful arc. “I will not acknowledge you as my mistress, even by implication.”

“I apologize for the misunderstanding, but that isn’t what it means to us. It is more of a title, or term of respect.”

He shook himself, letting out an oddly high-pitched bugling. “I believe you are mistaken. Regardless, respect must be earned, and mistress is a term of submission from the speaker to the listener. It means something, and I will not grant it to you from me.”

Tala was about to argue, but Alat cleared her mental throat, reminding her that it really didn’t matter one way or another. Tala colored slightly beneath her armor and illusion. Right… thank you.

She took a deep breath and glanced toward Rane, who returned an encouraging smile.

She let it out slowly, and nodded. “Very well, Tala is more than acceptable.”

The elk’s voice almost sounded amused, “Of course it is, Tala. You may call me Walden.”

Tala kept herself from sighing. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Walden.”

The elk just dipped his head slightly.

“As to the details of my proposal. From you, I would like the option to ask questions about your view of the world, your advancement, and similar topics. I would similarly like to allow other Mages to come and study your domain, and interact with you in a peaceful manner. For any of these, you would be compensated by dimensional expansion of your forest.” She smiled at the massive cervid. “So, you see, it is you who would be trading the intangible for tangible gain.”

There was a long pause before the elk responded. “I sense that there is more to your proposal. I would hear all of it.”

Tala nodded. She explained how her soulbound storage was currently set up, and how she was thinking the elk’s forest would fit into the setup.

“To defend weak humans… this is not within my nature. If that is required, I will decline.”

Tala shook her head. “No, I would not ask you to defend any human. My request would be—if it ever came to that—to drive hostile beings from my sanctum, Irondale, or your own forest. They would be invaders, things that disrupted the natural order of the expanded spaces.”

“You can word it however you wish, but I would be potentially shedding blood for the benefit of humans. This I will not do. I will defend my own forest. That is all.”

She almost started to argue with the immortal elk, but stopped herself in time yet again. Instead, she bowed her head. “As you wish. That does not have to be a part of the agreement.”

Terry chirped, then, causing both Tala and Walden to look his way.

“Yes, thank you, Terry. He would like to be incorporated into your ecosystem if possible. He would not live here, but he could come and hunt as you allow.”

The elk and Terry matched gazes for a long moment before Walden asked a simple question, “Are you a killer or a hunter, little terror bird?”

Terry lowered his head as if in thought. After a long moment, he began chirping, trilling, and squawking. He then flickered to Tala’s shoulder, shrinking down to the appropriate size as he did so. Once he’d settled down, he bobbed his head once for emphasis.

“I see. You were a killer, seeking solace, comfort, and purpose in the death of other creatures, but no longer. Now, you desire to hunt only.” Walden considered. “If you are willing to keep to the creatures I designate, I can agree to this.”

Tala perked up at that. It was the first thing that the elk had actually explicitly agreed to, and it would only be possible if he also agreed to more of her proposition.

“Do not become too eager, human. Your idea is intriguing to me, and it might work, but I would have conditions.” He snorted in a modicum of a laugh. “I suspect your leaders will put a premium on your safety if we do this. Your death would mean my forest becoming unmoored, and my very power would eject it from the void.”

Tala… had not considered that. However, before she could fully process all the implications, Walden continued.

“Though, in all likelihood, my forest would resurface elsewhere in the world. I am well aware that humanity never bore me malice, nor wished to suppress me specifically. I understood that they could not allow two Sovereigns—as you designate them—to rise side by side on their very doorstep. I bear you no ill will for how things played out. It was our very nature—the very nature of our circumstances—that forced us to be at odds.”

She nodded at that. Unlike many prisoners in the cells, this elk really was an odd case. From the records he had never specifically attacked humanity, nor caused any humans direct harm. He had killed humans who had threatened his forest, but it was hard to fault a being for self defense. After all, his claim that he was the forest and the forest was him was not simply a metaphor.

All this to say, it was simply the tipping of the balance of power that he would have caused, which had forced humanity—millennia ago—to act. She frowned, then. “I do have a few questions, if I may.”

“Before we’ve negotiated what compensation for answers will be?”

Tala hesitated, but she detected a note of humor in the elk’s voice. “Well, we could use them to calibrate the value going forward?”

After a moment, the elk dipped his head. “It is a worthy trial run. Yes. Be aware, I will likely not answer unless we come to an agreement and until payment has been granted.”

“I understand.”

“Then ask your questions.”

“What is the difference between a Sovereign and a god-beast—or beast-god?—and do you know why your cell has degraded now? We have been having more cells than usual that require maintenance during this waning.”

The great beast pulled in a long breath before exhaling like a massive bellows. “You ask questions that are—at once—touching deep things and inherently ignorant.”

Tala blinked at the response, uncertain of how to proceed.

Thankfully, the elk sighed before his resonant voice sounded again, “I will give a basic answer as a courtesy. Though, you likely won’t see it as such. For any detail, by your measurements, I will require one hundred square feet of ground for my forest, with requisite height and depth to match the rest.” After a moment’s pause, he added, “And to be clear, the top of my forest does not end at the trees. The birds and other flying fauna must have space to spread their wings to function as needed. A minimum height of one hundred and fifty feet above ground level is required.”

Tala considered. One hundred square feet with thirty feet below and a hundred and fifty above.

-Eighteen thousand cubic feet.- Alat helpfully gave her the answer.

She swallowed. That was more than eighty one times the size Kit had been when Tala had first got her. “That is a steep price to pay. Nearly twenty thousand cubic feet for such an answer strikes me as excessive.”

“Are you saying you do not have that to give?”

She smiled. “I am saying that I believe such is worth more than the answers to such questions. I would be willing to pay more for this first exchange than those that follow, as an expression of good faith. Five hundred cubic feet per question for a total of a thousand cubic feet.”

“That would be a mere five square feet more of forest floor.”

She smiled at that, nodding and holding up her finger. “Exactly. Yes. Five square feet that you would never gain on your own. In Zeme? This would be a trivial thing, but in the context of your cell? Is it not infinitely valuable? Even a single cubic foot of space for mere words would see your forest grow dramatically in time. To that end, I believe that a hundred cubic feet of extra space for a question seems reasonable after this initial good-faith exchange.”

The elk snorted, and the haggling began.

Even so, Tala could barely hold back her smile. Walden had all but agreed to allow her to subsume the cell into her sanctum. Everything, now, was just details.

Rane spoke up on occasion, adding in his thoughts, sometimes agreeing and supporting a point that the elk was making at the time, and other times reinforcing Tala’s view.

It was irritating when he disagreed with her, but she appreciated not only his truthfulness, but also how much that very act seemed to cause Walden to begin to listen more closely whenever Rane spoke. The ancient elk even seemed to be swayed at times by the Refined’s words even when he didn’t seem interested in hearing Tala’s objections.

In the end, they finally hashed out the skeleton of an agreement, including a system by which they could flesh out the further details at a later time.

The elk snorted and bobbed his head. “Then, we are agreed. Now, as I promised, a basic answer to your questions. First, the difference between Sovereigns and god-beasts. They are at once entirely different and exactly the same. For what is the difference between the roots and the branches?”

Tala frowned, not understanding, but she didn’t interrupt.

“As to the cell degradation, the basic answer is this: Reality opposes that which seeks to subvert it in any way it can. These cells—at essentially every level of their existence—are anathema to Reality.”

She nodded. “Yes, but that has always been true. Why are they degrading more quickly, now?”

The elk’s face moved in a way that she was beginning to recognize as a smile. “What answers I can give to that will have to wait until compensation is granted, Tala.”

She sighed. “Very well. Let us proceed, then.”

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