Shirtaloon
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Chapter 938: The End of What Can Be Productively Achieved Here
🕑 Added 2024-08-23 23:00:05 +0000 UTCIt was Clive who portalled Jason to his destination. Jason had been to the target location before, but only once, and it had changed greatly since. When he and Farrah had arrived, years previously, it had been an uninhabited island, pounded by a localised magical hurricane from which the Sea of Storms took its name.
Years later, it was a very different prospect. The island had a large town situated on it, and the windmill-like storm accumulators surrounding it offshore both shielded the island and delivered the magic that fuelled its infrastructure. All of this was a result of the island being purchased and developed by the Sky Link Company.
Jason’s second visit began in a town square set aside for teleport arrivals. He looked around at the building painted in vibrant colours. Blue, red, purple, pink, orange and yellow, all bold shades striking under the bright sun.
“It’s hard to believe it’s the same place,” he said. “I love it.”
He opened a portal to his soul realm and people started pouring out, likewise looking around like tourists. They had been doing much the same thing inside Jason’s astral kingdom, in the tree city of Arbour.
“This is pretty sweet,” Koa said. “It’s like being on a magical cruise ship and seeing all the fun destinations.”
Farrah directed Jason to a dock where he could set up his cloud palace to accommodate the earthlings. The island was only set up to house the people who worked there, despite having the feel of a tourist town. He hoped that they could get the bridge established before the people of Earth caused any trouble.
***
Jason had a meeting with Farrah and Travis, who owned the island, along with Danielle, Zara and Clive. They held it in a conference room with large open windows and robust privacy enchantments.
“We excavated the hidden magical infrastructure the Builder placed here,” Travis explained. “Then we had the whole complex sealed off.”
“As it stands,” Clive said, “Using that infrastructure to calibrate the dimensional bridge should take a few weeks. I’ve studied enough messenger astral magic to understand what we need to do, and the only missing component is you, Jason.”
“Why does it require Jason?” Zara asked.
“Because of the anchor on the Earth side,” Jason told her. “The World-Phoenix relic I used to create it required me to be involved. Even though I kind of ate the relic and we’re doing it the hard way now, that requirement is still in place.”
“I don’t foresee any insurmountable problems,” Clive said. “Just a lot of painstaking work to align this end of the bridge with the one in the other universe. Getting all the details right. This can’t be one of those rush jobs I always seem to get stuck with when we’re out on adventures. We have to take it slow and do it right.”
“But isn’t it more exciting when there’s a ticking clock?” Jason asked.
“Yes,” Clive said with flat disapproval. “It is.”
Jason chuckled, then turned to Zara.
“We need to address the political aspect,” he said. “This island is isolated, and private land, but it still falls within the boundaries of the Storm Kingdom. Creating a bridge to another universe is no small thing.”
“Even if it won’t be useable without some hefty magic for around a decade,” Clive added. “It will take that long to stabilise, mostly because of Earth’s shaky dimensional membrane. Given that this will be permanent, ten years isn’t a large timeframe. It’s only two thirds of a Jason-going-off-the-fight-gods-or-whatever. That’s a new measurement of time I’ve started using, by the way.”
“Did your wife come up with it?” Jason asked.
“Let’s not get distracted,” Danielle cut in. “We were talking about the political aspect of establishing the bridge inside the Storm Kingdom’s borders.”
“We got approval from the Storm King years ago,” Travis said. “Back when we bought the island. The isolation was a large part of that.”
“As was some quiet nudging from Soramir Rimaros,” Farrah added. “But the Storm king was concerned with more than just danger. This brings potential opportunities, as well.”
“We shouldn’t just rely on a decade-old permission from a former Storm King,” Danielle said. “We could, but bringing this to the sitting monarch is a demonstration of respect. Getting his approval will smooth things out for us.”
“And if he says no?” Clive asked. “We can pack up and do this somewhere else, but we’ll need to build and calibrate new infrastructure. Weeks turns into months. Maybe years.”
“If that’s what has to happen, we do it,” Jason said. “I know that I’m famous for pushing up against authorities, but there’s no urgent fight to be fought. We can afford the time, and doing it outside of any national boundaries has advantages as well.”
“The question is,” Danielle said as she looked at Zara, “how likely is the Storm King to say no?”
“I don’t know,” Zara said. “It’s considered bad form to overturn decisions by previous Storm Kings, but it still happens. Circumstances change. And my cousin may want to make a show of not bowing to outside concerns.”
“After I withdrew the System,” Jason said.
“Exactly.”
“Well,” he said, “it’s not like I was unaware that there would be consequences. I even knew what they would be, more or less. I went into it eyes wide open.”
“We could threaten to move the Sky Link Company out of the Storm Kingdom as well,” Travis said. “Not just the headquarters but the entire service.”
“No,” Jason said. “It’s one thing to threaten a family, but pulling out of the Storm Kingdom entirely would harm the company too much. It’s the main trade hub for two continents. None of us want your employees hurting for my sake.”
“It would also backfire,” Danielle said. “Jason has already pushed the Storm King, along with every other monarch on the planet. Pushing him again won’t work.”
“She’s right,” Zara said. “Even if he wanted to back down, he couldn’t afford to, politically. He’d have to push back, even if it was bad for everyone involved.”
“Except the Magic Society,” Clive said. “You can bet they’d be tooting their horns about the ‘proven long-term stability of the water link system.’ The sky link hurt one of their major income streams.”
“There’s also the fact that this is his nation to rule,” Jason pointed out. “Everyone here knows my feelings about inherited class systems, but I don’t want us to throw our weight around, just because we can. Yes, there is probably some combination of political pressure and political finesse that gets us what we want. I’d rather focus on what we can offer the Storm Kingdom, not what we can force it into accepting.”
“I appreciate that,” Zara said. They were seated next to one another, and she brushed her hand over his lightly as she spoke.
“That is the wise approach,” Danielle said. “We should discuss what specific benefits we can present.”
***
When everyone filed out after the meeting, Farrah fell in step with Jason as he left the building. She gave him a pointed sideways look as they strolled down the wide street, past the colourful buildings.
“What?” he asked.
She tapped her brooch, and a privacy screen snapped into place.
“What was that?”
“What was what?” Jason asked with unconvincing innocence.
“Are you going to make me drag it out of you?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Really? Do you actually think people haven’t noticed the sudden awkwardness between you two? We all have supernatural senses and the power to read emotions. You might keep a lid on your aura, Jason, but we can also see your face.”
“Okay, not nothing. But it’s not something, either.”
“Not yet.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“And somehow, I still heard it. Dangling off the end of your sentence like a man hanging from a cliff, fully aware that his immediate future will be very bad or very complicated.”
“Okay, maybe there was… look, no one is rushing into anything, here. She has ambitions, and all I have to offer in that regard are complications. Any relationship she has is going to matter, and I have a lot of baggage. Not just because of my political position now, but because of our past. After that whole debacle over a made-up relationship back then, a real relationship now would undercut any credibility she’s built up. Fifteen years of work as an adventurer, down the drain. She knows it, I know it. Neither of us are going to charge into something foolish and self-destructive. We’ve both learned our lessons in that regard.”
“Well, that all sounds disappointingly mature. Here was me wanting to make fun of you for sneaking around like a teenager.”
“Oh, the urge is there, believe me. I’m gold rank; I’m meant to have too much self-control to be this horny.”
She laughed.
“What are you going to do, then?”
“I don’t know.”
They stopped at a café where they bought iced tea in takeaway cups of magic glass that would evaporate when empty.
“You’re about to be on Earth,” Farrah said as they resumed their walk. “She’s not a princess there.”
“The thought has occurred to me. Yes, we could explore it, but what happens when we come back? It needs to end or become more serious than we’ll probably be ready for.”
“I’m pretty sure Soramir would be happy to help you out.”
“Don’t remind me. But what about you? Didn’t you have a guy around here somewhere?”
“You mean Trench? Yeah, he’s sweet. And earnest. He was always sensitive about the power disparity and the age difference, so we always kept things casual. Now that I’m gold rank, he’s been hinting that he wants something more serious.”
“And what about you?”
“I don’t know. I mean, he’s nice. Stable. Mum loves him. You know I built a house on your old spot in Arnote.”
“Yeah. You sound hesitant.”
“It’s not him. I like stable. I want to be the unhinged one, you know? I just don’t know if I want that with anyone right now.”
“You know, I’m not the only one who could afford to try something out on Earth.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s a great idea. Drag some guy off to another universe, only to have it not work out and we’ll be stuck together until we come back in who knows how long.”
“That’s a fair point. Look, I don’t know the situation with you and Trenchant, and I know that when people live as long as we do, keeping things casual can be the way to go. But, just from what you’re saying, it doesn’t sound like he wants to keep things casual.”
“He doesn’t. Not forever.”
She sighed.
“I told you that I like stable,” she continued, “but maybe it’s the idea of it, more than the reality. It scares me, if I’m being honest. I’m not like you, looking to make that emotional connection. I’ve always kept a safe distance.”
“You have to make yourself vulnerable if you want to build trust.”
“So I’m told. But letting yourself be vulnerable makes you, well, vulnerable. You know that. You’ve been hurt that way.”
“And I keep doing it anyway. What does that tell you?”
“That you’re a fool.”
He laughed again.
“Oh, yes. That’s a big part of it. Maybe it’s time for you to be a fool for once. You need to consider what’s stopping you. Is it that it’s not what you want? That this isn’t the guy? Or that you’re just scared? Because if it’s the last one, Farrah, then you need to harden up. You fought your way out of a torture complex and came back from the dead. I’m not going to let you run away from a boy because maybe he likes you too much.”
“Coming from a guy who can’t stop making eyes with the pretty girl with the blue hair.”
“Yeah, well, maybe we both have a little courage to work up.”
***
The Storm Kingdom diplomat inclined his head.
“Princess. It is, of course, a delight to have you back. Unfortunately, your cousin was called away and won’t be attending. Affairs of state; I’m sure you understand.”
Zara stepped up to the man, drawing raised eyebrows as she moved into his personal space.
“Lord Alberto, if my cousin wants to slight me, that is his prerogative as the Storm King. You, however, are not. You will address me as your highness, and you will bow in my presence, rather than nod as if you were passing your greengrocer in the street. You are a man who has practiced statecraft for longer than I have been alive. Because of this, any failure of etiquette on your part can only be construed as disrespect, delivered with deliberation and intent. Should I be again treated as an adventurer instead of a princess of the realm, I will hold you personally responsible, and respond in a manner customary to adventurers. To wit, I will drag you out on the street and peel you like a piece of fruit, is that understood?”
Alberto gulped, then bowed.
“My apologies, your highness.”
Zara swept past the man, Jason and Danielle Geller in tow. The air shimmered around them as Jason used his aura as a privacy screen.
“Are we sure than going that aggressive, that early is the right move?” he asked.
“It is,” Danielle said. “Addressing the princess in such a way was calculated to position her as Zara Nareen, noble lady, not Zara Rimaros, princess of the royal house. If she had accepted the slight without comment, she would be tacitly accepting their assertion. By not just asserting her position but bringing the king’s name into it, she puts Sir Alberto in the position of accepting responsibility, or acknowledging that the king put him up to it.”
“I still have a long way to go in these diplomacy lessons, don’t I?” Jason asked. “Are you sure you want me playing good cop here?”
“It’s your magic bridge,” Zara said. “It is best for any deal struck to be unambiguously struck with you. Just try to avoid promising anything too drastic.”
***
“His majesty feels,” Alberto said, “that the threat of unknown danger outweighs the promise of unspecified opportunity.”
“An understandable position,” Danielle said. “The acceptance of our request by the previous Storm King showed the assuredness of a man who has long held the throne and fully embodied his role as supreme power within the kingdom. His heir is barely a decade into his tenure and we are sympathetic to his hesitancy.”
Alberto glowered.
“Your attitude in this matter is noted, Lady Geller, but you will find that prudence is the wisdom that his majesty brings to this table.”
“By proxy,” Zara pointed out. “Given that he was too busy to actually attend this table.”
“I do respect the king’s position on this,” Jason said. “And I would very much like to alleviate the unknowns with which we have presented him, while also expanding the opportunities on offer. As such, I would like to offer the Storm Kingdom something that has been requested by a number of organisations and always refused: a position in our expedition to the other universe.”
Alberto leaned back in his chair.
“Under what conditions would you make such an offer?”
“What conditions would you like, Lord Alberto?”
“You say a position in the expedition. Do you mean a representative, or a delegation?”
“I think a diplomatic delegation to engage with the polities of Earth would be entirely appropriate. After all, what will be a difficult bridge to cross in the immediacy will become an open passage in years to come. I think that those who will control each terminus of that passage should have the time to set terms of what manner of border it will be. Let us say, forty people, including security staff.”
“And what restrictions will you put on who those forty are?”
“No diamond rankers. The World-Phoenix isn’t letting any diamond-rankers into Earth until I have reached diamond rank myself. Also, until the magic levels rise further, the magic there could only sustain them in certain areas.”
“What else?”
“Nothing else. If you want to make a deal with the Magic Society and ship some of their people in, that’s on you. I would look down on such behaviour, but I will tolerate it. They will be your people to choose, Lord Alberto. And yours to be responsible for.”
“And what do you mean by responsible for, Mr Asano?”
“I mean that if I have to kill any of them, Lord Alberto, you will have to answer for that.”
“Please remember,” Danielle said, “that any accommodations we make are gestures, made out of respect. The Storm Kingdom has nothing we need.”
“If the Storm King chooses to revoke the permission granted by his uncle, my father,” Zara added, “then all it will cost Mr Asano is time. Time that he can very much afford.”
“There are advantages to operating outside of any nation,” Jason said. “And I have no doubt that many countries would leap at the chance to grab the opportunities you seem so reticent to accept. In fact…”
He got to his feet.
“…I think we’ve reached the end of what can be productively achieved here. I have a feeling that the Storm King’s deliberation on this matter will leave us time to explore our alternatives.”
***
The negotiations were mostly occupied not by whether to approve the bridge, but in how many concessions the Storm Kingdom could get out of Jason. That turned out to be not many, as he had already promised to carry whoever the Storm Kingdom chose to send, so long as it wasn’t a Builder cultist or someone. Any deals they made with the powers of Earth would be for them to negotiate and enforce. Jason did agree to have them taught several Earth languages.
To Jason’s surprise, he enjoyed digging into the nitty gritty of calibrating a dimensional portal. It was good to get back into the astral magic theory he had studied under Dawn during his time on Earth. His instinctual grasp of dimensional forces also helped guide them, but even that paled in comparison to Clive’s mastery of the theory. Once again, he was staggered by the sheer intellectual power of his friend.
Jason socialised with some of his old friends from Rimaros. Autumn Leal was an adventurer who he met while working contracts, before his fame had risen. She made an old in-joke about Jason avoiding princesses, only to then meet Zara. Princess Liara visited the island for a barbecue, along with her husband, Baseph, and her family. Their daughter, Zareen, had gotten herself assigned to the Rimaros diplomatic delegation to Earth.
Work on the bridge was paused for a few days so that Sophie’s mother could finally, after many delays, go through the treatment to remove the materials actively brainwashing her. The results were a success, but considerably taxing and Melody lapsed into unconsciousness soon after. Like Jason once had after overtaxing himself, she needed time to heal that no magic could accelerate.
More friends arrived to join the earth expedition, along with others Jason had invited. Valdis and Rick Geller both arrived with their teams. Vice chancellor of the Magic Research Association, Lorelei Grantham, arrived with a cadre of magic researchers. Travis and Farrah were bringing along a host of employees, to better learn magitech on Earth. Jory arrived with a team of alchemists and things definitely weren’t extremely awkward with Belinda.
The most uncomfortable inclusion was Gabrielle, priestess of Knowledge and Travis Noble’s now-wife. As Humphrey’s ex and someone who had long and publicly disapproved of essentially everything about Jason, she was not the most popular figure on the ship. Time, however, had seemed to soften her rough edges. No one cared about old teenage romance, and Gabrielle had come to accept that if Knowledge could favour Jason so much, she could at least tolerate him. She didn’t get a lot of invitations to board game night, though.
The activation of the bridge did not come with any fanfare, or great explosion of aura. Those sensitive to dimensional power would notice, if close to the island, but most had no idea that anything had changed. For now, the bridge was only open to those with the power and knowledge to cross the scathing unreality of the deep astral. Jason would use his cloud ship as a ferry, with the proto-bridge as a guide wire.
Deep underground, a massive chamber held a series of standing stones, set out in a giant ritual diagram. Jason’s cloud ship floated over them, a ramp leading up to an opening in the hull. He boarded, alongside his companions, the Rimaros delegation and the outworlder refugees, finally set to go home. In a swirl of rainbow light, the air ship vanished, finally setting out for Earth.
Comments
Readeon (Patreon Reading Extension)
Thanks for the pdf as always!
BJ
Young Gabrielle would have a seizure going to earth and not being connected to her god or finding out no god exist. Lol
AA
Lol I did that on book 5...so I guess no chapter for Monday? When is the next chapter?
Ben Ruland
Welp, in lieu of a new chapter I'm just gonna start re reading from the beginning :), good luck everyone.
cody mccain
I love you all. y'all stay strong.
Zachary LaCount
My only problem with dragoncon is that I can’t be there
Vincent Ciavone
I could see it maybe being somewhere on earth, but I can’t imagine however many number of astral kings could be what dawn was warning them of, I think it’s something to do with the originals, since they seeming outmatch one of the most powerful astral kings, especially with us seeing Jason as an Astral Nexus has a bit of the nature of Great Astral Beings because of the cosmic throne, I have to imagine these other originals have some great astral being-esk power
Cody Cahill
I think the purity artifact is on earth and the evil to be unleashed is the war of the messengers trying to take the artifact
AfroMocha
Shiiiiiiit I forgot there is a break now till second week of Sept!!!! Nooooooooooooooooooooo!
Chad Hagner
It's happening, I'm so excited!
