Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (146/?) WiP 1

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 146 I hope you guys enjoy! :D The revised version for Chapter 145 will be releasing tomorrow some time before the full release of Chapter 146! :D

The County Township of Telaseer. Local Transportium Junction. The Hall of Ingress. Local Time: 1305 Hours.

Emma

A brilliant darkness.

Then, a world which defied all conventions of space and geometry.

We stood on what I could only describe as a doorframe, one which sat in an unfathomable darkness between two points in space.

We were… compressed, impossibly so, as behind us stood Sips, and in front of us was Telaseer.

Yet it was in this in-between that physics just up and gave up, as unlike the door which connected The Academy with Elaseer, this ‘portal’ actually had what I called a ‘doorframe gap’.

This wasn’t the seamless jaunt I was introduced to, nor was it the weird world jumping hop I took to reach the Academy from the IAS.

This… was outright dread inducing, as both agoraphobia and claustrophobia threatened to crush me from both sides.

As despite us currently crossing what felt like two-dimensional space, there existed an infinite abyss beyond the frame of the two bright worlds behind and in front of us.

The same sense of primal fear that came with my first untethered space EVA hit me.

Yet at the same time, that fear of drifting into the infinite darkness around us was tempered by the gravity that kept us — and our vehicles — grounded.

But it wasn’t like I had much time to process what’d happened.

Because according to the EVI, the whole… transit — if you could even call it that — took just a handful of seconds.

4.23 seconds to be precise… to travel what was ostensibly a greater distance than that of our entire journey by conventional means thus far.

I would say this was beyond humanity’s capabilities.

But the warp drive made that point completely and utterly moot.

Still… 

This method of travel negated distances.

Whilst warp quite literally propelled you — and the composalite, cargo, weapons, and furniture around you — faster than light.

It was unfair to really compare the two.

The Nexians — as magic seemed to naturally encourage — simply cheated.

Humanity on the other hand once again brute forced our way to achieving more of the same… with the added bonus of the industry and infrastructure that sprung up to both allow for and maintain such a dedicated intersolar apparatus.

“Two sides of a very different coin…” I mumbled to myself, not realizing how dumb that analogy sounded until I heard it vocalized.

“You doing alright there, Emma?” Thalmin asked, as he somehow managed to order the kelpie to gently nudge me on the shoulder.

“Yeah! Yeah. I’m just…”

“Not used to transportium travel?” Thalmin chuckled boisterously. 

“I can’t say I am, no.” I responded with a dry snicker.

“Don’t worry, you’re in the same boat.” He spoke reassuringly.

“As you?” 

“Ancestors no! I was actually referring to them.” Thalmin’s smile quickly turned mischievous, before pointing at more than a handful of what were assumedly farmers and peasants from Sips currently leaning, facing, or outright collapsed next to a brick and plaster wall — all in varying states of sickness and nausea.

Behind them were carts upon carts of tarped-over wagons, livestock, and just about every kind of produce one could imagine.

I narrowed my eyes at the scene, cocking my head, as I completely forgot about Thalmin’s jab and focused more on the room next to us and its implications.

“Sorry if that was a bit of a low jab, Emma.” Thalmin suddenly interrupted, moving to clear his throat with one hand, whilst using the other to rub the back of his neck. “It wasn’t a commoner joke, if that was in any way offensive—”

“What? No, I was just thinking.”

“About?” The wolf cocked his head.

“Why they all seem to be so sick… and in fact, why there’s a whole dedicated side-room for…” I narrowed my eyes, as the EVI was quick to zoom onto a sign written in common, which was promptly translated to a questionable degree of accuracy. “... Near Death Experience?” I read the translated text word by questionable word, cocking my head at Thalmin as I did so.

This was enough to get the prince to very nearly lose it, as his eyes lit up and his hands went to stifle what would have been a catastrophic laugh; especially out in public.

“That’s… that’s a very literal way of putting it Emma. Your command of High Nexian never ceases to amaze.” He shook his head, calming down, before finally addressing the elephant in the room. “It’s simple, really. They’re weakfielders.” He spoke matter of factly. “I think we touched on this a long while back, but commoners tend to be more susceptible to mana sickness in circumstances wherein there’s a sudden and significant increase in latent mana. The transportium, despite being near-instantaneous, is one such environment that qualifies as such. This is why even the most seasoned of couriers will still require the services of the—” The prince once more paused, once more shaking his head to stifle a laugh. “—Near Death Room.” 

“Right.” I acknowledged, just as two elves wearing a similar set of town guard gear as Sips’ approached us. 

“My lord. My lady.” The plate-armored elf addressed us curtly, bowing ever so slightly in the process. “We have been informed of your arrival. However, this is where our courtesy ends.” He continued ominously, before gesturing behind us. “I would humbly request that you move along, for you two are causing a queue.” 

The rear view cameras quickly popped in to show a veritable backlog of carts and wagons already forming behind us. Something I wasn’t at all expecting considering there was literally nobody else over on Sips’ side of the transportium—

Then it hit me.

This opening probably didn’t just service Sips.

If the continuously arriving carts were of any indication, the framed portal behind us — and indeed other similar ones to the left and right of it — were more than likely coming from all across the kingdom.

The sheer logistics of this whole operation lit a fire in the furnace of my lore-obsessed heart, as I started to finally take note of every detail of this place.

This particular ‘transportium junction’ wasn’t at all the small and rather quaint terminal building we’d just entered from Sips; where passenger and cargo alike cohabited a cross between a warehouse and a bus depot.

No.

Instead… what we found ourselves in was a masterfully crafted work of wrought iron and steel, flanked by brick and plaster walls, but most impressively — capped by a glass roof held aloft by said iron framing.

But where Sips’ structures would’ve saved a gold piece here and there by streamlining design choices and keeping things simple, Telaseer seemed to do the exact opposite, finding it necessary to add flourishes every chance they got. From the volutes and flower motifs that capped the ends of every support beam, to the scrollwork that shielded the bottom and tops of each pillar, to even tendrils and vines that seemed etched into the very glass it was holding aloft — the message here was clear.

The terminal, as was the case with many terminals on any self respecting station back home, was an attempt to make a good first impression.

It was a blatant display of wealth. 

Though, given the lack of any gold filigree just yet, it was clear they probably weren’t on Elaseer’s level just yet.

“Come on Emma, let’s get moving.” Thalmin urged, as I followed him silently towards what appeared to be our next checkpoint.