Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (111/?) WiP 1

Hey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 111 I hope you guys enjoy! :D

Ilunor’s response… was not one I at all expected.

Because out of all the reactions I had on my bingo card — clapping — definitely wasn’t on the list. 

“And so the earthrealmer finally shows her true colors.” The Vunerian responded with a prideful smirk and a slow purposeful clap, causing me, and both Thacea and Thalmin to cock their heads in solidarity.

“I’m sorry?” I responded.

“You claim to have visited these so-called ‘stars’, correct?” 

“Well, yes. But I don’t see how—”

“My apologies.”  He interjected, a sarcastic smile plastered across his maw. “I am mistaken. Because not only have you claimed to have ‘visited’ these ‘stars’... but you likewise proclaim mastery over them, along with the so-called ‘void’ which ‘hangs above’ too, no?” He continued, stringing me along.

“Yeah, that’s right.” I took the bait. 

“Then you may consider this conversation over.” Ilunor proclaimed succinctly. “For you have… as the merfolk say — taken the bait.”

“Please just get to the point—”

“You’ve fallen into my trap, bitten off more than you can chew, made a dragon out of a wyrm!” He prattled on, bringing in adage after adage until he finally leveled his eyes towards me with a clear fit of frustration. “To put it bluntly, earthrealmer, you’ve proven yourself an unreliable raconteur. You have fallen for the oldest trick in the book — the acknowledgement of an impossibility. What’s more, you’ve gone so far as to have built off of this impossibility, firmly entering the realm of pure fantasy.” 

I took a deep breath, matching the Vunerian’s gaze even as he stepped off of his armchair, his feet click-clacking back onto the marble floors.

“Alright Ilunor, explain exactly what issues you have with my claims.” I continued with a sigh, eliciting a twitch from one of the Vunerian’s eyes.

“I asked, plainly, whether you have visited these so-called ‘stars’. Your answer, twice now, was — yes. Twice then, have you proved that you know nothing of the nature behind these specks of light. Twice now, have you taken the opportunity to inflate your ego, to act a contrarian whenever possible. Because twice now, you’ve claimed to have visited a nonexistent destination, a phantom object, a mirage — a mere artifact of light.” The Vunerian turned towards Thalmin now, as if to invite him to his side. “How can you claim to have visited what are merely tears in the fabric of the tapestry? By this logic, I could claim to have visited a desert mirage, or the end of a rainbow.” The Vunerian paused, allowing those words to sink in. 

And sink in they did. As I finally determined exactly where his point of fundamental systemic incongruency was. 

“To further claim mastery over them… is beyond ludicrous, akin to me claiming mastery over a rain cloud or a bolt of lightning!” Ilunor doubled-down, unfurling a piece of paper on the table as he spoke, proceeding to poke multiple holes in it with his claws; then finally holding it up to the fireplace. “It’s as outlandish of a prospect as me claiming to have both visited and declared ownership of the light poking through the holes of this parchment!” He announced through a run-on huff, prompting me to take a deep breath, as I wracked my head for a proper response.

Or more specifically, as I used every ounce of empathy I could muster in order to see things from his perspective.

“Alright then, Ilunor.” I began with a steady breath. “Please enlighten me.” I continued, garnering a wide look of surprise from all eyes present, including the Vunerian’s. “Explain to me exactly what you believe to be the tapestry. Tell me what these tears are, and what’s actually behind them.” I offered patiently, prompting a shift in the Vunerian’s derisive persona, as it evolved into something more ponderous. “Prove me wrong.” 

For once throughout this whole outburst, the man willingly stopped, taking a moment to consider my request. 

“I will require a half hour, Emma Booker.” He spoke softly. “I believe it would be best to show you. Moreover, I believe I can make use of this time to extinguish two phoenixes in a single storm.” 

… 

1 Hour Later

… 

The Vunerian returned, his scales seemingly revitalized and rejuvenated, as if his intended destination had breathed life back into his skin.

“Wait, which library did you say you went to again?”

“Both, earthrealmer.” The Vunerian muttered out under a grumble. “The Library, and the Academy Repositories.” 

I nodded, reflecting on how silly it was of me to have assumed that the Academy wouldn’t have its own internal library, instead relying on The Library for everything. 

Then again, earthly expectations in the Nexus tended to always find a way to be overruled, so I didn’t beat myself too much over that little revelation. 

Ilunor got to work almost immediately after the front doors slammed shut, as he opened up the sight-seer he’d brought from the repositories. 

This particular sight-seer appeared to be far more polished and refined as opposed to Thalmin’s ‘bear-trap clamps on a book’ sight-seer, but not as sophisticated nor showy as Ilunor’s sleek and gilded setup from last week’s sight-seer trip. 

Because instead of the gilded hard-cover edges with seamless fold-over stitching, this book just seemed… normal. Like your regular everyday hard-cover textbook — complete with a title that looked more stenciled-on than it did hand-written or scribed-over. 

This trend of relative functionality over aesthetics continued as Ilunor went to work, revealing the orrery within the pages as a dainty, yet clearly functional ‘device’ with little in the way of ornate compositing or gildwork. 

“We’re jumping ahead in the curriculum for this explanation.” Ilunor began with a coy smile. “From what I understand, this should be a subject firmly in Professor Articord’s domain. Though as I stated before — extracurriculars are my forte.” 

With a surge of mana radiation—

ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 250% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS

—the room was once more bathed in that peculiar set of shadowless vector-like graphics. 

Every inch of surface across every object suddenly felt ‘flat’, as the textures and features across our entire line of sight were promptly removed.

Following this, the room subsequently ‘melted’ away, as the floors opened up to ‘reveal’ solid ground in the form of a grassy field, while the walls and roof slowly faded away until all that remained around us was an open expanse of starless night sky. 

“I must thank you, Cadet Emma Booker, for being so kind as to revel in your own downfall.” He began. “As it will be my honor to deconstruct your false claims, by demonstrating to you exactly how your assertions are but a fanciful impossibility.” 

No sooner after he spoke were we introduced to a sight I hadn’t at all expected.