Chapter 155: Citadel-bound

As soon as Chasma had finished feeding, Caen had reshaped the fragment into a sleeve on his right arm. Chasma shone with the colors of Parthran bioluminescence, conveying feelings of contentment to Caen through their bond.

Caen walked into his dark room. The Seventh Guile was sitting by the door, tails swaying behind him.

Caen's old armor set hung on a stand in the corner. He’d grown much too big for it. He was taller, broader, and still growing. He’d bought roomier clothing months ago to account for this, but he couldn’t quite do the same with armor. And with that awareness came a pang of sadness. He liked this armor. 

He grabbed the bags he’d packed sometime last night. He was taking the most important things with him. Scripting and brewing equipment, his grimoires and notes, some of his weapons, the whorl gem, the remains of his broken goggles, spare clothes, and a few other sentimental paraphernalia.

Caen moved over to the bed and gently shook his clone’s shoulder. 

The clone’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at Caen. “You’re leaving now?”

Caen nodded. “Gwen and Nimue are a few minutes out. Go back to sleep. I’ll check in with you daily in the Astral.”

“Alright,” the clone said, suppressing a yawn. “Safe travels.”

Caen chuckled. “Thanks.” He turned to the Seventh Guile, who sat by the door, and spoke in Klakalk. “Any spikes?”

“I have sensed no spikes of my originator’s essence in your clone,” the shadeling said.

“Good. You can do it now.”

A tail split away from the shadeling, taking the vague form of a black fox, as it flowed into the shadow of Caen’s clone.

“I will not hesitate to recall my tail if I am put in danger,” warned the shadeling.

“That is only fair,” Caen replied. He turned back to his clone. “One week.”

“One week,” the clone replied with a nod.

The Seventh Guile slipped back into Caen’s shadow as Caen stepped out of the room, luggage in hand. He and his clone had decided to test the range and duration of the cloning ability. In a week, they would try merging over long distances. 

The Seventh Guile had mentioned that while there was in fact a range limit, it was possible to recall clones from far away. But Caen wanted to have a better idea of what the distance restrictions were. 

The Seventh Guile had also mentioned that it was possible to tell when one’s clone was out of range. Neither Caen nor his clone felt certain that they could do this, so Caen had decided to use The Seventh Guile as a range tester, of sorts.

Additionally, the shadeling’s clone would help mask Caen’s clone if there were any spikes of that essence.

Caen was confident that his clone was a true and accurate replica of himself, but he’d still sworn the clone to an oath last night. They didn’t understand the effects of deviation, so caution was necessary.

Caen felt a wave of nostalgia as he got to the foot of the stairs. He was really leaving.

“Caen!” Zeris called from outside the house. “What’s taking you so long?”

A moment later, he could feel the heavy weight of three souls approaching from above.

He made his way out of the house where his family members were waiting. The sky was still dark, and a time construct in the corner of his vision put the time at almost 5 in the morning.

Hakohnzo, the large, blue serpent, descended in front of them. Guinevere and Nimue, her sister, were riding on her back.

There was a soft and familiar pressure on his mind, which he didn’t resist. Guinevere's bloodline.

Guinevere was in smooth black armor that covered her from the neck down. Her blond hair was tied in a ponytail, and her complexion seemed a bit tanner than before. Nimue sat near Hakohnzo’s head and was dressed in a silken long-sleeve shirt and blue trousers made from sturdy-looking fabric.

[Hey, guys!] Guinevere sent, waving.

She and Nimue exchanged greetings with his family members. The only people here whom they hadn’t met before were Orissa and his grandparents.

“Thank you so much for accompanying them,” Aunt Grena said. “I feel at ease knowing they’ll be in your care.”

“Oh, please, it’s nothing,” Nimue said with a respectful smile.

A squat doorway opened in space beside Zeris, and Caen placed his bags within it. The spatial storage device was anchored to a ring on her finger. It was one of the gifts their great-grandmother, Oludlana, had given her.

“Don’t skimp on sleep, you hear me?” Niodt said to Caen, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Zeris chuckled.

“That goes for you as well, Zeris.”

Everyone wrapped them in one big group hug, mumbling goodbyes.

“We’ll leave a message with Uncle Vai as soon as we reach Thermon,” Caen promised after he’d climbed onto Hakohnzo’s back.

“You better—” Orissa began.

“Hey! Hey!” shouted a woman with spikes in her hair as she approached from down the road with hurried footsteps. Sharp. Her companion, Gruff, was behind her, looking just as alarmed.

“What’s going on here?!” Gruff asked. His armor wasn’t all the way buckled, implying that he’d left the generalhouse in a hurry.

[Zeris’s bodyguards,] Caen sent.

[Oh wow,] said Gwen. [They don’t look happy.]

“I’m leaving for the Citadel with my friends,” Zeris told her tag-alongs as she climbed onto Hakohnzo’s back and sat behind Caen. 

“W-what?” Sharp spat, glancing at Hakohnzo and her passengers. “Young Zeris, you will not be going anywhere with these people!”

“What makes you think you can decide where I can and can’t go?” Zeris asked.

Gruff turned to Caen’s family members as if for support, but they just watched on with amused expressions. “Because we were tasked with transporting you to Thermon safely,” he told Zeris sternly.

“Indeed!” Sharp agreed, folding her arms. “Eshtr did not authorize this. You’re out of line, young lady. Our airship is set to leave by 10 this morning. And we’ve already determined your hop route all the way to the Citadel. We bought tickets!”

“Then I suggest you use them,” Zeris said.

“But, but, but it’s unsafe to travel by yourself!” Gruff said.

Sh’kteiro chuckled.

Through Soul-sense, Caen could feel a gentle but firm pressure on his aura. He assumed this effect was scaled up for Gruff and Sharp because they shook where they stood, eyes wide.

“Excuse me,” Nimue said cooly, patting Hakohnzo’s head. “You’re just Attuners. You think yourselves better chaperones than us?”

Both Gruff and Sharp had paled considerably.

“Ah… apologies, honored er Mage,” Sharp said, executing a deep bow. “We need to go speak with our faction head.”

They turned and ran back the way they’d come.

Elemna shook her head, smiling at their retreating forms. “I’d best go speak to my mother, then. She’ll be very annoyed with me if I don’t clear things up.”

“Well, we’ll be taking our leave,” said Nimue as Hakohnzo began rising higher in the air.

A soft kinetic effect held Caen in place as they rose higher and higher. His family members kept waving, some of them had tears in their eyes. But everyone was smiling.

Once they’d gained significant vantage, Hakohnzo shot off into the dark sky at such high speed that the world around them turned to a blur. This was faster than the other time he’d ridden on the awakened creature. As before, a pocket of air encompassed them, and only a light breeze tousled his hair.

[How was your training, Gwen?] Caen asked over the telepathic link.

[It was hell—I mean ‘terrible’. I had so much fun and hated it just as much.]

For the past month, she’d been moving through certain Planes, training with her siblings, Nimue and Albion. She’d said it was some kind of rite of passage in her family, and hadn’t given further context.

[Won’t you tell them the good news?] Hakohnzo, the Percipient creature, asked.

[Hakohnzo, you spoiled the surprise,] Guinevere griped.

[What’s this about?] Zeris asked.

[I’m late Attuner!] Guinevere sent.

Caen briefly connected to her and could immediately tell that her soul was, in fact, stronger. [Congratulations, Gwen!]

[Yeah, good job, Gwen!]

[Thanks! I was already pretty close before Odaton, so it wasn’t a surprise. But it still feels good.]

Reaching the substage of late Attuner required one to assimilate a significant amount of spirit particles. This was either achieved through combat, complex spirit-healing techniques, or chymical elixirs. Combat was by far the most effective way to do this, as far as Caen knew.

[Do you feel more confident about the entrance exams now?] Zeris asked her.

She let out a snort that sounded muffled and hollow within the pocket of air. [Of course, I don’t. I’m crazy nervous! How about you, Caen? Feeling prepared?]

[Sorry, Gwen,] Caen sent sheepishly. [I managed to get a scholarship.]

Nimue looked over her shoulder, a curious expression on her face, but she didn't say anything.

Gwen also turned back to stare at him. [Really?]

Caen nodded, smiling.

[Damn. All my friends are traitors] Guinevere sent. [Congratulations, though. I’m so happy for you!]

[Thanks, Gwen. I’ll be rooting for you.]

[Me too!] Zeris said. [I need all my favorite minions in one place.]

Guinevere laughed. [Man, I missed you guys so much. I’m so glad we’re traveling together.]

[How far away is the shortcut you mentioned?] Zeris asked. Guinevere had been both excited and cagey about the specifics of their trip. [We’re not flying all the way to Thermon, are we?]

[Absolutely the fuck not,] Nimue said. [Well, I mean, not all the way. We’ll be using some Planar junctions to reach Thermon faster.]

[Interplanes?] Zeris asked with excitement.

Interplanes were Planes that had more than ten Apertures leading to unrelated and separate locations.

[Yup. By my estimates, that’s two-ish days of travel. And then you’ll be at the Citadel.]