43(DSV Nautica) Thoughts

Story by Abyssaldemon on SoFurry

, , , , , , ,


The scroll closed with an underwhelming click of metal on metal. Reality corrected itself, and the feeling of power broadcast across the galaxy, and through the wormhole, was over. The citizens of the Ayr Empire and Avalon no longer felt the effects of the scroll. But the memory was fresh, and the attention of both races turned to questioning what it was that had caused such a disruption in the fabric of the universe.

Aki stood, holding the metallic tube. Her mind was still racing from what had been told to her. Thoughts were twisted together and unintelligible. She stood staring at the opposite wall, trying to think clearly.

The Matriarch picked herself up off the ground, as protectors rushed into the room, drawn to the source of the massive blast. She put her hands up and silently commanded them to stand down and leave the room. They seemed confused, but nonetheless obeyed her wishes, quietly filing back out. The Curator was in awe of Aki, gazing her from head to toe. She hadn't received a scratch on her body, and had a thoughtful look and feel about her. She had survived the scroll. It had been open only 10 seconds, if that long. But the power emitted from the scroll...

She had managed to look directly at the scroll when Aki had opened it. The actual scroll itself looked like a stone tablet, made of shadows. The tablet itself, as well as the writing upon it, were outlined in blue light. The shadowstone would retract into the casing, even though it seemed to be impossible to wrap up stone like a scroll. In their attempts to read it before, the scroll was proven to be inflexible.

After a long pause, Aki turned to the exit, and started for it, setting the scroll down on the pedestal.

"I...need some time.."

Without a word, the Matriarch nodded and hurried ahead of her, clearing the way to a private room for meditation for her. The walls were soundproofed so that there would be no sonic interference, the floors covered in soft carpet and pillows. She sat down, the Matriarch closing the door behind her, leaving them both to their own devices.

Aki sat, holding a small pillow across her chest. Deep breath....Then exhale...Repeat....Eyes closed.... Breathe....

She could feel the tension leave her body slowly, gradually overtaking her. The scroll had seemed so clear at the time. Now...it was a jumble of information that she struggled to understand.

Stop it Aki, Stop. She told herself.

Stop it.

She began to clear her mind, bowing her head and releasing the remaining physical tension built up. First step to clearing the mind was to relax the body, and hers had not had any relaxing in quite some time.

Starting with why she was chosen. The scroll had a reason that allowed her to read it. A knot was twisting in her stomach, making her anxious. She had to know why. She needed to know. What was different about her?

Aki never felt she was different. She had always gotten along with others, made friends, and even gotten herself a male she could call her mate. Was she different at all? She had to be.

"Wait, wait...the scroll said that it would give me the answer next time." Aki said out loud to herself.

Yes. She wasn't meant to have the answer yet. Mulling this question over was going to be a waste of time. She had to focus on the questions that were answered in her time with the scroll. Other questions would be answered in time. She felt the knot in her stomach ease gently. Then it hit her.

"The scroll...wanted me to learn...time!" That was right. She needed to take her time. Rushing would get her nowhere. Deep breath. Agh, her legs were cramping.

She stretched out, groaning as her muscle fibers stretched and flexed. She assumed a cross legged sitting, her head resting against the wall. She needed to talk to her dad about what she saw. Her mother...It was odd. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, stepping back and taking a breath.

She missed her mother, but death was a natural part of life. The scroll using her mother to communicate with her...made her upset. Was it for the better? Was it easier to tell her by using her mother? Someone similar? Perhaps. She assumed that's what the scroll had assessed what was best and carried it out, but she would be asking next time she confronted the scroll.

The big question lie in what the scroll had told her about the representation of the universes knowledge. The Universes knowledge had to have some kind of representation. But the scroll explained that nothing could reveal the knowledge of the universe, so the Scroll contained the knowledge but wasn't able to accuately represent it? Sounded right to her. She took another deep breath. It was all fairly straightforward thinking about.

But then, how would she obtain the knowledge? If she couldn't see it, would she need to have a conversation with the shell of her mother inside every time she wanted to know something? That would make for some really long conversations...There had to be another way.

Flare stood back up, keeping her mental guard up. The sudden burst of power had been unexpected to say the least. The source wasn't certain, but it was far away, thankfully. Something that powerful close to them would have been bad for almost everyone. She climbed up to the surface. The others seemed scared as well. They had felt it too. She knew it.

"What was that?" Aa'zac asked quietly.

"I...don't know. All I know is that it happened. We need to keep an eye out. If anything happens, or if anyone senses anything, you need to tell me immediately."

There was a general consensus among the team. Shak, Tiil, Raz, all of them. They nodded, volunteers keeping an eye out for anything approaching while the rest helped dig and move rock. They had scouted a barren patch of ocean that would do well for a waste deposit. And with the burst of energy now subsided, they needed to move quickly. If the locals had caught wind of the disturbance, they would be on heightened alert as well. That wasn't good for the team, whom was trying to stay hidden.

The Matriarch had a series of events to manage that were certainly out of the ordinary. Nearly the entire empire wanted to know what was going on, what had caused that massive wave of power to spawn right in their midst with no warning. She would calm the masses. She took a seat upon her throne and closed her eyes, focusing on the entire empire. She could feel every Ayr'een under her command, their lives, their friends, family, all of them. She could touch all of them.

"Citizens of our empire, have no fear. The power you have felt today is a great achievement for our race and destiny. We have discovered a promising method to reach Celeste and her troves of knowledge, so far removed from us. Have no fear. While a large disturbance was expected, it was not expected to be this big. Everything is under control."

Every citizen of the empire in the galaxy heard that statement from the Matriarch, and those through the wormhole as well. She had soothed the empires nerves, but now they had to calm their own.

The Seer and Loki were at a bit of an impasse. The burst of power had clearly come through the Bifrost. The idea that the Ayr'een had something that powerful was a very cold thought for the Draconids.

"Tell me, Ayr'een. What is this power that we have glimpsed? What secrets do you keep from us?"

The anger wasn't evident in his voice, but it was there nonetheless. Loki knew it. She also knew what that power was. It was the activation and most likely the successful reading of an Eidolon Scroll.

"The power we have felt here is but a shadow of the power of an Eidolon scroll." She said calmly, not wishing to pose a threat.

The Seer tilted his head slightly. "An...Eidolon scroll? What is this literature you refer to?"

"Its...a portal and conduit from this dimension into an alternate dimension, where knowledge lies eternal and is abundant to infinity. An ancient artifact with the potential to shake the bones of the universe." She said, remaining calm.

As she talked, she shared some knowledge of the scrolls with him, just enough to understand what they were, where words were not enough.

For the first time in a very long time, he was dumbstruck.