Lord Myre shook his head. "We never learned her whole plan. Silka was secretive and distrusting. She insisted that the more we knew, the more uncertain the future would be. I tried to get more information for nearly a month, but by then it became clear how dire the situation had become. We could hear the monsters outside, ceaselessly clawing at the Miasmic Crystal.

"It was the number of refugees that eventually forced me into action. Our food storage wouldn't stretch far enough to support eight thousand people for a season, let alone years. So, out of desperation, we agreed to Silka's plan."

Rayna took a moment to digest Lord Myre's final words. It was a lot.

Corban broke the silence first. He raised his hand. "All right, I have a few questions. First, what the hell? Second, seriously, what the hell? And third—"

"We get it," Rayna snapped, glaring at him to shut up. "Real questions only."

She didn't regret listening to their story. She had learned a lot about how the Cataclysm happened and she had a few theories to fill in the gaps in Lord Myre's knowledge. But there were several details that Rayna couldn't confirm without giving away too much. If Silka was Cremble's daughter, how come her last name was Emberan in Rayna's vision? If Silka saw this far ahead, why didn't she leave some sort of clues or instructions?

Why was Rayna running completely blind when a reincarnating sooth sayer supposedly had all the answers from the start?

All of that didn't even touch on the part about the Corvi and their role in the Cataclysm. Silka's description of her vision had been too vague. Rayna couldn't even ask Silka about it if she saw her again, because the woman was so racist towards the Corvi that Rayna doubted she would remember the vision properly after all this time.

Naomi's story seemed much more believable where the Corvi were concerned. There was good and bad—the kind of nuance one expects from a species, not to mention the shadows Rayna saw in her vision had asked her for help. 'We want to go home' sounds more like refugees than the blood-thirsty parasites that Silka had made them out to be.

Rayna decided to reserve judgement until she met a Corvi in person—if they were still alive and Rayna wasn't just seeing things, that is.

"Fine," Corban said. "Real question then: How the hell did you all sleep for six thousand years? I assume that's the timeline we're dealing with, since it's the number we keep hearing from Amon. Do you all have cryosleep? Or is this a magical thing?"

"Essence sleep," Naomi said. "It's a sort of hibernation. It will keep a Lerian alive indefinitely assuming nothing happens to destroy their body. It's natural and sometimes involuntary."

"Like a coma?" Harry suggested. "But a magical one…"

Nali looked thoughtful. "When Rayna first came to us, she was unconscious for nearly two weeks. We had no explanation for it and nothing we tried could rouse her. In the end, we just had to keep her Health from plummeting and wait for her to wake up on her own."

"That sounds like Essence sleep," Naomi agreed, looking concerned. "But what brought it on?"

"I absorbed too much Essence," Rayna said. "The System saved me by reinitializing me under the old System; the version before the Essence safety measures were removed."

"Old System?" Lord Myre repeated thoughtfully. "I thought the current state of the System was the result of the Administrator activating and deactivating features. If it's a different version entirely, that could explain the sudden increase in System updates. The old System was designed to learn and grow under the Administrator's guidance."

Rayna didn't confirm or deny Lord Myre's theory.

Rather than try to force her to elaborate, Lord Myre changed the subject.

"Now it's your turn, Rayna," he said. "I'm going to assume that you know of Ronari because her name and perhaps a copy of her consciousness is still somewhere within the old System, but that doesn't explain why you need to open the hubs, nor how you can do so."

Rayna shifted in her seat, mentally making a checklist of everything she wasn't allowed to say. Once she had come up with a version of events that she was happy with, she explained it to the others.

"I don't really understand the Administrator stuff," she admitted truthfully. "I can only tell you what Ronari told me, and she didn't explain much. She told me that the System can only run smoothly with the help of the Keepers. Sometime after you went to sleep, the Administrator cut contact with the Keepers for some unknown reason. Some of them are inactive, others are active, but in some sort of stasis. Either way, the System needs them to reconnect with the main tower."

"They're part of the operating system," Corban chimed in. "They hold both memory and storage capacity. With so few of them connected, the System is basically running on a dinosaur motherboard from the 1970s."

"Not quite," Rayna said. "But close, I guess. Basically, the more Keepers we wake, the smoother the System will run. I've managed to find two so far, but that's barely made a dent, and I don't even know how many hubs exist, let alone where to find them."

"Do you know what they look like?" Din asked. "We can at least help you search."

"They're telepathically hidden," Lord Myre said. "We've tried finding them again. Even knowing exactly where they are, it's nearly impossible to force them to reveal themselves. I admit, I was surprised to see Amon's hub after all these years."

That didn't bode well for Rayna's quest. She was already worried about the Keepers avoiding her out of an abundance of caution, but she thought proximity and knowledge would be enough to get past the telepathic filters; Then it would just be a matter of convincing them to unhide themselves.

"Who was the other hub?" Naomi asked, her brows furrowed.

"The other hub?" Rayna repeated.

Naomi nodded. "You said you opened two hubs. Amon's and…?"

Rayna hesitated, trying to decide whether or not to tell them about the Ellis hub. It wasn't like they could get in, even if they knew the hub was open. Aila had strict instructions to let no one but Rayna in or out.

"I woke up Aila in Ellis," she said. "The hub was a little worse for wear, but Ronari fixed it up with supplies in the System storage. Other than her and Amon, I haven't been able to find anyone else."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Naomi covered her mouth with a hand. "Aila is all right? I thought—her simulacrum stone didn't do anything even when placed on the pedestal…"

"If Aila is truly awake," Lord Myre said. "Then you're telling the truth about your ability to reopen hubs. I have gone there many times myself, hoping to rekindle lesser-known functions of the System. Were it a regular building it would have crumbled to dust centuries ago."

"Can you help me find the hubs?" Rayna asked. "Or at least show me where they are on a map?"

She would figure out what to do once she found the general areas. Some of them might be unhidden, like Aila's was. For others, she might be able to fight her way through the dungeon like she had for Amon's.

"We still need to train you," Naomi said. "You can't go traipsing across the peninsula without knowing how to control your portals."

"I've been managing fine on my own so far," Rayna said defensively.

"You've been lucky," Lord Myre said. "Sooner or later that luck is going to run out. We will help you find the hubs if you agree to let us properly train you first."

Rayna wanted to storm out of the room, but the more mature side of her kept her in her seat. What kind of answer was that? Didn't they understand how serious the situation was?

Rayna shook her head. "The System is crumbling. We need the Keepers now. Delaying will just put more people in danger." And the sooner we fix the System, the sooner I can find Emma and get out of here, Rayna added silently. "If you don't want to help me, then I'll find the hubs myself."

Rayna stood to leave.

"The System has waited six thousand years for the Keepers," Naomi said. "It can handle a few more months without them. The boundary is fragile. A poorly placed portal can cause more cracks to form."

"Then I'll stop using portals," Rayna said. "I've only used them a few times anyway. It's not like I'm hopping back and forth on a whim."

"It's just not that simple!" Naomi said, getting irritated. "The cracks have a destabilizing effect. More cracks means more energy leaks. More energy leaks means more monsters. Your mere existence can exacerbate that. Not to mention you're the only one on Ember who can close cracks, so if we lose you, there is no way to fix the problem."

Lord Myre's frown snapped to Naomi. "What do you mean by that?"

"To close a crack, one has to be able to manipulate energy," Naomi explained. "Rayna's still a couple plateaus from being able to do so, but once her core forms, we can start stabilizing the boundary. If we close the cracks, we can end the energy crisis. The System can start closing spawn sites as it did with the Aeteraut forest." Naomi shot a pleading look at Rayna. "You could save us with or without the System's help."

Rayna kept her face as neutral as possible, but her insides were in turmoil. She shouldn't have come. Lord Myre was looking at Rayna with an expression she didn't like. It was somewhere between scheming and contemplation. They didn't know that Rayna was the one who closed the crack in the Aeteraut forest, but if they looked too closely, they might be able to figure it out.

"All of this is fascinating," Harry drawled sarcastically.

Rayna nearly jumped out of her skin as the tension in the room popped. She turned to the man.

He continued. "But I, for one, would love to know why Nali and the rest of us are here—besides the fact that you had to prove to Rayna that you're being good little wardens and not torturing us for information or whatever."

Nali let out an exasperated sigh. "Could you at least try to keep your thoughts inside your head?"

"I'm better at it when I'm drunk," Harry said. "And I don't see the point in being polite in the current company." He glanced significantly at the Myres.

Lord Myre shook his head. "I only called for Lady Emery because Rayna asked me to do so. After this meeting, the three of you will return to Lapis—" He turned to Corban. "—as will Rayna's friend."

Corban sat up from where he had been lying on the floor. "That was not part of the arrangement."

"Neither was this discussion," Lord Myre said. "You know too much about the Lerian population on Ember. For the safety of our people, I can't let you leave, just as I can't return Lady Emery to her husband."

"Enathar!" Naomi snapped. "You can't just imprison anyone you don't trust!"

"Alternately, I can erase your memory and send you back to Amon," Lord Myre said, ignoring his sister entirely. "You have an hour to decide."

He stood and left the room, trailing his furious sister. They could hear the two siblings arguing all the way out of the building.

Rayna fell back into her seat.

"All right, this was officially a bad idea," Corban said, sitting where Naomi was a moment before. "What's the plan? Hijack the boat? Teleport?"

"You won't make it through the sea without an experienced crew," Nali said. "And teleportation seems to be blocked for the whole archipelago. I'm afraid you might be coming back to Lapis with us. Unless, of course, you decide to let Lord Myre wipe your memory."

"No one is getting their memory wiped!" Rayna snapped. "What is wrong with you people? Corban isn't staying on Lapis, nor is he going to forget this conversation."

"Then what do you propose?" Din asked, sitting next to Corban. "You have no way off the island and if it's anything like Lapis, the monsters here are too powerful for you to fight on your own."

"Nali," Rayna said. "Can't you help us?"

Nali shook her head. "They have Esh stashed somewhere on this archipelago. I came here for answers, and I only got half of what I'm looking for. I can't leave until I find him."

Rayna ran her fingers through her hair. "So, to sum it up, we're on a potentially deadly island with two body-snatchers that want to lock everyone up but me and there's no way off the island that doesn't involve even more danger or the possibility of a full mind wipe."

"Not to mention the fact that Lord Myre is a thousand years old and far higher in level than any of us could ever hope to achieve," Din added.

Rayna growled in frustration. "Are you sure there's no way around the teleportation block? I have portals that could get me to Ashen, but I can't take people with me, and I would still be blocked by the ocean."

"I thought you promised not to use those," Harry pointed out.

"That was before they went back on the deal," Rayna snapped. "I'll keep it to a minimum."

"We could make good on our threat," Corban suggested. "If we don't check in, Amon is going to spread word of the Lerians anyway. There won't be anywhere else for Lord Myre to hide."

"He'll deny it," Nali said dismissively. "Or he'll kidnap anyone who believes the rumors. The threat holds no weight. It probably never did."

"Then why did it work in the first place?" Corban asked. "He let me come with Rayna."

"Perhaps this was his intention from the beginning," Phira said, popping into view. A slight recoil was the only indication that Harry was surprised to see the simulacrum, the others didn't react at all.

Phira briefly introduced herself for the newcomers.

She nodded at Rayna. "Lord Myre probably knew that Rayna wouldn't agree to go on her own. He brought Corban along so he wouldn't have to resort to force. It seems to me like his plan is to place Corban on Lapis and then take Rayna to whichever island is reserved for Lerians, so he can force her to accept his tutelage."

Rayna groaned. That made entirely too much sense for comfort. "Is no one on this planet sane?!"

"You're acting like Earth was any better," Harry commented.

"Earth had indoor plumbing," Corban pointed out. "And Wi-Fi."

"Wait!" Rayna pointed a finger at Corban. "Is your prototype phone working yet? Maybe we can use it to call for help."

Corban shook his head. "It only works when there's a hub nearby. We need somewhere to bounce the signal off of."

"How close would it have to be?" Rayna asked.

If she could find a hub on the island they could use it to call Amon. He might be able to help with the teleportation issue. Or else, if Rayna was desperate enough, they could talk to Ronari.

She didn't like that the story painted Ronari in a positive light. It didn't change anything besides making the woman's actions a little more understandable.

But just because an action was understandable, that didn't make it right.

Corban pulled out a small rectangular item. It didn't really look like a phone; more like an ID card made out of metal. He tapped the surface of the card and a screen popped up.

"I'm not sure, we haven't had a chance to stress test it yet," he said. "Theoretically, the display will work anywhere on Ember, but the further you are from a hub, the laggier it will be."

Harry walked across the room to peer over Corban's shoulder. "How did you manage that?"

"A mixture of Earth technology and runes," Corban said, a note of pride in his voice. "Amon helped me with the sequencing and to be honest, I have absolutely no idea what the runes do."

He navigated to the contacts section. "See, if we were closer to a hub, this would say—"

Corban cut off, raising his eyebrows.

Rayna moved over to read the info on his screen.

Contacts

Amon (Keeper) — Online — [Voice Call] [Chat]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.