Abyssal Road Trip

Amdirlain’s PoV - Demi-Plane

The empty Demi-Plane lit up as Phoenix’s Rapture ignited. With the Power actively supporting her efforts, Amdirlain quickly extended the Demi-Plane to a radius of three thousand kilometres. As she went to create the bedrock, Amdirlain forced herself to stop.

“What’s up?” Sarah asked.

“Should I get Roher, Isa, and Gail here to contribute? They said filling in the old demi-planes was exhausting, but we could do it together,” explained Amdirlain. “Or is that crazy?”

“Are you looking to power level Gail after you pointed out the issue this amount of ‘easy’ experience has caused you?” asked Sarah, air-quoting the word easy.

Amdirlain opened her mouth to argue, only to close it and wave her arms about. “Maybe just Roher? He could help support the bedrock and a range of other elements. He mentioned some Lómë had gained a level for the first time in ages through enchanting work on the crystals.”

“I get you wanting to help them,” said Sarah. “The issue is working as a team; Gideon is going to apportion the experience equally to all those who contribute. How much experience do you expect this Demi-Plane to get you? It won’t impact Roher, but Gail and, to a lesser extent, Isa is another matter.”

“Potentially far too much. At least ten or twelve times what the Dragon honeymoon suite netted me unless I use extensive, mana-supported biomes,” admitted Amdirlain. “It could be less than that since I won’t try to stuff so many biomes into place. The Demi-Plane’s layout has to include enough separation of the biome type to be counted—a forested plain that merges into forested hills count as one biome.”

“Stable weather in an area spreads forests. If you actually wanted more experience, you could set up bands of forest separate by plains and get experience that way,” suggested Sarah. “The choirs worked with thousands of singers to create worlds; that was with them already having crazy levels, so the experience gain likely wasn’t insane.”

“I’m trying to balance the growth of my skills against experience surges,” huffed Amdirlain

“Create some enormous demi-planes that are effectively empty balloons then,” suggested Sarah. “You could then come back and make small planets floating in them. The layers of Carceri are essentially that on an infinite scale.”

“I could create some larger aerial demi-planes that counted as a single large biome,” murmured Amdirlain. “If I filled them with air elementals, I could maybe use those for high-end levels in the training complexes. Expanding the Demi-Plane beyond a certain limit puts True Song under strain because I must push the boundary line evenly.”

“After you’ve created a variety of aquatic and aerial demi-planes, you could merge them into the Elemental Plane of Water or Air,” proposed Sarah.

Amdirlain smiled ruefully. “Once I’ve remembered the songs to handle it properly. However, I feel I would need to balance out the Elemental Plane of Fire and Earth.”

“It’s just odd how those planes aren’t infinite, isn’t it?” quipped Sarah. “Still, their limits give you a place to join the demi-planes to them, tuck them in at the outer limits and help push the realm’s skin out further.”

“They’re part of the metaphysical hub,” explained Amdirlain. “They can’t be infinite without eliminating the boundary between the elemental regions, which would then screw up the metaphysics of energy exchange within the realm.”

“Really?”

Amdirlain blinked and cracked her neck from side to side. “Weird. I don’t remember when I learned that, but it feels true. It might have been among the surge of details I recalled about the planar framework.”

“Maybe talk to Gilorn about the billions of demi-planes she talked about creating with Ori,” suggested Sarah.

“I got a Message from Gail earlier. They’re mopping up the last of the gnarls, and she’ll come to see me after they’re done,” said Amdirlain. “Let me see if Roher is available.”

Amdirlain released a Message Spell. “Roher, I was wondering if you’d have time to visit a Demi-Plane I’m considering setting up. Let me know if you won’t have time soon.”

The Message also contained the Demi-Plane’s theme so he could transport himself.

“How much time should we give-“

A Gate opened from a moonlit clearing strewn with night-blooming flowers and framed Roher against the forest beyond him. His silvery hair was loose and draped past his shoulders, lines creasing the corners of his emerald eyes from the beaming smile he wore.

“-him,” finished Sarah. “Welcome, Roher. Amdirlain hasn’t had the best of timing getting people’s attention lately.”

“Senior Councillor Roher, it’s good to see you,” Amdirlain said as she bowed. “I hope the family is well.”

As Roher stared across the threshold, an ancient memory resounded from his Soul, and he blinked slowly before offering Amdirlain a deep bow. “Good evening to you, Lady Amdirlain. They are indeed well. Our children and those of other families have asked when they’ll meet you. I’m glad you felt able to call upon me.”

Sarah laughed, and Amdirlain swatted her arm. “Thank you, Roher. I wasn’t expecting even a reply this quickly. Don’t worry about Sarah’s amusement. She’s teasing me about titles, not laughing at you. Please come through so we can discuss a project I have in mind but want your thoughts on sharing the potential progress with others.”

“Amdirlain is right about the titles,” confirmed Sarah. “Currently, she’s in project mode, so be warned.”

“I’d be honoured to confer with you,” Roher immediately stepped into the Demi-Plane, the enchantment on his boots supporting him as he walked to them through the air. The Gate closed behind him, and Roher’s emerald irises gleamed like stars. He whistled softly, and his eyebrows lifted as he took in the Demi-Plane’s vastness. “You’ve certainly grown your capabilities. This place sounds massive and new rather than something extended through sustained work.”

Amdirlain kept the details of the massive Demi-Plane to herself and changed the subject. “Did seeing this place trigger a memory for you?”

Roher nodded slowly, his theme humming with thoughtful consideration. “A young and innocent memory, floating so far away from our birth world that the light from its sun wasn’t visible. We’d spent centuries making plants and animals, going from one uninhabited planet to the next, and the Titan gave us his Song Bird’s melodies for a sun. I caught snippets of the practice for the event and the sun’s creation.”

“That must have been quite a sprint along memory leap,” said Amdirlain.

“It has been a long time since I gained even a fragment. I never get emotional context, unlike yourself. The memory did, however, include part of a conversation while floating in the void, and I heard myself say I’d been pleased to have been included,” Roher explained, and his lips quirked upwards. “And I heard someone grumble that Orhêthurin had beat them for the conductor’s spot.”

‘Heard myself’—do the Lómë have the same perspective of the memories as Sarah?

“One conductor for the Anar and one for the Lómë,” recalled Amdirlain, thinking back to her own memory of the event. “Orhêthurin was annoyed afterwards. The sun was the wrong colour for the system’s plan.”

“Once our excitement settled, we all knew it was too yellow, so Orhêthurin sent a message to the Titan asking him for advice,” Roher agreed. “I’ve no doubt now she simply corrected the problem herself. While none of us heard the music, we heard the change in the sun. Then, different suns ignited in the void, and we heard the music to create each. We heard our parts of the music and then heard the suns being teleported away.”

Just teleporting suns? Yeah, no doubt Ori redistributed to where they needed to be.

Amdirlain smiled. “I didn’t remember that part. I remembered Orhêthurin being frustrated with her conducting and thinking about the errors she’d made.”

“She didn’t show any frustration, but once the initial excitement died down, someone questioned the colour, since it differed from our home’s sun,” replied Roher.

“It just changed?” questioned Amdirlain. “No audible music at all?”

Did she use Primordial Will? Resonance allows an individual to hear the relevant parts of reality that their Soul can handle, but does that mean the Anar and Lómë can’t hear a Primordial’s Power, only the result? How did they hear echoes of her singing? Did she develop the Power and practise it separately from her Primordial Will? I can listen to songs in the memories now, but she never considers the Power she’s using. Or am I overthinking it, and she just used concealments and her Primordial Will was simply compatible with True Song?

“None that the recollection provided,” Roher clarified, bringing Amdirlain’s attention back to the moment. “While it could just be fragmented, I heard the music used to create the other suns. I thought I was beyond recalling memories, yet that is the oldest memory I’ve ever regained.”

“Maybe Amdirlain inspired it in you,” proposed Sarah. “She’s had quite an impact at the monastery.”

“Indeed?” inquired Roher curiously. “Intentional inspiration or through a lingering effect?”

“Lingering? Thanks, you make it sound like an affliction,” grumbled Amdirlain lightly.

“That is not how I meant it,” Roher chuckled. “I’m just referring to your frustration with Femme Fatale and its impact on some who worked with you creating crystals—though this situation doesn’t appear to have upset you.”

“I helped a Master at the monastery gain the insight to evolve a Grandmaster Skill,” explained Amdirlain.

“How long did it take you to cause that?” Roher inquired.

Amdirlain smiled mischievously. “I achieved it through a two-hour training session by being my usual impossible self.”

Roher slowly shook his head before he frowned slightly. “This has only occurred once?”

“True, not absolute proof. Jinfeng might have been close to evolving her Jai Skill,” replied Amdirlain. “I’ll have to see if I can help others evolve their combat skills.”

“How exactly did you help her achieve the evolution?”

Amdirlain described her use of Harmony and the pressure she applied to Jinfeng during the training session and shrugged as she finished. “It was a bit of a harsh approach for me to use for most students.”

“Though Master Lu used Universal Life while fighting, you could always set a regenerative song in place. How long have you possessed Harmony?”

“Since shortly after I appeared as a Succubus—it’s related to the Monk Class,” said Amdirlain.

Roher hummed thoughtfully. “What does Gideon say about it?”

“The development of this Power enables Ki to grow beyond the boundary of flesh. It allows practitioners to obtain a connection to the physical and spiritual aspects of existence. As they improve this Power, they can unlock a range of additional powers,” recited Amdirlain, and she felt like head-butting a wall. “It was right before me all along, but I overlooked it. The Power name even has a musical connotation as well.”

“That is why a choir relies on a conductor for an overall perspective,” said Roher. “What have you been using it for?”

“A meditative assistant to move my Ki and to help me guide wizards in gaining affinities,” replied Amdirlain. “It recently seemed to help me jump my resistances. When I cycle Ki through my sigil, Kadaklan can see my Soul with his Third Eye, and I’ve felt the spiritual net’s connection to my Soul.”

“Then it is little wonder that a Power allowing you to link to the realm allows you to provide others such insights,” said Roher. “My advice is to find the best expert in that Power and see what advantages its evolutions can afford you.”

“Meditating has always been something I’ve done to hold onto sanity through pain,” commented Amdirlain.

Roher nodded thoughtfully. “Yet holding on isn’t the same as progress. The development of many powers relies upon your intent while using them, and the best insights come when you push their limits.”

“I had a discussion with Kadaklan earlier about pushing limits,” laughed Amdirlain in disbelief. “Maybe I’ve been pushing the limits of the wrong skills.”

“You can either stretch your imagination and see what you can work out or find an expert,” replied Roher. “You seem to use skills and powers in unusual ways, so walking your own path now that you see the forest for the trees might prove beneficial.”

“I’ve been getting training in some of the Ki powers, I’ll add that to the list I handle at the monastery,” said Amdirlain. “Even if I don’t use it exactly as they expect, learning from them will save me from reinventing the wheel.”

“Has it helped you in other ways?” questioned Roher.

“A few times, most recently with resistance progress. While not directly related, I’d progressed some skills in the deeper planes of the Abyss,” advised Amdirlain. “When I got the notification, Gideon made what I took to be a smart-arse remark. Now I wonder if they were trying to get me to look at Harmony.”

Roher beckoned to Amdirlain. “What did they say to you?”

“It was a two-step interaction. First, I’d progressed Greater Teleport, and their note was: ‘Are you trying to evolve that Power to help down there? Interesting choice’,” quoted Amdirlain. “Then I tried World Step, and Gideon’s note after that advanced said: ‘Nice that you remembered it, but are you sure that’s the one I was talking about?’.”

“Perfect memory is only useful for recalling events, but it doesn’t provide insights if you don’t stop occasionally to reexamine them,” advised Roher. “You’re not alone in making that mistake.”

“I honestly skipped Harmony when I reviewed the powers then, but I’ll admit I’d been fixated on its connection to Ki and Mana,” clarified Amdirlain sheepishly.

“Perhaps for most, that is all it does,” said Roher

Sarah nodded. “There is the implication of working together in its definition. Your Soul working with the realm and the strength of your spiritual net are likely factors.”

Should I look to work with others, not just Roher?

“Should I try to reinforce my sigil?” questioned Amdirlain.

“You might overcome the limits of the Fallen species block and end up an Immortal,” cautioned Sarah.

Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. “That might stop me from getting into the deeper planes, the Eastern immortals aren’t aligned on the same Outer Planes. While it might be something to think about, we’ve gotten way off track.”

“What did you want to consult with me about?” inquired Roher.

“I need to control my experience growth while still taking on difficult projects to stretch my capabilities,” explained Amdirlain. “The easiest way I can think of doing that would be to embark on projects with other singers. What would appeal more to the Lómë: creating large demi-planes or populating worlds with life forms?”

“An interesting proposition,” murmured Roher. “What sort of demi-planes did you have in mind? Given the sense of vastness this one has, I take it you’re not talking about the ones you included in the training complexes?”

An illusionary globe manifested between them, followed by various cross-sections and compositions for the most extensive sections.

“Who is this Demi-Plane intended for?” asked Roher after reviewing the illusion and the complex songs. “It’s larger than some moons.”

“Qil Tris. I’m going to set it up to replace needing to create fifty or more individualised demi-planes,” advised Amdirlain. “Given its size, one of these could host training complexes connected to multiple cities.”

“I really want to do more for Qil Tris The song of the ghost caverns is appalling. I would have done more to prepare demi-planes for them, but the availability of Isa and Gail limited our work,” said Roher. “While Isa is the stronger of the two, getting her attention can be problematic.”

Sarah laughed good-naturedly. “Only problematic?”

“I could say something about us being lucky to have had her help on other projects,” replied Roher.

Both Amdirlain and Sarah snorted.

“There is another option besides these demi-planes. Do you think the Lómë would be more interested in helping me with these or adding life to worlds?” asked Amdirlain.

Roher’s theme resounded with confused notes, but he kept his composure. “Either project involves an element of risk with exposing your secret.”

“Should I work with just yourself?”

“I feel like that would be selfish of me, especially since it wouldn’t be as beneficial with your goal of restricting experience growth,” admitted Roher. “I could likely get the help of thousands if you’d restrict yourself to only singing the Anar sections.”

“No chance of me getting lost in the crowd?” asked Amdirlain.

“I can separate the individual notes of every Lómë singing at once and recognise their voices. I’m sure I’m not the only one,” advised Roher.

“Let’s handle worlds,” said Amdirlain, hurriedly continuing when Roher’s gaze widened. “I mean populating them with life, and I’ll sing only the Anar sections.”

“I’ll see how many I can gather to discuss the matter,” Roher confirmed. “I think many will be interested, but I’m not sure when will be the best time. Shall we schedule a meeting for the monastery’s evening three days hence?”

“For an initial discussion?” questioned Amdirlain.

Roher nodded, but Amdirlain could hear a mix of doubt underlying the eagerness despite it being his proposal.

“Is three days a suitable time?”

“On second thoughts, let me see if I can arrange it sooner,” said Roher. “Anyone that can’t put other matters aside for you needs a severe talking to.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to rush a meeting,” remarked Amdirlain. “What about babysitters?”

“I’m eager enough to gather everyone immediately. I never expected to find the concept of even a day’s wait to be an issue. Can you come to Vehtë?” questioned Roher. “Your concealments are now very robust, and I can’t hear either your form or auras.”

“I can upgrade the device Sarah uses to summon me,” confirmed Amdirlain. “Would you be able to check some other concealments for me? I’ve created some True Song Crystal constructions that I want to ensure are properly hidden.”

“More of them?”

“Yeah, I’ll reset those in Xaos if you approve of the new concealments,” advised Amdirlain. “I know you put a new layer over the top, but improving the others can’t hurt.”

“While I have some more questions but I can come and check the concealments now,” said Roher.

“What else did you need to know?”

“Did you need songs for planets, or have you composed some already?” asked Roher.

“You’ve songs for planets?”

“We’ve been examining all the old records, and I know we have songs both for planets being seeded for life to evolve and for progressing planets along to a different phase. They’ll require adjustment for the sun type and the planetary distance from its sun. Isa updated me about the Orrery, shouldn’t you have all the planned songs?”

Amdirlain laughed with delight. “Finding a specific world among the orrery’s memory crystals feels daunting. I’ve been pushing my True Song Architecture so I could tackle designing from scratch. Given the last time those songs would have been used, where did you find them?”

“They were among the items we recovered from the royal vault,” explained Roher. “None of us had time to stop to examine the contents until recently.”

“I’d love to get copies. The only other option I had was Gilorn,” admitted Amdirlain.

Roher winced. “She’s a stern teacher.”

“Maybe I’m a masochist after all, since I loved training with her. Her insistence that I would not could, do better delighted me. I’m sure she learned it from Ori,” responded Amdirlain. “Her focus was on perfection, and I know she warned some students that they might regret asking her to teach them.”

“I’d never regret instruction from someone with high standards. It’s always someone's teaching style that is more important. I remember hearing Orhêthurin was a fierce instructor, but not unfair nor one to put a student down. While perhaps reaching her standards might be impossible, but it would have made them better singers if they’d tried,” countered Roher.

“I don’t think Ori even reached her own standards. She could always find something she needed to improve in her singing,” advised Amdirlain.

Roher frowned. “Perhaps her self-assessment isn’t the best standard to use. Do you take the same approach?”

“Of course she does,” quipped Sarah. “Impossible standards are essential.”

Her dry amusement dug at Amdirlain and sent Soul deep insecurities churning.

You’d just told me no because I hadn’t done enough contemplation. What if I never gain that in-love rush and happy glow you want me to have, Sarah? Both times I had that for a romance, I got burnt; what if I can’t find it in me again? Does that make me not good enough to chance?

“True, I do,” replied Amdirlain. “Singing crystals is one thing. How long do people require to study a planet’s songs?”

Sarah tilted her head and frowned momentarily, but Amdirlain kept Resonance away.

I don’t want to hear more disappointment. Focus on the work.

“The upside of perfect memories is it won’t take long to review them. The actual singing work might take a little while to organise once we’ve identified the songs to use and confirmed the arrangements. Also, if a large number is interested, we might organise choral shifts so everyone can contribute,” said Roher. “That would let you maximise your restriction on experience growth and increase the stretch of your Power singing the Anar counterpoint to so many singers. Since you need more of these demi-planes, Erwarth and I could help you sing those without risk of giving their creation away.”

“I’ll set up a bunch of these and, depending on how we go, we can finish multiple in an evening,” said Amdirlain.

“Excellent,” declared Roher warmly. “It will be good to bring new life into the realm and change the lives of others.”

“Did you want to come to the Outlands and examine them?” questioned Amdirlain. “Or should I create some new crystals and add the concealments?”

“If that’s where you’ve got them, I’ll come along to check,” answered Roher. “If there is an issue, you can start again and adjust the concealments until they’re perfect.”

Amdirlain opened a Gate a distance into the forest from the mountain’s base and waved the others through before she stepped out and closed it. Her gaze brushed across Sarah’s back, leading Roher towards the fields.

I’m an idiot. Emotional numbskull that I am, I’ll never get any romantic relationship right. I should have kept my hands off the harp and my fucking mouth shut. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Ori had a relationship with Syl, and Sarah has those memories as if she were Syl. What the fuck am I doing? Why did I set myself up to be even more inadequate? To waste Sarah’s time and hurt her? What the fuck are you doing, Amdirlain? You’re an emotional mess, and it's just as well that Sarah said no.

As a stab of guilt brushed along her Mental Hardening, melodies obliterated all traces of her scent. Amdirlain shoved the thoughts aside and set to planning the thousands of large demi-planes she needed for Qil Tris.

Once they got within the boundary of the Domain, Amdirlain teleported them to the courtyard, and Roher looked at her inquisitively. “Where is the construction?”

Sarah snorted and pointed to the training hall’s door. “In there.”

“I can’t hear anything,” Roher commented.

“While I improved the concealments, I can still hear a buzz from the crystals, so I had expected you to hear them as well,” said Amdirlain.

Roher frowned. “What is your Resonance ranked at now?”

“I evolve it a couple of times,” advised Amdirlain. “It’s in Resonance-Prince now.”

“I’ve never progressed mine beyond Resonance-Lord,” admitted Roher. “I find there are just too many details to keep track of to stretch its capabilities further.”

“Do you know anything about the Spell lists that detect True Song Crystal or True Song’s use?” asked Amdirlain.

Sarah strode to the doors, and Roher matched her pace. “I don’t know the Spell lists myself, but some among our communities collect spells, so they’re likely known to several scholars.”

When Sarah pulled open the doors, Roher clapped appreciatively and stepped into the Hall. “This is nice work. You wrapped the hall itself up in the concealments you’ve anchored in crystal?”

“Yes,” confirmed Amdirlain. “The main purpose was to prevent anyone from detecting the link between the dimensional expansion in the hall and the crystal anchors.”

“Are these bookcases and platforms only diamond, mithril, and adamantine, or is there a crystal core like you did with the pillars at Nolmar?” Roher questioned before he moved to the closest support pillar and rested his palm against it. “There are enchantments of hardening on the materials and others related to distance viewing.”

Amdirlain nodded. “The outer layer isn’t that thick. The platforms were set up for those coming to read from the library and observe the training or sparring sessions. A better version of the concealments around the halls shrouds them individually.”

“This is lovely work,” commented Roher approvingly. “I can hear the materials and enchantments but not the crystal. The dimensional folding sounds like spell work and enchanting established it, but I couldn’t hear them from outside. This certainly gives me confidence that you’ll be able to avoid giving yourself away.”

“That’s good to know,” replied Amdirlain.

“What else does the structure do?” Roher asked, motioning along the training hall’s wall. “These platforms are kilometres long. Why did you need it so big?”

“It’s gathering arcane lore from libraries and other sources,” admitted Amdirlain. “Ori had songs to assess an individual’s strength that she used for her training arena. The gathering song ensures it won’t have an issue before accumulating the details.”

Roher blinked. “What?”

“It’s rather straightforward. The conditions in the linked song mean it avoids domains, those too strong, and anywhere too heavily warded,” advised Amdirlain.

“Within the Outlands?”

“No, across the planes,” clarified Amdirlain. “There are songs that are the equivalent of Analysis, so it uses those on the gathered information to confirm the information isn’t false or flawed before it records them into the crystal core. I’m just pulling in the information for now, and the crystal contains a psionic construct based on one of Sarah’s to review and catalogue it. That ensures unique information stays recorded, and I won’t end up with trillions of copies of the Fire Law or another Spell List, and it’s only gathering arcane information.”

“Am built her own search engine and copier,” quipped Sarah. “The naughty pirate girl that she is.”

“Argh, Matey,” drawled Amdirlain.

Roher shook his head. “Just when I think I understand you three.”

“I’m so weird that I don’t even understand myself some days,” quipped Amdirlain. “It’s easier on your sanity to nod and back away slowly than tackle that impossible mission.”

“It’s not the strangeness of your speech, Lady Amdirlain. It’s the scope of your endeavours,” Roher said. “Where others are content to gather knowledge from a world instead, you’ve started to gather knowledge from the realm. Did it ever occur to you to do so on a more modest scale first?”

“Why? I had to go wide to have a hope of getting what I was after with it. The Cloister of the Fallen had information gathered on the deeper planes they’d accumulated over aeons,” said Amdirlain. “Expeditions conducted by mortals and demons alike, and there is still more to learn.”

“It’s gathering information on all arcane subjects?” questioned Roher.

“Yes,” confirmed Amdirlain.

“My goodness,” Roher breathed. “You know it will never be possible for it to finish?”

“The realm has many infinite planes, so I expected that to be the case,” agreed Amdirlain. “That doesn’t stop me from making it the most impressive arcane library possible.”

“Do you have any other projects like this in progress?” asked Roher.

My little mapping cube doesn’t count, though I’d better check if they want a connection to more surveyors soon.

Amdirlain smiled. "Nothing on this scale."

“I’ll get back and talk to the others,” said Roher.

“Not so fast, Roher,” protested Amdirlain. “Send a Message to someone and then sit and talk for a bit.”

“About?”

Amdirlain smiled. “You’ve got children to share tales about, and I’d like to hear them.”

Roher laughed, and a parental smile appeared. “It would be my pleasure. Are you not rushing to get off to your next task?”

“I’ve got hours before teaching a lesson,” replied Amdirlain. “Hearing about your children might do me some good.”

“It would be my pleasure,” responded Roher.

The trio headed upstairs, and Roher soon had Amdirlain laughing over tales of his children and the others in the Lómë communities.