In The Abyss
The group—Rachel, the Antrunie, Anis, Mis, and Emil—walked across a wide, transparent tunnel spanning the distance from Deep Hollow to Waking Light. When the realm created the seven new abyss continents, it also created elaborate covered bridges and tunnels within the abyss layers. The tunnels slicing through the chaotic magical layers were in constant repair, but those carved through the ground and the bridges linking the continents were calm and serene. They allowed for casual walking or instant teleportation to any known abyss continent, surface realm, or established point within the dark.
To explore the unknown depths, however, one required a specific, known location. The abyss would recognize the intention of its residents and accommodate the journey. The seven continents were already heavily populated, mainly by Fasarians and Trannisans who moved below for various reasons. Travel wasn't easy, but the abyss would not actively oppose a resident.
The entire group was eager to explore and ensure the populace was thriving. The tunnels and continents were domed in the same protective crystalline material because the abyss remained a dangerous place where "interesting things" dwelled. The realm placed the continents in four known safe locations plus three that were entirely new: Shatter Lake, Wither Mar, and Dark Peak.
Rachel felt the Milana had been remiss in not exploring the abyss extensively. She needed to be intimately familiar with her realm, especially the unknown territories. Though she had visited all seven new continents and created fate maps for each, the maps contained unexplainable gaps. This told her her fate was more than superficially interwoven with the continents; it was deeply intertwined, requiring rational thought to avoid jumping to conclusions.
"We have ten days to explore. Maybe we should test the teleportation features," Mis suggested, his eyes bright with excitement. Now fully the Alvian, his new strength and command over his established library system—complete with Alsyn, protectors, and librarians in the Abyss—had clearly amplified his hunger for discovery. The librarians are already establishing research bases on the populated continents, he thought, eager to expand.
Rachel smiled warmly. "We have a lifetime to explore, Mis. You always get so excited when you discover something new."
Mis shifted his gaze between his sisters and brothers, waiting for someone to comment on his increased power, but no one did.
"Let's begin in Shatter Lake." Rachel looked at Ambruce. "Please mark this location. There is something below I want to investigate later."
Anis, Mis, and Emil all looked down through the transparent floor.
Rebecca shook her head. "All of you need to be more aware of your surroundings."
Rachel and the Antrunie felt the mark—a powerful resonance below them—and all eight vanished, instantly reappearing at Shatter Lake.
Shatter Lake: The Healing Call
Shatter Lake was a dark continent, but a soft spark of light green pulsed at its center.
The moment Emil materialized, a rush of pure healing magic flooded toward him. His eyes widened at the unexpected, potent influx. Rachel allowed him to absorb a measure, then instantly encased him in a shield to protect his soul well. The residual magic ignited green sparks constantly around him, unable to fully reach him.
The soft green light at the center was a wellspring of the realm's inner healing magics, making the plants and animals here ideal nourishment and potential remedies. Rachel noted this was one of three such unique springs. Wither Mar pulsed with a yellow magic well, and Dark Peak with a purple magic well. These three unknown continents were clearly linked.
As healing magic welled inside Rachel, she gained immediate insights into several of her own healing spells, confirming the magic here came directly from the origin well. Curious, she thought.
She cut off the magic, focusing on the continent's geology. It was rich in minerals, and the flora and fauna were larger, molecularly altered, as if created by an alternate process. Her perception delved below the continent into a seemingly bottomless trench. When her perception reached the actual bottom, her elegant eyebrow arched. The abyss had a bottom.
At the base of the trench, she saw an amber adder nest. Amber Adders were rare, deep-golden creatures that exuded healing and mental magics. They were intelligent, capable familiars. I want one, her mind instantly declared.
Rachel listened to the others talking, wondering if an Amber Adder could even be an Antrunie. She quickly dismissed the thought. There was a more pressing matter: an Amber Adder was calling to her, sparking against her soul.
Rachel descended immediately, her Antrunie close at her heels. She felt the call of her new familiar, who she instantly knew as Jin, rising to meet her. She felt the powerful exertion of Jin's corded muscles pushing toward their breaking point.
A short distance ahead, an ethereal yellow glow appeared. Her Antrunie tensed. Rachel smiled wide. "Calm yourselves. This is Jin, my new familiar. Now that she sees us, we can begin returning to the surface. Ambruce, Smral, did you two collect anything good?"
"Yes!" they both answered in excited unison.
It took them another hour to reach the underside of Shatter Lake. Mis was waiting, eyes wide and bouncing slightly.
"I found her, Mis. Are you ready?" Rachel looked back down into the trench, her Antrunie hovering beside her. Before Mis could answer, a great snake burst from the darkness.
She was a sleek specimen. Dark amber scales, flaked with brass and silver tones, seemed wet and slippery. She rose high above them, soaring above the continent's dome, rolled several times, and then descended back toward Rachel's position.
As she got closer, she changed. Her enormously long, sleek body shrank, transforming into a humanoid form much like Smral's when he first manifested. She was all snake: a rounded adder-like head on a snake-rounded torso that transitioned into a tail with two elegant legs on either side. She had long, proportionate arms. She walked, then bowed before Rachel with impossible grace.
"Ssssister. I have waited ssssso long to meet you."
"And I you. Stand, Jin. Allow me to introduce you to some of my siblings and my Antrunie."
Jin stood and smiled. "No need, sssssister. We are one. I already know them all." She proceeded to greet them all, one by one, by name.
Dark Peak and Wither Mar: Fate and Flux
After Rachel described Wither Mar to them, the group decided to skip it and go to Dark Peak first. When they arrived, Rachel, Anis, Ambruce, and Smral were instantly enveloped in fate magic.
Anis closed her eyes and absorbed an overwhelming amount of the magic. As a higher being close to Rachel's level, the excess didn't harm her; it enhanced latent abilities and awakened possibilities she never knew existed. Rachel carefully monitored her and the others. Ambruce, in particular, absorbed even more magic than Rachel, creating a vortex swirling around her even after the others stabilized and began "seeing" what had opened within them.
Mis, Emil, and the other Antrunie began exploring. Dark Peak was a forest continent, where the Farasharns had already carved deeply entrenched settlements into the black-trunked trees, whose leaves were varying shades of purple. In a sparsely populated area stood a huge, beautiful, and mysterious dark purple mountain peak. This was the source of the continent's name and, Rachel confirmed, the source of the fate magics. This was exactly what Mis wanted to see.
Compared to the other three continents, Wither Mar was an abomination. The soul magic was dense, oppressive, and heavy with humidity. Only Rachel and Rebecca were unhindered. Despite the unpleasantness, Rachel felt a strong pull the moment she stepped onto the continent. There was someone at the center she had to reach, but they seemed to be in some kind of flux. Rachel wasn't sure if the issue was the deep soul magic or a crossed, frayed, or broken fate line.
They did not stay long. The spirits that had gathered were far too aggressive. Rebecca made a mental note to send an Alyanna collection squad to gather the most aggressive spirits. Meanwhile, Rachel made a mental note to return for her two new Antrunie when they were ready.