Canere, having exhausted even his masterful powers of focus, had left the archives around the time of the morning meal, and then collapsed into bed until the chimes sounded for the first bell after noon. He then spent the next hour in bed, reading the notes that he had created.<\/p>\n
Which led to much muttering about the quality of his handwriting. It was, in a word, shocking.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf only I could use magic for something so basic. But I just can\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
As the next bell reminded him. Sighing to himself, Canere made his way to the remaining headquarters of the arcanists of Yn Dref, a rather forlorn building that sagged around the edges. Once, it had no doubt looked majestic, but with the colour faded and the architecture in dire need of repairs, there was little of that former grandeur left.<\/p>\n
A nod from the apprentice sitting in the entrance way let Canere in, and a few turns later, he was heading down into the depths of the skycity, towards the mystical centre, the artefact that kept everything afloat.<\/p>\n
The chamber in which the artefact rested was vast, hewn from the rock of this former mountaintop by the energies of his long ago forefathers. The artefact itself manifested visually as a sphere of unblemished crystal, rotating at a slow pace. Somehow, it was supposedly tied to the movements of the heavens, but no Hanian of recent days had ever been able to explain how or why.<\/p>\n
Around the edges of the sphere were smaller lumps of unformed crystal, each sitting atop a little plinth. It was to one of those plinths that the young mage was supposed to go, for they allowed arcanists to channel their energy into the artefact, burning their personal force in return for keeping the skycity afloat.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, the chamber wasn\u2019t empty, as it usually was at this time of day. Instead, another mage was standing over one of the plinths, face drawn in concentration as sweat beaded on her brow. As Canere was all too well aware, dumping the vast majority of one\u2019s daily energy at a single go was a taxing affair, and so some amongst the Hanian arcanists preferred to visit multiple times a day, and so spare themselves the effort.<\/p>\n
Canere, on the other hand, preferred to deal with it in one go. And knowing the strain it took, waited quietly at the entrance to the chamber until his compatriot shuddered, rising on unsteady legs from where she had sat before the plinth.<\/p>\n
\u201cMorning, Canere. Or rather, afternoon. I heard you were off on one of your jaunts through the archives again last night.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was nothing Canere could do but laugh. Raiztae always knew what was going on in Yn Dref. Always. She was known amongst the other mages as the queen of all gossip, and was rumoured to spend some of her magical energy eavesdropping on every petty conversation. Although Canere, like most people, just assumed that wasn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe font of all knowledge, as always. Who told you this time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat young lad who runs messages from the archives to the guild and back. Blonde hair, scrawny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t that describe half the children around here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirthmark under his left eye.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, that one. I hope you gave him a trinket for his efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to sneak him a little something. You know me, I help where I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which was true, and the other reason no one ever really disliked Raiztae \u2013 she always had a kind word and a small token for the least fortunate in the skycity.<\/p>\n
Canere gestured to acknowledge the comment. \u201cSo what\u2019s the juiciest titbit you\u2019ve got today? Aside from animals harassing the pastures. Ira beat you to that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
A frown swept across Raiztae\u2019s features momentarily. \u201cBlast, that was what I had. Hmm. There\u2019s supposedly an affair or two going on with the senior mages, but that\u2019s been wandering around for months now. Other than that it\u2019s the doom and gloom about the coming weather that you\u2019ve no doubt heard yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yes, the big storm that will rain thunder and hail down upon Yn Dref. We get those every year. Why should this be any different?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shrugged. \u201cBecause it gives people something to talk about. Look forward to in a way. Not much else of that, around here. You know I\u2019d love to be able to research, but I\u2019m not allowed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
With all the energy of the arcanists being needed to keep the skycity in the air, they had precious little effort to expend in other areas. Some of which might have helped resolve the current situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re suggesting that Yn Dref is an anchor on our people.\u201d Canere had heard this mentioned before, but mostly obliquely.<\/p>\n
He was met with a sigh. \u201cWe use all our talents keeping a rotting hulk flying. Why not move the rest of the people to the ground and let the skycity fall into an empty valley? That way, we could at least use our talents to help the rest of Hania more directly. Today, the best I can do is give away the spare bits and pieces I don\u2019t need. Maybe then I could actually make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canere could understand the sentiment. \u201cThat\u2019s why I spend so much time in the archives. There has to be something in there that can help, but I\u2019ve not found it yet. Maybe I never will. But I think I\u2019ve hit on a new idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always do have one of those.\u201d Raiztae chuckled. \u201cBut if you don\u2019t mind, I need to rest after feeding the demon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young mage swept a shallow bow to Raiztae as she departed, then went to do his part for keeping the skycity afloat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Canere, having exhausted even his masterful powers of focus, had left the archives around the time of the morning meal, and then collapsed into bed until the chimes sounded for the first bell after noon. He then spent the next hour in bed, reading the notes that he had created. Which led to much muttering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[60,4],"tags":[19,62],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pRIK4-by","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":711,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=711","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":0},"title":"The Last City – Part 2","date":"May 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Dinner had been a tepid affair, as it always was these days, with little to recommend it and no flavours to speak of. It was nutrition, pure and simple, and that was all that could be said in its favour. Indeed, it was a meal to dampen the spirits, as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arhosa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":712,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=712","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":1},"title":"The Last City – Part 3","date":"May 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The sound of a bell startled Yaden awake from where he had been dozing, nose down in a particularly dry and academic tract on the families of the High Arcanist, and what had caused each one to rise to that position. Across from him, Canere was still awake, although with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arhosa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":718,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=718","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":2},"title":"The Last City – Part 7","date":"May 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It was late the following day, after dealing with the various reports, minor injuries, and other detritus of being a \u201ccommander\u201d, that Ira was able to track down Yaden and Canere. Who were engaged, as often, in an argument. \u201cLook, I need you to come help me with the research.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arhosa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":710,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=710","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":3},"title":"The Last City – Part 1","date":"May 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Last City is the next in the series of short stories and novellas that take place in the land of Arhosa, a long standing setting of mine. The city of Yn Dref floats among the clouds of the Ogleddol Mountains, the great expanse that spans the north-eastern region of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arhosa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":722,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=722","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":4},"title":"The Journey North – Part 2","date":"June 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBehave, children.\u201d Ira shot an amused glare at them both. \u201cYou\u2019re right, though. It\u2019s been more drudgery and less excitement than I\u2019d expected. Not that I particularly want to be fending off hordes of ravening monsters each night, but we\u2019re journeying through a land that was once owned by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arhosa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":719,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=719","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":5},"title":"The Last City – Part 8","date":"June 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It had taken two weeks of wheedling, purchasing, and research, but at last the three friends were standing around the portal, each of them heavily laden with supplies and other materials. Canere, for his part, had spent those two weeks discovering everything he could about Keleborn\u2019s Arcanum and Adweyed. Which,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arhosa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}