Chapter 301: Worldview (1/2)
After exchanging a glance with the female at his side, the male Asani gave a short bow. ”I am Sahel, Fifth Spear of the Coreguard. You have our thanks for the timely intervention, and this is my subordinate…”
”Tuli, Twenty-First Spear of the Coreguard.” The woman stepped forward and introduced herself.
Mike took a moment to use Appraise to confirm their statements.
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Sahel
Age: 98
Race: Asani
Class: Guardian
Title: Coreguard
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Tuli
Age: 65
Race: Asani
Class: Scout
Title: Coreguard
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Both had essentially humanoid bodies, but were covered with dark grey feathers. Their feet and hands sported talons that looked quite dangerous, but evidently still had a great deal of manual dexterity. From their backs emerged a pair of large feathered wings that must have stretched nearly 2.5 meters across when unfolded. Their heads were distinctly reminiscent of birds of prey, with forward facing eyes, and curved beaks.
[Not exactly angelic, but I suppose you could make the mistake at a distance. Also they seem to be a bit longer-lived than humans, for what it's worth.]
”Call me Mike.” He added, once he was satisfied.
”Very well...Mmm-ike.” Sahel replied, having a bit of difficulty forming the word. Apparently, they relied primarily on throat and tongue movements to speak, which seemed to create problems for them when attempting to replicate human-made sounds. ”Once again, I wish to thank you for the assistance, but I am duty-bound to inform you that you are trespassing. Ordinarily, such an offense would warrant immediate expulsion, but I suspect that would be more difficult than throwing back the Invader.”
He glanced over at the region of space where the gelatin monster had vanished, before continuing. ”The right to visit the Asan is granted rarely, and only one of the Elders can do so. As such, I cannot allow you to roam freely.”
”I see.” Mike replied succinctly. He understood where Sahel was coming from, but it hardly seemed like the time to be worrying about such trivial matters.
”That being said, I believe it is within my rights to escort a potential visitor, at least until such time as an Elder is available to hear his case. Is that not right, Tuli?”
The other Asani woman blinked, before nodding, ”While such a thing would normally never happen for one of the Coreguard, I doubt that any would question your right to proceed that way.”
”Considering that all of the Elders are currently sealed in the Sanctuary with the other non-combatants, which is not scheduled to open for several hours at least, such an escort mission could last quite a while.”
Mike suppressed a laugh. Apparently, circumventing unpopular regulations was something that spanned cultures. ”Alright, then perhaps you can explain what's going on here, and what that strange gelatin creature was.”
”Gelatin? You speak of the Invader, I believe.” Sahel replied, a bite of real hatred entering his voice.
”If that's what you call it.”
The Asani paused for a few moments, as if to consider how to answer the question. ”Tell me, what do you know of the realms that exist beyond the borders of this world?”
”Honestly, not a lot.”
”Then I shall start at the beginning.” He replied, while walking over to a strangely futuristic device set into the platform near the crystal spike which ran through the center of the room. To Mike, it actually kind of looked like a sort of console, only lacking some kind of display screen.
Tuli stopped him and whispered in a voice that would have been too quiet for most to overhear. ”Are you sure about this, Sahel? Revealing the secrets of our people to an outsider.”
The Asani male gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, ”I believe he has earned the right to see what is even common knowledge to our children. Any time spent sifting through the domiciles on the surface would likely yield the same answers. Had he taken the time to explore rather than save us, we would not be here to question his access. Besides, as someone who speaks our tongue, there is little reason for him to not know our purpose, at least.”
With a nod, Tuli allowed him to continue to the console, where he pressed several tiles with no apparent markings. The device started to hum faintly, and a small glowing ball appeared in the air above it. After a few seconds it turned into an elaborate diagram of incredible complexity. Mike could vaguely tell that the confusing three dimensional shapes and forms were a series of concentric circles and rings, but beyond that he wasn't quite certain what he was looking at.
”Let me preface by saying that this is a demonstration meant to teach our children their place in the world, and as such, it is merely a representation of Ea in it's true form. To truly show the wonder that is Creation in all of its glory is beyond our current technologies.” Sahel explained, gesturing to the glowing display. ”At its center, you can see what many believe is the full extent of the world.”
Mike stared at the diagram for a few seconds before he was able to identify a small circular region which seemed to occupy the very heart of the formation.
”Surrounding, weaving through, and co-existing with it are the Thousand Realms.”