Bent World: Chapter 18 The Magic Monolith

Chapter 18

The Magic Monolith

(Two Months, and Eight Lower Rift Runs Later)

We followed the routine.

One rift, a week off to recuperate and let the energy expand in our growing bodies as needed, then rinse and repeat.

As with any plan to scale back that is met and basically funded by various factions with political agendas there were drawbacks and conditions.

In this particular case, the drawback was that not only did Lady Jaupry’s family doctor start to attend, but her cousin Lady Amherst and her cousin’s family doctor, Dr. Amherst also began to attend. This of course caused issues with us, as we technically fell under the leadership of Lady Jaurpy. The only problem was that the lands governed by the Amherst family were far more developed. Meaning more people, more resources, and apparently less chances of rifts appearing.

Yes, I was surprised to hear this factoid too, but apparently a less developed area had a greater chance of forming a rift than a major city would.

In fact, our entire kingdom had been designed with this in mind. Our lands in the center of the vast kingdom were in fact less developed, with only a few pockets of life where the workers for the area would gather and settle, to prevent rifts from forming. Not that rifts couldn’t form in densely populated areas, but it was often seen that even if a rift did appear in such a location, the rifts that formed would be tame by comparison.

Our central plains were also noted as the areas most noted for producing grain and other crops needed to feed the entire continent.

Why do this? Why have a central plains area that was open for rifts to form, and potentially expose our grains and produce to rift energies? Well apparently, rift grown grains, yeah try to say that ten times fast for a Geography presentation. But rift grown grains are apparently heartier and more nourishing to eat.

There were also other reasons for this, but none of which were expressly shared to me. Right now, Auntie tried to keep everything simple for me. Which meant, I was only told the information that was pertinent to me at the time.

Right now, my orders were once my mask was on, I was to remain in character as a Pathfinder. I still had no clue what a Pathfinder was, but Auntie kept pushing me over the summer, and so far, I think I passed each test.

At least, that is what I gathered by the fact that Lady Amherst’s faction was now joining us as well on these excursions.

Vrroom.

The car drove down the country roads. Roads that I now knew were purposefully left rustic to help spawn more rifts in this area.

To my right was Pandaline, who still had her mask off, meaning she was not in character and could use this time of travel to ask Auntie any question she had. I had a similar position last year, when it was just Auntie and me.

The more I experienced of this world, the more I seemed to understand why certain things were the way they were.

Tradition would be the word that I would use to describe the people of this world. We could make minor deviations to tradition over time, but we could never stop, nor break traditions entirely. Slow and steady steps, that is what I was coming to expect from this world. Progress would happen, but it would go at a glacial pace.

Tingling.

There was an odd sensation that kept going off in mind recently. I couldn’t quite explain why I had been having these odd sensations recently. It almost felt like there was an increase in sinus pressure the closer we got to these outbreak locations.

I apparently shifted uncomfortably, not much, but enough for Auntie to notice my distress.

“Everything okay?” Auntie asked, holding up a hand to stop Pandaline from asking any further questions, for the moment.

I just nodded, but then tapped on my wrist, at the spot where a watch would normally sit.

“How much longer?” Auntie asked to clarify.

I nodded, again unable to speak, since I was wearing my mask and pretending to be a Pathfinder so I could go on these expeditions.

At that, Auntie just stared at me for a moment, before turning her head back through the open window compartment that separated our area from Ceecee’s driver’s seat, “how much longer? Do you know?”

Ceecee looked down for a moment and then seemed to evaluate something, “about two hours or close to fifty miles.”

At that, I couldn’t help but feel slightly uneasy, knowing that I would have to be dealing with this odd pressure for quite some time.

I just nodded, and gave the gesture that I would want to take a nap while we waited. Auntie just nodded, a note of concern on her face, but she quickly masked that as she continued going through her lesson for the day. These were the same ones I had heard all last summer, so they were not nearly as enticing for me to hear.

This wasn’t the first time I had issues like this, it was found early on that my going to sleep for a few moments while riding helped, as I could wake up and my mind would be more capable of adjusting to the new pressures. I hoped it would be the same this time as well.

Bump.

I don’t know how long I rested, but I got awoken when the car hit a particularly violent stretch of road, indicating that we were well outside of standard society. I also woke up just in time to hear Auntie wrap up her lecture for the day.

“I think that covers our practical portion needed to cover for this trip, as such, I will leave the remaining time open to you. What questions do you have Lady Andry?” Auntie asked.

Pandaline for her part just nodded excitedly. “What is a Pathfinder exactly?”

Auntie just laughed at Pandaline’s youthful exuberance, “I do owe you a better explanation. Originally, they were seen the most important class, for they could create rifts, and locate spatial anomalies. Sort of a throwback to earlier times. Our having one is seen as a blessing, and is something you must remember is a gift. Do you remember why?”

“Yes, because if the electricity goes out our anomaly detection resources will not work and we would have to go back to old methods of exploring for rifts on our own.” Pandaline recounted.

“Very good, also you might not know this, but the original conductors for Profiling ceremonies were Pathfinders.”

“But now, everyone can do this, thanks to the directioning stones?” Pandaline asked.

At that, Auntie shook her head back and forth.

“Not quite, more people can do the Profiling ceremony now thanks to directioning stones, but even still only a select few can do the Profiling ceremony. Speaking of…” Auntie trailed off as she gestured for Ceecee to pull off.

“Put on your mask, for we have a special ceremony that you get to be part of.”

“Okay,” Pandaline stated as she quickly drew her leather mask over her face and then sinched it into place.

As had become a habit of mine, I quickly went behind her and tucked her hair up into the mask, before sinching it shut. It made the mask hotter but was well worth the hassle of not having her hair easy to grab by branches, or monsters that somehow got free.

Our timing and routine were perfect, for no sooner had Ceecee stopped moving and found a parking spot, than Pandaline’s mask was in place.

“Now get out, for this is a treat for you two.”

We got out and found that others had already gathered. The air was thick with different energy, all of them were here. Normally this would be a social faux pas, as societal norms would dictate that we, a lower ranked house, should be here early and wait for the Ducal lords to arrive moments after us.

But for whatever reason everyone seemed to bow to Auntie.

I’m not certain if this was a nod to her age and power being so much higher than the others, but even the Ducal Doctors all acquiesced to Auntie’s rules and eccentricities. For a moment, I thought it was me, but I realized from these conversations that I wasn’t that big of a deal. As everything I could do, was being subsidized either by technology, or via other methods. While I was useful, I realized that usefulness would only be so much.

We got out to see that the three other girls were all standing and facing a giant stone monolith that stretched on to the sky. Vibrant green trees seemed to make their home within the confines of the stone, but at its base, nothing seemed to be able to grow on the giant pillar.

As we arrived, each Doctor sat patiently behind their ward. Despite having an entire summer of clear growth caused by being exposed to magical rift radiation, the charges were still towered over by their representative Doctors.

Doctor Oteranski seemed to lovingly rest her hands on the shoulder of Landrina Oteranski, similarly the other Doctors did the same. Each bearing a glowing smile as they watched us come close.

“Go with Ceecee,” Auntie declared to Pandaline, then turning to me she spoke, “you pathfinder, come with me.”

With that, I began following Auntie to the front of the formation. A formation that just so happened to be staring at a bare wall with ancient script written on it. The language had long ago gone out of style, but even now I recognized the swirling lines as text. Text belonging to a long dead civilization.

Chills.

Just seeing the text caused a shiver to run down my spine as I could almost feel a deeper connection to the past calling for me from those lines.

“You already feel it, don’t you, Pathfinder?” Auntie asked.

Only after hearing her speak did I realize I had stopped moving as I was too engrossed in staring at the monolithic pillar before me. A stone pillar that seemed oddly alien to the surrounding environment. I knew about igneous intrusions that formed national monuments in my home world, I had even gone to see a few. But this was different, first the stone was smooth and uniform. Only a surrounding layer of rock seemed to have survived the insertion of this rock into the world around it, and even that surrounding layer of rock seemed to all but radiate power.

“This is a magical monolith, every major continent on this world has one, some of the larger continents have two. These are the building blocks of our societies. The first explorers to these lands found that by interacting with these powerful monoliths, they could unlock powers. It was even found that these stones allowed the first Pathfinders to open rifts to other worlds, to gather valuable resources, and ultimately what led us to gaining the great system that we all benefit from today.”

As she spoke a hush fell over the crowd, even the other Doctors who were gathered seemed to be in awe of Auntie’s narration skills.

“Originally, it was found that being a Pathfinder took time and effort. It was originally thought of as being an age thing, but we have since come to learn that it is an assimilation to power. See a Pathfinder must first be exposed to a large amount of power, before the pillar here will activate and recognize the Pathfinder. Once the Pathfinder has been recognized, it was believed that anyone who subsequently touched the stone could use the power of the stone. What the stone did, or how it was used was not fully known, as that information has been lost to time and history. All we know for certain is that a Pathfinder who was worthy would be able to awaken the stone and its power within by simply touching the pillar.”

Silence.

I felt suddenly anxious at the thought, and especially of the way Auntie seemed to stare at me. Not just her, for by now I could feel the intense stare of everyone behind me as well. All staring at me and all but salivating at the idea of me activating this monolith. A monolith that by all rights seemed to already be awake. Awake and thrumming with energy.

“As you can see, the area around these monoliths has long since been abandoned. The reason for this is quite simple, namely that even in large groupings, rifts always appear in these areas. So not matter how large or populated an area might become, this section will still be at the greatest risk of rifts.” Auntie declared, seeming to go through a checklist of subjects to speak about.

“Oh, come on, get on with it,” Doctor Oteranski chided, as she was apparently anxious to go get on with this process.

“Right, so, as has become a symbol of good luck, every time we close a rift near the monolith, it is always important to go over and touch the stone for good luck.”

“Why?” A voice called out. Rather than getting annoyed at the interruption, Auntie seemed to have expected this, as a smile filled her lips.

“Good question, but I will preface this with another story.”

Groaning posture.

While no one let their displeasure be heard, it was apparent from their actions that everyone looked exasperated by the lecture.

“Fine, I’ll cut to the chase. It is said that by touching this stone, you will always be able to find your way home. In fact, it is customary for Maidens to receive a necklace that has a chunk of the stone imbued in it, to get home safely when they go out on their Maiden voyages.”

There was a silence that ensued, as everyone just looked at Auntie in silent protest. For a moment, I wondered why she was doing this, but then I realized that she was distracting everyone from me. A fact that I greatly appreciated, especially as I was certain that everyone here was expecting to witness a miracle.

That’s why everyone had gathered here early, even the dukes. Everyone wanted to be here to see this moment, to be part of history of our continent.

Honestly, I did too, but I was also rational enough to realize that the fact that it had been so long since records were made of this happening, then it likely never happened. That or what was originally seen was exaggerated over time, and told from generation to generation about how great the ancestors were, that it lost all semblance to truth.

Auntie was a great orator, that much was for certain, and this story was definitely something that the people of this continent would gravitate towards. A birth story for how powers came to exist in this world, and by all accounts it seemed to answer the underlying questions. At least, it answered the questions from a bare bones creationist story.

Humanity has powers for generations, one day a child asks how these odd powers came to be, and why some people have a higher proficiency in powers than others. Then this creation story. One that was filled with dogma, zealotry, and places of undeniable power that do seem to call out to everyone.

The sad part is, I wanted to believe this story. I wanted to believe it so badly, that my hand was suddenly sweaty as I realized why we were allowed to lead. Why Auntie was here at the head of the formation, and allowed to be the last one to arrive, despite it showing a level of contempt for the seniority and power of the other houses present.

“Come now Pathfinder, step forward, place your hand on the stone, and be blessed by fate.” Auntie declared.

Hesitantly I took one step forward, before I felt my body tighten.

“Do not worry, no one expects the myths to be true. And regardless of what happens, you have already proven yourself to be a Pathfinder. If not with you, then with your children.”

There it was, the sales pitch. At that comment I understood, I wasn’t expected to awaken the monolith, I was just a male. In a year or two, after proving myself to more and more people, I will be allowed to take off my mask, at which point it will be understood that I could have never been a Pathfinder, due to being a male. But my children, children that people would pay good money for me to sire could be potential Pathfinders.

I realized that ploy, and reluctantly found myself striding forward, knowing that she was right. I was the wrong sex for this world. Over the years I had come to accept this fact, that regardless of how hard I worked, or how much rift energy I was exposed to, I would never be able to awaken the system, at least not the way women could. For a while I wondered if it was an eye thing, just as more males are prone to be color blind, could it be that the system was on a spectrum of colors that could only be visible to females? I didn’t know.

All I did know was that this monolith was giving me a headache, the closer I got to it. This was mainly due to the way colors began to flicker and glow in the swirling script that lined the stone walls.

“Ohh!”

I was suddenly drawn from my musings as I realized that for once, others could apparently see these colors. Mentally, I knew them to be the colors of rift energy.

Fwoosh.

The flowing colors danced and glowed until a spark burned away a trail of vines that had grown over part of the exterior, revealing a smooth marble slot that was the perfect size for a left hand.

Cautiously I moved forward and held up my still growing hand towards the slab. Even after growing so much, I still had to reach my hand up to eye level, but that allowed me to align my hand perfectly with the stone imprint.

Tingle.

Just being this close I could feel faint electrical surges of energy pulsing from the wall to my hand. Then pausing for a moment, I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart.

Then reaching forward, I touched the stone slab and forever changed my fate.

FWOOOOSHH!