saviorgoddessastrid:
fleet-admiral-red:
The mention of Warp Crystals drew Yellow’s attention, reminding her for some reason of Protoss Khaydarin Crystals.
“These Warp Crystals sound like a form of transport. Are they teleporters?” she guessed aloud.
No wonder Vesperr had spoken of convenience. A network of such Crystals was in effect a transporter or Blink network. Quite good for rapid transit.
Upon asking that question, the area went dead quiet. It was not hard for Yellow to feel that there were a lot of eyes on her right now for that question. That was probably a very dumb question to ask.
“You don’t know what a Warp Crystal is?” Vesperr commented, clearly agitated by that question. “Yeah, nice try, but if you’re trying to hide the fact that you’re from off-world, you just blew it then and there.”
“Vesperr, let’s not get hostile here,” Aelius mentioned. Then, to Yellow, he said, “To answer your question, yes, they’re teleporters. Since you’re clearly from off-world, I’m going to explain them to you.
“Every town out there has at least one Primary Warp Crystal, which is the one you use to teleport yourself over long distances, and a network of Secondary Warp Crystals, which you use to get around town easier but can’t be used out of town. Warp Crystals were invented a long time ago to allow long-distance travel without throwing yourself at risk from monsters.
“You can easily tell them apart, the Primary Warp Crystal stands much taller than a man and is usually located in the town’s center, though some wealthy businesses maintain their own Primary Warp Crystals for work reasons. Secondary Warp Crystals are considerably smaller, smaller than a man at that, and are located nearby important structures like the town hall, the mall, certain businesses, etc.
“Outside of being important military structures, Warp Crystals do have one major downside. To use the Warp Crystal in question, you have to attune yourself to it. To do that, you gotta place your hand on the Warp Crystal for several seconds while your body attunes to it. Once you’re attuned, it takes a very basic spell to teleport yourself to that Warp Crystal in question.
“Because of the necessity attuning oneself to the Warp Crystals, there’s still a need for transportation like vehicles, convoys, airships, that sorta stuff. You can use a Warp Crystal to transport a vehicle, but it’s typically nothing larger than a truck at best unless you’ve got very powerful magical abilities.”
Aelius’ explanation done, he then decided to add on something else. “Now then, since you’re obviously trying to hide the fact that you’re from off-world, here’s a piece of advice for you: Don’t ask a question any grade-schooler can tell you the answer to. That just ruins the illusion then and there.”
Thrud shooed off the crowd that was watching Yellow, and then she spoke up. “Now that we’ve got all of this established, I believe you owe us an explanation as to who you truly are. It would be unwise of us to partner with someone who hides their identity from their party, especially as poorly as you do.
“I’m not asking you to divulge too much, but I need to know who you are and what you’re doing on Terra Ancora. More importantly, if you’re running from the authorities. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”
Yellow sighed. Of all the ways to blow her cover, this had been an unexpected one. Then again, no knowledge of such Crystals had existed in the Archives even before the mysterious corruption of all Astrid-related data. How had she been supposed to know?
But if they wanted the truth, she might as well explain everything.
“Very well. Before I tell you more, may I request that we find a more private spot in this hall? It will be a lot to explain.”
Thankfully, such a spot was easily found soon enough. Looking at her now wary team mates, Yellow took a breath before she began, her tone now significantly more down than earlier.
“You are right; I am from off-world. My real name…is Yellow. I wasn’t lying when I said I was a healer. I am…I was a leader of healers. Among others. It doesn’t really matter.”
It was clear from her tone that Yellow no longer considered herself such, and the blonde only sounded more tired as she went on.
“My people…tried to do good, with mixed results. Not all of them ended well. Despite my efforts, I failed to prevent many deaths. Ours and the people we swore to serve. We were punished for it, by someone…powerful….and I think we deserved it in the end. It still weighs on me, and I couldn’t bear it…I still can’t. So I left.”
“I came here, seeking…absolution. If that is appropriate. I thought I could try starting over. But one life doesn’t balance 12 million, 465 thousand, 3 hundred and 52.”
Did that number shock her team? She didn’t know, the attentive silence made it hard to tell. Still, Yellow continued on, her eyes empty.
“I don’t know if my friends are looking for me. I pulled some strings to slip away. But I know that I can’t go back. I am tired. All that I have done…all the negotiations I have made…and for what? Millions of my people are gone now, billions more of others.”
A weary chuckle escaped her, one devoid of humor.
“Service demands sacrifice…and I have nothing left to give.”
Initiative Archival Network 