Chapter 12: Neighbors

Chapter 12: Neighbors

Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station

“What do you want to know?” Miss Baker asks me with a curious look on her face. She always looked at me a bit weirdly…

I wonder why. Maybe that’s her normal face? Whatever, I guess, I’ll start easy, before asking about my weird power If I even do so at all.

“As you probably know, I’m at the bottom of Novice rank. The doc said that my growth potential is also minimal.” I look down in embarrassment. “Is there even a chance for me to reach Junior rank?”

The instructor grimaces, then looks at me with sympathy in her eyes. “I’m not gonna lie, as you stand right now, I wouldn’t get my hopes up… Not here in the republic at least. If you can reach a neighboring nation, you might be able to purchase some power enhancers. But escaping the republic as a Mage is hard. Maybe even impossible with your low power. Believe me, I tried it myself and wasn't able to escape the collar’s tracking and disabling function.” She shakes her head.

Why does she tell me all this? I’m just some random girl… I wonder what her story is. Also, this confirms it: I have to leave the republic no matter what. “Thank you for being honest, Miss Baker.”

As she’s been so forthcoming so far, I decide to be a little bit bolder. I still don’t plan to ask about my weird ability right away, but maybe something a little bit riskier.

“Now we both know that what you taught us earlier is not the whole scope of Space Magic, but I won’t pry further, as that probably gets you in trouble from what I heard about the republic’s politics so far.”

Now she looks shocked, I guess she wasn’t expecting me to come to that conclusion so fast. I chuckle inwardly. Now I just have to wait for her response, then I decide how to proceed.

She clears her throat. “You’re… Right… In both cases, actually. What I’m allowed to teach you is important, I’m not gonna lie, but it also barely scratches the surface…”

She didn’t try to deny it and now I have confirmation: I was right with my assumptions! Magic is way bigger than what we learn here at the academy. I decide to take another leap of faith. I lean closer and indicate that I want to whisper. She makes shushing noises and taps into the air. Music starts playing rather loudly, then she leans closer as well and presents her ear.

“Maybe you can explain one thing to me then. It’s something I can't explain. I do have this weird ability, that none of the other Space Mages seem to have.” Well, Simon doesn’t have it, but she doesn’t need to know that my survey had exactly one participant.

“Ever since I tested as a Mage in my home system, I have this feeling… It’s like a sixth sense. When they closed the collar around my neck and told me to follow, I just knew, that I was not able to walk in any other direction, then later on the ship I simply knew that I couldn’t leave my cabin, and lastly, just yesterday, when the instructor shocked us all, I felt that the shocks would stop if I sat down… Do you know what that ability is?”

The whole time I was whispering, I noticed Miss Baker’s eyebrow raising steadily. Now they’re almost at her hairline and she takes a step back after I finished talking. She just stares at me with her jaw hanging open. “What the actual fuck!” She exclaims, before covering her mouth. Luckily, we have the music playing.

She leans back over, and this time I offer my ear for her to whisper. “That ability, you are talking about… It… No. It should be impossible.” She mutters something under her breath. I don’t understand it completely, only the words “can’t be.”

She pauses for a second before continuing barely audible. “What you are talking about is called Space Sense. It is an ability you’ll get when reaching Master rank.”

That has me recoiling in surprise. I guess now it’s my turn to have my eyebrows vanish under my hairline… How can I have an ability that you only get at Master rank? We both stare at each other in silence. A few moments later, I manage to speak again and whisper. “How is this possible? And what does it mean for me?”

Miss Baker thinks a bit, she walks back and forth. Her face goes through various impressions. Fear, anger, and a few others, I don’t recognize before they vanish again. Eventually, her gaze settles back on me, and she nods, then we put our heads together again and she speaks. Her voice is still silent, but I notice an edge to it.

“Listen closely. Here’s what we’re going to do. First, you can’t tell anyone else about this ability. It’s too dangerous! If the republic learns about it, you’ll end up in a lab or worse.”

She pauses, waiting for her words to settle in. And settle in they do. I can feel my blood draining from my face. “Second, I’m going to teach you an additional spell over your time here at the academy. It’s called Personal Teleportation and should be in the repertoire of every Space Mage… It does exactly what the name says: It allows you to teleport. At Novice rank, you can jump up to one light year, depending on your strength and the power of your AI. That is if you are free from any gravitational influences. On planets, it won’t work at all.”

I knew it! I flippin' knew it! That’s the actual proof of everything I’ve managed to confirm so far: A second Space magic spell! Ha, take that Estriduros Republic. Space Mage Sara is going to show you who’s boss. A broad grin spreads on my face, and I have to restrain my arms from moving up in jubilation.

“And lastly, I’m going to tell you now the limited information I have about Space Sense. You see, I’m still at Senior rank and probably won’t reach Master if I can’t escape the republic.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I wonder why she’s talking so openly about hating the republic with me… I mean I could be a spy, right? Maybe we both decided to somehow trust each other? Before I can follow that line of thought, she continues.

“Space Sense lets you feel ripples or fluctuations in the space around you. From what I know, this includes almost all things, from people around you to incoming attacks or whatever you can think of.” She scratches her chin. “Sorry unfortunately that’s all I know. I’ve never been the theoretical girl… And that power wasn’t relevant for me yet.”

Wow, it does sound powerful!! “No, don’t be sorry, that is way more than I expected of learning, thank you! Also thank you for teaching me some more magic, it feels good to have my suspicions confirmed.”

I let out a short laugh and decide to simply ask what I’ve been thinking before. “But why are you so open about your dislike for the republic and why are you willing to teach me something that is forbidden?”

She starts chuckling. “You see, I tried to escape for four years till they placed me at the academy and I always voiced my displeasure. They never did anything against it… I guess I’m important enough as a resource, that they ignore my protests against the treatment of Mages. And why I’m willing to help you? I saw the fire in your eyes. They told me that you’ll never stop. Also, to be honest, when I saw you first, you reminded me of someone…”

She stops talking and looks away. I guess that explains her weird reaction when entering the room. And her weird glances in my direction during the lesson. Another awkward silence hangs between us.

After a few moments of awkwardness, I decide to break the silence. “Uh, if that’s all, I guess I’ll leave now? Thank you again and see you at the next lesson.” I turn around to leave, but a hand on my shoulder stops me. I look back and see Miss Baker looking up at me. It feels like she looks right through me.

“If you ever manage to leave, look for the Magicon Empire, or simply The Empire, while it is very far away, it is an empire ruled by Mages, powerful Mages. There you should also be able to enhance your own power, who knows maybe you aren’t as confined to Space magic as you think.” She winks and lets go of my shoulder.

Huh, I wonder what that was about, but I’ll keep it in mind. Maybe I can find some information on my RHT? I thank her again and leave the room. Once outside, I think of her last words again. WAIT! My eyes go wide in shock. Not confined to only Space Magic? Is there a way to combine the classes?

I have to find out!

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The following months all follow the same pattern. Lessons in the morning combined with simulator training after lunch break. These things are cool. We are inside a virtual reality, where magic is simulated, and we learn how to navigate through wormholes. I wonder if this is the same as the real thing or if there will be a difference. Anyway, the lessons range from boring stuff about republic history and politics to quite interesting things regarding feedback about what we did wrong in the simulator.

I’m also taking my secret lessons with Miss Baker regularly. It’s kinda hard to understand the spell when I’m not able to test it as my magic is blocked by the collar. Or at least I think that’s the reason… maybe it is just hard?

She somehow managed to trick the surveillance in her office, otherwise our little extra training would have been found out immediately. I don’t know how she did it, but as long as it works…

I spend most of my free time together with my friends on the recreational levels or just with Lucy in our room. Their training is also going well and I’m a little envious that they are allowed to cast real spells in their practical lessons. It does make sense but it is still a little unfair.

After three months of nonstop lessons, we are actually getting two weeks off. It’s Christmas time. One of the few traditions that lived through the fall of Earth. At least that’s what the history books say. Now, I can finally do some research! We’ve only learned a little bit about the five neighboring nations in our lessons. Two are allies and share the anti-Mage belief, and the other three are more Mage-friendly. They are also more or less in constant conflicts with the republic. Some conflicts are for ideological reasons, but most are because everyone wants to expand their borders to get access to more resources. And one would think the galaxy is big enough…

Sitting down on a remote bench in a park on level 26, I roll out my tablet and open up a galactic map. Well, galactic map is a bit exaggerated. It shows the Estriduros Republic with its 23 systems and most of the five neighboring nations. As the Estriduros Sector is right in the center of the republic, the other nations are all considerably far away. They enclose the republic from three sides, leaving one side of uncharted space open. Funnily enough, that’s where the Acordus sector is located. A backwater place at the edge of known space, figures…

Anyway, ignoring the Blueridge Alliance and the United Federation of Dallos, who are the other two anti-Mage nations, leaves me with the one-system nation of Terthia, Charlie’s Kingdom, and our biggest neighbor the Dakarti Federation.

I was always wondering how a one-system nation can survive with such aggressive neighbors. Now I have the answer. They are the only ones capable of producing wormhole rings in this region of the galaxy, and nobody wants to upset them. Terthia indeed does sound like a place to go if I manage to lose my collar in the future. The only problem is that they are kinda hostile toward foreigners according to the information I could find on my tablet.

Hmm, Terthia sounds interesting at least, maybe as a backup option? Let’s see what else we have… Charlie’s Kingdom is just a meme… A dude with so much power and a big ego going along with it to name a whole Kingdom after himself. I can’t take that seriously. I chuckle. Maybe it would be different if I was more powerful and developed my ego? Unsurprisingly, the republic’s information pages don’t have anything nice to say about the kingdom, a kingdom ruled by a powerful Mage. I wonder how he can be so powerful to keep the republic in check. There seem to be ranks beyond Master… Or is a fully educated Master Mage already enough?

And lastly, there is the Dakarti Federation. The nation is currently at war with the republic. News articles tell of constant ship battles at the border. I wonder if this is where Thomas is. Ignoring all the propaganda against the Federation leaves a nation that doesn’t care much about who you are, as long as you pay your taxes and do an honest job.

I guess that’s my best option if I manage to become a free Mage in the future? There are no real benefits, but also no major downsides… But it does sound expensive. And power enhancers do sound even more expensive, considering how rare they seem to be. I don’t know…

Wait, there is one more option, but Miss Baker said, it is faaar away: The Magicon Empire. She also said The Empire with a capital T. Sounds like it is quite famous… let’s see. I tap the name into a search engine and… nothing? What the heck? How can there be nothing? She didn’t sound like she was lying. Is it censored?

Unable to admit defeat, I think of what Thomas would do. He’s always been a bit of a history nerd and even found out a bit more about Earth. Now I just have to remember the name of the website… Come on Sara, think!

That’s it! Free facts Estriduros. The name of the website. It’s a bit more on the shady side, but maybe I find some information about the Magicon Empire? After two whole days of searching and trying lots of combinations of words, I finally find something: The Magicon Empire is one of the biggest and most powerful nations in the galaxy. It is also as far away as it could be, on the other side of the galaxy. Thousands of light years away. The last thing I find is that the nation is ruled by five companies, which trace their origin back to Earth, but that’s about it. Even the shady website only has limited information about that empire.