The monolith was dark and dominating, sucking up what little light was provided by luminous gems. The obelisk was speckled with white dots and engraved with lines, circles and triangles that made small diagrams that together worked to make larger creations; the column stood ten stories tall, so wide and broad it left the space cramped. There were platforms every few floors, structures on the underside of which were gravity gems, and on each were at least five spatial technicians.

“Big,” I said, my head craned up. The thing was too tall and something about it played with darkness in ways that made my head swirl. I looked down towards the mage, blinking and rubbing my temple.

The mage was a short fellow with an average build that wasn’t muscular nor fat; at a guess he was likely in his mid-forties and he stood with the easy confidence of a professional. He wore the black of the Spatial Order, but he had on a cloak and under it wore pants, boots and a loose-fitting shirt; in each of his fingers and ears were rings, the black of the spatial gems with a low sheen.

“The more complex the organism, the greater the column required to send them on their journey,” he said, “and humans are the most complex of all organisms.” He bowed. “Greetings Your Highnesses, sir knight, Champion and Her Highness’s ladies-in-waiting. To those unfamiliar to me, I am High Technician Edward, the overseer of the castle’s porting station.”

“Well met, Technician Edward,” I said with a slight incline of the head.

“Will we be leaving soon?” Ally asked, their voice cool but with an undercurrent of anticipation.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Edward the High Technician. Behind the man was a smaller spatial column, covered with simpler diagrams that flowed onto the floor and travelled beneath the platform. I couldn’t see with our vantage point, but I had the sense it would connect to the bigger column.

He didn’t touch it, instead stepping into a circle before the column and started to work his fingers as if playing a piano, his eyes set on us and his lips moving in an unheard whisper. Quite dramatically he raised his hands and intoned a word; the air reacted, a ripple appearing around the technician and propagating outward.

The air got choppier the more time passed, becoming so tumultuous that anything beyond became dark figures, then vague shapes, and finally amorphous blobs before the process reversed itself, a different room bleeding into existence.

Of all things it was grander that the castle’s porting station, bright with white, brown and gold colours, with luminous gems on the roof formed images of a lightly cloudy day, and faux windows that played with perspective to give the illusion of people beyond. The floor was largely white and a diagram was spread out, made of different types of stones — for style rather than function.

“Okay,” Ally said as they took centre stage. They were dressed in armour but it was lighter, leather fortified by earthen and gravitational gem, and clothes over it that felt more civilian. Ally’s hair was a sandy brown colour and their eyes were different, one brown and the other a light grey that changed with the light. “Firstly, it’s important to remember, I am no longer Allycea but Eldon.”

Everyone had dressed down, wearing similar grade armour to Eldon but carrying their weapons without hiding them. I was in my armour, my gun, the electric blade and a purse filled with gold at my hip. It had been with some reservation that I’d chosen to wear a cape, which hid the gulping toad satchel that hung to one side.

Odysseus wasn’t dressed in his usual blue and white, instead choosing a soft lavender and wearing loose fitting clothes that gave him a carefree vibe. He’d hid his temporal pendant beneath his shirt and he wore a similar satchel to mine, though his was more extravagant in colour and ornamentation.

He sighed. “Why do we put up with this ruse? To many we exist only as myth, they will not know who we are. This is unneeded.”

“Nevertheless, it will cloud us from those who might know of us,” said Eldon. He stood straighter, staring deeply into his brother’s eyes. “Father inviting the Champion into our world was meant to be a secret of the highest order, yet not long after half the castle knew of the incident. What is to say not many know of our excursion now?”

“That seems unlikely,” Odysseus muttered.

“Isn’t this a non-issue?” I asked. The pair turned to me and both glared in their own ways, though Odysseus quickly evened his expression. I turned to look at the others, Jaslynn in particular, and from her grin I knew I’d made a mistake. “Uh…sorry, Highnesses. It wasn’t my place to speak.”

“No,” said Odysseus, the words clipped. “You have thoughts to share, so share them.”

Don’t forget that your long-term plan is being Odysseus’ friend, I thought. So what happens when you side with Ally instead of Odysseus, especially when a part of you thinks the prince has some insecurities when it comes to making friends?

But…I had a suspicion that though people thought Ally was ‘pretending,’ that wasn’t actually the case. I thought back to before figuring out that I was attracted to guys. I’d found a whole range of reasons to explain away my feelings — I liked a guy’s hair, or their clothes, or wished I looked like them, or there was nothing sexual about it, just an appreciation I was sure all guys had.

It had been easier to justify or rationalise away who I was instead of facing the truth. Maybe that was true for Ally.

But at this point it was just an assumption.

Here and now…it felt wrong not to give Ally this, even if it would mean losing ground with Odysseus.

“Just that this doesn’t really matter,” I said, shrugging. “You’re already dressed down, aren’t you? That’s for security. All of us have our weapons here, that’s also for security. So what’s one additional element? Better we’re the safest we can be, right? Not to mention Sir Eleus is judging us on whether we’re taking our security seriously.”

Odysseus sighed and gave a dismissive wave. “I can see that I am outnumbered,” he said, his eyes on me. “I shall go along and call you Eldon.”

I smiled and his lips quirked. At least there’s that.

“Now that that has been decided,” said Eldon. “We can move on. Hightown is the home of the higher class, whether it be nobles, powerful merchants or the more elite of the hunting guilds.”

“And mercenary guilds,” Jaslynn added. “No doubt Sir Eleus knows of them. It does not do us any good to hide them.”

“What’s the difference between a mercenary and a hunter?”

“Mercenaries tend to hunt people, while hunters hunt dire beasts,” said Ellora.

“Who knows,” Jaslynn said playfully. “They might even be on the hunt for the newest Champion. Rowan might be threatened by your very existence.”

“Daylight’s wasting,” I muttered, frowning. Ellora had said Jaslynn was attracted to me but I couldn’t see it. She’d tried to kill me and those two things didn’t connect, except if she was attracted to the idea of me rather than the person — which would explain why it felt like she wanted to change me.

Eldon nodded. “Brother, how will our day look?”

“We will take a carriage through the city,” said Odysseus. “First the Artisan District. The Champion’s quarters do not have any personal touches and that just does not do. Perhaps we might even visit some jewellers, I remember you had a great love for those.”

“Not gonna say no,” I said.

“The Royal Repository of the Greatest Intellectual Gatherings,” he continued. Ellora let out a sigh so loud Odysseus turned towards her, his expression narrowed.

“What’s the Repository?” I asked.

“A nest for scholars,” Eldon almost spat. “Supposedly, every book in Althor and the Greater Commonality has a copy there. An obvious lie when the magical orders hold their texts close to the chests.”

“Be that as it may, the Champion has something of a love of knowledge,” said Odysseus. “He will enjoy it, I am sure.”

“I will,” I said. “I’m gonna enjoy getting stuff in general, but if they have some history on magic, I’m gonna enjoy getting those books.”

Odysseus nodded, wearing a self-satisfied grin.

“Then let us go,” said Eldon. “The rest will be decided as we go. But stay on alert.”

He held out an arm and Cybill took it, both at ease in ways I couldn’t quite pinpoint. As the doors swung open conversation and sunlight flooded in. Odysseus and I were a step behind the pair, going out onto a platform that made me realise how much smaller the scale of the teleportation station was back in the castle.

The platform here was much bigger, giving room for people to move about, sit on benches, shop at confectionery stands or buy some curios in booths.

Padding footsteps filled the air, conversations ran over each other, not loud but heavy, and the warmth of people seemed to be about. A bout of laughter sounded to our left as I saw a pair of kids, well dressed and wearing sandals, chasing after a ball; a weather-worn woman watched over them, her expression even; a woman walked with a shaggy dog, leading it on a leash, their noses turning up when people got too close to them — she stared as she walked past me.

A stone banister sat as a guard against the hollow space at the centre of the station, and glass was placed as a further divider from the angular chunk of rock which had spatial technicians hovering on personal stone platforms crowded around it at points.

“Fuck,” I muttered, getting closer to the glass and angling to see down. In the castle there had been a platform which served as a floor every two or three stories, but here every level had its own floor and it was filled with people. The further down I looked — and it got harder to make things out — I could see animals that might be livestock. “How big is this one?”

“A hundred stories,” Odysseus said.

“Ancestors below, this is incredible,” I muttered. “I can see why it’s a big deal. Fuck. I can’t even imagine the amount of work that was put into this. This monolith, this obelisk, this colossus.”

Odysseus chuckled and the smile stayed. Hand in his pocket he joined me. “From everything I have been told it is a delicate balance.”

He looked up and I followed his gaze.

The spatial obelisk was dark and it sucked up the light but the mages had put up a fuck-ton of luminous gems to make the space warm and bright, no doubt matching the sun outside. There were technicians hard at work — one unit had three members, two young and a much older supervisor. The younger pair were carving diagrams while the supervisor looked over a book whose texts I couldn’t see.

“I think I could just sit here and take this in forever,” I said. There was just so much to see, even watching people felt was different — seeing as a family a floor with a lot of children ran past people, probably rushing so they wouldn’t miss their trip. “Asking questions, getting a sense of how everything works.”

Scattered amongst the general crowd were people in copper-coloured armour, swords at their sides and long, red capes with white images of swords bound by chains falling from their shoulders. They were the city guard and they patrolled, sometimes stopping people with weapons so they could show their licences.

“I beg of you, no,” said Jaslynn. “I would rather explore the city than stay in this place.” She took me by the arm — a cold shiver ran up my spine — and started to pull. “Come, Champion, I have not eaten and it would do you well to treat a lady.”

“Please don’t touch me,” I said, pulling my arm free. Her smile disappeared and offence took its place. I swallowed, looking back at the others. In the instant that Jaslynn had pulled me away Freda had found an opening to get close to Odysseus. Ellora, though, had chosen to walk a little away, moving in the opposite direction of Eleus.

I slowed down, going to Ellora because I didn’t want to interrupt Odysseus and Freda — though he would have preferred it — and I wasn’t about to chat up Eleus. Even without his giant sword the man had an intense air about him.

Cybill and Eldon found their way to the front of the group and they started to lead.

“Champion,” said Ellora. “You’ve upset Jaslynn.”

Darkness writhed in my stomach and I could feel it reflected in my expression. “I don’t care,” I muttered. I smiled, trying and failing to feel it. “I wanted to manipulate you through friendliness. Care to do the same?”

Ellora shrugged, her eyes on Jaslynn as she slunk over to Eleus at the back.

“Why not,” she said, finally. She looked around. “A part of me hopes that Grand Mage Cicero is here and that I might see my brother.”

“He’s your brother?” I asked. “The guy who always hangs around Cicero?”

“Yes. My older brother.” Ellora grinned, looking so much like Jaslynn it shook me. “These gauntlets. They were supposed to be his but I stole them.”

I whistled. “Why?”

“I am the greatest fighter in my family, but because I am a woman I was raised to be a wife,” she said. “I did not like the role and so I trained when I could, stole the family’s greatest artefact and showed them that I was a good fighter.”

“That doesn’t feel like it should have worked,” I said.

She smiled. “It didn’t,” said Ellora. Our group slowed as we reached a patch with more people, not condensed like the lower floors, but enough that my spatial sense became useless. People stared, some pointed, one laughed, then whispered. I ignored them. “But I knew that Eldon brought into his company great warriors, so when he visited a manor close to my home, I stole the artefacts once again and presented myself before him.”

“And he accepted you?”

“At his acceptance my family had no place to take the gauntlets from me,” she said.

The people were waiting to get into a set of elevators, three of them, big enough to fit a crowd. It was just that the people here had status and they were very particular about who they wanted to ride with, making the process slow — I saw money change hands a few times to facilitate this.

“Fates damn it all,” Odysseus muttered before he reached into his rucksack and pulled a scroll. “Good sir,” he said to one of the city guards. The man stepped forward, took the offered papers, read them over, then paled and nodded. He ushered everyone else aside so we could go in.

Ellora shook her head.

“Bad idea?” I whispered.

“Yes,” she returned, leaning close. “Eleus will be judging it. If we cannot integrate into our environment, then how likely is it we will be able to in the field?”

I pointed at my face. “It’s gonna be hard to hide this, won’t it?”

“There are a few people of your kind that walk as hunters,” he said. “Most are restricted to the Sunward Empire, but it’s unlikely that people will think you the Champion, and rather think you a hunter.”

“Guess that makes sense,” I said.

“Odysseus should have offered a bribe,” she continued.

Our conversation ended as we got into the elevator. People were looking at us with obvious loathing, but most of it was directed at me rather than the others.

Joy.

The doors opened again into day, with the sun almost at its zenith; there were short trees immediately before us, set in neat gardens which bent in a way that suggested they would form a massive circle — no doubt tracing the shape of the teleportation hub. Buildings built with pale stones stretched up, most of them at a limit of ten stories in height, heavily stylised in the way that old buildings usually were, lined with balconies on the upper floors — a few people sat on them, watching the movement below.

As I saw it, the first two floors were shops while the upper floors were apartments or residences.

“This feels a lot more modern than I was expecting,” I said to Ellora.

The roads were made of cobblestone and there weren’t any bikes or cars, but the feel of everything around me was reminiscent of watching movies set in old cities. Things weren’t muddy or grungy like they felt they should be, everyone was dressed in their fineries, they were clean and they moved lightly for the most part — not burdened by as I expected them to be.

Movies really messed with my expectations on what medieval life would be like.

And then a snort left me because the thought was ridiculous.

“You find something amusing?” Ellora asked.

I shook my head. “Just my general situation,” I said. “This is the type of stuff you don’t imagine ever happening where I’m from.”

“Tell me of your world,” she said.

I offered my arm and she took it, matching the other couples around us.

“Buildings have way less personality,” I started. “Most of them are just tall columns of glass and steel.”

“That sounds wondrous,” she said.

“Eh. Or maybe it is wondrous and it’s just not to my tastes,” I said.

“Tell me more.”

I started telling her more but most of it was from movies. I didn’t think the things she wanted to hear were about my life and instead I told her a story.

***

The roads were stone, those with heavy traffic so wide that two carriages could run comfortably past each other while narrower alleys were for foot-traffic. Buildings were made of differently coloured brick, and within a given neighbourhood a colour scheme dominated — deep reds in one street with its own courtyard, pale browns in the next, then darker colours, all of them highly detailed and elaborated with crenulations, statues and golems.

We had visited the Garment District and bought a few things, and though my gulping toad rucksack wasn’t any heavier, I kept mental track of how much stuff was in there — the helmet to my armour, lizard hide gloves I’d brought for some unknown reason, some clothes, and heaps of jewellery because why not.

The gulping toad was one of the more dangerous dire beasts in the Commonality, Ellora said they were the size of an alabaster lizard, preferring marshy areas; where the lizard blasted water, the toad had a very stretchy tongue and a secondary stomach that used spatial magic for food storage. The lining of their stomachs was often used in purses and bags to give them more capacity.

From the Garment District we passed through the Velvet Gardens — an area dominated by trees and flowers that were shades of orange and red — into a series of neighbourhoods with narrow houses that shared a central courtyard. Some properties took up entire blocks, these always had high, guarded walls.

“Some lords have homes here,” Ellora explained as she ate a sugar dusted bun. “There are those who only visit their lands to ensure their smooth operation, but they live here most of the time. I do not blame them, the city is vastly more intriguing than the countryside.”

In some places streets led towards long narrow staircases that lead a level lower, but most fascinating of all were the viewing deck, which were spaces carved out every so often, guarded by tall rails, which allowed one to see the streets far below. It was incredible to see that buildings continued down, thick and lined with windows, balconies sprouting sporadically before a large bridge with houses at the top blocked what lay beneath; there were luminous gems in the walls and they matched the light from sun.

A few of these decks were spread across the city, some thin, while others were larger and offered a better view of the area below — the larger spaces often pointed to better looking areas.

The Royal Repository of the Greatest Intellectual Gatherings was in Scholar’s Point, an area framed by apartments filled with young people dressed in various coloured robes or sticking to clothes in one colour. Then further in were the schools, each having its own specialised subject — the elemental mage crafts, maths, astronomy, geography, cartography, the healing arts, and many more that I probably missed because we were walking too fast.

“I thought learning magic was more restricted,” I said.

“Elemental stones are found in abundance,” Odysseus explained. “They are the least restricted of the mage arts. There are schools in many of the major cities, though the most prestigious in Althor are in the Elemental Line.”

“You will find that most of the petty mages who travel around Althor are knowledgeable in the elemental arts,” Ellora added.

The area also had the largest amount of entrances to Midtown. Expressions scrunched as we walked through the area, its inhabitants no doubt looking down on us because they thought we were warriors.

“We should split up,” said Eldon as we reached the doors of the Repository.

My expression twisted, that wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do, especially when our attention to security was being judged. But I was around people who weren’t used to hearing no, which meant I had to choose my battles.

“Cybill, Jaslynn and I will go to the Arena to prepare our arrival. The rest of you continue and you’ll find us in the galleries waiting for you.”

“We were supposed to go to Midtown,” said Odysseus.

“We will not have the time, I think,” said Eldon. “The day nears its end.”

Odysseus shrugged. Freda was still at his side as we went in. Ellora and I followed, and Eleus, still near the back, kept close.

Like everything in Hightown, the scale of the Repository was too big. It was ten stories tall, growing as a circular tower built in a simplistic fashion on the outside, then filled with rows and rows of books shelves inside. I expected it to be stuffy, the air to hang heavy with the smell of papers, but it was cool and crisp, though the area was a little on the darker side.

“We will start at the twentieth floor,” said Odysseus. “The books at the bottom have been pressed, made so that the common scholars can get them cheaply. We exclusively buy those books with a personal touch, handwritten by the authors, their apprentices or their scribes.”

I was using the castle’s money so I shrugged. There were assistants on the higher floors and we had only to name an area of study before they rushed out to find books on the subject. I chose history first — it earned a smile from Odysseus — some public access books on all the mage crafts; books on dire beasts; and some maps of the Commonality.

Pretty quickly Odysseus and I lost ourselves. We couldn’t read them in their entirety, of course, but part of deciding they were worth buying was first rifling through and reading some excerpts. The lights around us were steady and I didn’t have a watch, which meant the only reason I noticed how long we’d been there, were the increasingly bored and annoyed expressions of our compatriots — Freda had started off high energy to impress the prince, but even that had fallen away.

“I think that might be enough for today, Your Highness,” I said to Odysseus. He jumped, his eyes opening wide as if he’d been broken from a spell. I saw relief from the others — even Eleus. “We should at least find an area to eat before going to the Arena.”

“Yes, yes,” said Odysseus. “Though we should visit again.”

“Yeah.” There were books stacked on tables and the floor, making the large space cramped. “What about all these?”

“Have them sent to the castle,” Odysseus ordered a servant. He reached into his rucksack and pulled out a scroll with a blue seal. “This will show the mages that you are free to travel to the island.”

“Do you think that wise, Your Highness?” Eleus asked.

Odysseus waved him off. “I have done this before. Fret not, cousin,” he said. Hearing those words I felt very close to when I hadn’t studied for a test and just known I would fail it. There was very little hope the king would agree to us going off on our own.

With the note handed off we walked out into night. The area still had people though not at the same level as when we’d come in. Odysseus led the way to a carriage dock and we climbed on, Eleus stayed outside with the driver.

“Quite a beautiful city, is it not, Champion?” Odysseus asked as we rolled along, bumping because some of the road was uneven. None of the others seemed to mind, but for me it was really annoying. I was used to better suspension.

“Yeah. It’s a pity that we didn’t see a lot more,” I said.

“Something for the future,” he said. “For now we visit my sister’s haunt.”

“It is quite an exciting place, Your Highness,” said Freda. “With some of the fiercest warriors in attendance.”

“Battle is for the likes of you and Ellora, my lady,” said Odysseus. I didn’t think he was trying to flirt, but from how Freda reacted, that was how she took it. She had her sword sitting to one side of the carriage and her shield at her feet, her body leaning so she gave Odysseus her full attention.

You might have to let her down, dude, I thought as I leaned back, a part of me wanting to doze. I thought about whether to talk to him about it, then ultimately decided against it. I still wasn’t sure about the limits of our relationship.

We kept to the wider main street which meant our path was circuitous and long, but the sight of the buildings from beyond the shutters was pleasing. There were still people out and about, and sometimes music drifted in the air, making dozing easier.

“You did not take your legendary naps today, did you, Champion?” Odysseus asked, a chuckle in the words.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes. “Are they legendary?” I asked, my words a little slurred.

“Even I have heard of them,” said Ellora. “The servants gossip, and you a figure clouded in intrigue for the most part.”

I shrugged. “Nothing better than a nap,” I said. “And all the training you have me do is very high intensity.”

“Eventually your body will grow used to it,” said Freda, smiling shyly. I returned it. She turned towards Odysseus.

I shook my head and turned back to the window. A viewing deck appeared, showing some of the buildings from the level below, lit by light lower in intensity. The carriage bumped on a rock and it sounded a lot like a thonk, something stabbing into wood.

“Brace!” I heard Eleus say, but by the time my mind heard the words it was already too late.

Something slammed into our carriage — sounding eerily like a gale of wind — and it was knocked into the air; it tipped to one side and Ellora slammed into me, the impact absorbed by my armour.

Another roll and this time my head, arm and shoulder slammed into the roof, rattling me. Another roll and more slams, Freda’s shield almost caught me in the face as it rolled past and her sword swung free, breaking through wood and falling into the darkness beyond. Someone slammed into me, and together we hit the door; wood groaned and then cracked, and as the carriage rolled again I and another body were thrown out.

The carriage continued to roll away, its trajectory sending it to one of the bridges that connected two towers. Between blinks of terror I saw who the body belonged to, Odysseus, his face covered with blood and his eyes closed, tumbling through the air. I surprised myself by thinking quickly, my arms splayed and caught the air; Odysseus slammed into me, and together we tumbled down, passing row upon row of windows.

A spin let me see up and my stomach leapt. Three people, heads pointed down and their arms at their sides to reduce drag, were falling after us.