Life Ore Death
Inspire, Respire, Expire - part 2
* August 16 [Kaldur PoV]
<Recognized: Aqualad, B02 >
I inhaled, feeling and reveling in the change as the ocean water fed and nourished me. The surface world was not so uncomfortable, but Atlantis was home.
A familiar man hung in the water near the gate.
"Greetings, young Kaldur'ahm."
"Greetings, Prince Orm," I replied respectfully, swimming forward to offer a salute.
<Recognized: Ferris, B06 >
"And this is our visitor, I assume. A member of your team on the surface world. Greetings, fair Ferris," he called.
"Indeed, although I must apologize, as Ferris does not speak our tongue." I turned back to Ferris- '
Should I call her Renka? She has never expressed a strong opinion either way. Ferris for today, then.' –and swam back to steady her. Ferris inhaled and exhaled very carefully, smiling as her materials continued to function properly.
She wore her same swimsuit, but under it she wore a jacket of enchanted flounder scales against her skin, and a separate, redundant choker of enchanted eel skin. Both let her comfortably breathe underwater, and while the spells could wear out within a week, they were more than sufficient for a one-day visit. A pouch held several compressed air canisters and re-breathers that The Batman had provided, just in case.
"Ferris, welcome to Atlantis," I told her in English. She stared at me for a moment, but our trials yesterday had ensured that the spells allowed her to speak and listen underwater as well. "The man before us is Prince Orm, brother King Orin. He offers you greetings."
"Ah," she murmured. Ferris offered a bow deeper than was formally required.
"I understand you only intend to stay for one day?" Prince Orm clarified. "I do not believe any particular events or celebrations are planned for today, but you have the run of the city. I hope you enjoy your visit." He swam away, no doubt bound to attend other, more important matters of state.
"May I show you the city? A museum? The school of sorcery?" I suggested. Ferris perked up.
"A magic school?" she asked carefully. I nodded. "Museum, then please magic?"
"Certainly? Can you swim on your own?" The city wards included enchantments that slowed some of the erosive effects of seawater, but I had been a little alarmed when had Ferris arrived that morning with more metal-minds than I had seen her wear before. I'd explained that the weight would pull her down, but she had stated that she wished to try.
"I think I can swim," she answered. Despite our practices, she was not a skilled swimmer even in comparison to the other members of our team, much less compared to Atlanteans who had been born in the water.
It was a little frustrating to keep pace beside her, but I had decided to view it as an exercise in patience. We slowly traveled the halls until we exited, and I was privileged to watch her face light up with honest shock and amazement.
"It is beautiful, yes?"
"Yes," she agreed, nodding slowly while her eyes jumped from building to building and attempted to drink in every sight there was. Atlantis was spread out in an array of smooth domes, elegant arches, proud towers, and all the colors of a coral reef. We could see people of every type swim along on their business, and while Ferris's eyes were drawn to the strange sights of a family of octopus-graft Atlanteans, and a group of the more stereotypical merpeople, she also watched a family with new babies, a group of workers repairing a building, and a field trip of young children who were approaching the palace.
"You said there were people like fish, but I did not expect," she mused.
"Perhaps I should have been more specific, but I hope you will not judge them."
"People think like people, feel like people," she answered calmly.
'
That one sentence is a refutation of the entire pureblood agenda. I believe I may borrow it, if I can find an elegant enough translation from English,' I decided.
"Our royal museum is this way," I told her. I guessed that Ferris tapped into her strength and speed as I led, but whether or not she did she kept pace well enough.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
* August 16 [Ferris PoV]
I was not quite sure whether Kaldur knew or remembered that tapping connection would let me understand any pre-dominant language, and not only English, but I felt no need to correct him. Speaking to me in English when I could not cheat with duralumin was excellent practice, and I was never eager to waste a metal-mind's store.
'
At best, I can make it into a prank. At worst, it is a mild inconvenience, or I can pretend it was a miscommunication,' I reminded myself.
Swimming was… difficult. Even after practice yesterday, the motions to grasp at the water and properly kick my legs did not come easily to me. My fingers occasionally slipped apart, and at times I lost distance when I brought my arms around for the next stroke, or veered in the wrong direction. When I had tried kicking, I repeatedly made motions like stomping before I got the hang of it, and it was hard to find a good balance between power and endurance. I ended up tapping into small touches of strength and speed to keep from slowing Kaldur down too much.
I could breathe, but I always felt to afraid to breathe deeply, for fear that suddenly water would be in my lungs. Truthfully, water was in my lungs, but it felt the same as air to me, and I could breathe it safely. There was a taste in my mouth that never went away, but it was not wholly a bad experience, and I was aware in a way I had never been of the pressure the water put on my skin.
Second to its diverse colors, the thing that struck me most about Atlantis was the additional space. Most cities are ultimately flat: they may have towers or rolling hills, but in essence everything important is on the ground, most especially the people. In Atlantis, there were roads, but when Kaldur and I traveled we swam up in an arc, over the roofs of many houses and stores, among fish and the stronger Atlanteans, while the eldest and youngest opted to stay nearer to the ocean floor.
The Poseidonis Royal History Museum was an awe-inspiring building. At its base was elegant marble in steps and pillars, which Kaldur informed me was the same as it had been prior to the sinking, when Atlantis still remained on the surface over two thousand years ago. Their home was older than the era-ending divine struggle that had wracked Scadrial, and more than the water, I felt the weight of that history press down like a comforting, if stifling blanket.
It still had steps and a floor like the Metropolis and Central City Museums I had been to, which was contrary to what I had expected, but the walls and ceiling fit my expectations with plaques and exhibits that would have been unreachable to anyone bound to the ground.
It was here that I finally reminded Kaldur that I was passable at Atlantean language if I tapped connection from my duralumin-minds, so that he didn't feel the need to clunkily translate everything I was interested in reading. It got an amusing stutter out of him, and I made a show of lamenting that I had missed the chance to play some wonderful prank on him.
He suggested that he could forget to mention my ability if we spoke to anyone who thought they could get away with bad-mouthing an ignorant surface-worlder.
"Do you really call them that?" I asked as we moved from the room that covered the Ekkritovalean Civil War to one about Atlantis's connections with the surface world, particularly with old-but-not-forgotten Themyscira. "I was under the impression that you would refer to people by the country they lived in."
'
That is still a new idea to me. I mean, I guess Dominances and individually large cities were a touch similar, and I know from reading histories that there were plenty of different kingdoms before the False Ascension.'
"I love my home, but we are very… insular," Kaldur answered. "M'gann mentioned that there are diverse territories and unique local cultures on Mars, but you and I would not distinguish between two Martians from two different locales."
"I absolutely would, if they told me there was a difference to distinguish between," I countered. Kaldur chuckled.
"Yes, but so few surface-dwellers come to Atlantis, and so few of us go above, that there are almost no meetings where such discussion may occur. That is why King Orin joined the Justice League as the Aquaman: to foster stronger ties between Atlantis and the rest of Earth."
"And Mars?" I pointed out.
"And even Scadrial," he teased, which earned him a laugh.
We ate lunch at the Museum restaurant, and I took his recommendation of a seaweed salad and an array of fish flesh. It was surprisingly good; I had expected to eat it politely for the nutrition, but I decided at the end that I would like to have it again sometime.
One thing that caught my interest was the way some people spoke to Kaldur. It seemed that he was a public figure and people treated him with respect when they recognized him, especially the museum workers.
'
Oh, yes, the Aquaman is also the King of Atlantis, and Kaldur is his apprentice. I suppose people would know him.'
"If you are the Aquaman's apprentice, are you also King Orin's apprentice? At being King," I clarified. Kaldur spluttered.
"What? No. No, there are no circumstances that would see me ever on the throne of Atlantis," he assured me with some relief. "When My King cannot fulfill his duties, it falls to his brother, Prince Orm, with input from Queen Mera. After them there are number of councilors and generals, distant noble relatives, the lesser Kings of individual city-states, and once given enough time the Atlantean Senate would simply elect a new King."
"You sound relieved."
"Fighting evil to make the world a better place is something that feels right to me, in my heart. There are other ways to improve the world, through charity work, and science, and politics, but I am less adept at them. Leadership is… amenable to me when I am working with our Team, but the actual work of ruling is something I have no taste for."
"Show me which weeds to pluck, and I will leave the growing to someone more adept," I quoted.
"Did you make that up?"
"It is a repurposed saying from before the Catacendre. It was recently changed after growing things became a more enjoyable activity, instead of slave work."
"Ah," he said softly. We moved to a room that outlined the building of more undersea cities, those that had not been among the original city-states of Atlantis, and then Kaldur led me on a detour to another room. "I wish you to see this."
I flinched when I saw some of the displays and exhibits in this new hall.
The History of Slavery and its Abolition in Atlantis
"How very interesting," I stated flatly, my eyes not quite shying away from the fishy men in chains. In one corner, done in white marble, an angular group of muscled, predatory Atlanteans (of the shark-type schema, he would inform me) bore down on a chained and screaming human-type Atlantean with spears, daggers, and teeth.
On the ceiling was tiled out a mosaic of a slave auction where were sold miserable, scarred, and naked prisoners; illustrations of capturing of the merchandise in attacks on other city-states, and of the punishments that enemy soldiers and disobedient thralls could suffer, were scattered about the edges where the mosaic neared the walls.
Statues of human-type Atlanteans stood in a row to brandish whips, swords, collars, and chains. They faced a display on the opposite wall where less humanoid Atlanteans fought in gladiatorial combat for their entertainment, as had once been popular in the Eastern Dominance.
I could not cry, but I wished I were more disgusted than I felt.
'
Jaded,' I admitted dully. '
After everything I've seen and heard, I'm uncomfortable, but not surprised or shocked. I just don't have it in me anymore, do I? I'm used to this type of brutality from governments. I wish I could be more disappointed.'
"I wanted you to see this, because it is ugly, brutal, horrible, and disgusting," Kaldur told me. I looked at him for a moment, before I looked back through the room and reluctantly accepted that none of it viscerally repulsed me. I had to make the decision to find it anything more than wasteful or distasteful. "This is my history, and that of my people," he continued softly, "and I am not proud of it. But I am proud that we have learned from these mistakes, and I will fight these wrongs wherever I see them, now that I know what they look like and may recognize them."
"Yes," I huffed. "I understand that."
We stood in the doorway for a few minutes, in companionable silence, and then I swam away to review the new material. It wasn't even emotional masochism – I largely wanted to see what parts may have been different, better, or even worse than what I had experienced in Scadrial.
Learning what a culture looked like after it had successfully set aside that brutal history… seeing that such things would never be forgotten, but that they also never needed to define….
I became confident that my people on Scadrial would grow as well.
Even if that growth continued without me.
"Thank you," I told him when we met again at the doorway.
"Would you like a souvenir from the store?" he offered.
"A souvenir… like what Wa- Kid Flash takes from our missions?" I asked.
A robotic eye . . . an empty Kobra Venom injector . . . the Medusa Mask . . . a broken MONQI head . . . an arrow that may have belonged to Artemis (I was not sure where that came from) . . . the assassin Cheshire's mask . . .
Kid Flash had assembled a shelf of things he brought back as trophies from our missions.
"We have not been on a mission or defeated an enemy," I pointed out. '
Or do "souvenir" and "trophy" have other meanings?'
"Souvenir, in this case, is not a trophy, but an object with which we remember. It is something we can point to and say, 'I got this souvenir when ex and why happened at zee location.' So, 'I got this souvenir from the museum when I first went to Atlantis, and these are the exhibits it reminds me of and let me tell you why I remember those.'"
'
I will need to ask more about what ex, why and… oh, he was using X, Y, and Z to represent things in general. I get it now.'
"I do not have any money," I admitted awkwardly. Kaldur had already bought me lunch of his own accord, and this was a private personal journey where I did not bring the League payment-usage debit-card. '
I begin to see why money from a secret identity may be desirable.' I had thought as long as I did important things I would not be terribly interested in material belongings outside of what I needed for the job, but now I began to remember that I might wish to buy objects for other people as well.
"It is my treat; I possess both private funds and a stipend from my studies under My King." I opened my mouth to object and Kaldur smiled threateningly. "If you do not wish to select something, I suppose I may always buy you a gift of my own choice, which may be far more expensive, and not to your taste, and you cannot refuse it for the sake of good manners."
I rolled my eyes, huffed affectionately, and thanked him… after I knuckled him in the shoulder, of course.
The gift store was an array of colors. In Atlantean style, there were bins and shelves and displays of water-proof posters, statuettes, books, photographs, decorated stones, and devices along all the walls, floor, and ceiling. Deciding to tweak him a little, I grabbed what was probably the most expensive thing present, a gaudy miniature of the museum in false-gold (I can tell at a touch if a metal is Feruchemically useable), and innocently suggested, "Can I have two?"
Either he was storm-serious about buying whatever I wanted, or more likely my innocent act was too overdone, because he didn't blink at agreeing to my request.
I pouted, stuck out my tongue, and put it back to look for a genuine keepsake.
I ended up torn between two options: the first was a surprisingly cheap plate of delicately carved stone engraved with sigils and images of Atlantean glory; my second choice was a small standing plaque that held a map of the Atlantean city-states.
There were books and posters that I would have picked before either of those, but I wouldn't be able to read the books outside of Atlantis because they were in their language (Atlantean Greek, he told me), and Kaldur had sadly informed me that the poster were made for underwater display and would degrade in the open air of my room.
I decided on the map, because I didn't want to carry the placard for the rest of that day, and on impulse grabbed the museum guidebook with the most pictures available.
Aqualad paid for both and bought a few more things that I didn't have a chance to see. One of them he showed me – a set of decorative stones with glowing enchantments '
and I really want to learn more about Atlantean magic now.' – and the others he deferred as secrets, for later revelation.
I acceded with (what I hoped was) good grace, and he next took me to the Royal Atlantean Academy of Sorcery.
"How do Atlantean… no, pardon, how does Atlantean magic work?" I questioned correctly. We were using English again to spare my duralumin-minds. I had stored plenty to spare – I may or may not have abused a bronze-mind to do an all night meditation session the night after he made me this offer – but conservation was always a watchword with me.
"In general," he mused, "our magic is predominantly focused on water and the things that live in it. War, pragmatism, and our environment have resulted in well-over half of all Atlanteans being naturally of the water element, and there exist many common spells of the other elements to take advantage of the water abundant in our home."
'
Elements? I know the word can be used to mean the pieces of a whole, or conceptual ingredients, such as the elements of a plan being the pieces and steps needed to enact it…! Chemistry, yes! And they also refer to collections of type-pure construct particles as the Periodic Table of Elements! Except… wait… is water an element? I understood it only very roughly, remembering from my time in the Pool, but I had thought water was made of a two-to-one, small-small-larger arrangement of two of the ingredients in breathable air. I believe I have come across a new usage of the word. How confusing,' I lamented.
"Ferris?" Kaldur asked, and I jolted back to attention. We had risen even higher, trying to get above the buildings for a better view as we traveled, since the Academy of Sorcery was on the far side of a different quadrant. He probably expected a response. '
Did he say anything else? No, no, I wasn't thinking for very long.'
"Two things," I told him. "First an experiment, then a question." Swimming had been weighing me down a bit. I wore nothing easy to lose, but I still had on multiple anklets and bracelets of solid metal. I also wore a ring on every finger, and had even threaded more rings through locks of my hair before I put it up in today's ponytail. It would probably be a pain to undo, but I had felt very insecure about venturing into a world (city, place, whatever,) where, without help from workings that I could not perform or maintain, much less understand, even trying to breathe would kill me.
"An experiment?" he asked cautiously.
"I have an experiment about how my iron-minds store and tap weight. I do not think it is gravity that makes me heavier, because it is not gravity that makes iron weigh more than copper."
"No, it is molecular density," Aqualad agreed.
"So," I said, and stored away half my weight. Instantly I shot straight up in the water, feeling it press more firmly on my skin. I stopped when I was third of the distance below the ward dome around Atlantis, and, restored to my ordinary weight, I began to tread once more as my metal-minds tried to drag me lower.
Kaldur quickly caught up, having mastered his surprise, and offered an impressed nod.
"I see. Less weight means less density, making you more buoyant." I nodded in agreement, looking down over the magnificent view in still-new awe. The city was strange, the city was alive, and the city was beautiful.
I had seen similar sights, from the top of Mount Justice, and in the bioship, so I understood how Kaldur could have brought himself to leave this place, but I wanted to stay a little longer.
We watched the city in silence a few minutes more.
"How much time may we be allowed to stay in Atlantis?" I asked him.
"Atlantis is three hours ahead of the mountain," he answered, and it took me another moment to remember what time zones were and how they functioned. I had thought the timing of our lunch was a bit off, but nothing really stood out to me' breakfast had also been off-schedule at the mountain for us both. "If we eat a light, early dinner and stay until eight, we will return in time to eat dinner with our team as well and tell them about the day."
"Two dinners. I am beca-… I will become fat," I lamented with a grin. '
Another sign of how rich this land is, and how far Scadrial has to go. And I will no longer play a part in that, save that I deliver my discoveries after I die again.' I sighed.
Huffing and sighing were very strange activities when I was beneath the water.
"Do not worry," Aqualad replied seriously. "If you gain weight, I am certain Black Canary and I can develop more training to lose it again." I laughed at the joke when he added: "I believe running six hours of suicides up and down the mountain should burn off the additional blubber." I knuckled his shoulder again.
"Nonsense," I announced haughtily, "I am quite thin. Put me on a scale, and a feather is more heavy." I stored weight to shoot up several body-lengths. When Kaldur quickly made his first push to follow me, I tapped my iron-mind and dropped on him like a stone.
"Oof!"
We tumbled to an equilibrium less than ten times my height lower in the water, and laughed together.
"To the magic academy?" I suggested. He led the way once more.
"Your experiment was with weight and density," he mused to me. "What question did you wish to ask?"
"Oh! Yes, thank you for remembering. What did you mean water is an element? Like gold and iron and tin, or is it something else? I thought water was a mix of…" and here my Earth-level science skills ran out, "of two ingredients in the air?"
"No, air is… ah! I see where we miscommunicated. Before we," he swept his arms to indicate either Atlantis or Earth in general, "could identify the molecular," I didn't recognize that term but I mouthed it silently and resolved to look it up later, "elements, we believed in the five classical elements. Our system of magic still divides spell craft by the states of being and traits signified by the five classical elements: earth, water, fire, air, and æther."
"What is eather?"
"Æther," he corrected, "is the default form of magic that is less recognizable in our world. It deals with spirit and soul, and the will that shapes the magical energies."
"Spiritual. I see…" I muttered, as comparisons to the spiritual and cognitive realms, and to the forms of Investiture, ran through my head. Then I realized, "I see water, and earth, and ether, but there is no fire or air here."
"There is, but not in their traditional forms," he informed me. Kaldur patted at his chest and then extended an arm. "For fire, there is the warmth in our blood, and the power in our bodies. Electricity and light are often generated, that is, made through our fire spells, and ice can be made by removing the fire and heat from water."
"Ah. Thank you, I see." Idly, without breaking pace as we swam, I fidgeted with storing and tapping heat in my brass-mind. It was the metal-mind I was most skilled with, and easily among my favorites to use. The flushed warmth and chill felt nice.
"Similarly, oxygen is mixed into the water that we breathe," Kaldur continued, "and through clouds and weather air has come to be used for the violent motions of watery tempests. It is also used for water bubbles and barriers in places where we do not wish to be wet, and the spells in your breathing materials are of the air element."
"That makes more sense," I agreed.
Kaldur asked, "Is there a particular way that you divide up your magic? The way you use your metal minds?"
I hesitated. Not only were my instincts telling me not to give away the workings of my Feruchemy, for fear I would be taken advantage of, but I also was not advanced enough to translate the terms well. Additionally, I knew that I could use either or both as an excuse, and Kaldur would accept these matters and drop the line of questioning without any further comments. He was very reserved and diplomatic in that regard.
I knew that it could still be an act – I had even used the same acts in the past and pressured people out of their comfort zone with the "no pressure, I mean it, really," tactics on a smaller scale. All the same, I wanted to trust them all.
I tapped connection from the smaller of my two duralumin-minds.
"We have something called
Realmatic theory," I answered in more fluent Atlantean Greek. "It divides the existence into… well, there are debates whether it is into two, or three, or four separate but overlapping Realms."
"Realms?"
"Planes of existence. Like pieces of paper stacked and held up to the light, each with some parts of a picture drawn to make the whole of creation," I replied quickly. I didn't expect to run out of duralumin, but I was bad at accumulating it and prone to inaccuracy when I tried to measure the size of my stores or how deeply I had exactly tapped.
"And there are disagreements about the number of sheets of paper in the stack? What are the differences?"
"It is a sloppy comparison. If there are two realms, then they are the Physical and Not-Physical. People who argue for three Realms state that there is one
Physical Realm, but divide the other into Spiritual and Mental," '
No, that isn't the right concept translation.' "Sorry, Spiritual and
Cognitive Realms. Three is the most common belief."
"I see. Is it your belief?"
"No, I follow the argument of four Realms, but I don't bother to subdivide the physical. So, it might be better to say that I believe there are three Realms, but the Physical Realm is equal to the combination of the Cognitive and
Spiritual Realms," I clarified. "Some people prefer to argue for a Temporal Realm, instead, but that is based in Allomancy."
"Allomancy?"
"The only other form of magic on Scadrial," I lied, omitting Hemalurgy. I had every reason to believe that Hemalurgy could still function in this universe, and the idea of koloss running around on Earth repulsed and terrified me to almost unspeakable extents, especially considering the large number of criminals and villains who would happily use it. "It is more complicated and different, too much to explain quickly, but part of it lets Mistings see the past and future."
"Divination," Kaldur identified. "It is not usually considered a trustworthy magic among humans, but when prophecies are handed down by the gods they can have greater repercussions." I scowled in distaste.
"Prophecies. I do not trust in prophecies," I all but spat. I would have hoped that my feelings had not insulted his religion, but if he did take umbrage I was fully prepared to argue my points, even though I would not enjoy it. "I have dropped my spell," I added in English, cutting off whatever response he was going to give.
"Ah. Yes. I would ask about what history you have with prophecies, but with the trouble caused for those they spoke of, I agree." My shoulders and jaw relaxed a bit. "Our general theory is to treat prophecies as either warnings, or instructions, rather than absolutes. But, we are at the Conservatory."
"At the Academy? The school?"
"Yes. Conservatory means the same thing."
"Too many words," I lamented yet again, still smiling. It occurred to me that Kaldur had lived here and attended this school in the past, and I saw some people about his age or older. "Do you know anyone here? A favorite teacher?"
"Yes. I have only been Aqualad for moderate time, and living on the surface for even less. I know many of the students and teachers here, especially Queen Mera."
"The Queen is a student here?" I asked, caught off guard. '
Either I misunderstood something, or they teach people much longer than I am used to, or… I do not think the respected Queen would be a child that age married to the adult King.'
"No, no. Queen Mera was a teacher here before she married My King, and she still enjoys teaching classes and seminars. I was privileged to have studied briefly under her with Garth and Tula, my two closest friends, before I became Aqualad. If you are interested," he added astutely, "I had planned to sit in if my Queen was teaching a class, and to introduce you after."
"Please, yes please!" I agreed immediately. '
A respected ruler who actually does a good job, who takes on and fulfills multiple responsibilities, and is also a knowledgeable (probably powerful) magic user? Four dozen times yes!'
Several people greeted Kaldur (and I was reminded that his full name was Kaldur'ahm) as we navigated the halls. This was an old building at the base, with ground-bound architecture, but it became more oceanic, with doors to classrooms in the ceiling, etc., as we progressed further.
An Atlantean student Kaldur seemed to also be good friends with spoke for a while, both to catch up and give directions to the Queen. I listened in with some duralumin-mind connection and extended an arm when we were introduced.
'
I have befriended multiple kandra, despite their dietary habits and actual appearance, and I have spent several days with clans of koloss on three separate occasions,' I reminded myself. '
I will not be so petty as to flinch at a young boy's cheerful touch just because he has tentacles.' I made a particular point to hold on a little longer than was strictly necessary, and to smile with my eyes as well as my mouth; judging from the cheerful babble that Topo erupted in, I had made the right decision.
We had easily five hours before Kaldur and I needed to return to the mountain, so I was perfectly content to stay and indulge his reunion with his friends.
When Topo brought up his recent idea to make something in commemoration of Kaldur's achievements in becoming Aqualad, I jumped in.
"I don't believe I've heard that story. Kaldur, how did you become Aqualad?" I asked intently. '
It's either an impressive story worth hearing, or an embarrassing story worth seeing him squirm over,' I knew.
Kaldur shifted, but before he could fully display either reaction, Topo jumped in.
"Oh, it's a wonderful story!" He spat out something black that I shied back from, wondering if I was supposed to comment on the stain or, like leaking scent, politely ignore it.
Instead, the blackness I would learn was octopus ink resolved itself into clouds of rough outlines.
"On one bitter day," Topo announced in a bard's tone, "our great King Orin, the Aquaman, was in danger. Ocean Master had dispatched his lackey, Black Manta, in an attack on the city of Poseidonis to cover the kidnappings of several citizens. The Aquaman learned of this from his brother, Prince Orm – as the Ocean Master had been seen as he fled like the coward he is – and pursued. But he ordered that his soldiers stay to protect the city from Black Manta's thugs, and thus there was no one to reinforce him when the Ocean Master sprung his trap in a cave system and attacked!"
I winced and reconsidered the so-called wisdom of having a nation's greatest warrior also be their political leader. Even if it was great for morale, and the leader was not a violence-loving muscle head, there was the problem of juggling the military and political battlefields. '
Even the Lord Ruler had his original nine Mistborn to aid him in combat,' I remembered.
"No one," Topo continued, "except for two brave students who had struck out on their own. Garth and Kaldur'ahm had valiantly pursued when they saw the hostages being taken on their way home. They had become caught in the same caves that Ocean Master used to isolate the Aquaman, but the sound of combat caught their attention, and they came upon the brutal fight!"
"We were more lost than valiant, but this is more true than most versions of the story," Kaldur confessed quietly.
Topo carried on: "The Aquaman had been ambushed, and was at the mercy of the foul Ocean Master! But brave Garth and bold Kaldur'ahm saw their liege in dire straights, and with their skills and strength they ambushed the Ocean Master in turn! Forced onto the defensive, he could not hold against the warriors, and the Aquaman recovered his strength and triumphed!
"So impressed was he, that the Aquaman offered to take both warriors as his students. Noble Garth honorably declined, for he felt his place was beneath the ocean's waves. But brave Kaldur'ahm dreamed of the surface world and accepted this offer, taking up the title of Aqualad!" The black cloud finally dissolved, thankfully; its shape had been completely incoherent by the end.
All the same, it was an impressive story of what those with the courage to try could achieve.
I clapped, which had a diluted effect underwater, but got across my message all the same.
"I look forward to seeing what you create from that story," Kaldur assured him. They clasped hands once more. "Now, you said that Queen Mera was speaking in the White Reef Hall?"
"Yeah, she's giving a lecture on… um… I forget, but I think it's the same one from last year that Professor Koire gave that time? But Queen Mera's teaching won't have made half the class fall asleep."
"Thank you, my friend."
"Thank you for the story," I recited with a quick bow before we began to swim away. Topo remembered something else and called after us.
"Oh, Kaldur'ahm! Both Garth and Tula are part of the group that Queen Mera teaches personally now, so don't forget to congratulate them about that too!" Kaldur looked back and nodded before we rounded a corner.
"He was nice," I commented in English.
"Topo," and his name sounded oddly different in English, "is one of the gentlest souls you may ever meet. But few people ever realize that, either because he is shy and runs away, or because they disdain his shape. Thank you for treating him well."
"We live with M'gann, and I have known several kandra," I answered. "I would be a hypocrite to let looks decide me."
It took a few more minutes for us to arrive and find room to float in the back. There were a number of carefully arranged branches and pillars of coral that sprouted into arrangements of desks where students took notes. Each and every one was occupied, with a few hosting two people squished together; some other students floated in the back and took notes beside us.
I almost tapped connection to understand what the speaker (Queen Mera, presumably) was saying about the glowing diagrams on the large wall of glass. Kaldur beat me to it with an explanation that she had finished her lecture and was outlining the practice work assigned in preparation for future classes.
"We will be able to speak with her once the class has been dismissed and the students with questions have dispersed." In lieu of eavesdropping on assignment requirements, I simply spread out my attention and did my best to get a general idea.
'
Intelligent, authoritative, and attractive,' I assessed of the queen. Of course, Atlantean standards of beauty and fashion could be expected to have differences from what I was used to, but by what I generally knew of Earth standards, at this distance she appeared both attractive and impressive. '
I wouldn't have expected that a married woman, to say nothing of a monarch, would wear less than M'gann did on our beach day. No, that's unfair – a swimming suit or similar makes sense under the water, and… yes, it's gauzy, but there is more cloth, or whatever it is there, than it originally appeared.'
It took me a bit longer to realize what had really caught my attention.
'
The queen isn't just slim, or even fit, but actively athletic,' I analyzed. '
Her muscles are toned, her clothes provide free motion, and she moves with smooth confidence and certainty. Now that I look again, that crown looks less decorative and more like a cut-off piece of a helmet. Not just a courtier or a scholar, but she's seen at least some active combat, like the noble house Mistborn who jockeyed for power in Luthadel.'
"Kaldur," I murmured as some of the students began to leave while a few drifted to the front of the class. '
I'm also surprised at how informal they appear to be with her. Certainly they're using deferential body language, but the students are barely bowing to the Queen, much less fully genuflecting.' "Was Queen Mera a warrior?"
"Almost all the students here will be warriors. Not everyone will see live combat, but all Atlantean citizens spend a minimum of two years enrolled in the military, and our military also runs most middle-level educational institutions."
"Middle education?"
"More complicated than the reading and counting young children learn, but less than the specialized branches of scholarship found in universities. Middle and high schools, but not elementary or college." I nodded, mostly getting the gist.
We began to drift toward the front as the Queen turned to the second to last student in line. I tapped connection, aware that my current ring would soon run out and I would need to shift to another soon.
She had just parted from the last student when she saw us. Her face immediately lit up with a genuine smile.
"Kaldur'ahm! It has been too long. What brings you back to our depths?" He offered her a salute, but smiled as well.
"Greetings, my Queen. I am here escorting a comrade, Ferris, who has begun to learn under the Superman in the Justice League. She is also a magic user of an unusual style, with a unique history, and she has previously expressed interest in what I have told her of Atlantis. Ferris, this is Queen Mera."
She offered me a nod, and with my hands on my thighs I bent into a deep bow.
"I greet you, Queen Mera. Your home has been both hospitable and beautiful; I cannot speak my gratitude that I have been allowed the honor of visiting." The queen laughed like a bell.
"Your words warm my heart," she replied. "You speak our language very well, although not with the Themysciran accent I have come to expect. From where, pray tell, do you hail."
"From the Elendel Vale on Scadrial," I answered. I knew it wouldn't actually tell her anything meaningful, but explaining the alternate dimension thing was a bit ridiculous to attempt, and I'd since decided it was simpler to let more eloquent and believable people give the explanation. In this case: Kaldur.
"Ferris comes from another world, my Queen," he interjected. "Not like Mars, but more like the incident with the Justice Lords." Queen Mera snapped her attention fully to me. "Her world is even more foreign, with different continents and gods, and different magic. She expressed some interest in learning about Atlantean magic-,"
"And more importantly," I cut in, because wasting a Queen's time with the bare basics would be insulting, "I especially wanted to know what you might make of my magic, with your different perspective. Not that I usually call it magic. Truth be told," I joked, "compared to the logical function of my Feruchemy, I have spent half my time on Earth terrified of my inability to make sense of the limits and methods of things such as Zeta Tubes, the Superman and the Wonder Woman's ability to fly, and the capabilities of nanotechnology." Queen Mera tilted her head.
"With the exception of Wonder Woman's flight, which I believed had a different source than Superman's, everything you just named is a result of technology," she pointed out.
"As I have told Kid Flash, there is no difference from my point of view." I shrugged. "When we faced a mission to stop a swarm of nanotechnology, from my perspective, it all began when the Doctor used her magic to create a Physical Realm demon capable of destroying things, and in the end she created an array of mystic runes to work a banishing spell that targeted its undefended Cognitive Realm presence to unmake it."
"Ferris is referring to the Doctor writing a virus and downloading it into the nano-swarm," Kaldur added. An odd look was on Queen Mera's face, and I increased by (I guessed) a third again the rate at which I tapped connection.
"I grew up with what you call twelfth-century technology," I complained to Kaldur. "Allow me my foibles. With what you told me about Atlantis and five elements, your magic makes more logical sense to me than the Zeta Tubes."
"Those terms you used – Cognitive Realm and Physical Realm – are those related to your 'Feruchemy's' usage schema?"
I smiled at Queen Mera's astute question. '
As Kid Flash has said: line, hook, and sink her.'
"Yes!" I exclaimed, genuinely excited now that I was getting somewhere. "May I please borrow that?" I asked pointing to the brush in her hand. One end of the rod was blunt and the other was a lump of sponge, which I assumed was how it wrote on the glass. "Thank you very much. Now, the base of our magical belief is Realmatic Theory, which… ah…?"
I poked the glass with the sponge again.
"The sponge end is used to erase, and the blunt end is enchanted to write," Queen Mera informed me kindly. "Also, I believe you meant to use a term like thaumaturgical philosophy. It isn't important, but it will sound more impressive."
"Thank you," I repeated gratefully. I sketched a circle. "Let us say that this circle represents all of creation. Different schools of Realmatic Theory…."
~
I finished the rundown I had practiced on Kaldur rather quickly, diagrams included, and found Queen Mera nodding along thoughtfully. I followed up by explaining the side-by-side overlaps bits by drawing separate lines and curves that I then redrew together as a very rough stick figure.
"So that is Realmatic Theory. I would not say it disagrees with most of the way we organize magic, although it seems rather tangential to our approach," she assessed. "You said you call your style of spell craft Feruchemy? Is that any connection to alchemy?" I chuckled.
"You are not the first to ask me that," she was the third, "but no. The closest is the use of chemically pure metals, but they are storage vessels only. The mana, although our term is Investiture, comes from me."
"Chemically pure metals? Is that why you are wearing so much jewelry? They are enchanted?"
"Yes," I agreed.
"Would you mind if I cast a minor diagnostic spell on them? I would like to try to figure out what they do before you tell me, just to see if I can. It is very rare for me to come across a genuine puzzle in recent years."
"I-…" could not think of how that could go very wrong, as long as it was not my spike, and extended my hands, "-suppose so, if it is just on these ones." I was wearing eight rings and four bracelets, which all were metal-minds with a variety of charges.
"Of course," she acceded. She placed her hands over mine, not quite touching, and light gathered as she chanted a series of syllables. The glow remained for a few minutes, and I had the odd experience of feeling my stores ripple like water, though they did not change in size or nature. "I see."
I said nothing, wondering what she had understood. I had read enough fantasy – mostly borrowed from Wally – to imagine several ways her magic might have worked, but I really had no idea about the function of actual magic.
Queen Mera thought carefully, and then she spoke.
"Your pieces are all made of a single type of metal, some of which are pure, and some of which are alloys. The steel rings, as well as the zinc bracelet and ring, contained mana of the same types, so the nature of the spell depends on the store.
"The mana was malleable, rather than rigid or incremental, so you should be able to control the rate at which you store and withdraw the energy. It was gathered like a pool, but with almost a twisted and coiled nature to its history? I am less than certain, but I theorize that you do not build up a large store of energy and deposit it at once, and instead pour in a steady flow over a large amount of time.
By this point, I was both no longer certain that she remembered I was present, and too enthralled in her words to care.
"Following your Realmatic Theory, certain types are designed to affect one realm or another specifically, but still with overlap. Iron very heavily affects the Physical Realm, while steel has slightly greater overlap into the Cognitive… is that because it is an alloy, or am I seeing causation where there is only correlation? No way to tell yet," she mused. "Zinc is cognitive while brass is… physical? But bronze is cognitive with a touch of physical, while tin is physical with some cognitive…"
I almost flinched when I practically felt her mental carriage veer off in the wrong direction, misled perhaps because I wasn't wearing any copper. All the same, she was drawing what felt to me like frighteningly accurate assumptions with little and somewhat misleading data. I'd never bothered to put into words some of things that I was hearing, although none of it was new to me either. Yet. I felt that given more time and guidance, she might begin to understand my Feruchemy better than I did.
'
I've shaped quite a fright, alright.' I shook my head. '
Well, now I really hope that I'm not about to run into an evil hero secret conspiracy, or else being "circled by the steel ravens" will be an understatement. I will need to step up my experiments and practices if I don't want to be outstripped in my own specialty.'
"I still don't have enough data to be certain of anything," she eventually concluded, getting out of the trees and onto the path. "Still… ah-hah! Efficiency! Each type of metal is practically a different spell, so you have varying levels of skill and efficiency with them. Jewelry means that you require bodily contact to use them, and… Regarding the vessels, the mana is evenly distributed through the entire body metal. Breaking it would divide the mana in the same pieces, but not disperse it.
"Each piece is coded to you specifically. I couldn't do much of anything to affect or use the mana itself, and I doubt anyone else with Feruchemy could use them either, no?" She looked up, and my face must have been a sight, because the Queen burst into laughter. "We-hehehe-ell? Sorry about that magic-babble, dear; I haven't done that since… not since I got a look at Orin's anniversary present, the year before last," she reminisced. The Queen sighed and returned to the matter at hand. "Well, Ferris? How much of that was wrong?"
"Very little. I once more find an example of why the people on Earth are very, very scary," I told her seriously. Her mind would be a threat in an enemy, but more importantly, it was a challenge that I nearly ached to meet. "You were right about most of the Realmatic effects of the metal minds, and confused due to my dislike for copper as well as a celestial joke," I continued. Then I turned, sketched out the
Metallic Wheel, and added the names of the sixteen metals (the Green Lantern knew them all anyway) in Atlantean Greek, which was an odd experience to read and write so naturally.
"Four realms, each with four metals," Queen Mera recognized.
"Yes," I agreed. "The details of each metal-mind differ a little depending on the specific trait it holds, but overall you were much more right than wrong about the realms, the ways I store, my ability to accumulate when I tap, and the way that each is locked to me personally. Shall I start with iron?"
"Start wherever you desire. I haven't been this excited… no, no, I was far more excited just two weeks ago, but this is the
second most excited I have been in years," she chuckled throatily.
"Very well. The first four physical metals are iron, steel, tin, and pewter. Iron is, largely, the most physical metal, and I did an experiment to learn about it with Kaldur less than an hour ago. I use my iron-minds to store weight."
"Weight? How? Does it make you more susceptible to gravity?"
"Technically, no," I allowed, and I stored iron, shooting up to the ceiling. Then I tapped it, plummeting back down. I released the iron-mind a little too early, but I still floated down just enough with the added weight of my additional metal-minds. '
If anyone asks, I will pretend I planned it that perfectly.' "I use iron to store density. If I am half my weight for one hour, I can be half again my weight for a later hour. Or double my weight for half an hour. Or double that for half that time."
"And density can make you more or less buoyant in the water," she realized. I nodded enthusiastically and turned to begin sketching a graph to illustrate storing varying amounts of weight over an hour, and then dividing up the areas to show how I could accumulate it for later, more intensive use.
"Kaldur'ahm," I heard the Queen say as she swam up beside me with a second wand, "I would usually meet Garth and Tula for a combined lesson in half an hour on the roof. Please find them and bring them here, instead."
"Yes, my Queen," he answered as I began outlining my area measurements. Queen Mera began writing down a formula as she asked a question about my absolute versus relative storage rates: e.g., if I weighed 100 units of weight and stored half of it for an hour, then if I gained twenty units and tapped that 50% for an hour, would I spend the hour at 150% of a) my weight at storage, or b) my weight at the time of tapping.
"I would gain half of my weight at storage added on to my weight at the time of tapping, so I would spend one hour with a weight of one-hundred seventy units," I clarified, and I sighed in satisfaction. "Like with what you said about different spells, I am only mediocre at using iron-minds, but it tends to be my default for general calculations because it is so easy to measure it and divide it into units, as opposed to speed, or strength, or determination."
Then the moment was gone, and we were once more on a race of magical babble, formulae, and glowing sketches.
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AN: I'd originally though of having actual diagrams to go with some of Renka's talks. Give me a few days to work out the kinks in my computer graphic skills and I might.
If anyone has any advice, I'm horrible at computer graphics.
