Millennial Mage

Tala and Rane entered the Constructionsts’ Guild with quite a bit of fanfare.

Well, to be fair, the fanfare was on the part of the attendants.

As soon as the magical detectors announced the presence of two Refined, they were swarmed with Archons offering them refreshments of various kinds as well as seeking to discern why they had come.

One sharp-eyed young woman even brought a small tray of treats for Terry. The avian, of course, ate them happily before returning to Tala’s shoulder, where he trilled loudly, causing everyone to freeze momentarily in startlement.

Into that silence, Tala spoke. “Thank you, Terry. Thank you all as well. We are looking for a consultation on dimensional storages.”

One of the attendants bowed, taking the lead. “Are you seeking an expert on soulbound or unbound storages?”

Tala let out a relieved breath at having such a clear path forward and smiled. “Soulbound, please.”

That caused most of the attendants to disperse as they weren’t able to offer assistance. Though, they did give appropriate bows and departing words.

Only a young looking man—who probably was many decades older than either Tala or Rane—remained, gesturing for them to follow him. “This way, Defenders. Master Torralos should be available for a consultation.”

You know, I don’t think we’ve come to a Constructionist Guild since we consolidated our threefold sight.

-No, I don’t think so.-

Interesting.

The attendant led them rather deep into the compound before opening a heavy door and leading them inside.

Within, a surprisingly tall, thin man was working across several surfaces, magical projections highlighting various parts with notes scribbled around the illusory version of the objects above the tables.

Most seemed—as was reasonable—to be relating to dimensional storages directly or indirectly. A lot seemed to have incomplete notes as made sense for items undergoing research, but Tala only caught a passing glance.

The man turned their way when they came in and smiled, placing what he’d been working on to the side. “Ahh! Auspicious guests indeed.”

He walked over before bowing to each in turn.

“I am, of course, Torralos. Do my eyes deceive me, or are you Mistress Tala and Master Rane?”

Rane and Tala exchanged a look before Tala shrugged and turned back to the Constructionist. “We are, yes. Do you know us, somehow?”

“Of course! I have quite enjoyed watching your battles.” He said this to Tala, directly before turning to Rane. “Your singular fight was quite interesting as well. Though, I will admit, I had thought Mistress Tala would be the Defender to fight when her unit’s section was attacked.” He laughed jovially. “That serves me right for not paying attention to the latest unit rosters!”

The attendant bowed, drawing the man’s attention. “Master Torralos, can I do anything further to assist?”

“No, thank you, Master Atdane.”

Master Atdane bowed toward Tala and Rane before departing. “Best of luck to you two.”

When the door swung shut again, Master Torralos clasped his hands. “Now, I assume that you’re here about dimensional storages?”

“Yes.” Tala frowned. “You know that because it’s your specialty?”

He beamed in return. “But of course! At my level of specialization, the only other reason you’d be here is some sort of mixup, and Master Atdane isn’t one to make such an error.”

Tala shrugged again. “Well then, let’s get to it.”

She and Rane briefly outlined a bit about themselves along with what they were thinking and the issues that they were facing.

Master Torralos listened attentively, then shook his head. “I trust you did not convey this to Master Atdane?”

Tala frowned, checking the time. It had taken them nearly half an hour to lay out all the specifics and answer follow-up questions. “No. So… you can’t help us? There was a mistake?”

“You? No. There was no mistake, even if I’m not really necessary. That said, I won’t allow you to do anything so foolish as bonding another dimensional storage.” He then looked at Rane. “As for you, Master Rane, you could bond with your dimensional storage, but nothing that you expressed makes me think that is necessary, nor even a good idea.”

Rane tilted his head to one side. “Can you explain?”

The man was clearly happy to talk on the topic. “Of course! One of the things I am asked most often—and honestly what I thought you two were coming to ask—was how to merge two already soulbound storages, once a marriage has taken place.”

Tala flushed, and Rane cleared his throat, slightly stammering. “We’re… we’re not married.”

Master Torralos looked at Rane like he was an idiot. “Of course not, Master Rane. Am I a mageling to have been unable to see that you are unbound? Even so, only a fool waits until the bond is struck to sort out such important details. Indeed, the meshing of storages is a delicate art, which requires great expense, time, and attention.”

“But—?” Tala started.

He cut her off. “But you are in an enviable position.” He pointed at Rane. “You don’t need a soulbound storage at the moment, so the one you currently have will do. Honestly, you are in quite a good position, being so young and so advanced.” He then pointed to Tala. “You need a bifurcated storage, which is one of the most popular solutions for dimensional storage between spouses, even if that is not why you need it at the moment.”

“What is a bifurcated storage?”

“Well, a dimensional storage can be seen as conceptual space, held together by a magical mind which is constantly aware of everything within it, thus maintaining the existence of all that it contains.”

Tala gaped slightly. “What?”

He waved her off. “The overarching premise is in the same vein as one saying that Zeme is a conceptual space collectively held together by the beings that live here—big and small—and if all were to die or depart it would cease to be.”

Rane grunted. “The observer postulation?”

“Precisely!” he thumbed at Rane while speaking to Tala, “We have a scholar here. That’s good, as those without that inclination become boring over the long span of years.”

Tala sighed, choosing to ignore most of the man’s ramblings. “What is the observer postulation?”

Rane was the one who answered. “It’s what he just said. It’s a theory that without someone or something to observe existence, it wouldn’t… exist.”

Master Torralos nodded once, but then waved the idea away. “But we aren’t here to discuss philosophy. The idea—as it applies in the case of a bifurcated space—is that the human mind, however advanced, generally can only be the sole observer of one space. You need another mind to maintain a separate space. So, what you need is to either get inscriptions that allow you to have a secondary mind—”

-Well, isn’t that just convenient. I wonder what I can get you to give me for this great service I am about to provide.-

“—or you can bind a sentience to your storage, allowing you to create a secondary space that is effectively the same storage but with a separate entrance.”

He must have seen Tala’s eyes brighten with something because he held up a finger, cutting her off before she could even start to ask something.

“I will warn you that once you open a secondary entrance you cannot transfer anything directly from one section to the other except by bringing the entrances near to one another. This does not allow for dimensional tunneling, nor does it allow for the bending—let alone breaking—of the various restrictions known on expanded spaces.”

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Tala felt a bit of disappointment at that, but it was alright. There was a lot to unpack in what he had said, and it took Tala a moment to pull her mind in order and create her followup question. “So… what does this have to do with couples?”

Her taking the time didn’t actually ensure that it was a particularly good question, unfortunately. Master Torralos looked confused. “Well, the couple each have their own mind… so…?”

Oh. Tala nodded. “Right. So, with more than one mind, how do I create a… secondary… space…”

She trailed off, considering.

Wait, I’ve already done that.

Master Torralos grinned. “I’m assuming that you’ve realized that you’ve already done that at some point in the past? I would normally be surprised, but from how you described your storage, it is highly morphic and under the influence of your will. This is one reason why I began our discussion saying that you don’t really need my help.”

“I have created a secondary space, yes.” She had done it to quarantine—and subsequently destroy—the world-ending ice that she’d accidentally created.

“Good. Doing such a dimensional division doesn’t require an extra mind, though. No, it is the opening of a secondary entrance into that segmented space—while there exists one into the primary area—that will require a separate mind. On the positive side, this isn’t something that you can fail at. It will either work, or it will not.” He chuckled. “In fact, it is one of the advantages those with familiars have over those without. They can have a completely separate storage space with ease.”

Terry perked up at that, lifting his head and looking around.

Tala chuckled. “Do you hear that, Terry? If you and I bond, I can have another, separate space.”

Master Torralos cleared his throat. “Well, in the case of a familiar such as him, he would get a storage that you could size for him initially but would ultimately be under his control to access. With his agreement, it could be used just like any other storage for you, but while it existed, the mind the storage partition is founded upon would have precedence.” He then examined Terry a bit more closely. “You are a fascinating creature. It’s really too bad that I’ve never been much for animals.”

The man shrugged and turned back toward Rane.

Tala instantly liked the man a bit less, but she tried not to judge him too harshly. He’d been incredibly helpful, after all.

Terry didn’t seem to care as he tucked back in and closed his eyes once more.

She frowned then. “But, wait… what is it that you do, usually? For couples I mean. They both have minds, so they can just divide the space, right?”

“As I said at the beginning, what I generally do is help merge two existing soulbound storages, but in the case of there only being one, you are right. If it’s morphic enough, and unmoored, yes, I am unneeded except as an advisor. Generally, though, one or both of those aspects is missing, and so I facilitate the segmentation, and—in the case of moored storages—I bind a secondary physical object to the segmentation to facilitate access.”

“Right. That makes sense.” She smiled, considering. After a moment, she shrugged and cleared her throat. “Well, I think that’s actually all we need for the moment.”

Master Torralos looked confused for a brief instant, but then he smiled and nodded. “Ahh, right, you likely want to get to it. I had gotten a bit caught up in our chat, I suppose.” Master Torralos nodded to himself. “You mentioned that your storage had some innate sapience, correct? That should work beautifully. Yes, yes. It could work quite well. Being bound to you and not a true creature, it should act just like the main partition for you. Oh!” He held up his finger. “I almost forgot. It is generally accepted that some of the available dimensionality is taken up to facilitate the partitions. This means that the volume of the two will add up to slightly less than had been available within the single space. Additionally, the separate partitions should—under no circumstances—be taken too far from one another. They are still the same item, even if used distinctly.”

“Thank you, Master Torralos. What is the distance that they can be separated by?”

The man went to the bookshelf, grabbed a specific tome, and flipped through it, quickly finding what he wanted. “Here it is. ‘The distance that one part of the bifurcated storage can safely move away from any other part is proportional to the volume.’”

Tala frowned. That was… confusingly worded to say the least. “So… the larger my storage overall, the farther I can take the pieces from one another?”

“Yes, and it is irrespective of the shape of the storage. The only thing that factors in the safe distance between the sections is the volume.”

“Ahh, I think I understand. Thank you.”

“But of course!”

“Will there be a warning, or a sense of danger, or will they just break?”

“As they are soulbound to you, you should feel the strain as you approach the limits. Be watchful for that feeling—and listen to it—and you should be fine.”

“Well, thank you once again, Master Torralos.”

“I am happy to assist. If you ever have any other questions, please let me know. I do so love the topic. I would also happily give an on site consultation, should you ever desire. Good day to you both.”

They all exchanged bows, and Tala and Rane departed, heading for the wall on which Kit was to rest for the remainder of the day.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the area in which Kit’s dimensionality held sway stoneward of the superficial.

With a thought, Tala took both herself and Rane into her sanctum, bypassing the physical entry, as that was only required for those without deeper access.

Indeed, it had been a major boon when they’d figured out how to have Master Simon, Mistress Petra, Adrill, Brandon, and Kedva be able to enter and leave with a request to Kit, just as they’d been able to move around within the dimensional storage for some time, now.

Regardless, Tala arrived within and used the internal communication construct to flag down her assistants.

Master Simon asked her to lower the magic density where she was, and she did so with a thought.

Soon thereafter, the three men showed up, along with a couple other newer faces.

Ahh, so these gateless are why he wanted the power density lowered. No need to give them a rebirth by accident.

Master Simon quickly explained when Tala cocked an eyebrow, “They are learning the ropes in the hopes of joining our various research efforts.”

Tala considered for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure, I suppose that makes sense.”

She and Rane then explained their intentions.

“Ahh, that does make sense.” Master Simon smiled. “I apologize, but honestly, I can’t say that I’ve ever come across such a utilization of dimensional storages. Maybe it’s something only supportable by Refined, or I simply didn’t ask the right people or the right questions.”

“Completely understandable, Master Simon. No one can be an expert in all fields, nor think of all options. That is why working together is useful.”

He smiled and bowed. “Thank you, Mistress Tala. If I am recalling correctly—with regard to bifurcated storages—there is some inherent stress to be taken into account, but that shouldn’t factor here.”

When Tala frowned, the man explained further.

“There is an active strain upon the soul and mind which doesn’t exist for purely separate storages… At least that is my understanding. If the Constructionist didn’t mention it, it is possible that this is another area in which Refined simply bypass the difficulty.”

She found herself nodding. “Such as a soulbound Archive link and sub-mind.”

He smiled. “Quite like that, yes.”

“Alright, let’s see what we can do.”

It was trivial for her to separate her sanctum from Irondale, given they were already all but separate, only connected by a long thin bit of dimensionality.

She moved that space over to Irondale, only leaving a bit of extended volume for easy reconnection if she ever so desired.

Then—with everyone present monitoring the situation with all their various means—Tala willed for a doorway to appear leading out of her sanctum.

The gate in and out of Irondale remained. So, Tala—honestly—thought adding the secondary door would be difficult.

It wasn’t.

A door opened before her, leading out onto the alley beside Artia’s shop.

She felt an odd pulling at her mind, as if she was now even more aware of everything within her sanctum than she had been before, but in an odd, disconnected sense that was difficult to quantify.

She could still feel Kit’s influence, it wasn’t as if she’d cut the voidling off from a part of herself, but Tala still felt like something of the burden of the dimensional storage had shifted from Kit to herself and Alat.

Interesting, so we couldn’t do it again, as we’re considered the same mind?

-Sadly, it seems like not. We likely aren’t split enough. I’m sort of layered overtop of your thoughts rather than entirely separate from them.-

At the same time as the shift in mental load, Tala felt a… closing off? Something like that.

She knew that it was no longer a matter of strength, and she simply would be unable to move directly into Irondale. Though, she could still will things within Irondale to move around within that partition.

Given that her sanctum was still within the dimensional sway of Irondale, Tala could will herself out of her sanctum and then back into Irondale, but there was what amounted to a conceptual block, preventing her from going directly from one to the other.

“Fascinating,” it was Brandon who spoke first. “I cannot move to Irondale, but it doesn’t feel like I’m being blocked, simply that I can’t.”

Master Simon nodded. “Before, it was like taking a step, easy, unobstructed. Now, I’m on the edge of a cliff, so where I wish to step simply isn’t there.” He frowned. “But without the danger that seems to imply.”

There was a lot more back and forth, and the three senior researchers spoke at length with their tag-alongs, explaining the various readings and fluctuations measured and what those could possibly mean.

-Tag-alongs? They have names.-

And if Brandon, Master Simon, or Adrill find them worthy, I will happily learn them.

Alat huffed a laugh but didn’t disagree.

Terry had stood up, stretching and looking about now that things had calmed down a bit.

Then, Tala felt him flicker, barely touching Alefast before appearing in Irondale—off in the wilderness away from anyone else. Then, he flickered back, once more barely brushing Alefast before returning to her shoulder.

Tala grinned. “That’s right, so long as the two are overlapping, it is effectively the same, but we are going to be moving beyond that range, that’s one of the points of this split.”

Rane stepped up beside her. “So… do you want to go for a run to test out the displacement limits between the two?”

She turned to look his way, a smile pulling at her lips. She felt a little playful, and so she decided to tease him just a bit, “Why, Master Rane, that is an absolutely lovely idea.”

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