The Revelation of the Vine: Graft

Chapter 30: The Crown Restored and The Third Step

   A soft hum of machinery began to resonate from deep within the peak of the mountain. I had been worried that the sun flare or the false tear may have affected the Crown's electrical systems, but I suddenly remembered overhearing some of the sages talking about an ion shield provided by magnetic forces in the mountain. The generator inside the mountain was coming to life, as emergency lights began to pop on throughout the courtyards and rooms and towers of the Crown. One by one the Knights swooshed through the hatch, and the new ones greeted the interior of the Crown with bewildered amazement. It was a completely different world on the inside. "Sub-systems re-initialized, Captain; commencing re-initialization of secondary defense systems, now," Sophia informed me, sending a murmur through the rookies. "Who the shadow is that," Tenbu asked, looking around the courtyard. "Relax, Tenbu," Jurgen said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That's just Sophia, the Crown's Super-computer." A sudden zapping sound began to pop around us as small balls of electricity formed on the outer edge of the towers. They pulsed with energy, swirling like atoms, and popping and zapping with short, horizontal arms of lightning. They grew longer and stretched across the gap between the towers, until they began to zap the ends of each other. Then they connected and formed horizontal bolts that rose up the towers like arcs. As the bolts began to rise faster and faster, zapping and popping up the towers, they began to widen into long sheets of energy until there was a thin, effervescent wall of electricity between each tower. Then the electricity began to zap over the top of the Crown until it formed a single sheet of electricity around the outer wall and over the peak of the mountain like a dome. "Secondary defense systems activated, Captain, Omni-shield energizing; re-initializing primary life-support systems, now." Sophia said, disappearing with her usual buzz, as the soft hum of the electric dome lingered in the background. Sudden flashes of soft white light began to fill the Crown, and soft currents of air began to flow through grates in the bottom corners of certain walls as the life-support systems powered on. When the Crown had become fully illuminated, and was shining like a star in the north, the rookies began to wander around the courtyard, looking at the advanced construction of the Crown. "This is amazing, guys." Teion said, running his fingers along the smooth Paladnium panels of the outer wall. Long strips of soft, white light ran along the tops and bottoms of each floor, illuminating the Crowns interior. The walls of the courtyards were 3 stories tall, with a catwalk on the second floor that widened into awnings as it passed over small porches on the ground floor. Sturdy, Paladnium-plated pillars supported the outward corners of the awnings, and the porches were filled with small tables, chairs, benches, and a few earthen pots filled with the remains of once-lively plants. The towers climbed another 3 stories above the walls, like the points on a crown. Thin-arched windows decked the ice-rock walls that circled around the framework. "Molecular hardening completed," Sophia's voice informed, as the electric barriers around the Crown fizzled out, leaving behind a transparent dome of hardened particles that flashed with colors when looked at from different angles. "The Omni-shield is now operating at full capacity. It will need to be recharged in approximately 13 days 23 hours and 59 minutes. Full functionality of the Crown's necessary systems has been restored. Please notify maintenance personnel that I am currently unable to monitor the system automatically." "Thank you, Sophia," I said. "It is my honor, Captain Virgil, have a pleasant day." Her voice cut out in the usual way. She had no idea how pleasant or unpleasant any day could be, and yet she said it all the time. Sophia was the Crown's voice-operated mainframe. She once performed most of the essential functions to keep the Crown up and running, but she was still unable to water the plants. I couldn't believe that she had been deactivated for only 17 hours. The Sages and the others might have left through the mountain tunnels around the Dale after the tear fell. "So what's the deal," Jurgen said, "Did Sophi give you any info on the disappearing act everyone pulled?" "Nothing," I said, shaking my head, "Someone deleted the status reports and shut her down. 17 hours ago. I'm thinking they left through the tunnels after the fake tear fell yesterday morning." "But who could have done that, and why," He inquired, "Only you and the High Sage have that much authority over the Crown, other than the . . ." He didn't finish, his eyes just went wide, and his mouth hung open. "Founders," I said, finishing the thought we both seemed to grasp at the same time. "But how could one of them do this," He frowned, letting his eyes shrink back to normal and droop down. "We don't know anything for sure," I said, "I mean how could a Founder from Veil just come back and take everyone away, right?" A sick feeling hit my stomach as I thought of my own answers to that question. If Veil was more advanced than Old Atmos now that they'd been researching Corruption, and were capable of Breaching the Veil at will, who knew what they were capable of. "We've only got a few hours before the next tear anyway," He said, shaking off the weight, "Our best chance of survival is in here, under the shield." "Let's split up and look around a bit, maybe we can find something," I said, looking around at the strangely empty courtyard, as the seeds milled about, taking it all in. "Keep your eyes peeled for anything strange," I yelled across the courtyard, then had the thought that they might think everything up here was a little strange. Even after 700 years things still felt a little odd, especially after returning from trips outside. I walked south through the courtyard along the metal floor that had some panels with raised traction grips, and others with thin grates to drain the water that was forming from the melting frost. My footsteps echoed underneath, as the water trickled through the drainage layer and produced a serene ambiance. "Third ste---ep," Kivan's twisted, sing-song voice almost made me jump, and my heart skipped a beat; then the pain in my side began to flare, as he broke through the silence of my thoughts, "Captain Sha-dow." I looked around wondering if anyone else heard him, but everyone just continued searching, completely unaware of my hallucination. Everyone suddenly looked far away for a few seconds, like the world stretched forward, and then it all sprang back. A circular wave rippled in my vision from the center. A black hole appeared within. I felt myself get drawn in as it grew larger and swallowed me in darkness.