Chasing the Cure and Other Stories

The Portal on Mount Ophelai

The portal had been in my sight for the past few hours. Perched atop Mount Ophelai, it was a good fraction of the mountain's height. The titanic archway stretched towards our purple-red sky, a contrast with the simple blue of the world it bore passage to. The two moons hung above the arch in their slow dance, while the single star on the other side lit up the snow cap that stood where Ophelai Peak should have been. I found a tree stump to rest my legs, but not for long. If there was still time to catch up to Silas, I couldn't waste it on sightseeing.

***

"It's utter blasphemy!"

The Great Sage was not one to mince words, and he didn't pull punches when I explained the design.

"But Sire! Metals are made from ores mined from the ground. It has every bit of Gaia in them."

The Great Sage held out a hand to shut me up.

"The so-called 'refining' process makes them perversions of the true Form, and that is why we restrict their use. You are permitted to study them because your father is some big minister, but now you say you want to make them available to the hoi polloi?"

"It will improve lives, Sire!"

"It will upset the balance of Gaia, that's what it'll do. No more!"

***

I was about to resume my journey when I saw something above the snowy peak. I hurriedly pulled out my looking glass and managed to catch it before it flew out of the field of vision. It was a cylinder with a round nose. Attached to it were wings that did not beat and what appeared to be a tail fin. Under the wings were large tubes that tapered off towards what I presumed was its rear end. I managed to catch a glimpse of a shine as the other world's star reflected off it. I had no doubt; that thing was made of metal.

What sort of will is needed to pull that off?

***

I had returned home that day to see Silas leaning against the wall, tears in his eyes. I had feared the worse and it looked like my fears had been justified.

"Why did I get expelled, Father?"

The Academy had decided that I was to do the explaining, another example of them blurring the lines between cruelty and compassion.

"I've been stripped of my rank, Son. I'm sorry."

Silas' face was a mix of disappointment and rage. His tears were now past his cheeks, his eyes bloodshot.

"You made that infernal engine behind their backs, didn't you?"

I could only muster a nod. I had been confident that no one would find my little steam engine. I had not expected the Grand Duke to pay a surprise visit as I was calibrating the piston.

"How will I get to study the portal now?!"

His voice was a scream tempered only by the choke of his sobs.

"You're always like that! You have these lofty ideas, these lofty goals. Well, I have them too, you know! I want to know who built the portal and what it's like in that other world. Now it's all dashed because you just had to spread your gospel on metals. Have you ever spared a thought for me?"

I had not planned on chastising him, but I could not stand that he was at this moment, nothing more than a petulant child.

"What good is the portal?! It just sits there, showing a world we do not care about and does not care about us. Knowing more about it will not stop plagues and famine. Metals, on the other hand, have the power to change lives!"

I'm not sure if what I said was a mistake. All I knew was that Silas would not take any more of my self-righteousness. We never spoke after that. The next morning, he had vanished, taking some clothes and scrolls with him.

***

The half day trek to the portal's entrance was made harder by the thinning air and the strengthening winds. I was protected by the heavy fur coat I had bartered from other travelers, but the sting on my eyes made it impossible to look for signs of Silas. I wasn't putting much hope on that anyway, Silas was the type to fasten everything to his person. Perhaps there would be footprints that I recognize, but the wind pretty much denied that possibility.

The portal only looked more intimidating up close, and breathing had become laborious. There was a clear border between soil and snow, the point of no return. I looked frantically about the whiteness, up the snowy peak and off into the distant valley. Nothing.

Nothing except for a small craft flying along the valley. I took out my looking glass again. It was different from the one I saw before. This had a large blurry disk on top of it, and it looked like a fish with a long tail. A smaller disk was attached to its end. Just like the winged craft, it gave off a luster that identified it as made of metal. I stared a little harder. Those weren't disks; they were blades rotating at speeds I could never have imagined.

I could not be sure if Silas had stepped through the portal, but I had seen two things that isn't possible in our world. My will had cost me my job and had driven Silas away, but in that world, my will could have made metals fly. Maybe it's the oxygen deprivation, but I believe that deep down, Silas is a lot like me. We both desire a world where will is all we need. It is all we have left.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped onto the snow.