The fire crackled between them, sending a shower of golden sparks into the night.
Zhu sat cross-legged on a fallen log, turning a roasted mushroom between her fingers. Across from her, Herkid poked lazily at the embers with a stick, seemingly more interested in arranging firewood than eating his share of dinner. Mara sat beside Zhu, quietly chewing on a piece of roasted meat.
A short distance away, Feral rested on a sleeping mat. Though his eyes were closed, a faint smile played on his lips. After Zhu had cried her heart out in his arms, she had suddenly turned awkward—as if only then realizing whose chest she'd been sobbing against. Muttering a sudden complaint about an empty belly, she had hastily pulled away to grab something from the food basket.
Knowing she was embarrassed, Feral let her have her space. He remembered when she had broken down in the forest after falling from the cliff; back then, he would have given anything to hold and comfort her. Now that he finally could, he had no intention of rushing her. He would simply support her quietly as she needed it.
Still, the way Feral seemed to glow faintly whenever the firelight touched his skin only added to Zhu's embarrassment. She stole a glance at him, then quickly looked back at Herkid.
"Can I ask you something?"
Herkid looked up. "You can ask me anything."
"That's a dangerous promise."
Mara snorted.
Herkid gave Zhu a suspicious look. "Why do I feel like you're about to give me a headache?"
Zhu feigned a hurt expression. "But I'm such a delightful child!" She pressed a hand to her chest, putting heavy emphasis on child. "How could I give you a headache?"
Mara broke into a startled laugh. "She's right, Herkid. Zhu is absolute delight."
Herkid smiled ruefully and rolled his eyes. "Right, right. My mistake. Ask your question!"
Zhu grinned and leaned forward. "How big is this world?"
Herkid stared at her. Mara stopped chewing. A short distance away, even Feral's ears perked up.
"What?" Zhu asked. "It's a reasonable question."
"It is," Herkid agreed slowly. "I'm just wondering why you've suddenly decided to ask me that."
"Because every time I learn something new, I discover there's something else I don't understand." She gestured vaguely toward the darkness beyond their camp. "We have Hollowveil, the towns beyond the forest, corrupted monsters, mana cores... The only thing I truly understand is that I don't know where it ends."
Herkid looked at her for a moment before laughing. "All right. Let's see if I can explain it so the world doesn't seem so big and unknown."
He shifted forward, picked up a longer stick, and cleared a patch of dirt beside the fire. "First, forget everything you think you know about the world for a moment. Imagine that you're looking at a map from very high above."
He drew a large circle. "This represents the world we live in. It's divided into enormous landmasses called continents. Each continent contains many regions, cities, towns, villages, and wilderness areas." He drew several smaller shapes inside the circle. "Some places are densely populated and highly developed. Others are almost empty. And some places are so dangerous that ordinary people would never willingly live there."
Zhu nodded. "Like hollow forests."
"Exactly." He drew a crooked line around one of the smaller shapes. "But here's where things become interesting. The world isn't governed as simply as a collection of cities with one king sitting above all of them. We have several overlapping systems of authority."
Zhu frowned. "Overlapping?"
"Yes. And that's where people usually get confused." He tapped the dirt with his stick. "Let me start at the top."
"The Central Continent is where the world's most important political institutions are located," Herkid explained, "and on that continent stands Aetherion, the central capital."
Zhu repeated the name carefully. "Aetherion."
"That's right. It's an enormous city, far beyond anything you'll find in Greenveil. Its towers reach into the sky, its buildings are powered by massive mana reactors, and its transport systems carry people across distances that would take ordinary travelers weeks to cover."
"Wait." Zhu held up a hand. "Buildings powered by mana? I thought people used mana to activate their abilities."
"They do. But mana isn't limited to personal abilities. It can also be collected, stored, converted, and distributed to power machines." Herkid drew a small circle and placed a dot inside it. "Think of a mana reactor as a giant energy source. Instead of relying on people to power every device individually, the city draws energy from enormous crystalline cores connected to leylines or supplied with condensed ambient mana."
Zhu's eyes widened. "So the whole city runs on mana?"
"Most of its advanced infrastructure does. Buildings regulate their temperature, adjust their lighting, and even repair certain kinds of damage using embedded runes. Some districts feature floating structures, automated transport, and architecture that responds to mana-linked commands."
Zhu looked down at her mushroom. "And here I am, sitting beside a fire."
"There's nothing wrong with a fire," Mara remarked.
"I know. I'm just imagining a building that fixes itself. Do you know how many things I could stop worrying about?"
"That depends," Herkid said. "If the building runs out of energy, or the runes sustaining it are damaged, you'll still have problems."
Zhu sighed dramatically. "Of course there's a catch."
"There is always a catch." Feral's petals rippled gently. Even a magnificent structure cannot maintain itself without a source of energy, he communicated through their shared connection.
Zhu glanced at the man. "Thank you, Feral. That was very helpful."
Faral tilted his head slightly. You're welcome.
Mara laughed, and even Herkid's shoulders shook. It's been a while since they communicated in this way.
"Now," Herkid continued, "Aetherion is also where Terra operates."
Zhu's attention returned to him. "Terra. That's the AI you mentioned before?"
"Yes. Terra is the intelligence responsible for monitoring the world's mana screens. It collects information from connected monitoring systems, analyzes changes in mana conditions, and alerts the appropriate authorities when something unusual happens."
"Does it watch everyone?"
"Not necessarily. It monitors what its systems can observe. Some places have excellent coverage, while others have poor connections, outdated equipment, or no reliable monitoring at all."
"So if something happens in a remote village, Terra might not know?"
"It might know that something has happened without knowing exactly what caused it. Or it might not receive the information at all."
Zhu considered that. "So it's powerful, but it isn't all-knowing."
"Precisely."
"Observation is not the same as understanding." Faral added.
Herkid pointed at the younger looking man. "That is a surprisingly good way to put it."
I have been known to say intelligent things. Faral acknowledge the compliment with a slight tilt of his lips.
"Occasionally," Zhu muttered.
Shaking his head, Herkid returned to his drawing. "Now, Aetherion is where the Council of Royal Elders meets. There are seven positions on the council, and they are among the most powerful political offices in the world."
"Seven?" Zhu asked. "Why only seven?"
"Because I think in honor of the old world there were seven continents. There are many Arc cities and many royal families, but only seven seats."
"So how do they decide who gets them?"
"Royal candidates compete through a process called the Sevenfold Ascendancy." Herkid drew seven little circles in a row. "First, eligible royal houses nominate candidates. Those candidates are assessed on their records, abilities, and suitability to govern, facing trials of judgment, practical leadership, and demonstrations of mana control. Finally, the qualified candidates compete in a formal vote."
"Meaning a powerful royal can still lose?"
"Of course. Strength helps, but it isn't everything. A candidate might be powerful and still be a terrible leader."
Mara nodded approvingly. "That sounds sensible."
"It is," Herkid said. "At least in theory."
Zhu caught the emphasis. "In theory?"
"Politics is politics. Even the most carefully designed system can be influenced by ambition, alliances, wealth, and personal grudges."
Zhu leaned back. "So the most powerful people in the world are competing to become even more powerful."
"Some of them are. Others genuinely want to govern well. The difficulty is telling the difference."
For a while, the only sound was the crackling fire.
Then Zhu asked, "What about the Arc Sovereigns? Are they members of the council?"
"Not automatically. An Arc Sovereign governs an Arc domain. A royal who holds a council seat gains a different kind of authority. The two can overlap, but they aren't the same thing." He drew two intersecting circles. "Imagine one circle represents an Arc territory and the other represents a mana realm. They can overlap without having identical boundaries."
Zhu studied the drawing. "So one ruler might control a city, while another authority manages the mana infrastructure serving that same city?"
"Exactly. Or a railway might cross several territories while remaining connected to one regional mana network. Different authorities bear responsibilities for its operation, security, and energy supply."
"That sounds complicated."
"It is. But it also means that no single authority controls every aspect of life everywhere."
Zhu smiled. "Now that sounds like something politicians would invent."
"Careful. One day, you might have to negotiate with them."
"Then I'll start practicing my headache prevention techniques."
Mara shook her head and laughed, never knowing how true a statement that would be