The Next Expedition
The compass this time pointed to Northeast.
A region hidden between Grand Meridian and Burning Sea.
SKYREACH REGION
A region of mountains and dangerous bridges.
The mountains of Skyreach were still far ahead.
But the brothers had not yet begun the climb.
The discovery at Mirehaven had pointed the next direction of their quest. The newly recovered relic had revealed another trail of memories, another connection to the ancient Orinthal world, and another destination that could not be reached by ordinary travel.
Skyreach Observatory.
Suspended somewhere above the mountainous region, beyond an ancient Technomagik barrier, the Observatory remained inaccessible to ordinary airships.
There was only one problem.
The brothers did not yet possess enough flight technology to reach it.
The original Sky Mantle could fly.
But there was only one.
And its ancient Solaris technology was too complex to reproduce completely.
So they turned back.
Not because the quest had ended.
Because they needed to prepare for the next road.
SHROUDEN SWAMPS
Their departure from Mirehaven was quiet.
The people of the Archive gathered along the riverbank.
The Welldwellers brought their instruments.
The Nightingales brought their voices.
For once, there was no argument between them.
They performed the song together.
Not as two traditions.
As one.
The melody traveled across the water.
Bardin stood at the front of the skiff, listening.
He did not play.
He simply listened to the music of the people whose history had become part of his own journey.
Sorion looked toward the distant mist.
The newly recovered Mirehaven Shoulder Guard rested against his armor.
Its bronze surface carried the engraved patterns of rivers, memory records, and ancient Orinthal symbols.
The relic was quiet.
But Sorion could feel something inside it.
Not power.
A memory waiting for the right moment.
Dorion stood beside him.
"You think we'll return?"
Sorion looked at Mirehaven.
"We have to."
Bardin smiled.
"There are still songs here that haven't been heard."
The skiff slowly moved away.
Mirehaven disappeared behind the mist.
The Shrouden Swamps opened into the greater waterways.
And the journey continued.
THE FLOATING MERIDIAN
Several days later, they returned to Floating Meridian.
The ruins had changed.
The ancient resonance they had awakened earlier had restored part of the city's forgotten Technomagik system.
Structures that had once been buried beneath the water now rose above the surface.
Ancient platforms had resurfaced.
Broken docks stood once again above the waves.
Old navigation towers flickered with faint light.
The city was still far from restored.
But it was no longer dead.
The brothers guided their skiff through the rebuilt harbor.
Bardin looked around.
"It seems the old city didn't want to remain underwater."
Lirion studied the restored mechanisms.
"The resonance network is repairing itself."
Dorion looked at the towers.
"Can it become a real harbor again?"
"Eventually."
Lirion looked at the ancient machinery.
"But someone will have to finish the work."
They remained only long enough to resupply.
The people working around Floating Meridian had already begun treating the ruins as a new settlement.
Boats traveled between the restored docks.
Fishermen returned.
Technomagik engineers examined the ancient systems.
Merchants from Grand Meridian began using the harbor again.
The brothers watched for a while.
Some Technomagister People used the Gate.
The gate was not for everyone because it cost loss of memories.
If you dont have enough knowledge to use it.
The memory of the Floating Meridian has awakened.
Their journey had begun changing the world without them realizing it.
They had not come to rebuild cities.
They had simply followed the Bronze Plate.
Yet everywhere they went, something ancient began waking.
THE SOUTHERN SEAS
From Floating Meridian, they entered the Southern Seas.
The journey became calmer.
The waters widened.
The horizon opened.
For several days, they traveled across a vast blue ocean.
Bardin called it a vacation.
Dorion disagreed.
"This is still a quest."
Bardin looked at the sea.
"Then it is a very comfortable quest."
Valek laughed.
The others joined him.
No ancient guardian.
No puzzle.
No monster waiting beneath the water.
Only the sea.
At night, the stars appeared above them.
Bardin played his lute.
The music was quiet.
A song about travelers.
A song about roads.
A song about people who left home without knowing where they would end.
The others listened.
Even Lirion eventually stopped working and looked toward the stars.
Sorion sat near the bow.
The Shoulder Guard reflected the moonlight.
The compass remained beside him.
Its needle pointed north.
Toward Aurion.
RETURN TO AURION CITADEL
After many days at sea, the familiar skyline finally appeared.
Aurion Citadel.
Its enormous towers rose above the coastline.
The Founder's architecture was visible even from the water.
Bronze structures.
Technomagik conduits.
Airship platforms.
The ancient city that had become the center of their expedition.
The brothers returned to the Citadel.
But this time, they brought something different.
Not only a relic.
They brought a problem.
Skyreach could not be reached by airship.
Its Technomagik barrier prevented aerial vehicles from crossing the mountain region.
They needed flight.
And the only technology capable of doing it was the Sky Mantle.
THE LIMITED REPRODUCTION
Lirion immediately began working.
The original Sky Mantle was placed inside the Machine Lord's workshop.
Ancient Solaris circuitry was mapped.
The resonance channels were analyzed.
The hidden activation sequence was studied.
But the conclusion was disappointing.
Lirion could reproduce the structure.
He could reproduce the energy channels.
He could reproduce the solar charging system.
But he could not completely reproduce the ancient material.
Dorion watched him work.
"So we can't make another one."
Lirion shook his head.
"Not another original."
He looked at the partially completed copies.
"But I can make something close enough."
Valek examined one of the copies.
"How close?"
Lirion answered honestly.
"Enough for controlled flight."
Bardin looked relieved.
"And the difference?"
"The originals were designed to last."
Lirion pointed toward the copies.
"These are designed to function."
Dorion understood.
They weren't creating perfect replicas.
They were creating limited reproductions.
Enough for the journey.
Enough to cross the Skyreach barrier.
Enough to survive the climb into the sky.
But not enough to reproduce the full power of the ancient Solaris technology.
THE FIVE MANTLES
The work continued.
The original Sky Mantle remained separate.
It was not copied over or modified.
It belonged to the ancient Bronze Plate legacy.
And when the final preparations were complete, the brothers and their companions gathered inside the workshop.
Five travelers.
Five mantles.
But only one was original.
Lirion explained the arrangement.
"Dorion keeps the original."
Dorion looked at the mantle.
Its ancient fabric carried the Star-in-Sun emblem.
The material shimmered faintly.
Lirion continued.
"I've made four functional reproductions."
He indicated the remaining mantles.
"Sorion."
Sorion stepped forward.
His Mirehaven Shoulder Guard was already secured over his armor.
He received one of the copied mantles.
Then Valek.
Then Bardin.
And finally Lirion himself.
Four copies.
One original.
Five travelers prepared for Skyreach.
DORION AND THE ORIGINAL SKY MANTLE
Dorion unfolded the original.
The fabric appeared heavier than ordinary cloth.
Yet when he lifted it, it moved almost weightlessly.
The Star-in-Sun emblem appeared across the back.
Ancient Solaris symbols surrounded it.
Dorion placed it over his shoulders.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
THUM.
The mantle recognized him.
Golden resonance traveled through the fabric.
Lirion checked the readings.
"Original system responding."
Dorion looked over his shoulder.
"It feels alive."
Lirion nodded.
"It remembers its wearer."
Dorion looked toward Valek.
"You used one before?"
Valek shook his head.
"I never know it could fly."
He looked at the mantle with respect.
"But Solaris has stories about warriors who did."
Dorion tightened the clasp.
"Then I'll make a new story."
SORION'S MANTLE
Sorion wore his copy over the Mirehaven Shoulder Guard.
The two relic systems reacted.
The Shoulder Guard produced a faint silver-violet resonance.
The Sky Mantle responded with a weaker golden pulse.
For a brief moment, shadow and light intertwined across Sorion's armor.
Lirion watched the readings.
"The copy is adapting to the Shoulder Guard."
Sorion looked at him.
"Is that dangerous?"
"Not yet."
Sorion waited.
Lirion added:
"But don't activate both relic systems at maximum resonance."
Sorion nodded.
"Understood."
The mantle settled around him.
Unlike Dorion's original, the copy lacked the deep ancient resonance.
But it worked.
That was enough.
VALEK'S MANTLE
Valek received another copy.
His Solar resonance immediately synchronized with it.
The fabric brightened.
Lirion smiled.
"Solaris recognizes its own resonance."
Valek looked at the mantle.
"Even a reproduction remembers where it came from."
"Not exactly."
Lirion adjusted the control module.
"It recognizes the energy pattern."
Valek smiled.
"Sometimes that's close enough."
He folded the mantle carefully.
He understood what it represented.
Not merely technology.
A connection between Solaris and the ancient civilization that had existed before the Omnission.
BARDIN'S MANTLE
Bardin received his copy last.
He stared at it.
Then looked at the others.
"I should warn everyone."
Dorion sighed.
"What?"
"I have never flown. Frogs cant fly."
Lirion answered:
"Neither have most people who receive their first flight equipment."
Bardin looked relieved.
"Good."
Then Lirion added:
"That's why we'll practice."
Bardin's relief disappeared.
"Of course."
Everyone laughed.
He placed the mantle over his shoulders.
The instrument straps were adjusted so his lute could remain secured.
Bardin looked at himself.
"Do I look heroic?"
Dorion answered:
"You look like you're about to fall off a mountain."
Bardin nodded.
"Excellent."
LIRION'S COPY
Lirion wore the final reproduction.
His Machine Lord systems immediately connected to it.
Ancient Solaris symbols appeared across his interface.
He studied the information.
"The flight system isn't simply propulsion."
Valek looked at him.
"What is it?"
"Resonance control."
Lirion looked toward the original mantle.
"The fabric interacts with the surrounding energy field."
He continued examining the data.
"The copies are less efficient."
"How much?"
"Enough that we need sunlight before every major flight."
Bardin raised his hand.
"Like drying clothes in the sun?"
Lirion looked at him.
"That's not technically—"
Bardin interrupted.
"Solar-powered clothing."
Lirion sighed.
"Yes."
THE FINAL TEST
They went outside the Citadel.
The five stood on an elevated platform overlooking Aurion.
The sun was high.
The mantles absorbed the Solar resonance.
One by one, the systems came alive.
SOLARIS RESONANCE DETECTED.
TECHNOMAGIK RESERVOIR CHARGING.
The original mantle reached full capacity first.
The copies followed.
Slower.
Less efficiently.
But they charged.
Dorion stepped forward.
Lirion gave the instruction.
"Don't fight the lift."
Dorion looked at him.
"What?"
"Let the mantle carry you."
Dorion took one step off the platform.
The mantle activated.
His body rose.
One meter.
Then three.
Then five.
Dorion looked down.
A grin appeared.
"I can fly."
Lirion called out:
"Controlled descent!"
Dorion descended.
Smoothly.
He landed.
Then Valek activated his copy.
He rose into the air.
His Solar resonance stabilized the mantle almost immediately.
Sorion followed.
His movement was more controlled.
The Veil helped him maintain balance.
Bardin activated his.
He rose.
Then immediately spun sideways.
"WHY AM I TURNING?"
Bardin swim in the air like fish out of water.
Lirion shouted:
"Because you're pulling the left control channel!"
"I'M NOT TOUCHING IT!"
"You are!"
Bardin looked down.
His lute strap was caught against the control.
He corrected it.
The mantle stabilized.
He slowly descended.
He landed on both feet.
Everyone stared.
Bardin smiled proudly.
"I survived."
Dorion laughed.
"That's a start."
Finally, Lirion activated his own mantle.
His Technomagik systems immediately synchronized with the control interface.
He rose smoothly.
No instability.
No hesitation.
Machine understanding had made the system almost intuitive to him.
He looked toward the others.
"The copies work."
THE ROAD AHEAD
That evening, the five stood on the highest balcony of Aurion Citadel.
The mountains of Skyreach were visible in the distance.
Above them, clouds covered the upper peaks.
Somewhere beyond those clouds was the Observatory.
Somewhere inside the Observatory was another Bronze Plate relic.
And somewhere within its archives were answers about the ancient world.
Sorion opened his compass.
The needle turned.
It pointed toward the mountains.
Dorion looked at the Sky Mantle.
Valek tightened his own.
Bardin secured his lute.
Lirion checked the Technomagik systems one final time.
They were ready.
Not perfectly.
Not with the technology of the ancients.
But enough.
They would still have to travel through the mountains on foot.
They would still have to find the hidden entrance.
They would still have to face the airborne creatures.
And when they finally reached the barrier—
they would have one chance to use the copied technology.
The journey to Skyreach had not begun when they reached the mountains.
It had begun here.
In Aurion.
With an ancient mantle.
Four imperfect copies.
And five travelers preparing to reach a place that had remained above the world for centuries.
Bardin looked at the stars.
"Tomorrow?"
Dorion nodded.
"Tomorrow."
Sorion closed the compass.
The final destination remained unchanged.
SKYREACH OBSERVATORY.
And beyond it—
another relic of the Bronze Plate.