A New Beginning In A Mana Apocalypse 57 Chapter 57 - Havens And How They Work

I sighed but knew she was right. I looked around the haven again trying to figure out what it was she wanted me to notice before I remembered about the the twisted in my s.p.a.ce.

I couldn't figure out what it was she wanted me to notice. It was a nice enough place though barren. As she had been a plant h.e.l.l bent on claiming every resource she could, it was easy to understand why there weren't any plants growing in the haven. The place would look a lot nicer with something other than the blue sky and brown ground.

"What am I supposed to be seeing?" I finally asked.

"Besides the lack of a sun in the sky, can you see or feel any difference between this haven and your own world?" Emy asked me.

I shook my head. "No, not unless I walked to the edge of the haven, it still has a mist wall right?" I asked.

Emy nodded. "Yes, though I recommend staying away from the border, it's dangerous." she told me.

"How is it dangerous?" I asked my interest piqued.

"A discussion for another time, focus." Emy chidded me.

I nodded reluctantly my hand subconsciously moving down to stroke the hair of the silver twisted that was still leaning against me. It was incredibly soft and smooth like silk, I paused when she s.h.i.+fted upon feeling my hand, but all I got was a pleased feeling of rea.s.surance through the bond with her. I think that meant she liked it.

"I wouldn't get to used to her acting that way." Grace commented.

"Huh?" I asked her.

"I doubt she will act like a spoiled puppy once she wakes up." Grace told me.

I frowned but I couldn't argue with her, she had kind of been acting like a puppy.

I nodded but the other girls seemed surprised by the comment.

"Why?" Nala asked Grace curiously as Emy sighed and obviously a bit frustrated at our lack of attention.

"Well if the bond can turn a haven destroying monster plant into Mary, what do you think it will do to a recently turned twisted?" Grace asked.

I paused for a moment as I let that idea settle in, she had a point. Who knew what was going to happen with her.

"Focus." Megan told me. "Dena and Trill are getting a bit antsy. Finish your work so we can celebrate." she told me then glared at the other girls as if daring them to distract me again.

"Alright, this haven is really similar to some parts of my world." I told Emy.

Emy nodded, "It is, unlike a s.p.a.ce pocket which just pushes open a s.p.a.ce that will be reclaimed by the void as soon as you release it, a haven is a permanent construct. Now if you make it in the same fas.h.i.+on as a s.p.a.ce pocket it will suck your energy dry then fade into the void just like the s.p.a.ce pocket, make no mistake. The difference is not only all the elements present, that helps of course, greatest difference is its stability, and it is that stability that needs someone to act as its keeper. It is the part of creating the haven that alluded to the idea that your death will cause the destruction of the haven." Emy explained.

"How so?" I asked a bit excitedly. I had wanted to understand this mystery since I realized there was an inconsistency in the information I was given.

"An anchor." Emy replied. "The s.p.a.ce pockets are s.p.a.ces in between the dimensions and while to you it might seem like it is fixed the shape is actually constantly changing." Emy told me as she raised her hand and created the image of a gray box made of mist on her palm then as I watched it twisted and contorted in all kinds of ways. "The changing of the shape doesn't have any effect on what is inside the s.p.a.ce which is why non living objects are unaffected. However for a living creature to spend much time in there, well we have seen the results." Emy told us looking down at the silver twisted whose hair I was stroking as she leaned onto my leg her arm having wrapped around my leg embracing it much like a pillow.

"As for the haven, the mix of elements with the s.p.a.ce energy creates a solid frame keeping the s.p.a.ce inside from twisting and turning. The combination of a solid frame that doesn't twist and the feeling from the six elements you are familiar with is what makes this haven feel normal." Emy continued the grey mist box changing colors to a include six more colors making it look like something from a psychedelic drug dream.

I frowned, what did that have to do with being an anchor?

"Lastly is the connection to you. For a s.p.a.ce pocket the connection is loose almost flimsy, allowing it to move around constantly. You don't feel it since you can't sense what is happening in the void but the s.p.a.ce pocket is constantly s.h.i.+fting around closer then farther and swinging around in different directions, much like a kite in a storm where the wind is constantly changing directions. This doesn't have much effect on the objects inside whether they are living or not but is part of why the s.p.a.ce will dissipate so quickly if you release it. For the haven the bond is much stronger like a group of steel cables. It keeps the haven at a specific distance from you, it too will move but it is more like a planetary orbit. This makes the haven calmer and steady." Emy explained.

"But if I die it will still be cut loose." I commented.

"Yes." Emy replied, "and no. If you were to release the haven or die, whatever the case, the link to the haven will not dissolve and disappear as quickly. It is thick and strong and will immediately reattach itself to anything it can whether it is an object or the closest living being. However you are the cornerstone that holds the haven in place and the energy to sustain it flows through. If you are gone the connection will find a new cornerstone, it is how the spells that maintain the havens work, however the spell is set to you with blood, the new cornerstone will work for a time but it will not fit properly, so over time the spells sustaining the haven will degrade and fall apart."

"So it was true, it just takes longer to fall apart than we were thinking." I said with a frown.

"Yes, but if a new cornerstone that fits is attached everything goes back to normal." Emy pointed out.

I frowned then it dawned on me. Blood, bloodlines, "My children." I stated.

Emy nodded, "They would be the best, but relatives would work as well. In fact all your nieces and nephews that your siblings have could take the place of the cornerstone to any haven you make, any relation farther than that would be too thin and little better than a complete stranger." she told me.

Again I frowned but Emy held up her hand to stop me, "The spells are not unchanging rocks, they do adjust with time. With a close relation it would adjust with some time, time that the similarity to you would give them, and allow their children to be able to inherit it. A complete stranger is too far off so the spell would fall apart before it could adjust to the change." Emy explained.

Now I understood, at least a bit better. "But then why the claim that everything will fall apart if a pillar dies?" I asked aloud.

Emy shrugged. "I do not know. My involvement with the havens consisted of killing and absorbing everything I could. I gained some knowledge from the absorption but the political things were beyond me and unimportant." She explained.

Calidia sighed. "I understand." she told us.

"So?" I asked looking to the pretty redhead.

Calidia shook her head, "Not now, finish you work so I can celebrate my wedding night." she told me.

I wanted to argue, but the look in her eyes and the other girls stopped me.

"What about the rebound?" I asked looking back to Emy.

"The complexity of creating a haven with a link such as that is incredibly difficult and borders on actual creation of a new world, because of such as soon as you finish, whether it is from the strain of using your abilities to their maximum or a punishment from a higher power, you will be unable to use either your elements or s.p.a.ce energies for a time that depends on the size of the haven you create." Emy told me.

"Couldn't you have said that at the start then explained the rest after we celebrated?" I asked.

"Would you have understood?" Emy asked in return.

"No, but do I need to? I could have made the haven either way." I argued.

Emy nodded, "You could have, but your perception and understanding is important and will change the results." she responded.

I sighed but didn't argue further, I knew that my perception and understanding were important, the way my abilities change along with my perception and understanding of them proved it. The understanding about the havens would probably change the final product from a clumsy shack to a stable house.

I didn't voice the fact that I agreed with her but the smile she had told me that she knew that I knew she was right. Turning away from her I closed my eyes as I pulled the flood dragon scale out of my s.p.a.ce pocket then began to work. Given what Emy had said I wanted to make a small haven so the rebound was a small as it could be. I chose to make a haven just barely big enough to fit the scale.

Fusing the elemental and s.p.a.ce energies together was still difficult but I could do it now. Weaving the energy together as I had learned from my sibling's information. I understood which part was the frame now and took the extra time shoring it up and making it solid, then the connection to the scale which I had to carve into the scale with my energy, as it was a channel for the energy to supply my haven with power I made them as large and clean as I could so the energy flowed quickly and smoothly. Then finally the bond to me, as it would be the connection to me or whoever I pa.s.sed it on too I make it thick and tight as I would image a braided steel cables.

When I was finished I was exhausted, my forehead covered with sweat, I had no idea how I would have made a larger haven. I would have to talk to Emy about that later. I finished the spells by dropping a single drop of my own blood into the heart of the spell formation on the scale.

The spell formation absorbed the blood instantly then with a flash of light the channels on the scale began to glow then the scale disappeared from my hand. I didn't panic as I knew the scale had s.h.i.+fted into the new haven as it formed. I could feel the new connection to me. I thought of toying with it but knew I didn't have the strength. A second later I felt my elemental and s.p.a.ce abilities deflate inside me. It was a awkward feeling that I really didn't like.

"Done?" Megan asked me uncertainty.

I nodded tiredly.

"It was a impressive work for your first time." Emy complimented me as she handed me a wooden cup.

I didn't even glance inside as I downed the contents of the cup.

"Will he even be able to celebrate like that?" Trill asked a bit irritated.

"He will be fine in a moment." Emy replied.

I frowned but I felt the energy flowing from my stomach reenergizing me. "As I understood from Mary your energy is an issue for our playtime, so I started working on a solution." Emy told me. "That was the juice from several fruits I had absorbed years ago, by growing them and combining them they make a potent stamina potion that will have no detrimental effects to your body." Emy explained excitedly a hungry look in her eyes.

"Do you have more?" Karen asked with bright eyes.

"Plenty. I will pa.s.s out some to everyone later." Emy replied.

I knew what was coming and was sure I would enjoy it, but why was I feeling like the sheep instead of the wolf?