"Multiverse?” I repeated. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve never heard of the theory of the multiverse?” Kyra said. She sighed, and began pacing around her study. “It’s a theory that instead of just what we see, there are more than one universe. They’re not parallel universes, where they differ in a specific way, and they’re not alternate timelines, where time took a different course. They’re completely different.” I felt a twist in my gut. That sounded similar to my trauma-induced hallucination. Too similar to be a coincidence. “Well, it’s not just a theory, Mr. Feltrix. We live in a multiverse called the Myriad.”
“That’s….” My every instinct urged me to condemn the thought and dub Solar mad. But I couldn’t. It fit like a key in a lock with my ‘vision’ earlier that day. And as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t dismiss that thought as crazy either. I couldn’t believe it, but I was actually entertaining the thought.
“That’s the truth,” the Regent said. “And you know it. You can’t hide your thoughts from me. That’s all.”
“No it’s not,” I insisted in a rare fit of defiance. “You….you can’t just say something like that and just expect me to go on like nothing happened!”
“Nothing did happen,” Solar replied, voice devoid of emotion. “The Myriad has always been there, you just didn’t know about it.”
“....True, but a little explanation would be appreciated.”
“I see.” Kyra seemed to think this was an unexpected idea and took a moment to respond. “You probably think this city is the world. It’s nothing. It’s a small patch of a tiny planet floating in a universe the size of a grain of sand. That’s all any of this is, really. I’m not significant; this entire city could be wiped off the face of Archora and it wouldn’t make a difference. But you….You’re different. You’re a Flicker.”
My head was whirling with information, but my thirst for knowledge was unquenchable. “What does that mean?”
“Your magic is….different. You’re not constrained by the barriers of our universe. You can travel between worlds.
“Do you have any idea what that means, Thørn?” Kyra’s excitement and passion leaked into her voice, finally displaying emotion. “It means you can change it. Change the Myriad.” Regent Solar walked to the single window of her office, looking down on the city. “Look at them. There are millions of people in that city, millions of lives, each with their own cares and challenges. Each one has people that they love, a life to live. And all of them together can’t come close to making the difference you can.” She bowed her head, supporting herself on the sill. “I need your help, Feltrix. The Myriad needs your help.”
“Help with what?” Through the flurry of information, I managed to pick out the fact that Solar wanted me to do something for her.
“I think you should talk to Quint.”
She indicated the door. I exited through it, my head swamped with questions. Quint was waiting for me. When I came into view, he studied my face, trying to judge my reaction.
“What do you think?” he asked at last. “Is she mad? Are we all mad? Are you mad?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said, my voice hoarse. “She’s right. About all of it.”
Quint’s face split into a smile, and for a moment I thought he was going to hug me. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he said. “In that case, there’s someone you have to meet.”
“How many flights of stairs was that?” I asked Quint when we reached the bottom.
“Well….they’re not really flights, since they’re spiraled,” he explained. “But we’re forty-two floors below the Regent’s office, and five hundred seventeen steps. I’ve been walking up and down them for over a decade, and Regent Solar’s office isn’t the highest floor. And this isn’t the lowest.”
“So….who is it you want me to meet?” I asked, wondering just how big this tower was.
“Another Flicker,” he replied. “Alsari the Stoneshaper. She’s….not native.”
‘Not native?’ I thought. What’s that supposed to mean?
I was lead down a passage, past rooms that were curtained off from the rest of the hallway. “What’s in there?” I wondered aloud.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” Quint replied without looking at me, ending that conversation.
The hallway was stony, almost cavelike, and for a moment we continued on in silence.
“Why is it that I’m supposed to meet this person?” I asked.
“She’s another Flicker that we recruited today,” Quint replied.
“Two in one day? I thought Flickers were uncommon.”
“Oh, they’re very rare. We’re usually lucky to get two in a year,” Quint said. “Anyway, she’s had a….hard time adapting to the Academy, so we decided to explain to her the purpose of the Academy. And, since you’re new as well, I suggested that we tell you both at the same time.”
“It doesn’t sound like I’m really meeting someone,” I said. This was by far the most eventful day of my life; I was surprised with myself at how calm I was being.
“In here.” Quint directed me into a room and I froze. Inside the room were three people. One was a soldier, like the ones I’d seen coming in. The second was Kyra (how had she gotten here so fast?), but neither of them were the ones that grabbed my attention.
My heart skipped a beat when I recognized the third person. She was a few years older than me, yet she had white hair. Her skin was far too pale, and her grey eyes had a silvery sheen. She was the girl I’d seen through Manfred the soldier’s eyes. She had taken on twenty soldiers and a mage.
Quint didn’t seem to notice my apprehension. “Thørn Feltrix, this is Alsari the Stoneshaper.”
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