Together at the top level of Arien, Arkadon and Gildimir found themselves in Xorgel's garden. Lush trees and ferns surrounded them as they arrived at its center. A large, low-lying basin carved of stone was just ahead, flanked by ginger lilies and jasmine.
"There," Arkadon said, pointing at the basin. "That should be perfect."
"Why, of all the places we could have done this, did it need to be here?" Gildimir asked, her tone both dismissive and annoyed. Hands on her hips, she followed Arkadon to the basin and stared down in apathy.
"First, I enjoy this garden," Arkadon said, meeting her sarcasm in kind. "Second, this is one of the most potent mirrors in Arien."
"Oh really?," she replied with raised brows. "What did you use it to see?"
Arkadon turned to her with a sly smile. "A memory. Several of them. And none you'd want me to describe for you." As hard as he'd tried, at first, not to reflect on his time with Valos, that effort eventually failed. The basin was a place he'd come to frequently, especially in recent years, to sit and bask in the memories of a life he couldn't bring himself to move on from.
Face twisted in disgust after she realized what he was alluding to, Gildimir shook her head in agreement. "Very well, what do we need to do to see this...place?"
Walking to one side of the basin, Arkadon motioned for Gildimir to stand on the other. "Stand there and imagine what you want to see in your mind. Then, reach out a toe from one of your feet and lightly tap the surface of the water."
"Is that all?" Gildimir asked mockingly.
Celestia had warned Arkadon that Gildimir had returned back from the mountain project in a mood, and she was right. Crossing his arms in frustration, Gildimir lifted her hands in surrender before looking into the glass-like surface of the water. Perhaps it was his visit and their conversation that soured her temperament? Whatever the cause, he hoped that what she was about to see would be enough to lift the pall.
"Go on then," Arkadon ushered her. "The sooner you do this, the sooner you can get back to Celestia to do...whatever it is the two of you do."
"Shall I describe it for you?" Gildimir asked, unable to finish the thought with a straight face.
"Please, by the Divine, just dip your damn toe in the water."
Laughing heartily, she lifted the bottom of her gown off the ground. "Here it goes," she said with a sigh as she extended her foot and tapped the surface with a single toe, her power transforming it into a mirror.
At first reflecting the sky above, shades of light began to swirl and coalesce, transforming the mirror into a window. Before them was a vast and dark sea, surrounding their view as if they were suspended deep within it. Tiny specs of light were floating nearby, drifting on unseen currents. The scene was...empty. Dull. Yet both of them stood in awe, transfixed by its quiet majesty.
"He truly did it," Arkadon whispered, his eyes welling with joyous tears.
"I'm still having trouble grasping what exactly he did," said Gildimir in reply.
Eyes still sparkling, Arkadon smiled. "When he described it to me, he called this the Anoran Sea. A vast, water-like fluid filled with nutrients and energy. And those tiny points of light? They are the Anora. Each one, a speck of pure consciousness. Individuals, capable of the same thoughts and hopes and dreams as each of us."
Nodding along as he spoke, she appeared to understand. Still, Arkadon could tell that something was either confusing or bothering her. "What is it?" he asked.
"Why make them formless?" Gildimir asked in return. "Why place them in such an empty, dreary place? It seems oddly cruel."
Her response made sense after thinking about it. Gildimir had previously confided in Arkadon that, when she'd first woken in the darkness at the Beginning, the first emotion she'd experienced was fear. Fear of the dark. Fear of being alone and formless. The Anoran sea reminded her of that time and of those fears.
"Don't worry," Arkadon began, hoping to assuage her concerns. "It may seem that way to us. But if the sea functions as he described it to me, then it is anything but dreary."
Lowering himself so that he was perched atop arched feet, Arkadon gazed across the window and gestured with his hands as he described how everything worked. "The sea itself is a conductor of emotional energy, and can ferry that energy across vast distances. Information, too. It's like being wrapped inside a giant, never-ending hug."
Gildimir came from where she was to kneel beside him. As they peered through the window, the sea would occasionally shift from deep blue to bright green or yellow as bursts of color erupted in the distance.
"But that is only one aspect," Arkadon continued, his voice soothing and calm. "The conductive sea also allows the Anora to share dreams. One Anora can envision a dreamscape and open it to others, each new Anora adding to the depth and scope of the dream. True, they may be body less. But together, they can envision virtual worlds that allow them to take whatever form they wish. And because the sea provides them with everything they need to function, they never need to eat or drink or sleep. They are free to enjoy every pleasure their minds can conceive."
"Fascinating," Gildimir affirmed softly, sounding genuinely in awe of what Valos had created.
Arkadon remembered when they'd first discussed it. Shortly after Valos confessed his empath abilities, they were sitting together in a field of flowers, taking a respite from the city. Twirling a poppy in his fingers, Valos began to describe the Anoran Sea, every detail as clear and sharp as if he had been speaking about something that already existed. Amazed, Arkadon listened in stunned silence. Valos had truly imagined something new. Something no one had ever contemplated or considered possible.
And now here it was, visible in the mirror at Arkadon's feet. By redirecting the power of the Pulse and tossing in a dash of energy from the Eternal Machines, Valos had surrounded their realm with a new plane of existence. One that had the potential to be as magnificent as Oduin.
"What now?" Gildimir asked.
"Well, I intend to start documenting and cataloging. Akious is already preparing some blank books for the project. I also can't wait to tell the others what he's done. Maybe-"
Arkadon stopped himself short. He knew his hope was merely wishful thinking.
"Maybe?" Gildimir pressed.
Knowing she was unlikely to relent, Arkadon lowered his head and shrugged. "Maybe their praise and joy will reach him and...convince him to return."
Lowering her head onto his shoulder, Gildimir's voice became quiet. "Do you honestly think it will?"
"Reach him?" Arkadon asked as he lowered his head onto hers. "Yes. Convince him to return? Well, a machine can dream, can't he?"
Donning a gentle smile, Gildimir nodded. "Yes, he can."
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