Nerena Corvantis
The final rift exam was drawing near, and I had become proficient in cartography, anthropology, geology, religions, archeology, and history spanning from the era of kingdoms to the present.
Sometimes it felt like there was uneven treatment in terms of what we had to learn compared to other positions in a cluster. But as we went deeper into our astral affinities, it made sense.
Since truth seekers are closely linked to the cognitive astral affinity, their minds can operate at much higher levels than those of starbounds with other affinities. It made sense as to why it felt like my recall was greater than my friends' growing up.
But the technique we'd been focusing on lately was the Mindscape. Professor Durn described it as a physical manifestation of a person's mind and memories–a place where we could organize information in a way that made recalling it nearly instantaneous. You never knew when you'd find yourself inside a Rift without access to a Starchive.
It was extremely helpful in unlocking the second node ability that lets me create ink mirages.
Now I needed it to help me with another issue. The issue was the creature that attacked me the night I raided the isle of the armament techs, and possibly the thing that might have attacked Cyrus and Mira.
I sat on my bed in my room. I followed my professor's teachings, used my imagination, and projected outward in my room. The technique was similar to astral projecting. When I opened my eyes, my room had changed.
I was now in a deep, cylindrical pool of unknown depth. Inside this deep pool, the memories and knowledge I gained were organized, with the oldest at the bottom and the newest at the top in the form of shells.
After using the technique several times, I learned that whenever I retrieved a shell from the deeper parts of my Mindscape and placed it on a higher shelf, the memory became clearer, and my understanding of it felt complete.
But the deeper I go in this Mindscape, the more cosmic energy it takes, and my brain starts to feel the pressure of the depth.
Luckily, the information I knew about this creature was near the top, thanks to my trip back home during break.
I was surprised that the Vuka Puha didn't have any more information regarding this creature. All they knew was that the myth came from the continent of Elyria, and that people from that continent had never traveled to the Illanar Isles.
Alright, let's go through what I know, Nerena.
A behemoth attacked the school forty years ago, and that event has been swept under the rug, along with the three locations it was supposedly spotted at. Based on the accounts of what it looked like, it resembles a creature from the book Vlad of the Night. A book that was written in the era of kingdoms.
There was a man from the Era of Man named Lord Lugat who donated a painting depicting a scene from the book. It now hangs in Founder's Hall.
So this man is thousands of years old, and there is no trace of him anywhere?
I looked further into my mindscape pool. I wanted to dive deeper to see whether anything I once read about the Era of Man might have value towards this situation. It wasn't an era I was well-read on, because it was hard to find concrete facts about a time period that ended a little over two thousand years ago. I wasn't sure how beneficial it would be to dive deeper into the Mindscape.
I put my ear to another shell and continued my own debrief.
The notes I found in that old dorm room also seemed to state that the creature might have some type of vampiric abilities.
So now the task is finding its precise origin.
But how am I gonna find that? I don't have any extra clearance in the starchive.
"You could always ask me," the voice said, as something massive emerged from the depths of my Mindscape.
The voice didn't take on a solid shape; it flowed like clouds of sand underwater.
"No, that's not happening."
"Shame, continue to struggle with this little predicament you have, then."
Annoyed, I dissolved my Mindscape, and I sprawled out on my bed.
Who else could help me get more info?
The first thought that came to mind was Professor Durn. She was an experienced Truth Seeker, and I would assume she had a mindscape large enough to house some classified information.
"Doesn't she hate you?" the voice in my head said.
I paused for a second.
"She doesn't hate me, probably just annoyed with me as I am with you at times."
The voice didn't say a word, and I decided to make my way to the faculty building, where the professor is currently holding office hours.
Just hope this goes well.
When I got to the floor where her office was, her door was cracked. Peering inside, I saw Professor Durn swiftly grading papers.
"How can I help you, Miss Corvantis?" the professor said, her gaze unmoved from the stack of papers.
I slid in through the door and walked up to her desk.
"I've come to ask a question."
"That's a first from you. What do I owe this surprise?"
"I've been researching the dread moon choir, and have found myself limited on the information I could gather from the starchive and textbooks. Is there any way you could help me?"
"What exactly do you want to know about it?" Professor Durn asked, setting her pen on the table as she met my gaze.
"All I know is what continent the myth originated from; everything else is redacted. Do you have any insight into a more precise location of where it might come from?"
The professor stroked her chin for a moment, looking deep in thought.
"The continent of Elyria has stumped Truth Seekers for generations. It's said to be the very place where myths themselves originated–a land so eerie and mysterious that even behemoths think twice before settling there. I never had much luck on that continent myself, so I don't know how much help I'll be. But I do think we can turn this into a learning experience."
"How so?"
"Nerena, what is one of the first things A Truther Seeker should do when entering an area they are not familiar with?"
"Scout the area, and find locals to gather information from if possible. But how am I going to get to Elyria?"
The professor raised an eyebrow.
"....Oh, I get it."
"So are we done here?" Professor Durn asked, picking up her pen again.
"Yeah, we are."
I walked out of the faculty building, communicator in hand, to make a post in the Xhatal academy bulletin board: Seeking help from students of the Elyria continent. Compensation will be provided.
Hopefully, I get a couple to bite.