The Artifacts Of Elios (Book 1) (27 page)

“I’ll be fine thanks you again.”

“You know where to find me if you need anything.  Have fun, I hope you find more than we did.” He said as turned and headed back towards the way that they had come from.

Ava began by walking the parameter of the building.  It appeared to be made of solid blocks of bluish white granite or some other type igneous rock.  The joins between each stone were so well fit together that she doubted that a knife blade could fit in between them.  There were intricately designed stone frames for windows but instead of glass there was more of the bluish white stone.  In each side there was an entry way that was framed in stone but instead of doors there was more of the stone.  Above each door and window frame there were various glyphs and symbols.  Most prominent was a pyramid.  As she made her way around again she stopped at the eastern side of the building; deciding that it was the front because the pyramid above that door was about a third larger than the other three.

She walked up the several steps to the large stone pad in front of the tall entryway and began to study the glyphs.  To her astonishment the first thing she noticed was a familiar circle with a horizontal line connected to it.  “Could it be that simple?” She thought.

With excitement she extended her index finger and touched the fingertip sized circle and slid it to the right along the associated line.  Without preamble a screen appeared and a female voice in a language she didn’t understand seemed to ask her a question.

Slowly Ava asked if it understood the language she was currently speaking.  Instantly the voice responded in perfect Infin, “
Elios infinity dialect detected. Please state the purpose of your visit to the records center.”

“I have the need to study the history of this city,” she temporized.

“This facility requires lumen mastery for full access, Glyph mastery for medium access and limited access for students.  Please state you access requirement.” 

“I am currently a student and do not understand the term Lumen,” she replied.

“Place you hand on the sphere for ancestral identification,”
instructed the voice and suddenly a crystal sphere appeared floating in the air about waist high.

What in the world is
ancestral
verification
, she wondered and she placed her hand on the sphere.

After a moment the voice
resumed. 
“Elios descent detected, Luion descent detected. Origination available to Lumen masters only. Classified as descendant of recolonized refugee, Lumen potential positive; student access authorized.  You may remove your hand.”

As soon as Ava removed her hand from the sphere
, the stone of the doorway dissolved into an entryway.  After a brief moment of hesitation she hurried across the threshold.

Once inside
, the doorway coalesced into what appeared to be a normal doorway with obvious open and close glyphs in the center.  She began to look around and instead of books she saw a square of upholstered cubicles, each with a strange backless chair that resembled more of a stool than a chair.  She walked around the cubicles and saw that on the ends both opposite and facing the entry way there were three of the cubicles. On the sides there were five of the cubicles.  As she looked at the walls she saw doorways similar to the one she had entered and instead of open close glyphs they each contained a set of glyphs she didn’t recognize.

Full of curiosity she approached the closes
t side door and touched one of the unfamiliar glyphs.  She felt a tingle of something magic but nothing happened.  She tried each of the other three doors and the same thing occurred.  Then feeling a slight panic thinking she may have locked herself in she ran to the main entry and touched the open glyph and the doorway dissolved and she could see that she could exit if she wished.

Ava breathed a sigh of relief. 

Instead of leaving she went back to the cubicles to see what she could see.  She looked over the strange stool chairs and determined that the idea was to sit and kneel at the same time with your knees comfortably placed on a padded rest.  After trying it out she discovered that this position caused her posture to be straight unstrained and her weight was distributed on her seat as well as her knees which was as it turned out very comfortable.  While seated, once again to her amazement, she saw artifacts very similar to the ‘light globe’ that she and Shane had cataloged many weeks ago.

May as well get started,
she thought to herself, and activated the device,  Instead of the light like she and Shane had experienced another crystal sphere appeared floating in the center of the desk top area of the cubicle.  Again a voice in a language she didn’t comprehend spoke to her.  Recalling what the voice that had given her access to the building had said to her she said to the sphere in front of her, “Elios Infinity dialect please.”

“Excellent and thank you for clarifying the proper language for you,
Welcome to the records center I am a historian console how may I be of service to you today?”
spoke a happy youthful male sounding voice.

“I am researching information on the infrastructure of this city particularly transportation at the moment,” stated Ava confidently.

“What level of transportation,”
queried the device?  “
Lumen Master, Lumen Mage, Glyph Master, Glyph Mage, or non-potent”

“Let’s start with non-potent,” suggested Ava.

“This city is recorded as named Yllyan although fifteen hundred local years ago it was often referred as simply Yllyan Y Onton.  The city of Yllyan is supplied with a trolley system for the local streets scheduled to run very fifteen minutes from each block corner from six in the morning until eleven in the evening.  Every thirty minutes any other times.  There is also a monorail that is scheduled to stop once every hour alternating directions every other hour to the cities in the directions and along the way to Luion and Infintium.  A cargo train is schedule to stop once a day Lundi through Venri”
quoted the historian.

“Why is the monorail only running three times a day now,” asked Ava.

“Five hundred and eighty seven years ago this world was bombarded with meteors and there was significant damage to many cities throughout the world of Eliom.  The cause for these unnatural meteors is accessible only by Lumen Mage and above and Glyph Masters with Arc duties. The city of Yllyan was unharmed but the inhabitants left immediately to assist those of neighboring cities who had suffered great devastations; for reasons unknown they neglected to return.  When the inhabitants left they deactivated the trolley and monorail as to not cause harmful accidents to any unsuspecting non-potent that might not be familiar with automated transportation that might later visit the city.  Approximately fifteen years ago the ‘Song’ took up residence in the city and activated and modified the monorail between Yllyan and Valee stations resetting the schedule to its current three times a day.  The Glyph Master did not elect to reactivate the trolley system.
”

“Can a non-potent or a glyph mage student without a full understanding of lumen reestablish the Trolley System,” asked Ava?

“
One moment,”
replied the historian. 
“The answer to the question of can a non-potent activate the trolley system is no.  The answer to the question can a student with an incomplete understanding of lumen activate the trolley system is yes.”

“How can the student activate the trolley system?”

“A key is held here in the records center for emergency purposes to reactivate various infrastructure systems.  At present I show that all city wide infrastructures are functional with the exception of the modified monorail and the trolley system.  Do you require use of the key and instructions to activate the trolley system?”

“Yes please,” answered Ava politely.

A large screen appeared where the sphere had been earlier and on it where the directions to where a man height obelisk stood with a large multifaceted glyph on each side about shoulder high. 
“Have you familiarized yourself with the location and the activation instructions?”
asked the historian.

“Yes”

“
Please place your right hand on the sphere.”
  The screen was gone and the sphere was back.

Ava place
d her right hand on the sphere; again a slight tingle.

“You may remove you
r hand.”

Ava removed her hand and saw
a golden glyph matching the glyph one the obelisk pulsing on her hand.

“
The key will be returned to the records center automatically once you have reactivated the trolley system”

“Before I go,” Ava inquired, “is there a book that I can read that will give me all of the history available on the implementation, scope and details of the infrastructures for Yllyan
as well as Valee that are allowed for a student glyph mage to study?”

“Place you
r right hand on the sphere.”

Ava put her right hand once again on the sphere.

“Please remove your hand.”

Ava complied.

“The history you have requested will be provided when next you slumber for the evening as an instructional dream.”

“Thank you,” Ava said as she stood.  “You have been very helpful.”

“You are welcome.  Thank you for visiting the records center.”

Ava walked to the entry and touched the exit glyph and walked through the doorway as soon as it dissolved away.  She quickly walked the several blocks to the obelisk described by the historian.  Holding her breath she held her right hand against the matching glyph and with a
another slight tingle of magic the glyph disappeared from her hand and instantly a floating elongated carriage  perhaps fifteen to twenty cubits long and five or six cubits wide appeared in front of her.

The trolley was a bright red and yellow with wide doors on both sides on the front and the rear.  Curiosity getting the better of her she jumped on and decided to see where it went,

The trolley, like the overland or monorail as the Elios called it was silent as it moved down the street.  At every corner it emitted a musical Chime sound and stopped for a few moments then moved on.  Eventually she found herself crossing the street that ran past the monorail station.  When the trolley came to a stop she jumped off.

As she looked west she notice
d that the sun was nearing the horizon; she must have been in the records center longer than she thought. Knowing that it must be getting close to six she started walking in the direction of Soaris and Laura’s home.  As she crossed the intersection a different trolley headed the direction that she wanted to go stopped at the corner in front of her.  Ava ran quickly and jumped in the right hand rear doorway and climbed aboard and took a seat.  Several stops later she saw that the next corner was the block that Laura’s house was on so when the trolley stopped she jumped off and walked the short distance to the house.

Ava knocked politely on the front door and it soon was answered by the energetic Laura.

“Good heavens Ava, you don’t have to knock this house is always open to you.”  Laura gave her an affectionate hug.  You’re just in time. Soaris just arrived a few moments ago as well.  Dinner will be ready in another fifteen minutes you have just enough time to freshen up.  Oh, I almost forgot,” she added as she headed back to the kitchen. “Soaris stopped by your parent’s home today and let them know you are safe.  Your mother sent a couple of travel cases with clothes and other personal items that she was sure that you would want; I put them in your room.  So, how was your day?”

Ava followed Shane’s mother into the kitchen and was greeted with the warm smell of fresh bread and something wonderfully savory cooking in the oven.  “I had quite the productive afternoon,”
Ava said excitedly as she related the afternoon’s events up until the activations of the trolley.  “If you don’t have anything that will scorch or boil over can you come outside for two or three minutes so I can show you something?”

Laura slid a steaming pot off of the heating element and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel that was lying on the nearby counter top.  “Certainly, Ava, I can tell by your eyes
it’s something amazing.”

Ava led Laura out the front door and out to the street.  It wasn’t long before a red and yellow trolley could be seen coming up the wide street.
  “It’s called a trolley system,” Ava pointed enthusiastically at the oncoming vehicle.  “As I was saying I figured out how to access the building that Edward directed me to and discovered it was a record center.  I learned about some of the infrastructure from an artifact called a historian and it showed me how to activate it.  I rode around on it some on the way home.”

“Remarkable,”
responded Laura with a knowing smile as she watched it speed silently past and then momentarily chime and halt on the next corner down then continue on.

“After dinner we should take a
ride around the town.  It’s a lot like the overland, which I found out the Elios referred to as a monorail,” added Ava.

Ava and Laura turned to walk back into the house and nearly bumped in to Soaris who had walked up be
hind them in time to hear Ava’s escapades of the day.