Carrying everything with her Anima, Yuriko and her companions were only able to reach Greyith Strip, a distance of about a hundred and fifty leagues as the crow flies, but considerably more if one followed the roads, by two o'clock in the afternoon. Synchronising her time sense with the mechanical clocks of this realm had taken some work, but been a mental effort. She simply had to focus on the date and time and force her mind and Anima to accept it. All the while, her time sense had been based on Imperial Standard, but with the amount of time dilation and cross-realm travels she's had, it was already completely out of sync.
However, when she visited Chaos Founts, her time sense needed recalibrating, and from what she found out about the Eternal Tower, she'd probably need to recalibrate or simply synchronise once she was out. She didn't know how much time would pass relative to each realm, but she hoped it would not be too different.
Ah, speaking of…her control over the threads connecting to her dreamscape body had increased prodigiously, perhaps she could finally use True Connection to contact her Mum? It was worth a try, and she also felt a bit of guilt towards the professor who taught her the spell since she had been unable to simplify it to his requirements. She'd already submitted her revisions, but aside from increasing the distance the spell could work, and reducing the needed quality of the connection, she had been unable to lower the spell circles required to work the spell. Well, flying while carrying everyone wasn't the time to cast complicated spells, so she created a memory shard with the reminder, set to dissolve once she arrived in Greyith.
And as soon as she arrived in the two-longstride wide fortress, the shard dissolved. As she let down her companions, she moved over to a rest spot, sat down on a bench and prepared to enter the dreamscape. "Ryoko, arrange for a meeting with Monica Coinoch, please."
"Yes, mistress."
Heron arranged the baggage so they wouldn't be in the way, then settled down to meditate. Gwendith looked around the area and got dragged away by Fluffington to head towards the beach. Parts of the Great Erithmus Lake were frozen over, but that only meant that the waves caused the ice floes to crash against the shore and each other. It created a natural rhythm that Yuriko enjoyed but seemed to annoy the wolf pup.
Saki and Devotee served as her guardians, and Yuriko entered the dream easily. She arrived at the reflection of the fortress, but instead of an accurate mirror image, it looked more like a stylised blend of painting and reality. She'd been here before and appreciated the artistic style, though that wasn't her focus now.
She quickly identified the thread binding her to her Mum, Da, Marron, and Rami. there was no mistaking the broken and blackened thread that represented Kato. There was a tickle of something at the back of her mind, but as soon as she focused on it, it dissipated into the mists. Shaking her head, she focused on Mum's thread and Da's. Those were the stronger ones and, if she connected with either, she was sure both could respond. But realistically, it was her Mum, who was a Sorceress, who was the better choice.
With a sigh, Yuriko touched the connection and Willed for it to thicken and strengthen, if only temporarily. The thread did just that, and Yuriko cast True Connection once she returned to her material body, while at the same time, keeping hold of the thread.
Wait, she didn't have to go to the dreamscape to do that! She could see the threads here! Ehehehe.
Spell nodes lit up as she etched the runescript components with her Animakinesis. At the same time, she went through the somatic and vocal components in the correct order. She could feel the spell coming into fruition, feel it reach out into the beyond. The Chaos Sea, the Shattered Realm, was such an enormous obstruction that it was practically impossible for a spell to breach its borders. True Connection was powerful enough to allow the caster to talk to someone on the other side of the Arcadia Region, a million leagues away, as if they were right next to them, provided that the medium was powerful enough, but going through even a couple of leagues of Chaos Sea? It was impossible.
But with Yuriko's connections through the Threads of Fate and her nature as an Ancient, as well as Radiant Affinity, and now, with the completion brought about by harmonizing with her Mishala Mien…
"Mum?"
"Yu…Yuri? My baby? No…I must be dreaming…" Sadeen's voice was hazy and faint, and there was some sort of interference that made it buzz and shake. But Yuriko could feel that the connection was true, and it was indeed her Mum she was talking to.
"It's me, Mum. I'm using a…spell, a Working to reach you across the vast distance. I'm alright, as are my companions, but we were caught in a Chaos Vortex and flung out forty thousand Waypoints away. There's an edge to the Chaos Sea, and I'm in a place that's not in it."
Yuriko's words tumbled hastily from her lips, even though the connection was purely mental. She had the sense that not all of the words reached Mum, but she felt that the important ones were. She repeated them anyway, "We're alright. We'll find a way back."
"I… Yuri, baby. You…you're an elder sister again. She was born a few days ago…her name is…" The voice faded away, and Yuriko's hands clenched. Something caught the connection, or it was simply the Chaos Tides that interfered. She felt that another attempt to connect would likely fail, but she wanted to try again.
But as she expected, the True Connection spell failed. She sighed in annoyance. And she didn't even get to hear her little sister's name. She closed her eyes and tried to intuit what it was that was preventing the connection from forming, and there were just too many dangers in the Chaos to list. Still, at least Mum knew she and the others lived, so there was that.
She opened her eyes and checked her time sense. An hour had passed and Ryoko was waiting for her to finish her meditations.
"Young mistress, Magus Coinoch is ready to receive you at your earliest convenience."
"Thank you, Ryoko."
"My pleasure."
Yuriko nodded and entered the fortress. The guards recognised her and let her in after she presented her identification card. She went through the warren of tunnels inside the Wall and soon enough, was in front of Monica's office. She entered after knocking and found the older woman taking tea with her grandson.
"Monica, Cillian. Nice to see you," Yuriko offered.
"Yuriko!" Monica exclaimed with a smile while Cillian gave a short bow. "Come, sit, sit! What can I do for you? Ah, aren't you with the Reclamation Army?"
"Things happened… Ahahaha…" Yuriko chuckled. "I was told to return here, but that's not just my business. My friends returned from their adventures and they've brought something to my attention. I have to go to the Eternal Tower and I need to use Bresia's Portal Gate to do so."
"Oh." Monica nodded, "You need my help to apply for use?"
"Yes."
"I don't mind," Monica said. "But I'm not sure if the council will allow it. You said you were asked to stay here? Why?"
"Well, the Ishodirians…" Yuriko explained what occurred, though she didn't give the specifics of how she got away from the Guardian. She did relay the Field Marshal's Sending verbatim.
"Negotiations, huh." Monica pursed her lips while deep in thought. "The fact that they didn't want you in the army…something to do with you, maybe?"
"Yeah, the Ishodirian ambassador invited me to go to their country before the whole thing started," Yuriko admitted. "I don't know what they want with me, but there have been attempts to capture or coerce."
"I see."
"Grammy, you think they included Lady Davar in the terms?" Cillian asked in a concerned tone.
"Possible, but the council shouldn't be so foolish as to accept. But…" Monica frowned.
"What?" Yuriko asked.
"Hmmm, you've had your differences with the Ishodir Empire, but…what if…" Monica grinned, "What if they offered a MiJin of chocolate as an apology to you, will you forgive them?"
"Eh? Uhm… I don't know."
"Ah, you hesitated, so the possibility is there. I know of your love for that confection, and undoubtedly, so does the intelligence bureau of other nations. But the preferences of the Councilors are also well known. If Ishodir offers preferable trade deals, lowered tariffs, and access to valuable reagents, then the option of giving you up, isn't as onerous."
Yuriko snorted, "That's why I'm leaving. I don't wish to be caught up in these political games."
"I agree. But again, the Portal Gate isn't as easy to access. If you fail to gain permission, you can always go to the Xotha Matriarchy's capital. There's also a Portal Gate there. And they might just ask for gold to allow you to enter."
"How much do you think?"
"Probably a couple of thousand golds, plus the cost of other reagents needed to open the Portal. Each Gate is unique, I'm not sure what the conditions are for Herrera's City. As for Bresia City's Gate, even if you get permission, the Gate reagents needed are a bit…well, rare. You might have it easier in the Desert Nation."
"I see. Thank you for your advice," Yuriko said.
"Well, there's no problem with me sending the application with you. Give me the rest of the day to finish it up. I suggest you leave tomorrow, your quarters are still ready here."
"Thank you."
They spent about an hour in small talk and afternoon tea, and it wasn't until Yuriko was about to leave when Monica commented, "Hmm, is it just me or do you look more beautiful than ever? What do you think, Cillian?"
"Oh? Lady Davar has always been beautiful." He said slowly, "How can I compare two sunsets? I wouldn't be able to tell which one is more aesthetically pleasing."
Yuriko couldn't help but smile, "Flatterer."
"Truth is not flattery," Cillian said. There was no thread running directly between them, and she didn't feel any trying to form, so she took the compliment at face value.
"Hmm, did something happen to you lately?" Monica asked with a rather suggestive smirk. "With your companions, perhaps?"
"Ahahaha."
Yuriko just chuckled, not quite willing to reveal her relationships, both simple and complicated. She was sure she wasn't romantically in love with either Gwendith or Heron, and it was mostly a physical attraction. And with their lusts sated, it wasn't quite the same as before. While she had little doubt about their devotion to her, she was unsure of her own. Still, she could only walk her path slowly and figure things out along the way.
She didn't answer any of Monica's probing, and she was pretty sure the older woman was flirting with her, considering the number of times a thread tried to stick to her. Yuriko might have entertained it, but not now.
She sent messages to Heron, Gwendith, and Ryoko through their connecting threads, then headed towards her quarters. There was one more errand she had to accomplish, and that was to her disciples. She focused for a bit and isolated the threads that represented her relationship with Juliette and Sofia. The two girls were in the training courtyard so she headed there directly.
She found both girls sparring with their rapiers, real blades rather than wooden training swords. Yuriko couldn't help but admire their progress. While they hadn't moved on to other Phases, the ones they chose had reached a point when they could easily incorporate the styles into their Arcana Weaving.
She waited for them to finish, but they spotted her in the midst of their spar and immediately paused.
"Professor!"
Yuriko waved at them and gestured towards the rest area. Once they were there, she didn't quibble and simply said, "I'm leaving for the Eternal Tower. I don't know when I'll return."
Sofia and Juliette exchanged looks, then said in unison, "Take us with you!"
Yuriko blinked, then shrugged, "Alright."