And soon, the weekend arrived.
The party was at Urricea's residence, a high-class mansion nestled near the oceans, providing a nice ocean view. Even by the standards of the city, her home was extravagant, wide, luminous halls layered with intricate stonework, hovering light threads woven into the architecture, and soft ambient energy pulsing faintly through the floors. It felt even grander than Rhys' manor, though far less oppressive. There was elegance here, and a strange sense of comfort despite the scale.
Their group, consisting of the people in their research facility, had gathered in one of the central lounges. Urricea moved through the room with quiet grace. She was an elven woman with striking features and skin that had a faint pearlescent sheen, almost as if lit from within. Her hair was a muted silver-blue, tied loosely back, and the robe she wore layered deep violet over dull ivory, soft fabric that shimmered subtly with every step. Not flashy, just expensive, refined, and unmistakably hers.
"Welcome," she said as Ian and Myrra stepped in. "It's good to finally meet you both."
Ian gave a nod "Thanks. It's… quite the place."
Myrra smiled as well. "Thank you for the invitation."
After a few more introductions and conversations, the group fell silent as Urricea began to recount some of her experiences in the Entropic Divide. Her voice was calm, and though she spoke about her work there, the fascination in her words was evident.
Ian, who had been seated beside Wiokz, couldn't help but ask, "Was there anything unnatural or dangerous in the area?"
Urricea paused for a moment, her gaze turning reflective. "We stayed within the established safe zones," she replied. "Nothing too exciting there, just routine work, plenty of mineral sampling, localized field tests, things like that. But there were times when we'd see some weird phenomena. Nothing harmful, just... strange."
She smiled as if remembering something. "It's actually quite beautiful to look at. The land shifts, the colors change in odd ways, almost like the landscape is breathing. It's mesmerizing. But dangerous? Not really. At least not where we were."
She chuckled, glancing at Ian. "It'd be better if you experienced it for yourself. Words don't really do it justice."
Ian nodded, considering her words.
As the conversation shifted, Urricea walked to a small table at the side of the room, where she had placed a collection of wrapped gifts. She handed them out to the others, smiling warmly as she did.
"I picked up a few souvenirs for everyone while I was there," she explained. "Nothing too special, but I thought it would be nice to share something from the trip."
When she got to Ian and Myrra, she paused, a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't get anything for you two. I didn't know you'd be joining us. But I'll make sure to make something for you."
Ian waved it off with a smile. "Don't worry about it. It's not necessary."
Myrra added, "We're just happy to be here."
The conversation drifted on, and Ian found himself sitting back, listening to the others speak. He occasionally joined in when the topic caught his interest, but for the most part, he was content to just observe. Wiokz was mostly quiet, deeply engrossed in a conversation about their latest research developments, and Ian picked up a few new insights as they spoke.
Myrra, on the other hand, was happily chatting with some of the others, particularly Dilya, who seemed to be in a more relaxed mood than usual. She had recently started working more closely with Master Elara, and the subject was something she was eager to discuss.
As the night went on, the group's mood lightened even more, with laughter and jokes filling the room. Eventually, though, the evening wound down, and people started heading out.
Before Ian could leave, Urricea approached him, a slight hesitation in her movements. She waited until the others had filtered out, then walked over to him. "Ian," she said quietly, drawing his attention.
"Yeah?" Ian replied, a little surprised.
"I just wanted to thank you... for staying with Wiokz. I know he's a bit hard to talk to sometimes, but it meant a lot to him. " Urricea's voice was sincere, but there was a softness in her tone that Ian hadn't expected.
He was quiet for a moment, processing her words, he didn't know they had any other relation. "It's no problem," Ian said, trying to dismiss it. "It didn't seem like that big of a deal."
Urricea smiled. "Still, I appreciate it."
Ian paused a moment before asking "So… what's the deal with Wiokz?"
Urricea hesitated, her expression unreadable for a second. "I thought you knew…" she said slowly, then gave a faint shake of her head. "Well, you see… the Lumivar aren't exactly powerful. And, uh… their origin traces back to the Entropic Divide."
That made Ian pause. He hadn't known that. Then again, he'd never really looked too deeply into the Lumivar. He was kinda interested in their energy perception but the rest? He hadn't paid much attention.
Urricea glanced at him cautiously. She seemed to be watching his face for any sign of discomfort. When he didn't react, aside from a flicker of surprise, she let out a soft breath.
In fact her worry was completely unnecessary. If anyone wanted to talk about foreign and weird origins, Ian was pretty sure he topped the list. He didn't even belong to this universe. Discriminating over something like that? That was so far off his radar it was laughable.
"Thanks again," Urricea said, her voice a little quieter now. "I mean it."
Ian gave a small nod. "Goodnight."
He found Myrra near the front of the lounge, slipping on her coat. She turned as he approached, offering a warm smile. They stepped out together, the quiet of the night closing in behind them.
The next day, Ian dove into every bit of information he could find on the Lumivar. It had started out as idle curiosity, something to pass the time, but he quickly found himself genuinely interested.
There were two things that stood out to him.
The first was their perception of energy. Their sensitivity wasn't just impressive, it was almost surreal. Ian had read theories before about beings with innate energy attunement, but the Lumivar practically lived in it. They didn't just sense energy; they understood it, like it was a language only they could hear. It made sense now why Wiokz thrived in arcane circuitry. The flow of energy through those systems was something most people mapped with precision tools or deep training. But for Wiokz? It probably felt like following a trail of light in the dark. Carving the circuits was just a matter of aligning with the rhythm.
Ian couldn't help but compare it to his own mindbloom. Of course, mindbloom was broader, multi-modal, adaptive, able to interface with everything from computation to biological perception, but still, the Lumivar's natural affinity was something he almost envied. That kind of clarity of one domain... it was elegant in its own way.
But then came the second discovery, and that one was just... weird.
Apparently, due to their origin in the Entropic Divide, the Lumivar couldn't reproduce naturally. No male or female among them. Instead, their species relied on something called a wombfruit. And yeah, the name wasn't just for flair, it was exactly as cursed as it sounded.
The process was twisted. You'd plant the seed, and it would grow inside the host, human, elf, or whatever, transforming their reproductive organs into something resembling a fruit. But it wasn't just a transformation. The fruit would grow within the host's body, and the Lumivar would have to extract it. The removal left the host without any reproductive organs or any way to regenerate them, leaving an empty, hollow space where life had once been.
Once the wombfruit was removed, the Lumivar would eat it, consuming the life essence and the genetic imprint contained inside. This process would create a new Lumivar.
Ian had to sit with that one for a moment.
To be fair, the Lumivar didn't use intelligent hosts from the beginning, they were acutely aware of their precarious position in society and made it a point to rely only on unintelligent livestock. But of course, there were always a few outliers. He came across old reports of individuals, some delusional, some power-hungry, who insisted that intelligent hosts resulted in stronger offspring. The Concord had thoroughly debunked the theory after through verification and Ian didn't want to imagine how they'd done that, but that hadn't stopped the occasional incident from cropping up.
Luckily, that was a rare occurrence. These days, wombfruits were created using artificial cell engineering, which eliminated the need for any living hosts. But, as with most things, there were always a few nutcases who still thought the old methods worked best. So, even with the advancements, the Lumivar remained largely avoided and treated with caution, a reminder of a darker, older tradition.
But well, of course, Ian's focus was on something else: the Umbrahang core. The Umbrahang trees were one of the primary materials the Lumivar utilized for creating artificial wombfruits. The large, hinging vines of the tree contained something called Cortex thread, which was essential for embedding fragments of genetic memory. The core itself wasn't necessary for the process, but it had it own unique properties.
For Ian, the Umbrahang core was especially useful for his Eldritch path. The only problem was that it was rare to find the core in this area, as the material wasn't of much use to anyone around here.
But, there might be another way. Wiokz's connections or possibly even his relatives might have access to it. It wasn't like they had any particular use for it, and Ian could easily see a way to procure some of the Umbrahang core through them.
Back at the research facility, Ian approached Wiokz, who was seated at his workstation, reviewing some data on his hologram. The lab was quieter than usual, the low hum of the equipment serving as the only background noise.
Ian walked over, offering a nod of greeting. "Hey. How's everything going?"
Wiokz looked up, giving a small smile. "Oh, you know, the usual. Still sorting through some data, but things are fine. How about you?"
Ian leaned against the counter casually. "Same. Been busy. Just wanted to ask you something."
Wiokz tilted his head slightly, raising an eyebrow. "What's up?"
I'm looking for an Umbrahang core. Any chance you could help me find one?"
Wiokz blinked, caught a little off guard. "Umbrahang core… ahh… I can ask around and let you know. We used to have some, but I'm not sure if there are currently any in the cycle."
Ian gave a small nod. "I can pay for it."
But Wiokz shook his head almost immediately. "No, don't worry about that. Let me get it for you."
Ian could tell he meant it. It wasn't just about the core, Wiokz wanted to do something for him. Maybe to make a good impression, maybe just to return a kindness. Either way, Ian understood the gesture. He didn't argue.
He just gave a quiet, "Alright. Thanks."
He didn't mind. Owing small favors kept connections warm, made people feel closer. And if Wiokz wanted this one, Ian would let him have it.
Wiokz hesitated, his gaze curious but cautious. "If you don't mind me asking… what purpose do you need it for?"
Ian shrugged lightly. "Well, apart from Architect, I follow another path, right? So I need it for that."
"Ohh…" Wiokz's expression shifted with realization. "In that case, I'll try to get you one of the best quality."
"Don't worry about it," Ian cut in. "Just a normal one is fine."
Before Wiokz could say anything more, a voice echoed through the lab.
"Everyone… do you have a minute?"
Ian turned, along with the rest of the room. Master Elara had stepped inside. And beside her stood someone new, a woman. Human, from the look of her.