Earthbound Constellations

After picking up the High Paladin from his upscale apartment, Anita had expected to go to the office like always. What she didn't expect was to be ordered to go to the Silverstein mansion.

"For what reason are we going there for anyways?" She couldn't help but ask, feeling a bit miffed about making a wider detour to get around to Goldhart Road. She tried as she could with her extensive knowledge over Edenea's weaving back roads but there was only so much even the great Anita could pull off.

"Are you familiar with Laurette's research?" Gabriel asked. Anita caught the sight of him lazily scrolling through his phone in the rear-view mirror.

She frowned, wrecking her brain for the limited knowledge she knew about the Lady of House Silverstein. Aside from being Lord Silver's wife, in all honesty, there wasn't much that she knew. "She uh, is an Environmentalist?"

"Correct. She's one of the few mages in this country that bothers to study the effects of mana corruption on the environment. She's a conservative, but I believe her research on the environment will prove useful."

Anita hummed, "No offense, sir, but I didn't exactly pin you as the kind of person that cared about the environment. Thought that was just for rich nobles with strong core heritages and hippies." She giggled at the thought of Gabriel being a hippie and nearly missed a turn.

"Focus on your driving, will you?" Gabriel sighed, "Anything that might affect our city on a large scale is of concern to me. Whether that be mana pollution, demonic possessions or distribution of illegal ARCs."

"Spoken like a true workaholic, sir!" Anita laughed, earning her a glare that she preferably ignored.

After pulling into the large towering mansion that put even Anita's family house to shame, they were welcomed by the ever immaculate Lady Laurette, who somehow had her hair done up in perfect braids, despite the early hour of the morning.

"Come in," she beckoned them inside, "I prepared some tea and biscuits so please relax and make yourselves at home my dears. I'm afraid the news that I will share will be a bit somber."

In the lobby she had a tea set placed beside a gold gilded tray and Anita could hardly stop herself from making a beeline to the scent of sugar in the air. "A wonderful pleasure, Lady Laurette! You're even more amazing than the rumors!"

She laughed behind a gloved hand, in a true blue-blooded upper-class manner, "Ad pray tell what do the rumors have to say about little old me?"

As always, Gabriel was always there to cut the banter and make everything boring and serious, "What kind of news do you have for me, Laurette."

"You oughtn't rush me, sit down, will you Gabriel?" Laurette's eyes twinkled, and Anita found herself amused when watching Gabriel frown but sat at the long couch next to her in defeat.

The Lady of the House poured them tea and urged them to try some biscuits, completely homemade, apparently. If Anita was ever to meet a noblewoman as perfect as the specimen in front of her, Anita might have well toss herself out the window because there was no way she could even come close! A small speck of jealously danced in her belly, but mostly her emotions were overshadowed by awe and admiration.

"What do you know about Earthbound Constellations?" Laurette eventually asked, setting down her teacup down gently.

Anita copied the action, with only half the amount of grace, "Of course! It's something you learn about even in general courses right? They're basically rare streams of mana found on Earth that don't originate from a living human being. A lot of magicite crystals are formed along Earthbound Constellations and it's a known fact that cities are often built around them as well."

"Yes, we humans are terribly dependent on these ECs. But are you aware of how they came into existence in the first place?"

Anita frowned, "I'm not quite sure, I feel like I've heard so many different rumors and mythology surrounding them…"

It was Gabriel's turn to give his input, "I believe they were first created by the Cerulean Saints. Judging by the flow of mana observed in ECs, suggests that it's some sort of wide-scale spell rather than a natural formation."

Mana and the ability to use sky magic is seen as a god-given gift to humans alone. No other being that walked the lands or swam the seas had mana or the ability to channel this gift. Naturally, it would be believed that these vast deposits of mana flowing upon the land were, at some point, created by mankind as well. However, records of such occurrences had long been lost to time.

Laurette hummed, "It's often hypothesized that the Cerulean Saints are responsible for the creation of these lines during the Holy War era but there's evidence that ECs existed way before even then. Where the structures come from isn't important, however, the reason for their existence is. As you've said, Gabriel, the way the constellation is set up suggests that it's some sort of spell, a containment spell to be exact. Recent research has found beneath these ECs actually lies Primordial Beasts."

Anita gasped, eyes blowing wide in disbelief. A Primordial Beast! That couldn't possibly be true. For the longest time, scientists believed Primordial Beasts to be the stuff of legends, creatures of terrifying power that existed only in far off stories from when the Earth was just a newborn. They could raise mountains and dry oceans in a blink of an eye, destroying and rebuilding the world with each step that they took. Such power obviously could not have any stake in reality. And yet, recent research has suggested such horrors really did exist at some point in the far, far past. "That simply can't be possible!" Anita cried.

"There is good evidence supporting this theory," Laurette continued gravely, "should the Earthbound Constellations disappear, then we would know for certain."

"What does all this have to do with the Collapsed Earth?" Gabriel asked.

Laurette brought out a map and straightened it out on the coffee table. The two knights leaned over for a better look. Even though she couldn't quite understand right away what it was showing, Anita had a bad feeling about what she was looking at. There was the familiar Adrosian landscape that once of them had seen countless of times in geography class. "This is the Scorpius Constellation." Laurette pointed at the outline of a giant stream of sky mana that passed through Xillandra down to Retre and even bleeding into the southern province, close to Edenea. "And these," the noblewoman taped the little red x's that adorned the map, along the edges of the constellation, "are the locations where the Collapse Earth have appeared."

In all truth, it was disconcerting to see every point line up along the constellation, but Anita also couldn't really understand what it all meant. "What in Solas's name…" she uttered in confusion.

"The Collapsed Earth, my Lord High Paladin, and Lady Anita, is likely the result of the EC falling apart."

Anita paled as two and two began adding up together, "Wait a moment, if the ECs are really some manner of enlarged containment spell, that means if it falls away…"

"I have the same fear," Lady Laurette said gravely.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was able to keep his expression still, "Do you know the cause of this? There are those that are in the opinion these occurrences are done deliberately."

Laurette frowned, "I can't particularly say if there was an intention behind any of this. Mana pollution is rampant in mines and cities, which are more often than not near Constellations. The corrupted mana slowly deteriorates sky mana. While naturally forming magicite can help conduct sky mana and maintain its integrity through certain levels of contamination, over mining of these minerals hasn't exactly helped the state of our environmental mana."

"Wow…" Anita breathed, "everyone's always understood that mana pollution is bad for the environment, but to actually witness the consequences…I guess we've never really wanted to imagine them for our own daily convenience."

"Us environmentalists are doing our best to bring awareness to the people…however, it's difficult when the working class only understand our intentions as a way to oppress them. Magic is a limited and complicated power after all, and it's only natural that everyone yearns for it."

Gabriel clicked his tongue and crossed his arms across his chest. Anita always found that her boss looked ominously calm in tense situations. "It is inevitable. However, it is what is it. Thank you Laurette for your aid, I will put your findings to good use."

Laurette smiled. By the time everything was wrapped up and Gabriel had a thick binder in hand and a USB stick tucked away in his pocket, they were finally on their way out of the Silverstein mansion. With Laurette's small, waving figure panning away from them, Anita couldn't help but think that the world she stepped back into was different than the one she greeted this morning.

The roads had calmed by the time they were making their way to the office, with the sun high in the dusted hues of Edenean sky. An uncharacteristic silence blanketed over the car, with just the sound of a crackling singing voice through the radio and flipping paper. Anita felt like she was drowning in her thoughts, unnerved by the High Paladin's usual silence in such unusual circumstances.

She coughed, trying to break the odd air that permeated between them, "You're awfully quiet, sir. Despite Lady Laurette just announcing the doom of all of humanity."

Gabriel looked up from his documents, eyes appraising through the tiny rearview mirror, "Don't be so dramatic."

"I'm hardly being dramatic, sir!" she chirped, energy instantly rising from his accusation, "This is a Primordial Beast we're talking about! It could spit out lava and destroy mountains in a single instance!"

"Do you really believe the words of an Environmentalist so easily?"

The car swerved. Anita decided to attribute the scrapping sound to the tires, despite a man honking and screaming at them after she drove a bit too close. "But sir, isn't she your friend?" She asked, wondering if perhaps he didn't trust Lady Laurette after all.

"Being friends has nothing to do with looking at the situation objectively. Of course, that isn't to say that Laurette's work will be for naught. There was a reason why I asked for her expertise after all."

"And what would that be?"

"It will be a good way to discourage the use of illegal ARCs in the publics' eyes."

Anita blinked, almost missing the last turn to get to the knight's headquarters, "Do you really think that would work, sir?"

"Not entirely. But any leverage at this point is better than none. People are more inclined to care about the environment these days than the actual state of the country."

"I see…" After finally finding a spot in the indoor parking lot and wedging between two hefty black vans. Anita could have sworn that Gabriel appeared to be extra nervous when she was backing up, but it might have just been her imagination.

"By the way, sir," Anita felt oddly compelled to speak. Was it the jealousy, or something else, she wasn't quite sure but the young knight did her best to keep her voice light and cheery, "Why is that that you can go to visit Lady Laurette at the Silverstein House but not House Javanis? My father so desires to have you over for dinner!"

She meant it as a joke, really. It wouldn't be the first time that Gabriel has refused an invitation of hers. Which was why she did a double-take when he agreed so easily, "Is that so? I believe I haven't seen Lord Theoran in many moons. I suppose we can have something arranged."

"Huh?" Anita replied stupidly, gawking at her boss like a lost goldfish. "R-really?"

"Do I seem like the type to joke around?" He was shooting glares at her and normally she wouldn't have any problems retorting with a playful yes but for once she was speechless.

"What? Huh? Well! Certainly- I mean no!"

She could have sworn she saw the tips of the High Paladin's lips curl upwards before he scolded her, "Come back down to Earth, Anita. There's work to be done yet."

It took every last bit of self-control not to jump up in joy, but nothing could stop the wide grin plastered across her face and the rouge tinting her cheeks. Yes! Lord Gabriel was finally going to come to her place!