Rifts: Keepers 1

“Rifts? Hm, the word doesn’t ring any bells…” the Keeper’s clan leader, Khaldor, tapped a long claw against his chin as he thought. “Though maybe we have a different name for it in The Beneath. What is it exactly?”

“Spaces where magic completely ceases to exist.” Ethel explained. “You can’t see it or hear it but one can feel it as soon as one enters.”

Khaldor reached out and grabbed a piece of paper and some ink and began scribbling on it. “In the event that we do not have any information on this topic, it would do well for us to keep a record of what we do know. How often can one encounter a rift?”

“As far as we’ve been able to gather, there’s only been three recorded instances of it.” Mendras chimed in. He had just brought over a few pillows for the three of them to rest on. They may be here for a while. 

“All three were only in Vitalus but we’ve never encountered one.” He finished. 

“Interesting.” Khaldor hummed. “So why the intense interest, then?”

Ethel took a deep breath. This was not a subject she liked bringing up. “I can’t use magic for reasons no one can explain. I have no mutations and yet not a single ounce of it resides in my body. When I try to harness it, there’s nothing there. It almost feels as though magic doesn’t exist.”

Khaldor nodded along as she spoke.

“The few reports state that rifts can make drastic alterations to one’s magic and physical body. I wonder if I may have encountered one as a pup and now I just don’t remember it.”

“‘Drastic alterations to one’s magic and body.’” Khaldor recited. “It sounds like a painful process. No matter the age, you would carry some kind of trauma after having experienced something so extreme…”

“My lower half of my legs needed to be removed when I was a cub. I don’t think that’s it.” Ethel firmly stated. “I can’t think of anything other than that. My upbringing has been quite normal.”

“Considering the strange phenomenon, I wouldn’t rule it out yet.” Khaldor then turned to Mendras. “What about you?”

“Oh, I never thought it was real until we found those reports. The elders in my clan would tell us not to go wandering around places with a lot of magic alone. They called it Burgeha and it was more like an invisible monster that ambushed you and ate your magic.”

“Do you remember those stories?” Khaldor asked while grabbing a few more sheets of paper. “Can you recite them for me?”

Ethel was glad to not be the one answering questions but Khaldor was!’t just fascinated by Mendras’s stories but also his clan’s history, a topic he was not willing to divulge much of. 

Khaldor eventually took the hint and cleared his throat. “Sorry for all the questions, friends. You came to me for help and here I am getting carried away. Back to the topic, I am genuinely unsure if we have anything of the sort but I can direct you to where you’d most likely find the information!”

Khaldor led the pair out of his home and down the cobbled streets. Ethel and Mendras marvelled at the shops and stores, taking note of inns and places to eat while they walked. 

They stopped in front of an older building. Though squat, it was quite long in the back. Inside was much, much nicer. A plush red carpet covered nearly every inch of the floor and shelves contained books near the bottom and scrolls on top. Spaced between them were marble pillars and open spaces to sit. 

At the front of it all was a large polished desk stacked with papers and the like. The haedian behind it looked frazzled as they approached. 

“Khaldor, sir! How nice of you to drop by!” They exclaimed a little too loudly. 

“I see you’re looking a little better than last time, Revere.” Khaldor said with a smile. He pulled out the stack of papers he had been writing on. “I don't mean to give you more work but could you get this to a transcriptor and have it stored for me? It's very important.”

“More information about topside? Of course! I’ll send it over now!”

“Thanks. I’ll be showing these friends around.” Khaldor led them quite deep into the building before stopping at a section of shelves. 

“From here on, you find information on ancient magic, prohibited magic, rumors, tales, hexes, what-have-you. Just about anything obscure and we barely have any information on. If we have anything on rifts, it will be here.”

“Wow, that’s… a lot.” Mendras reeled staring at shelf upon shelf of books, tomes and scrolls. 

“Yes but you are welcome to stay as long as you need. I as much as I’d love to got through this with you, there are other duties I must attend to.”

“Thank you. You’ve already done more than enough. Most won’t even humor the thought of rifts.” Ethel said. 

“Well, knowledge keeping is my specialty afterall.” He laughed. “In the meantime, I will arrange a place for you to stay. I’ll also send over some young volunteers to help once schooling is done for the day. They’ve been itching to meet the vayrons and tyrians passing through.”

Once Khaldor left, the pair set down their things in one of the sitting areas and began the long endeavor to find anything on rifts.