2026-07-26 00:43:09
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Visit again
"Where's Diana?" Alex asked. "I thought she would be here.""She went back to her inner zone base," Miara said. "She left early this morning, after we entered the meeting hall. She said she needed to prepare things on her end, inform her father, speak with her great-grandmother, and make arrangements for the proposal visit.""She went back to her frontline base?""The war is over, Alex. At least for now. Her base is in cleanup mode cataloging resources, repairing defenses, sending the wounded home. She'll be back before the proposal to her main base." Miara smiled. "She also said to tell you that you'd better bring a proper gift. Her exact words were, 'Tell Alex if he shows up with a bouquet of flowers and a smile, I'm sending him back.'"The room erupted in laughter. Alex shook his head, a tired smile crossing his weathered face. "I'll bring proper gifts. My great-grandfather is adding pieces from his personal collection. Ancient weapons. Armor. Artifacts that date back to the foundi
Thoughts
Alex left the war room with the echo of his great-aunt's words still ringing in his ears. The rest of the family had dispersed slowly, their conversations a low murmur of wedding plans and political considerations, but Alex had excused himself at the first opportunity. He needed to think. He needed to process what he had learned.He walked through the corridors of Starlight Base, his boots echoing on the polished stone, his mind turning over the fragments of information he had gathered. James and Alara. Brother and sister. The last survivors from something . They had fled from the greater universe ten thousand years ago, changing their name, hiding their identity, burying their history so deep that even their own descendants had forgotten where they came from.And Alara had chosen now after ten millennia of silence to reveal herself. To insist that the old traditions be observed. To demand that Alex come to her after the marriage proposal.“She knows something,” Alex thought. “Somethi
Alara
Alex rose from his seat instinctively. The rest of the family fell silent."Grand-Aunt," Roy said, his voice carrying a note of surprise. "We weren't expecting you. You rarely leave Blue Star.""I rarely have reason to." The woman's voice was dry, cool, the voice of someone who had seen too much to be impressed by anything. Her pale eyes swept across the room and settled on Alex. "But I heard that my great grand-nephew has returned from the Beast God trial. And that he has proposed to the Aurelian girl. Those seemed like sufficient reasons to make the journey."Alex bowed his head respectfully. He had met his great grand-aunt only a handful of times in his life; she was a recluse, a mystery, a figure who appeared at family gatherings once every few centuries and then vanished back to whatever solitude she preferred. He had always assumed she was a non-cultivator, someone who had chosen a quiet life away from the politics and warfare of the Stargate. But looking at her now, feeling th
Great-Grand-Aunt
Roy's weathered face broke into a wide smile, the kind of smile that reached his eyes and softened every line that centuries of rule had carved into his features. "Then congratulations are in order. Diana is a remarkable woman. She's been part of this family in all but name for three hundred years. It's about time we made it official.""Roy," Reina said, her voice carrying a note of exasperation. "You're supposed to be helping me explain the traditions.""The traditions are important," Roy agreed. "But so is the fact that our son has finally proposed to the woman he's loved since before he left for the trial. Let's not lose sight of that." He shifted Anna on his knee and looked at Alex. "That said, your mother is right. The Roshar family has protocols for royal marriages. We'll need to approach Diana's father and her great-grandmother formally, with appropriate gifts. This isn't just about you and Diana, it's about our kingdoms.""I understand," Alex said. "But I don't know what's ap
Reaction
The walk from the law tower to the palace was quiet, but Alex's mind was anything but. The morning sun had climbed higher in the artificial sky of Starlight Base, casting long shadows across the white stone paths that wound through the royal gardens. Soldiers saluted as he passed. Servants bowed. But Alex barely noticed them. His thoughts were still in the hidden chamber, still turning over Seraphina's words about foundations and body art and the egg waiting in its pocket dimension.The sound of laughter broke through his reverie.It came from the family wing of the palace, the private quarters where the Roshars gathered when they weren't commanding sectors or running empires or fighting wars. The windows were open, and the morning breeze carried the scent of fresh bread and brewing tea. Alex could hear his mother's voice, warm and animated, punctuated by the higher tones of his sisters and the deeper rumble of his brothers.He smiled despite himself. The weight of the past few days
Plan
Alex began to form a plan. The pocket dimension needed additional protection. Spatial wards. Temporal barriers. Defenses that would hide it not just from ordinary perception, but from the kind of deep spatial scanning that the source had proven capable of. Alex's space and time fusion was at forty-five percent not complete, but advanced enough to create layers of camouflage that would make the sanctuary virtually undetectable.“I could create a spatial labyrinth around the entrance,” he thought. “A maze of folded space and temporal displacement, like the one the source used to hide its own lair. Anyone who doesn't have my level of comprehension would be trapped forever. And even someone who does have that level would need weeks to navigate it.”He would need to visit the pocket dimension again. To reinforce its defenses. To check on the egg. And perhaps when the time was right to make contact with the being growing inside it.“Seraphina said to guide it. To protect it. Its parents wi
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