Ella herself was uncomfortable, but in her case it was with the sensation of weighty rock resting above her head. She walked through a glowing archway, reading the runes she had inscribed herself, lore that would provide light and help to regulate the environment of the chamber beyond.
Ahead Ella was confronted by a bright device that sparked and blinked on and off intermittently. Ella put her satchel down at the foot of the archway and watched Evrin work.
Evrin was manipulating a pointed cylinder, but rather than touching it, he was singing to it softly, his eyes watching intently. The cylinder stood on an arm of blue metal, and a thin beam of light shone from the cylinder onto a great crystal that buzzed and hummed, and was seemingly suspended in the air. Light also shone from the jewel's glittering facets, and Ella knew it was supposed to focus onto a point underneath. Instead, the light was a wan shade of pink, diffuse and lacking power.
"Need the scratched energy tables," Evrin muttered.
Ella walked over to a workbench at the side of the chamber and searched through the books stacked haphazardly until she found what she was looking for. She walked over to where Evrin glared at the cylinder.
"Here," she said, opening the book at the right page.
"Ah." Evrin's eyes lit up. "You're back, my dear. I could use your help with this. Two years and we're almost there, but I always knew the problem would be with the scratched refinery and here we are."
"What can I do?" Ella said.
She worked with Evrin for over two hours, only rarely understanding the things he directed her to do, yet, as always, learning all the time. She felt herself losing track of time, a frequent occurrence when working down in the catacombs, and it was Evrin who finally noticed the satchel resting on the ground at the foot of the archway.
"Oh." He looked abashed. "Is it Lordsday already? Why didn't you say something?"
"I wanted to help," Ella said. She smiled. "It's fine. I'll still make it in time."
"Well." Evrin harrumphed. "So you're off then."
"Are you sure you won't come to the wedding?"
"Too much to do here," Evrin said. "Tell me what the food is like, though, won't you? Do you think they'll match wines? There are some lovely wines in Altura's south…"
Ella laughed. "Just come. We'd all be happy to have you. You can't work all the time."
"No," Evrin said, uncharacteristically abrupt, and as he turned away Ella saw through his fa?ade as she only had a few times before. "Weddings aren't my thing."
Ella's face fell as she remembered Evrin's story. To her it was centuries ago, but to him the loss of the woman he loved was still raw.
"I'm sorry," she said. "At least you had someone special. Not many people can say that. Perhaps one day you'll find another." She hoped it was the right thing to say. Ella wished she had Miro's way with words.
"For me there isn't anyone else, Ella. I betrayed my brothers for her. Yet it was she who showed me it was right." He brightened, though Ella knew it was false. "Have a wonderful time, my dear, and don't mind me. Please give your brother and his new wife my best." He reached over to touch Ella's shoulder, a rare gesture of affection. "You've been a great help, Ella. I wish I had time to teach you more, but this must take priority. The world needs essence." He turned back to the apparatus in front of him. "You'd best be going now."
~
ELLA took one last look at the distant peaks of the Ring Forts before turning her back, away from Mornhaven, and away from her work for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
It was strange — here she was, working with someone whose knowledge was so far beyond her own it scared her, yet she still wasn't learning what she wanted to learn. She knew the most important task at hand was to build the machines, and she would give everything she could to that goal, but the desire had never left her to bridge the different schools of lore. Ella had started down the path: she had made Miro armoursilk that could project an illusion, and devised an enchantment that used Petrya's lore to turn the boiling water of Lake Halapusa to ice. What else could be done? Would she ever have the opportunity to find out?
"Stop working," Ella said to herself, smiling.