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“You watch too much of the human television.”
“No, I play too many video games. TV could never get so specific. Also, I’m sorry that my expectations of something like, I don’t know, a giant magic portal are too unrealistic for your tastes.” I’m laying on the sarcasm thick, but it feels good.
Better than moping, that’s for sure.
I decide to continue. “Tell me, oh wise one, what is a real magic portal like?”
After a moment, Sunder’s shoulders relax a bit as he explains.
“The portals are hidden. No swirling circles of doom or anything like that. Only those who know where they are and have the ability to channel Chroma can use them. There used to be hundreds in the human realm, but slowly we’ve closed more and more of them. I think there are only 15 or 20 left.”
“Why close them?”
“There are some in Illuemera who like humans even less than I do. They believe we should close the portals completely so no one can mate with a human. Some say allowing humans to enter our bloodlines has diluted the purity and blame them for the depleting Chroma in the world. I have no qualms about sexually interacting with humans. They have a great ah… there are a great deal of attractive humans” he covers. “I just think humans are too fragile to actually be useful.”
He gives me another pointed look, which I decide to ignore. I’d thought so much of learning magic, I’d barely considered what Illuemera itself would be like.
“Are most of your kind biased against humans?”
“They are a vocal minority. Still… There have been many skirmishes and wars over control of the portals for as long as anyone can remember. The Keepers have a tight grasp over them these days, though. Illuemera is, in a way, a hub. There are portals that lead to many other realms beyond the human realm.”
“There’s more than the two realms?” I’m genuinely interested now.
Sunder nods. “Of course. Theoretically, there are infinite. However, we currently only have active portals to seven realms.”
“So whoever controls the portals can limit traffic from all realms?”
“Yes. The ability to freely move between them is a gift many are willing to die for, and not just for the freedom to search for fated mates. As polarized as Illuemera is, it is far from the most dangerous realm. Many use the portals to escape from persecution and war.”
I let that sink in for a moment, realizing how little I actually know about the world.
“And I thought things here were bad. I can’t imagine adding different species and magic to the equation. So, how do the portals work, exactly? What is it like to go through them?”
Sunder shrugs.
“Teach me Latin or explain the intricacies of quantum mechanics to me. I can point you to a library when we get there, and you can go research it yourself.”
“Et tu, Sunder?”
He raises his eyebrow at me, obviously unamused, while I chuckle at my joke. I rack my brain, thinking of other Latin jokes I could make when I notice a familiar sight.
“Are we going to Savannah?”
“Was it the ‘Welcome to Savannah’ sign that tipped you off?” Sunder says with that dry tone that I’m beginning to recognize as his form of humor.
Ignoring him, I fill the silence between us.
“It’s been years since I’ve been here. The last time was for St. Patrick’s Day. They have a fun tradition of dying the water in the fountain green. There’s a great oyster bar on the riverwalk too.”
“We’re going to the riverwalk.”
I let him return to his thoughts as I ruminate on my own. Considering the political climate in Illuemera, I try to fathom infinite interconnected realms. What creatures and landscapes lay hidden from sight?
What will it mean for me? Will I be able to help Sunder and Bobble find the other fragments of themselves, and then…
Will I be able to come home?
Hope, bright and shining, feels like it’s lodged in my chest. I gulp against it, trying to press it down.
