The Spider Queen



(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Archmage Hollystorm's Tower- Unknown Location)

"This is so boring…" Astrid muttered under her breath as she opened up yet another heavy tome and coughed violently as a cloud of dust wafted upwards from the ancient pages.

You would think that an archmage would cast a cleaning spell to make sure that his books were free from dust but… nope.

Astrid suspected that he did it on purpose to make sure that she stayed awake during her study time.

Her hypothesis was evidenced by the fact that the books were dusty but somehow all perfectly undamaged.

And somehow even if she casted a cleaning spell… the dust would still remain as if it was locked in place until she opened the books.

The Mendolesa girl sighed again as she read the pages in front of her. This tome was about the theory of quantum locking and the implications of time-spatial disruption.

It was all dreadfully dull. 

Complex equations, theories and the opinions of long dead mages and theoretical physicists filled the page.

Apparently, it was possible to travel in time using a certain spatial spell but not in the way that one would think.

Travelling through time would create a parallel timeline where your actions in your new reality would not affect the original one.

Therefore, after interfering with the timestream there were some mages who chose not to go back and preferred to live in a reality where they had changed major events to their liking.

It sounded pretty awful when you thought about it. 

Entire new realities subject to the whims of mages who came bearing knowledge of the future.

Astrid absentmindedly wondered if she would ever try this spell. Maybe if one of her loved ones died?

But even then… the people she would visit would not be the originals. They would be copies created by the time manipulation aspect of the spell.

All of these theories made her head hurt.

Astrid's tail drooped downwards as she placed the heavy tome down on the table and slowly got up from her chair.

She needed to stretch her legs.

The Mendolesa girl wandered around the library past the massive shelves that were filled with an endless sea of books as far as the eye could see.

Artificial sunlight streamed in through holes in the ceiling and the entire place smelled quite pleasant.

Astrid headed for the 'relaxing area' as she dubbed it and crashed down on one of the foamy inflatable chairs.

This area had not originally been in the library. In fact, she had to beg her master several times before he reluctantly agreed to add it.

Astrid's body sank slightly into the foamy chair, and she felt a great deal of tension wash off her shoulders.

It was hard not be feel stressed these last couple of days.

Especially considering that her girlfriend and her two good friends were heading off to the selection ceremony to pick the next leader of the Imperial Family.

Astrid furrowed her brows as she remembered the conversation that she had with Qiana last night.

Well… conversation was putting it mildly. 

It was sort of an argument… one of the few major ones between the pair.

Astrid wanted to come along to the selection ceremony, but Qiana had refused. 

Apparently only human nobles were invited to attend along with their engaged or married partners.

So, Astrid suggested that she could propose but Qiana said that she did not want to be proposed to in such a rushed manner.

Long story short… they had spent the morning ignoring each other.

The Mendolesa girl placed her paw on her forehead and let out another sigh. She was worried about her girlfriend's safety.

The Mendolesa race for better or for worse were a fairly straightforward species and their politics did not have verbal sparring, treachery, and deceit.

Now that was not say that there were no assholes, and everyone lived in peace but rather that feuds were left out in the open and settled with fists not diplomacy.

Humans on the other hand… well… they possessed cunning that was part of the reason why the Federation was so successful.

And that trait was a double-edged sword. 

Humanity's cunning was a terrible weapon that could be wielded against their enemies… or their allies.

Astrid clicked her tongue and then stood up. She tilted her wrist communicator upwards and began to write out a message to her girlfriend.

There was no point in continuing this cold war and she was prepared to be the bigger person and apologise first.

It was the mature and responsible thing to do.

Buzz! Buzz!

Qiana: [Hey… I'm sorry that I lost my temper earlier… I know you just want to protect me, and I love you…]

Qiana: [Have a good day]

"Damn! She beat me to it!" Astrid exclaimed in shock as she quickly typed out a reply and pressed send.

The good thing about their arguments is that they rarely lasted for longer than a day and both parties would usually apologise once they cooled down.

Relationships were all about healthy communication. 

Well at least that's the Virtual Net said when Astrid looked up tips on how to keep her girlfriend happy.

The Mendolesa girl smiled as she chatted with Qiana for a few minutes before powering off her wrist communicator.

She headed back to the table where she had stacked an enormous pile of books with a spring in her steps.

She was still worried, but she knew that her girlfriend was not some damsel in distress and could take care of herself.

And she would be with Sophie and Cleo so hopefully the three of them would look out for each other during the selection ceremony.

Astrid hummed softly as she pulled out the chair next to the table and sat down. She reached for the book that she had been reading before and turned the page.

'The problem with these new unstable realities is that they collapse eventually… it may take a few weeks… it may take years or even decades, but it will happen.'

'The mages who remain in these unstable timelines will also perish along with the rest of the universe that they inhabit.'

'For those who escape however… most go mad. It is difficult to go from a perfect idealised reality back to the original timeline.'

'Some activate the spell again and…'

'They try to go back in time, trapping themselves in a never-ending loop where they create their perfect world only for the timeline to collapse and the process to begin all over again...'