Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Three: Search for Steel

Jay and Arian's search to learn more about Lana Tarulum wasn't going as hoped. They had been searching for a few hours when the time came for them to start thinking about lunch, but Jay still didn't want to give up. Her stomach was rumbling with a need for food, but she didn't want to move. It was as if the answer was on the tip of her tongue, and she was going to find a way to figure it out. 

Jay closed her eyes and scrubbed at her face with her hands, a sigh leaving her lips. She just wanted answers already. Jay considered herself a patient person, but there was only so much room she was willing to offer for this small investigation session. Lyloc was counting on her to figure out what was going on, and she wasn't about to disappoint her. 

Suddenly, Arian let out a sharp gasp and began tapping excessively at Jay's shoulder. She flinched away from him, not fond of human contact, but he didn't seem to notice. "You have to come look at this!" he hissed to her, his words practically ramming into each other due to his excitement. He was sitting in front of a computer and pointing at something aggressively. 

Computers were one thing that the Galaxy of Hyperion had in common with Earth. They had been developed much faster thanks to the power of Metal magic, but they ran rather similar where functionality was concerned. The reach was far wider in Hyperion, though that was to be expected as long as magic was factored into the equation. Still, Jay hadn't used them much, never seeing much of a need since she had always done things by herself. She couldn't deny how useful they were though, and if Arian had truly stumbled upon something helpful, she wasn't going to shut him down. 

Arian was pointing at a picture, and Jay couldn't help but frown. She didn't see any people in the photo since it appeared to be an overhead shot of a town. Still, each building was made of shining steel, and it was far from being normal as far as she could tell. "That's a city," she remarked, looking to Arian. She was still frowning deeply. "Is there something else I'm supposed to be seeing here?"

"This is the City of Steel," Arian replied. "It's an entirely artificial space created by one person. The occupants are all robots, inventions by the person who formed the city in the first place. The robots are highly intelligent, having gained emotional intelligence after years of evolution. As far as I can tell, they're being led by a figure who happens to be known as Antallumaur. However, when you look at that in a different way, then the true identity of this figure becomes clear."

Arian grabbed a nearby sheet of paper and began scribbling down the name Antallumaur. Slowly, he crossed off the letters, and Jay let out a gasp when she realized what he was talking about. "It's an anagram," she murmured. "It's an anagram of Lana Tarulum."

Arian nodded. "Yeah, it is. It's a rather unusual name, so I think it's safe to say that we've found the right person," he told her. "How about we go to this City of Steel and look around? Maybe we'll be able to get an audience with her, and that would give us the chance to find out what her connection to Lyloc and the other original Hanilia is."

"That sounds good to me," Jay agreed with a firm nod. She picked up the page that Arian had been marking on before creating a sphere of purple energy in her other hand. She brought both hands together, and when her palms pulled away, the page had been completely destroyed. 

"What was that for?" Arian questioned, glaring at Jay playfully. She wasn't sure they knew each other well enough for him to be quite so rambunctious, but there wasn't anything she could do to stop it, so she chose not to comment on it. 

"We don't want anyone following our tracks," Jay replied simply. "We don't know what we're looking for, and if there are any others out there who want to learn the same information that we do... It would just be for the best if we were careful to make sure that nobody could trace us."