Fun Fact: The staff is a magi’s essential tool for casting magic or a weapon to those more inclined to harm others. Since a staff can be materialised and dematerialised at will, the average Magi is often seen without it. Materialising it is more often than not seen as an act of provocation.
The invention of staves was inevitable, considering man’s natural fondness for weapons. A tool borne of necessity, the staff was mainly used to control and channel the turbulent Arcani of the early Magis. Many materials were used until the ancient artificers found the simple yet perfect combination that could channel Arcani without losing its efficacy.
~ ~ ~
“Hey, you! Oi homie, over here!”
It took a while for Felix to realise that the voice was directed at him. He looked around wildly before spotting the thin man waving in his direction. The man appeared to have settled into the refugee tents, since he was carrying nothing but a government-issued ration pack.
Small pockets of people trudged around, familiarising themselves with the place. Others huddled outside flaps of fabric that functioned as entrances to their tents, whispering prayers of encouragement among themselves.
Felix approached the stranger, flashing an uncertain smile at him. The man looked in his early forties, and he sported a fashionable turquoise undercut. He also looked slightly familiar, although Felix could not yet recall where he had seen that man before.
“Hi, do I know you?” Felix asked.
“It’d be a great honour if ya did. But don’t sweat it, bruv.” The man had a strong accent distinctly reminiscent of the Pollux Isles, although a pinch of Siriuan accent was also mixed within it. “I’ve always wanted to thank you for pulling that metal beam out of the concrete for me back then.”
“Oh!” Felix let loose a small chuckle as the memory returned to him. Gods, it had been more than a year ago. “You’re that shapeshifter Meta, right? My pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure’s all mine. Still can’t believe it myself; a fellow Meta in the Guardian Council.” The man flashed a toothy grin. “Meta-kind Represent!”
“That’s very kind of you. Well, nice to meet you too. Great to see that you’re safe too, Mister…”
“Doukas. Nero Doukas,” the man replied cheerfully, but a grim look quickly crossed his face. “I’m very grateful to the Guardian Council for travelling so far into the outskirts to save my village. But my wife and child, they’re still out there. The Guardians couldn’t get to them on time…”
“I’m so sorry about that, Doukas. I promise, we’ll do our best to save every citizen still stranded out there. Just give us some time to regroup and go out again.”
“You really are a hero,” Nero said. “Please. Call me Nero, homie. I know I’m not the only one who’s missing my family, and I don’t mean to impose, but—”
Felix held his hand out, gesturing for Nero to touch it.
“What’s this?” the man asked as his palm touched the telepath’s hand hesitantly.
“Just committing to my memory what your family looks like.” The glow in Felix’s eyes flickered as he gave the grateful-looking man a warm smile. “You have my word. I’ll get them back safely. You stay safe, Nero.”
Nero broke into a grateful smile.
A wall of murmuring crashed into the boy soon after as he walked into the refugee common area. His heart sank at the sight before him. There were way too many people packed into this modestly sized room, and their numbers were only going to increase over the days. But handling such logistics wasn’t his job, and it certainly wasn’t his forte as well. He could only hope that Cybele cared enough about the refugees to come up with something.
Felix pulled open a fabric flap and entered one of the tents. “Hey, Aglaia. Need some help?
The little girl looked up at her mentor. Blue light faded from her palm as she moved it away from her parents’ knees. Relief was etched on their faces, though it was obvious they were in some sort of pain just before.
“Thanks, Felix. But I need no help at the moment,” Aglaia replied. “My parents are terminally ill, you see. They need a constant influx of Arcani to keep their motor functions alive. With the Arcani in the air now corrupted, they can’t draw on it for sustenance anymore. So it’s up to me to provide the required Arcani.”
“You’re a kind girl.” Felix gave Aglaia’s parents a polite smile before turning to the girl again. “Will you come outside with me for a short while? We need to discuss some Guardian matters.”
They left the room.
~ ~ ~
“So, our leader has given us our instructions,” Felix began. “Our mission is to eradicate the Abominations and rescue any trapped civilians.”
Aglaia remained motionless as the gentle breeze wafted through her hair.
“I know you’re new to this, so you’ll remain by my side and act as my aide,” he continued nonchalantly. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no harm comes to you.”
The girl was still facing away from him, looking as though she was eerily frozen in time.
“Aglaia?” Felix’s voice dropped as he reached out a hand to her. “Are you alright—”
She turned around slowly.
“There is a presence.”
Felix released a sharp exhale of shock. Aglaia’s eyes had turned completely black, and murky lines of tears were leaking from her eyes. Pain roared in his mind as psychic waves assaulted his brain, as if they were trying to physically break through his skull.
Aglaia clutched her head in pain as well, and an animalistic, almost demonic scream tore from her mouth.
Oh, gods… What is happening?
Felix moved without thinking and tried to touch her forehead to calm her thoughts. More pain exploded in his own brain instead.
Why does it… HURT! WHY DOES IT… HATE! So much… hate. So much… SIN!
“Aglaia…” Felix clenched his jaw in effort, trying to push the storm of thoughts out of his mind.
The girl’s mind was a lot more violent and powerful than he had last remembered. Even if she was somehow in distress, her telepathy shouldn’t feel this way. It was almost as if something else had taken over her mind.
So cold… so scared… We’re all dead… Why… WHY ARE WE ALL DEAD?!
“Calm… your mind— Guh!” Felix wheezed desperately with effort. Aglaia’s telepathy was overwhelming his own. That was new.
A magenta glow exploded from his irises as her memories finally broke through his psychic barrier and invaded his mind.
Fire sizzled all around him, while cries of agony grated his ears. Cries of people— No. Not just people. Different lifeforms, all sharing the same pain and nightmare. The air crackled with despair. It was as if he had just looked upon what the entire world had to hold of horror, and neither poetry nor madness could do justice to what he witnessed.
“No… I don’t want our future… I don’t want our pain!”
Aglaia’s agonised voice brought Felix’s mind back to the present. He let go of her and fell backwards as the vision abruptly left their minds. The boy heaved a sigh of relief. It was over, for now.
“Hey. Hey hey hey, calm down.” Felix knelt beside a shivering Aglaia, pulling her back to her feet. “Everything’s going to be alright. You’re safe… you’re safe.”
“So scared… There was something else… in my head,” the girl whimpered as Felix comforted her gently. Thankfully, her eyes were back to normal, and her tears were no longer clouded.
“You need to calm your mind,” Felix repeated, although uncertainty soaked his voice. “It has been a very stressful time for you, so it’s no wonder that you lost control of your telepathy. Tier Five Metas like us have to exercise extra caution over our power, lest we accidentally destroy everything around us.”
“No, it wasn’t anything like that,” Aglaia insisted. “There was this… very dark presence that made contact with me and showed me all those horrors. The connection in my mind is still open, and I’m afraid whatever that is will attack me again.”
Meaning her mind can connect with anything. Past, present, future… Even across the infinite universes beyond our own.
Felix cast his eyes downwards, recalling Cicero’s words about Aglaia’s power. He didn’t enjoy entertaining the thought of a malicious, evil presence, but it was definitely possible. That strange feeling in Aglaia’s mind felt unnaturally oppressive, as though it was connected to some sort of hive mind or collective presence.
Could Aglaia have made contact with a legion of demons? Or perhaps something even more sinister?
“Open your mind to me next time.” Felix gave the frightened girl a tight hug to calm her down. “We’ll fight off that psychic entity together, alright? I promise.”
Aglaia nodded hesitantly. “I’ll try my best.”
~ ~ ~
Gaius looked towards the rapidly setting sun, ignoring the perplexed stares of the gate guards. They were nice enough to warn him about the dangers of wandering outside the camp, but it did not matter to him in the least. He was not intending to return.
The ex-Guardian rummaged his hands in his coat once more. He should have enough supplies and weapons to survive an encounter if he were unlucky enough, although he wasn’t hoping to have to fight anything. The plan was simple: Head out to the nearest neighbourhood and try to save as many survivors as possible.
It would’ve been nice to have the support of even a few Guardian Council members, but that wasn’t an option either. Besides, if he wanted to be a proper hero, he had to practise helping people without relying on anyone else.
“Just search and rescue. No need to engage,” Gaius reminded himself. “It’s a simple mission, Gaius. All you need to do is direct as many people as possible to safe spaces.”
The Sorcerer exhaled slowly as orange light flickered behind his eyelids, letting True Vision search for his first target for him.
There.
A faint silhouette of a rundown town showed up in his mind less than a second later. So be it. He pulled out a teleportation wand from within his coat, focusing on the image of the town while channelling Arcani into the wand—
“Gaius!” Footsteps broke his focus. Gaius stifled a frustrated groan as magic retreated from his Arcani channels. He turned to the girl, who was anxiously jogging towards him.
“Gaius, where are you going?” Parthena’s face was pale, and she seemed slightly out of breath.
“Is she really that unfit?”Gaius wondered absentmindedly.
“Never mind that,” the girl interrupted herself. “I need your help. My friends are in imminent danger. Please call on the Guardian Council to help them!”
“Calm down, Parthena.” Gaius gestured, though his voice rapidly filled with urgency. “What happened?”
“Orion just called me. My congregation members are gathered at our church, and they’re planning some kind of suicide ceremony,” the girl wailed. “He’s trying to talk them down at the moment, but he needs my help too. Please, we have to bring them back here before they do anything stupid!”
“I… I’m not part of the Council anymore.” Gaius hung his head. “I just quit.”
“W— What?” Parthena’s eyes widened in despair. “Oh no… what am I to do? I need to save them… They’re all I have.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“J— Just you?” Parthena asked as a slight hint of doubt crossed her face.
“What’re you expecting, a damn army? Let’s get on with it.”
Gaius let out an inaudible gasp as he fought back to urge to cover his mouth. Where did that come from? I didn’t mean to say that…
He looked away from the girl and focused his mind on the church instead, ignoring the odd fuzzy feeling that seemed to be bubbling from somewhere deep within him. It had been gnawing at him ever since this apocalypse started, although he was sure it was just a coincidence. If he were transforming into an Abomination, he would’ve turned by now anyway.
There was a low rumbling as a portal burst out of the wand’s other end. The two of them quickly stepped into it and left the camp.
Kleopatra stepped out from a pillar not too far away and walked towards where the warp portal had just faded away. She directed a technomagick reader and aimed it at the ground. The rectangular device beeped for a few seconds before displaying a location on its screen.
And she pulled out a teleportation wand.223Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8jAulkAnZ
