Magician Goes Rogue
- 2 years ago
- 25
- 0
When I woke up Friday I no longer felt exhausted, but I did feel spacey, like reality had become somewhat less real. Ursus assured me that my stamina would grow with practice.
The weather wasn't exactly good, but it was good enough to ride our bikes. Before I left for school, Mom asked me, "When are you going to get the shit out of your drawers and write your letter to Father Christmas? Your brothers and sisters finished theirs a week ago." Writing letters indicating what we wanted for Christmas was a family tradition. This year, Mary had helped the two youngest.
"I'll write it tonight."
"Your father and I will be starting our shopping tomorrow. If you don't get it done, you'll be getting sheep shit and a shovel."
The big school event of the day was the collection of the note cards for our term papers. Other than that, it followed the lately established pattern. Al avoided me. Carol glared at me. Donbo kept to himself at post-lunch recess. And Kirsten didn't hide the fact that she liked me. The last item on the list counteracted the first two and made me feel warm inside.
During our end-of-school-day hug near the coat hooks, I got a kiss on my cheek, too. I had a happy thought. "Would you like to come over to my house after school?"
"I'd love to meet the rest of your family, but I have to ask my mom."
"We can tell Mary and Sean the plan. I'm sure they won't mind stopping by your house long enough for you to check."
The four of us headed to Kirsten's. On the way past Mom's van, I confirmed my assumption that having Kirsten over would be fine.
Kirsten went in her house for a few minutes. I noticed that she had changed and was now wearing jeans. She never wore them to school. I wondered how her butt looked in jeans, but her coat was too long to see. As Kirsten was getting her bike, Mrs. Kennedy stuck her head out the door. Mary and I waved. "Hi, Mrs. Kennedy."
She looked at Sean. "I don't believe we've met."
I motioned with my head, and we went into the garage. Kirsten said, "Mom, this is Sean MacDougle. He's a friend of Arthur's and is in our class at school. Sean, this is my mom."
"Hi."
"Pleased to meet you, Sean."
We were all getting back on our bicycles when Kirsten noticed that her friend Pam Derbyshire, who lived across the street a couple of door down, was out. "Do you mind if I ask Pam to come along?"
"Not at all." I was being honest. I knew that with my friends and family, there was zero chance that Kirsten and I were going to get any privacy, nominal or otherwise, so the more the merrier.
When Pam got her bike, I noted that I was no longer the only one present with a short bicycle. Finally, we headed down Dale Lane, Kirsten's street. As we crossed Regard, the street Jewel Staid Elementary School was on, I thought I saw Carol Flagler and his buddy Pat heading perpendicularly toward us, but I didn't acknowledge them, and they said nothing. A few seconds after we crossed, I looked over my shoulder, but I didn't see them.
I don't like that, thought Ursus.
Neither do I, thought Arthur. They both live west of here.
They could just be visiting a friend, I thought. The other voices in my head agreed, but none of us felt confident.
As we approached Sean's place on Bradley near Topiary, I asked, "You coming over later?"
"It depends if my Mom needs me for anything."
As we rode down Twine, I saw that Danny was out. "That's my friend Dan. We'd better stop and say hi." We turned into the drive. Danny had bicycle parts spread all over the garage floor. Jenny immediately headed for Mary.
"Dan, this is Kirsten Kennedy, and this is Pam Derbyshire. They're both in my class at school. This is my friend, Dan Lukowski. He goes to Lager Junior High."
"Hey." He looked at Kirsten. "So you're the fox that has my man Artie feelin' all squishy." Gee, Dan, thanks.
"I don't know about the fox part." Kirsten looked at me. "Do I make you feel squishy?"
"Something like that."
She took my hand and looked at Danny. "I guess so, then."
"Cool. Artie, do you still want me to build you a bike?"
"Yeah. I'm feeling the need for something taller."
"I'm trying to sort out my parts to see what I can use to build a pedal car, and I want to set aside the parts for your bike. You want something faster, too, right?"
"What, you starting a new project?"
"Yeah. If I make it right, a pedal car with two riders and a plastic covering to cut the wind ought to be able to go faster than a bike, and it would kick ass."
"Flipped out." The Arthur part of my brain thought it was a splendid idea.
"Anyway, let's pick out the parts for your bike. I have some almost new 26-inch wheels over there, and I can make you a ten-speed." So we spent a few minutes picking out bike parts.
"Pay for the paint, and I'll make it any color you want."
"Flat black. Do you need the money now? I'd have to go home to get it."
"Nah, tomorrow's good."
"I need to get going, Dan, or my mom's going to start to worry."
"See you later, then."
After we were moving, I said, "Sorry about the delay, but when Dan is in the throes of creativity, it's best not to derail him."
"I know the feeling," Kirsten said.
Mike and Terry were out, so we had to go through another round of introductions. Terry said, "Amazing! Artie in the company of three pretty girls."
Pam looked embarrassed. "I don't think I count," said Mary.
"Don't sell yourself short," said Mike.
"I just meant that I'm his sister. There's nothing amazing about him being seen with me."
"Oh, so you accept the pretty part. It sounds like you're getting a swollen head."
"And I see you agree with being amazed about the pretty girls, too" added Terry.
"I didn't mean anything like that!"
"Sure you didn't. We know that you secretly think that it's amazing that Arthur's in the company of non-relative females," said Mike.
"And we've also learned that you're getting conceited," said Terry.
"You two are awful. Horrible. Despicable."
I stepped in. "Yes they are, and you should know better than to mess with them when they're managing to work together." I said to the Prestors, "I'll see you guys later. You should go talk to Danny about his latest plan."
We put our bikes in the garage, and I brought Kirsten and Pam in to brave the clan. By the time we hit the kitchen, the mob had formed. "Pam, I don't think you've met my mother. Mom, this is Pam Derbyshire, she's in Mr. Dean's class, too." I then introduced the mob.
"Rich says you're Artie's girlfriend," said Susan.
"I don't know," replied Kirsten. "We've never really said."
I would have preferred better circumstances, but I didn't see a way to delay the issue gracefully. "Kirsten, do you want to be my girlfriend?"
"I guess I'm going to have to think about it." My face must have looked awful, because she immediately grabbed my hand and said, "I'm so sorry, Artie. Of course I do. Will you be my boyfriend?"
"Yes."
"Well, it's official," said Mom. Mary actually bounced on her toes and let out a little squeal.
Susan looked at Pam. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Don't be so nosy," Mom said as she picked Susan up. "You're getting heavy."
"Before we do anything else," I said, "Kirsten has to see my bear." She smiled. So literally everyone headed into the bedroom I shared with my brothers. I shut the door so the poster-size pair picture was visible.
I thought it was a fine piece. Danny had sketched it out in pencils and then had gone over it in pastels. A rampant polar bear, seen from three-quarters, was standing atop a peninsula of ice. It looked as if he was snarling his defiance at something just beyond the edge of the picture. A couple of birds were in the sky and a seal's head could be seen sticking out of the water. "It's called Kayaker In Trouble."
The title earned a couple of chuckles. "That Danny guy we just met did this?" Kirsten asked.
"Yes, he drew it for me when I told him that "Arthur" meant bear."
"That was nice of him. He's good."
"Be careful of him, girls," Mom said. "Danny is a purveyor of bullshit and dangerous to know. The only reason I let my son near him is that Artie is cantankerous, stubborn, and thinks for himself. Someone more tractable could get into trouble."
Wow, that was almost a compliment, sort of. Did Mom actually trust me? Sounds like it, thought Ursus. We admired the picture for another minute. "We have a rec room downstairs," I said. "Do you want to see it?"
So everyone but Susan and Mom tromped downstairs, with Mary taking a detour to drop off her schoolwork in her bedroom. I put my pack full of homework on the old kitchen table. "Would you like to shoot some pool?"
Mike and Charlie declared that they were going to play, too. In the past, I might have argued with them, but Ursus's influence was continuing it's mellowing effect. We ended up playing eight ball with teams of Kirsten, Charlie, and I versus Pam, Mary, and Rich.
Kirsten broke and sank five balls before missing one. She was a better player than Mary, who was better than I. Charlie sank the eight in that game. Sean showed up about then, and I let him take my place on the team. I fetched my guitar from the non-office and ran through the nine chords I'd practiced so far and a couple of scales.
"You are making fast progress with that," said Kirsten. "I'm impressed."
"Thank you, I've been working on it steadily."
"Keep it up, and we'll be jamming in no time."
"I've started to teach Mike and Terry, the two smartasses you met next door, too."
"Isn't that the blind leading the blind?"
"Perhaps. Mostly, we're just working on open chords. Anyone can hear if a chord is sounding cleanly."
"I want to learn the piano," said Mary.
Wonder of wonders, Rich volunteered to sit out the next game. We played pool and BSed until Kirsten said, "The sun will be going down soon, and my mom doesn't want me out after dark."
"All right, I'll ride home with you," I said.
"I'll come, too," Mary said.
So the three girls and Sean and I headed out. As we passed Danny's house, I noticed the Prestor's bikes outside. It was then that I made my big mistake. I was wary already about Carol and his buddy hanging around outside their natural environs. I should have stopped and requested an escort from my friends, but I was lazy about it and, to be honest, a little afraid of losing face. Ursus didn't like it, but he let the younger part of me have its way.
Sean dropped out of formation at his house to shouted, "see yas," and the rest of us continued on to Pam's and Kirsten's without incident.
When we got to Kirsten's, she said, "Come here for a minute, Arthur."
I wheeled up on my bike.
"Get off your bike." Oh.
She gave me a hug and then stepped back a little with her face turned up.
Kiss her, Ursus said. She's inviting you to kiss her.
I suppose there are far more romantic settings for a first kiss than standing in a garage with one's sister in the driveway. On the other hand, we had declared each other girlfriend and boyfriend an hour or so ago. I was nervous, and it wasn't particularly impassioned. Still, when we gently brushed lips for a few seconds, my heart soared.
We stepped apart. Kirsten looked a bit flushed, and she was breathing hard. I suppose I was in the same state. She gave me a huge smile, said, "See you, Artie," and went inside.
I managed to get on my bike without hurting myself. If Mary said anything to me, I didn't hear it. We headed south on Dale toward home, riding beside each other.
I was jolted out of blissful reverie when we got close enough to the intersection with Normal road to see who were sitting on their bikes in the back corner of the high school yard. (The high school's grounds were huge, stretching a half-mile from Cord to Normal.)
"There he is!" Pat yelled. Carol Flagler and their other buddy looked up.
My second mistake was not doing any scenario planning. The Arthur portion of my brain couldn't have been expected to be familiar with the concept, but Ursus knew better. We really should have had some pre-made plans about what to do if it hit the fan at various places between Kirsten's house and mine. I desperately needed a plan. I didn't have time to figure out the optimal plan. I needed the right-now plan.
The first priority was making sure Mary didn't get hurt. There was no way we were going to get past Carol and his crew if we tried to make it to Bradley, so going left was out. Turning right was faster that turning around, so turn right. "Turn right, Mary."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it. Those guys want to kick my ass." We turned right. There was just a short stretch until the intersection of Normal and Cabin Drive. Cabin ran parallel to Dale. "Go up Cabin." We turned right again to head north on Cabin, increasing our speed all the while. I could hear Carol and his friends hollering as they chased us.
"Go as fast as you can," I shouted. "Head for Kirsten's house and get help." Cabin led to Regard, and we could take Regard back to Dale. I really, really didn't want to get Kirsten's parents involved, but Mary's safety was paramount, and I had no idea what Carol and his friends would do to her. If they were crazy enough to attack me when my sister was present, they might just go ahead and smack her around, too. How could I be sure they wouldn't?
I was in high gear and pedaling as hard as I could. Mary was just ahead of me. If she were going as fast as she could, she could easily outdistance me on her bigger bike, as I knew from our impromptu races. "Don't hold back. Go!" She still held back. "Go! Go! Go!" Finally, she went.
I spent the next month at Morgana's Manse in the secret library that despite having been living there previously for twenty years during my apprenticeship I hadn't even guessed at its existence. I think Morgana hides it in a pocket dimension and the door is only visible to those she wants it to be seen by. Mind you until I started advanced magic I wasn't even aware of pocket dimensions despite the fact that Morgana used them constantly around me to produce objects from seemingly thin air....
The following day after treating Róisín to a West End show and a meal I set off to the world called Kurukshetra and then onto Loegria. Even to this day, Loegria is a secret world, not many Mages know of it, even on the Council of the Wise, even fewer how to get there. It is essentially the only world we've discovered where the native people cannot do magic. Nor are we sure as to how its people got there in the first place, all other worlds with people on were former Sidhe worlds where...
I still hadn't a clue where Morgana's manse was, though I was beginning to suspect it wasn't a regular world, or not one that any Mage could simply run across via a scan, it also wasn't in a pocket dimension either. That I could get there was due to Morgana having placed the co-ordinates into my mind during my apprentice days, not that I could read them, I simply thought about it and then ported, it was a clever trick and one which I worried over mentally every so often, determined to...
It was a subdued group who met back at Morgana's Manse, we'd come so close to exposing a traitor to humanity on the Council. "I'm sorry." I said. "I shouldn't have started questioning him in such an exposed place." "Not your fault, John," Morgana said. "Whoever sent that spell knew exactly what they were doing, it was precise and sufficiently low powered so as not to illuminate the caster to our vision. I'd like to know who it was and how they knew that Johannes would fail...
The following day Morgana called a meeting of her senior staff, people she'd trusted with her life over the centuries she'd been a Mage and who had earned her trust time and time again. Also in attendance were their apprentices and journeymen, who included myself, Róisín and Abigail. Morgana went over the events of the previous day including the injuries to Mage Theo and described accurately the men and Mages who were involved on the other side. She also mentioned the summoning, though not...
The following day the Coalition Mages were invited to watch the interrogation of a prisoner outside a Null field. The prisoner himself refused to even speak and the Coalition were allowed to check his mental shields to confirm just how tough they were. "Have any been breached yet?" asked Mage Elymas. "No," said Mage Vera. "As you can tell from various cues in his mental state and behaviour it is only a matter of time however." "So I can read from his surface mental agitation," said...
It didn't take us too long to get back to where Arch and the Department forces were hunkered down behind a series of barricades. "John, you mad bugger, welcome to the party," he greeted me with a massive grin on his face. "Good work with Johannes and Ímar, though I do recall telling you to be bloody careful." "Was down to my team in the end," I replied. "They took them down; I just got them close enough to do it." "Nearly killed yourself again," said Arch. "You're going to...
The following day a very tired looking Morgana called a meeting of the Department and all its Sections to thank them for all the hard work they'd put in in dealing with the incursion and to honour our fallen. She also announced that former Council member Heinrich had been declared outlaw by both Council and Coalition for his crimes of kidnapping, torture, rape and murder of children. After that she called a meeting of the Section heads including Arch as the head of her counter Coalition...
The next few months were spent in feverish preparation and long hours as the various Bureaus of the Council trained their frontline staff to meet and defeat any incursion based on the known powers of the Nephilim. The Council seemed to be concerning itself with trying to break the mindblocks of the Mages of the Nephilim but also including Ímar Ua Donnubáin. We received no progress reports as the Council itself seemed to have withdrawn into isolation, leaving the various Bureaus to simply get...
Morgana, Arch and the rest of the team, including Róisín and myself, ported back to the Department and we went off to file our reports for Mage Thomas before he had a chance to have a stern word with us. Thomas was perhaps the most gentle soul I'd ever met save only in one respect, he expected that the paperwork got done and woe betide you if you didn't do it. Personally I'd rather have a dressing down from Morgana than face Mage Thomas and one of his lectures on the proper way to file a...
We were met by Rowenna when we got back to the medical wing. "Thank goodness you two are alright!" she exclaimed. "We didn't know anything until an armed column turned up to defend us. Which was nice but a tad unnecessary." We explained what had happened and mentioned Ketty getting a Mage as an aide to keep an eye on her personal security. "I know just the person," said Rowenna. "I can get journeywoman Irena to do it. She's been trying to find some task to make herself useful, she...
"We have a new diplomatic mission, John," Morgana told me a few days later. "Can't be any worse than seeking out a higher power and asking them questions," I replied jokingly. Morgana simply raised an eyebrow. "Oh hell, what now, my Mage?" I asked. "I've been tasked to liaise with representatives of the Æsir government to see if there is any more aid we can give them with their Nephilim incursion," Morgana said. "I thought 'officially' we weren't giving them any aid?" I...
We approached the scene of the Nephilim incursion very carefully. The Æsir warned us that Nephilim scouts used a type of long range magically enhanced rifle to target any they saw approaching the front. "How much land have they taken?" I enquired of Vanir Torsenn who was our escort to the incursion. Over 800 square rôst, a rôst is roughly one of your miles," he said. "Only Nephilim appear to be alive in there as they kill anyone they find, even babes in arms." "Barbarians!" I...
No one could remember how the Azura came about, but they were immediately enslaved by demons who bound them to their will as the demons had done with many others they had happened upon. Yet the Azura were different, stronger, brighter, possessed greater willpower and, most importantly, were fecund in a manner that changed the outcome of all others races of men they spawned with into Azura, or something closely akin. And the Azura grew strong and eventually Malakh, their leader, stole the...
"No, John, absolutely impossible," said Morgana. "Oonagh is or rather was a power, but she would be as nothing against a denizen of the Outer realms." "I hope you're right, my Mage, but whatever is controlling the Nephilim portals definitely isn't from the Outer Realms," I replied. Morgana paused and frowned. "May I check your memories of this portal opening, John?" she asked, more out of politeness than anything else. A Mage does not have to ask their apprentice or journeyman to...
It was good to be home, however much I had enjoyed my adventures with the Æsir. It was a relief to not have to watch my back and what I said quite so much. I spent much of my time back at the office catching up with various details (and gossip) that I'd missed whilst being away. The truce still held with the Coalition, though no one expected it to last much longer and everyone was on their guard. Our Political Section had been quite active and several Coalition members had defected after...
Our first targets were in the Paris District of St Denis and were essentially a monitoring squad of Coalition Mages who we believed had been put in place as a snatch squad, none of whom it was presupposed were High Mages, nor expecting our response. Despite the fact that we were using a portal, I didn't expect them to realise that they were in any immediate danger as we'd arranged for the Mage being observed to frequently use a portal to lull their caution. We were also hoping that the...
Most people in the United Kingdom have heard the tale of Lord Lucan. Few if any know the real tale as I'm about to recall it. The official tale says that Lord Lucan was an unsuccessful professional gambler whose marriage collapsed in a bitter custody battle which left him spying on his family, including recording their telephone calls. On the evening of 7 November 1974, the children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was bludgeoned to death in the basement of the Lucan family home. Lady Lucan was also...
Things as ever settled down after the excitement of the Coalition's failure to succeed in an attack on us followed by our very successful counter-attacks. The Coalition withdrew to its heartlands and began what amounted to its own inquisition which further exacerbated its problems, with defections being rife, until eventually only a hard core of extremists remained, a very dangerous hard core to be sure. The Nephilim/Æsir war carried on apace, though the Æsir were pushing them back on all...
I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed working for Mage Roxanne whilst Morgana and Arch were tutoring Róisín in higher plane magic. I didn't enjoy the endless rounds of soothing various civil servants fears over what Mages might be up to, which was mostly stuff that had nothing to do with Mages and more to do with UFO spotting and conspiracy theories. What I did enjoy though was being Roxanne's assistant when she visited other worlds and their representatives. Mage Roxanne had opened...
Back in London we were met by Mage Henry and a security team which included two healing Mages. One, Mage Imelda, I knew well and who quickly checked Johann over clucking her tongue in disapproval at the condition he was in. "Werewolf bite, so you may need to check for infection if he has the gene, Mage Imelda," I told her. "Thank you, John. We'll make sure he's fine and available for questioning as soon as possible," Mage Imelda replied. "Can you send a team to check this dwelling,...
"Ideas? Before I propose my own of course," said Roxanne with a wry smile. "Get Abigail out of here before you propose she scans the diffused power and focuses the high Sidhe and Queen Oonagh upon us?" I asked with a relaxed smile. "We need to liaise with the Sidhe, or rather Verenestra or at least set up the means to do so as soon as possible. Frankly I can't see anything good coming from this return at all," William added, after a brief chuckle at Roxanne's face when I mentioned...
The paperwork took a little while although in the end I simply duplicated one report into the other. Some Mages had often enough suggested using memory crystals to store our memories of the events, but so far indexing one was proving problematical as opposed to simply running it back and forth. Still, there were some Mages involved in software and hardware development who assured us that pretty soon we'd be able to conveniently use computers to annotate data onto magnetic media. Having seen...
It took several months before Morgana was finally able to take her position in the Council of the Wise. Much of the time was spent tying up loose ends in the Department, as well as making sure Mage Roxanne was fully up to speed on the various sections plus the inevitable do's and don'ts. Finally the day came when she opened a portal in thin air and led me through it into a sealed chamber somewhere on our planet. I had been under the impression that the Council was based in North America,...
I did not know what to expect from a Council meeting. I had some sort of vague round table and intelligent Mages speaking words of wisdom and common sense idea in mind. I should have known better. What I got was a chamber with several tables and chairs and a bunch of screaming prima-donnas. Everything that was bad about Mages in the real world seemed to be amplified here in arrogance, disdain, pride, intransigence and a general 'I know best and to hell with the rest of you!' attitude to...
The office reforms went to plan. Those who no longer wished to work under Morgana simply refused to allow a full mind-scan and were allowed to resign, a good few moving to the Interrogation Office, whilst others were taken on by various Bureaus or simply vanished. My audit uncovered several anomalies in the way the office worked and both Róisín and I, with Morgana's permission, resolved them as well as getting several new members fixed on the task of making sure that the Council was...
The wind, which was still bitingly cold, had picked up as we discussed what was happening and where the source of the problem was. "The problem," opined Arch, "is that we have absolutely no idea where this Thaumaturge is working from." We all nodded, even Father Bryce, albeit reluctantly. "Can't be too far away, they're keeping pretty good tabs on us," Antonelli added. "Yes, but where? I rather doubt it's from the direction the attacks have been coming from," added...
Arch and I were ushered straight in to speak to Morgana once we had returned from Italy; also in her office were Róisín and Mage Thea to keep them informed of what it was we'd achieved. "Interesting outcome," Morgana mused after listening to our report. "You do seem to have an ability to confound existing knowledge on what higher powers will take an interest in." "Just wish I had an idea as to why," I replied. "Well, whatever it was, it had nothing to do with this Cagliostro who...
It was a couple of years later that the Council was forced to intervene directly in human affairs as it had done during the Cuban missile crisis. Though it wasn't obvious to people on the ground, the Soviet Union was nearing collapse due to the economic resurgence of the United States and could no longer afford to maintain its huge military economic complex. Reform or rather its collapse was still some years away and it had a massive military presence in Europe, though most of this was under...
Dombarovskiy was dour, flat and hostile. Our emergence or rather the Craebh Ruadh's emergence from their portal caused the mental equivalent of mayhem to a large group of Mages we could feel scanning the area. Both Morgana and I had gone into mindcloak before stepping through the portal getting a few startled looks from the warriors and were being ignored by the Coalition Mages who were now beginning some form of attack. The Craebh Ruadh had other ideas of course and immediately hared off at...
My first task was to take the three very nervous looking lady Mages along to Morgana's lounge. "Relax, you are under serious protection here," I said as we advanced into the room. "I know, it's just that Elymas is incredibly powerful and not someone who is easily stopped," Mary responded. "He will be doing very well to break through here and the effort required would leave him wide open to my counterattack," Morgana said as she entered the room with Seer Simone and Mage...
"Let me get this straight," I pondered. "Rasputin is probably alive and is holding the souls of Mary, Ceridwen and Alcina for some reason or other?" "It's as good an explanation until we get more facts on our hands, John," Bryce replied. "Well, if he's as dangerous as all seem to think, why hasn't there been some other form of corroboration that your Russian friends would have known about?" I asked. "Depends on what he's been doing and whether our guides would have had it...
"That was rather too easy," Julia noted. "You'd expect something a little more ... robust than a few dryad derivatives." "Distraction," said Bryce. "The exits have now been sealed and rather effectively too, I can no longer sense the surface." "Whatever sense you're using, it isn't one a Mage would use as I can sense the way we came and the surface of Moscow too," I replied, seeing nods off the rest of the Mages there including Rasputin. "I rather suspect a demonic influence...
The next couple of years were busy but uneventful from my strictly personal view, although I did finally manage to figure out how Morgana fixed the coordinates of her Manor in my head so that I couldn't recognise or read them. It was quite simple in principle in that the pattern or matrix was hidden within a generic memory and thinking of the 'Manor' activated it from the visual context. No, Morgana would not tell me how she did it, that apparently was my next challenge and was proving to...
Other than a little catching up with Ketty before her busy schedule took over there was nothing to keep us at her political office. Dorry and her two aides escorted us back down through the building and I noted how carefully they were protecting her. Most Mages inexperienced or not tended to shield themselves against both physical or energy attacks and that's what they were doing, one projecting a field that prevented high speed projectiles, the other high energy wavelengths and particles....
The following day Róisín and I joined two of the MAGES team, journeywomen Ekaterina and Liliya, along with Mage Brianna and took a driverless taxi to the Troianovan northern maglev station. I kind of knew from my studies the previous night what a maglev was but this was my first view of the actual thing. To my mind it was classic science fiction of the Flash Gordon era in a bullet-like missile tube of approximately 100 metres in length, resting (for want of a better word) on a trestle as...
Looking back over this journal it seems odd, much of what I do and how I live simply hasn’t been mentioned. It’s all dramatic deeds and political machinations within the Departments and Bureaus. Yet life for me is fairly predictable when I’m not doing anything direct for my Mage and/or the Council. I still lived with Róisín in London, although now we sort of had a full time lodger in apprentice (soon to be journeywoman) Seer Abigail who, despite officially living with Arch and Jemima, had...
It was in 1991, three years after Apprentice Seer Abigail became a journeywoman Seer, that Morgana decided that the extra training given to the various Bureaus had reached its peak and the time had arrived to take the fight to the Coalition on its own territory. Plans had been made and laid to move our teams in, using the specialised Seer driven portals which the Coalition could not detect, to protect the various members of the Supreme Soviet and other vital adjuncts to the Soviet Union in...
Once the Council’s deliberations had finished, I was led back by Arch and Morgana to her office along with Róisín, Thea and Mage Rowenna. Rowenna immediately began to scan me muttering a series of curses in tones of utter disgust. “Weeks,” she finally announced. “At least three, possibly more, the damage is extensive and pervasive.” “I feel fine, a little weak, but mostly fine,” I added. “John, you’re anything but, you won’t even be able to use your regeneration regimen to fix the damage...
Most people know about the massacre in Rwanda. There were roughly 800,000 deaths, mostly Tutsi though some moderate Hutu’s, taking place during a 100-day crisis in 1994. Many to this day do not understand why the U.N. and other world powers stood idly by whilst it happened. Most do not know what really happened and why the Council of the Wise had to act to keep ordinary people, including many aid agencies, out of the war zone. Military intervention was simply not possible because Earth...
The warded camp had been set up by Mage Amehlo’s people and was already filling up with Mages when we arrived. Other portals were also being set up to allow transfer of the people from Clan Juwes and the Zeilona Gora Lycana. The nosferatu naturally set themselves up as our night guard, it being their favoured environment and if there were problems with their feeding, we never got to hear of it. Word had also reached us from Mage Ludmilla that Jacob’s people had assembled and were ready to...
“Well, they were quicker off the mark than I’d like,” Morgana began our morning meeting on the second day of the mission. “Sacrificial pawns, Mage Morgana,” Marja replied. “Indeed,” added Nell. “They were basically the dregs of their units with a sub-standard Mage to guide them. The inclusion of a woman also suggests that their manpower is reaching some limits.” “I agree with Nell,” replied Jerhz. “Azuran women tend to be kept in seclusion so as not to be exposed to danger. It stems from...
“I’m impressed,” Morgana began when we had all assembled for an early afternoon meeting. “But now the real ‘fun’ begins. The Nephilim are pushing a mass of troops towards us and we expect to be fully engaged from noon tomorrow.” “Do you have a place to confront them?” Marja asked. “Yes. The slopes of Mont Gatete, where we’ll have a few advantages of seeing them approach and hopefully deal them a blow that they’ll struggle to recover from,” Morgana replied. “They could conceivably call in...
“Sir, there’s movement to our front,” Lochias Gindo announced to us as Jerhz and Mergna led the newly surrendered Nephilim away. “Finally figured we know they’re there and are trying to roll over us before the bulk of our forces can be arrayed,” Arch posited. “We could take and occupy the positions those Nephilim were holding,” I said. “Better than what we have now and it looks like we can reach them before they’ll notice us,” Arch replied. “OK, let’s go.” All of us, including Seer...
The damage to the camp had all but been repaired when we arrived via the portal and we all scattered with Arch’s approval to shower, feed and rest up whilst he waited for Morgana to return and begin planning our next operation. I did ensure Róisín made it to the healers section and they gave her an all clear after a deep scan. After that we wandered with Abi towards where Adok was remonstrating with some of the wolves over where they’d gone wrong. “He’s coming on a bit strong,” I said in an...
Before Morgana stepped forward to meet the Sidhe delegation she first gave the three women in our party the ability to understand what any member of the Sidhe or Nephilim said; then she also protected each one by placing on them a small Null ward that would shield their minds to any mental probe. “Please direct any comments to me as only I will do the speaking other than being announced by John if the old forms are to be observed,” Morgana requested politely. “Yes, Mage Morgana,” they all...
Morgana called together all those who had been in the battle and gave them her personal thanks for the efforts they had made to stem this incursion. “Our losses were not as bad as I’d expected,” she stated. “But, that does not make the hurt and anguish I feel for each life lost any less. Nine wolves of the Zielona Gora Lycana, six Nosferatu of the Clan Juwes, two Loegrians and thirty two Mages were lost to stem this evil tide, yet stop it we did. Earth armies would be handing out medals for...
The following morning a whole bunch of Mages set off in a series of taxis to the centre for higher learning and a meeting with Artello the senior neuro-technologist who had researched and produced our brainwave frequency changer. To give him credit he hardly seemed fazed at all about the number of people who turned up to view his ‘machine’ in its final form. Also there were Ketty and Niras as well as Dorry and Olmer, with the younger couple getting odd looks due to their tanned skin. “Here...
As a group we went around the corner into the corridor where the prison guards had Mage Clara pinned and restrained. Also in the corridor was the beheaded corpse of Johannes Trithemius who appeared to have not gone onto the next life without a tremendous struggle, admittedly to no avail. Despite being heavily shackled as well as what appeared to be sedated by the guard medical Mage judging by the syringe lying next to her, Clara was still struggling as well as swearing vilely at all of us...
It took almost three days before the full Council as well as their aides could be assembled due to ongoing work by its members as well as trying to get the various Bureau heads away from their necessary tasks. During this time we returned Artello to Loegria and received a promise from him to provide us with a mark II version of the frequency changer which would cope somewhat better with the mental frequency of a Seer. There was also a delay as Mage Vera was brought back to full health. Yet,...
Routine as ever settled over my life once the excitement of Kurukshetra and the frequency altering device had settled. My studies carried on apace and I finally succeeded in creating a portal without the need for a framework. I also found the time to study up on crystal lattice memory storage and learned how to create a very simple storage crystal, though nothing like the complexity of the ones Mage Benjamin produced. I was also now studying the creation of magical artifices or devices which...
1996 brought about some major changes for the Council; the end of the cold war had given way to the beginnings of the war on terror, though at the current state of affairs everyone was still slightly euphoric in the sense that the two main contenders in the cold war were now no longer planning on unleashing nuclear warfare on each other. The Coalition however had other plans and were upping the ante in the Shia/Sunni civil war within Islam which had been an ongoing niggle since Djadjamahnk...
We had just turned back to the van when there was a startled screech and a wave of water flowing over our shoes and boots. Turning quickly I immediately, along with the rest of the male Theurgists, did an about face as a sprawled, naked and clearly incandescently angry Morgana lay spluttering from whence she’d been grabbed, presumably in the middle of a bath. “John!” “Yes, my Mage?” I gulped. “Greatcoat, now!” “Yes, my Mage,” I replied and struggled out of my M40 green woollen German...
Morgana was very aware of what was going on around her despite the attempts by Gilles to overwhelm her defences before she’d had a chance to get herself into what she considered the ‘zone’ where she could concentrate fully on taking Gilles down ... or vice versa, if he was a lot stronger than she believed. She felt a great deal of satisfaction as John took out the three High Mages, although she wasn’t too sure about the one he shot, it wasn’t as if proximity would have aided that one in...
It was decided by the Council that at this time we were going to expand our operations in the outer realms. We already had a small team there who were based near the stream I’d drunk from which, due to the wild magic pervasive on Azurana, had a displacement effect which meant you could not be detected save by anyone else who had drank from it. Nor did the water have an effect in our world; it lost its efficacy within minutes if it was removed from the source. Jerhz, Mergna, Telqua and Hinnit...
“I think we’re going to try, at least to see if we can get information as to why the Nephilim are doing this,” I replied with a chuckle. “Correct, John,” Morgana replied. “Commander Hinnit, are any of your units nearby?” “I can have a sanctum of Caddiysh here in about 3 kilobeats, however you Mages will have to deal with the Malakha,” Hinnit replied. “How many in a sanctum?” Julia asked. “About 40 Caddiysh,” Telqua replied as Hinnit had already set off at a fast trot. “A platoon then,”...
1997 saw much of my training reach a peak, in that the gains I had achieved went into a period of consolidation. Morgana assured me that the plateau that I had achieved was common to those Mages studying higher magic and indeed she thought it a necessary phase where a Mage in training could explore many of the minor bands in the quantum layers without being distracted by the next big thing. I was still forbidden to play about with tachyons, save under direct supervision, although I was aware...
Morgana was not best pleased when we reported in and had to explain the loss of twelve Mages, nor in her examination of us did she spare us from any form of criticism for even a minor mistake. In short it was a typical Morgana dressing down, the only effect of which was to make me resolve to try harder next time. “Despite the losses, you both performed well as a team,” Morgana finally finished. “As a reward, I believe it’s time for Thea to be introduced to Loegria.” “Are you sure, my Mage?”...