I looked at the strange two items on the table in front of me. They had each been wrapped in so many levels of protective material when they had been brought before me, to the point where the fact that they weren’t each the side of a ping pong ball was shocking. But there they were.
A stone tablet, with strange hieroglyphics symbols on it, which actively changed patterns and types whenever I looked away in a seamless transition. I already had the starting of a migraine without half a dozen guests crawling down my throat to read the very obviously cursed tablet.
Then the second item, a fang of a creature that seemed draconic in nature, with wrappings around it’s handle and tip. The wrappings around the tip stained ink black. I looked over both, conjuring the eyes of a sphinx as my own for the briefest moment. They took on a feline appearance, opening wider and taking on a gold look. The man across from me didn’t seem to mind.
The first, the tablet. Strong magic with domains of the mind and thought within it, but applied haphazardly. Without standardized technique. That settled it as either chaos made, something which I doubted, given how little they tended to put thought into their artifacts, or old. It was likely old, given it’s nature as a tablet.
A bit more observation, and prodding at a willing mental visitor, got me more information. Holding and observing the tablet long enough conferred it’s properties, approximately 167 minutes would do it. In that time, the mind would feel engrossed, a similar neurological reaction to learning about an interested topic. This had the potential for damage given it’s potency. But after the duration had elapsed, full knowledge of the written language depicted on the tablet, and how to speak it (despite that the two seemed different in completely obvious forms) would be accessible to the user. They determined that my personal risk was low, so I made a note to utilize it when I had 167 minutes to myself.
My empowered eyes then shifted to the dragon’s tooth. The dragon itself was named Q’uq’umatz, which the sphinx registered as a divine adjacent being. The item itself was a combination of a divine gift, a fancy way of saying distilled chaos, and the inherent biological properties of a dragon’s tooth, which was a lack of tarnishing and eternal sharpness. The divine gift was it’s endless venom, which would be sourced from the point. The venom was also inherently magical, and instilled a sense of rage in whoever touched it (it seemed to be able to seep in through the skin, be injected by striking the weapon, or be ingested, quite versatile in that way). Said rage conferred with it increased strength, speed, practical immunity to physical harm. But, those powers were ultimately lethal, and could not be removed. The sphinx, dryly, remarked I shouldn’t touch it. I didn’t dignify it with a reply.
I snapped the sphinx’s eyes back whence they came, and looked back to the man across from me. My legs crossed in front of me, and a nice smile to the one who had so kindly brought me these tools.
I was wearing a fine suit, that I’d bought from my favorite tailor in downtown Chicago but two weeks prior. It fit perfectly on me, as I borrowed a bit of glamour from one of my faerie friends, to make myself look flawless for this meeting. A bit of the glamour was imbued into each suit I wore, and it helped that such magic was reaffirmed by everyone who believed in it. And who was going to mentally dispute that a man who looked like me was out place in a fine suit?
I was confident in my own appearance. Black hair trimmed to perfection, a short cut beard with similar flawlessness. I had a nice tan, acquired in my off time that I’d been afforded since my promotion last year, and I’d used a further bit of glamour to make myself look ever slightly less pale. I was taller then the man across from me, just shy of six foot, though without a lot of muscle that would make me look like a meathead. That wasn’t to say I was out of shape either however. I balanced the traits with mundane tactics and magical flare.
The man across from me, to counter, was a wreck. He was sweating profusely, when not a bead graced my face, his blonde hair slick with it, as the car drove down a Villa Nueva street. We didn’t even lack air condition, it was just that hot down here, even in the spring. He was wearing a suit as well, though likely regretting it.
I made eye contact, as I looked at him. Keeping confident and composed.
“These are nice. Though I must say, I was expecting to meet with Director Kraus. Is he well?” I feigned concern for an old acquaintance. Easy enough.
“…Unfortunately, when the anomaly emerged, Director Kraus was in the area. He’s been badly injured, and moved to a hospital for treatment. He should make a full recovery, but not until after this operation should conclude.” I was shocked that he wasn’t stammering. Ah well.
“Ah, that’s unfortunately. Give him my regards if you visit. Tell me more about this anomaly.” I said, now curious. Not a feigned emotion either. I hadn’t known much.
I had known Raymond Kraus even before my promotion. I had been an up and coming wizard in the academy, and couldn’t resist the urge of more power. The Occult Agency of America was normally quite suspicious of my ilk, but after having gone through two Directors, they were pretty desperate for allies. And someone with ambition like mine fit right in. Working with them had the tendency of finding me more of what I wanted-more contract or binding targets, and it let them skirt by incidents that might have otherwise reached the oval office. Kraus himself was a shrewd man, with ambition like mine. He could die for all I cared. But I came when he called, even if I was a member of the Council of Eight now. Because it worked out for us both. For now.
“…The Director was visiting a recently uncovered ruin, a few miles outside of the well known Tikal, alongside some experts, and some of our agency’s best. They had found some anomalous objects already, and had thus asked for him to come and verify. They did indeed verify these objects, the ones in front of you now. However, deeper in, the Director found an area that our friends in the government here had been hiding from them. Which contained a peculiar sarcophagus. Once inside, it was able to be opened by the blood of a woman named Bianca Rivera, whose blood was also able to open the door to the temple itself. Within, was the primary anomaly we are concerned with. It seemed to contain a person, with animalistic traits, and abilities far beyond a mere man. He used these abilities to dispatch all four agents, injure Director Kraus, and enable Miss Rivera to flee the scene. Ramiro Soto, the director of the site, was killed, and his body destroyed via a substance which flooded the room, some form of caustic acid. We cannot question him on the matter, nor are his subordinates of any use. We’re unsure if this is an act of insubordination, or fear. But oddly enough, in the aftermath, four of the anomalous objects were stolen. Signs point to Miss Rivera being the thief.”
I took that all in, nodding with each point to show that I was listening.
“What other objects were lost?” I asked, as it seemed pertinent. I could ask more about the animal man in the tomb once I knew what the more potentially tangible things I was dealing with were.
“A pair of jaguar idols which were believed to be able to brought to life, an urn that would constantly fill with blood, and a necklace capable of giving people powers related to animals, with a permanent duration. The idols would have been too big for Miss Rivera to carry alone, so either she had accomplices, or we have other thieves on our hands.”
I gave another nod. Concerning.
“I’ll keep an eye out for those. I take it you’ll want them back if recovered? And don’t care what becomes of the thieves?” I made sure to match my tone with what I was proposing: Grave.
“That’s correct. Director Kraus says he’ll put in on your tab.”
I laughed in the man’s face, something which clearly unnerved him. It sounded good natured enough, but he clearly wasn’t expecting it.
“Ahhh. Of course he will. I’ll discuss that with him when he’s well. But I assume you didn’t call me out here to fetch after a few trinkets? You want the big one dealt with, don’t you?” I kept my tone light, just to watch the man in front of me squirm ever slightly more.
“N-No-” Ah, there was the stammer. A few beings watching relished in seeing it. I shut them up. “We want him dealt with, yes. And we don’t care about which method you use. Kill, or-“
“I have permission to bind, then?” I cut him off, finishing what I knew he was going to say. Kraus was that desperate, was he?
“You do. If you can pull it off, the creature is yours. We’re still trying to figure out the full nature of the entity, you’ll have our full support if and when we find anything. WE need to solve this problem, and not anyone else. As long as whatever you can do, we can feed it to the oval office and our auditors, we’re happy.” He seemed to be calming down, especially as my smile turned from wicked to genuine. Even returning the smile somewhat.
“Well, that’s all you had to say, friend. I’ll borrow these artifacts, and you’ll have your creature…within a week? Presuming no particularly nasty complications get in my way of course.”
The man winced. I sighed.
“What complications had already arisen, I’m sorry, I should have asked this.” I motioned for him to begin his bad news.
“We believe the UN has already been alerted.”
My smile dropped.
“How do you know for sure?” I said, hoping for a lack of evidence.
“Our experts seem to think that the Silent Hearth has been activated over the entire country of Guatemala. We haven’t done the full test, but generally if the preliminary comes back positive-“
I groaned. The Silent Hearth was an artifact I’d heard of-both in my studies at the Eight Academies, and from the various beings I’d entreated with. A powerful artifact, used by various task forces of the UN, to completely silence a region. Word could not spread en mase of events in the effected area, to the outside world. It was effectively a blocked collective understanding. So while you could perhaps tell some outside of what was going on, the news could never spread. It was a perplexing and powerful thing, and the frustrating thing is that it was most certainly the work of a wizard. There was no rush to find the traitor who worked with the UN either, since the Silent Hearth worked to the collective advantage of wizardkind, as of now. The test he was talking about was attempting to leak word to local news stations and seeing if it caught on. If it hadn’t, it was a good indication that the Silent Hearth was active, and would stay active for it’s standard rotation-
“Three days is closer to your time limit, by all accounts. If not sooner, assuming whoever they send is good at what they do. Given the amount of strife in the local region, it’s unlikely we’ll see a full task force unleashed here. You’re probably looking at a Hestia Subdivision, which means less power-“
“But they could be anyone.” I said, finishing the sentence. Once you reached a certain rank within the Academies, they told you all about the UN and their Task Forces. And how dangerous they were. Hestia was the exception. The only one who had ever offered us an olive branch. A few of our kind had even joined their number. They parlayed with the supernatural elements that came before their time, or were otherwise amenable. These subdivisions would be sent into areas where they couldn’t send a full Atlas brigade to raze the region.
“-That’s annoying, but I think I can handle it. If you hear anything about who or where they might be, though, let me know. I can throw a wrench into whatever they want to do.”
He gave a shaky but confident still nod.
“Of course. If you need anything, you have our contact information. We’re set up in the capitol. Try to keep us posted with any leads you find as well, we can provide support if this thing is as strong as we think it is.”
I snapped my fingers.
“I nearly forgot. What did the thing seem capable of? This man-beast?” I said, not particularly taking my current description of this anomaly seriously.
“According to Director Kraus, it could fly, utilize some form of magic, toss around grown men in body armor like rag dolls, and seemed more then impervious to bullets.”
I released a low chuckle, as the car pulled up to where I’d be staying. I cracked the door open, looking back over to the man I’d shared the car with. With a wave of my finger, the wind which flowed in through the door seemed to pick up the fang and the tablet.
“Tell Director Kraus I have it handled. Creatures like these are a dime a dozen.”
“O-Of course, Mr. Harris. Good luck.”
I gave a nod, shutting the car door after stepping outside, watching the car drive away, then casting a glance towards my watch. It was about noon. Plenty of time. I waved a hand, getting an illusion in the eyes of the two servants in front of the lodging, so that they would not see the floating items, with an utterance of “Invicta Offuscat”. I called over my shoulder.
“You’re dismissed, go home.”
As I walked inside, not bothered by the lie I’d just told the man in the car.
I had gotten situated quickly, in the home that was mine for the next few days. Once I was sure the servants had gone (I hadn’t the slightest why Kraus had bothered with them, he surely knew I couldn’t have observers to my work), I began my rites.
First, I summoned Rhia, a pixie of the Olympic Court. She didn’t have much power, and had been one of my first bindings. She was put to the task of lining the outsides of the house with the slightest bit of glamour, though even that would be pulling from my own potence, she was that weak. Still, she could facilitate it better then I. From the outside, the house would appear to have no one in it, even if I set off a bomb in here.
The Wind Spirit that I had given the name Gale cleared away segments of the central room, moving tables, chairs, and other adornments out of the way without breaking them. The spirit had no intelligence, but it was careful when asked. I liked that about it, which is why I bound it so rapidly.
Next, I summoned Atraxis. The former wizard’s skeletal form appeared with his hand anchored to my shoulder. He looked to me with a rotten smile, his gemstones for eyes glittering with barely constrained malice. My bindings would hold, he was just attempting to unnerve me.
“I need a divining circle, can you help me draw it.”
His chattering voice came freely from his withered throat, raspy and dead.
“Of course I can. Though I would need you to do the empowering, lest you want to say hello t-”
“I have no desire to conjure forth chaos, correct. I do not repeat the mistakes of the dead. Just prepare the ritual.
He released the hand from my shoulder, and crouched down in the center of the room, withdrawing purple gemstone chalk from his robe and starting to etch something on the ground. Muttering like a madman, as he always did.
Atraxis was useful, however. He was an extra set of hands. And in the right circumstances gone wrong, he was a scapegoat. The long dead wizard would follow me to the end of time as long as I held his potential return to life over his head, not that I’d grant him that. If only for the sake of the world he nearly dragged to chaos with his irresponsible magics a century ago.
Next, I summoned forth another set of arms, belonging to another specter, this one ground down by the chaotic forces they had once beseeched. I had many such limbs and protrusions like this. They would fold under the slightest pressure, but they were useful when I needed my arms free and wanted a circle scribed faster still. They worked over Atraxis’s shoulder, as I pulled a tome out of my the stomach of Banzuth. He was a strange creature, a sky serpent who resided in Nepal. He was one of few that was not bound to my will, instead contracted. I gained access to his stomach, as storage from anywhere I would wish, and could summon his maw when I needed it to consume something for my later access. In exchange, I would give him glamour or any magic he needed to sail the skies once every year. It worked out nicely for both of us. Even if when he consumed something it cost a bit more. I kept a library in there, along with many other useful things. I began flipping through the tome on divination.
Unfortunately I still needed to reference for many rituals like these, as I didn’t have them as well memorized as I should. Magic, especially rituals, were fickle. They needed to be done just right. It wasn’t a matter of not achieving the effects on a botch either, it could potentially do worse: Drag the area into chaos, drag the caster into chaos…and so on. Chaos was the anvil over every wizard’s head, as they trained and grew. The monster in the closet, the shadow they’d never fail to jump at it. It was what sourced their power, becoming in tune with it allowed the wizard to draw forth their magic, like water from a vast ocean. They could feel it, ever step they took once they awakened to it.
Learning magic was drawing on that force. Most refused to call it chaos, like the cultists did, because they argued that there was no true chaos in the universe, and that everything could be studied and determined.
It had taken me one look at what true botched magic had looked like to steal me away from that style of thinking forever. One look at the destruction wrought by one spell cast wrong. There were some things that were simply not meant to understood. And I believed chaos was one of them. It was apart of why I tried to recover what was left of botched magicians. Because I needed a reminder of what I was avoiding practicing the way I had.
It had been that sight which had driven me away from that school of magical thought, and to another. The normally dismissed idea of Conjuring, Binding, and Contracting. Getting other creatures involved was always a risk, if they broke free of the bindings or didn’t answer a call, it could easily spell a wizard’s doom. Contracting was even worse, because it put the power out of the wizard’s hands, and made them subservient. But with the right deal? It became more about partnership.
I only considered three contracts to be ones where I served in the slightest. And those would never come into play, as long as my skill maintained as it was, contingencies for another time or place. Should my one hundred and one bindings fail, and my sixteen contracts falter, I had those three to fall back on. But those one hundred and seventeen had always been enough.
And I intended to keep it that way. I had no desire to pay a price I couldn’t come back from. And even still, it was worth it, if it meant not driving myself any closer to what awaited below.
I managed to find the ritual within the book’s pages easily enough, giving further directions to the summoned arms and to Atraxis, as slowly but surely, the purple and glittering ritual circle came together in elaborate completion. The skeletal wizard took a step back from it.
“Will you need my help to cast it?”
I gave a nod to him. “That would be helpful. Do not strain yourself.” It was a warning to him and I. I conjured forth a few more appendages, to help emphasize the motions that were needed, as I withdrew my implement from my sleeve.
The tattoo of the chains on one arm, and the golden sun on the other. Each took on a faint red hue as I used their powers. I had no need for a physical item to cast spells. I had ensured that a long time ago. Being disarmed was a weakness for lesser wizards.
After doing the right movements via my extra appendages, myself and Atraxis speaking in line with each other.
“Invicta Responsa!”
The circle was alight in an instant. At my command, was what I needed. I gave a nod to Atraxis, and dismissed him and the extra appendages. Like that, they were gone. I spoke into the circle, in the proper tongue of Latin.
“Am I in immediate danger?” Was always my first question, before proceeding with a lengthy question and answer session.
The circle began to twist and shift. The chalk which made it up forming into words within the confines of the outermost circle. Forming into simple next.
“No.” Was emblazoned there.
That was good. I could proceed.
“Is my quarry nearby, the man who has risen from a centuries slumber?” I proceeded. This ritual was only good for yes or no questions. Anything more complex risked complications, or worse. It would also drain my energy either way.
“No.”
“Does my quarry intend to hide?” I asked next.
“No.”
That was good too, it meant that I could find it easily, ideally.
“Am I a match for my quarry, can I achieve my goals?”
“No.”
That brought me pause. Further preparation would be needed, the message was well noted.
“Will I be impeded in reaching my goals by those besides my quarry?”
“Yes.”
At least that confirmed the ritual wasn’t broken. But it still was far from a good answer. If I had to bet, that would be the UN. I put them on my list to deal with, given what I now knew, both from the ritual and otherwise.
“If I remain here for three days, will I come to lethal harm?”
“Yes.”
That chilled me. A thousand possibilities raced through my mind, none of them good. I knew, based on the properties of this ritual, I could likely manage one more question before I started to harm myself for longer then a nights sleep. I needed to get one more piece of good information from this before fizzling it for now.
Then it came to me. I could push myself slightly, besides, it shouldn’t be that long of an answer. I took in a deep breath, and spoke.
“What is the nature of my quarry? What manner of creature is it?”
The circle responded after a drawn out moment. Two words, instead of one.
“A god.”
The circle dispersed as I waved my hand, a wide eyed look on my face and I realized the impossible confirmation I had just been given.
Kindling And Miscellany 