“What can I do?”
Issac was in a place of light and even in the form his consciousness took in that place, he felt the heat of his surroundings. Issac’s body was in the Museum of Aphro-Arcana in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but he manifested a replica of his body in that realm of light through sheer force of will and an uncanny level of concentration that can be achieved by few men. He had felt the darkness encroaching on his planet and all of his efforts to keep it at bay had been rebuffed, and the dark roots that had sprouted all over Earth were releasing a pollen that sent mankind into a murderous frenzy.
“The fate of your planet is grim,” a voice said. It issued from a giant ball of red energy that seemed to pulse and float in the white expanse of the light realm. “But this is not the permanent state. Even weeds die. You should use your power to preserve the parts of your world that you can and persist to the end.”
“I can’t rid my world of Illuminatos? Surely the power exists, you could give it to me or point me to answers that must exist somewhere in the vast multiverse.”
“You are empowered with much knowledge for the purpose of protecting life. Should you face this weed, you would be derelict of your duties. There is a solution to the threat that will happen as it must, and you must do your duty in the meantime. There is very much you can and must do.”
When he returned to his body, Issac opened his eyes in the gymnasium at the heart of the museum building. He used the gymnasium to practice the physical aspects of magic and to train in various martial arts, and it’s walls were reinforced to withstand the incredible force that some spells generated. It was normally a place of solitude for Issac before the Ill Nights, but when he opened his eyes, there was a group of children playing a game in one corner, and a group of older people sitting on the gym floor in a circle.
Issac wandered over to the circle and a woman stood to greet him. Everyone smiled and waved when they noticed him. The woman was called Kerry and she had started the circle in the gymnasium after the first couple months of the Ill Nights. Issac had corralled as many people as he could into the sanctuary on the Museum grounds as the pollen spread like a cloud, and Kerry was among them. She had lived close to the Museum before the Ill Nights and worked as a mechanic in the neighborhood. She hadn’t really known Issac before everything happened, but she had heard about him and was skeptical of the stories people told.
“How was your magical meditation?” Kerry asked him.
“Magical,” he said sarcastically and put an arm around the woman’s shoulder, hugging her close.
“Do you understand what’s happening out there?” she asked and led Issac away from the circle of people.
“Ancient evil unleashed on the world,” he said. “A plant-thing with mind altering spores is corrupting the human population with the goal of ruling the Earth.”
“But why? How?”
“Because enough people are cynics and would rather burn the world than see someone else prosper. Don’t worry, there are no trees or pollen anywhere on the grounds of the Museum and you are all safe here.”
“What about the world out there?”
Issac looked at Kerry and sighed loudly. He looked at the group of people in the circle on the floor and he was happy that they were safe from the harm of the pollen that was released from twisted black trees that had sprouted around the globe over the past decade or so, and the people who inhaled or ingested the pollen were more aggressive and their eyes turned black with red pupils. He had secured the grounds of the museum with a spell that created an invisible dome when he was first made aware of the black trees. His spell prevented the trees from growing on the grounds, and when the pollen was released, the dome incinerated it on contact.
“I’m gonna work to increase the barrier spell, maybe you all can help me,” Issac said with a weak smile.
“You inspire us Mr. Washington,” Kerry said with so much respect for Issac that she sounded like a child despite the fact that she was in her thirties. “We’ve been waiting for you to tell us that we could help you with your magic stuff, and we meditate every day, just like you. Whatever we can do, we’ll gladly do it.”
Issac appreciated the circle of adults who immulated him in the gymnasium everyday. He had told them that he was the recently named Master of Universal Arcana, which meant that the ethereal embodiment of all of the mysteries of the universe at the behest of the beleaguered deity AEther, who is the creator of all sentient life in the universe, had appeared to him at the Museum and asked him to be it’s avatar to ensure that no arcane threats to life in the universe could thrive. Issac was given universal awareness that allowed him to monitor the entirety of the vast universe for dark powers that threatened life, and he had access to all magic, all incantations employed by magical beings of the universe, though wielding the magics of the various sentient beings scattered around the universe on Earth requires great skill and concentration, even for the avatar of all the mysteries of the universe. Issac spent most of his time on Earth; he was chosen as the Master of Universal Arcana because the great power afforded to the Master was needed most on Earth at the time when he was chosen. Illuminatos had exposed the beings of Earth as a means to escape the fate of banishment from the multiverse that befell many horrors that have come into being over the course of the multiverse.
“Let’s give it a try,” Issac said and he and Kerry went back to the circle.
Kerry sat in the place she had left and Issac stood in the middle of the circle and he slowly turned, looking down at the admiriging faces as he spoke to them, explaining his plan to expand the barrier.
“I won’t compromise what keeps us safe here at the museum,” he said, “but maybe we can duplicate it and then stretch it as far as it will go. Anyone we can catch in the radius will be instantly cured.”
“What do you need from us?” one of the people asked him.
“To use magic the way I do,” he explained, “I borrow a lot of energy from things around me. The energies of the human spirit are immense, and bound tightly into our human forms. I will use a tiny fraction of all of our energies to see if I can create a barrier large enough to encompass the state. The more people we free, the more energy I can borrow to expand the barrier.”
Everyone was enthusiastic about the plan and Issac started the work immediately. He was able to create a second barrier and as he expanded it, he sensed something sinister approaching the museum. Issac touched Kerry’s head and gave her the knowledge to continue the work on the spell and he walked out the front door of the Museum. There was a small town on the grounds, tents and large vehicles packed the grass and concrete walkways through it, and it housed the refugees Issac had been able to save. Issac navigated through the crowd, waving at those who noticed him and shouted their thanks to him, and he went to the gate at the edge of the Museum grounds then levitated over it. He could see the blue haze of his original barrier, and the slightly darker barrier beyond it slowly expanding. Then he saw a familiar face with an illuminated hand on the outside of the barrier, halting its expansion.
“I came to see how you were faring in this darkness,” the woman with the bright hand on the barrier called to Issac with a smile. “Of course you’re resisting it, wasting power trying to stop the inevitable. Since you’re wasting so much energy with this barrier, I guess I can finally kill you. And why stop there? Obviously you care about these squatters on your Museum grounds, maybe I’ll make you watch me slaughter them first.”
It was Anesu and the sinister delight on her face was obvious.
“Sister,” Issac said with exasperation. “We don’t have to do this.”
“I’m not your sister,” Anesu said, “and I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
As she spoke, the brightness at her hand encompassed her entire body and it continued to grow as an orb that stressed the limits of his barrier.
PRL Serials 