Jo wasn’t in the Meta Chamber when we arrived there, so we decided to wait for her. In addition to the many screens broadcasting views of the various existences of the multiverse, there were seven thrones large enough for a Vodun facing the wall of screens, a large conference table behind it lined with benches on tall sides, and a several of smaller tables with Smiting Grids on top, some with Smiting cards and decks. All of this was contained on one side of the Chamber, and the other side was occupied by the heptagon where Essence blue mists swirled with the magic of the Smiting Chamber. I showed them some of the game that the Vodun had taught me while we waited and it was good to laugh with Maria and Zacchaeus, and our new companion Tenebris, who had been recruited from the multiverse to aid in the fight against the enemy that loomed large. We played a few of the Vodun games, but the favorite was Sakpata’s Rock, and we played until Jo returned to the Meta Chamber from the Shifting Planes.
“I have to go with the contingent to the home of the enemy,” Maria said to Jo after we all made our introductions. “The power I acquired in Outer Spacetime, when there was still an Outer Spacetime, will be helpful, I know it.”
Jo nodded thoughtfully at Maria and her eyes glowed white as she analyzed her arcane ability.
“You acquired powers in Outer Spacetime?” Jo asked. “I hear that it was a place of Pattern magic, have you mastered the pattern?”
Maria shook her head. “I haven’t mastered it, but I know that I have used it since I first became Wazad in my home universe. In order to become Wazad, I mastered his set that was a manual for mastering the natural spontaneous movements of existence to move around instantaneously…”
“The part of the pattern I am most familiar with,” Jo said with a nod.
“So I do have familiarity with it. I was a scout in the mission to Talj, the Fonlander in the white armor that moves extremely fast went with me and even using the Transverse powers, he was able to keep up and we couldn’t be harmed by the enemy. I believe this will be essential to the contingent going to the enemy. That warrior and I, and others fast enough to avoid detection, can scout for weaknesses that could end this all very quickly. And if we are imbued with your magic, we may even be able to strike the killing blow.”
Jo nodded and it was clear that she was convinced by Maria’s words. And what Maria said made sense. Each of the magics most effective against the enemy, the Gold or Pattern Magic, the Violet or Death Magic, and the Green or Life Magic, encompass many aspects of the arcana of the Fonlands, and as I have learned in my multiversal travels, in seemingly every existence of the multiverse that wields magic. The color magic of the Vodun overlaps and Jo’s White or Arcane Magic overlaps with Gu’s Pattern Magic, and each is bolstered by the other.
“I will take some time and then we will gather on my Disc. I know the perfect spot, too, a peaceful place. When I summon you, you will need to find the Cotton Wood of the Luminary Nyame. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Green and the Violet. I will give you the crash course on the gold. I came back here to gather some Smiting Cards so that I could strategize alone on the surface of Damballa. I will summon you, Mulweri, and the God of Dreams from the Enchanted Deck, and any others that feel right, when I am done with my alone time.”
She gathered her cards, bid us all a farewell, then she was gone.
Even though my role in the battle ahead was already cemented, I was in charge of transport because of my familiarity with the arcana of many existences, I was eager to learn with my friends. The magic of the Fonlands is fascinating and it was a treat to travel around and learn new things. We did travel to the Disc of Age to learn more about Green magic before Maxx returned to the Fonlands.
And occasionally I left Tenebris, Zacchaeus, and Maria to return to the Smiting Chamber. Yana took my presence as her cue to take a break from the mists and we would sit on the heptagon and talk.
“Ogi is…indescribable,” Yana said once during our visits. “It is almost like the Smiting Chamber, it doesn’t have a conventional body, but it does have a substantial consciousness, but it isn’t like anything I have ever encountered before. This whole touching minds business is strange enough to me, and touching one across realms of this magnitude makes me feel small. But Ogi needs me to communicate with the Smiting Chamber and they are very intune. I hope that soon they won’t need the intermediary, the Smiting Chamber has learned language and soon it will be proficient and I won’t have to camp inside for so long.”
“You deserve a break. I won’t ask if they’ve found the location of the enemy yet, I’m sure you would have told me that already.”
“Oh, they have,” Yana said with a laugh. “I just wanted to talk to someone about Ogi, get that off my chest. But yes, the Vodun and their party have arrived in Paradise and Ogi with the Smiting Chamber were able to use the memories of Pultine and the Hyperion to determine the location. They are only still in Paradise gathering new weapons and supplies that the Ascendant built to aid out forces. And they’re picking warriors from their existence to return with the Vodun. They should be back relatively soon, I suppose. We won’t need you for transport, either. Ogi and the Chamber can handle it and they will transport the Vodun and their party back when they are ready. You can join the fight if you want.”
I smiled at Yana. It was the thought that I could finally unleash my powers that made me grin. The first lesson a Master of Universal Arcana learns is restraint and the majority of a Master’s tenure is spent taming the powers at their disposal. It was a rare treat to be able to unleash them, and I would go to the home of the enemy and give it everything in my arsenal. It was wrong to be as antsy for the battle to come as I was when Yana told me that I could join the fight. But I was wrong for the best reasons. The enemy had been a blight on the multiverse, had been responsible for the deaths of innumerable beings and worlds. It deserved what I would unleash upon it.
PRL Serials 