Chapter 7

Tomus was swimming for about half an hour before he saw cliffs directly ahead of him. He stopped and treaded water to think. He looked up and down the cliffs, then back and forth, trying to determine a way to climb them. Suddenly, a voice in the back of his head told him: Use the Force.

Tomus immediately knew what to do. He swam closer to the cliffs, shook his hair off his face, drew in a breath of ancient magic, and Shouted: "Fus Ro Dah!" The water in front of him shot away from him and smashed against the cliff face. Tomus then quickly dual-casted Frostbite and froze the water into an enormous icy ramp. Tomus smiled at his handiwork and began to climb.

It was long work, but certainly easier than climbing the near vertical surface of the cliff. As he reached the top, he lay panting at the effort; long climbs had always made him exhausted at his age, even though he had kept himself in good shape. He knew the pain in his chest would recede in a few minutes, but after a few seconds, he was already feeling better. As he got up, astounded at his rate of recovery, the monk's image appeared again.

"Oh, so you did swim to shore. I hope it was not too taxing on someone of your, advanced years?" said the monk in a neutral tone

"No, it was fine, and I didn't even encounter anything bigger than a slaughterfish. Actually, I feel better than I have in years, I feel young and strong again. Even my beard is no longer tinged with grey. Tell me, do you know why all of this is happening?"

The monk's face remained an impassive mask, not betraying any emotion. He did not respond immediately, and then said

"The Order has agreed to give you limited information of your situation, and about the history involved. Listen closely and you should understand. Magnus, one of the masters of the Psijic Order, was a mage of great power and skill, as you may have guessed. His influence spread further than Skyrim, it spread all through Tamriel, and lords and emperors alike wanted to acquire his services as a mage, but he kept to himself mostly, and his teachings. One day, the current emperor became so enraged from Magnus's refusals to work for him, that he sent a legion of troops to burn his sanctuary to the ground. When he returned from the expedition he was on to find his life's work reduced to ashes, he was overcome with emotion of the saddest kind, much like you were when your wife was taken by the Eye. The horror before him, he said that it had awoken something within him, something, immensely powerful. He did not elaborate beyond that. After three days of grieving for those lost, he regained his senses and began to rebuild his sanctuary and find new students. He installed the relic he found during the aforementioned expedition; the Eye of Magnus. From it, he crafted his staff, and it is said that the two items are magically bonded. One day, after he had found one suitable to lead the Order, he used the Eye and disappeared, leaving nothing but his staff. That is all we know of Magnus, that he was a great mage and teacher who dedicated his life to knowledge and study. Oh, and also it is rumoured that he killed a tyrant dragon that plagued the land. The rest will have to be explained by one who is better versed in his research than I. wait here." The monk's image was replaced by one of a taller, lankier monk with his hood up and a beard.

"Greetings, Dragonborn." He started in an ancient and raspy voice similar to Tolfdir's "What we have theorised, judging by records of visitors from other worlds, just as you have been, is that there are beings who can travel from one world to another at will. They called themselves Walkers, and they called all the different worlds planes. We came up with the name Planeswalker from this information, and they took it from then on, or so the records say. Before Magnus disappeared, his final journal entry made mention of a Planeswalker, and a terrible evil he must stop. Comparing the tales of Planeswalkers and Magnus's disappearance, we think he was a Planeswalker. We also think that he left some of his power in the Eye, and that it was passed onto you when you used it."

"Wait, I used the Eye? That's how I ended up here?"

"Yes, it is a tool to travel between planes at will. It is most powerful and now resides in the Æther-"

"The what?"

"The Æther is the empty space between planes. Your use of the Eye has drained it of its power, and it must recharge within the Æther, either way, you are now a Planeswalker, just like Magnus, in fact, maybe even more like Magnus that we first realised." The monk looked closely at Tomus and stroked his beard in thoughtfulness

"What do you mean more like Magnus? He lived hundreds of years ago, how could I be like him at all?"

"I would like to tell you but-" the monk stopped, as if listening to something Tomus couldn't hear.

"Yes, yes, oh, alright then. You seem to have inherited Magnus's Planeswalker spark, the magic that gives a being their planeswalking ability, from the Eye. Your feelings of anguish, combined with the Eye and staff been reunited must have done it. You should seek out other Planeswalkers, as they seem to be attracted to strange happenings and each other. But be careful, as we believe that Magnus did not succeed in stopping this great evil, and that the evil he sought to vanquish still roams the Multiverse, searching for power to sate its unquenchable thirst. Its name is Nicol Bolas, it is a dragon with immense power, and is a Planeswalker itself. There is a Planeswalker who will help you defeat Nicol Bolas, named Ajani Goldmane. He is on Alara, another plane, and you need his help to defeat Bolas."

"How am I to travel to Alara? You haven't taught me how to planeswalk yet. And what does he look like anyway?"

The image changed again to show a large white lion standing on its hind legs, clothed and holding a large axe-like weapon.

"Alright, but how do I planeswalk?"

"Ah, that we don't know. If it helps, try meditating on what it was like to travel to another world. You should have some experience with that. Apparently, once you've figured it out, you'll know where you want to go. That's all I can say. Good luck." The monk disappeared.

Tomus sat down and closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling of appearing here, the feeling of being torn apart, then having the world move around you until it was somewhere completely different. He tried for several minutes until the voice in his head spoke to him again: This is what you must do.

A wave of feelings and memories flooded Tomus mind, none of them his, but when it was over, he was gone.