Year 2 Chapter 10: The First World
"It came as a shock today when Lars confided in me with his frustrations. It appears there has been a rising tension between him and Ikelius, and the situation we're dealing with on Earth seems to have opened a rift between the two."
From the Journal of Kesh'rak, Chapter 46; Page 938
Harry's feet slammed into the ground, his head spun from the transportation of Shadow's device. He fell to his knees, Ginny in a similar state next to him. Harry held his breath for a moment, then he breathed in. It felt like fire had filled his lungs and he had to brace himself with his hands to prevent from falling onto his face. He vaguely heard Shadow say something behind him, something soft touched Harry's back and he blacked out.
He couldn't say exactly when he'd regained consciousness, nor could he place exactly when the humming he was currently hearing had begun. It was soothing, and now that his brain was waking, he knew it was coming from somewhere to his right. It seemed that just as he'd pinpointed the exact location of the source, it began to move toward him. Harry didn't want to open his eyes yet, as he still felt fatigued and his lungs still felt a slight twinge of pain from earlier, so he opted to continue to lay there, feigning sleep. The humming, it sounded so familiar to him for some reason, was now coming from directly next to him before it stopped and a light tinkling of a giggle replaced it.
"I see you've finally awoken Harry." It was that woman, The Orb as Shadow had called her. Fingers began to sweep through his hair before they began to massage his temples. He could almost feel something enter him, and the light pain within his lungs began to recede. "I apologize for your reaction when we arrived, but the plant we gave you can only hasten the process of acclimation."
Harry moaned in satisfaction as the soothing power coursed through him and it ended far too soon to his liking, even with pain having vanished completely. Opening his eyes, he looked up into the smiling face of The Orb.
"Morning." He mumbled out, as he sat up. He looked around the room he currently sat in, when he noticed a cot next to him. Ginny lay on top sleeping, a blanket covering her from her chest down. There was the faint scent of meat cooking from somewhere nearby. "How long have we been out?"
"It's only been about ten Earth hours." She looked closely at him, as if unsure if she should continue. "Ikelius is outside setting up an area for your training."
Harry nodded. "I see, that's not too… Wait, training? That wasn't mentioned before!" Harry may not have expected it, but there was a strange stirring in his chest and he felt excited that he'd learn some things from the Nephalem. Perhaps the being knew of a way for humans to use the elements safely. Instinctively, he tried to reach out with his magical core, but he found… nothing. The Orb seemed to sense what he was doing, for her shoulders were shaking in silent mirth. "What the…"
"Ikelius thought it prudent to dull your core's senses to magic while you and Ginny slept, at least until he supervises in your training. Magic is much more accessible here than Earth, where the boundary between other universes are close, and the possibility of you two drawing in too much was great. Our enigmatic friend would know more as to why that is, however, so don't ask me." She moved closer to Ginny, placing her hand on the girls forehead. The Orbs eye's closed and she hummed as a glow seemed to transfer between the two women. Harry watched for a moment before deciding that he should get started on his normal morning workouts, at least the physical ones.
The next half hour was silent apart from the humming of the woman and the occasional grunt from Harry. He looked over at The Orb when she stopped humming, her eyes still closed but the glow had dissipated. He was currently between sets, and while he'd been working a thought had occurred.
"Is there anything I can call you besides 'The Orb'? It just… sounds weird."
She smiled, eyes still closed. Harry couldn't explain it, but something about this woman put him completely at ease, and her smile was contagious as he found himself doing the same.
"Asherah. I was called that once by people on your world once. I've been called many names but I've always liked that one more than others."
"Alright." He would have to remember that and look into mentions of that name at the school's library. Maybe Hermione could help.
Harry's thoughts were disrupted by the sounds of what sounded like a massive group marching close by, he could just make out the sound of metal clinking and the chatter of men. Asherah was now frowning and was making herself busy with a pot that was on a rudimentary firetop stove. Harry slipped out of the cottage to investigate, but froze when he turned away from the massive ten foot door.
It looked to be evening, at least the sky to his right was darkening, but almost everything looked so wrong, so alien. The sky that was light was grey, and the darkening bit didn't have a trace of stars. The foliage, everything that should have been green was orange. There was something that looked like it might resemble a bush, but all of the leaves at the end of it's branches, which thankfully were still a normal colour, were shaped like a spring and dangled toward the ground. The grass he tread on with his bare feet, each blade was thicker in the middle, and ended at an obtuse angle.
There was a shout from the direction of the marching, towards the brighter end of sky, that regained Harry's attention. Trying his hardest to dismiss his surroundings, he moved to close in on his target. As he neared it, he began to realize that the army seemed to be below him and the foliage around him thinned revealing that he stood on a massive plateau with nearly a mile separating it from others in every direction. There was a mountain range in the distance in front of him as well.
After about two minutes of walking from the cottage he reached the edge, where he stood maybe a thousand feet up from the base of the plateau. It was here, being able to see the valley below that he was able to see that each plateau had more foliage on them then the area below, which looked nearly barren. A few of the strange bushes appeared sporadically and sometimes instead there was a leafless tree.
Peering over he found an army consisting of what had to be nearly a million men, with many flags coloured a deep green and a symbol he couldn't quite make out. They were marching toward the mountain range in the distance, and now that the voices of the men could directly reach him, he realized they spoke in a strange guttural language. He watched for nearly a minute, the army was only about a fourth of the way past from where he stood when a deep, melodious voice to his side caused him to jump.
"They march into a battle they believe will turn the tide of war into their favour." Shadow stood next to him, looking down at the army with an impassive face, but his eyes almost seemed to glow with more intensity than they usually did. "More will come, from both sides, and over fifteen million will fight in that battle. They'll curse, cry, kill, die. Both sides will believe that they had won."
"So who actually wins?"
Shadow stood, watching the army march for nearly a full minute, and Harry began to think he wouldn't get an answer when the giant turned away. "I'll show both you and Ginevra before I take you back to Earth. There, you'll get your answer." Harry frowned, there was something in Shadows voice that left him feeling like he wouldn't like whatever it was that he'd be shown.
The two made their way back to the cabin in silence. And now that the sun had gone further into the evening, the darkened sky ahead of him had grown more and he more clearly see that the night sky was lacking. The sky was certainly dark enough for them to start showing. He brought his question to the Nephalems attention.
"Because there aren't any."
"But that's not possible! There has to be…" He stopped when Shadow turned to look at him, his face was still passive, but he had an air about him that just felt like he was raising an eyebrow.
"Are you, a human who has never time traveled, let alone left his own world, and I'm not counting Lars' pulling you out that one time, more knowledgeable than I, who have done both for thousands of years and was born on this planet?" Harry looked sheepish, and it was a moment before the Nephalem continued. "This world, it never had a name, but us time travelers have taken to calling it 'The First.' This world is an anomaly, for it exists both outside of time and before this universe was created. The First consists of all matter that the universe holds, and we believe it's destruction is what caused the universe's creation.
"Interestingly, due to the planet existing outside of time itself is what allows time travel to be possible. You've most likely heard of the term 'Paradox', but that is merely the theory of the simple minded. We use this world as an intermediary between travel points and…" He trailed off, as he'd noticed that Harry's eyes were glazed over. A slight smile crossed his face, and again it seemed as if his face was not used to such a simple gesture. "Of course, it seems in my excitement at having recently discovered how time travel works, I did not account that you wouldn't feel the same."
"You've been traveling for a while, and you only recently found out how it works. Why is that?"
"The ship we used belonged to Lars, he had had that vessel built to his exact specifications. He was a genius for developing that system."
Harry nodded, and Shadow became silent until the two had made it back to the cottage, where a light from inside was seen through the small window by the door. Inside, Harry could hear two voices talking from inside and there was the smell of cooked food in the air.
"Ah, The Orb must have woken Ginevra and I believe our meal is nearly ready. Now, before we enter I wish to speak on your training. You, and Ginevra once her soul has recovered enough, shall begin learning how to fight not only with magic, but with that weapon of yours. I will give you one rule only, you will do everything I say, when I say it. I do not accept disobedience from my students This will be a very trying year for you. I will be attempting to put over five years worth of training for my own people into just one, and with your human body this will be putting a great deal of strain on it." When Harry accepted, Shadow opened the door to the cottage, allowing Harry to enter first before closing it behind him.
Sitting at an incredibly tall round table Harry knew hadn't been in the room previously were Asherah and Ginny. The young girl with a broad smile was practically bouncing in her chair at the sight of the two men and a plate filled with a strange meat, that had been cut into pieces, in front of her. Harry sat to Ginny's right, Shadow stood to his left as he did not seem inclined to sit on a chair. Harry noticed that there wasn't a plate in front of Asherah, who sat watching Shadow with a smile on her face and warming her hands on a wooden cup filled with a steaming liquid.
It was a very interesting meal, the meat tasted very much like pork. The strangest thing was watching Shadow, or as he had mentioned to them during the meal to call him Ikelius, nearly doted on Asherah. The two humans had exchanged a bewildered look, Harry would never have guessed the Nephalem to be anything more than a mass of stoicism. He'd almost guess they were intimate, at least until Asherah's gaze moved to his and behind her eyes held a look he couldn't read.
"So, er… How old are you exactly, Ikelius, and how long has it been for you since you did the ritual?" Harry found himself asking instead as he glanced at Ginny. She sat, trying to not look like she was listening while she continued to eat.
The Nephalem's fiery eyes pierced his, and for once Harry sensed a kinship with the being. "It is easy to lose track of the years between living for thousands of years as well as the amount of time travel I've subjected my body to." He paused for a moment as his eyes became unfocused. "Currently, I believe I am within a few hundred years of my ten thousandth, and it has been roughly two thousand since the ritual." Ginny gave up all pretense of not listening and openly gaped at the Nephalem. Harry couldn't say he was any better before he shook himself.
"Are Lars and Kesh'rak alright then? I mean, they're not here and it's been a long time since…" He trailed off as Asherah began to chuckle and a ghost of a smile spread across Ikelius' face.
"We separated a few hundred years after our business on Earth was completed. Lars' exile was revoked, his sentence having been paid, and Kesh'rak's people had a civil war to finish. I will meet with them again." Harry felt there was more to the Nephalem's last words, but he doubted that he'd get an answer. The four continued with idle chatter as they finished their meals before Ikelius sent the two humans to bed, with promises that Harry's training would begin on the morrow.
Ikelius woke Harry early the next morning, before there was any light in the sky. The Nephalem handed the bleary eyes youth a stick of meat about three inches long, layered with some form of what looked and tasted like swiss cheese. As he chewed the food, which Harry could swear that each bite felt like eating a full meal, Ikelius lead him down a narrow path between the strange bushes that covered the plateau. After a few minutes of walking, a scorched clearing about fifty feet in diameter appeared with a flash of light and balls of flame circled the area, the dirt heavily padded down yet also felt springy under Harry's feet.
Ikelius strode into the very center of the clearing, breathing in deeply. Harry watched, unsure of what to expect when suddenly, Ikelius thrust his left arm into the air before swinging it down in front of him. As he hand neared the ground, a massive blade made purely of flames appeared in his hand, burying the blade into the ground. Where it touched, the dirt around it seemed to melt before it solidified, holding the blade in place when the Nephalem released the fiery hilt.
"You said you weren't able to summon a weapon like mine." Harry said, summoning his own weapon before him. Instead of answering, Ikelius turned around, again raising his left hand into the air before thrusting down again, this time a spear with a long, curved blade, encompassed in a greenish glow that reminded Harry of the wind itself.
"These weapons are different. They hold the essence of the first dragon that was aligned to that element. Essentially, these are the souls of my two grandfathers." Ikelius looked down at the spear, and while his face continued in it's normal passivity, Harry almost felt an aura of sadness come from the giant.
"I'm not sure how this is a part of my training."
Ikelius waved him over, and as Harry neared, the Nephalem stepped back to leave the space between the two weapons open. "Knowledge is always a part of training. A soul does not simply end, it continues on in whatever form necessary to survive. Kesh'rak's soul, as an example was once that of a human's placed into the corrupted body of a preserved demonic host. When he dies, his soul will move on to another body."
"So, what, you believe in reincarnation?" Ikelius gave Harry a very direct look before motioning to the burning blade.
Hesitantly, Harry touched the indicated weapon, before releasing and stepping back. He could have sworn the blade had a voice and it had been humming.
"Yes, in a sense, I believe. The memories of the person persist in the soul until it joins with a new body. The old memories will still be there, but they have to be unlocked. It causes insanity with every subject we've tested this on, however." Ikelius said the last with an air of annoyance. Harry looked at him in horror.
"That's… How many tests did you do?"
"Twenty, all willing, and all except the first knew the risks. The reason I bring this up is, these two weapons contain the souls of my grandparents. The Dragon King of Fire and Wind. They still hold their memories and can advise me on the actions of my enemies, for they were once their leaders."
Harry looked back to the two weapons, the flames on the sword looked subdued, while the glow of the spear seemed to be regarding him.
"So these two are still alive? Er, in a sense, and they'd be able to help teach me how to fight."
Ikelius retrieved the sword from the ground. "You are half correct, Harry. I'll be teaching you, but Nidhogg will help guide you when you make mistakes. He knows how it should feel." Harry perked up at the name, but Ikelius spoke first. "Yes, I know many of your earthian legends. You'll find that most of them don't originate from your world. Now, watch closely and do as I do. I'll show you how you should stand and hold your weapons."
So Harry's training under Ikelius began, it started with what seemed simple requests but he learned very quickly that the Nephalem did not appreciate having to correct mistakes. Harry was shown a neutral stance and one for each of the four fighting styles that Nephalem used, each one representing an element. After a few hours of training, Ginny and Asherah joined them, bringing a plate of food to enjoy while Harry took a rest.
Harry was just starting on learning how to fight in flame stance, one where he held the crossguard of the sword up near either of his shoulders, blade pointing diagonally down and forward and attacked with quick thrusts and slashes, that Ginny's raised voice came from the edge of the circle, asking if she'd be able to learn. Ikelius motioned Harry to continue practicing the current thrust before turning back to the other two. He first looked to Asherah, who shook her head to indicate that the girls soul wasn't ready for the strenuous work, before telling Ginny that she'd be able to join once she could run around the circle five times. The redhead looked affronted that the Nephalem didn't think she'd be able to, and began to run, collapsing before she made it even halfway around.
Harry started to move to help Ginny, but at Ikelius' command, he stayed, holding his stance. He heard Asherah berating the Nephalem for pushing the girl so soon, her swift footsteps marching across the charred ground. When she arrived, however, Ginny refused her aid in standing, even if she did so shakily. Asherah prodded the young girl to return to where the food was, but Ginny just shook her head before her knees gave way and she sat back on the ground.
Harry's training session continued for the next few hours, Ginny wasn't able to stand on her own strength for another hour. He heard Ikelius tell her that pushing herself would be the fastest way for her soul to recover and that he'd be asking her to try to do the run each day until she could.
It was halfway through his second week of training, while Harry was in his morning stretches that Ikelius announced he would be adding in magic to the training, and that Ginny would be able to join them in it. The Nephalem stated they wouldn't need their wands, warning them that they'd feel the magic around them more intently than they'd be used to. Placing his left hand upon each of their heads, he released the block placed on each of their magical cores.
Harry gasped as his senses reacted by instinct, reaching out to any magic nearby, except it was everywhere. His breathing became ragged, and he could see Ginny to his left looking much in the way he felt. Completely overwhelmed.
"Pull back." Ikelius commanded. Harry struggled to do so, his core was trying to gulp down everything around him, hell, he felt he could physically see the magic around him now that the block was removed. It took him nearly five minutes to control his magic, and Ginny took another ten with more coaching from Ikelius due to her inexperience with magic as a whole. "Now we're past the introduction. Any questions?" For some reason, his question sounded more like a statement. Ginny spoke first, a bit winded from her struggle to contain her magic.
"Why does our world have so little magic compared to here?"
"Earth is an interesting world. It has the least amount of magic of any planet in our universe and that comes down to two things. In our universe, there are five connections to other universes. Earth has two of them, both of which lead to a universe that has no magical connection. That bleed over into your world, and if I brought someone you term as a 'muggle' here, they'd be able to feel and use magic." As Ikelius spoke, Asherah joined them with a platter of food.
Their training continued this way for the next three weeks, Harry was now learning wind stance with Ikelius' spear, a stance that used wide, horizontal sweeps meant to face multiple targets and incorporating some of the early level spells he knew. The mannerisms of the two souls in the weapons were also different. The sword was blunt, uncaring and treating Harry's training as more of a job. The spear, his name had been Mireu, was certainly more sociable, asking the boy questions and even answering some that were asked of him. The soul even had tried telling Harry a joke, but he wasn't sure he understood it. Ginny was improving immensely each day, but during her attempt to run around the training grounds during the third week of training, she had collapsed once again but not before making it around nearly four times. This time, when Harry made to help her, Ikelius did not stop him. When he reached her, she was sitting with her arms around her knees, her shoulders were shaking in silent sobs.
He touched her shoulder, and when she didn't react he called her name. Her face jerked away before Harry suddenly found himself engulfed in the arms of his friend as she cried into his shoulder, the wetness of her tears instantly soaking his shirt.
"Why did this have to happen. Why can't I be as strong as you." Her sobs had stopped a few minutes before, only sniffling every so often as she composed herself. He stiffened at her words, closing his eyes as he tried to will himself to finally tell her.
He was saved from speaking by Ikelius and Asherah, the two knelt down next to them and the Nephalem was giving Harry a very direct look. "It's time. She deserves to know." Asherah gathered Ginny from him, beginning her usual healing ministrations after one of the young girls runs and Ikelius pulled Harry off to the side.
"Are you going to tell her everything?"
"Everything she needs to know." Harry responded, not looking the Nephalem in the eye.
"You mean everything you want her to know." When he didn't answer, Ikelius continued. "I can take her through your memories, much like one of your Pensieves, but without removing them. Asherah will place you in a slumber, preventing you from having to relive them as we make our way through. The memories you wish us to avoid, have at the front of your thoughts as it will be easier to avoid something that's wanting to be seen."
Harry scoffed, "Yeah, keep me from reliving them except make me think of the worst ones. Aren't you a saint."
Ikelius' gaze pierced Harry more intently than normal. "I'm no saint, nor will I ever claim to be one. This is your punishment. I will at least speak with Ginevra afterwards if she has any questions, for what it's worth."
A half hour later, Harry lay on his bed, his eyes closed as Asherah had her hands already massaging his temples. Ikelius and Ginny stood nearby, his left hand holding her right as he explained to her what they were doing. The young girl, while listening was looking at Harry with a rather guarded look for someone merely eleven years of age. When the Nephalem asked if she was ready, there wasn't any hesitation, and she nodded.
"Put him under." He commanded and after a moment he placed the tip of his forefinger on his blackened hand to Harry's head. The two didn't disappear like in a Pensieve, instead it looked like their colouring became faded, bodies seemed to be less in focus, and their eyes distant. Once more, there could be heard the sound of marching in the distance.
Asherah could only wait as the two wound their way through the poor boys memories, and while she wasn't with them she could every now and then catch a glimpse of what they were seeing. A disheveled looking home, burning as Harry and Ron watched, deaths of those Harry considered close, his capture at the hands of Lucius Malfoy, his last fight with Voldemort, and finally they were nearing that last night before the Aether Continuum spell…
Ginny felt like her brain had gone numb with the knowledge she was receiving, but this last memory they were viewing was horrifying in its implications. It was one where the good guys lost. Not just a battle but completely. She watched as Lars and a much older looking Harry made it back to the building the ritual Shadow/Ikelius had been setting up.
Most of the conversation followed passed by, Ginny not paying much attention to the words but watching the people inside. Harry, slightly shaking from exhaustion, anger, or even both. Dumbledore, sitting in his chair had stopped breathing just a moment before. Ron leaving the room with his jaw set, his eyes hollow as he strode proudly to his death. The room's glow brightened, and then the room shook.
"That will be Tom. Now listen closely, Harry. You will need to go to Hogwarts, stop Tom from getting the Stone, and then save Ginevra Weasley. She was very closely linked with the rise of Riddle and it must not happen again." Past-Shadow said, his voice louder than the rest of the memory, and it brought her attention back to what was actually being said. He pulled back his hood, showing his face as he reached out and placed a hand on each of Harry's shoulders.
"It will take some time for us to find the splinter universe that will be created by this. During that time, stop Tom from regaining his body, and figure out how he still lives. Ginevra will be the beginning. You will be the end. Good luck." The glow became unbearable that Ginny had to clamp her eyes shut, and when they reopened she once more stood in the little cottage back on The First. Ikelius led her to a chair and placed her on it, and she only just now realized that she'd been shaking so hard that the Nephalem had basically carried her the entire way.
"Ginevra?"
She didn't answer right away, she didn't know how. She felt betrayed. "He knew."
Ikelius looked down at her, his face held no emotion, it almost never did. She wasn't sure if she was happy there wasn't pity or angry that he couldn't at least show he cared. "He knew you were taken, he never knew how or why. I believe he was quite vexed throughout the year on that. I believe he felt the truth was far worse than whatever he imagined it was. I know my words here are probably not wanted, but do not hate him for what happened. He may have had some knowledge, but he didn't know everything. He wasn't there to save you that time."
She continued to stare at the ground, her mind was unable to think, it felt so sluggish and she'd probably sleep if it weren't for everything she'd just seen. "I… I think I need some time." The Nephalem nodded, not moving too far away but leaving Ginny to sit there, trying to reconcile with what she thought she knew with what she now knew.
Another week is all it took for Ginny to finally run the set amount around the burned out circle, and it felt liberating. She took to the training with gusto, trying her best to catch up with where Harry was. The two hadn't talked much in that time, Ginny avoiding him and he let her be. He wasn't particularly looking forward to it. It was another week, and outside of meals where a few words were spoken, mostly if they were asking for something to be passed around the table at meals and it required them to ask the other, before they actually spoke. Ginny walked next to Harry after their day of training, and outside the cottage had stopped him by placing a hand on his arm. A moment passed before she pulled him into a tight hug, her face into his chest and with a sob, she thanked him.
Over the next few months, the two learned the last two fighting stances. Water stance was a graceful form, meant to be used in a duel where the fighter in a constant and flowing torrent of attacks would overwhelm most fighters, this form was one Harry liked the most out of all, Ginny preferred Wind. Stone stance was a brutal form, meant to overpower with strong overhead and horizontal swings. Ikelius warned that the two would probably never make much use of the form but learning it would help if they would ever find themselves against someone who would use it.
Nidhogg was also more receptive to Ginny's temperament then Harry's, it had said something along the lines of her fiery nature intrigued it, but it used a lot of lofty words. Mireu treated her much the same, and the training sessions between the two were generally the ones filled with the young girls laughter.
More months passed with the two becoming, if not proficient, at least serviceable in their fighting forms. The biggest training Ikelius had wanted them to improve on was using the weapons with their magic, which they were improving at a rapid pace. The Nephalem had forced them to learn to not use gestures when using magic, for not only was it not necessary, but would give their opponents an advantage to avoid their spells.
Not all their training was combat, as Ikelius urged Harry to at least teach Ginny what she would need to know for her exams when they would return to Earth. "It wouldn't do to have her repeat a year and waste knowledge that was readily available." The Nephalem had said. Harry agreed, and while he didn't have any of the course books required, he at least tried to teach her from memory. Hopefully they'd get enough time before the end of the year once they returned to review for anything he'd missed.
They only had a few weeks left of their year on The First, when late one night, Ikelius woke the two. He was for once not wearing his robes, though they were wrapped into a bundle in his left hand, and was clothed in a leather outfit much like Lars had usually worn. The Nephalem led them outside, where he spread out his wings into their full fifty foot span. He instructed the two to hold onto him, and once they were secure, he lifted into the air with a beat of his wings. His flight seemed to follow the path that all of the marching armies had taken all throughout their year, and as they neared the mountain range, a fiery glow could be seen over the edges of the canyon nearest them.
Ikelius flew into the canyon, one that ended shortly and he landed on the edge of a nearly twenty square foot cliffside facing into what was a massive valley surrounded on all sides by mountains. The two humans gaped at what appeared to have been a massive battle, there had to be millions of dead bodies, and thousands were moving about checking for wounded.
"Over the past year you two have been training, this battle has raged. It signified the end of the beginning of the war, one that wouldn't be continued for another thousand years. Many battles were fought before this, and all except the first were merely me leading my enemies to a trap here.
Ikelius took a long deep breath. "I took everything a commander and strategist knew about war and burst it into flame. I didn't care, the coalition had been trying to undermine me to place a commander of their choosing at the head. So, I forced both armies here, to wage a battle that the entire continent would feel for thousands of years. Five million men died in this fight up until the last week. This week alone, over ten million were slaughtered." The Nephalem sounded resigned at the end, watching the two closely.
"Someone will be coming soon, try not to speak but if necessary, call me Shadow once more. Our visitor is not yet privy on who I am." They nodded, and the group let the silence encase them. They were far enough that the moaning of dying and wounded men wouldn't reach them. Eventually it seemed that Ginny could no longer watch, and turned to Harry, hiding her face in his chest and his arms wrapped around her.
A voice sounded behind them nearly ten minutes later. "Damn it, Shadow. We could have used you during this shit." The two children jumped, and turned to see another Nephalem with brown, short-cropped hair, and grey eyes standing nearly ten feet away from Ikelius. He looked exhausted, and his leather-bound clothing was battleworn, covered in mud and what looked like dried blood. On each hip he carried what looked like brass knuckles with an elongated blade.
"I would not have been able to do much in this fight, Marovan. Ikelius had a plan and I wanted to see what he'd do. We now know what he's capable of and can use it against him if necessary." Shadow replied, but he continued watching down into the valley.
"Bullshit. I've seen what you can.." Marovan stopped, having just seen the two human children. "Are they why you didn't help? You decided to take in some orphans and raise them as your own or something? Fucking hell… This war is more important than whatever you're doing with them! This damned battles going to push back the Council's plans for a long time. Most of the male population on the damned continent was just wiped out. Wouldn't put it past the humans to force multiple women to bear a child from the same man." The Nephalem shook his head, but stopped and his eyes brightened. "That wouldn't be a bad idea for us."
"You'd betray your mate, Marovan?" Shadow asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Bah, you've seen what Ikelius will do. He fucking bastardized everything we knew about conventional warfare."
"You're crossing a line I doubt any of your kind would ever forgive." Before Marovan could provide his argument, the brush near Harry rustled, and a disheveled man from within, knocked bow in hand aimed at the unrobed Nephalem. The man released, arrow rocketing forward before Harry could try to lift his hand.
The arrow didn't even make it three feet when it stopped it's forward momentum. The man's shocked face didn't last long, turning to fear as loose dirt from around his feet began to cover his feet, raising quickly up his legs, waist and torso. Once it covered his arms and hands, he'd finally regained his bodily senses, moving to wipe away the gravel that was now nearly six inches thick around him, but the sheer amount of mass around him prevented much movement. He opened his mouth, either to shout out or breathe, Harry didn't know, but his face became covered next. As the top of the mans head disappeared from sight, a sheet of water slammed into him, soaking the gravel and quickly turning to mud, and then a pillar of fire, hotter than any fire Harry had ever felt burst around the man before it too disappeared to nothing as the water had. A gust of air wrapped around, cooling the the now dried mud statue in the exact shape of the attacker.
Shadow walked up to the statue, his left arm visible outside the robe around him and ended in a fist. "He will have enough oxygen to last him another few minutes before he'll suffocate. We must leave before Ikelius' scouts investigate why one of their men hadn't returned." He turned to the other Nephalem. "Go, I'll speak with you once I've taken these two back." Marovan was now giving Shadow a very calculating look, but he eventually nodded, taking one last look at the two children before taking flight, flying off until he disappeared around a curve in the canyon. Shadow waited a minute before he removed the robes, his wings spreading out in readiness, and he scooped the two up, and began the flight back to their cottage.
Once they had landed, Harry launched the question that had been burning in his mind since he'd seen what he had once been told was not possible from the Nephalem.
"I thought you said there were only two beings that could use the four elements?"
Ikelius nodded. "Indeed, I did tell you such. However, since then I've learned many things about myself. A lot of the force behind any magic is perception, Harry. If you are constantly told, or tell yourself, that you cannot do something, then you'll never succeed." Harry gave him a sceptical look. "Even I can be held back by my own thoughts." He turned away, looking up to the darkening blank sky. "I have one last thing to tell you before you two head for sleep."
"What's that?"
Ikelius' glowing eyes met Harry's. "I showed you the end of that fight for two reasons. What I'm capable of, and when my past self reintegrates with you, he'll be closer to being the man capable of such an atrocity than he is to as I am before you. When he's back, you should watch him closely, but keep him at arms length." Harry let what he'd just learned settle in his mind before speaking.
"You act like you don't trust your past."
The Nephalem didn't answer before he once more spread his wings, "I'll need to go speak with Marovan again. If you ever see him again, run." Ikelius shot into the air at incredible speeds, forcing Harry to brace himself to stop him and Ginny from falling over from the force of air blowing past them. When he looked, the Nephalem was nowhere in sight.
Their year was at an end, the two were sitting just outside the cottage with the bags they'd brought waiting for Ikelius to take them home. Ikelius walked out, shutting the door behind him and held out his left arm which once more held the device used to bring them here to The First.
Ginny looked around, "Where's Asherah?"
"She was called elsewhere and won't be joining us. Quickly, place your hand, the device will activate in less than a minute." The two rushed to their feet, each grabbing their bags with one hand while the other settled onto the Nephalems arm over the device. Harry hadn't felt like much had changed since the year before, but he definitely felt like he didn't have to reach as high as before. Time seemed to slow, and the two fidgeted before Ikelius began to count down from five, and as he said the last number, they were whisked off back to Earth, their universe, and the year Nineteen-Ninety-Three.
The two human children had left the Headmasters Office with the four Weasley boys, the one bushy haired girl and the blonde with her hair tied up into a bun. The giant Nephalem stood directly in front of the desk of Dumbledore's, who was seated in his chair behind the desk, his fingers steepled and a smile on his face, looking at where the children had exited his office.
The moment from Dumbledore was broken when Shadow picked up the ruined Diary from the desk with his right, demonic hand, examining it closely before crushing easily, leaving nothing but dust as it floated down to the floor. The old wizard merely raised an eyebrow in question.
"Doing what I can to relieve anger at a mistake I'd once made." Shadow said quietly, to which Dumbledore nodded sagely.
"I take it that their year was fortuitous?"
"Indeed, but I also came to give you guidance for when my past returns. I've already warned Harry and Ginevra, but you also must know." Dumbledore waved for him to continue. "When Lars and I return, do not trust me. Place your trust in Lars and our other companion, Kesh'rak. Something will happen, something I cannot tell you, that will shake me very hard. Only then can you trust me."
"I see." The Headmaster said slowly. "Is that all?"
"No, I have one more thing. I take it you've figured out exactly what Harry's scar is?" After a brief pause, Dumbledore nodded slowly, a defeated look crossed his features. "Harry himself probably knows, but he's preventing himself from seeing it. It's always hardest to see what you wish to not. Do not tell him, he must figure it out." Again he received a nod.
"I wish I could tell you more, Albus, but you know what needs to happen before Tom can be killed." The device once more whirred to life, and the Nephalem was gone with a crack.
A tear made its way down the wizened man cheek. "Oh Harry, forgive me." Albus Dumbledore began to weep.
A/N: Well holy balls that was a long time between updates. Between a massive writing block (I mean huge, I was even having problems writing a backstory for my character in my groups current Pathfinder campaign) on top of this chapter need A LOT of double checking for not just references towards the main series I want to right, but quite possibly some foreshadowing for this story. I've got my final draft for the epilogue ready, just want to make some changes here and there. That will be the final chapter of Part 1 for Aether Continuum. Part 2 will be done separately, containing years 3 and 4 and I probably won't post anything about it until I'm halfway through year 4. I'd rather have it at least mostly finished so I can do regular updates from start to finish. Also, Merry Christmas and if I don't finish editing the epilogue by next week, then Happy New Year as well. But I really think I should be. Finally, a friend of mine told me that I messed up with Shadow in the prologue. He seems to have called Tom Riddle, Voldemort instead of Tom. I've updated that chapter to reflect the changes.