DISCLAIMER: I only wish I owned this! Anything you may recognize belongs to JK Rowling, and I ain't makin' a dime off of this. Wish I was though, and then maybe I could move out of this spacious cardboard box, lol!
Disclaimer 2: Anything you don't recognize is mine, but technically doesn't belong to me because I don't have a copyright on any of it so if you use it it's technically not plagiarism. Use whatever you want of my stuff, it's a compliment to me if you think it's good enough to use.
A/N: Updates are going to be intermittent. I'm not going to even tell ya'll I'm going to try and update once a week, because I'm rubbish at it. Between writers block and just being lazy this chapter has taken forever to just write! Sorry about that ya'll, I hope I didn't lose too many readers, but I wouldn't blame ya'll too much.
Chapter 7: Preparations
"How has your training been going Harry," Tenebrae asked.
"For being such a nice woman when I've talked to her topside, she's one helluva task master," Harry panted as he sat down in a chair in the sitting room. He was covered head to toe in sweat from the training session he had just had with Lady Nyx to learn the spells he needed to end the conflict once and for all.
"That she can be," Tenebrae laughed as he sat across from Harry. "I've been married to that woman for thousands of years and she tends to put ME in MY place."
"I can see that happening," Harry laughed, "Eliz can do it to me with just a look. Tenebrae, where does this magic come from? And why isn't it widely known?"
"Well, to answer your second question first, it was widely known before the time of Atlantis. Probably about 2,000 years prior to the beginnings of that civilization this magic was the only type of magic practiced. Nobody used a wand, or any other type of focus, unless it was something that amplified their power, and even then they needed a spell to use the amplification focus. During those times both Light and Dark magic were widely used and neither were frowned upon because unlike the magics that you practice the Dark magic didn't corrupt them. The knowledge of 'how' to use the magic was at first widely known, but as time passed people began to horde the knowledge so their enemies wouldn't gain the upper hand. As time passed spells were lost as Sorcerers and Sorceress' were killed, and eventually people lost the ability to do more than a simple lighting spell until the advent of the wand.
"To answer your first question, the magics tend to call upon the power of the Gods. For Dark magics they call upon my power and the power of my children, and for Light magic, or Shamanism, it draws power from the Light born Gods. Mixed with their inborn magic they called upon our powers to cast the spells needed to cast. Of course, most of the spells were more basic in principle. You had things like levitation, fireballs, healing, and astral spells. The astral attacks were used in instances where the enemy was tied to the Astral plane, but not immortal," Tenebrae explained.
"So, for the two spells I'm casting I'm drawing power from you," Harry asked.
"Well, for the first spell you are," Tenebrae skirted, "The second spell is from a God that is neither Light nor Dark, though they are more commonly thought of as dark, and they are higher up than even Destiny."
"Do you know anything about them," Harry asked curiously.
"Yes, but unfortunately as a God I am forbidden from explaining it," Tenebrae told Harry.
"You're that afraid of her? I thought you were only afraid of your wife," Harry joked to relieve the tension that had been building.
"Now don't go making Harry afraid of me dear," Nyx commented as she walked into the room.
"Would I ever do such a thing," he asked, looking so innocent the Light born Gods would have a hard time distrusting him. Harry quickly decided to beat a hasty retreat so he didn't have to be around in case an argument broke loose. He'd stuck around once, and he still had some bruises that wouldn't go away.
"Of course you would," she shot back, not even batting an eye at the look he was giving her. "And don't give me that face; you know it hasn't worked on me for 5,000 years."
"Yes dear," Tenebrae muttered before deciding to change the subject, "How long do you think before Harry can begin training on the final spell?"
"Not long, he's almost got complete control of the Dragu Slave, I would say only two more days of training and he should have that complete. After that the final spell should be easy because I won't have to spend the time training him to channel the magic through him."
"That's good, he's been here for nearly two weeks, I'm afraid that according to what I've heard this war will come to a head within the next month," he told her.
"I was afraid of that," she commented, "That's why I wanted to bring him here so early, because I was hoping we would have more time. I guess it was not to be."
"Don't worry, Harry will be fine, he is a strong young man," he comforted her. Even though he had not been around Harry as much as his wife had, he shared her view that Harry was as good as a descendent to them. The only thing that was missing was the blood to make Harry their descendent.
(Break)
"Alright Harry, you've just about got it, just try the spell one last time then you need to get back. Although we'll let you have a quick nap to regain your strength before returning you," Lady Nyx told him as she watched Harry critically.
"Lord of the dreams that terrify…Sword of cold and darkness…Free yourself from the heavens bond…," Harry began chanting out loud before finishing the final lines in his mind. Nyx watched with pride as the spell went off without a hitch and she gave him a nod to release the spell, and watched him collapse on the ground from the exertion that the spell had caused on him. Tenebrae, who was standing close to Harry in case such an event happened, ran over to Harry and carried him to the nearest cot so he would be able to rest and regain his strength before he would need to travel back to Earth.
"Get some sleep Harry, we'll awake you in a few hours so you can go back," Nyx said as she brushed a few damp hairs out of Harry's eyes. All Harry was able to do was nod in response before he was out cold.
"Dear, did you and Civilia raise Atlantis from the sea yet," Tenebrae asked curiously.
"Yes, we did that shortly before Harry was brought here, and while he was sleeping I have been going back and repairing a few things to make it easier on him," Nyx informed her husband.
"So that's why you haven't been to bed in nearly three weeks," he laughed.
"Yes," she replied sheepishly.
"What are we going to do about the battle coming up," Tenebrae asked her.
"What do you mean," Nyx asked with mock innocence.
"I know for a fact that you aren't just going to sit around while Harry is out there risking his life, you'll wanna be right out there with him, and to tell you the truth I do too," he responded.
"Do you think Deus will mind too terribly much," she asked. They both knew that when it came to meddling in mortal affairs the only way either of them could be punished is if Tenebrae's brother Deus and his wife, Athena, were the only two who could petition Destiny or Fate to pass judgment. Most likely Timeus would be out there with them so the odds of him passing judgment were slim to none.
"I'll go talk to him right now and find out, perhaps I can persuade him to not do anything. Athena will most likely follow his lead, since she wouldn't be able to follow yours in this case, so as long as he's on our side we won't have to worry," he told her.
"Thank you dear," she told him before giving him a bone-crushing hug and a soul-searing kiss. Tenebrae returned the favor before popping away without much of a sound.
When he materialized he was in an exceedingly bright room that was colored in mostly whites and yellows and all the colors in-between, it was quite hard on the eyes for someone who spent most of their time around the darker colors. Looking around the meeting room he noticed that his brother wasn't in his normal seat so he calmly walked out of the room deciding to have a little of fun with his nieces and nephews.
"Deus, you old goat, where are you," Tenebrae began shouting at the top of his lungs the moment he left the meeting hall. "Get your old wrinkly butt out here!"
"Who do you think you are," Kaimel, the God of Life, yelled as he stomped towards Tenebrae. "How dare you treat the Lord of Light with such disrespect!"
"I'm just looking for my baby brother," Tenebrae replied with a smirk knowing the anal retentiveness of the God of Life. "Don't you recognize the Lord of Darkness when he's standing in front of you?"
"Y-you…That is no reason to disrespect your superior," Kaimel retorted angrily, completely forgetting that Light was not superior to Dark in any shape or form since they were both needed for balance.
"And you will watch the way you speak to my brother," Deus yelled angrily as he entered the room. "You would do well to remember that balance must be maintained Kaimel, God of Life, for the next time I hear you utter such things as the superiority of Light over Dark I will have the God of Death fill in for you!"
"I believe Mors would like to hold that position, but not for more than five minutes," Tenebrae interjected, "Kaimel, God of Life, should you ever hold such blatant disrespect for myself again I will have no choice but to request that my brother make you the permanent liaison to Earth!"
"Leave now," Deus told him before it actually got to that point. Deus knew Kaimel's feelings about Earth, and knew that he had been slacking in his duties on that planet only because he felt that they should obliterate the planet and be done with it. Deus wasn't sure that Kaimel would be able to keep his trap shut for much longer. Only once Kaimel had scurried out of the hallway that they were in did Deus turned his full attention to his brother who was looking quite exasperated at his nephew. "What brings you to the Overworld?"
"How much do you know about what's happening on Earth," Tenebrae asked.
"A good portion, I've had to keep an eye on that planet more these days since Timeus slipped that mortal back in time," Deus answered.
"His name is Harry," Tenebrae replied, "I've gotten to know him quite well," was his response the questioning look Deus sent. Tenebrae motioned for them to continue the discussion in the meeting room as it was secure and they wouldn't be overheard as he was sure that the vast majority of his children would be outraged at what was going to come in the ensuing conversation.
"What do you need Tenebrae," Deus asked, "I've never seen you skirt the issue…ever."
"In the next week there will be a battle taking place on Earth, Nyx and I want to take part in it to ensure that Harry survives, without his having to summon us, and we want to know what you will do should we do so," Tenebrae explained.
"Why would you do this?"
"Do you remember back when the last Phoenix war took place," he asked.
"Vaguely, that was some 6,000 years ago," Dues replied.
"Do you remember Nyx being summoned by a mortal at least," he pressed.
"Yes, she was having lunch with Athena at the time and neither were very happy about that," Deus answered.
"The one who summoned her was Harry, and we've kept a lookout for him over the years wondering where he would turn up next. We watched him as he spent time getting to know his parents not even 28 years ago without warning them about their deaths as he didn't want to disrupt the timelines. The more we watched the more we wanted to get to know him, and once he returned to his own time we got the chance. Nyx re-introduced herself once he had returned and spent a few nights getting to know Harry and his wife Eliz before I got to meet him. They truly are a remarkable pair, the more you get to know them the more you can't help but like them. It's to the point that the only reason Harry isn't officially listed as a descendant of ours is he isn't actually a descendant, but we love him as if he were. He is family to us, and we want to protect him. Besides that, he is the next Lord Phoenix," Tenebrae finished up.
"Wow, that is a first, I can honestly say I never thought in a million years I would ever hear you say anything like that," Deus replied dumbfounded, "You could always have circumvented me by making him an official descendant, why didn't you?"
"Honestly? We wanted him to have a chance to live his own life for a while before hitting him up to become a descendant. You and I both know that the ritual to make a mortal into a direct descendant has been unsuccessful the few times it has been tried."
"But there were problems with those, they weren't sanctioned by the Four, they were used with weak mortals, and even in one case the subject was unwilling. If he is willing and both Athena and I like him I see no reason why it shouldn't work. Both Destiny and Fate agreed that it would work under the right circumstances, and you know how hard it is to get both of them to tell us anything, let alone both tell us the same thing."
"Regardless to whether or not he could survive the ascension, I still need to know what your position is going to be if we go into battle with him," Tenebrae pressed.
"I will hold judgment on it pending I am able to meet him and his wife after the battle. I am sure that Athena would agree with me on that position," Deus replied.
"I'm sure you'll love him," Tenebrae grinned, "Nyx was thinking about planning a wedding for them as they basically eloped as soon as they got back to make things easier. We want them to have a truly magical wedding so we're looking into maybe holding the wedding in Atlantis if we can repair the castle or maybe in the Underworld or Overworld." Tenebrae reminded himself to bring up the idea of the wedding in Atlantis to Nyx as soon as he returned; they had tossed around a few different locations but hadn't quite decided yet. None of them seemed quite right. "We're even willing to decorate one of our rooms to look like one of the rooms up here for the purpose of it."
"You two must be serious then," Deus laughed, "I know how much you two hate being surrounded by the bright colors so much, and to tell you the truth they do get kind of annoying, but I have learned to live with them."
"Thank you Deus," Tenebrae said in response to the chance they were getting, "We'll bring him by as soon as we can after the battle."
"Thank you Tenebrae," Deus replied before watching his brother vanish. Not more than a minute later both Fate and Destiny appeared in the room, and seeing as how neither of them had been seen by anyone other than Timeus in millions of years Deus was reasonably shocked.
"Should the mortal Phoenix be wed by an Immortal…" began Fate.
"In the Hall of Light in the realm of Heaven…" continued Destiny.
"Neither the Phoenix nor his bride…"
"Would retain their mortality…"
"They would become the Gods of Balance…"
"To mediate between the Light and Dark…"
"Ensuring that the balance is never lost due to the Gods," finished Fate. Deus fainted once they finished at being told something straight out once again by both of them, and this time not even in a letter! He was the only being, mortal or immortal, to see Fate and Destiny in over three million years!
"Think we shocked him," Destiny asked with a smirk.
"You would think one of our children would be made of sterner stuff," Fate sniffed.
"Well, you haven't been seen since the creation, and I haven't been seen in my normal form since then either. Although I have contacted them via letters occasionally," Destiny pointed out.
"Oh alright, I see your point," Fate grumbled before disappearing.
A/N: Well, it's about time I finished that chapter! It took me two weeks to write this thing! That's quite pathetic, lol. Hope you enjoyed it.
Review responses:
Hermoine21: About the Elves, they won't be there. The Elvish most likely won't ever be important, it was just another sign that Harry was a descendant, but who knows what I might do with it in the future? Thanks for the idea about the wedding though! As for the Atlantis part, I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything. I would really enjoy making some long chapters on that, but I don't know if I'll be able to do it. I really enjoy stories about Atlantis as well.
Ocanus: Sorry it took so long, I'm just way too lazy!
Gaul1: It's possible he could meet many more, but right now it's only for sure that he'll meet two more Gods. Glad you're enjoying it.
MoneyMachineTy72: Thanks for the suggestions, but the war itself is actually going to go very quickly. Mostly likely two chapters left before the war is done then it's on to the rebuilding of Atlantis and all that good stuff. I appreciate you trying to help though!
Inimene: I'm glad that you're enjoying things so far with this story, and I'm glad that you liked the other story I wrote. Hope you continue to enjoy this one!
Lanetha Mercion: Wow, have to say I actually blushed when I read that review for even the second time! I'm glad that you're enjoying it so much, and hopefully the writer's block issue is settled now. I just have to get past the lazy issue now, lol, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, I believe I have my motivation back. Thank you for such great compliments.
Bellashade: You guessed it, you get a cookie! Can you guess the other one? I gave the first three lines to it in this chapter and it's also from The Slayers. If you can guess the other spell I'll let you pick a prize, any prize, lol. Pretty much I'll let you ask any one question about what's going to happen in the plot, or you can tell me what you want to see happen and as long as I can fit it in (or write it well enough) I will put it in. Good luck!
Shadowmonk: Thank you very much.
FluffyPinkSlippers: I'm glad that you're enjoying the story, and I'm sorry this chapter took so long.
Athenakitty: Not too many, not long at all, he already has.
Ashibabi: I'm glad you like the story, and I hope you update yours soon. Sorry I took so long updating myself!
Xyverz: Thanks for being honest, lol, I hope this chapter is a bit better. I don't feel this chapter was forced at all. I hope you've gotten past your writers block too!
TuxedoMac: Still got stuck, lol, oh well. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Jbfritz: Thank you, sorry it took so long!
Night-Owl123: I did even worse this time! At least it's a little longer though, sorry, please don't abuse me too badly! I'll try to do better, lol! I really will try to update soon, but I can't promise anything.
Kaaera: You guessed it, you get a cookie! Can you guess the other one? I gave the first three lines to it in this chapter and it's also from The Slayers. If you can guess the other spell I'll let you pick a prize, any prize, lol. Pretty much I'll let you ask any one question about what's going to happen in the plot, or you can tell me what you want to see happen and as long as I can fit it in (or write it well enough) I will put it in. Good luck! I'm glad someone can sympathize with me on it taking so long, still irks me that I took so long to get it out though. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Bobboky: Is that good or bad?