Odyssey of a Mage Part III

by mootjeman7

Part III of Odyssey of a Mage. Post Grindelwald era. Atticus Sayre, reincarnated soul has chosen to carry the fate of all Magical-Kind onto his shoulders. A weight that bears heavy on his soul for all that must be done. And it is a weight he intends carry all the way to the very stars. Ruthless, Determined SI-OC. Fem Riddle. Pre-Halo Crossover.

7. Interlude 1

Hello All, welcome back to the story!

Without further adieu, please enjoy the post. PS: if you message me about Halo and so on, I will respond however much I can! Any of you may message if you wish and I'll do my best to answer.

Note: If you would like to read ahead, the next three chapters are available on P^A^T^R^E^O^N / Boombox117

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Interlude 1:

16th of February 1944

A piece of porous rock broke away when his foot settled onto it. Atticus stopped in his tracks, his eyes roving around, observing, scrutinising the sight before him.

The heavy light of the floating enchanted orbs shone down from up on high, causing some faces to gleam like dull burnt out stars under the blazing light.

The lands of Illos…

It could not hide from the truth under the light.

It was ugly.

Jagged.

Rocks with edges that cut through skin with mildest of pressures, dull bulbous unsightly surfaces that hid between those unforgiving peaks.

Yet…

This only preceded what was promised…

What was to come…

He breathed in deeply, his magic allowed to permeate the world around him and just as it expanded into the lifeless world around him, he connected to the vast power that was within the membrane of the universe itself and it poured in like starlight into his frame.

The emptiness melted away as the universe opened up to him, once more profoundly immersed in the greater whole of magic, of the universe…of existence.

Even in this disconnected place, apart from the magic that coursed through the earth, he still sensed much.

Magic permeated the universe, it was limitless in scope and in possibility…

The currents of magic, the endless streams that touched everything and anything shone before him, even in this lifeless place and it wasn't all that he could See…

He breathed out and let the future fall into place.

With a ghostly shimmer, rolling hills with evergreen grass and plants replaced the desolate land in an iridescent light, towering gleaming buildings stood above houses, apartments and markets, filled with silent bustling faceless people.

Illos was alive…

It had been in his dreams…

And it would be in the future…

The future and its probable possibilities had unfurled with his increasing understanding of Living Time. He was aware of the threads that bounded reality and he could see the paths those threads wanted to take, could take.

He Saw Illos in moments, in captured echoes along its gentle march through Time to what would once be.

He shook away his Sight and the future faded away as the present settled in.

A present where millions of sharp, uneven glossing rocks peaked out from destitute and hard surfaces, surfaces that were grey, black and stark, bereft of life – save for perhaps microbial bacteria.

For now, Illos was little more than a hollow egg, sterile and unfertilised, an empty space with kilometres of thick seamless, gleaming silvery grey shell sheltering it.

Illos would not taste open air for some time to come, not until the mechanisms that would open up the top half like shells sliding away were complete.

A process that was ongoing as golems worked on cutting at specific points by annihilating atoms on the outer surface with modified Ancient Human beam weaponry.

It would be a year or so before the runes that were being inscribed by his elves onto the outside surface of Illos were complete and another year before the mechanical systems were in place that would open up the shell and expose the surface of Illos to sunlight and the air of Earth.

Long before that point, the lands of Illos would be ready, he thought as he stared at the current landscape.

The transfiguration array had 'turned out' the surface inward as the rest of the asteroid had been transfigured.

It was almost as if he was walking on the surface of the Moon itself…far from the fertile land it would one day become.

The transfiguration array had been complex enough, the transfiguration of untold tonnes of iron and nickel into Adamantite in the desired shape had no further leeway to also transfigure rock into soil, a complex task that could not be so easily left to transfiguration arrays.

He wasn't sure if he could do it even if he spent over a decade working on it, not on that scale, not without aid from Magic herself, to guide and interpret his desires and somehow create the complex chemistry and biology that even the most starved soil on earth would have.

It was inordinately easier to create more of something than it was to create something from nothing or without equal sacrifice.

There was a reason why fertility rituals had mostly remained unchanged for thousands of years and it was one of the few large scale rituals that endured despite the widespread banning of rituals in most parts of Europe and elsewhere.

Soil was a part of Life and the only forms of magic that could create Life or allow Life to thrive was through one form of sacrifice or another.

He had not been keen to spend years or longer attempting to create forms of transfiguration that violated that tenet just so that the transfiguration array could work.

It had taken long enough to build the transfiguration array that had created the frame of Illos, most of which had been time spent in the Time Room in one of his trunks, and he would have delayed things far longer than they needed to be when he had another avenue.

No, there was no reason not to do it the old fashioned way, not when most of the time consuming work had been covered, work that had hollowed out billions of tonnes of metallic material and transported that material out into hidden storage facilities all around the world that would feed a secondary factory that Moira had planned to build to sustain the production rate they needed before and after she left for her mission, creating the hundreds of cavities Illos would need to integrate all of the technology that would allow it endure for millennia.

And all of that had been achieved at the same time as the array completed the outside ovoid shape, a frame that now consisted of hundreds of cavities that would in time be filled with systems, machinery and technologies of all kinds…

Power systems and its infrastructure that ran along the lengths and depths of Illos that would feed from the power plants that would nestle in the core, the slip space drive located at its dimensional centre and its support systems that would run along the spine of Illos, the thrusters and engines nozzles that would protrude out through most of the outer surfaces of Illos, the tracks just a kilometre – and in some locations several kilometres – down from the inner surface where mithril would eventually run through primarily as artificial leylines, all of that…and more.

No, he would draw inspiration of his ancestors, the mage priests that performed rituals to keep Egypt drought free.

It was rather fitting, that despite his expertise in magic, he would draw back towards his roots, towards his ancestors, the ancient mage priests that performed rituals that were beautiful with its peeled simplicity that kept Egypt drought free.

Far from his initial plans of when he intended to transfigure seawater into rock and then into soil.

'How unrealistic was I?' he pondered in tired amusement to himself.

To transfigure rock into life sustaining earth was almost akin to creating food. Possible yes, easy?

If only…

He reached down and picked up one of the shards of rock and looked it over. Like most things, even the most simplest of things has a degree of complexity to it and soil was just like that.

There was bedrock, there was parent material, subsoil, a horizon and then there was the top soil itself which was comprised of organic matter, silt, sand and clay which created the texture of the soil.

He smiled to himself as he stared at the rock whilst he was crouched down near to the surface.

He rolled the piece of rock in his hand.

It had taken billions of years for life and nature to flourish on Earth and in hundreds of millions of years since, magic had nurtured it, touched it, resonated with it.

It had become so deeply entwined with nature that it had taken a form of sentience, its own form of magic in nature magic and it deepened Life itself.

Caused people, animals, nature itself, to be greatly in tune with the cycles of Life to the point that Atlanteans could glean enough to create the perfect symbolism in Phoenixes.

And so, Life needed the right conditions to flourish.

Life needed Death to thrive, to wither and die so that more could grow.

It also needed magic to become more.

And to bring the world to Life, he needed to sacrifice, to destroy existing Life so that it gives opportunity for Life here on Illos to flourish.

Thankfully, the ritual did not call up any human sacrifice and instead livestock was used. He had read allusions that the Plagues of Egypt had been because of dabbling in human sacrifice by using Jewish people as a medium.

He could understand how those plagues could have come to be if they'd sacrificed even one vengeful magical who had cursed them all with his/her sacrifice.

Goats blood would be more than enough, fortunately.

His elves had bled thousands of goats without killing them. In ancient rituals, goats and cattle had tended to be what was sacrificed and in ancient Egypt, in lieu of human sacrifice, it had been no different, he thought amused.

His smile fell of his face as a mist like ghost figure appeared to walk before him, an apparition that almost impossible to see but just enough that you make out the outlines.

The world around him began to ebb and flow with undulating ripples until the ghostly visage became clearer and he was amidst a bridge of a highly advanced ship with several dozen people around him.

The atmosphere seemed rife with controlled anxiety and simmering fear. People worked quickly as demands were worded out with a stoic expression by a man whose face was becoming ever clearer, his ghost like features solidifying into features that he could see…white face markings that he could make out…

'It was getting worse' he thought with frustration as he stood back up as he clamped down on his magic and his Sight, drawing it ever closer to himself.

The apparitions faded away as reality settled back into existence before his eyes, the sight of barren rock a welcome sight.

It seemed like not even staying awake could keep it at bay.

The texts that Moira's people have left behind, these Perceivers, on how to navigate Living Time, had enhanced his Sight to the point that he could now see the road clearer with more clarity and with active control.

A road that before had been mired with metaphors and obscuration of most of what had laid before, only showing him the relevant sections of the road, the obstructions of what was before him, the splits in the road, was now clearer for the most part even if it was silent and lacked the depth of weight of the visions he had before.

He could See the road when he looked, when he was looking at what is and saw in the same breadth of what could be.

His mind still had trouble wrapping around the possibilities that he could See and it was his fortune that he could unconsciously and increasingly consciously focus on a few probable paths.

But with this deepening of the ability to traverse Time itself, somehow came the susceptibility to the Domain itself and all its chaos…

It had been a surprise…when he had realised what was forcing him to see all of those experiences in his dreams. He at first thought he'd found a way of best of both worlds.

Whereas he could feel himself at times drift away as he traversed the future in Living Time, not unlike a feather surfing on a warm summer's wind, the Domain was akin to an elephant sitting atop a pole with its end boring into his skull.

Even after the first few times he had experienced the experiences, it never got easier and each time he'd experienced the same depths of emotions, often of soul tearing horror and hopeless dismay with very little sense of self, of who he was, resolutely becoming the one whose essence he wore…

A chaos of experiences that the Domain kept on forcing on him, one that wreaked havoc on his slumbering – and now wakened – mind again and again and again…

He didn't understand why…or how.

He knew his ability to traverse Living Time with growing ease had something to do with it but why was that the trigger?

And what could a repository of knowledge want with him?

Even as he thought that, he knew it was wrong.

He knew that the Domain was more than that. His father had been real, or real enough that it made no different…a haven for souls, of essences…

Yet what could it want?

It was these kinds of disquieting and unsettling thoughts, coupled with the intense desire to avoid feeling so out of control in his own dreams, that he had not slept.

Yet it had not brought him peace, not when it had begun to seep into his conscious mind for the past few days, battling with his will and magic as it attempted to force his consciousness to experience what it wanted him to experience.

Shapeless forms breaking and shattering into each other, ghosts of men and women and beings that stood sentinel over hopeless moments, sights that drowned him as rivers of oozing fetid, rank and infectious unity spilled over in sun blotting waves across a field of living green on which he stood…

He closed his eyes as he tried to banish those thoughts.

Surely not…

Always it was like that, ancient happenings of desperate war against an indomitable insatiable enemy that grew stronger as you grew weaker…

Objectively, he had discerned possibilities as to why it was showing him that.

It wasn't hard to understand.

But he wanted nothing to do with it.

He didn't want to know…why it kept showing him that…those ancient conflicts that should have rid the galaxy of their menace and threat of Life.

Because…

They were gone…

…Right?

He hated the feeling of burrowing unease that he could not rip out...

He rose in the air almost frenetically, almost as if he were seeking to outfly his troubling thoughts, his robes fluttering as he climbed and rose several hundred metres before he begun to fly at a more sedate pace towards another part of Illos.

His eyes roved around catching several golems shattering rock before they would place a charged wardstone in its designated area.

The lands of Illos had an area of almost 8000 square kilometres, nearly the size of Crete, as they adjusted the final ovoid dimensions to 83km long and 120km at its widest, greater than the original 77km by 97km they had originally intended by the time they finished the final adjustments a mere few months before they transfigured the asteroid.

This was partially done to allow for greater living space on the inner surface of Illos but also to allow for a wider body that increased the capacity of what be lain within the cavities of Illos with future expansion of capabilities in mind.

Not all of that inner area was just land of course as he neared towards a body of water. It was roughly just over a thousand square kilometres and at its deepest three kilometres deep.

The water was captured from the nearby cold arctic ocean with the use of a modified vanishing cabinet, a simple and inexpensive way to transport the large body of water that did need any further use of magic, and was in the process of purification.

As he neared, he could see the grooves that were made into the surface of the barren rocks, deep grooves that would ran throughout Illos and where certain streams would be turned into the purest of drinking water whilst others would be turned in the clearest streams that would reach out and encircle the future city.

He approached one of areas marked out as a beach front where Emily was.

He outstretched his hands slightly as he slowed down and as he neared her, he hovered in the air for a few seconds before he brought himself down.

She turned to him, her deep blue eyes that glowed brilliantly bored into him as she looked at him.

He offered a small smile to her, once she returned as the corner of her lips curled ever so slightly, before he walked over to her.

She broke their gaze as she returned towards the water "I have checked and the coral groups have taken hold"

"All of them?" he questioned impressed as he turned his gaze towards the body of water.

It had been the first thing they did before the water was transported in. It had served as a good large scale experiment to see success or failure of large scale fertility and eco-establishing rituals.

They'd placed wardstones from the shallow regions to the very seafloor several kilometres down and changed the surface to match tropical and sub-tropical seafloors.

After that, they'd taken diverse range of corals from coral reefs mostly from South East Asia and 'grown' them in all of the shallow regions of the inland sea where they had built substrates for the corals to grow in.

"Not all of them" she told him, a hint of annoyance creeping in her voice "There were species that starved due to the too calm waters." She turned to him as she explained further "It seems like we will need to simulate greater turbulence if we want species that reside in shallower conditions to thrive."

He nodded "We can do that with the pulsers" he said as he stared at the softly ebbing sea. They'd have to increase the rhythmic pulsing of the enchanted devices that were laid out on specific locations that generated the waves.

"Yes." Emily agreed "I've already moved the pulsers towards where I have marked out where the new corals will be encouraged to take hold. It's just a matter now of finding the optimum rate of surges and tides at this location." She said as they continued talking on how to improve the conditions of their ocean.

One of the elves came by to give a status update in that time whilst Alice winked on to report on the numbers of wardstones implanted and when it was projected to be completed.

Not long after a bleeping sound interrupted them.

"Time to go back" she said as she brought out a timeturner from her pocket.

He looked at it with a grimace.

Emily noticed his grimace and her lips twitched with amusement, bearing into the territory of schadenfreude in truth.

"It's going to be a long couple of years if you're dreading going back to Britain this much." Emily said idly.

"Easy for you to say. Your role is as easy as getting a niffler to take a galleon." He said with a pointed look.

Honestly, their roles weren't comparable at present.

"Do you think it's easy to appear as a saint?" she said with a raised eyebrow. "Whilst at the same time trying to ensure that the chaos we're seeding leaves me, largely, free from your taint?"

"No" he admitted "But you have to admit it's rather easy to endure when everyone is fawning over you whereas…" he said with a wave of the hand.

"Whereas with you people are growing ever more discordant as you bully your way into all kinds of businesses, bully your way into forcing centuries old society to changing to your whims causing all those with even a speck of power within the ministry and Wizengamot to look at you with weary and growing distrustful eyes?" she said with a humorous lilt to her voice and with smug amusement in her eyes.

He glared at her for a moment before he allowed a grimace "Yes. Mother Magic, I never realised how tiring it could be."

Honestly, how did other people bear it?

Even if it was just a show, a pantomime, it was god awful and it was tiring. Especially with how he had to restrain himself from ripping some of them apart.

"It if helps, you are doing a spectacular job of it." Emily said. "I've been approached by one of his Slughorn's contacts in the ministry, an undersecretary of some sort yesterday."

"And?" he asked if only to satisfy his curiosity.

Her lips twitched as her eyes sparkled with amusement "I've been asked to convince you to at least retract some of your rather…inflammatory comments."

"Ah." He said with a nod as he begun to smile "Of course you said you'll try"

She shook her head as her face melted into an impressive mournful expression "I explained to him that I am unable to convince you away from the distressing path you've set yourself onto"

"How unfortunate." He said with a shake of the head before he peered at her "We still have many years to go before I'm forced out."

"Yes." She said with the incline of her head "However seeds need to be planted even now." A small smirk grew on her face "It helps that the wider masses are easy to manipulate."

Atticus nodded with a hint of distaste.

Yes…it did help. It always simmered in the back of his mind, the mild guilt, with how much they were contorting people's beliefs, their perception of truth and the…ease in which they allowed them to do so.

The public adored them on a scale that he could only describe as being a mixture of A listed celebrities combined with all the reverence that people like Gandhi or Mandela would have gotten from the people they championed.

The fact that Magical Britain grew up on tales of heroes and champions made it all too easy for them to worm their way into their lives without much resistance…now or in the future.

Whereas he spoke on 'their behalf' in the Wizengamot and churned out invention after inventions that changed society, Emily moved towards gripping the younger generations and British Magical culture, each move and task done to cement her own individuality from his own and solidifying her status as 'A Founder reborn'…

After all, the Founders had effectively built the centrepiece to British society and Emily was only reinforcing that image of hers as someone interested in furthering their legacy.

When the time came, it would be hard for there to be justifications to oust what many would declare part of their own legacy…

And in the wake of that truth, she'd continue to identify and root out the last obstacles.

She continued "The conversation will be relayed to the upper echelons of the Ministry and it will cast some doubt of our relationship, doubt that they won't voice out but it will be a doubt that they'll remember."

He nodded "Perhaps. But it needs to be believable if you don't want to join me in exile" he said with a teasing tone. There was always that risk however small in probability, if they miscalculated, if they overplayed their hand…

If…

She rolled her eyes as she closed the gap between them "Don't worry about my performance, Lord Husband" she said placed her hands around the time turner.

He grabbed her the shoulders as she continued to speak "Just worry about your own." She said with an amused glanced from the corner of her eyes as she turned the time turner back to seven hours, the maximum in which a time turner could go back to.

She'd found it in Grindelwald's caches at not far from Nurmengard when they'd raided it for Atlantean scrolls whilst they left most other tomes behind as the ICW had been on their heels.

Grindelwald had cast a strong obscuring charm that kept the base from being found immediately after his defeat and it was not the only present he had left behind.

Suffice it to say, they were rather forward thinking by bringing some of Seeker Drones to trigger some of the more unique variations of Egyptian death traps.

"I'm never worried about my performances, Lady Wife. I'm sure if we had neighbours, they could attest to that." He said salaciously with a teasing grin. She glanced up, her smile growing as her lips twitched at the comment.

"I expect you to keep true to those words, dear husband" she said as her eyes burned a vivid blue as her lips stretched wide and, with a swirl, they were back in time and back to their lives in Britain.

For the next few weeks, in between moving their plans for Britain along, they continued to work on the ocean whilst they also worked on finalising the large scale ritual that would transform depths of several hundred metres of barren rock into soil.

They'd settled on turning the soil to Welsh and central English soil. Most of the barren rock was uneven with several hundred metre high peaks of rock. Transforming it into similar but fertile topography was the most efficient way to do it without resorting into long, tedious projects that would take months to complete.

They could have diverted The Facility to build some automated machines to speed up the process but it was unnecessary.

After all, there would be other opportunities to make Illos more fertile.

During that time, his mood had deteriorated as continued to prevent himself from sleeping as much as possible with Occlumency, only worsening with each experience in the few times he had slept, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by Emily though it was uncommented upon.

She knew that he wouldn't lie to her but it seemed like she was waiting for him to tell her. It was heartening, this show of patience and care yet he knew it was coming to an end.

Whilst he continued to sleep alongside Emily in their bedroom, he never fell asleep, his Occlumency never dropping and when he needed to sleep, he'd been alone.

And each time he awoke from those episodes, his magic had been out of control and his mind sluggish, briefly unaware of where he was…

Each time, he tried harder not to sleep.

Unfortunately, those experiences, though diluted, were happening several times a day now while awake.

He knew that it was not sustainable, he was already feeling more and more haggard, worse than he had felt during the worst of the war in the early months in France.

Creatures, horrors in truth, that had indomitable wills, indomitable desires to consume and to ruin all life…

"You've been gone for a little while." He heard and it thankfully shook him out of his troubled thoughts as he turned towards the source of the loud but soothing voice.

His mother was looking at him with inspecting eyes as she walked towards him. He plastered a smile on his face for her.

It wouldn't do to worry her for no reason. Not tonight.

His mother, Emily, the Flamels, Dayton, Sandra, Derek, Moira and Rockwood were all here tonight, here to witness the grand effects of the ritual that would start as soon as the clock struck midnight.

All of them had come before, at one stage or another, to Illos and had expressed interest in seeing the ritual performed though Nicolas had helped somewhat with adding an alchemic component to the ritual that maximised the effect with the volume of goat's blood used in the ancient ritual.

"Just wanted to take a last moment to take in what Illos was before it was changed forever." He said to her with a smile, the lie effortlessly rolling off his tongue.

He extended out his hand as she walked up the hill and gently guided her on top of the small mounted rock. He glanced past her and gazed at towards the barren rocks as tens of thousands of squares glowed faintly all around them.

"It won't be long now" he commented and she hummed in agreement.

She smiled at she stared out "Markus used to love to tell me tales of his family in Egypt." Her smile grew as she focused on the glowing squares. "The land had been a fascination of his like it had been for so many of his – yours – forbearers."

He remembered. Father had often told him about the ancestors who 'adventured' to Egypt in search of lost heritage.

"He'd have love to see this." He said a little quietly.

"Yes." She agreed with a fond sadness. "He would have loved it all." She finished as mother and son stood by each other, comfortable with the other's close presence before they continued talk – though this time about happier things – for a little while.

Time ticked away and soon enough it was time for the ritual.

"Mother, are you up to arrive there in style?" he asked her with a slight grin as he checked the time. There were about five minutes to go before the ritual was set to start. They could apparate there since it was half a mile away but he thought his way might be more fun.

His mother turned to him, a fine eyebrow arching as she took a moment to process what he was talking about and the moment she understood, a mischievous smile cut across her face before she nodded.

"Grab hold of me. Tightly." He warned her lightly.

She grabbed hold of him and he sighed inaudibly as he let go the reigns of his magic slightly and soon enough they were afloat and flying away.

After a minute or two flying, they saw the congregation by the Ritual site and as they crowd turned to face them, he set his mother down with care as they arrived.

"He took you flying?" Nicolas asked "He never once accepted my pleading." He said put out.

"Didn't you fly around just earlier?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Pah! That's not the same." Nicolas waved dismissively "Anyone can make cloak of levitation."

Derek and Sandra shared a glance that said much, something that was worded out by Rockwood.

Rockwood laughed "I think you estimate everyone too much. I don't know how you got that cloak to work so well even turning a corner without effort and I do well in Runes!"

Nicolas turned around and faced the young man who was still in his Hogwarts uniform. "Ah, you see, it's not Runes, its enchanted! Runes wouldn't be able to respond so well with reading slight body movement."

"So you have tied the enchantment with read minor movement of some part of your body, likely your hands?" His mother asked curiously and Nicolas smiled as he nodded.

"Yes." He said as his face turned sour "It's not as smooth as you think either. You can get used it, I suppose, but it's not as fluid as his method is." Nicolas said grudgingly.

"And that is why I don't take you up." Atticus said with a grin. "You'd figure out exactly how I do it and it wouldn't surprise me if you managed to replicate it, in your own way."

Nicolas' eyes widened before he narrowed them deep in thought. Atticus waited for him to say anything further but it seemed like he was lost in though.

Perry walked to them and took one look at his face and turned to him as she wrapped her hands around his arm. "He'll be like this for a few moments, ignore him." She said with a kind smile. "Emily's waiting for you." She added as she walked towards the others.

He nodded to her before giving his mother a brief smile before he left.

He saw Emily standing there, her back facing him as she stood by the ritual centre, a centre that had well over a dozen lines that emanated from the centre and would split off into hundreds and then thousands as it connected with wardstones in this massive, elaborate runic circle.

He approached the ritual centre, one that was tied to the wardstone squares all around Illos, and stepped next to Emily who had a knife in her hand.

His hand rose and his fingers twitched as a clock appeared above them.

11:58 it read out.

Emily turned to him "Had fun clearing your mind?" she asked him, her tone light but her knowing eyes bored into him.

"Not so much." He admitted to her. He turned away from her gaze

"I will tell you when you ask." He told her after a moment passed.

He saw her looking at him in the corner of his eyes, her expression softening in a way none other than him could know and he knew her silent thanks for what it was.

The clock ticked to 11:59pm.

He extended his hand before her and she took a glance at the clock and when it struck 00:00am, she slashed his hand and the drops of his blood fell onto the marked circle, and with a dim glow, it seeped into the earth.

Emily extended out her own hand and slashed it, her blood adding to his blood.

His wound healed within seconds just as hers did and they raised their hands in a praying motion.

"Ⲛⲉⲙⲙⲁⲥⲥⲛⲟϥ ⲁⲛⲟⲛⲇⲁϥⲉⲛⲓⲁⲡⲉ. Ⲛⲉⲙⲛⲓⲥⲛⲟϥ ⲛⲓⲇⲟⲣⲟⲛ, ⲁⲛⲟⲛ ϫⲟⲩⲙ ϣⲗⲏⲗⲟⲛⲁϥⲧⲟⲑⲉⲣⲩⲉⲇⲉ ϫⲁⲣⲓⲝ, ⲥⲏϫⲉⲙⲙⲁⲥⲧⲱⲣⲱⲛ, ⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉϥϯⲫⲁϧⲣⲓ!" [With our blood, we pay the cost. With the blood of the sacrifice, we ask and pray for this land to live, hear our offering, Lady Magic!]

They chanted out, the streams of blood that coursed in channels from one wardstone to another lit up, its radiant red glow almost outshining the sunlight orbs, the magic in the air growing more and more as they stepped back.

His eyes glowed when he opened himself up to the full breadth of the streams of magic, intent on feeling the ritual effects as the wardstones grew brighter and brighter.

Bubbles of multi-spectral light ruptured around where the wardstones had been placed, spheres of magic that grew as each second passed and as it continued to pass through the rock, he could see the change, so tiny, so minute but growing as time went by and it was almost akin to seeing a flower opening up its petals to the nurturing warmth of the sun.

"Do you see it?" he whispered to Emily as neither broke their gaze of the sights before them.

"The spheres of magic? Yes…faintly." She told him, her voice was even but he could sense her excitement, her pleasure at seeing such large scale efforts of magic.

He was pleased for her before he refocused on the changing environment.

The bubbles passed through them all, at first just the nearest ones but then it was all of them, like unrelenting waves of energy, of magic, passing through them harmlessly even as the soil they stood upon changed physically.

It had been gradual, slow but undeniable as hardened rock made way for hardened earth and then soil, no doubt comprised with organic matter, silt, sand and clay, all of which had been the part of the ritual as the 'base' on which to convert the barren rock to.

Neither of them said anything and none behind them did either and it was twenty eight minutes later that the last of the magic ebbed away.

Atticus crouched down and sunk his fingers into the soil.

It broke apart under the pressure and his fingers dug into it.

It was perfect.

"Magic never stops to amaze me…" He heard Sandra say as she approached them with the rest of the people.

He stood back up, a smile on his face "I couldn't agree more."

The earth may still be barren but it was earth and now complex Life can grow on it.

It was not long after that they celebrated with a feast around a campfire, drink and food had been consumed as Poker was played.

Merriment and outrage had been the entertaining song of the night as scuffles and arguments accompanied competitive games of Poker, different generations and different experiences of life melting away as all were immersed in the friendly games.

And when the games had played out, conversation sparked about how to seed plant life, to ensure all kinds of plants, trees and forest plant life could take hold in the new earth, Rockwood questioning and Nicolas and Perry answering, whilst Moira spoke amusedly with an increasingly inebriated Derek, his mother speaking with Emily about the next phase for Illos…

It was on nights like these, nights of sharing and comradery that had made him forget the future and the past as he lived in the present, with those who had come to share in the small but significant step towards the realisation of Illos.

It was not long before people began to depart. Moira and the Flamels had been first to leave. His mother and Dayton had been next until he, Emily, Derek, Sandra and Rockwood remained for a little while longer.

Derek snorted at something Rockwood had said and Sandra slapped him on the shoulder "What was that for?" Derek asked a little perplexed.

"Don't make that noise. It's unbecoming." Sandra said almost in an imperious tone but it was rather tainted with the clear notes of inebriation in her voice.

"What noise?" Derek asked.

"You know very well what noise. You know, that pppprttt" Sandra mimicked exaggeratedly "The noise you make when you effectively want to say hippogriff shit in a rather obnoxious way."

Derek turned away from Sandra and drank heavily from his pint of strong ale "I'm not being the one who is obnoxious right now" he muttered under his breath but loud enough for everyone to hear.

It resulted in Sandra slapping his shoulder again though this time causing Derek to yelp out "What is it with you woman and turning violent when you have a bit of drink in you?!" he exclaimed out though he was more amused than at all angry.

"Violent?" Sandra asked with dangerous narrowed eyes.

"I meant affectionate" Derek said with an appeasing tone as he grinned awkward whilst at the same time shifting ever so slightly away from his fiancée.

Emily gave Atticus a look as she arched a brow, as if to say 'Your associates, your problem' and his eyes shined with mild mirth before it evaporated away.

As entertaining as it had been, it was time for it to end.

"Derek" Atticus said commandingly, his voice travelling through the air with a crispness that demanded to be heard. Derek turned to him and after the look Atticus had given him, he had understood despite the haze of drunkenness.

"Come on dear" Derek said as he stood up "It's nearly five, we've got to get home."

"It was lovely to see you all!" Sandra said before they disappeared in a swirl.

"I think it's high time for me to go as well" Rockwood said as he stood up. He turned to them and bowed.

"Lord Sayre, my Lady" the young man said with a deep bow. "I wanted to thank you for allowing me to see an opportunity of a lifetime. I do not think I will have it again see such incredible displays of ritualistic magic." He finished with hints of amazement in his voice as he straightened up.

"You've proven yourself to be a capable and keen student of magic, Rockwood. It was only right to invite you along." Emily said with keen eyes.

"Even if what had happened afterwards wasn't what you were used to" Emily said with a playful smirk.

Atticus' lips curled at her playfulness. He didn't have much to do with Emily's…associates.

Emily no doubt had a stern and dominating presence that her people saw and knew so to see her act so…out of character amongst people likely was a strange experience for the young man.

He wasn't surprised that Rockwood got to see this glimpse of another side to Emily.

Out of her associates, he knew she favoured Rockwood.

Rockwood flushed as he smiled sheepishly "Yes…I certainly didn't expect to be playing a muggle game with you, the Flamels…or with muggleborns."

"No, I doubt you would have." Emily said with a tug of her lips.

Rockwood looked her at understandingly before nodded and took out his portkey. He bowed once more before he disappeared in a swirl.

"You trust him." Atticus simply said as he stared at his wife.

She glanced at him. "I trust his loyalty." She simply answered as she stood up.

"He is devoted to me just as Lestrange is though each of them will serve a different purpose. Seeing me like this…at ease and informal, far different to how I was at Hogwarts and now in the public sphere, gives him the feeling that he is close to me, that he holds a privileged position that none of the others in the inner circle do."

She turned to him "He will do all that I ask without question, without coercion." She said with a faint smile as her dark blue eyes set on him.

From what he knew, he was an intelligent young man who had a mind for research and was able to approach things from a creative viewpoint.

He would be perfect for the Unspeakables…and their goals there.

A mind free from alteration or influence was necessary for their more difficult plans.

Atticus hummed as he moved towards his wife. "And the others?" he asked her as he stopped in front of her, his hand rising as he placed the back of his hand gently across her face. "How are things shaping up with them?"

"They are eager to persuade their families join their banners to mine." Her eyes shadowed, no doubt memories played at that moment before they flashed away. "Offering me their families' influence is the height of what most of them can offer me so it is not a surprise it is what they think will get them into my grace." She said with no arrogance, as if such behaviour was as natural as breathing. To her it likely was. To have others offering more and more of themselves until there was nothing left.

"Lord Malfoy has reached out to me a number of times, persistent and keen to establish a cordial relationship with me. Abraxas must have been convincing to his father. No doubt witnessing the creation of Illos remains a firm fixture in his mind." Her smirk grew as her eyes lit up in delight.

"Not surprising given that he was quite shaken for some time after the event." She added, taking joy of ruining someone entire worldview even as her eyes dilated as he stroked her hair back behind her ear.

He brought his lips down to hers, stopping a mere half inch away. "And?" he let escape from his lips as brought up his other hand and caressed her face.

"The Carrows, the Princes, the Notts have all had their heads of Houses inquiring about me beyond just their heirs…questioning whether or not I am someone that could be allied with." She said, her warm breath coating his lips as she moved closer to his body and her arm snaking around his back.

"Cautious." He said slowly as he stared at her beckoning lips. "Likely to make sure despite their heirs' encouragement, that they don't ally with someone that shares the same beliefs as her husband despite their heirs' assurances." He said in a humming tone, the rumbling in his throat sounding more like a growl as he neared the end of his sentence.

Her tongue swept across her blood red lips, a motion that resulted in the bottom of her tongue touching his own lips with a passing glance, one that he could hear sent both of their hearts racing.

"That sounds right." Emily whispered musically "Eventually they will bow like any other insignificant being but until then…I suppose I must suffer the consequences of your…" she whispered in a near entrancing tone "foolisshh…" warm air was pushed from her lips in a deliberate manner pressed against his lips "carelesssss…." She said as her hands travelled up his arms "gambit…"

"Hmm…my husband is all kinds of trouble…" she trailed off before she leaned forward, placing her plush, soft lips onto his and he pulled her in, deepening the kiss.

Emily broke the kiss almost violently as her eyes blazed with intense longing, a longing that roused the lust within him even further.

`Home` Emily hissed out as the portkey took them away in a swirl, a swirl that leave them back to their home and where they would in a feast of passion, satiate their desires and love well into dawn.

…..

[Excerpts and Alternate perspective from Halo Silentium by Greg Bear]

He appeared before her with his most loyal warriors.

They stood between her and the orange sun and it was apt that it was so, to stop her from marching into distance without knowing the danger that remained unknown.

"Librarian" he said as he stepped forward, into the light.

He sees her eyes soften in pity for she sees what he is, for what he feels.

He was ravaged, darkened by blotches and his flesh rotting from within. Pain was his state of being.

He should be angry at this woman, at this being whose race ended his yet he found himself only holding…affection…for this woman that had championed his people's remnants, this woman that had raised them as her children.

"We have been allowed to come here to die. The Gravemind…" he coughed, harshly, painfully, but he pressed on. It needed to be said

"The Gravemind is on its way to the secret Ark, preparing to devour whatever hopes you've laid up there. But it has sent us to you with a final message, Great Mother…"

He said as he and his warriors closed the gap between themselves and her.

Her expression is pitiful and horrified.

He understood.

They were pitiful, they were horrific.

Death, when it came, would be a final release of the torment his enemies had brought upon him and his warriors.

"This we're told by the Gravemind, the greatest of them, who has consumed ten thousand planets and brought entire galaxies to an end. This is what we're told…"

They kneeled at her feet, the love and affection his host had felt turned overwhelming.

This woman whom they had come to see as their mother.

Life mocked them all.

How terrible it was that their descendants had come to love the wife of the man who destroyed them all yet he could not disagree however much he could?

That within his essence he had come to see her as a mother too?

"You are my children." The Librarian whispered and he spoke in his host' tongue, affectionately and lovingly as the grip of death tightened around them.

"I listen, Forthencho"

Memories flashed by him as the name resonated within him, memories of a proud warrior, equal to this woman's husband, fighting a hopeless war on two fronts with all the violence and destruction it necessitated yet ultimately coming short to save his people from its inevitable doom.

It was proud name. It was a defeated name.

"The precursors lived in many shapes, flesh and spirit, primitive and advanced, spacefaring and locked to their worlds…Evolved over and over again, died away, were reborn, explored and seeded many galaxies…this I was told. I understand little."

He understood little but he remembered that there were others of his people who had understood more, who saw more.

"We are your children, Librarian. But we are also their children. And what they learned across many billions of years they stored in this galaxy. We do not know where. The Gravemind tells us something impossible to understand – that most of what has been gathered comes from before there were stars. We do not believe in such a time, but the Mind insists...The life-patterns and living wisdom of a hundred billion years.

They tell me the immense field projected by this reserve is known to Forerunners, was once accessed by them. Is that so, Librarian?"

Her expression turned to horror as she stepped away, as she began to comprehend.

His people once knew of the Domain and traversed through it yet they had never known where it had been stored.

"I'm listening" she said, more urgent this time.

"The Gravemind no more understands the whole truth than we do. It is past all our understanding, from the greatest, to the smallest. This reserve was wrapped around Precursor architecture, protected for many billions of years. Out there" he said as he pointed towards the blue sky "Perhaps if there were enough time, we could find it. But when the Halos are fired, not only will sentient life across the galaxy vanish but all that knowledge will vanish as well. The greatest treasure of all will be destroyed.

Her expression turned into unsettled dismay as Life and its experiences were set to be destroyed twice over with the firing of the Halos.

"I will send a message" she told him.

Forthencho found himself echoing with the Gravemind's horrific humour as his cracked lips stretched to allow a laugh

"You don't understand me, Librarian. The effects of the Halo radiation are already felt" he told her and saw the flicker of anger and disbelief on her face.

He grabbed hold of her hands, squeezing once before he let go and fell to his knees.

"The Halos will be fired" he said as he felt the horrifying unity trembling and withering "They are being fired. They have been fired!" he said in growing agony as he collapsed forward into the dirt and grass.

He wheezed and tried to sing an old warrior song.

It was time, he was finally dying.

An end to this horror.

Their vain attempts to plant the seed of their parent, their awful parent, would never come to pass.

Perhaps it was for the best.

…..

[Excerpt from Halo Silentium by Greg Bear]

He stared out into ocean of space.

The time had come.

The installations have been sent to their strategic positions within the galaxy.

Almost nothing is moving out there. Many questions remain unanswered. What we do know to a virtual certainty is that the power of the Flood and the reawakened might of the Precursors will be extinguished.

The beam energy of the installations cannot travel slower than light, and ultimately, will propagate at near infinite velocities. Already, two of our Halos report pre-echoes that suggest the combined discharge has already happened.

What choice remains to me, then?

Somewhere, sometime, I have already given the order …

Offensive Bias passes along more messages. Broken, fragmented, desperate—from individual ships, the survivors of decimated fleets, outposts finally able to send data, now that slipspace has resumed its mysterious liberation.

One purports to be from the Lifeshaper, but there is high probability it is fake. After all, it is signed Librarian. She would not willingly use that name to sign a message, not to me.

There is nothing to say, no way to respond to their cries for assistance, for attention, for one last chance to connect with what remains of the ecumene. No way to respond to their cries to give them time to make repairs, to move.

I take complete responsibility. It is my decision.

"Do we delay?" Offensive Bias asks.

"No delay," I say.

"Check point for final abort, ten seconds. Installation 04—Alpha Halo, it shall be called—will initiate discharge, followed sequentially by the remaining installations. The rings will fire once their fields intersect."

And then follow so many details, all handled superbly by Offensive Bias. The metarch has taken its final fleet back to the Line, running ahead to meet Mendicant Bias and the Gravemind—and a fleet of Flood ships larger than has ever been witnessed. That battle will delay our foes long enough to finish what has already been set in motion. Ironic that in this deadly act there is such grace and perfection of execution. This will be the greatest combined operation in the history of Warriors, in the history of Forerunners. It is proceeding flawlessly. We will feel side-effects, how intensely, no one can tell.

There has never been such power unleashed all at once. I press the activation plate and close my eyes.

"Forgive us," I say. Have said. Will always say.

Deep, harrowing rupturing howls of unknowable consciousnesses bawled at him, its reverberations echoing unfathomably within the very structures of magic herself, torn and ripped and shredded as if unbreakable claws were sunken deep within its membranes, within its universal flesh.

Consciousness came to him as he rode waves of unending maelstroms of disharmony, of madness and his body shook, tremored, in the wake of this quake.

"Atticus!" he heard a stern but concerned voice calling his name and he realised that he was afloat and it wasn't him that was shaking, not entirely, but rather their bedroom as his turbulent magic wrecked and sheared at the world around him.

He calmed his racing heart and slowly withdrew his magic as he tilted himself back feet downward. He was shaking, glancing around with wide eyes, in cold clinging sweat.

The bed was ripped apart, as if a Taurus had come and ran it through with its horns, shredding it to pieces. The wardrobes were shattered and splintered, the marble walls and floor were cracked.

His stomach dropped, realising the degree in which he'd lost control.

"Atticus." He heard once more and his eyes turned to her. She was furious but there was naked concern in her eyes, concerns that echoed from the feelings he was picking up from her.

Her nightgown was ruffled and her wand was out. From the bend of the damage around her, he realised that she likely had to shield herself from his…episode.

A feeling of loathing crept within him.

"I'm…I'm sorry." He said quietly, almost in a resigned tone as their gazes met.

Emily said nothing for a while before her wand twisted like a blur and their bedroom began to repair itself as shattered woods creaked back together and pieces flew into cracks and cracks closed up.

Everything began to return to where they once were and during that time their gaze never broke.

"I've been having…trouble with an unintended consequence of traversing through Living Time." He admits as the last piece of furniture returned to its original place.

He turned away from her gaze and sat at the foot of the bed as his hands trailed across his face.

"You know it's been…growing. I see more now than ever before…to the point where I can See the future in my waking moments" he told her before he looked up at the ceiling.

"But there are also the involuntary visions and experiences of the past. Visions, experiences that I have little to no control over. Glimpses of ancient happenings, of wars fought in greater magnitudes than I ever imagined possible…" he said almost to himself as he closed his eyes. "Horrific choices that were better than none…"

The damage caused to Magic herself…

Not even Moira's tales of what had happened during their wars prepared him for months of grim experiences of what her people and the Forerunners had faced…

What the Forerunners had done…

He felt her magic reach out to him and he closed his eyes with contentment. She sat next to him and he reopened his eyes and turned to her.

Her expression was gentle and soft, a rare expression that was worth more than any priceless artefact. She raised her hand and caressed his face.

"That's why you've been refusing to sleep." She stated as her startling blue eyes met his own.

"Yes." He said with a weary and worn half grimace.

"Show me." She asked of him. "Show me what you see."

And so he showed her.

He showed her of the battles in space, the horror of the Sickness, the wicked intelligence of the beings that stemmed from the Sickness, all of it – almost.

And through all of it, the glint in her eyes slowly sharpened before like dark sapphire gems as he showed her of what the Domain had made him see.

"You're right." Emily said after moments had passed, after she processed the experiences and visions he'd shared.

He saw that she was concerned, not shaken but unsettled. He spared her the depths of emotions that came with each experience.

"This is intentional." Emily said with narrowed eyes. "And I'm not so sure whatever it is that is making you see all of this is benign." She said with pursed lips.

"You don't think it's Magic?" he said curiously. He didn't think it was either, his mind going back on what he had felt after those weapons were fired.

It had shredded Her.

Yet what he had felt from the consciousnesses was far too distinct, too Abstract for it to have been Magic herself.

"No." she said after a moment as she peered at him seemingly studying him "Your relationship with Magic has always been…silent but present. Less so when you pleaded to her when Grindelwald…" she trailed off.

He looked at her with mild surprise. "Silent but present?"

She tilted her head as she spoke, almost annoyed "Surely you have noticed, Atticus? Magic clings around you like you are a part of it…more so than any other magical, may it be Beings or Creatures or otherwise."

He said nothing for a moment.

He hadn't noticed.

Was he really that in tune with Magic?

She continued, breaking him from his contemplation "There is more to this…Domain than we know. It's effectively a Realm within Magic, no? We all know that there is precedent for creations of Magic to develop sentience when it had not been planned for…or worse" Her eyes darkened.

"There could be something that wants you think that." She said, her voice low and agitated.

"I thought that might be possible." He admitted to her. "That I'm being influenced by one of those things"

He had wondered about that ever since he began to understand what he was seeing.

But…

Why would they give up their advantage if they were still out there?

Even under subterfuge?

Was it taunting him about what it would take to stop them?

He clenched his fists as he steadied himself.

He could never condone that to Her, to his people.

No…

As he calmed himself, as his mind whirled on the possible motivations whatever it was forcing him.

It was possible it wasn't them but wishful thinking would not do, not when he had gleaned so painfully for months of the kind of insidious intelligence they possessed through experiences of lives once lived.

"It's possible." Emily allowed "If what I saw that creature speak of is true…" a flicker of unreadable emotion flashed on her face before it disappeared "That there is a link between these Precursors and the Sickness, then it stands to reason that they could be doing something to the Domain. Though why exactly, I don't know." She adjusted her nightgown slightly as her emotions leaked.

Suspicion and grudging anger.

She knew as well as he did that psychological torture was a good enough reason on its own.

"When did you say this started?" she asked absentmindedly.

"It was after I got the hang of traversing Living Time…in truth it was soon after I managed to figure out how to layer the future onto the present." He said to her.

He learned to turn his glimpses into broadcasts and it unravelled the threads of possibilities in Living Time in the present. His ability to see the infinity of magic, knowing magic, Neurophysical Energy, was entwined within the fabric of the universe, allowed him to layer the future onto the present in his mind, in his eyes.

After all…

Visions were merely glimpses of Living Time granted through Magic.

Yet…it had the unintended side effect the Domain suddenly opening up to him. A feat that he never wished to happen despite its alluring knowledge.

The temptation of seeking out his father had been strong but he remained anchored. These experiences with the Domain only strengthened that anchor.

"You've shared with me visions of what is likely to come but never what you've just described" she said with intense curiosity.

They'd always talked about what he'd Seen, many times he'd share the visions with her, and from that they worked out the steps they needed to take for their plans but he hadn't shared this with her yet.

"Do you want me to share memories?" he asked her and she shook her head.

"Just describe it to me."

"It feels like I'm part of time itself." He said after a moment. "Just as I see the footsteps of my future self, I can also see the future selves of others…silently moving before they move just as I see echoes of possibilities, of probable steps and paths." He said with hints of reverence.

Like a watchmaker who could see in his mind the position of every single gear within his watch with each passing tick of the second.

She looked at him with a strange look, one he couldn't quite place.

"You watch my future often, don't you?" she asked after a few seconds.

He met her gaze. "At times. When I'm not with you." He confirmed. He wouldn't lie to her.

He liked watching the possibilities around her and he found himself gain a newfound admiration for how well she understood the threads that held people together…and how well she understood where to pull to unravel them.

"I can't see everything. The further I see, the more the road snakes unless I look in macroscale which is clearer but no less changing all the time." He said with a weary tug of the lips. It seemed like people were like lakes always pelted with little pebble stones whilst places, like Illos, were more like calm oceans surfaces quietly ebbing and flowing within a scale but still prone to major unrest

"I try not to but you're often on my mind." he said with an unashamed look on his face.

She rolled her eyes but he sensed she wasn't too displeased by it.

"Do you want to learn?"

She looked at him oddly "You've seen me learn" she simply stated.

"It's a possibility." He told her before he continued "The future is never set. Like rivers they change. At our hands or by itself." Though it was likely she would learn.

He'd seen more often than not that she'd develop what seemed a tangible sense for probabilities and what lead to divergences of significance.

It was different to how he saw Living Time, an array of visual stimulation that worked in perfect harmony with his Sight, former glimpses turned into broadcasts that became clearer each day that passed.

He suspected from his visions that people with the Sight likely would likely see what he saw and whilst everyone else could only further develop their sixth sense towards the threads of Living Time.

"Not until we can find out exactly what has led to this loss of control." She said finally, shelving it for another time.

"Do you think Moira might know about this…phenomenon?" she asked.

Atticus gazed away from her. He was almost certain she did.

"Yes." He admitted. "I think she knows and I think she expects me to come to her."

"But you haven't."

She said she couldn't access the Domain and he wasn't sure if she'd be much help. In reality, he didn't really want to.

"No. I don't want to rely on her." He said carefully. They were relying on her too much in the first place. Illos would have been built. It would have taken longer, yes but eventually it would exist.

But…but would they have been able to leave Sol within the next hundred years? Even if they could have, they would have gone into a Universe that they knew little off and not even he with his visions and Sight could have prepared them.

They were very dependent on her and while Moira was his ancestor, she was still manoeuvring him into place, had been manoeuvring him into place. She confessed as much with the tale of the long term plot of her people that included her own daughter.

The more they wean themselves off of the dependency on her, the better off they would be.

"Good." Emily said almost satisfied. "She might be an ally, an important ally" Emily said grudgingly "But she isn't to be trusted, not completely."

She pointedly averted her eyes after a few seconds from his knowing gaze. Her wariness was strengthened by her dislike of the woman. Emily was a very prideful woman and Moira had dented it last year. Still, despite the mostly one sided enmity, Emily worked with Moira well enough.

His expression shifted as he returned his mind back to the problem at hand. "There is only one path." He said with much resistance.

It was going to take time to train his mind and his magic to subconsciously prevent the forced experiences from happening.

He avoided it long enough, he supposed. He'd Seen it working from the way he'd seemed at ease but he'd also seen that it would be a worse time than he had so far. In truth, he dreaded it. What could be worse than what he'd experienced so far?

She turned to him, her eyes showing that she reached the same conclusion "To train yourself to avoid it even in your sleeping state?" she asked and he grimaced affirmatively.

"You'll have to avoid being in public until you've gotten this under control." She mused.

"In case it gets worse?" he said mirthlessly.

"Yes. Last thing we'd need is an occurrence whilst you're awake" She said firmly before she paused, a mild frown on her face. "It was somewhat like at the beginning of Hyper-Percipience, right?" she asked keenly.

"That took years to control." He pointed out. That would be a cakewalk in comparison to this.

And he'd taken his time with it.

Something that he wouldn't be able to, or do, in this instance.

"Yes." She agreed, her eyes sharpening "Years we most certainly don't have. That is why you'll sleep every night until you can force it out, until you can sense when the intrusion of visions is coming and keep it out." Her lips curled as her eyes bored into him

"You've already said that you could force it out during your waking hours proving that you can do it at all." She sighed and her tone was softer as she continued "You don't do yourself any favours by delaying what needs to be done." She said as her thumb circled softly on his cheek, a knowing glint in her eyes.

"It will take months." He said after a moment as he looked away from her.

"If it must." Emily said matter-of-factly and she continued before he could speak "We can adjust our plans. We have always adjusted our plans as and when it was needed. We're still early enough in it anyway that there is little consequence." She said promptly.

He gave her a small smile, one she understood when she spoke

"Did you think I was going to let you to deal with this alone?" she asked as she removed her hand from his face but he snatched it before she could withdraw completely.

"I didn't. You never would." he said implication clear in his words. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "You are, after all, my partner in everything." He said after he gripped her hand tightly.

Something passed in her eyes before she allowed a smile to form before she grew serious again.

"We can't ignore the possibility that the parasites might still be around…that this Domain is in fact warning us." She said with tight lips.

"I know…we'll need to prepare for that possibility." He said slowly. He had thought on what they could do and he had some ideas.

He thought they might have to defend their civilisation from other, unknown threats. Perhaps even the Forerunners that might have retreated somewhere. Not resurgent parasites that might have infected whole ga-…

"I will have Alice prepare the groundwork for the research projects that I have in mind." Atticus said finally.

She nodded. "Good." She paused for a moment as she peered at him for a while until she spoke again "Do you think we should accelerate our plans?"

After a few seconds had passed he spoke up "No."

"We can't change our plans that drastically without stabilising everything which will be counter to our long term goals." He shook his head "I'm not getting the impression that it is imminent." He looked away from her.

"You know I have seen a few decades into the future Emily…not too much, mostly of Illos and the war in Europe but nothing has happened in that time that involves the parasites." He had seen Illos grow and he'd seen Britain turn.

He'd seen Europe flock to a conspiracy, whilst the rest of the world beckoned forth.

"Very well." She said with a nod.

"You know…" he began slowly as he turned to her completely.

"We could have that honeymoon we never went on."

She raised her eyebrow before her nose pinched slightly "That would be a good way to get out of the public sphere until you re-establish control." She said thoughtfully.

"India." Atticus said after a moment.

She looked at him curiously and he explained further. "It's large enough that we can disappear from anyone watching us and has enough going for it that we can occupy our time with. There might be plenty of ancient magical sites that we can plunder after we check with the satellites and there is also the fact that we can visit the parselmouth village that I visited before Hogwarts with Benedict."

Her eyes lit up as the idea of finding more magical texts and she liked the idea of visiting other parselmouths even more from the way she relaxed until she stared at him.

"How long have you known we'd go to India?"

"Weeks." He admitted. He'd seen the path he wanted settle in then. When the possibilities led to the man on the mountain temple.

She remained silent for a moment "Even for myself, it's hard to comprehend that you live in the future as much as in the present." He felt something from her, nothing clear but he understood enough.

"Even then, I never forget you, Emily. How could I? When even in the future we are as bound as magic is to existence itself" he said quietly.

"You are my anchor. In our present. In our future."

That was the truth and he made sure she felt it unhidden in his magic as he reached out to with his magic, his magic washing over her with eager truthfulness, of sincerity.

The corner of her lips ticked upward as the edges of her eyes softened.

"And that will always be the case, I promise." He said before he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, his eyes shining with an unbridled pledge.

It was a few days afterwards, after they put things in order and a few restless nights, that they left and soon enough they were on the international floo to India.

As they exited the international floo station at the Indian Ministry, they were met by group of men led by an immaculately dressed greyed man with dark brown skin and wore a beaming smile on his face.

"Namaste Lord and Lady Sayre" the man said kindly as he joined his palms together, a greeting several others of the group did whilst what he presumed were guards remained at attention.

Atticus smiled at the man and incline his head "Namaste." He said just as Emily did as his eyes read the people before them.

"I am Darshan Jaganathan, Deputy Minister of the Indian Ministry and these men here are Anuja Kondalwar and Sanjay Joshi, senior undersecretaries of the Ministry." The man said to them.

"Quite the welcoming." Emily remarked as she looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

The man chuckled exuberantly "Of course!" he exclaimed as he clapped his hands, gripping them tightly for a moment as he continued "It's not every day a defeater of a truly terrible Dark Lord comes to visit our wonderful country, let alone the fact that both of you are from such storied noble lineages!" the man unclasped his hands and waved one of them lazily.

"To not come to welcome you personally would have been discourteous, as I'm such you understand." The man finished with a smile.

Atticus smiled politely "Of course." He turned to Emily who met his gaze briefly before they broke away and he continued "And we're honoured by it." He said which made the man smile even larger.

The next hour had been tedious but informative as the deputy minister 'welcomed them' to India. They hadn't been shy in the way they displayed utmost respect whilst they carefully questioned why they were here.

"We should have snuck in" Emily commented dryly as they stepped out of the illusioned alleyway that hid the entrance to the Indian Ministry. Emily waved her wand around them and their clothes changed to the local attire before she waved once more and an illusion charm spread over them that changed their features and skin tone to that of locals.

They turned a corner and walked out further into the busy street that was packed with people.

Atticus waved his hand over them and a mild aversion charm settled that ensured a healthy distance between them and the locals as they traversed through the street.

"Back home they're already reporting that we're on a 'honeymoon' in India" he said with a glance at her. "As much fun as sneaking in might have been, I'm not sure the trouble would have been worth it" he concluded to her with a light amused smile.

She rolled her eyes but said nothing further knowing the truth of the matter. They were 'public figures' now and their disappearance for a month or longer would have stirred a beehive which was why they let this trip to 'leak'.

"At least we know that the Indian Ministry is receptive to us." He added he looked around. They were near Connaught place around which was a hive of activity.

It was a relatively new building though it didn't look it architecturally.

He'd been here before with his great grandfather Benedict when he'd gone on a world tour just before Hogwarts though he hadn't spent too much time in New Delhi.

Not that they would this time either though he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to spend a little time in the magical quarters of Old Delhi, where most of the magicals in the city resided. It was also where the famous magical market Navaratna was.

"Wasn't hard to miss." She said a little dryly though it was clear that she was pleased about it.

He smiled to himself, of course she was.

They had taken especial care to make them feel welcome, more than what he would have expected from Ministry officials of any country even if they were nobility.

Perhaps the fact that either one of them could wipe out an entire Auror force probably had a lot to do with the receptive welcome.

Atticus whistled as he dropped the aversion charm as a tanga neared.

"You can't be serious?" Emily deadpanned as she stared at the rickety carriage that was drawn by a horse.

Atticus laughed cheerfully "What did you think when I said we would travel muggle at least first"

"Vehicles." She deadpanned as she scowled at their taxi.

His grin grew "What is it they say? When in Rome…" he teased as he turned to speak to the driver about where to take them in very poor Hindu but the man nodded happily as he understood as he stepped out and drew open the door.

He turned to Emily who glared at him for a moment but sighed tiresomely as she climbed in anyway and he followed cheerfully.

She scowled as the horse moved, the carriage unevenly taking them away. She turned to him "I can feel the number of stones that the wooden wheels are running over." She said with narrowed eyes.

"Wait until we're travelling on elephants." He said with teasing smile.

Her eyes widened and he laughed, even as he dodged a mild stinging hex. The driver saw a flash of light and looked confused momentarily before he was hit with a wandless Obliviation by Atticus. Emily looked amused for a second and he shrugged. "No need to leave traces" he said before looking out into the city.

As they travelled through the chaotic city, he took the moment to simply…watch.

The world shimmered as buildings vanished and new building rose in its place.

Markets and stalls ebbed and flowed away like ticking seconds as people unrecognisably blurred into crisscrossing lines.

Time encouraged change.

Time favoured change.

"Show me." He heard softly and turned to her, her illusionary brown eyes bored into him.

He did as she asked and shared with her the change through Legillimency.

"I can see why you can get lost in it." She said before she looked away, silently, into the distance.

"If there is one thing I admire about the muggles; it is their capacity to change." Emily said. "Where they change their entire world in mere decades, it takes us centuries or longer."

"Until us." Atticus added.

She turned to him with a slanted mocking curl of the lips and she radiated pride and warmth "Until us" she agreed.

And just as suddenly the moment had come, it disappeared as her expression fell "I'm not surprised this city remains filthy in the future." Emily said with distaste and he chuckled inaudibly at the change.

He smiled at her amused before he looked away, back at the passing masses.

There were so many people here in this city, busy and uncontrolled, almost lawless yet there was a kind of energy that defined the human race so well.

Always changing, always improving.

For all the plans they had for magicals, he did hope that the muggles would succeed and meet them among the stars when old fears and hatreds were forgotten.

They were family after all. Dysfunctional but family nonetheless.

A car beeped and beeped as it aggressively cut people off, causing their carriage to swerve as the man driving it veered out of the way. The man shouted at the man in the car who shouted back before it drove off, beeping as he did.

Emily narrowed her eyes and stuck out her hand and pointed her finger at the car. A spell fired and a loud bang sounded out.

Emily sat back in her seat satisfied and he asked her with exasperated amusement "What did you do?"

"Nothing permanent. To the muggle anyway." She said blithely with a pleased look on her face as they passed the car and saw that the wheels had fallen off.

His lips twitched.

"We have to make sure we set up some proper vehicle and street laws in our city." She said with a scowl and it caused him to laugh out loud this time.

They soon arrived at a worn temple in a quieter region of Old Delhi, a temple that had fading yellow paint and cracked red stone pillars though the fresh wreaths and colourful flowers that were lain at the front of the Buddha statue indicated that it was still in use.

As they climbed out of the tanga, Emily commented "Reminds me the Leaky Cauldron" as she gestured with her hand to cast a strong aversion charm over them.

He hummed in agreement as they walked into the temple. Presented as innocuous and unremarkable to deter most muggles.

There were a few in there but they walked past them unnoticed as they walked around the large statue and towards the back of the temple where no one was.

"That's a strong notice-me-not." He said with a whistle as the magic passed through them when they reached a more dimly lit part of the temple and as they continued to walk, they reached a set of stairs.

They climbed up and were faced with a brick wall.

"Similar to the barrier of Platform 9 ¾" Emily mused. She stepped forward and placed her hands on it "Spatial manipulation with Illusionary elements. It warps." She said impressed before her hands disappeared into the brick stone and with a further step forward, the brick wall consumed her.

He followed suit and placed his hands on the wall and it shimmered, briefly, before he also stepped through.

Emily stood in front of him, gazing at the sight before her. He smiled as he stopped beside her and saw her gazing intently at the sight that they were greeted with.

He turned and saw vivid yellows, oranges and purples painting the busy street as market stalls that sold food, goods or trinkets all out competed with each other about whom had the most colourful stall.

It was a Saturday morning and there were many people out today.

His attentions were grabbed upward as an illusion of a golden horned cow stormed across above the stalls whilst by others there were illusions of large monkeys dressed in saris beckoning customers over with winks and trinkets in their hands that disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Too gaudy." Emily said after a little while, her charms falling off as she walked away with poised steps, towards the busy markets filled with crowds of magicals.

He chuckled to himself before he followed her, his own appearance returning as well.

They spent the next few hours walking around the markets, picking up a few things here and there including a few gifts for his mother and sister though generally most of their purchasing had been a number of books.

Last time he visited India, he had not taken the opportunity to pick up some of the more unique forms of magic local to India…namely talismans and amulets.

Gods and animals were deeply entwined with Indian Magical culture, more so than other ancient cultures as they revered them more than anything else.

The history books noted that amulets were used for sacred priestly duties but that was only for the benefit of the muggles. Amulets were used as mediums in a similar way totems, staves and other such focuses were used to channel magic.

It lacked the preciseness and variety of wands, or its speed, but it did allow magic to moulded easier to the will of the castor.

For the next couple of weeks, they travelled throughout India visiting famous sites and markets whilst at times meeting with a few notable families like the Patil and Ubhi families, two families who held extensive influence within the Indian Ministry.

From them, they learnt the differences in regions on how they were governed.

India was a subcontinent rich with over 150 languages that were spoken with 22 of them the predominant ones. With different languages came with often however mild or severe, different cultures, different values and different social structures, all of which was inherent within India so its governance was built to suit that.

India was a place of legends, one where deities served to embody elements, ideas, human vices and human virtues or natural phenomenon. Hindu, the oldest remaining religion that remained dominant in their place of origin, adopted new deities of foreign origin easily just as they created new deities to conceptualise new ideas, new understanding of life, of humanity, of existence.

Though most of the major gods were unlikely to have been mages, there were many 'minor' deities that were recorded to be powerful mages, one such 'god' was Agni.

Agni was someone who had bent fire to his will that few could ever claim if his tales were remotely true. It was uncertain if he was an elemental or not but one thing was clear. He could command fire as easily as a modern day mage could command a levitation charm. Agni became deified as his tales become mythologised in muggle India, tales of righteous fury taken form in deathly fire the colour of a blood red sun, descending down on armies who'd dared to pillage villages in his homeland or committed slights and crimes he deemed most foul.

A god that had two faces, one of benevolence and one of malignancy. A god that was flawed just as humans were, just like many other gods in the Hindi Pantheon were and it was that, that truly stood out to him. The belief that none could be without their flaws.

He admired that about Hinduism and it was a way of life more than it was a religion much like Confucianism was, just like Shintoism was or the nomadic peoples of central Africa. It was a faith closer in tune with what he'd come to see the universe to be and the majority of the magical settlements in India incorporated within their own cultures even if none of the gods were worshipped.

Perhaps that was because throughout its history, India had magical settlements separate for the most part from the Empires and Prince States that had popped up. The constant rise and fall of dynasties that lasted less than a century had made it difficult for magicals to take root in muggle civilisations and so most of the settlements where most of the population lived were warded villages and towns far from most cities and muggle populations.

This disconnect between unique magical societies on the Indian subcontinent left India untouched of most of the impact the British Empire and its magical Lords typically brought onto magical cultures and it meant that they retained most if not all of their unique cultures that might have otherwise been washed away or changed.

As such, the Indian Ministry left these settlements the right of self-autonomy with several caveats such as foreign policy and trade negotiations remaining in the hands of the Indian Ministry.

During that time, the situation with the Domain had become worse before it got better. The experiences were worse as he was made to feel entire planets die by the thing that controlled the Domain, something that was connected to magic greater than he could ever imagine, as the Sickness ran roughshod over them.

Yet as the weeks rolled by, he began to develop a way to push out the Domain from grasping onto his psyche and little by little, it became less debilitating as he exited his dream state before he could experience the worst of it. Emily had played a strong part in this. Her comfort, her presence, continued to be a source of strength as he built up a way to push out the visions and experiences

Slowly, it was working.

It was in their third week in India that they decided to go hunting.

They apparated right by the bank of the Ganges river that stemmed from the Western Himalayas and ran through Uttarakhand.

He raised his hand and a hologram of their position and of their target came into view. Their position was shrouded by thick trees that obscured the view from the satellites. The satellite imagery had allowed them to get the visuals and coordinates they needed to apparate straight by the clear bank.

"Only a few kilometres inward of the forest" he said to her and she turned on her own hologram.

"It won't take too long to reach it." Emily stated as she stared at image of their final destination. They shared a glance, her eyes glinted as a challenging smirk grew on her face.

He met said smirk with one of his own as her body began to change just as his did.

His body elongated, his legs and arms lengthened as the flesh around his bones thinned until all it seemed left was a thin leathery skin, thin skin. His body darkened to a black that seemed to absorb all light from his surroundings as his feet narrowed and grew into hooves. Wings sprouted from his back, the flesh thinner and looser than the skin around his bones and cracked as he flapped them.

The world around him was in greys as it always was when he was in his animagi form. Whether it was in day or night, it mattered not. Yet it did not mean a Threstral sight was bereft of colour…no...

He huffed as he looked at Emily, her soul shone with a deep dark blue core that had bright blue racing streaks around it. She hissed lowly as she stared at him unblinkingly, her head almost swaying as she preyed on him.

Her gaze was sharp, predatory as she stared down her long beak that was as sharp as her claws. She grew to twice his size in a bid to show playful dominance but one could never dominate a creature of Death.

He reared up, his wings whipped around as he snapped his jaws in his reptilian, dragon like face at her, meeting challenge with challenge.

Her tongue tasted the air and he huffed/snorted, his gaze never breaking from her until he looked up into the sky, an act that she didn't miss and she tried to lift off before he did but he was airborne first.

'Serves her right' he thought amusedly. Her large size had worked against her with her little display. He dove just in time to the right as a tail flew past him and he glanced behind as the tail went back.

Emily had exploited the ability to grow or shrink to a ridiculous degree as she managed to do it at will instead of conforming to the available of any closed space, however small or large it was.

As he flew, his long leathery wings rippling each time as he powerfully flapped his wings. Flying in his normal form was a pleasure, it felt powerful. But in this form…

It felt like freedom.

They continued this song of dance, this dance of playfulness and competitiveness for the entire journey until he cleared away from her, his powerful strokes of his wings outpacing her quick but weaker wings. As they neared their final destination, it seemed like she had another cheat up her sleeve.

A small figure raced past him with effortless ease, its triumphant cry pierced through the air as it dived towards where they were headed. He hissed, the reptilian part of him agitated and he moved to oblige it as he fly up a little before twisting downwards, his wings flush against his body and he rocketed down.

He closed the distance between them, uncaring of how fast he was diving towards the tops of the trees. A few hundred metres to Emily, half a kilometre to the trees.

A hundred metres.

Four hundred metres.

Fifty metres. He saw her twist her elongated neck around and look at him and she dove faster, harder but physics worked against her. His terminal velocity trumped whatever acceleration she managed even if it delayed the inevitable for scant seconds.

He crashed into her mere seconds before they both fell through the trees, Emily hissed as she grew in size but he held firm whilst their velocity reduced with each branch that broke beneath until they fell to the ground besides thick tree roots with his Threstral atop Emily's Occamy.

She snapped her beak at him and he snapped his jaws at her before she hissed dangerously at her. He hiss/growled at her lowly, the bass of his growl was palpable as they never broke eye contact.

She grew smaller, her neck shortened until the hue of her skin became a light grey. He too began the transformation back until they were both back to normal. His hands crept up surface of her sleeves until they were around her wrists, their gaze never breaking from the moment he'd pinned her down.

He leaned forward, his nose barely an inch away from hers "It seems like I've snared myself a prize." He said with a tug of the lips.

She stared at him silently, closely, her dark blue eyes were shadowed as tangible tension manifested into physical reality.

"Are you so certain of that?" she said with a quirk of the lips and before he could respond reality had bent around them, dark blue strands of power ruptured from beneath him as roots sprang loose from the earth and twisted around his body, lifting him off of her and into the air.

A wilful smile grew on his face, his eyes sharpening as he was hoisted in the air and Emily rose vertically before she planted herself on her feet, her eyes aglow.

Magic danced around her, as if she was the eye of an arcane storm, a storm that twisted and whined with quiet crackling of power and their surroundings surrendered to her as trees, plants and even stone buckled under the heaviness of her magic.

It was intoxicating, the way her magic bent and overflowed reality at the merest of expression of will and thought, a mere taste of the limitless potential she held within.

She looked every bit as divine as their gazes met, one where all time seemed to be meaningless until a pulse of his magic rippled out of him, the roots withering into ash and he hovered into the air, his own magic streaming around him in greens and purple eldritch strands of power.

He levitated down towards her, their gazes remaining unbroken, two sets of glowing eyes that moved closer to each other through unseen force.

"I've never been so certain about anything in my life." He said, his voice gravelly, echoic as the sound of his voice bounced out in the world like a rumbling storm.

It was a truth that tied deep within and between the filaments of his soul. Even during his most troubling nights she never once wavered, never once abandoned him. She remained. She remained despite the naked weakness he'd shown one debilitating experience after another.

Her eyes slanted into a smile, her magic ebbing like a tide at sea just as he reached out with his own, his magic growing to a bubble of protective power as it washed over her. Her magic seized the moment and twisted his into its own creating a swirling pool of power that tinged with warmness, affection and love.

He set his feet down on the ground and just as he stretched out his hand to caress her face, his magic withdrew into his own. Her face softened under his touch and she leaned into it.

Their love transcended words and each year that passed, it only deepened.

"We should get what we came for" she intoned softly, the mild hitch in her breath unmistakeable, her magic lessening and the glow of her eyes that had cast shadows over her beautiful face washed away leaving startling blue eyes that were as clear as the most perfect sapphire gemstones.

He smiled at her, his hand leaving her unblemished face with reluctance though his eyes promised a continuation of their dance once it was over, a promise that Emily returned with her lips curling with beautiful understanding and future intent.

He raised his forearm and looked at the hologram. "That way." He said as he turned towards their destination. A dense group trees stood in their way that obscured their path.

His arms rose and he clapped, a pulse of magic shot forth as the trees creaked apart to allow unimpeded passage for two. They walked for another ten minutes before they began to pick up faint traces of magic and soon enough they were almost there.

They came across rubble stones, crumbled walls and carvings that carried remnants of ancient history. "The stones are magical." Emily said with sudden surprise. She waved her hand and a piece of the rubble broke apart and floated before her.

He tilted his head as he latched onto the tiny strand of magic within the stone.

It began to take qualities of his own magic, so starved was the magic within the stone yet that simple act made him understand.

His mouth twisted into a broad smile "I think I understand the purpose of this." He turned to her "Somehow they managed to replicate the way family manors exude certain degrees of safety and comfort, not unlike the way Hogwarts feels like home to students. In just moments the stone felt like Sayre Manor but obviously weaker."

"And it took centuries for Sayre Manor to be that way" Emily said with a narrowed gaze at the stone before she pursed her lips and decided. The piece flew into a pocket of her robes.

They continued their travels through the ancient ruins of a town. Not every ruined walls of former homes were filled magic which made them conclude that this might have been a shared place for both magicals and muggles.

They reached a far point of the ruined settlement where magic was stronger than elsewhere in the ruins and they stopped when they reached the source of the magic.

A bronze statue, hidden under an outgrowth of thick tree branches was uncovered as he swept his hand across banishing away the obscuring plant life.

It was a large bronze statue, remarkably free from blemishes, of a woman who sat on top of a scaled fish that was chasings its tail. She had four arms, each pointing in different directions whilst her legs were crossed. The statue also emitted magic not unlike enchanted objects.

"I think that might be Ganga, a Hindu goddess." Atticus said with scrutinising eyes.

"The personification of the River Ganges." Emily said and he turned to her with a query in his look.

She arched her eyebrow "India's history was of interest to me after we'd talked about the parselmouth tribes that still remained there when we were still at Hogwarts." She turned to the Hindu goddess "I read up on their gods to see if any of them might have been obvious magicals."

He nodded though a shadow of a smile grew on his face as he turned back towards the statue "As far as I can tell, there isn't conclusive evidence she was magical. If she ever existed at all."

He had looked up the goddess when he'd seen her in his visions of this trip. Compared to Agni there was little record of Ganga amidst the magical communities of India.

He stepped forth and scrutinised the statue "This is the entrance" he said quietly whilst he let his Sight overlap onto the present.

He watched a ghost of his future self standing still before the bronze statute for hours. He knew what his Future Self had been doing, watching, studying, noting as Future Selfs flashed before his Future Self, each of them trying to break through the bronze statue to no avail. His Future Self had watched and watched iterations of Future Selfs try something new, something different from the iteration before it.

Until one version, one possibility had cracked it and his Future Self strode forward and keyed in the right combinations. He delved out, his sight returning solely to the present and he breathed with mild strain.

Emily had been watching him the entire time, her eyes brimming with intrigued calculation. Only minutes had passed. He stepped forth and touched the right combination of scales.

He stepped back as the sounds of clanking gears and whining stones reverberated around them. With a puff of stale air, the bronze statue bisected down the middle as the fish beneath Ganga circled around before vanishing down into the earth. In between the two halves of the bronze statue, there was a set of stairs that lead down a light starved passageway.

"The man who built this tomb was paranoid." He said with a glance to Emily. "There are many traps there so be careful. It's Egyptian scale." He told her meaningfully and her eyes narrowed with dark understanding before it passed away as she nodded.

Their trek down the stairs seemed to be endless and the light of a floating orb barely touched further than half a dozen arms lengths.

"These shadows cling" Emily mused half impressed.

Atticus hummed thoughtfully "They do. Not sure how." He said with a frown before he shook it away.

"I suspect it's a form of necromancy." Emily stated "I've read about similar manifestations in a book from Grindelwald's cache."

"In the book made from human skin?" He asked with distaste.

"Yes." Emily said simply before she continued "You should read it sometime." She said with a raised eyebrow "The author claims that many of his spells were based from what he had read in the Book of the Dead."

Atticus mulled it over. "I might at some point." He conceded. He left most of Grindelwald's books about dark magic untouched save for the couple of books about the Soul Manipulation.

"So this might be necromancy?" Atticus questioned. They used their magic as barrier between themselves and the shadows and it seemed to do them no ill will.

"Yes. If what I suspect is right, then those shadows have the ability to sap life force."

Atticus head swirled towards her with a disbelieving look on his face "Really?" he asked fascinated. Her eyes lit up in fondness at his eager curiosity as her smile broadens.

"Yes. Most of these kinds of magic are not easy to turn into active magic and are typically used as curses set upon homes or tombs. It's meant a defensive mechanism against those who offend resting places or are threatening the safety of the homeowners." Emily stated.

"I see." Atticus said contemplatively. Most forms of death wards, like the ones on Sayre Manor, were all extremely lethal towards the attackers.

"In this instance, I believe the combination that you put in saves us from the more…unpleasant setting of the curse." Emily said with thinned lips, her expression grim.

"Yet it remains active." He said warily "The moment we set off a trap…" he said with hardening eyes.

"Best not to then." Emily said with a teasing lilt to her tone though she was serious about it.

They could protect themselves from the magic, that was hardly an issue but neither of them wanted to potentially lose any of their life force.

Once they'd reached the end of the stairs, they reached a mouth of a cave that had been carved out from within. The stones were cut with sharp angles and had Sanskrit etched into its faces.

On the face there was a tale of a wandering physician, a man who healed throughout the lands but one whose name would be consigned to be lost to history due to his beliefs.

"Charaka" Atticus read out. "Whomever's tomb this is, he was named Charaka."

"Isn't that what some of the Indian magical settlements name their healers?" Emily said with a frown.

"It is. Perhaps he was the first healer and his name came to be known with the practiced?" he mused aloud.

Emily hummed "It seems the most likely answer." She agreed and soon after they ventured deeper into the tomb.

The deeper they went, the more intricate some of the carvings became and the more they had to be careful to bypass the traps that were embedded within the tomb.

More than once they had to avoid several pedal stones that would have unleashed one form of deadly attack or another. In one instance, they nearly activated a trap that was based on body temperature and it was only after Emily cooled the air around them using her elemental ability that avoided the trigger. Her nuanced ability to control water molecules was more accurate than what he could do quickly.

Finally, after getting through the final segment of the cave, they managed to enter the tomb room proper once they passed what seemed to be a form of early stasis charms.

"It seems like the man preserved well." Emily said as they looked the dead man on top of the stone bed. He looked like he hadn't desiccated or rotted away at all, seeming like he had only died hours ago.

He looked around he whistled as he realised the success of their little trip. There wasn't much gold and what gold there was, was in the form of small statues of people and animals. Gold hadn't been of use to them anyway. No, what was truly impressive was the collection of scrolls that filled the shelves that were carved out from the stone walls. There were thousands of scrolls.

"This was worth it." Emily said with a pleased tone as her eyes shone with glee before she walked towards one of the shelves.

Atticus watched her go before he looked at the stone bed that was at the centre. He walked towards the corpse and he looked down at the man's face. He was elderly, that was for certain. Somewhere between sixty and eighty in muggle years. The man likely lived for at least a century and a half if he looked like this and most likely two centuries or more.

"You valued knowledge more than you did earthly possessions, it seems like." Atticus said the corpse in a thoughtful tone. "That I can respect." Atticus said with a nod before he walked away and towards shelves.

They spent most of the last few days studying the scrolls and texts in the tomb, finding out that most of it was related to one form of healing to another, including the rather incredible cache of original work in blood magic.

The dead ancient mage was a prodigy from what they could gather in the ancient Sanskrit texts. He was a healer that had travelled across India, China and Persia, improving existing healing magic and creating his own variants or in some cases entirely new ideas like in the case of healing life with life.

Emily had looked at the corpse with new sets of eyes that glinted with hints of admiration for the man's dedication in magic and his craft. There was something universal about respecting someone who chose to strive to reach the highest point in his chosen field.

As they exited through the bronze statue, just before they left, he glanced back. He didn't know what happened to this civilisation or why this man seemed to hold a place of honour in their society but what he could do was make sure the man's work would be credited when they'd publish some of it in time.

That was the least they could do.

-Break-

Emily POV

"The Slitherahans are a cautious people." Atticus said as they walked up a steep hill that overlooked the towering Himalayas. "Outsiders are not welcome in their village and even the Indian Ministry is forbidden from entering the village proper. To them, their village is sacred ground and only Speakers or someone who can prove their descent of Speakers may enter it. It's been like that for thousands of years."

"Be careful with them." He warned as he glanced at her and she narrowed her gaze at the sharp comment. He continued before she could respond "They are good people. They helped me when I was younger." He paused for a moment "And they're craftier than you realise. Just consider what I have said, alright?" he said with a softer tone.

She nodded after a moment "Fine." In truth she had no intention of offending them. Her curiosity was too stimulated. Meeting others like them had that tendency.

He smiled at her gently as the corners of his eyes softened "Thank you." He said as they reached the peak and began to descend down the snaking pathway. "I think you'll find it comfortable with them anyway." He said with a knowing glint in his eyes.

She thinned her lips at the look. She knew he would tell her if she asked but she was rather curious to simply wait for now. She glanced at him as the face of the hill blocked their view of the mountain.

He was better now than he had been since that incident in their bedroom. It had been shocking to wake up to an erratic Atticus who moaned pitifully in his sleep as he performed accidental magic at the age of nineteen.

His vulnerability had equally been disconcerting.

Whatever it was that forced him to experience those experiences was powerful. She knew that the Domain was where the souls of the departed went and she also knew that there was more to it.

It had to be if it could force Atticus to experience lives of people who died hundreds of thousands of years ago. The latest experiences before he ended them with growing ease had proven that it was not confined to simply humans or Forerunners either.

In some ways she had been tempted to convince him to experience those fantastical experiences again and again in order to gain insight of what may still be lurking in space but she couldn't find it in herself to ask that of him…Not when seeing him in that much pain brought her pain.

Perhaps in the future, when they understood things better and Atticus proved himself to be able to control these experiences, would she bring it up.

She had many theories on what the Domain could be. In truth, she imagined it was not unlike a world of pure magic. One that was built within the fabric of magic just as this world was built in the fabric of reality.

A fascinating thought she was almost tempted to outright believe if only for the possibilities it provided them. If they continued to grow as they did for the next thousands of years…Perhaps then could they seize control over the Domain from the hands of whatever creature controlled it now.

In any case, this past month had been good for him and she knew it wouldn't be long before he'd be able to lock away access to his mind from whatever the creature was.

In a way she was disappointed for the trip to end.

This past month had been…pleasant.

Their relationship had somehow deepened despite the circumstances that had led them here. Perhaps it was because of the circumstances that led to their trust for each grow unbreakable. In much of their relationship, Atticus had always been the more…secretive between them. Something that had rocked their relationship more than once.

She could readily admit, only to herself naturally, that she had some part in it. She knew she wasn't the easiest…to love…but Atticus' had secrets on top of secrets that frustrated her to no end.

With this unforeseen problem, she'd seen him throwing down his barriers more through this vulnerability and she knew it was not something she could take advantage of, not that she wanted to. Despite the fact that he was vulnerable she had not considered him weak, not when some of those experiences had him screaming in pain, his magic tearing apart their temporary home in Goa, not even when he had chosen not to speak for hours after one of the more…debilitating experiences.

In a way she found it comforting, that he could still be vulnerable when his skill in Living Time were slowly making him as close to omniscient as possible.

When her other half could see her act before she even contemplated acting and plan accordingly if he so wished, it was hard not to feel out of control and in truth it was a reason why she would choose to train in it when they returned home.

She wasn't unaware that she might not gain the same proficiency as he did but at least if she could gain some measure of skill, it would at least allow her to understand how she might be able to defend against it.

The truth was…if Atticus had been dangerous before, he was now equal to the one of those ships she'd seen in his experiences. Lethal and capable of devastation on a scale the world had never seen before.

What he did with the Ganga Statue, to wait patiently and let future versions that would never come into existence solve the puzzle key was when it became clear how far he'd come, how far he could go.

It was going to make their future plans for magical world trifling.

Perhaps that was part of why she loved him more for it. That despite his growing invulnerability, he'd chosen to be vulnerable to her. He could have easily disappeared and do this alone.

He had Alice and his elves who could have watched over him as he built up his defences. Yet he chose her to watch over him, to care for him. In that, he'd shown how much he'd loved her, trusted her and valued her, something she had at times doubted and admittedly had left her insecure. Doubt that permanently disappeared as their trust in each other had become unbreakable.

And because of that, she knew the world was doomed to fall before their feet. It was as inevitable as the sun rising from the east and setting in the west.

They crossed passed the bend in the snaking pathway and they felt a muggle aversion ward wash over them that would have made muggles turn away before they came across a gated wall that was several stories high. There were some wordings on the gate door that asked to present your magic to the door. Atticus walked over to the wall and pressed his hand onto the gate door.

Atticus turned to her "There should be someone on their way now."

She looked at the wall curiously "This looks ordinary." She said with a scrutinizing tone in her voice.

"That's because it is. It's kind of a first step in truth. To see if you respect their boundaries. If you know of the village then you also know of their wariness of strangers." He told her. She could understand it but she felt it was still far too light.

"I take it that they have other means of defending themselves?" she mused aloud.

Atticus smiled at her mischievously "I did say they were crafty, didn't I?" he said as he looked past her and she turned around. Her eyes widened when she finally noticed a small carved snake looking right at them half hidden beneath a small outcrop of grass.

"They're all over the place I think. They know if someone long before they get to this stage. And not just at this side either." He told her.

It wasn't long before the gated door open and an elderly man huddled over. His skin was brown whilst his hair was grey white but his eyes were sharper than a man of his age would suggest.

`Young Sayre` The old man said with a cheer as he trotted along, his weak frame somehow still enabled him to find another gear in his step.

Her eyes widened when she realised the man spoke in parseltongue.

`Elder Adarsh` Atticus with respect in his voice as he bowed deeply to the man and she resisted the urge to look at him with dubious eyes. Atticus never bowed to anyone that deeply, not even elders of Houses equal in rank to his own when he'd been just an heir and not a Lord.

Whoever this man was, it seemed like Atticus respected the man deeply.

The elder man laughed cheerful as he embraced Atticus with a warm hug. `You are late.` The man said with a bob of the head.

`I am not late nor am I early. I have arrived just in time` Atticus said with a grin on his face and the elder man chuckled deeply, his grey beard bristling as he did so.

`Repeating my words to me, young Sayre?` he said with a smile.

`They are wise words, Elder` Atticus said easily earning him a wider smile before the elder looked to her.

`This is my wife, Elder Adarsh. Emily Sayre-Slytherin` Atticus said with a fondness clear to hear in his voice, something the elder man did not speak of if he picked it up. `Emily, this is Elder Adarsh. He helped me with parseltongue in my youth before Hogwarts`

The elderly man had looked at her with interest, something that grew in intensity when Atticus said her name.

`You speak?` the elder asked, his voice losing all cheer and it almost startled her the way she'd lost all sense of his emotions and it was if he'd suddenly turned to stone, unable to milk even a hint of his mental state or feelings.

`I do` Emily said after a moments and the elder's expression didn't change for a few tense seconds until he smiled widely and warmly.

He walked up to her and she stiffened when he reached out to her hands. She passed a glance at Atticus who only nodded gently at her and she returned her attentions to the old man who, after halting a brief moment, went and seized her hands.

`It's a pleasure to meet you, child. It has been too long since a member of your family has come to the tribe` The old man said kindly.

`There have been other Slytherins that have come here?` Emily questioned as she resisted the urge to widen her eyes. She looked to Atticus who shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

The old man inclined his head `Not many but a few have come over the centuries.` the man looked saddened `The last time was some four hundred years ago. It is said he was nothing like his father who had been popular and respectful with the tribe. In the end, misplaced arrogance trumped over sense and blood was spilled.` the old man paused for a moment as he grew serious `He was banished and told never to return`

Emily considered that. The later generations of Slytherin Lords were Gaunts and whilst they were the better Gaunts in her rather…unstable family, they were still reported to be easy to anger. Coming here to find an entire tribe of people who shared a well coveted ability, one that would drive the Gaunts to obsession of preserving it in the family.

There was a reason why there were no more parseltongue speakers in Europe than herself and she supposed the Sayres who hadn't exactly advertised they had the ability in the first place.

`I see. Thank you for telling me` she paused for a moment before she began carefully `If you could tell me about my family…those who left…better impressions, I would be thankful` she said diplomatically.

Most of the family history she knew were from the Slytherin vaults which bore only a few journals from Slytherin Lords other than Salazar Slytherin himself. The other history she knew were from the perspectives of others and she didn't trust the fallible recollection of jealous, spiteful or flattering purebloods.

After all, History rarely is told as it was than how it was seen, something she knew very well.

Still, perhaps she could glean more into the behaviours of her predecessors and what this tribe may know further about her family could prove to gift her an insight into what she may have lost access to.

`Did your elders not to tell you?` the old man asked confused.

`I do not have any elders.` Emily stated `I am an orphan`

The old man looked at her sympathetically and she resisted the urge to scathingly remove the look of pity in his eyes.

`A shame. You have my condolences` the old man said kindly.

`Don't be. Both my parents were terrible people and undeserving of your condolences.` Emily said dismissively and it seemed to have caused the man to nod slowly as he looked at her sadly.

Atticus intervened `Elder, now that you have met my wife, may we enter the village?`

The elder broke his gaze from Emily and nodded to Atticus `You may enter. As your wife, she is considered a member of the tribe` the elder looked at her again `But even then, she had always been a member of the tribe. She is welcome to come and go as she pleases` The elder finished with a hum before he huddled away back towards the open gated door.

She looked at Atticus with a quizzical expression and he explained "They consider anyone who speaks parseltongue as a member of the tribe." He said with a soft smile as extended his arm out to her.

She took it and they followed the old man.

"Why?" she asked genuinely curious.

"Because to them, it is a sacred talent that they believe was bestowed to them by the Naga and anyone who has the gift is a descendant of a single half Naga half human person. As such they believe the blood that courses in the vein of a parseltongue speaker is the same as theirs."

She considered that. Truthfully, it made sense to her. Bloodline abilities such as parseltongue, Sight, metamorphmagi or Hyper-Percipience could only be passed through the blood. Most of the time it was highly patriarchal and could only be found in main bloodlines but in some instances it was an ability that take root in other families.

It seemed like parseltongue was one of the kinds of abilities that persisted in other bloodlines given that it remained with the Sayres even if it skipped generations at a time. In a way, the Gaunts' obsession in their blood made sense if they believed they could pass it on to others.

Still, it didn't excuse their idiocy. By the methods they chose to preserve their talent they had only doomed themselves into extinction.

She was never going to allow the name Gaunt to rise up again. It would die in the past like it belonged. House Slytherin did not need their taint.

They were passing through a tunnel that seemed to have been bored into the hill and soon enough they reached its end as the light of the outside streamed into the exit.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the sight before. The dusky sun shone down a fertile land that was nestled in between the forested mountain whilst a river snaked in between the village.

"Welcome to Slitharsa, home to many parselmouths for thousands of years." Atticus said, drawing her attentions. He smiled at her softly before he looked away, back at the village.

She followed his gaze and stared. It seemed…idyllic, as if war and misery had never touched these lands. Considering where they had first arrived, the cold and hard ground this far north by the Himalayas, perhaps war and misery truly had never touched this place.

When they entered the village proper, they were welcomed in a way that had left her uncomfortable. Their kind and genuine expressions that did not hide any malice or hidden agendas had surprised and what she sensed from them even more so. They were genuinely…happy to see them, a happiness that was untainted by hidden intentions.

She found herself at more ease than she'd expected and she'd come to enjoy her first few days especially once they were shown the libraries. She remembered Atticus had said that they'd gifted him parseltongue texts, rare tomes that despite their usefulness being less than zero in the hands of any non parseltongue speaker, was incredibly valuable in certain circles.

Yet despite that, it left her unprepared for the number of parseltongue tomes that were here, thousands of tomes and scrolls that were collected over centuries.

Parseltongue wasn't just a language nor was it even a magical language. It was an expressional branch of magic, a branch that shared similarities with runic languages but where they needed to be dead, fixed, parseltongue was alive and vibrated within magic itself.

It could alter reality just as spells could and it was why parselmagic was powerful, even if it was mostly constrained to healing magic. Largely due to the fact that the ability mostly stemmed in this tribe of four main families who believed in the sanctity of life.

It was a few days later that she was alone with a female elder who had wished to speak with her. She wasn't sure why but she'd agreed. Curiously, gender did not matter amongst the Slitharahans tribe. To them, those who prized serpents and considered themselves to be kin to them, such rigid social structures did not make sense to them when a female serpent could be just as deadly as male and was even more deadly.

Something she rather liked.

The elder woman offered her tea which she politely accepted.

'Do you know of your family's origins?` the old woman asked her before she took a sip of her chai.

`You mean in relation to this tribe?` Emily inquired.

The old woman smiled as she nodded.

`Not for certain. There are references to your tribe in the few journals remaining within my family's treasury but nothing explicit. The family name Slytherin though makes it more than likely that I am descendant from this tribe` Emily admitted.

`That is true. You are a child of the tribe. Your ability to speak is proof enough but there is more to it. Your ancestor, who was named Sita, left the village many centuries before the one known as Salazar Slytherin had come to be.` the old woman told her.

Emily considered that `Why did he leave?` she wasn't believing the woman straight away but she was giving her a chance.

`Why does anyone leave?` the old woman said with a knowing smile `Youth have always been the same. They seek adventure, they seek meaning outside of what they know and sometimes that leads them to leave. Most return, often with wives or husbands, some do not. Your ancestor did not return even if his descendants did visit at some point or another.`

`I see.` she said with a thoughtful expression on her face. It made sense why her ancestor might wish to leave. Slitharsa was a…pleasant place to be but it was not a place a Slytherin would remain.

If this Sita was anything like Salazar or herself then it must have been the case for him as well. Still, at least she could an inkling of how she came to be. In that, she was thankful. She at least knew her ancestry

`Did any of my predecessors know this?` she asked curiously.

`They were told` the old woman said affirmatively `We keep good records of who comes and who goes and when it happens. To us, it is merely a goodbye for now. We might not see them personally again but we may see them in the form of their descendants.`

`How do you know if someone is truthful? How do you know if they are who claim to be?` Emily asked curiously and the old woman huffed a laugh.

`Magic` the old woman said mirthfully and Emily rolled her eyes which only made the old woman huff louder in laughter.

`Our records are not normal records. These were made by the help of the Naga who helped us in our endeavour to make sure we knew if our people lived or if they died.` The old woman said finally and Emily's eyes widened.

They had thousands of years old tapestries that practically tracked everyone that had even the tiniest bit of their blood.

`That…That must be incredible unmanageable. Surely there are tens of thousands of magicals alive right now?` she questioned baffled.

The older woman shook her head `Not that many. We have not had that many alive at any single point in many hundreds of years sadly. At present it is less than four thousand that carry our blood of which over three thousand are here and less than seven hundred that can speak the tongue. Over six hundred and eighty are in this village alone.`

`Can you track people?` Emily asked warily.

The old woman smiled `We cannot. We can only know if one of our kin has returned and only then can we trace back their lineage`

That was acceptable she mused. She might have had to destroy a priceless artefact otherwise no matter how…reluctant she was about it.

`Did Atticus know about Sita?` Emily asked curiously.

The old woman shook her head `There was no need for him to know. The Sayres are well known to us and despite being of the tribe, they are first the craftsmen of Egypt. Their story is not of Slitharsa even if they carry its blood`

Curious…`I don't quite understand` Emily admitted. `They are part of the tribe but not permitted to know of their ancestor?`

`An ancestor Sita might be but they do not claim his line as their own. His story is that of yours, young speaker.` The woman said kindly. `Your husbands' blood sings the song of another and we respect that`

If she understood correctly the elder woman meant that Atticus' Sayre heritage trumps that of his links to the Gaunt family. She wondered what she meant Atticus' blood sung the song of another.

She decided to change topics `Why aren't there more of the tribe? This place…a city could grow here. From what I understand, Slitharsa never experienced war`

`The tribe rarely has more than a few hundred children at a time. It is simply something that has passed through the ages. Our lives are peaceful and it has worked for thousands of years.` the old woman declared.

It was a belief that was prevalent in many magical societies. Muggles tended to breed in the dozens because they kept dying so easily over pitiful reasons and because of their own weaknesses. Unfortunately, as time went by and their technology and medicine improved, more lived than died of their weaknesses and their society had not caught up with their improving understanding.

Something that the magical world did not suffer for they had reached ways to avoid easy deaths thousands of years ago and their population had largely stabilised ever since. Disease in magicals was rare and the only way most died before several generations had been born was because of war.

In secluded magical communities, war was rarely something that happened and it was only in societies that share a deep history with muggles that warred frequently with each other.

Magical Europe had suffered major wars again and again of all kinds of variety.

That is not to say it was constrained to Magical Europe. Wars between magical societies in the Americas happened quite often and Africa wasn't immune either but in those lands it was easier to seclude your tribe away from muggle masses and in that, there was peace as magicals rarely combatted with each other large scale war.

That is until a few hundred years ago when the magical world became more connected and wars between European mages and indigenous peoples became prevalent with the Statute of Secrecy the predominant reason behind it.

`What is parseltongue?` Emily finally asked `I know that is seen as an expressional branch of magic but your people must know more than that`

The old woman smiled `It is true that we know more. It is an expressional magic but the language also holds a touch of divinity. To us, parseltongue is a divine blessing from the Naga, the ancient race of half serpentine beings`

`The Naga…Were they real?` Emily finally asked

The old woman's smile grew wider `They were. Ancient, truly ancient and were recorded of being capable of wondrous feats of magic. Most of our parsel magic comes from them` the old woman said proudly.

`One of the texts made references that our form of parselmagic was akin to what a grass snake was to a hooded cobra.` the old woman said with an amused look.

Her eyes gleamed at the thought of stronger parselmagic.

`Does your tribe have any surviving texts on their form of parselmagic?` she asked

The old woman shook her head `We do not if we had ever been given them.` she eyed her knowingly `We might not have been capable of performing it. The Naga were a highly magical race, perhaps even truly divine as our ancestors once believed.`

Emily felt a bitter disappointment at that. She didn't believe she couldn't succeed at the Naga form of parseltongue and it was a bitter shame the tribe didn't have any texts on it.

`They spoke the higher form of parselmagic and though the serpents do not remember as it has been a long time since a Naga last roamed this earth to our knowledge, it is known that their accents were distinctly different than any of ours. Texts described their voices like music that moved the soul with even the most common of words.` the old woman continued

`Do you believe they might still be alive?` It was odd a supposedly powerful race could die so easily.

`I do not know` the old woman admitted. `They disappeared almost a thousand years ago and the scrolls do not say what had happened which is likely deliberate given that many more texts of that era remained. It is said that they lived underground, that their kingdoms, their lands were all under the mountains`

`Perhaps that is still the case and they will return to the world when they believe it is time` the old woman said though it was clear it was more hopeful than anything else.

Emily pondered on what he said. Moira might know more about these beings and those satellites might be able to point out where they might have once been…where they might be.

They talked for an hour more before she got up to leave but she hesitated for a second `If I have more questions, will you answer them?` Emily asked.

The old woman stood up and grasped Emily's hand `You are always welcome to ask any question of me, Daughter of Sita. Just as you are welcome to return to Slitharsa anytime. You are kin.` the old woman said with a warm smile.

Emily nodded slowly as a soft smile crept in her face.

Days later she and Atticus left and as the gated door closed, Atticus had sent her ponderous look "Did you find what you were looking for?"

She turned to him, her expression slightly guarded. "No." she said after a moment. She'd hoped for more than she what had been told about her family even if it was more than she knew before and their collection of texts were not that useful to here.

It seemed like she may have to develop her own form of parselmagic.

She made to leave but she stopped in her steps as she looked over her shoulder "But perhaps I found something worthwhile anyway." She added quietly before she twisted on her heels and disapparated away, away from the place, and people, that she somehow felt a connection to. It was minor, it was insignificant but it was there nonetheless.

-Break-

"I sense no magic here." Emily stated as they walked up the old stone steps that were embedded in the mountain.

"There is magic here…just hidden. Very well hidden" Atticus said. Had it not been for the fact that he saw where this led, he might have suspected the same as she did.

Finally, after a while, they saw something embedded in the cliff side that barely stood out from the surroundings as they walked up the steps that snaked around the face of the mountain.

A monk dressed in orange garments that exposed half of his body stood at the top of the steps. As they neared they saw he was a relatively young man with a shaven head and he smiled at them.

Atticus frowned as he stared at the man. He could sense no magic from the man. Weren't these monks meant to be magical?

"You can't sense his magic either?" Emily asked agitated, clear that she was displeased about the possibility of wasting their time.

"No." Atticus said "But this is the right place." He told her.

One of the elders at Slitharsa had told him that he was expected here by the ancient sage. Someone who had hailed from their village many centuries ago.

She frowned heavily "They never said there would be muggles here." She turned to him "Did you know?"

He shook his head "I didn't. I can't sense in my visions."

She said nothing to that as they reached the top. The smiling man looked at them before focusing on him. "He is waiting for you." He said. "You may find him at the end of the temple."

He turned to Emily "Please follow me to the library. You will find it to your liking." The smiling monk said as he turned around and walked with an impressive serenity through the rickety door.

Emily turned to him, her eyes narrowing "He might actually be just like you." She simply stated and he felt offended.

"I don't do that" he said with a wave. He didn't get people to deliver messages like that.

She raised her eyebrow in response.

"Not to that degree." He protested.

She said nothing.

He thinned his lips, his eyes twitching. "Fine. I'm going to meet him." He paused for a moment as he looked at her seriously. "Will you be alright?"

"I have no issue going to the library. I expect the man won't have pertinent information for me specifically anyway. I might as well find some links as to how he reportedly is over six hundred years old." She said before she walked into the temple.

Atticus entered after her and continued inward until he reached a floor up the stairs where he found a man sitting on a cushion in an empty hall. He was aged, very old but he held a quiet dignity about him even if he sat with his eyes closed and slightly huddled forward.

Just like the other monk, Atticus could sense no magic from this man.

Was he magical or not? Were any of them magical?

It was confusing to him, the way the paths had made today seem…as if it changed something fundamental for him.

If he was from the village he was at worse a squib and he most definitely did not feel like a squib. A squib could still be sensed and interact with magic…it was just that their magic was somehow incomplete.

Somehow the man figured out to occlude his magic completely and that was something he thought impossible. How do you even manage that?

The sage monk did not move from his position for some time, his eyes were closed and his breathing inaudible. Had not been for the fact that he could see the man's soul, he would not have been able to tell if he was still alive.

He wasn't sure what this all served, why this charade was being performed but he knew eventually it would end. All paths looked like he would not get the opportunity to question the sage if he left. It grated him that he needed to wait ho-

The sage's eyes opened and Atticus' straightened up in shock.

The sage smiled, the wrinkles on his face widened as he looked at Atticus with mirth.

`Do not rely on your Sight, young mage.` The sage said in parseltongue.

`How?` Atticus asked in wonderment. He had not seen this path.

The man raised his hand and stuck out his index finger with the rests curled up in a fist.

He traced a circle in the air `Time flows in one direction. This is the truth of the universe. It can be stretched, it can be accelerated but it will never go back.`

`You, young mage, know this and see this. It is a river to you, one that you peddle into as it moves in one direction. But what you do not see is below the surface. The little currents, the wavelets and the fishes.` the sage said with a huffing laugh.

Atticus frowned `And you exploited this to hide this moment from my Sight? Should this outcome not have been apparent to me as soon as you made a decision?`

The sage smiled as he shook his head `How many paths did you see?`

`Twelve and what happened now had not happened in any of them.` he told the sage.

The sage hummed pleasantly `You focus on those paths, correct?`

`Yes. It allows me to see further and reduces the noise.` And he used to see outcomes of certain decisions and paths in the near future.

`And in doing so you have played into my hand` The sage said serenely as his eyes sharpened into him. `You see possibilities, never the future as it will unfold. You see decisions that lead to outcomes and other decisions and so on. In that, you leave yourself unaware to those who know how to manipulate the rivers of time as you do`

And so it was confirmed. There were already others who could do it. That was fundamental enough. Morgana, could there be others out there who knew of his and Emily's plots?

`You can see the possibilities as well` Atticus merely stated.

`I do, son of Morrigan` the sage said and Atticus narrowed his eyes.

`You can hear the possibilities too" Atticus said with a penetrating gaze. At some point or another, he must have heard that phrase. He never heard that phrase being uttered before. There was a chance he could have heard it said by someone in his family in the distant past but by the time the man was born, their family history with regards to Moira was little better than legend so it was unlikely he'd seen and heard it said at any stage other than the current future.

`I can` the sage confirmed.

`How?` Atticus asked with unbridled curiosity.

The sage smiled `In time you will manage this on your own. Your journey is yours to walk, young Sayre. You are here for another reason`

Atticus suppressed an annoyance. `And that is?` he asked calmly and as he asked, he realised that for the first time ever there was someone who knew more of the future than he did.

Moira had known about the future thanks to whatever those Perceivers had concocted to get to this point and her daughter had helped it along but she didn't know anything for certain.

This man…this man might have hundreds of years to hone his skill and that actually terrifying. He could have ended him before he'd even been born…

Any of these people who could see the future could have ended him.

`Good. You realise` the sage said, this time very serious `You have been protected your entire life, son of Morrigan, son of the Sayres.`

`You know what I intend to do` Atticus stated, his voice devoid of emotion.

`I do and I have known for centuries` the sage said affirmatively `My order has known for almost two thousand years`

It was then he realised `Moira's daughter`

The sage smiled `Adair was the founder of our order.`

Atticus wanted to laugh. Even with his sight, he knew nothing.

`Your journey has been foretold for a very long time, kin of Adair, and it is my time to play my part in it.` the old man straightened up, a wave of engulfing magic spread from the man, magic caused him to shudder in shock at the pureness of it.

It was utterly untainted, pristine and it felt like he was bathed in enlightenment.

Just as soon as the magic rippled out of him, it receded and back into a steely but unflinching core that radiated serenity.

`Your magic…its…` Atticus tried.

`Many years of enlightenment.` the sage grew saddened `And it is not your path, young Sayre. Your path has never been one of peace and tranquillity.`

`Do we not make our own paths?` Atticus said quietly, sardonically.

`We do.` The sage confirmed `But more often than not, our paths choose us just as well. We may take the mantle of our path or not, that is our choice but fate has a curious thing about her` the sage said with a mild smile.

Atticus said nothing to that. Had he not chosen his path after the Centaur's prophetic words? Had he not chosen it again before he'd gone to war? And again when they decided to tear the magical world apart?

`Who was I protected from?` Atticus asked finally, bringing the conversation back to point.

`An order that is almost as old as our own, one that stemmed from a gifted disciple who learnt just enough to become a nuisance` the sage sighed `and from him, more came and exist today. They are committed into guiding the magical world into a future of their own making.`

He frowned. So a shadowy group…

But for a shadowy group to exist, there needs to be a front of some kind…but there were no magical societies powerf- His eyes narrowed `The ICW?`

The sage smiled briefly `The ICW is merely the horse that pulls the carriage. They hidden behind the curtains within the carriage` the sage said.

`How do I know you're telling the truth` he asked suspiciously `For all I know you're the order you speak of.`

`You cannot know, young Sayre` the sage said amused `At least not now. You will have to determine if what you hear today is truth or untruth on your own.`

Atticus' eye twitched before he tilted his head, his magic slowly crawling out of his skin `I could force you`

`You would harm an old man` the sage asked amused.

`If you know what I plan on doing, then you know the answer to that question`

The sage nodded serenely `Yes. I am a danger to your family and you don't allow dangers do you?.` the sage paused `You would likely defeat me in a duel, young Sayre, that is perhaps inescapable but you would not break me in any possibility. Ask your questions and I may choose to answer if I can.`

Atticus met the gaze of the sage and withdrew his magic. `Very well.`

`What is the name of this group and how did your order blind them to me?` Atticus asked.

`They call themselves Men of Symbols and we blinded them by the same way I blinded you to this path.`

`Through manipulation of the rivers of time` Atticus said with a frown `What does even mean?`

The sage looked at him amused `It means that is something you must find out on your own. You have a keen mind and it will not take you long I suspect`

Atticus stared at the man as he thought it over. How was he caught unaware? He resisted the urge to growl out in frustration.

If he could be blinded so easily then it meant that he couldn't rely on his Sight at all. How could he rely on his Sight when something utterly unexpected could happen?

Unexpected in all the pa-

`You see more than just a few paths` Atticus said in wonder `And you know exactly how to pull a path of the lesser probability whilst at the same time ensure none except yourself can know`

The sage smiled `I did say it would not take you long to understand.`

`But that is just…` Atticus shook his head `How can you comprehend that? Even now I cannot see more than maybe a few more than a dozen paths. We are not built to see infinity.`

`I cannot see infinity, that is true. But what I do see thousands of paths at any given time. Something that took many years to accomplish. With that came the subtle skill to manipulate possibilities around others.`

So at some point he could tangibly manipulate the possibilities of others? To the point that he could manipulate the Sight of others who could traverse Living Time?

`Wouldn't they recognise it eventually? How did they miss such manipulation to hide me from the Sight of others for so long?` Atticus wondered.

`Through difficulty` the sage admitted `We have failed almost in several instances and only through assassination of their skilled Seers were we able to reduce their effectiveness in traversing time. The ones that exist today are unable to see more than one possible path, maybe two. They believe that the future is immutable and it is because of their arrogance and self-assurance they will not see the truth for what time is`

Atticus understood now `They saw Albus Dumbledore defeating Grindelwald.`

`That was the likely possibility before you entered the war` the sage confirmed.

So that's where their enmity came from. He must have shaken them to the core if he was utterly unexpected. Ironically he could understand their viewpoint. After all, he was shaken today with what he had heard today.

Atticus traced his hand across his face before he looked at the sage `Thank you.` he hesitated for a moment `I regret threatening you`

The sage laughed `I accept your non-apology young Sayre` the sage said amused.

Atticus smiled slightly before he grew serious `So if Moira's daughter created your order, do they know of what might be out there?` he said pointing upwards.

The sage expression shifted `We do and I cannot tell you. Neither can anyone else from my order. That is absolute.`

`Why?` Atticus asked baffled `Surely it is better for me to know now! So that I can prepare` Atticus said agitated, his parseltongue descending into fervent hissing.

`No. The journey is as important as the destination itself.` the sage said resolutely.

Atticus frowned heavily `Then why am I being bombarded by experiences of those who have long passed? Why I am made to feel magic sundered and violated? What use is ancient history that has long since been treaded and forgotten?!` Atticus said with muted anger, the frustration that he had kept within himself leaking out.

`Manu has granted you access?` the sage asked with inscrutable eyes.

Atticus stilled. Did the man know about the Domain?

`I wouldn't say access.` Atticus said bitterly `It's been forced onto me. Experiences of dreadful nature wrecking my mind until I figured out a way to block it out`

`Manu always has a purpose in mind. His wisdom is beyond measure.` the sage chided. `You should consider it an honour it allowed you to see the highest tier of the realm.`

`And what is Manu?` Atticus asked intently unwilling to discuss what honour it was to be mentally tortured. `The Domain?`

The sage shook his head `Manu is not the realm. He is of the realm. A first born of the Manu.`

`The Manu are beings?` Atticus' mind whirled. A Precursor?

The sage shook his head `I do not know what they are. Merely that they exist. Much of what my order knows comes from few passages in texts from previous monks` the sage looked at him `If Manu sent you those experiences then be assured they have purpose in them. Manu is far more powerful than you can know, young Sayre. If Manu intended you harm, you would have known.`

He said nothing to that. At the beginning when he'd been so defenceless, this…Manu could have trapped him. He'd begun to recognise the feelings of being pushed experiences and he realised that just as much as he was pushed, he could have been held.

`Why do you think he made me experience those lives then?` Atticus asked after a few moments.

`Likely why you here today. You needed to understand. You are on a path that will grow to mirror a tsunami. Manu likely wishes you to understand.` the sage concluded.

If this Manu wanted him to understand…

Well, let's just say he understood well enough.

He shook his head `What now?` Atticus asked finally.

`For us, it is time to part ways.` the sage said with a smile `I and the monk you saw are the last of our order which will die with us.`

Atticus scrutinized the man before him `All of this…all of this for me…` he said trailing off.

`Why?`

` It is not you that was chosen but the role itself. In the end, the possibilities led us to this moment and the possibilities from here onwards will lead to other points which may take different shapes or filled with different individuals but ultimately led to occur all the same.` the sage said kindly `Just as my role was always to be filled and I simply happen to be the one who filled it.`

The sage stood up. `I wish you good fortune for the future young Sayre. Many hopes of many peoples rest on your shoulders.` the sage finished before he hobbled away.

Atticus wasn't sure how long he sat there, confused and unsure of himself.

"Atticus." He broke out of his disjointed thoughts and he turned to his wife's voice.

She crossed the distance and looked down at him, her gaze calculating and boring deep into him.

"You look like you have no idea what's happened."

He laughed as he stood up. "Honestly…I don't think I really do." He admitted. "Emily, the man knows everything."

Emily's eyes widened before they turned into slits. "I see…" she said dangerously.

He shook his head "He'd likely see us coming a thousand different ways."

He met her gaze "He's not a threat to us." He smiled wanly "We have much bigger threats to deal with." He said tiredly as he explained to her about the possibility of the ICW being a much greater threat than they realised.

He knew he had to spend time to digest what he heard today about Living Time…about the Domain and this Manu…and the fact that he had little control over what was happening.

Merlin…He'd come to this trip to deal with his problem and yet he had found many more.

They walked down the stairs as they exited the temple hall and his eyes widened at the sight before them.

The two monks were back to back with a white lotus in their hands, their bodies soulless.

"They killed themselves." He said in a dead voice. They killed themselves after their task was complete. He hadn't even had the opportunity to ask what their order was called.

"At least that solves one threat" Emily said with a hint of satisfaction.

Somehow, that fact did not ease him at all.