Hello All, welcome back to the story!
Thanks for the reviews, I enjoyed reading them! There are a few criticisms about decisions Atticus made (from a traditional moral standpoint, definitely wrong and actually cruel) but I wouldn't necessarily judge without knowing how it ends.
When it comes to your questions guys...aaggh, I probably won't answer them, not if you're asking about certain things in the story.
I don't want to spoil anything - even if it appears obvious and a simple answer, it may not actually be - which would diminish the story and your experience.
However...please speculate (and criticise if you like) to your hearts content. I love reading them. The more the merrier!
Oh and one of the comments mentioned about having difficulty imagining some of the descriptions I'm making - I've used images and representations to aid in the storytelling on what-must-not-be-mentioned (Boombox117 page) so I have made the images of last last chapters of Arc 2 and the beginnning of Arc 3 available there so you can go there and see it if you like (includes representations of Atticus, Emily and Illos)
Without further adieu, please enjoy the post and let me know what you think!
Note: If you would like to read ahead, the next three chapters are available on P^A^T^R^E^O^N / Boombox117 where we are now on the third final Arc of the story .
The discord channel is d^i^s^c^o^r^d^.^g^g^/^v^r^8^8^t^6^4^Y^e^7
-Break-
26th of June 1952 – Core of Illos
Alice POV
She stood on the auxiliary transport, one that was akin to a draisine, ferrying her across the vast subterranean facility on hard light rails that crossed across the chasm.
A chasm that existed within the centre of Illos, carved out of solid nickel core before its walls were transfigured, transmuted into metres thick crystallised cooling stone that glistened under the humming lights of the energised structures that lay within the heart of the worldship.
Thousands of kilometres of conduits permeated the space within the chasm, flush against the crystalline stoned walls and on kilometre high stilts that had a multitude of levels on which conduits ran on, connecting one collection of machineries and systems on one side to the systems and structures on the other, each performing separate functions yet intimately interlinked.
She glanced around, her eyes zooming into one of the levitating organisms that was at a conduit junction, familiarising itself with the operation of one aspect of the machineries of the Core Room.
One of them was headed her way, slowly descending down to her.
They were fragile looking organisms that had sextuple arm like appendages that bore similarities with octopodidae with the difference being that they had eight finger like extensions to the end of their appendages that were more flexible and longer than simian fingers.
Their faces were elongated with a small round mouth that had small ridged circular teeth and six set of eyes with the upper set being optical tentacles, capable of extruding and rotating around. Its body was translucent with its bones in full display, a consequence of the extremely thin skin and miniscule musculature.
They had thin wing membranes that formed from the joints at the mid section of their backs that protruded far from the main body. It bore a vague similarity to winged seeds. The organism was kept aloft in the same aerodynamic principles that humming birds worked in, the wings and complex vortices working together to create a low pressure lift system as the wings moved forward and backward.
Their species did not have a name, Lady Emily had not cared to but Alice liked to call them the Seelie, after the Scottish folklore of benevolent fae.
They had been created by Lady Emily, borne out of one of her more successful experiments in the creation of sentient 'magical' creatures based on the Atlantean Archives.
Instead of the archaic use of human or animal sacrifice for 'flesh crafting', the golems that Creator Atticus made were instead used as a base to see if it was an able substitute for creating new life.
Most ended up in failures, some much worse than others but the Seelie, even if it was different than intended, was a success despite Lady Emily's displeasure at her creations especially given their inability to use any form of neurophysical energy.
The intent of the 'flesh crafting' had been to create a new form of simian winged creature that was closer in size to humans instead of like the Fairies, Pixies or Doxies.
However, the golems were simulacrums, neurophysical machinery without sapient intelligence or biological form and no amounts of compensation had been able to counter it from what she had been told without introducing biological materials though that had proven to be insufficient as well, at least from what was intended to be created.
They were warped into a kind of magi-biological being that were extremely lightweight to the point that it took little exertion of force for it take itself afloat and bore behavioural characteristics that marked it little better than a fly – at first.
That said…an unexpected benefit was that they were practically logic machines. Where a fly might seek to feed itself and proliferate, the Seelie instead seek to understand and maintain, a behavioural anomaly that was unaccounted for but in hindsight should have been expected, at least to a small degree given the predictable unpredictability of 'magic' along certain lines.
The base from which they had been formed had after all been from golems programmed to maintain and build things and it seemed like the 'flesh crafting' took that route.
They also were intelligent, of a type, one that was a different form of intelligence than the humans and other animals she's been around. They could understand and be reasoned with, within a certain framework. They were all rationality and logic without a semblance of biological instinct or emotion.
They were capable of procreation though it was more akin to replication, not unlike single celled organisms splitting into two as a way to proliferate. They seemed to do it only if they came to the conclusion that there were too few to carry out their instructions. They hadn't done so for the last few years, seemingly having judged just under two hundred was enough.
One of them flew towards her and extended its tendril that was split from the tip. She extended out her arm that held out a crystalline computer tablet "These are your new instructions."
The Seelie took the tablet and connected itself to the tablet, its computer like brain processing it far faster than any other biological organism she was aware of. The Seelie, after a few moments turned its optical tentacle eyes at her, making a complex silent motion with them.
She nodded "Yes, you can take the bulk of the other Seelie to begin building the new facility." The Seelie made another motion and she nodded again "You may reroute underutilised conduits to connect it to the power infrastructure as long as it does not affect the rest of the network." The Seelie made a gesture she understood as the equivalent of a nod.
"Housing has already been built by the Elves at the topside for you and the others so you may commence immediately." She told the being and the Seelie beat its wings in the distinctive slow manner, rising and turning away from her.
The Seelie had no understanding of social interactions or 'niceties'. She liked that about them.
The Seelie would build that facility faster than any golems or Elves could manage with zero incidents or errors only needing minimal machinery and tools. With the secrecy still in effect with regards to the inherited Ancient Human knowledge and their technology, Creator Atticus decided to limit the use of the automated building facilities topside and on the hull of the worldship.
It slowed down the completion of the Core significantly, integration of the systems, devices and structures built within Illos took three years longer than expected, having only been completed eight months ago. The impulse thrusters and the accompanying support systems were still many years from completion though with the Seelie it was expected that they would recover from the delay quicker though it would still be years behind schedule.
The initial estimation given by the Progenitor Moira had been optimistic, especially given several rounds of amendments had to be made in order to allow for future expansion and improvements.
If only the Seelie had been created at the beginning, it would likely have been completed on schedule.
Yes, the Seelie were a benefit to Illos and to Creator Atticus in particular who wanted a steady but accelerated progression along the technological path without the people being 'gifted' the technology without understanding it or having developed the wisdom for it.
Much of the technology that was present in Illos was a result of her own, Creator Atticus' and Lady Emily's collaboration, to create very primitive analogues of Ancient Humanity technology that were combined with 'magical' elements to…not necessarily hide the technology but rather provide a basis, a template from which to expand on, something that was ongoing at present though at a slower pace than what was wanted.
This part of the overarching plan was where the Seelie would come in.
Eventually the Seelie would be integrated within Illosian society and help the mages 'develop' basic ideas and theories that would later be confirmed in experiments and independent scientific verification and continue from there.
It was one of the harder concepts for her to understand about humans.
Wisdom…
It was a concept that was alien to her core programming. She may have been given many human characteristics and the ability to emote but it did not mean she was human.
For her, understanding came from knowledge and applicability came from understanding.
But for humans…they needed far more than knowledge or understanding, at least according to Creator Atticus.
Humans were not logical beings even if they used the principle. They seemed to need time and experience to develop the critical human characteristic that was wisdom…the ability to judge with reason and in moderation against desire and instinct.
The desire to misuse technology and the instinct to use it in passion or anger.
She'd discussed this aspect, this necessity in biological intelligence with Sparkly Dawn and he offered no useful insights though he concurred with Creator Atticus' assessment when it came to slow introduction of technology.
It was peculiar, the fact that Creator Atticus could hold his own species under such a negative light that he found them unable to use the gifts that his progenitors left behind responsibly yet he used it without issue himself.
Perhaps she should not find it as peculiar, given the division and the disappointment his species could provide. She had witnessed it herself when the people he had saved from a bleak future from had turned against him.
He might have purposefully induced such division in his species as part of the Plan but nonetheless the ease with which it could be done provided enough evidence that they had not matured socially, culturally or intellectually to be able to handle such power if they were so easily misled.
This very act, the refusal to 'gift' knowledge to such…volatile peoples was likely an example of the kind of wisdom he'd hope to eventually see in his people.
At times she wondered if Creator Atticus had ever considered himself to be like the rest of his species.
Perhaps he never did because he never was, she considered to herself.
He seemed to understand the universe in ways none of his people seemed to be able to, not even Lady Emily. She tilted her head curiously. In many ways she nor Sparkly Dawn understood the strange relationship between the neurophysical quantum field and organic life.
While the neurophysical field permeated the cosmos and was similar to the other fields that governed the classical universe, it was…illogical.
Where instead of a physical excitement was necessary to cause a reaction, in the neurophysical field, it was conscious excitement that caused reactions, effects and results. Will and Intent acted onto the field, causing tangible consequences that altered the fabric of reality. Other magical Beings, even if most were not sapient, were able to impact onto the neurophysical field just as ably as humans did, their form of intent and desire enough to create a reaction onto the neurophysical field.
What the Atlanteans had been able to accomplish with the creation of nearly every magical being on Earth was impressive, the ability to create beings that could tangibly affect the neurophysical field in ways the Atlanteans themselves had desired.
She would not have expected the Ancient Humans to have been capable of it even if they had access to the knowledge, not when it required them to be capable of manipulating neurophysical energy to the extent the Atlanteans, and in time the rest of the Illosians, had been able to.
All of these species operated at different frequencies within the neurophysical field, each of them capable or limited to reality altering aspects that is unique to their species. Humans were capable of more, likely as a result of their greater consciousness and unique genetic makeup but were still constrained to a specific set of frequencies.
All of these beings held a unique relationship to the neurophysical field even if nearly all of them did not understand it, may it be tangible or spiritual.
She understood the tangible relationships that existed, the observations she's made over the years had helped with that just as her own understandings of how to create patterns that would manipulate the neurophysical energies to the shapes and effects she intended to cause but when it came to the more…spiritual aspects of it, she was unable to understand even with the form she took.
She glanced at her herself, eying her body intently. Her skin was a dull silver grey colour hidden behind mostly a simple beige summer dress made out of very refined cotton. She grabbed her black hair and let the silicon strands fall between her fingers.
Creator Atticus had made this body for her so she could interact with the universe in the same way he did if she so wished to do so.
And she did.
Most of her perceptions were as close to 'human' as possible but it did little to bridge the gap between herself and the rest of her Creator's species though she wasn't particularly interested in doing that beyond for seeing if it was possible.
Something she was coming to a conclusion that it was not possible at all. Just as the Seelie could only be interacted with in a certain framework, humans were the same.
After spending a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second on that consideration, she dismissed that code of thinking and returned to the task at hand as she neared the centre of the Core.
At the exact locational centre of the chasm, a locational centre that was in line with the convergent point of Illos itself, there hung the slipspace drive, an arrowed shaped structure 3.2 kilometres long which was upright with the converging tip facing downward.
It used small crystals that were quantum engineered crystalline devices, not unlike the crystalline storage device that hosted her consciousness in her present android body, that would modulate the worldship's passage through the higher dimensions of slipspace.
The Forerunners used similar principles though their crystals were several orders of magnitude better than that of Ancient Humanity.
This drive would be able to create a rupture between normal space and slipspace, a set of eleven 'non-dimensions' that existed above the perceptible dimensions to humanity, that being the three spatial dimensions and the temporal dimension.
Physics changed for the matter that moved from normal space into slipstream space, effectively allowing faster than light travel without relativistic side-effects.
Fascinating as it was to think about, Slipspace Physics was not why she was here today.
Cascades of coherent, high energy photons were emitted through the air, generating visible vertical rails of light that was connected to the draisine she stood atop on.
The horizontal hard light rails blinked out and the draisine began to descend towards her target below.
She looked down, towards the very bottom of the Core chamber.
She was here for another reason even if it was tangentially related.
A massive luminous sphere, alight with pulsing energy lay connected to a vast system of machinery, all of which sat at the base of the cavernous chamber.
A Vacuum Energy Reactor.
She quizzically tilted her head, a human characteristic she picked up from her Creator.
If the conduits could be likened in biological terms as arteries, the machineries as proteins that carry out certain instructions and functions, then what was below was the very heart of Illos.
A heart that pumped out massive amounts of energy, fed from the disequilibrium caused between a pocket dimension separate from normal space-time and the universe itself.
It was fascinating physics, she mused, impossible for human minds to grasp its complete beauty, even the Ancient Humans needed Servitors to aid them with the mathematics.
The Ancient Humans only made less than a dozen of the reactors and only three had been operational by the time the Shaping Sickness arrived.
Not because it was inferior to their anti-matter or fusion reactors.
It generated several orders of magnitude greater energy output without needing fuel but it also required a significant fraction of that energy to power the gravitic and electro-magnetic containment fields that stabilised and restricted energy flow from the pocket dimension into the reactor proper.
The initiation phase of the reactor worked on a similar principle to slipspace drives but instead of creating ruptures to slipstream space, it instead ruptured into shunspace, a dimension outside of conventional space that, if the rupture was stabilised, took properties of the classical universe in the localised shunspace.
The size of the pocket dimension depended on the size of the rupture and energy output was directly proportional to that size. The containment fields had the ability to 'collapse' the pocket dimension into itself, severing it from normal space, through utilisation of all of the energy flow to cause a cosmic resonance that closed the rupture.
The initial energy release in the Vacuum Energy Reactor was enough to power three Class One worlds for six months – Class One worlds being the Ancient Humanity terminology for Ecumenopolis, cities that were world spanning and covered every inch of the planetary body.
A huge amount of energy release that was wrought out of exploitation of classical physics.
The classical universe gets its properties from quantum fields, fields that dictate to particles how to behave, how to interact with each other and with the classical dimensional plane of the universe.
Her eyes fell on the hard light rails that was guiding her downwards.
Light…light is a product created by excitements within the electromagnetic field, a process that creates radiation that most life perceive and understand as light.
There were fields for every particle of matter within the classical universe that have their own rules and these particles can be divided in three categories; Lermiyesh, Qalmiyesh and Bolmiyesh.
Lermiyesh and Qalmiyesh were the 'matter particles' which consist of all of the things that can be classically be observed within the universe with Qalmiyesh being the nuclear family of particles that makes up the nuclei of atoms.
Together, Lermiyesh and Qalmiyesh were made by 'matter fields' whilst Bolmiyesh were made by 'force fields', fields that instruct particles how to move.
There were four classical forces that were part of the classical universe's set of rules; Electro-Magnetism, Gravity, the strong and weak Nuclear Forces.
Each Particle uses a certain set of forces to interact with other particles.
And every Particle, like everything else in the universe, wanted to be at the lowest energy level state, towards stability, a ground state that is completely stable and has a little energy as possible.
For Particles, this state is referred to as the Vacuum State.
All particles within the classical universe have reached their vacuum state excepting for one; the Heriyeshi Field.
The field that was responsible for giving particles their mass, all of laws and rules within the classical universe were dependent on this field and…
This quantum field was also the last quantum field that has not yet reached its vacuum state. It was metastable, appearing to be stable though it was capable of changing to a more stable state, to a lower energy level than at which it was currently at.
That meant the Heriyeshi field has a lot of potential energy waiting to be released if it was to crash into the lower energy state.
That is what has been induced within the pocket dimension contained within the centre of the sphere where the physics matched the classical universe.
The Heriyeshi field was 'sparked' into crashing into the lower energy state, reaching its vacuum state, and the potential energy release would cascade and push the space around it over the barrier as well which releases more potential energy which push more space over the barrier which releases more potential energy and so on and on.
A huge amount of energy release that would annihilate all matter that came across it – and it did so, in the constrained pocket dimension.
This energy however was finite and only lasted for less than thirty-seven minutes.
The two kilometre cylindrical structures that were either side of the Vacuum Energy Reactor were Energy Storage Modules, modules that were able to store all of the initial energy release.
There were several factors smaller than the modules that had been located on Charum Hakkor, the last place that utilised Vacuum Energy Reactors. It had powered all of its defensive systems for thousands of years and was partially responsible for ensuring the Siege had lasted as long as it did when they had been cut off from all support and supplies for over half a century.
What enabled the smaller size was the application of space expansion runes that increased storage capacity by a factor of twenty, which enabled them store all of the initial energy release at 87% full capacity.
This stored energy would be enough to power Illos for six hundred and ten years at the current consumption rate.
But it was not needed for that purpose, no, the energy demand of Illos was and would be fulfilled by the smaller but constant power generation that followed after that initial energy release even if at present it was still far in excess of what was currently consumed.
Entropy was the measure of 'specialness' of the arrangement of a system of particles, higher entropy meaning a more disordered arrangement with a lower entropy being the inverse.
The universe tended towards disorder and so a highly unusual arrangement will decay over time.
Most power generation utilise and harness that decay of order by a differential of entropy states, such as using the difference in temperature and pressure of the interior chamber of a piston and the temperature and pressure of the exterior chamber that houses the piston to extract work.
In principle that is similar to how the Reactor would function, the extraction of work from the vacuum energy differential that existed between the pocket dimension and the classical universe.
The Heriyeshi field is responsible for giving particles their mass in the current meta state that it is in. All of the rules and laws that bind the classical universe is dependent on this rule, all that is known and understood is dependent on this constant.
Yet…
This changes once the Heriyeshi field reaches its vacuum state, all classical physics is rendered obsolete, defunct.
Constants observed in the classical universe no longer apply in the pocket dimension, the forces that rule the universe have changed and, more importantly, the vacuum energy within the pocket dimension has changed its constant energy density.
And it is this change in constant energy density that allows for the immense energy extraction.
Normal space and the altered pocket dimension are both in perfect equilibrium in their own isolated systems but when they are bridged, there is an introduction of disequilibrium in both systems.
The vacuum energy density within the pocket dimension is several orders of magnitude greater than the vacuum energy density within normal space and it is in this tendency to move towards equilibrium where massive amounts of energy can be extracted from the vacuum energy of the pocket dimension.
Energy is extracted in this movement towards equilibrium in similar principles to how energy is extracted from pressure differentials from combustion engines.
The rate in which the Reactor was producing power was in excess of what it was needed and most of the power was directed towards
At the rate it could produce power, it would be able to sustain Illos that had a population of 750 million people and averaged energy consumption of 1,200 kWh a month without impacting the operation of the rest of the technological infrastructure that resided within the Core, including the Slipspace Drive, the Shield Generators and the Hub – the successor to the Facility that had housed everything Ancient Humanity managed to save prior to their extinction.
At present it was only generating a mere fraction of its full potential, the gravitic and electromagnetic fields restricted energy flow accordingly, using most of that energy creation in the process. When it was time to utilise more of the energy into power generation, those fields would be 'loosened', allowing more energy to flow, controlled and precise.
The Energy Storage Modules partly functioned as, effectively, emergency backup that would strengthened the containment fields should the primary, secondary and tertiary failsafe mechanisms fail.
At present, the Reactor was generating more than what was needed, with that excess power being stored in a multitude of similar Energy Storage Modules but in this instance, they would be used for something else.
The draisine passed down through a chute below the level the Vacuum Energy Reactor resided, a chute that ran for several hundred metres deeper. This was newly bored, this chute, and, as she entered the bottom most sublevel she was greeted with the sight of many more structures.
It had taken years, years of learning high level energy physics, physics that Ancient Humans had spent hundreds of thousands of years in mapping out and refining, before this had been possible.
Physics she had understood easily enough, given the nature of her existence as an artificial intelligence, but for Creator Atticus, it was a long and arduous process that took over ten years with nearly that same amount of time spent within the Time Room.
There were no shortcuts such as memory or knowledge crystals and she doubted he would make any, not after the struggle he'd gone through understanding as much of it as possible. She didn't expect many others to be able to grasp it as much as he did either.
The draisine stopped and opened, allowing her to step onto the platform it docked on and began to walk towards her destination.
She walked past the circular miniature Energy Storage Modules. They were capable of holding less but their numbers were higher. At present they were only at around half capacity. By the time the facility was ready, the Convertor primed and running, all of it would be emptied.
She past them by and continued on her journey.
Long dark grey structures that shone with bright and furious glowing orange lines that greeted her, structures that held within them a unique form of plasma energy that would be used as a medium, a medium that would fulfil a goal of her Creator's that he'd long wished to reach.
Her footsteps echoed in the discordant chamber as she walked towards the central structure, a structure that shone the brightest orange and where the control mechanisms lay.
She walked through the opening passage way, her eyes glancing curiously at the machines that would modulate the capacitive energy before sending into the Convertor. She continued walking towards her final destination and eventually she arrived, having walked through a hallway.
She stopped, finally, in front of a glowing orange white light in a room that was much smaller than what had been built around it.
The large triangular symbol that contained several triangles within itself was a Runic creation, one made entirely by Creator Atticus and Lady Emily.
Runes manipulated neurophysical energy to create effects that were manifested by the symbolism that was ascribed to their runic symbol.
In every magical society that uses runes, dead languages and/or writing scripts were used as a means to fix the meanings of the runes as over time words and languages can change meaning, something that naturally would have disastrous results if those symbols were used when their meanings had changed.
Runes were able to do what they did because of a metaphysical manifestation, one borne out of collective understanding of what each rune meant, that was within the neurophysical energy field that permeated the universe.
They were not certain if such manifestation was local or universal, if such manifestation existed at every point in space due to the nature of the neurophysical field, it was something they would have to thoroughly investigate at a future date – perhaps even ask Lady Anne Sayre to conduct tests given she was in Space with Progenitor Moira at present, but in any case it meant that there was a logic to the creation of runes.
One that could be replicated with only a handful of people who knew the language, the meanings of its letterings and the power they held. It hadn't been as simple as that otherwise anything could be turned to what is known as Runic magic but in the end it could be surmised as that.
It was enough for metaphysical manifestation to occur within the neurophysical field and as long as it remained known, the language and its meanings would remain extant in the universe.
There was a reason as to why this 'dead' language was created. Many of the existing dead languages that were used in Runic magic were primitive, the concepts, the ideas and terminologies they knew were insufficient.
At present, runes had to be creatively fitted with each other to create effects that otherwise would not be possible, such the 'programming' of golems that required several Runic languages to be combined for it to function in any useful degree.
And so, Creator Atticus with Lady Emily created their own Runic Language, one that would, in time, be disseminated in the populace within the next couple of decades.
The runic symbol in front of her was one of the most esoteric runes within the language, its meaning representing
Manifestation
Revelation
A Higher Perspective
Over a decade of high level physics yielded an understanding of what Neurophysical Energy was to Creator Atticus in relation to other forms of energy.
An understanding that resulted in this highly…spiritual ascription being used to achieve energy conversion from one form into neurophysical energy.
It was peculiar that for all of the advanced technology available, it was this, singular, almost insignificant seeming symbol that would allow for perhaps the greatest achievement in any human civilisation to be achieved.
The ability to convert any form of energy to Neurophysical Energy…otherwise known as'magic'.
They were not certain if they would actually produce more neurophysical energy but rather create a concentration of neurophysical energy at this specific location that would reduce neurophysical energy somewhere else in the universe by converting some of its energy into classical forms of energies.
This was born out of the notion that the neurophysical field may well be a constant, that the use of, for example, elemental 'magic', where 'magic' is turned into fire or water, is compensated elsewhere in the universe whereby energy from the sun or a black hole is turned into neurophysical energy, keeping its energy levels a constant even if there are higher concentrations in certain locations.
It may explain, somewhat, why there were higher concentrations of neurophysical energy on Earth and much less in space or at lifeless planetary bodies such as the Moon or Mars.
The Neurophysical field was irrevocably linked to life but it was also constant even if its distribution was uneven.
It was a concern that their actions may result in decreasing neurophysical energy on Earth itself as a way to balance scales but it was doubtful.
She got to the console and began running a diagnostics program "It'll be curious to see what the conversation ratio will be" she mused aloud, another habit she picked up from Creator Atticus.
She shook her head, a pointless act but one she liked doing and got back to her task.
It was peculiar that all of this stemmed from a singular obsession of her creator, one that this creation would allow to happen…
To create as much Mithril as was possible
A metallic element that defied logic, capable of existing in two different states, liquid and solid, at the same time with mere expression of conscious thought changing its present state.
It was solidified Neurophysical Energy in its purest form and its applications were endless.
The Precursors had likely used something very similar to build their Star Roads that connected entire star systems together across the galaxy, their Orbital Arches that stretched beyond into the vastness of space, all of their artefacts and megastructures made out of indestructible filaments that stood the test of time for billions of years.
She glanced at the bright orange hue that shone through the crystalline glass that was affixed to the wall where the device was located behind.
She wondered at times if perhaps he also lacked the purported wisdom he wished of his people given his obsession with walking the path the Precursors might have once walked before they became the Precursors billions of years ago.
It was a moot point, in truth.
Even if he made mistakes with disastrous consequences, she would be there to help fix it.
After all…
He was her creator and it was what she was created for.
-Break-
23th of June 1952
Credence Aurilius (Credence Barebones/Aurilius Dumbledore) POV
He sat against the edge of the desk, his hands resting flatly on the surface, his eyes intently trailing across the Lecture Hall which had every seat filled.
The Lecture Hall was different from typical classrooms; it was not unlike a theatre hall with seats that were two floors up and was along the circumference of the room in a half circle facing towards a wide spaced central floor where his desk and blackboard stood at the very back.
The central floor had a platform, one that could be seen from any seat, that was used for demonstration or practice.
Even if it was not quite part of the main syllabus, it was after all still a Defence Mastery class and would have some demonstration even if it was limited in the use of magic.
"Welcome" he began once the watch on his wrist chimed that it was time to start and the room began to quieten almost immediately "to Strategy in Combat." He waved his wand and chalk letterings of the name of the class appeared on the blackboard.
"Despite this being an optional class that is not requisite for your Defence Mastery, I'm pleased to see all of you still chose to attend" Credence allowed a small smirk to form on his face "Even with knowing you won't get to wave your wand around" he said to a smattering of chuckles
He raised his wand and the words underneath the title of the class began to form
'To fight your opponent in a protracted battle is anything but excellence but rather proves one to be wasteful and dangerous to others'
"This point has been reiterated several times during your first year of this Mastery program and in this class that point will be reiterated several times more." He intoned to his students as began to pace gently across the front of his desk.
"Many of you have aspirations of entering the duelling circuit whilst others have the aspirations to become Aurors or Hit Wizards in your home nations yet in all those professions what will always mark the difference between good duellists and fighters is the ability to break your enemy's resistance with as little effort as possible." He said calmly though his voice was serious, commanding and had hints of warning in his tone.
"It is not magical strength, it is not the volume of deadly and powerful spells that you know marks out the skill of an individual but rather, instead, the shortness of the battle instead." He glanced at his students hoping to drive the point through with his stare.
"Strategy is key to any prospective fighter. The most important asset you have is not your wand, not the strength of your magic but rather your judgement, your ability to out-plan and out-think the opponent facing you." He paused meaningfully as he let his words sink into his class, his eyes roving across the room.
"In this class, we will be analysing how to approach situations, how to avoid situations and how to even defeat your enemy without having to fight at all." He allowed a small smile to form on face "Though that will be a tad harder to pull off, I admit" he said with a chuckle. "Nonetheless, all of that will be broached in this class and though you may not use magic overly in this class, its principles and teachings may well save your lives should you find yourself in a disadvantaged situation"
Several hands went up and he picked one of them out "Will this also include how to work together to defeat Dark Lords? Like Grindelwald?" the woman eagerly asked.
His face darkened, as if all light had been snuffed out of his soul.
"No." he said simply, his voice as cold as an arctic breeze as he stared down the student. "I will only say one thing on the topic of Dark Lords of Grindelwald's calibre. Avoid fighting them at all costs." He said with heavy severity and, with penetrating eyes, he looked at every student
"There is a reason why, throughout history, it took an Archmage to defeat an Archmage and unless you're one yourself, you'll at best be left incapacitated in short order and at worst given a fate worse than death." He said with ominous undertones to his words and it seemed to have worked as all other hands dropped.
"Now" he said finally after a moment's of uneasy silence and weaved his wand around and begin the lecture "Ludwig Von Hosenheim once said…"
Two and a half hours later he left his classroom and proceeded to walk through the halls of the Sheshet Institute of Magic and Science. He nodded and smiled at the students that walked past him though his attentions were elsewhere.
Almost half way through his 'prison sentence' now. He could scarcely believe how things had changed since that fateful day he battled against Grindelwald.
He allowed a small soft smile to come across his face as he walked down the steps that lead to a small outcrop of buildings built adjacent to the Institute itself.
He was now a world renowned Professor with Masteries in Defence, in Dark Arts and in Combat Magic, colleagues if not friends with other renowned professors who'd written many of the books he'd read in his youth.
It was a stark difference to how he'd been viewed for so many years, as an assassin in the dark who was an 'abomination' of nature given his stable obscurus nature. An abomination who was Grindelwald's personal attack dog he sent after his enemies, a duty that Credence had accepted more often than not.
It was undeserved, this dramatic shift in public perception, he knew.
He did terrible things during his time with Grindelwald, things that he knew would damn him should the afterlife exist but he had found his way of penance by teaching those people how to survive and how to be better than he was.
It was true, his very soul resonated with that belief and that is what he told the ICW when they 'changed' their stance and offered to pardon him in exchange of him joining the ICW on a salary that was nearly ten times more than what he was paid here which was already excellent.
Even if he did not believe his job to be what he needed to do to make up for the crimes he'd committed, he'd still refuse the ICW.
He had not forgotten the betrayal by the ICW when they told him they would not hold themselves to the agreement that had been marked out, eager to point out that the conditions of the agreement had not been met with when he defeated Grindelwald.
The bitterness of that betrayal that had once threatened to consume him so long ago may have been washed away but its vestiges would long remain.
He shook his head. Anyway, he knew why they wanted him to join, it was obvious to anyone with a smidgen of sense.
Powerful wizards, especially those who had fought with distinction had been specifically recruited by the ICW in the aftermath of the war. Even those whom had fought for Grindelwald had their sentences commuted as long as they fought for the ICW banners.
At one point it looked as if another war may well happen only a few short years after the Grindelwald war…against the very man who defeated him.
Luckily for them all, cooler heads prevailed as several Ministries demanded a peaceful solution lest it escalate into something none of them wanted and eventually a solution of a sort was reached, one that led to his exile, an exile that was joined thousands of others, something he knew worried many people in power who had profited from that family's downfall in Europe.
He knew of the rumours…of the whispers that persisted he was training his army to take revenge. If they had known him at all, they would have known he would not have left in the first place if he sought revenge.
In any case, it had been a miserable affair, one that left him guilty that he had not been able to help when he'd done much for him.
He remembered his last conversation with him, when he told him that things would turn out alright.
He hoped so and he hoped that he was at peace.
He shook his head, remembering the poisonous offer the ICW had given him.
As if he would turn against the man who aided him in his greatest desire.
No…
He was done going against his morality and his sense of right and wrong. Especially when it came to those who had come to see as friends.
A little while later he walked down the steps towards the buildings that were built on land extracted from the sea as he glanced at the familiar colours of the sunset.
When the war ended, SIMS had grown tremendously in size as people from everywhere wanted to attend the school that the Flamels were in charge of, the school that he built with them.
All over people sent applications to SIMS, to the point that they had to refuse over 60% of the applications despite meeting the requirements.
He arrived at his destination, a small building where a crowd of people stood by for the same reason he was there.
"Professor" some of them greeted whilst others nodded to him before proceeding to wait.
Soon enough the bell rang and a small smile crept on his face. "One…two…three…" he counted down and soon enough a stampede headed towards them.
Bobbing heads pulling oversized bags rushed towards the crowd of people as they chattered excitedly with their fellow pint sized friends.
"Papa!" he heard the familiar childish voice and his head swivelled towards the voice. His smile widened as his eyes softened.
She ran towards him, her long wavy black hair swaying left and right as she ran.
She crashed into him "Ooof" he breathed out exaggeratingly, staggering backwards as he did so. "You almost made me fall" he said dramatically as he looked down at his daughter.
She giggled as she looked up, her face cutely twisting up at his dramatics "Stop pretending Papa" she said as she raised her arms imperiously and expectantly.
He arched an eyebrow at this act "You almost made me fall and now you want me to give you a lift?" he asked of his daughter.
"Yes!" she exclaimed emphatically, her wide black eyes staring up at him "Please…?" she pleaded as she practically hopped on her feet, using those weapons she called as eyes to bend him to her will.
He was a Defence Master with specialities in the Dark Arts yet as soon as he was confronted by his adorable five year old daughter, he was putty and useless.
"Alright" he said with a chuckle as he lifted her much to her joy and victory.
"Thanks Papa!" she said delighted as he set her on his shoulders and she clung onto his hair.
"So tell me, my naughty Nora" he began with a smile but she cut him off, knowing she would do so.
"I'm not naughty, I'm good!" she protested "I even won the spelling bee today!" she said triumphantly as she fumbled inside of her pocket before she waved it, a golden star, victoriously in his face "See!"
"Well done" he praised as he took the golden star from her hand. "Your mother will be very happy" he told her and she began her long tale of how she was the bestest in class as they went on their journey home.
They arrived at their spacious apartment home in a secluded part of the Institute, one reserved for families of professors and researchers, and with a loud yell Nora signalled their arrival
"Mama!" she shouted as he lifted her back onto the ground and just as he set her down, she ran into the home, leaving him behind. "I have something to shooow you!" she shouted happily.
His lips twitched as he shook his head "Where does she get the energy?" he wondered aloud before he broke into soft chuckles and followed his daughter towards her mother.
He walked through the living room, then towards the kitchen and was met with his daughter regaling the story of how she won the spelling bee to her mother.
Her mother who seemed bemused by the vivid and boisterous explanation she was gifted with.
"…and then we had to spell tortoise. E" Nora spelled out confidently and with a proud look on her face, one that shifted away as smugness overtook her. "David didn't know how to get it right at all" she said happily and he could see Nagini struggling not to laugh at their daughter's delight of getting one over her 'rival'.
"OK, little championne" Nagini said as she led Nora out of the kitchen, their gaze meeting as she did so. Nagini rolled her eyes amusedly and he mouthed to her 'so like you' and she stuck out her tongue childishly before she looked down to their daughter.
"Time for a bath and then dinner." Nagini said and Nora whined but Nagini cut her off "You'll get an extra serving of Mousse if you behave." Nora stopped her fussing and she eyed Nagini with a look she most definitely inherited from Nagini
"Three cups of Mousse? One extra for winning the bee and 'nother for being extra good?" Nora asked innocently with those weaponised eyes. Nagini laughed out loud and grabbed Nora and tickled her.
"So so espiègle, you are" Nagini said amongst laughter of their daughter as she led her away to the bathroom.
Hours later, after they had dinner and after they put Nora to bed, they were sitting in the living room.
The fire crackled softly in the background as he sat in his chair, reading and marking a few papers from his students.
Nagini hummed softly, breaking him out of his thoughts and he glanced up from behind his glasses.
He smiled softly as he watched her perched over a crossword puzzle, the end of the pencil in her mouth as she frowned in consternation.
"Trouble?" he voiced out, drawing her away from the crossword puzzle she was having difficulties with.
She looked at him and sighed despondently as she leaned back on the soft, crumbling as she did so. "Yes…" she said defeated. "I can't seem to think on what it might be."
He set aside the papers and his quill and walked up towards her and sat down next to her. She leaned against him until her head was placed against his chest as he picked up the crossword puzzle.
He frowned as he stared at it for a moment. "I'm sorry dear, my Russian is at best terrible" he said as he looked at the Cyrillic words and letters. She'd gotten so good at crossword puzzles that French and English puzzles didn't stimulate her anymore.
She'd expanded towards German, Russian and even Dutch though she called it Flemish German which he hoped she wouldn't repeat to any Dutch people.
"It's fine" she dismissed as she pulled him back onto the sofa, pinning him back as she rested against his shoulder and chest as she sprawled herself out.
"I'll get it tomorrow when I'm fresh" she said in a tired voice as he played with her hair, letting her silken soft hair fall between his fingers.
"Long day?" he questioned softly as he moved to stroke her hair gently.
She hummed affirmatively "Yes…" she said with a sigh "Most of them won't turn out to be Animagi, not in the conventional way" she said in disappointment as she moved her head onto his lap and closed her eyes in a tired fashion.
He thought that over for a little while before he responded "Shouldn't that be fine?" he asked her carefully. "At least they become Animagi, right?"
"It is fine but it is also not fine." she said crinkling her face even as her eyes laid closed. "The new way is not representative of their inner animal. At best they can turn into the animal group of what they could have become had they been more disciplined and capable. It is disappointing" She said in distaste, the familiar compliant voiced out to him.
The Transfiguration department at the Seshet Institute of Magic and Science, SIMS, had managed to find out an easier, safer way to become animagi. A discovery amongst many other discoveries though that one was attention grabbing.
The method was not publicised but it was available for anyone who enrolled at SIMS, something that contributed to number of applicants to the school.
Unfortunately, however, the method was very imprecise when it came to connecting to their inner animal.
Animagi was purported to be representative of animal form of who you were and this method almost…butchered that aspect. It was through disassembling the arithmancy of animal shifting of a certain tribe in North America and what the Flamels had learnt of the curse that once afflicted Nagini that this method of animagi was found though that was the extent of what he knew.
"I'll just have to try harder to get them to reach their inner animal" she said with a sigh.
"I'm sure you'll get them to wait and try harder." He soothed her and she hummed in a pleased tone at his comment.
The Flamels with his help figured out the origin of Nagini's curse and had changed the curse into something else, something that no longer could be considered a curse.
The origin of Nagini's curse came from a failed ritual that attempted to bind Nagini's ancestor to the form of a Boa constrictor. The motivations would forever remain unknown, much of what Nagini knew was only hearsay passed down the generations but it was probably because of a slight the castor had felt.
The ritual lacked the preciseness and power to change Nagini's ancestor but it did have the strength to eventually turn all of her blood, eventually, into Boa constrictors permanently.
It had been tied to life force and as women of Nagini's blood aged, the curse would grow stronger as life force waned.
What they had done to the curse was turn it inside out and instead of it being a curse that eventually permanently turned them into serpents, it became a bloodline gift, one that would forever allow those of Nagini's bloodline to become Boa constrictor animagi.
Curiously they would always understand parseltongue even in human form though they could not speak it unless they were in their animagi forms.
The day they turned the curse into a gift was still the second most happiest day he'd ever had, only slightly behind the day he'd held his new born daughter in his arms.
"What?" she asked quizzically startling him out of his thoughts. He gazed down and say her staring at him. "You had a goofy smile on your face." She said softly, studying him intently.
He only smiled softly at her, brushing her silken hair behind her ear. "Nothing. Just…" he said as he trailed the back of his hand softly across her cheek "Life is good." He whispered to her and she closed her eyes with a pleased smile on her face as she hummed contently.
Yes…
Life was good.
-Break-
Shinji Hirohito POV
He walked silently through the halls of the Seiwa Genio estate, the home of the patriarch of the clan that had, until almost seven years ago, been the Emperor's voice in Magical Japan.
His eyes drifted to his left, giving a glancing look at his escorts as he treads on the raised ground of the estate, his silent footsteps accompanied by another few sets of footsteps that were as silent as his own.
They were clad in traditional clothing, their arms free and hanging by the sides of their body, their body relaxed and primed to attack at a moment's notice.
He looked away, directly ahead, his thoughts returning to why he was here. The sliding doors were all closed and gave the long hallway he was walking through a strange sense of foreboding.
In the wake of Japan's defeat to the Americans, the Emperor had almost been indicted as a war criminal by the foreign non-magicals but they had been…persuaded not to by the American Douglas MacArthur.
A persuasion the magical clans helped along.
Though…
It seemed it did them little good, to aid the Emperor.
A few weeks after the Emperor surrendered to the foreigners, he had called upon Ieyasu Seiwa Genio, the present patriarch of the clan, to the Imperial court.
He had not received him warmly.
He seemed to hold the magical families of Japan responsible, at least in part, for the Empire's destruction.
Before the war broke out in Europe, they had negotiated an alliance with Grindelwald and with Hitler, one that would tie both sets of worlds together in the coming conflict even if both sides had desired different conclusions to the war.
Grindelwald used Hitler as a medium for his eventual plans of setting up a new world order in Europe whilst the magical families of Japan wanted to return to the fold in Japanese society without the Statute of Secrecy active, influencing the Empire as they once done so in the many centuries before the 18th Century.
The Emperor had blamed them for not providing enough support whilst at the same time claiming the alliance with the Germans were what destroyed the Empire, an alliance they had initially negotiated on Japan's behalf, one that would split the world into two; Asia ruled by Japan with Europe, Africa and the Middle East belonging to Germany though in reality it would have been Grindelwald eventually.
Given the embargoes that had been levied against Japan by the Western non-magicals, embargoes that choked it of vital resources it needed, war would have been inevitable even if it should not have taken in the form that it did.
It had not been this alliance, defunct as it may have been, that destroyed any of the dreams of the Japanese elites, no, what had put Japan in this situation was the rash, reckless decision to attack Pearl Harbour that did that though such arguments had not been made and would not be made to the Emperor.
The emperor had retracted the titles and rights the Geiwa Genio clan had been granted when the Statue had been enacted, to act as the voice and representation of the Chrysanthemum Throne in Magical Japan, an insult that had wide repercussions in their world.
The Seiwa Genio clan were not just the Emperor's voice, there were amongst the oldest branches of Houses descendent from the Imperial House of Japan. They ruled effectively as Shoguns of Magical Japan even if they had a Ministry.
Given what their people had done on behalf of the Emperor in China, waging war against the Chinese mages whilst at the same time sweeping entire towns and villages in Manchuria of any form of life with no mercy and with no honour in defiance to the harshest laws that bound the Magical World, it was a grave insult that all of the ruling families of Magical Japan felt slighted by.
How could they not?
There were few societies in the magical world that retained their loyalty to their monarch and those that did only paid lip service to their monarch.
Not the magical families of Japan. No, they'd proven their loyalties countless times yet once more it was in vain.
There were still bloodlines in Magical Japan that could trace their loyalty millennia back to Jimmu himself, a man who united the constant feuding kingdoms of Honshu into a singular Kingdom, later became a dynasty that united all of Japan.
When clans feuded and controlled the Chrysanthemum throne through regency and concubines, the magical families had remained loyal to the Throne and aided the Emperor every time one of them had asked of them.
Unfortunately, it had become a practice to deliberately make the Emperor ignorant and from finding out he had magical subjects and to limit their influence and strength within Magical Japan with the Fujiwara clan having been the most successful in that method over the centuries.
Only during the Sengoku era, had they regained much of their lost influence over the centuries and their loyalty to the Emperor richly rewarded though it was at a cost.
Magical clans were pitted against each other as each supported different Daimyos or were Daimyos themselves just as the Seiwa Genio clan had been. The blood shed during that era had weakened Magical Japan as the population was reduced but it had been worth for their kind given the influence they had won at the end.
When the Sengoku era had ended, they had gained power within Japan unlike any other era yet once more they had lost what they had rightfully won with great degree of bloodshed when the Statute of Secrecy had been forced onto them, the eventual cause that would lead them to this present situation.
A situation where all of what their clans, their ancestors had fought for…was lost, the emperor having decided in November 1945 to effectively cut all ties with Magical Japan with his dismissal of Ieyasu Seiwa Genio and choosing to leave the position vacant, a deliberate message that spoke volumes of how much Magical Japan mattered to the Emperor.
A humiliation that he knew burned deep in the hearts of many. He had heard utterings from the younger members of his clan that questioned why they had even been loyal to the Chrysanthemum Throne given his nature as a muggle.
He arrived at the sliding door he was being led to, a servant who stood by bowed to him before gesturing towards the door.
Hirahito spared the servant no further attention and he slid open the washi screen and stepped into the room with slow fluid steps. Ieyasu-sama was seated in front of a raised matted flooring and he walked towards him.
He sunk to the tatami floor to and sat on his legs opposite his host who was in the midst of watching water boil in a kettle above a small fire that was beside him with the utensils of the tea ceremony carefully arraigned in the most appropriate and precise fashion.
"Ieyasu-sama" Hirahito intoned respectfully as he bowed deeply, so deeply that his head hovered but a few inches from the ground.
Though the Hirahito clan was noble and old themselves, they did not compare to the Seiwa Genio.
The Seiwa Genio clan were descendant from the Minamoto clan, just as the Hirahito clan was but they were also direct descendants of one of the sons of Emperor Tenji himself, before it became forbidden for male heirs of the throne to marry witches in the 7th century.
Had history been different, they might have become the Imperial House of Magical Japan.
"Shinji-san" Ieyasu began, his voice soft but held commanding strength that came with his heritage and he raised his head, stopping his bow.
Ieyasu-sama was a small elderly man with grey white hair and wrinkled skin though still dignified. He was a hundred and ninety eight years old and has been leading his clan – and Magical Japan – for more than a century. He was synonymous with modern Magical Japan.
Ieyasu-sama lifted the kettle from the fire and placed it on a small mat with patience and precision. He picked up a black towel, laid it across his hands and picked up the kettle before pouring it in the black tea bowl.
Hirahito watched in silence, his attentions fully focused on the ceremony as Ieyasu-sama performed it with expected beauty and discipline.
The tea bowl was emptied of the boiling water before a white towel was picked up and the tea bowl cleaned with tranquil calm, each movement done with Zen discipline.
The tea ceremony remained significant in Japan, something that was popularised during the Sengoku era. Today, such ceremonies were done to honour guests and…and to prepare oneself and their guests for difficult conversations.
He glanced to his left and saw a scroll hanging on the wall, a scroll that had a poem that fitted with the season of summer. A poem that spoke of fleeting days.
Ieyasu-sama finished drying the tea bowl and he began to prepare the Macha tea, lifting out the powdered tea from the tea jar with a bamboo tea spoon he knew was crafted by a famous 14th Century Seiwa Genio Daimyo.
Finally, after the fourth spoon of powdered tea, he set the spoon aside back in its designated location though not before it was hit against the rim of the tea bowl, to flick away any errant water but also to deliberately enhance the ceremony with its sound.
Not a single part of the ceremony is left by chance, all of it was prepared and planned for before, from the location of the utensils, to the sounds that was created, everything.
The hovering presence of death and the ever reminders of senseless destruction had made the tea ceremony one of the most significant and valued pass times, its Zen principles allowed the individual to isolate himself from the overwhelming reality for brief moments, allowing him to the time and tranquillity he'd need to meet the challenges set before him.
The tea is stirred with precise motions and Ieyasu-sama turned the most beautiful surface of the tea bowl towards him before he set it beside him.
The state of mind prescribed as the goal of the tea ceremony were harmony, respect, purity and stillness. Difficult states to attain in this frenzied world, especially in these troubled times but nonetheless a sublime preparation for difficult situations.
Hirahito leaned forward, remaining seated as he did so and grabbed the bowl of tea with both hands. He set the tea down in front of him underneath a silken cloth before setting himself right again in his seat. He picked up the tea with a prepared black silk cloth, halfway in the air and then bowed to his host before sitting straight upright and drank the tea.
It was prepared to perfection, the lively taste of the small amounts of zesty infusions of citrus added to the fresh taste of the macha tea, a freshness that was purifying.
"How is the tea?" Ieyasu-sama asked in a tranquil voice.
Hirahito bowed deeply once more, his hands that held the tea bowl outstretched in front of him "Perfection" he said in a reverent tone before he was upright again and drank the rest of his tea and set the tea bowl aside, back on the silken cloth.
Ieyasu-sama looked pleased and bowed his head slightly to Hirahito before a serious expression crossed his face, marking the end of the ceremony.
"I received an interesting invitation" Ieyasu-sama mused aloud once the ceremony was over, his black eyes intently staring at Hirahito "A former comrade of yours, one that is as famous as he is infamous."
"Atticus Sayre-san" Hirahito stated surprised, the lack of noble title sounding strange on his tongue before a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"An invitation?" he questioned.
Ieyasu-sama hummed affirmatively. "Just an invitation though I doubt it is just to meet him at wherever he has disappeared to."
"You believe that he might call in the debt we owe him?" Hirahito said grimly.
Ieyasu eyed him before he spoke "It is possible though I have a suspicion that what may be asked may not be a simple thing."
"You fear that he might ask for aid against the ICW." Hirahito surmised. It was a concern he also had.
It was not as if relations couldn't get any worse with the ICW but it was a conflict that they did not need nor want.
Magical Japan was not popular with the ICW and the rest of the magical world, not after the Chinese Confederation of Magicals had brought proof of their acts in China, proof that incontrovertibly proved their dishonourable acts in Manchuria and their acts against the CCM.
Their wrongful acts against the CCM had soured relations with most nations in Asia as fears of a repeat of what happened to Magical Korea seemed to come back to life.
The other nations believed they were a belligerent, intent on dominating the rest of Asia like what had happened many centuries ago and which ended in the destruction of most of Korea's native magicals.
It was not true and most of their acts against the Chinese mages were simply to ensure they did not interfere in Manchuria, going out of their way to ensure they did not kill any magicals but it seemed to have been for naught as relationships with the rest of Asia withered away only deepening the economic strain on Magical Japan as a result of the penalties the ICW levied on them as 'punishment' for their crimes.
A punishment that was opportunistic rather than it being righteous, one that continued to refill the coffers of the ICW that had become empty in the wake of the war in Europe and something they seized upon by levying heavy penalties on them for their acts against the non-magicals in Manchuria.
The penalties were something they could not get out of, not when the consequences of their acts in Manchuria was still felt at present even if most member states of the ICW did not care for the death of the non-magicals.
The Chinese Communist Party was removing much of the magical population of China out of their native home regions and cities, even going as far as destroying entire magical villages in their quest of consolidation of power and misguided retribution.
The ICW was intervening, using large amounts of resources to obliviate and preserve the Statute of Secrecy but it would take time given the population of China and the pervasiveness of the Communist party in China.
Thankfully the Chinese Mages had managed to secure an embargo of outgoing information out of China so it would only be a matter of time before the Statute was preserved.
Such good news would do little to improve Japan's standing or their tattered reputation.
And if they were caught consorting with an enemy the ICW had personally seen to hound out of his homeland…
"Perhaps" Ieyasu said, seemingly meaning more than what he had said. "Nonetheless, I intend accept his invitation and I will be sending you and three other delegates to represent Magical Japan."
Hirahito's eyes widened before he bowed once more "I am unworthy to represent Magical Japan, Ieyasu-sama"
"You are more than worthy, Shinzo-san. Your actions in the war regained some of the honour of Japan lost in the duplicity of Grindelwald and you did our people a great service by ensuring the evacuation of hundreds of families out of Hiroshima and Nagasaki before the foreign non-magicals destroyed the cities with their bombs." Ieyasu-sama said in a calming voice.
The praise swelled Hirahito's heart with pride.
Hirahito raised his head and looked at Ieyasu "I accept the mission, Ieyasu-sama"
Ieyasu nodded approvingly. "Good. You may negotiate with Sayre-san within a certain limit which will be defined with the delegates you'll meet shortly."
Hirahito hesitated for a moment before he asked "Is alliance on the table? Or the pretences of one?" Hirahito asked.
Ieyasu-sama eyed him in a way that beckoned Hirahito to continued "What I mean is…" Hirahito sighed slightly disliking what he was suggesting "We know that the ICW is keen on obtaining his whereabouts." He met Ieyasu-sama's gaze "We could relay whatever information we obtain to the ICW in exchange for the elimination of the remaining penalties."
It was dishonourable, he knew especially given they owed a debt to Atticus Sayre but the prosperity of Magical Japan came before honour.
Ieyasu-sama remained silent for a moment until he glanced up, meeting Hirahito's gaze.
"When he visited Japan six years ago with his wife, they left an impression" Ieyasu-sama said, his voice calm "An impression that marked him and his wife as two people who are amongst the very rare." Ieyasu-sama said, his eyes looking past Hirahito as he seemed to recollect the meetings he had with them. "Two people who are and will be so consequential that they will likely have eras named after them"
He'd heard that they'd met up with Ieyasus-sama though he did not know what they might have consisted. They must have left an incredible impression on him if he was saying such things about them.
Ieyasu-sama continued "Before that point I had heard many things about the man's capabilities…"
Ieyasu-sama stared at Hirahito for a moment "Seen the kind of strength he holds and the once a millennium talent he is." Ieyasu said calmly, his eyes slightly distant, likely recalling the moment he'd seen some of the memories Hirahito had been able to provide him of Sayre's capabilities.
"And I had seen and heard his ability to inspire and draw people to himself through charisma, kindness and by being veracious, all of which eventually convinced thousands of magicals to leave with him over choosing the safety of what they knew." Ieyasu-sama said, his voice tranquil as he paused for a brief second.
"Conversely…I had also been kept apprised of the notions that he is also ambitious, aiming to bring forth his version of the world through any means necessary without respect and consideration of the wishes of others. That he is the same as the man he defeated who had wished to bring ruin to our world only to reforge it his image." Ieyasu-sama paused again, a light frown adorned on his face.
"From the meetings I had with him, he is most certainly one and the same." Ieyasu raised the bamboo tea spoon, balancing it on his index finger.
"He is a man who rightly earned the adulation of the Magical World and he is also a man the Magical World rightfully should fear." The tea spoon began to lean to one, almost seeming as it would fall before Ieyasu-sama balanced it again though it began to lean in the other side.
"And his wife…" he stared at the tea spoon. "His wife is as dangerous, if not more so than the man himself." Ieyasu-sama said, his voice losing a sense of its tranquillity.
He looked up from the tea spoon and met Hirahito's gaze. "To double cross such a man of duality, a man tied to destiny itself is to invite ruin."
Hirahito bowed his head in acceptance. He did not expect Ieyasu-sama to be anything other than wise though…he wondered internally at what the elderly man said.
Tied to destiny…?
Did Ieyasu-sama also believe Sayre was a Seer?
It was a conclusion that he knew many had reached, himself included and likely contributed to ICW's behaviour towards the man.
Seers of significant talent were rarely left alone and when someone of Sayre's calibre had such talents…
Ieyasu-sama continued "Conversely…an alliance with this man of duality" drawing his attentions as Ieyasu-sama paused momentarily as the tea spoon was perilously unbalanced
"Is not to be considered lightly." The tea spoon fell onto the matted floor. Ieyasu black eyes grew harder, sterner "Especially when it means joining in an alliance with his wife who is equally once a millennium talent and is far more ambitious and far less innocent in her intentions."
"You don't believe the break is true?" Hirahito questioned Ieyasu-sama. He didn't believe it either, not really. In truth he did not understand much of what had transpired in Europe in his absence.
It seemed…sudden, the way it had all fallen apart for Atticus Sayre.
The way the Ministries had acted, the way the ICW had intervened…the man he had known would never have allowed it to happen and likely would have fought a war against them all and won.
And from what he heard of Lady Slytherin and her influence in British Politics, he doubted she would have let it transpire without a fight. Yet she did and emerged all the more stronger for it.
The thoughts of her betraying Sayre had crept into his mind more than once in order to gain power, something that many seemed to think is what happened, but he did not think Sayre could have been blind enough to let her do it.
Though…
Love did make even the wisest of men become blind and stupid.
Ieyasu-sama only smiled though there was something in his expression "Two bodies, same heart" he only said, his voice certain, as if he was speaking about the certainty of the sun rising at dawn.
"I see." Hirahito said with raised eyebrows wondering what the deception of the Sayre-Slytherin clan meant.
"You may not agree to an alliance but you must not deny one either." Ieyasu-sama looked at him keenly, bringing them back to the topic.
"What transpired in his native land is far from obvious, Shinji-san" Ieyasu-sama intoned, his old eyes seemed to bore into him. "You have fought with him and you have interacted with the man more than any other from amongst our people. You are best suited to determine if he and his plans are of benefit to Japan."
Ieyasu-sama poured himself and Hirahito a bowl of tea and gestured Hirahito to drink as he lifted his own bowl.
"If we're lucky, he'll fall to the side we wish him to fall and that version of the man is one that we could call ally if not friend." Ieyasu-sama hummed pleasantly as he drank his tea before he continued, eying Hirahito intently "It is likely something he will wish for, having started the beginnings of this alliance back when he gave you the information to save hundreds of our people"
Hirahito nodded grimly. It didn't surprise him Ieyasu-sama thought so. "What if he falls to the other side?" 'What if he is exactly like Grindelwald instead of a herald of great change for the better'
Ieyasu-sama spoke with grim undertones "In such a case, I fear he may be much worse than what the ICW fears him to be with a woman at his back who would be all too willing to scorch the very earth in order achieve their goals." Ieyasu-sama finally concluded and he left not after, his mind wracked with what had been discussed.
Days later, they took the restricted portkey that had been supplied from the Japanese Ministry's Port of International Departure and with a long twisting journey, they arrived at their destination.
He kept the surprise off of his face as he glanced around. It was enormous, this…plaza.
The plaza was made out of silver grey polished stone that were pristine, tall square pillars held up a domed roof that had several arched windows that let in all of the light that illuminated the place.
He could see several booths that seemed reminiscent of fireplaces – though there were a few that had strange black stone rings – likely destination ports for international floo travel yet it was quite obvious that it was not operational which didn't surprise him.
In front of them were half a dozen people, the man most familiar to him was dressed in strange clothing that was very different to the robes that most other peoples wore in western magical society. It was minimalistic, beige in colour with black linings down the side though he wasn't sure what it was made out of it. It seemed to be soft though what he knew of Parelius Parkinson it was likely capable of protecting against the majority of the darkest cutting curses around.
The other five however…
They wore a strange silver white armour that he'd only seen once before, years after the war. It seemed like he managed to improve upon it given that it seemed like liquid metal.
It likely was incredibly spell resistant and he doubted they'd be able to overpower them if Sayre had trained them as well as he had the Knights of Mimpost.
It made him re-evaluate what the purpose of this…terminal was, especially given that there was no other sign of people.
« Impressive. » Shinzo Takenaka voiced out in Japanese as their welcoming party began to approach them. « It is more respectable than the many Ministry buildings we've been to before. »
« The lack of excessive use of gold and distasteful statues is certainly a surprise » Sukene Aya enthused « I had not expected such humility from Westerners »
« Do not expect him to be the same as the other Europeans » Hirahito warned his countrymen. « He is far from...typical » he told them, memories of the man's prowess in magic and his ability to draw swathes of men towards him playing at the forefronts of his mind.
« And it is that oddity that led to his exile from his homeland. » Taneko Ozutsuki reminded him needlessly
« Do not let your history with the man blind you. » Taneko Ozutsuki, the eldest man amongst them said calmly « We are only here to find out how we can honour a debt our people owe him but that does not mean we stand with him. There can be no alliance with him so long as he is hunted by powerful factions. »
They were here far more than just to settle a debt he thought to himself.
Ieyasu-sama had not divulged to the other delegates what he might be open to should Sayre prove to be much more.
They fell silent as their welcoming party approached them.
"Welcome" Parelius Parkinson began in his classic monotone voice "to Belva Hallos Port Terminal" as he bowed his head slightly and looked at Hirahito for a while longer before he looked to the other delegates. "I am Parelius Parkinson and I will be escorting you to your meeting with Lord Sayre."
The other delegates glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Atticus Sayre had given up his noble titles when he'd relinquished his family ties to the British Isles.
If they were calling him Lord Sayre without him being a noble anymore…
Surely that could only mean that it was an honorific, one that was gifted.
One that held meaning in the magical world and given the way he had departed from the wider world with thousands of magicals…
The tense posture of his fellow delegates was understandable.
"…I see." Hirahito spoke up and inclined his head towards Parkinson respectfully. "It is good to see you again, Parkinson-san."
Parkinson's expression didn't change though he nodded "Likewise. It's been a few years" he simply stated though there was a hint of curiosity in his voice.
It was likely Parkinson was curious how much influence he'd gained when he'd returned to Japan seven years ago.
Before he'd left, he'd remained in Europe for a number of years after the war and had continued to build relationships with those he had fought alongside with, with families such as the House of Delacour.
Something that had proven vital once he'd hastily returned to Japan, armed with news that saved hundreds of his fellow magicals and eventually caused him to rise to prominence within society and with him, his clan. The relationships he'd built with European nobility had resulted in trade to flourish, much of it through clan Hirahito.
"It has." Hirahito acknowledged before he gestured to his fellow delegates.
"The delegates with me today are Takenaka Shinzo-san, of the clan Takenaka, Aya Sukene-san of the clan Aya and finally Ozutsuki Taneko-san of the clan Ozutsuki." Hirahito introduced to Parkinson.
Parkinson nodded to each delegate before his gaze met with Hirahito again "I will be taking you on a short tour of Illos before we meet with Lord Sayre." He paused for a moment as his eyes fell to their hands before flickering to theirs.
"You may keep your wands but they must be kept holstered." Parkinson said once more in his emotionless voice before he spoke again "Any aggressive action will be dealt with without mercy" he said, this time hints of menace were clear to hear.
Before any of the other delegates could speak up, he agreed "Yes, we agree" he said with a glance to the others "We will not wield our wands unless threatened." He said, his eyes demanding agreement from his fellow delegates who gave affirmative nods even if they were unhappy.
He met Parkinson gaze who only stared for a moment before he nodded slightly, agreeing to the terms.
"Please follow me" Parkinson said as he turned on his heels and walked forward. He and the other delegates followed, the…guards seemingly in standard formation either side and behind them.
He internally frowned for a brief second.
Illos…
He had never heard of that name before.
The communication from representatives of Atticus Sayre had…hinted towards a new home but never named the place. The invitation had been…vague and offered little information as to what might be expected.
"You said you'll take us on a tour?" Sukene Aya questioned.
Parkinson glanced at the man and nodded "Yes. Lord Sayre will take an hour or so before he is ready to meet with you and so it's been decided to take you on a…short tour" he said before facing the front.
They eventually reached a wide set of stairs that lead towards the wide exit doors. The sounds of wind whistling were obvious to hear and he allowed a small frown to form on his face.
They descended down the set of stairs and walked through the exits and his eyes widened, only widening more and more as they stepped towards the windy surroundings, his head swivelling from one side to another as he took everything in.
He walked further ahead, past Parkinson towards the very ledge.
« This is…» Shinzo Takenaka exclaimed from behind him, in an astonished breath.
It was an expression of shock that they all felt.
His eyes glanced over the ledge before looking at the sides of this building they were stood upon.
"W-Where are we?" Shinzo Takenaka asked in bewilderment, having joined him at the ledge.
"At Belva Hallos Port Terminal." Parkinson supplied calmly, drawing Hirahito's attention away from the scenery before him. Parkinson had that same glint of amusement in his eyes when he had gotten Longbottom with something.
Taneko Ozutsuki spoke up next "You said you'd take us on a tour of Illos…" Taneko said with a tight voice, his eyes flittering between Parkinson and the surrounding landscape "What is exactly is Illos?" he finally asked, his voice grave, devoid of levity as he stared at the landscape.
From where they stood, in what seemed to be several kilometres up from the ground, they could see the entirety of the land before them.
Greenery and forestry dotted the hilly rocky lands with rich green plains interspersed between those lands, rivers snaked in great numbers with a large body of water to the east. There were buildings, few they may be, all around the lush lands they could see. In the distance they could see tall buildings that suggested that it might be the primary settlement.
At the very end of where they could see, there stood a mountain that even from this distance could be seen, its snow capped top stood imperiously amongst the smaller outcrop of mountains that seemed to curve around.
Curving along the contours of something he could not explain, did not know how to explain.
He looked behind him, back towards the building from where they'd walked out and his eyes drifted upward.
Grey silver metal greeted his eyes, higher and more daunting than he could have imagined.
All around them, the same grey silver metal was there, like an ever present poltergeist that lingered and gnawed at your senses and sanity. It enveloped the place they were at utterly and completely.
The connotations that it represented…
"Illos is the home of thousands of magicals, ourselves included" Parkinson answered, his voice calm before his eyes seemed bore to into Taneko "Built by Lord Sayre and his wife themselves." He added, his eyes assessing as the news dawned on them all, confirming his own suspicions.
« Impossible » Sukene Aya whispered disbelieving eyes wide at the proclamation.
« No people could have built this so soon, let alone two individual people » Shinzo Takenaka denied.
"What do you mean built?" Taneko Ozutsuki asked, his voice somewhat terse. "You can't mean to suggest that this…" he gestured towards the lands below them. "Is artificial."
Parkinson's eyes were alight with something that Hirahito could not recognise "I wouldn't say artificial but rather magically built."
"Is this is a spatially expanded location?" Shinzo Takenaka asked.
Parkinson's eyes flickered to him "No. All that you see is all land that has not been expanded in any capacity" Parkinson said and turned from him, signalling his end of answering questions on the technicalities of this…place.
He knew to believe the words of their…hosts at face value was foolish but he did not see the point of them lying about this if only for the fact they were expelling a lot of effort to show this place off. There was value and power in truth.
Hirahito glanced at Taneko and met his eyes, grim communication passing through them.
This was unlike anything they could have expected. Throughout history there had been plenty of magical lands though rarely had they ever created such as this if they were telling the truth.
The only one that came to mind was the legend of Queen Himiko, the ancient monarch of the now lost kingdom of Yamatai. She was rumoured to have built the island of Yamatai and it had taken decades of war, a war his ancestors had been a part of, to defeat her.
It was claimed she could control the weather and was capable of generating great storms that could wash away entire landmasses with her overwhelming shamanistic powers. Only through the combined powers of legendary heroes of the age had she been defeated and even then the island of Yamatai had been lost in the wake of her defeat, forever lost to the world through a form of magic that to this day was unknown.
It was a terrifying notion that Sayre was capable of replicating such a feat and from the scale of this place…
He may well have surpassed Himiko as he stared at the three orbs of light that hung in the air.
Where were they? He wondered.
If this place was in and among the world, then where was it? Surely some monitoring branch of Ministries around the world, if not the ICW itself would have known if thousands of square kilometres went missing.
He took the opportunity to glance around and paid more attention to the other things that were present on this…platform.
"This isn't just a portkey and floo terminal is it?" he asked of his former comrade as he glanced at the strange vehicles that were vaguely reminiscent of the air vehicles the military commanded during the war.
"No, it is not" Parkinson confirmed "It is the terminal for all inbound – and outbound – journeys. In a number of ways." Parkinson raised his arm and tapped onto his forearm.
"We'll be taking a skymobile to travel" Parkinson informed them and one of the vehicles began to levitate before it moved towards them.
It was black in colour and seemed to have been formed out of one block of metal with the way it seemed to be seamless.
It settled in front of them and Parkinson gestured them to get in.
They stepped into the vehicle and saw that it was expanded several times, giving them ample space. It could a dozen more people.
« An enchanted air vehicle » Shinzo Takenaka murmured before he glanced at Hirahito « The Emperor had once asked of us to create such things for him but we told him that it would not be possible »
« Of course we told him that » Sukene Aya said in a scornful tone « It is well within our means to have done so but there was little to be gained from doing so. It had been a wise decision not to do, especially after the penalties the ICW had levied onto the German Ministry once they'd discovered what exactly Grindelwald had been doing for the German non-magicals. »
« Yes, the penalties the ICW had levied onto us was already great as a consequence of our actions in China. It would have been crippling had we gone through with enchanting non-magicals equipment and discovered» Taneko Ozutsuki mused to them as the 'skymobile' lifted into the air.
"This…skymobile is an enchanted muggle vehicle?" Hirahito questioned.
Parkinson had been watching their conversation though Hirahito doubted he understood. They had defensive enchantments woven into their clothing that included defence against translation spells. One would need to speak Japanese to understand them.
Of course that did not mean they would say anything overt or damning even if they did not believe anyone would understand.
"No." Parkinson simply said before expanding "It is built entirely by magicals. It is as magical as a broom though it does incorporate non-magical technology."
They remained silent as they flew over the lush lands of this…Illos and the few buildings that the dotted the pristine lands below them. It reminded him of the countryside of Japan, though it was far more untarnished and unblemished by human settlement. To think this might have been created…
« It is concerning. » Taneko Ozutsuki, who said next to him, said in a soft whisper, loud enough for only him to hear as he stared out of the window. « If what he said was true. »
« It is likely untrue for the alternative is too daunting to consider…that they might be the modern incarnation of Izinagi and Izinami » Sukene Aya said in an uncharacteristically concerned tone, one that hinted that he most likely did believe they made this…place.
Hirahito didn't bother answering as he stared at the encroaching city.
It was mesmerising, the tall silver white stoned buildings that shone brightly under the artificial lights, glittering like jewels that were topped with golden statues on the roofs of many domed buildings and pillars.
Clear blue waters of unnatural purity ringed the city as dozens of waterfalls cascaded down.
It was a wonderfully built city even if it was unfinished, a city that he knew no other could rival it, certainly not any muggle cities.
Their kind never had the population to ever seclude themselves away from non-magicals to build an entire city, towns of a few thousand were at most the highest he'd heard off and to see it now…
« It seems they reserved the gold for their city » Sukene Aya murmured.
"This city…" Taneko Ozutsuki began, his countenance stilted "It is incomplete though what has been built suggests tens of thousands of people." He said staring at Parkinson, the obvious question in his words.
Parkinson allowed a facetious smile to cut across his face before he nodded "Celestis is built in anticipation for the population Illos will reach in the coming decades." He told them, the intent of his words were clear.
Celestis…
A name that meant Heavenly in Latin.
He glanced at Taneko and knew that he also understood before he glanced away, his eyes falling on the main building that towered over the rest of the buildings. It was massive, a true citadel that stood imperiously over the rest of the city.
This…
This ciy…this Illos was not built suddenly as a result of aggression to him and his family.
No…
His eyes widened, a memory sprang to the forefront of his mind.
"Above all else, I value creation." Sayre raised his hand and a crystalline structure began to form. Hirahito hid his surprise carefully at this casual display of wandless magic.
"Magic allows for many impossible things to be possible, magic allows for wonders to be created" The crystalline form changed into a miniature city with tall spiral towers.
"It is my passion to create things that will last until the ends of time, or at least as close to it." With a wave, Sayre vanished the crystalline city and turned to Hirahito, his eyes meeting Hirahito's.
"He planned this from the very start…" he whispered, loud enough for most of them to hear and he caught the gaze of Parkinson whose lips curled, his eyes flashing with satisfaction.
"He is Lord of Illos." Hirahito simply stated, his words filled with startling realisation.
"He is." Parkinson confirmed with a sharp smile. "He is Lord Atticus Markus Sayre, Lord of Illos and its people"
The air vehicle was deathly silent, the full depth of what Parkinson had said being contemplated by all of the delegates.
Both he and Ieyasu-sama had…suspected that Sayre might have gone away to build a place somewhere but they had not expected this, at most believing he might have built a settlement somewhere in the world yet this spoke of grander plans, greater plans.
A city built that could house tens of thousands, a land that could house millions.
Tens of thousands if not millions of magicals…
He glanced at the delegates and they all understood their mission suddenly became far more important.
They landed not long after and the tour they went on, short as it turned out to be, revealed much.
The people he'd seen dressed the same way as Parkinson, few as they might have been for a place such as this, all looked to them with suspicious eyes, as if they were a threat to their homes.
It seemed as if the wider Magical World's treatment of Sayre had created a siege like mentality, one where they were all fighting together against an enemy outside of the walls of their castle.
A mentality that would foster a closeness that would be hard to break.
How much of it was natural…how much of it deliberate? He wondered.
He knew that Atticus Sayre was far more calculating than most would ever realise…his wife even more so. The times he'd spent with him and Lady Slytherin had told him enough even if he was far from their inner court.
They had kept contact during his stay in France after the war, often meeting and discussing various philosophical and historical accounts, occasions that he'd looked forward to.
It was rare for foreigners to be interested in the cultures of others and it seemed like both husband and wife were interested all of them.
The Sayres had visited Japan, among many other countries, after the war and had left a certain impression on them all.
One that had stuck to his mind was the eagerness to understand what made Japan…Japan. The interest now seemed to mean…more.
Hirahito had always known that Atticus Sayre was a dangerous man, beyond simply his strength in magic. He had known it from the very moment he'd seen broken men at Genelum suddenly come back to life with but a few words from Sayre as he enthralled them all with the words he spoke, the way he spoke them, all of it contributed to swathes of broken men fighting against the men who had tormenting them, all of them in his name.
It was now clear he was far more dangerous than he had ever imagined.
Perhaps the ICW was right to fear his influence…
The 'Main Tower' was imposing and the insides of it was even grander. The insides of the Tower had high and wide pathways flanked by intricate etched pillars that arched to meet with a domed ceiling.
« Whoever designed this place deserves their weight in silver several times over » Sukene Aya said with a straight face and it was a reaction that they all understood. It was a magnificently designed building.
Parkinson briefly explained that the building was effectively the equivalent of a Ministry building though he did not explain if it was the equivalent of a Ministry.
It was not like he had to, not with what they had learned so far.
These people had all of the tools they needed…land, the wealth of the Sayres and a population even if it was small…for now.
They knew what they were seeing…what they were witness to.
There were guards that walked the halls, not wearing the same kind of armour their…escorts had on but walked in a way that proved them to be similarly trained.
They walked passed a woman he didn't quite recognise and entered the 'elevator', some kind of machine that took them up without having to walk up the stairs.
A few minutes later they arrived at their destination, the halls they walked in was fit for a palace.
"I will now take you to the High Assembly Chamber to Lord Sayre. He will be there with Chancellor Saunders, a member of the High Council." Parkinson told them.
"High Council?" Taneko Ozutsuki questioned, not as surprised as they might have been before they arrived at Illos as they walked through the halls "Is this what governs Illos?"
Parkinson glanced at Taneko but said nothing before he looked straight ahead, leaving them all slightly miffed though no less ponderous.
They walked through heavy laden twin doors and what they were greeted by only confirmed that this was no ordinary meeting hall though that was not what caught his eyes.
At the very end of the room, in front of a twenty five metre long window, he sat there on a chair that resembled far closer to a throne next to empty similar chair.
It seemed as if Ieyasu-sama was right after all about the two.
Hirahito was reminded once more of his ethereal presence as he looked upon Sayre's purple green glowing eyes that swirled with restrained power, his pale skin contrasting heavily with his long pitch black hair as he sat there, gazing intently at them from his throne like chair.
Now aged twenty eight or twenty nine years, Atticus Sayre looked like he had grown into his power. That magnetic presence he bore that drew so many people in and also incited hateful fear in envious hearts, seemed to have grown in magnitude.
He looked a Ruler
He glanced to his other side and a woman sat there next to him, like this Chancellor Saunders and he took the opportunity to look at the chambers with greater attention.
The chamber was a dome made out silver white stone not unlike the rest of the city though that was the similarities ended. It shone in the direct light of the three orbs, seemingly aglow in some kind of reaction that none of them knew.
What was jarring was that there were no other seats available and he glanced at Taneko Ozutsuki from the corner of his eyes who seemed grim in his expression.
It seemed like he also understood. It was insulting to make them stand for this meeting and it was reminiscent of the tales from delegates who'd gone to the Chinese Emperor.
Parkinson moved forward and bowed from the hip towards Sayre "My Lord, I present to you the Japanese delegates" he turned slightly towards them "From the right, Takenaka Shinzo, of the clan Takenaka, Aya Sukene of the clan Aya, Ozutsuki Taneko of the clan Ozutsuki and on the far left, of course, Hirahito Shinji of the clan Hirahito." Parkinson said with perfect Japanese accentuation, something that was not lost to anyone in the delegation party.
"Besides Lord Sayre is Chancellor Saunders, member of the High Council" Parkinson introduced her to the delegates.
Hirahito stepped forward and bowed, shallower yet still a bow "Lord Sayre" he began before he was back upright and bowed slightly towards the woman "Chancellor Saunders" he said respectfully before gazing back at Sayre "Thank you for extending this invitation to Magical Japan to your…home"
Saunders bowed her head deeply towards him and he met Sayre's gaze who bowed his head towards him, a shallow bow but a respectful bow nonetheless.
It was not one of equals but one that signalled his respect towards Hirahito.
Taneko Ozutsuki and then the others also stepped forward and bowed slightly towards Sayre and the woman as they also extended gratitude for the invitation.
Sayre's gaze at the other delegates was penetrating, one that seemed to be able to unravel them at the seams, lasting for a merciful short few seconds before he bowed his head slightly, a gesture that didn't fail to register with any of them.
"Welcome to Illos." He intoned, his voice held qualities of timelessness "It is an honour to welcome you to our home." He added before raising his hand and the very ground shifted, liquefying and morphed to form a convex table with four seats that were opposite Sayre and Saunders.
"Please…sit" Sayre said with an expression that was unchanging and his tone was far from suggestive.
Hirahito took the initiative and sat in one of the seats and then the others did too.
"My Lord" Parkinson said once more, bowing as he did so and turned on his heels and left though the guards remained and moved to the far edges of the room.
He wondered why given that Sayre would never need their aid to deal with them, not after what he'd seen the man do in the war.
Water and tea appeared on the table with a pop and Chancellor Saunders spoke up "If you would like any further food or drink, simply ask for it and it will appear." She paused momentarily before she continued "In English or Japanese, it won't matter."
Hirahito smiled though it was far from sincere. "We thank you, Chancellor"
She smiled and it was warm though he wasn't sure if it was genuine or not with the way things had gone so far.
Taneko took the cup of tea and drank some of it before he spoke up "Illos is impressive" he said as he set down his tea "May we inquire how it came to be, before we delve into the matters of this invitation?"
Chancellor Saunders glanced at Sayre who only nodded to her and she began the tale of how Illos came to be.
He listened to the tale, for it was most certainly a tale, that spoke of creation and years of building the place with hard work. It held no real substance that hinted where it might be and what building actually entailed.
It was impressive how little substance there was in a tale that lasted over a quarter of an hour.
"Thank you for the explanation. It was…informative" Taneko said with an incline of the head.
Chancellor Saunders smiled "You're welcome" she enthused, clearly knowing that the tale was far from informative.
"If I may ask, is Illos your personal demesne or is a nation?" Sukene asked what they all wanted to know.
"Illos is a nation." Sayre answered before continuing "I may be Lord of Illos but it is not a dictatorship. The people of Illos have a voice…an equal voice without prejudice or discrimination as I have always wished for."
"And how do they…express this voice?" Shinzo asked curiously "Through elections?"
Sayre inclined his head affirmatively "Through elections. The first of which will be held later this year."
"And your role?" Hirahito asked carefully, not wanting to seem as if he was pressing.
Sayre smiled and it was one of mild amusement "To sit back and let the people govern themselves. Ruling never quite interested me."
'Somehow I doubt that somewhat, old friend' Hirahito thought to himself.
Sayre's eyes glinted for a brief second "Leaves me to occupy myself with more important things. There is much to do in Illos after all."
A brief silence fell as they digested that. His words could be interpreted in several ways though one thing he knew for sure was that Illos was Atticus Sayre and Atticus Sayre was Illos.
He realised that now. It likely had been ever since the place had been a mere idea when he'd shown him that crystalline conjuration in the war.
Sukene cleared his throat and spoke up "The Japanese Ministry, while being elated to receive this invitation to come meet with you" Sukene said meeting the gazes of their hosts as he began delving into questioning into why exactly they were here "is unsure why you extended this invitation, an invitation that held little content as to what might be discussed."
Sayre inclined his head before his hands entwined together, leaning back in his chair, his eyes never losing their discomforting glow "We shall get right to the heart of the matter then." He said, his voice calm though far from easy as he continued "As I am sure you are all aware, my…break from Magical Britain and in lesser degree Magical Europe was far from amicable."
Hirahito nodded "Yes." He said before glancing at the others before continuing "We have heard of your…exile though how it relates to this invitation escapes us." He pointed out.
Chancellor Saunders leaned in and spoke up "It relates because we have certain…commonalities." She said in a light smile which didn't reach her eyes, one that turned as her lips thinned before she spoke again "Japan has lost nearly all of its trade with the rest of Asia as a consequence of your peoples actions in China." She glanced at him "Only because of Hirahito's relationships in Europe, which provided new markets for your goods, has prevented economic collapse as a result of the combined economic penalties and loss of trade."
Taneko narrowed his eyes at her "A temporary setback. We're already rebuilding our relationships with our neighbours and soon enough we'll be back where we should be."
Hirahito said nothing to that though he nodded in agreement despite it not being quite the truth. Whilst most of Magical Japan's actions were constrained in China, it was not missed by the rest of Asia.
Whilst the magical populations in Asia was largely concentrated in China, India, Japan and Australia, there were still a significant number of magical nations in Asia even if their population was small.
Their economic ties they had built up with these nations had been mostly one sided where these Asian nations imported their goods and educated themselves at Mahoutokoro but as Australia grew in prominence, they became a rival to them just as China and India and competed in similar markets.
Unfortunately, with their dishonourable actions exposed and all that came with it, resulted in them losing the bulk of their trade to Australia, something they knew could not have been accomplished without assistance from the ICW.
She began to smile and it was far from warm "Is that so?" she mused aloud as her eyes sharpened "Last I heard the Malay Ministry of Magic rebuffed your attempts of rekindling trade agreements and the Samoan Alliance of Mages similarly refused your approaches."
Sukene intervened "Yet we have also re-established trade agreements with Vietnamese Ministry and the Laos Commune." Sukene said his eyes boring into Saunders "As my colleague said, it will only be a matter of time. The ICW's interference will not last." Sukene leaned forward, his eyes meeting Saunder's gaze "Not if we continue to comply with the ICW's demands." He said, his meanings obvious to their hosts.
'You fool…' Hirahito thought angrily though before he could soothe any ruffled feathers, Sayre spoke up.
"Comply with the ICW's demand?" he repeated as he looked at Sukene with a surreptitious smile "Interesting" he mused aloud, his voice holding qualities of mockery as he glanced away from Sukene's gaze.
"I had thought Japan had greater integrity than that." He said with vicious delight, poking at their pride as he looked back at Sukene, a curling smile adorned on his face as his eyes began to glow with ominous undertones "Perhaps you lost it at the same time you lost your honour after what your people did in Manchuria." Hirahito looked to Sukene and saw he was barely controlling his anger.
They were in trouble…deep trouble as he began to exudes oceans of magic. Hirahito tried to rise from his seat to stop this from escalating any further but he found he could not get up from his seat.
The air pressure began to rise, Sayre's eyes shone brightly as he remained affixed onto Sukene.
"Lord Sayre…" Hirahito tried but as cut off as Sayre did not relent as he continued.
"I hear you were personally there too" he said, his voice deeper and the air grew heavy with magic, his hair beginning to lift as his body began to exude wisps of turbulent purple green magic. He leaned forward as he spoke "Rumoured to have been involved in the decimation in several fishing villages" his voice was now akin to a rumbling storm even if he spoke calmly.
The magic in the room was now oppressive, suffocating physically and mentally, as if all light and cheer was evaporated from the air. "To come here and make such…insinuations…" Sayre's voice though calm was deathly, oozing menace and a kind of retribution that sowed terror into one's soul.
"My Lord…" Saunders' soft feminine voice spoke up and moments later, just like that, the pressure receded away.
He glanced at Sukene and saw him visibly draw heavy breaths as the room returned to normal.
"How dare you treat us like that" Shinzo exclaimed angrily though fear was apparent in his eyes as he shot up from his seat and palmed his wand but as soon as he did that, the masked guards sprang to life and surrounded them.
He had not pointed his wand at Sayre though whether or not it was because of wisdom or fear he did not know for certain.
"Shinzo-san…sit down" Taneko said carefully as he gestured towards Shinzo's seat. Shinzo looked at the guards warily before he turned to Sayre and visibly withdrew into himself as he saw Sayre's cold expression and sat back down.
Taneko turned to Sayre who was expressionless though that hard glint was obvious to see. Taneko bowed his head "I apologise for any…miscommunication. My colleague misspoke" he said as he threw a harsh glare at Sukene was still gathering himself.
Sukene stiffened under Taneko's gaze but turned to Sayre and bowed his head stiffly "I apologise for any slights. Taneko-sama is correct, I merely misspoke."
Sayre stared at Sukene for a while before nodded slightly and sat back in his chair. Thankfully Saunders moved them along.
"While that was…unpleasant" Saunders said diplomatically, drawing a upturned lip from Shinzo whilst Taneko stared at Sayre with scrutinising eyes "There is truth to Lord Sayre's words." Her expression shifted to one of coolness "What was done in Manchuria was abominable and though the ICW has levied penalties against you for the wrong reasons, your people deserve punishment for the crimes against humanity"
"We know" Taneko interjected before Sukene or Shinzo could make things worse. "It is why we keen to rectify our mistakes by aiding the CCM with their current plight."
"Assistance they refused" Saunders pointed out mildly.
Taneko grimaced but nodded "Yes." He admitted.
"Despised by most nations in Asia, scorned by the ICW and dismissed by the rest of the Magical World" Saunders stated as if it were a matter of fact and in truth…it was not far off. Whilst his own trade alliances limited the economic decline and international isolation, it was still far from the powerful position they had been prior to the war.
Something Sayre and Saunders knew and wanted to capitalise on.
"And it is this…commonality you seek to establish with us?" Hirahito spoke up, his voice soft and questioning.
Sayre turned to him, his vibrant eyes boring into him like a smelting fire "Yes." He said, his tone betraying nothing. "Despite my reservation…" he glanced at Saunders before he locked eyes with Hirahito for a moment before looking to the others. "Our circumstances present an opportunity for both our peoples"
"We are in a similar situation." He leaned forward, his eyes were now cold and examining "The ICW has been overreaching. We know it and you know it. The penalties that have been levied onto you are all but opportunistic and they went out of their way to make it so that you're isolated in the international stage."
Hirahito spoke up "And this is where you come in?" he questioned before he continued "To offer us trade where others would deny us?"
Sayre met his gaze and gave Hirahito his undivided attention. "Nothing so simple."
He said, his voice smooth and honeycombed with intrigue "What I'm offering you is a chance to regain much of you lost in the war. Your honour, your integrity…" he glanced at Sukene "Your prestige" he looked back at Hirahito.
"And how would you do that?" Taneko interjected, his tone sharp "Your…nation as impressive as it is, wherever it may be, is unknown. What could you offer to us that could change our standing in the Magical World?"
Sayre only smiled and it was foreboding "The opportunity to form an organisation with likeminded nations, those who see what is wrong with the ICW and want to try form something better"
Sayre leaned forward, his eyes displaying a disturbing turbulence of barely restrained magic. "An organisation that will form closer ties to its fellow member nations through trade, cooperation in magical innovation and through cultural exchange. One that will give you the opportunity to revitalise Magical Japan as a core member of an organisation that could achieve great things."
Shinzo shook his head "Do you know what you're asking?" he said in a disbelieving tone "You're not just suggesting to break with the ICW, something that can be done even if it isn't easy, you're suggesting creating a direct rival to it"
"Am I?" Sayre said with a entreating smile that far from innocent "The ICW's mandate is to maintain the Statute of Secrecy. There is nothing in their mandate that suggests that they are meant to be a political and economic union they pretend to be"
His smile fell off as he grew serious "Even if they have twisted their mandate into fashioning themselves into an empire with vassals under its banner, able to dictate with whom one can have relations with, with whom they can trade with."
Hirahito narrowed his eyes slightly 'He was beginning to sound like Grindelwald' he thought grimly to himself.
Somehow it seemed Sayre knew what he was thinking as his next words were "Suggesting the creation of a different organisation does not make me an incarnation of Grindelwald, it merely makes me opportunistic." He said as he turned to Hirahito "I am not robbing people of choice." Sayre said firmly "Only those who wish to join will be considered. Only those nations who value the same principles and ideals may join."
A few moments passed before Shinzo asked "What principles and ideals?"
"Principles of respect and integrity, ideals that value magic and life." Sayre met Shinzo's gaze "Though your people have erred, you have before held such principles and ideals. As I said, it is an opportunity to regain what you have lost."
Taneko decides to speak up "As interesting as you may have said is nonetheless it does nothing to distract us from the fact that it will be viewed as a rival to the ICW." Taneko shook his head "What you're asking for is something that cannot considered lightly."
"And we understand that." Saunders spoke up as she gestured accommodatingly to him. "We are not suggesting you have to agree now, of course not." She allowed a small smile to form. "And before you decide against it, we have plenty to show you what Illos would have to offer in this cooperation, things you would never be able to get or even dream of obtaining."
"If you're concerned about the debt you owe me" Sayre continued "Consider it paid off by coming to this meeting. The only thing I ask is that you stay a little longer and consider what we have offer." He finished.
Hirahito glanced at the others.
They looked amongst themselves and Hirahito knew that despite the…tense situation that had occurred, they were very interested in hearing more.
Hirahito decided to speak for them all. "Very well." He said not knowing the course he'd set for himself and his people with two simple words.
