The Book Keeper
By TimeAndLife21
Chapter 16
The next couple of days flew by quickly. Between reading complicated spells to defensive spells and even Martial arts training, Stephen had a full schedule and it wasn't stopping. Master Lucia, he believed, was a cruel woman. Behind that dreamy facade, he knew there was something underneath it. He didn't know what it is, it just kept him on edge.
Today was training with Anaiah in the main foyer where the grand staircase was at. This is where they will be fighting. Now to be fair, he never really saw her at the practices where Wong and Mordo would show how to defend yourself, mostly because she would be in the library, but here, he was going to be fighting against her. She was wearing her usual green and silver robes but she had attached to her hip, the white cross that she had. He didn't really have a weapon or a relic to fight her with so he was a bit hesitant to go against her. He wondered where her scythe was at.
Master Lucia on the other hand was nowhere to be found. Usually she would be rattling on about many different things from spells and relics when it came to applying them to fighting.
"Where is Master Lucia?" He asked looking around for the woman.
"She will be staying in her Wing for the time being. She said something came up and she had to take care of it." She shrugged.
He wondered what was in the East Wing and why they should be staying away from it . Sure Stephen has wandered around the monastery (and avoiding any opened rooms that may lead him to the damned mirror again) but he never thought about entering the East Wing until today.
"Something came up?" He asked suspiciously.
"She probably won't be able to observe us," Anaiah spoke as she unhooked her cross from her hip and held it at the handle. "She did say that it was important."
He dropped the subject for the time being and motioned to her relic.
"What is that?" He asked.
"This is the Beatrice Cross." She spoke smirking as she raised it up to the side of her face, the light emitting from it had lit her face up. "It's an old relic. The stories behind it is rather…unbelievable sure, but it's history is…crazy to say the least."
"How is a Cross a weapon?" He asked not really believing that something like that would make much damage.
He could probably hit someone over the head with it, maybe stab them in the eye, but he wasn't sure how it could be useful to go against an opponent.
"This Cross was supposedly in the hands of Dante Alighieri." She spoke.
Now that name rang a bell.
"Didn't he write the Divine Comedy?" He asked.
Well he was learning a lot of new things about history of the past. Seemed like there are many prominent figures in history that were sorcerers and sorceresses.
She nodded.
"That is correct. He was also a Sorcerer as well. This Cross was his light and one of his rather dangerous weapons to use when he was sent to Hell itself to find a soul that didn't belong there." She said as she held the cross in front of her. "Stay still for me, this might sting you a bit."
"Wait, what are you-" He didn't get to speak another word as Anaiah thrust the cross at his direction and he saw several ghost like shining crosses emitting from it and hitting him full on.
He was blasted back and hit the floor dazed. His mind was scattered a bit and he just laid there on the floor, apparently a bit shocked to do anything.
Anaiah stood over him with a smile.
"That was for making fun of me about my shapeshifting abilities. And had you been taken over by a soul that isn't yours or if you were possessed, this cross would have banished and burned the person possessing you and the like. It's one of my go to weapons to even blind and stun my enemies who are not connected to the Dark Dimension or even Hell itself." She smirked down at him.
"You enjoyed that didn't you?" He drawled at her.
"Oh very much so. Now get up. If Master Lucia was here, she would have been attacking you from the get go." She reached out her hand and he took it.
After getting him off the floor, he brushed himself off.
"Master Lucia wouldn't be going easy on me?" He asked.
"She definitely won't… Her relic is The Snake Sword of Valentine. It's an old relic that is very dangerous." She sighed. "The rumor is that she has been in possession of the sword for a very long time, it had never left her side. To be honest, I would hate to be toe to toe with Master Lucia."
"If you can even call it that." He grumbled.
"Now, my relic is more of a defensive relic than anything else. If I can, I would use the Cross instead of Ebony." She stated.
This confused Stephen. Why would she use a different relic when she is fighting, instead of using a scythe?
"I don't use Ebony often. When I do, I use her to make a point or when I need to defend myself in a much more dangerous situation. By using her, she increases my power a tenfold." She explained.
"Increases your magic?" He blinked.
He could just imagine the implications.
"Just by using the scythe increases your magic, you could do much more powerful spells." He came to the conclusion.
"Yes…and no." She waved her hand in a so-so manner. "I'm a bit of a special case. The relics I wield are tied to my magic and my spirit. But they are both different in many ways. Ebony is more tied to my emotions than My Cross. With The Cross, I use it with insane levels of magic to defeat my enemies." She explained.
"You never really spoke about your scythe though." He pointed out.
"Ebony…is a relic that has had previous masters who used her for evil." She winced.
"You gave your relic a name and gender?" He raised an eyebrow.
"What? I can't just keep calling 'it' Reaper of souls. The name itself is a mouthful and 'it' kept complaining of it's beauty being tarnished if she was behind glass again. Not to mention she is a sentient relic." She explained.
"Is the Cross sentient?" He pointed to the cross in her hands.
"Not really no, The Cross itself is more or less a holy relic. Most of it's power is still unknown to me." She shrugged her shoulders.
"Its interesting to know that there are sentient relics and non-sentient relics…I wonder how it works?" He muttered to himself.
"Ebony is sentient because of the magic that embodies her. She is imbued with ancient magics that is much older the the world around us. I would wager she was created around the time the First Sorcerer Supreme was around. Not even I know of her origins." She explained. "The cross on the other hand is the complete opposite. When Dante created this cross, he used White Magic or Holy Magic if you really want to be religious about it, and used it for purifying souls and the like. Ebony on the other hand…" She trailed off.
"Punishes souls." Stephen finished.
That…was a terrifying prospect. A very terrifying prospect, why does she have the power to punish souls? At least he knows he can trust her. He would hate to be on the other side fighting her.
She nodded grimly before sighing slowly.
"The relic chooses you. Imagine my shock when Ebony choose me and the cross followed soon after. Both very dangerous, but better with me than anyone else." She shrugged.
"What about Lucia's relic?" He asked.
"The Snake Sword of Valentine is an old sword. Very dangerous, and very sharp. It was said to be a part of rather...interesting past. Its history lost in the world of the past. Lucia acquired it from a dying sorceress, who had fought a war. As far as I know, Lucia has carried this sword for a very long time. And It has had no other master than her." Anaiah explained.
"Sounds Dangerous." He smirked.
"Master Lucia is dangerous." Anaiah said reluctantly, before shifting into a fighting stance with a growing smile. "But I'm just as dangerous as she is."
He also shifted into a fighting stance and they both circled each other.
"You, dangerous?" He taunted.
"You've never sparred with me before, so I'm unknown to you." she spoke before she switched to a different stance.
"I could beat beat you." He raised an eyebrow.
"Ha! Just don't go easy on me. Give me all you've got." She chuckled with smirk at him.
"I don't like fighting woman." He snarked.
"Sexist much?" She frowned before she ran at him.
This took him off-guard before he dodged her punch. For a moment he swore that her hands glowed green for a moment, before he back away from her.
"It's not that…" He said as he managed to block a kick from her, it jarred him a little of the strength behind her. She may be small but she was quick as well.
She managed to use her other foot and kicked him back, forcing him to go onto the defensive.
"I don't want to mar that pretty face." He smirked at her.
"Oh you think I'm pretty now? You are going to love me when I wipe the floor with you." She taunted.
"I'm taller than you, short stuff." He grinned back.
"We going for the short jokes now? How low of you, Strange." She rebutted as she took off towards him.
She was quick, he will give her that. He grabbed her punch but she managed to twist around and use her other fist to punch his side. He gritted his teeth in pain and tried to kick her off to the side but she slipped away and was on her toes as she bounced around him before she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his shoulders and flipped him down to the ground.
"Rule number one for those of the vertically challenged: You are smaller and faster. You, one the other hand, I can use your weight against you." She chuckled as he struggled against her.
Stephen's pride wouldn't allow him to take a loss that easily. But before he could retaliate, she got off of him and jumped back little, giving him time to get back up on his feet. He was sure that he would have a bruise on his shoulder blades later.
"How long have you trained?" He spoke as he raised his fists again.
"I've been trained in the ancient arts since I was a child. I had to learn to take every advantage I have on the person I was fighting. Know their weakness, their strengths, and how to take them out permanently and temporarily." She explained as she placed herself in a fighting stance again, ready to strike.
"You for example…If I wanted to, I would take you out by aiming for your hands and disable you permanently…" She smiled darkly as her eyes had bled into the emerald green that would signify that she was using her magic.
This sent shivers up his spine. Anaiah was dangerous, he knew this, but this was probably the first time she would have ever threatened him.
"But Because I have morals and I consider you one of my dearest friends, you are safe from me." She chuckled.
"I'm a dear friend?" He raised an eyebrow.
"You should be honored." she chuckled as she shifted into a different stance again. "I don't give out my friendships that easily…"
She took off at him again, and he decided to turn the tables. He summoned the Crimson Whips of Cyttorak and used the energy whips. He slashed at her but she dodged, going underneath the whip that was aimed at her. She landed on all fours, which was odd to him, but he noticed something interesting happening. There was fur growing around her wrists. He acted quickly. He threw the whip around in her general direction, but every time when he though he got her, she would managed to get away. And she was getting closer.
He twisted himself around and let loose the whip and he hit her, flinging her back into the ground, but she got back up just as quickly.
"Ha…nice hit." She said as she stood up and wiped at her face.
He felt a little sick that he left a mark on her. Her left side of her face had a darkening bruise across her cheekbone, but she had a rather strange grin on her face. She let her arms hang loose as she started to circle him.
"Sorry…I warned you that I would mar your face." He joked a little, even though he flinched a bit.
He was a Doctor, not a soldier or a fighter.
"Oh, I've had worse… but that was and interesting way to make your opponent back away that is for sure…but now time for me to step it up. Defend yourself Stephen, use what you have learned." She spoke before somehow disappearing in thin air.
His senses were on alert before he hear something behind him, he managed to bring up his Mandala of Light shield to block Anaiah's kick. But she didn't stop there. She was picking up the pace and she landed hard hits and kicks to his arms, shoulders, back, legs, he was getting beaten by her. He created the whip again and flung it at her and she lifted her arm and caught the end of the whip with her arm. She ripped it out of his hands, the magic disappearing and she ran at him full force.
She jumped up into the air and he saw an amazing transformation. Her magic surrounded her and she turned into a black and white furred Wolf. A wolf with horns? He didn't really had time to digest what happened when he found himself pinned to the ground with a maw roaring down at him, a deadly paw was holding him down a bit, but he didn't really do much to fight back, he was just too stunned.
The green eyes of the wolf were glowing and it was growling down at him. This wasn't a regular sized wolf, this wolf was probably the size of a lion...maybe a horse… It lifted it's paw up off of his chest and slammed near his head. He was too stunned to move. He flicked his eyes to the paw beside his head, thick and sharp black claws was close to his face.
"Holy Mother of God…" He thought looking back up at her.
She was baring her teeth and growling.
"You are not fighting back." She spoke growling.
A wolf speaking? He heard her voice, and the wolf above him shifted a bit before he noticed the fur receding, her facial features becoming human again, the black horns receding back into her skull, it was a fascinating process. Not like when she was changing from human to a mermaid, but this was just as fascinating. Her maw shrunk and became smaller and he saw her body mass shrinking back to her normal small self. He was about to ask to have her change into the horned wolf again a bit slower so that he could observe her, but that didn't happen and he then realized that she was on top of him.
It took him a second to find that Anaiah was back to her normal self and was still hovering above him. She had a slightly annoyed look on her face and she looked pretty disappointed. Probably because he didn't fight back.
"You're dead. Had I been anyone else, I would have ripped into your neck and devoured your flesh or worse." She deadpanned.
"Well forgive me that I just saw something that just took my breath away. Really, do you enjoy changing into animals that much?" He snipped back his eyes not leaving her face.
And it took him a lot of self discipline to not looked down at her body. Granted she was wearing clothes, but with Anaiah this close to him, he could see the fighter and woman that she was. And she was definitely a fighter…a beautiful fighter to say the least. He could feel the heat coming off from her and it took everything he had to not pull her towards his body.
"It's a useful skill, Strange. If I can catch my opponents off guard at anytime, I would take the advantage and take them out." She spoke as she lowered herself closer to him.
"Hello X-rated thoughts…No! Not the time to think about that!" He blinked away the thoughts before he closed his eyes and sighed.
"So…this is one of your tactics as well?" He asked as he opened them again.
She smiled. Not just any smile though. It was a smile that sent warm shivers down his spine and he felt like some sort of prey being played with by a predator. He was prey, she was predator…and it was hot.
"Ive learned that many feminine tactics work pretty well with certain types of males…looks like you are one of them." She said as she lifted her hand and patted him on the side of the face sarcastically.
He let out a disbelieving chuckle as she got up off of him as stood off to the side, holding out a hand. It took him a moment before he reached out and she pulled him off the floor, feeling his muscles protest in response. He forced his body to calm down from the reaction on being in close contact with Anaiah.
"So, what have we learned here?" She stood on front of him with an eyebrow raised.
"Don't underestimate the short ones?" He quipped.
"Don't let your enemies take you off-guard. I'm sure Mordo gave you the speech that if you don't fight seriously, you will find yourself killed." She shook her head with a small smile.
"And don't stand there like a dumbstruck idiot either. Just because you have been introduced to a new aspect of the Mystic Arts, doesn't mean you have to halt what you are doing to examine it."
"You noticed that?" He flushed.
"Please, I could see the gears turning in your mind." She laughed.
"A horned wolf though? That is an interesting mix." He raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged a bit before shaking out herself out.
"I try to merge animals together as well. Shapeshifting is a delicate art, as I have explained before." She mentioned.
"How are you even able to do that?" He asked.
He noticed the pause that she gave him before turning to him with a focused look on her face as she was thinking of something hard.
"You know…I'm not even sure how to explain that I can do it. Illusions of being other people is easy enough, but to turn into them and turning into other Animals and mixing them together requires a lot of training. Even some of the older masters who have studied the Art of Shapeshifting for many years could only shift just enough to look like a different person, or just two or three animals." She frowned. "I on the other hand have just mastered it this years. And I have been working on it since I was 16."
He blinked a little bit before he asked.
"How old are you again?"
She turned to him slightly miffed.
"Don't you know it's rude to ask a Lady's age?" She snarked at him.
"I'm a doctor, So that is moot to me." He shot back smirking.
"Fine, Just barely turned 28 last month." She answered turning from him.
"Twenty-eight? She looks much younger than that. Then again, The Ancient One doesn't look any older than 50 at least." He furrowed his brows in thought.
"Before you blow a gasket, using the Mystic Arts slows down aging, not forever though. We all age and die eventually, but using the Mystic Arts can slow down the aging process, but it depends on how often you use it." She explained.
"Like some sort of Fountain of Youth?" He asked with surprise.
"Oh, you want the Fountain of Youth? Sorry, you would have to travel many leagues under the Earth to get there." She shook her head chuckling. "But using magic can slow down the aging process to a point."
"Like the Ancient One?" He asked remembering that Mordo said that she was centuries old.
She flinched, it was so minute that he barely caught it. Did he hit a nerve there or something?
"The Ancient One…" She paused. "Her longevity is unknown to many. How she is able to survive this long into these modern times is still a mystery." She shrugged it off.
That effectively ended the conversation, but he would keep it in his mind for a while.
"So, should we try to fight again?" He asked getting into another fighting stance.
She nodded before she also got into a fighting stance.
"Just don't freeze again." She jabbed.
"No promises…" He muttered before he threw the first punch.
He groaned as he was walking down the steps to the water chambers. He was sore all over. Anaiah thoroughly kicked his ass. He had to admit, she was a talented fighter. She gave him a lot of pointers and even taught him to focus his other senses to avoid hits from her. Though he was a bit poor in that area, he told himself that he would practice in his spare time.
Right now, a hot bath was paramount right now. He even brought his borrowed swim trunks and shirt with him. As he turned to the left where the corridor ended, he could feel the air becoming a bit more humid as he walked. He came to a set of stairs and he walked down them.
As he reached the end of the stairs, he was in a room where it looked like a locker room so to speak, but it had wooden lockers instead of metal ones and there was a towel rack that held a multitude of towels. He took off his normal robes and put on his swim trunks and swim shirt, placing the robes in the wooden lockers. He grabbed a red towel and walked over to where it looked like an entrance to the Bathing room.
He opened the door as saw a deep pool of clear, hot water. It looked like a natural spring. The floor was bumpy with smooth stones, the pool edges were also smooth as well and there was what looked like stairs to go down into it. He looked around as saw that there was what looked like a waterfall at the far end of the pool.
He was looking forward to relaxing in this pool. He placed the towel on a hook by the entrance and went in. The floor of the pool has what seemed like rough, small, black pebbles, but it felt good on his aching feet. He went deeper in and found that by the edges of the pool there were seats that were carved into them He found a seat that when he sat down the water went up to his upper chest.
The water was very hot, but it felt good on his aching muscles. He had quite a few bruises on his body from Anaiah that are being soothed by the hot waters. He leaned his head back onto the curved edge and closed his eyes.
He had learned a lot in these past months, It was bizarre to him. How everything that had happened to him had lead him up to this point. A once well known Neurosurgeon, falling from grace and then becoming a Sorcerer? It was just impossible to think of, but it wasn't a dream. It really was a reality.
He let his mind empty of thoughts, just enjoying the soothing heat of the waters, the rough pebbles on the floor for his feet, and he went into a meditative state. He didn't know how long he was in this state.
He heard a feminine sigh and a splash of water, which made him open his eyes. He sat up and looked around in the steam. He caught sight of a figure by the waterfall. It was definitely feminine.
"Hello?" He called out.
"Strange? Well I shouldn't be too surprised that you are here." He heard Anaiah's voice through the steam before he heard a bunch of more splashing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were here." He spoke thinking of a way to leave.
"It's fine. Trust me, Do you honestly think that I wouldn't be here wearing my swimsuit if the only Male in the Monastery wouldn't walk in?" He heard her before he heard another sigh and he could see ripples in the water.
Anaiah was wearing her black halter swimsuit, but she had a residue of suds on her shoulders and hair. It seemed she has been here for a while if the wrinkling of her hands meant anything. But he had a view of her body yet again, and this time he was glad of his discipline of keeping his body under control. His mind went back to earlier today when he was pinned down by her. He was lucky that the warm waters and the steam covered up the red that showed up on his face.
"I really need to stop thinking about her." He thought sighing.
She came closer and shook her head with a chuckle.
"I'm not sure if you keep stalking me or following me, Doctor, but we have got to stop meeting like this." She gave him a sarcastic smile.
"It's not my fault I'm so good looking." He spoke as he ran his wet hand through his hair.
"Oh yes, that is exactly why I keep running into you." She rolled her eyes before taking a seat a couple of feet away from him.
She cupped her hands in the water and poured some on her head to rinse away the suds of whatever she used away off of her body. She ran her hand through her long hair before she twisted it around before take a clip off of her halter top and putting it in her hair to keep it there, giving him a look at her slender neck and the small wolf paw tattoo.
"That tattoo you have, is that the only one you have?" He asked.
"Yeah, I got it when I became an apprentice at 17. It's a bit of a rite of passage for those who become of age and be deemed an apprentice. Others have detailed tattoos, some only have one." She sighed before sinking a bit into the heated waters.
"Does it have a meaning?" He asked her.
Most tattoos have meanings. He had a few colleges back in college that had a few meaning something dear to them.
"To me, it's a mark of my Loyalty to the Sorcerer Supreme." She spoke softly. "She took me in when I was on the streets. She clothed me, gave me food and shelter… She taught me everything there is pertaining to the Mystic arts. You could say that she is like a Mother to me."
"She does have that kind of air about her." Stephen thought out loud.
"She does doesn't she? Especially when arrogant apprentices decide to use the sling ring to take books from libraries." She grinned.
"Come on, you and Wong ratted me out." He groaned.
"We had to, you were doing a lot of self-study and skipped classes." She glared at him.
"I've been doing well with studying on my own so far." He defended himself.
"Yes, though it pains me to say that you have been excelling a lot farther than any other Apprentices, but be careful of what you learn and practice as much as you can so that you don't hurt yourself and others." She calmed him.
This was puffing up his ego and he could help but sit up straight at the underhanded praise.
"You really think I'm better than the others?" He grinned at her playfully.
"I'm not repeating myself, Strange." She said as she sank a little into he waters.
He just smiled at her before he had a question.
"Are these natural spring waters?" He asked.
"Yes, surprisingly. Don't ask me how they built the Monastery over the springs, I have no clue. But this place is as close to an amazing hot spring as it gets." She sighed in pleasure.
"I've been to quite a few hot springs in the world." She smiled.
"You must travel a bit though." He pointed out.
"It depends on my mood on which ones I want to go. There's the Blood Pond Hot Spring in Japan that I frequent from time to time, and then there's the Lava Hot Springs in Idaho that is tucked away in the mountains. There are many hot springs in the world, but those two are the ones I go to to relax." She explained.
"Is traveling part of the job description?" He asked.
"A few years back I was sent to Idaho to find a relic that had been hidden for 400 years. Unfortunately, the relic was a fake and the real relic is still out there somewhere." She closed her eyes and sank into the water a bit.
"Afterwards, I stopped by Lava Hot Springs and took the week off. It was one of the more relaxing places I've been to." She smiled a little.
"More relaxing than here?" He asked.
"Definitely." She sighed before getting up, hopping onto the edge of the pool.
"I think it's time to turn in." She spoke before yawning a bit making sure to cover her mouth.
"Leaving already?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Unlike you, Doctor, I have to get up early in the morning to go to the Library to look up a few things." She said as she stood up and stretched herself out.
He couldn't help but tilt his head a little again, noticing the scars on her body yet again. She was so lithe and slender with toned muscles, but the scars are part of the landscape of her skin. It was part of her, and it spoke volumes about herself.
"You have a lot of scars, Anaiah." He spoke as he looked back up to her face. "How did you get them?
"Maybe I'll tell you how I got them eventually." She said as she took out her clipped hair and let it fall past her shoulders. "Being a Master of the Mystic Arts isn't just to bend reality and create spells of various sorts."
She had a glint in her eyes that pretty much told him that she wouldn't tell him anything else. Before she left the Bathing area, she patted him on his head before leaving.
"Good Night, Doctor Strange…" She sung before leaving the area.
For a moment there, he swore that she looked a bit bouncy as she left. But he didn't dwell on it for now. He stayed in the hot waters for about a couple of hours before he cleaned himself up. Afterwards, he got out, although slowly as he didn't want to leave this soon, and clothed himself with his robes and left the water chambers.
It was really quiet as he was making his way back to the West Wing. Then he paused before turning his head towards the way to the East Wing. He knew that the East Wing was off limits, but why?
He had to admit, he has a bit of a curious streak when it comes to him not knowing anything. Since he has immersed himself into the Mystic Arts he wanted to know everything there is about it, just like when he became a doctor, he knew everything there is about the human body.
He turned away from the direction of the East Wing, when he had a sudden thought.
"Perhaps a quick look around wouldn't hurt." He thought as a small plan formed in his mind.
He had run into that Mirror earlier but he wondered just what lies in the East Wing. Perhaps a thirty minute detour wouldn't hurt. He gave a quick little smirk to himself, it wouldn't take long. Just to browse around and then come back without so much as touching anything.
What he didn't know is that as he made his way to the East Wing, two ice blue eyes were watching him from the shadows, glinting with insanity and glee.
A terrifying grin split the figure's face, revealing deadly fanged teeth, and the tilting of it's head was evident.
"Oh my dear Doctor, you really should have headed my words of the East Wing. You will find things there that you may not want to see just yet in your lifetime." The figure in the shadows thought excitedly as it traveled through the shadows of the Monastery.
"Perhaps you should have returned to your room, you won't like what is hiding in the East Wing…" The figure giggled insanely. "I'm going to enjoy this…"
Stephen Strange just stuck himself into something that he wasn't ready to face just yet, but it was another path that he decided to take and it was a similar path he had taken when he found himself in his car crash. Except this time, this will be a rude awakening of a glimpse of what the Masters of the Mystic Arts really are.
TAL21: And this is the new chapter! I would have added on a bit more to it, but because I start my three twelve hour shifts for the next three nights, I wanted to post it as soon as I can. So in a way, This is pretty much slight filler chapter, but we will get to the Horror part of it in the next chapter. Personally, I wanted things to get steamy between Stephen and Anaiah…Eh, that was a great pun! Hehe…I'll shut up now. So I hoped that you liked this chapter, the next one will be the last of the Monastery Arc. I promise and then we will get back into the movie. I just may have to go back to the theater to rewatch the movie (Gosh I love Doctor Strange so much) XD. So, you get to see a bit of a fight scene between Anaiah and Stephen (I haven't written fights scenes since my permanent hiatus on my Naruto Fanfics), so I'm a bit rusty with that. She does kick ass doesn't she? XD Also, If I were you guys, I would listen to an awesome Band called Young Guns because they are an awesome band and I think that quite a few of their songs fit Anaiah quite well. Give them a shot. :) ON TO THE SHOUT OUTS!
Cj/Oddball:Yeah, Anaiah can shape shift into males, but it's always awkward for her to do so. And i'm pretty sure she got her revenge on Stephen for making fun of her for that. XD And If anything, I would definitely say that it's around the time for Stephen and Anaiah getting together in a sense. Not just the physical attraction there will be other things that will pertain for both of their attractions to each other. And I know it's a cliche that a female character shows off her body to the male character especially if its a hot pool scene and the like, but what can i say, I like the cheesy cliches. XD
Guest: I'm glad that You have been enjoying my story so far. I try to put as many details in the story as much as possible. I thinks that's what makes stories successful is if you can make sure that everything is connected and detailed. As for the Mirror of Erised, I would like to think that somehow the 'Magical' worlds can be connected in a sense. Seriously, if Tony Stark can pull off LOTR references, it would be so much more interesting if certain things that exist in another reality don't in the Marvel one. XD I hope that you will enjoy Lucia's mystery. Trust me, I have quite the plan for her. XD As for finding names for OCs, they are definitely not easy to find. You have to really do your research to find what name would fit your OC. What their personality traits are, how they were raised, what their background is, it's all essential to make your OC stand out a bit.
Sparky She-Demon: I'm glad that you liked that the Mirror of Erised in this story. I just figured what the hell and went along with it. XD As for the Wizard who gave the Mirror to Lucia? Who do you think? XD The Water Drakes were adorable. I really liked having them in there and they are so cute. I learned a little bit about different kinds of dragons( Wryms, Drakes, Wyverns, and the like) and I really wanted to expose Stephen to the more Supernatural/Magical side of creatures and animals. You'll be seeing a lot more of them eventually. As for Christ being a Sorcerer, I'll be pulling prominent figures from the past who were told to be sorcerers and sorceresses. Because why not!? I just find that fascinating. :) As for Stephen being a wiseass about Anaiah's Shapeshifting, payback is a bitch. XD
TAL21: That's it for the Shout Outs. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be a definite crazy horror ride and you will even wonder how I managed to make it work in the Marvel Universe. Well, that is where imagination comes in. XD And If you guys have been paying attention to the Sneak Peaks, there will be a fight between Anaiah and Lucia, but why are they fighting? And Why is Stephen on the sidelines? Let's build up to that point shall we? Also, I did a bit more research on the good doctor and found that he had a wife (Clea who is estranged/divorced from him: also I never liked her to be honest.) and i did a bit of digging. Turns Out, Tony Stark wasn't the only Playboy in the Marvel Universe. So basically not only are Tony and Stephen two sides of the same coin (one is Scientific and the other Supernatural) they are also playboys. I'm hoping to play on that in future chapters. And If you don't believe me, look back in the many comics that Strange appeared in. XD I also had the chance to read Doctor Strange: The Oath. And I enjoyed every bit of it. XD PLEASE LEAVE AMAZING AND DETAILED REVIEWS PEEPS! I love hearing from you guys and talking with you about anything pertaining to Doctor Strange and the Marvel universe in general. :) Also, keep an eye out for the What If: Doctor Strange Plot Bunnies. I have quite a few ideas that just hasn't come to root or grow and I hope you guys get a kick out of it. My plot bunny is basically a Sherlock/Doctor Strange crossover chapter. I wonder how that will turn out. XD I Hope to see you guys in the next chapter!
Question Time: There were so many Easter eggs in the Movie that I can't count them all. What Easter eggs did you find that stood out to you? Personally (if you read the comics) Strange has an affinity for using Axes as one of his favorite weapons. That was why he was trying to get to it when he was fighting Kaecillius. :)
Keep on Reading and Writing!