Nagash
It had been almost an hour of talking to herself and the departed man. She had told him all the things that had happened since his death and showed him her bracelet.
"…And with this I can finally understand them! I don't know how I could possibly go back to Britain or live here meanwhile if I didn't understand a thing".
Then, a scary though entered her mind. Dumbledore and she had ended in this new reality the moment they entered the archway in the final battle against Voldemort. That meant he could be possibly around here! She needed to warn Sigmar and ask for his help locating the madman.
Steeling herself, Harry got up from the chair she had been using and knocked at the door.
Sigmar opened it and looked down at her. He was possibly more than two meters tall and could snape her neck without trying but she needed to ask.
"Hello Harry. How are you?" He tried to sound as kind and gentle as possible. His voice still had a tone that reminded her of a storm approaching.
"I'm better" She shrugged with her shoulders "But I need to ask you something" She suddenly remembered he was a king, and she was being disrespectful. "I mean- I would like to make a request Your Highness".
"Hahaha! It's alright Harry. I don't mind. Tell me" He waited for her to continue.
"I have been thinking. And have come to realize that Professor Dumbledore and I came here using the stone archway I have mentioned. But so did Voldemort".
She waited for this new information to sink in in his head. He frowned.
"Indeed. There's a possibility this Voldemort you mention could have arrived in the Mortal Realms…".
"Then…!" She began to say with hope filling her heart.
"But I'm afraid I can't dedicate my time to search for him" He said.
"Why…?" She asked him.
"You were not a denizen of the Mortal Realms until today, but you must know that there are dangers more powerful and creatures more deadly than a single wizard coming from another world" He interjected" You said you have lost your ability to perform magic?".
She nodded, not understanding why he was asking.
"it's possible that due to being from another world or by going throw your archway, the two of you have lost the power to use magic in the Mortal Realms. That means he has become a normal man lost in a world he doesn't know. That puts you and him in a disadvantage".
Harry looked at the man and sighed in defeat.
"There are powers in the Cosmos Arcane that want the destruction and death of all the races that inhabit it".
"Can I learn about them? So that I can be prepared" She asked him.
"I was planning on it." He smiled at her in reassurance.
"Thank you Your Highness" She bowed.
"Please, no need for formalities. You don't know who I am. I will tell you since I would like to consider you a friend and don't have many".
"It's an honour sir" She replied.
Sigmar made them go back to the throne room and closed the doors.
Standing in the middle of it, he raised a hand to the heavens and Harry saw yellow lightning starting to form at his fingertips.
"I am Sigmar Heldenhammer! God-King of the Realm of Azyr! In another life I was a human fighting the Forces of Chaos and the darkness that threatened the races of my world!" He declared with a booming voice" I swore to protect the weak and the helpless! I joined the aelves, the duardin and the humans under one banner! And I swear to everyday stand here in this Realm and fight until my last breath!".
Craaaaaaaaaacccccckk! Ckkkrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccck!
The lightning bolts dispersed in the air and hit the walls of the chamber without hurting Harry. She stood with mouth agape.
Once he finished his speech, the god dropped his hand and smiled at her.
"I'm sorry if I have scared you. But now is not time for melodramatic scenes. Let's change you out of your torn clothes. I'm sure you want to take a bath and clean yourself. I will order a room prepared for you. Today you will sleep here. Tomorrow I will ask someone to bring you with a tutor to inform you of all you need to know".
Harry nodded without said anything.
The reunion had lasted almost the rest of the day and Harry finally was starting to feel tired. The adrenaline from the battle in the Ministry and all the things that had happened since then starting to lose their effect.
XXX
In the centre of a bleak and decayed kingdom stood a pyramid.
The thing that differentiated it from those on Earth were the fact it floated in the air upside down and that it had been made with materials of magical nature. It shone like polished marble. The colour of coal, it reflected its surroundings in its surface and arches of amethyst magic flowed its insides.
It had been built to serve a terrible purpose. Filled with occult knowledge, it was the size of a city but only housed one occupant.
Below this pyramid, a vortex of death and a collapsing Realm met. A distorted city of bones and spectres twisted and bent. It resembled a bony clawed hand if looked from afar.
Inside the building, a series of twisted hallways, chambers and secret passages made almost impossible for invading forces to navigate it, the walls inscribed with symbols and pictures that glowed with arcane power. At the centre of it, a main chamber containing a throne was at the moment empty of its owner. The court of its ruler often informed it of all the affairs of this undead kingdom.
The place where the owner of the pyramid rested was below it. It consisted of a chamber where a giant sarcophagus rested. The surface of it engraved with more symbols and the engraved face of the presence that rested inside.
Its occupant had rested undisturbed until He felt it.
The empty sockets of a corpse glowed with bale fire and a skeletal hand rose inside the coffin. With superhuman strength only capable of being used by a God, the lid of the sarcophagus slid and floated aside.
What rested inside was the corpse of a mummified human dressed in clothes of royalty. It was a man. His bald head was a skull that had lost all its hair and flesh. His body was emaciated, and his chest had a stitched-up wound from where once he had lost all his organs. The skin clung to his chest, ribs, and column. His arms and legs were the same as the rest of his body. It was a living corpse.
Exhaling a breath that brought death and a touch that killed, the monstruous humanoid got out from his sarcophagus and a flock of ghost and white-as-bleached-bone corpses began to dress him. Armour made of bone and metal hided his visage and an enormous hat was put on his head. Extending a hand, a sceptre floated towards it. He grabbed the object and began floating through the pyramid.
The screaming souls of the dead cried and wailed behind him, following everywhere he went.
Once the man arrived at the throne chamber, he sat in it and put down the sceptre while still holding it. It was made out of bone and its top was decorated with a winged skull.
"What disturbs Shyish… Who has invaded my Realm?" He spoke to himself. His voice was of bones hitting each other, a grave being dug, the final lament of the sick and bedridden.
He had felt a new presence in the Realm of the Dead. It had appeared suddenly as if out of thin air.
"Who dares enter the Land of the Dead being Alive? Where is our new resident?" The flames in his eyes dimmed and the being concentrated. And then it was not only a living person.
The man felt three meteors soar across the skies of Shyish and land in different points of it. If he could have frowned he would have done so in curiosity.
"What is this? It feels…familiar. As if something has returned… How curious" He pondered.
It felt like arcane objects infused with magic from Shyish and gathered his interest.
The living being was something to take care off, but these three objects were a priority. He needed to see them.
"I call you My Mortarchs. Come to me. Come and obey Your God" He commanded. His voice travelled the entire Realm and was used to summon his servants.
It was not long after than his generals arrived at the chamber. The sound of boots echoed in the silence of the pyramid.
They were five.
Everyone a deadly warrior in their own right. Three men and two women. All different from each other. Ruling over one aspect of that Realm. Some of them wore armour similar to their leader and had kneeled in front of the throne awaiting His Orders.
One of the men was a skeleton and had come wielding a staff. Two, a man and a woman had swords. The other woman was a ghost with a mortuary sheath covering her head, her body surrounded by thorned vines and roses, she also wielded a staff. The last one was an amalgamation of melded bones wielding a halberd.
"We have come, oh Great One" the first greeted him.
"What is you ask of Your humble servants" the vampire woman said next.
"The Mortarchs serve You forever in death. Where must we go to enact Your Will?" The last one asked.
"My Mortarchs. I have felt a disturbance in Shyish" He began" A living being has arrived without using a Realmgate. But not alone. Three objects had landed in different parts of this Realm. You will go and retrieve them for Me".
"It will be done, Oh Great Necromancer, Oh Master" The male vampire declared.
"What of the Mortal?" The ghost asked.
"It will perish in time. We have Time. Always" He declared "Now, go".
At once, the five Mortarchs got up from their position and with a last bow left to fulfil their duties.
The ruler watched them leave and rested his head in his left hand. He then resumed his vigil of the visitor. He committed its presence to memory and decided that once captured, he would bring it to Nagashizzar to question it.
It had not been more than an hour when He felt Them.
Sigmar's dogs were in Shyish!
The skeleton's fury rose like a blazing inferno. His eyes shone brighter, and his fist clenched. He didn't know why the warriors of the Hammer-God were sent there in that precise moment, but the monarch was not going to take this challenge to his authority without retaliation.
He felt them battle the denizens of His Kingdom with the power of their weapons. The bolts of magical lightning arching in the air. The destruction of the undead. And then, silence.
The calm after the storm. The town where they had arrived once more silenced. Its dead villagers gone back to their graves.
And then, movement. They were leaving the city but not alone. Someone followed them. The Undead King realized who it was almost immediately. It was the anonymous visitor.
His left hand lighted aflame. He had decided that whoever it was, it was important enough to make the God of Azyr have sent his chosen warriors.
This fed his hunger for knowledge, and He sworn in that moment that He would find this person. Whatever it took.
XXX
Harry fell into the enormous Queen-size bed. She inhaled and released a tired sigh of happiness.
She was safe at the moment and was going to receive aid navigating this world. It seemed almost surreal. Ever since her eleventh birthday, when Hagrid had entered the home of her relatives and had revealed to her that she was a witch.
The next years had been hectic but she had made friends, surpassed adversities, and lived until today. The change of scenery when Harry had transported herself here seemed so far away…
But what mattered right now was her new mission. Find Voldemort and finish their conflict once and for all. The fear of him acquiring new followers and weapons frightened a little, but if she did like always, Harry was sure to win.
Harry looked at the bracelet that allowed her to understand the people of this world and took it off along with her glasses.
She closed her eyes and went to sleep with a smile on her face.
XXX
The next morning Harry was awoken with a tray of breakfast brought by a pair of maids. They wore uniforms that represented the wealth and generosity of its host. Pieces of small jewellery adorned their hair and necklace with the symbol of a twin-tailed comet rested against their neck.
"Good morning, Lady Harriet" One said.
"Just Harry, please. Thank you" She greeted the maids.
The two maids bowed and left the room. Harry observed the breakfast with curiosity. It had a pair of eggs the size of a head and bread. On one side, a glass of fruit-juice of a colour she had never seen before, aquamarine. A bunch of cookies and pastries rested beside a glass of milk.
Her stomach gurgled in hunger, and she dug in.
Surprisingly, the food tasted delicious, and she pushed away the tray to get off the bed.
As if waiting for a signal, maids entered again her room and tried to help her dress herself. Harry looked at them in surprise.
"Wait please! There's no need-!" But she could not continue talking when one of them interrupted her.
"It's our pleasure Lady Harriet" One said" It's our job to help you. This dress needs more than one person to be worn".
"Please, raise your hands" The other asked.
Harry did reluctantly. Once they finished their work, a third maid brought a body-sized mirror and waited for her reaction.
It was a dress of blue and gold. Wite flowers decorated it and laid her shoulders bare. She flushed in embarrassment and twirled to see herself fully.
The maids smiled and clapped. Harry wanted to run away in mortification. It felt a little patronizing seeing as she didn't think she was that pretty. Her relatives had made sure to crush her self-esteem since a very young age.
Her ponytail had been unmade, letting her long black hair flow across her back. The only thing that she still had were her old glasses, but it didn't diminish her beauty.
The enchanted bracelet was the only piece of jewellery she had. A pair of silver shoes completed the look and allowed her to go outside without fear of getting herself hurt.
"So, where do I have to go? Has Sigmar said anything?".
The maids gasped at her audacity and looked around them fearing punishment.
"Please, Lady Harriet! Don't say The Name of His Excellency so casually!" One said with a tone of reverence" The Great God-King Sigmar has ordered us to escort you to the entrance of the Palace and give you to one of His Stormcast Eternals so he can guide you to the Grand Library".
Looking at the frightened woman, she raised her hands in reluctant surrender and went with them to her new destination. The dress skirt didn't touch the ground, allowing her to walk easily enough to maybe run if she needed it.
In her hastiness, Harry didn't noticed that one of the golden warriors had broken his stoic concentration to look at her.
XXX
The library was another building outside the palace. It was incredibly big, and like much of the other important places in the city, closed by a set of giant doors engraved with heraldic iconography.
Once inside, she was taken to a closed room where her instructor was. It was an elven woman with her red hair braided and filled with different types of gems and flowers. She was almost as tall as Sigmar, her limbs were slender and had silver-coloured eyes. She had her mouth closed in a thin line and an expression of professionalism.
"Hello Lady Harriet. My name is Lehaanna. It's nice to meet you" The woman saluted, her voice was almost ethereal and made a bow in greeting.
"Hello Lehaanna. Nice to meet you too" She bowed back" Please, call me Harry".
"Sit down Lady Harriet" She pointed with an open palm at the seat in front of her ignoring Harry's request.
Harry sat and waited for the woman to continue talking.
"The Caretaker of Humanity, God-King Sigmar had asked me to teach you about the Cosmos Arcane. He says you came to the Mortal Realms when you were in battle with a wizard of evil intentions".
"Yes" Harry answered.
"What a strange way to reach the Realms" Lehaanna said to herself" But it doesn't matter how you came here. You need to know about Us, about the Mortal Races and everything the rest of Its inhabitants take for granted".
Lehaanna raised a hand and her fingers glowed with power. A contraption of metal flew towards her, and she put it in front of the girl.
It consisted of various spheres of sizes and colours different from one another. All were connected by small rods of metal and had a small sphere in the middle of all of them that connected with the spheres by similar rods.
The woman moved her free hand. A gaseous mass of magic of changing colours materialized out of thin air and covered the contraption. Once she released it from her grip, the complete piece floated between the two people inside the room.
"This is the Cosmos Arcane. It's composed of the Aetheric Void" She pointed at the nebula of magic, then at one of the spheres" And the Eight Realmspheres".
Harry absorbed the information and waited for the woman to continue her explanation. Then, she noticed that Lehaanna had left two of the spheres outside the explanation.
"Each one is a dominion of an aspect we use in our lives. Their borders have a barrier of pure magic that makes those edges inhospitable called the Perimeter Inimical. The mass of land inside each Realmsphere is a Landscape".
Harry felt a headache coming from all this terms being thrown at her.
"This is Azyr, the Realm of the Heavens, the last bastion of Order" She pointed at a golden sphere marked with a lightning bolt at its top and what appeared to be the letter 'A' joined by a small circle below it "We are currently here, in the city of Sigmaron".
"This two spheres" The elf pointed at the black and a white ones that rotated against each other" Are Hysh and Ulgu, Light and Shadow, they are the Realms in charge of creating day and night for the rest, with the exception of Azyr".
The symbol for Hysh was of a segmented wheel with an arrow growing from the side, while Ulgu had an arrow pointing downwards.
"Ghyran, the Realm of Life" Lehaanna pointed at the green sphere engraved with the symbol of concentric circles with a line coming from one of the sides" It's a land of forest, vegetation and harmony".
Harry remembered it being the first one that she transited from when being rescued.
"Ghur is the Realm of Beast" A brown sphere with an arrow different from the one Ulgu used was put in its surface" It's where only the strongest survive, an untameable land".
"Chamon, the Realm of Metal" A metallic sphere whose icon was a circle with an arrow rising from the side. It reminded her of the symbol often used to represent men on Earth" Used to obtain valuable metals for weapons and armour for the armies of Sigmar".
"Aqshy, the Realm of Fire" The sphere of the colour of fire was next. It had a line connected with a circle and a hook, resembling a key" Some members of the duardin race call this place their home, and is used to recruit warriors for the armies of the good people living in the Realms".
Finally, Lehaanna pointed at the grey sphere that had the strange line forming a scythe.
"This is Shyish, the Realm of the Dead" Harry felt a chill down her spine and anticipation" Every one that dies in the Realms goes here. Every belief creates a new afterlife, and the people of the other Realms often visit to pay their respects for their loved ones. They told me you were found here when the Stormcast came to rescue you".
Harry nodded.
"What about these ones?" Harry pointed at the one with shifting colours tucked aside of the rest and the one at the centre of the artefact.
"Those… those are very important" She began. Lehaanna frowned and seemed hesitant to talk about them more" The one at the centre is the Allpoints, a Realm that connects with all rest, functioning like a pathway between them using gateways".
"How is that possible? It's seems similar to the things I used to come here with Sigmar's guards".
"That's right. The Realmgates. Portals between Realms. Used to connect them, some stable, others collapsing after being used once. Their locations are very important strategic points in war".
"War? Against whom?".
"Chaos" The woman spat the name like it was a rotten piece of fruit" This is the terrible anathema to all life. It corrupts, destroys, and infects everything it touches. Promises of power, wealth, knowledge and more are offered to men and women stupid enough to fall for it".
Harry watched as the woman pointed at the last sphere, tucked away from the rest like a diseased animal.
"Chaos is governed by four deities that rule over one encompassing aspect. Khorne, the God of Murder and Violence. Tzeentch, the God of Trickery and Deceit. Slaanesh, the God of Depravity and Suffering. Nurgle, the God of Putrefaction and Decay".
"Wow…" Harry exclaimed softly.
"God-King Sigmar has made enemies of these creatures and their progeny. Armies of men, duardin, aelves and other sentient life fight for survival and freedom. It's our eternal war".
"Is there a way to defeat them for good?".
Lehaanna smiled sadly and looked at the girl with pity.
"We don't know. Anyone that had tried to enter the Realm of Chaos had never returned alive or uncorrupted".
"Man, Voldemort and my problems seem so small now…" Harry said in wonder and dropped her head in shame. How could she ask these people to fight for her when they had their own problems?
"Don't despair child" She tucked Harry's face back to look at her" Sigmar is a good God, and He has insisted on making sure you are well informed and prepared when the moment comes you have to fight this evil wizard".
Harry smiled in gratitude.
"Now is time to tell you about the time since the beginning of this cosmos until today".
Harry felt dread instil itself in her body. She had never been good at retaining historical information because the horrible teacher she had at Hogwarts. He would repeat the same events every class until everyone fell sleep.
Lehaanna put aside the model of the Cosmos Arcane. She left the cloud of magic in place.
"The cosmos was empty in the beginning. With only Sigmar hanging from Mallus, the core of an extinct world in his grip. He was rescued by Dracothion and together they soared the emptiness" She said. Waving her hands in the air, a rock floated closer to the two women. A speck of gold stuck itself to it. Then a flame was conjured in the shape of a serpentine creature with two tails that approached them. " Meanwhile, the magic in that emptiness formed the Realms".
The model spheres were brought from their positions and disconnected from the model. Floating in the air, they entered the mass of colourful magic.
"Sigmar explored these Realms and reunited the different races living in them. Killing monsters and recruiting other deities to His side. Creating cities and prosperous civilizations".
The piece of gold moved from one sphere to another, and little lights of different colours followed it.
"But this peace would not last." The sphere representing Chaos lost its shifting colours and Harry saw it spread to the other spheres." Chaos attacked and a war ensued".
Harry felt her attention on the story increase while Lehaanna told more of it.
"In the end, the Realms were isolated from each other, and the Pantheon left Sigmar to pursue their own objectives. In the end, Sigmar went to Azyr and closed all Realmgates going from it to the other Realms. Chaos had conquered the Allpoints and was free to reign terror in the rest of the Realmspheres".
"Then, what happened after that? I could travel between Realms just fine yesterday".
"These past events were known as the Age of Myth and the Age of Chaos. It had been some time since then. Sigmar used his time in seclusion to rally a new force formed from the best warriors of every sentient species and transformed them into what are now called the Stormcast Eternals".
"The soldiers with golden armour?" Harry asked. The woman nodded in affirmation.
"Little by little, they had been gaining ground in each Realm, gaining new allies and reforging old alliances. The Realmgates are very important and so it was decided that Great Cities were to be formed around them to protect them from Chaos. There, the denizens of each Realm can have a safe-haven and Sigmar can use this places to recruit more soldiers".
Harry nodded and went back to get lost in her own mind.
"Today, this era is often called The Age of Sigmar by its denizens. The future is uncertain but every one of us have been contributing to secure it".
The girl from another world smiled at the woman and the two stood in silence for a moment.
"I have seen some people here using magic, like you for example. It can be learned like in my world?".
"Yes" Lehaanna answered" But it requires the born ability to wield it, to control the power. The edges of each Realm is saturated with it but it's dangerous and many die going there".
"Each Realm is made from one type of magic?".
"The winds of magic. Humans can harness them with difficulty and we the aelves have better control. Duardin use it to create objects. Other races have different affinities. It would take years of study and practice to learn one spell. I'm sorry Lady Harriet…".
"It's alright. I guess from now on I will have to use normal weapons to defend myself until I can" Harry sounded a little dejected but decided to not dwell on it" Tell me about the races, please".
Lehaanna moved her hands and dispersed the demonstration of the History of the Realms.
"There's Humans, Aelves and Duardin" Lehaanna began" And each have their own culture. It would take me a long time to inform you of every one of them but the important thing to remember is that there are four main Grand Alliances in the Cosmos Arcane. Order, Chaos, Death and Destruction".
Harry had a very good feeling of who were the good guys. She waited for the woman to elaborate.
"The forces of Orden contain Sigmar and the free races. Destruction contains monsters of indomitable violence Orruks, Ogors, Gargants and many more. Chaos has daemons dedicated to each of the Gods and corrupted members of other races. And Death contains all of the undead and spectres of the Realm of Shyish".
The girl felt a shiver at the name of the place she had woken into. There was something about it that gnawed at her mind like she had forgotten something.
Harry was about to ask more about them when a knock cut their reunion short.
"Yes?" Lehaanna asked.
A man entered the room, he was dressed in an azure robe.
"The God-King calls for Lady Harriet" He announced with a gravelly voice.
"Understood" Lehaanna nodded.
Once the man left, the two women looked at each other. Harry got up from her chair and went towards the door.
"Thank you for everything Lehaanna. I hope we see each other again".
"You're welcome Lady Harriet" She greeted back" May we see each other again and have more of this lovely conversations".
Once Harry exited the room, she found a Stormcast waiting for her. Harry nodded and the two went to meet Sigmar.
XXX
Once she went back to the throne room, Harry found Sigmar having a conversation with a woman made of trees. She had a pair of wings growing from her back and clothes made of leaves.
"And so-" He stopped.
The woman looked at Harry and dissolved in an instant with the withering of her body, making it seem like she had never been there .The man sighed in defeat. He turned towards Harry and smiled at her.
"Ah, Harry! Just in time…"He said, Sigmar made a gesture of in invitation and the girl moved closer. The door closed behind her.
"Did you want to talk to me, Your Highness?" She asked.
"Yes" He began "After careful consideration, I have finally decided where you should stay from now on until we find a way to send you back to Earth".
"Where?".
"Hammerhal".