Chapter 1: Once Upon A Time
Once Upon A Time there were countless universes. Some of these universes were closer together than others. Some of the universes clustered together to form multiverses. Like universes, some multiverses were closer together than other. Travel between universes that were closer together was easier than those that were far apart. Together, all these universes and multiverses formed the Omniverse. The Omniverse is infinite, with infinite possibilities, infinite choices that can be made. No one can ever know everything that occurs in the Omniverse, nor visit every world, not even those that govern it, the Original Powers. Magic runs throughout the Omniverse, holding it together. Magic is neither inherently Light nor Dark, Good nor Evil, it simply is. What it is used for depends on the motivations of those who wield it. At the center of the Omniverse is the Land of Magic, where Magic flourishes like no where else, not even in Realms run by the Original Powers, like Mount Olympus or the Hall of Legends. Because of the Magic waters running under all the lands, portals would open seemingly at random, but those that studied them could actually predict when and where they would open and where they would lead. Portals between universes that were closer together would appear more often than those that were far apart. This is the story of how the Omniverse was almost destroyed and how it was saved…
10,000 BC - Fairy Tale Realm
In the desert, two foot soldiers have deserted their army
"Are they following?" One foot soldier asked the other
"No" said the other "they wouldn't trail escaped generals into this, much less foot soldiers" and he notices something in the distance "look, look, there it is again"
"It's a mirage, Merlin" the first foot solider said "there's no water there"
"I would rather find out for sure than stay here and die" Merlin said and they go towards the item he is seeing. When they arrive, they see the Holy Grail.
"That's a gift from the gods" the first foot soldier said
"Were hardly worth notice from the gods" Merlin said
"The gods could do worse" the first foot solder said as he approaches the Grail "but if you don't want any…" and he tries to pick up the cup, but is turned to dust
"Well then… to drink or die" Merlin said as he approaches the cup and looks up "…with your permission…" and he grabs the cup, but does not turn to dust and so he takes a drink "thank you, thank you" but as he drink, he doesn't feel normal, nothing bad, but different. As he places his hands on the ground, the desert around him turns into a field of grass, with a forest appearing around him, and a tower "I have magic"
"Yes you do" a voice said behind him and he turns to see the a blue fairy "I am the Blue Fairy, but you may call me Ruel Ghorm"
"Are you behind this?" Merlin asked
"Partially, but not entirely" Ruel said "would you like to meet the rest of the people responsible for your Magic?"
"Yes" Merlin said
"Then take my hand" Ruel said and he does. She flies him up and he notices after a few seconds that what is around him is not the sky, if anything, it looks more like water, but he does not feel wet
"We are between worlds" Ruel said "I have the ability to fly between the Realms"
"Travel between Realms without a portal?" Merlin asked
"Yes" Ruel said "those that have powerful enough Magic can move between Realms without a portal, or can create their own portals. Some beings can even possess the inherent ability to travel between Realms, like mermaids"
"I traveled through a portal once, five years ago" Merlin said "not on purpose, and I was conscripted into the army when I arrived on the other side"
"I'm sorry that happened to you" Ruel said "well, we're here"
"Where is here?" Merlin asked
"The Hall of Legends" Ruel said and Merlin notices several other beings
"And we are the Original Powers" Zeus said
"And we want you to join us, Sorcerer" Simultaneous said
"I'm no sorcerer" Merlin said
"No" Nyx said "you are the Sorcerer"
"Hall of Legends? Original Powers? Sorcerer?" Merlin asked "I have so many questions, just a few minutes ago I was nothing more than escaped slave dying of thirst, now you want me to join an all powerful council of beings and become an almighty wizard?"
"Perhaps we should slow down" Daimyo said "As previously stated we are the Original Powers, a council of incredibly powerful beings that look after the Omniverse and make sure it stays on track, providing indirect interference when necessary, but avoiding directly interfering at all costs"
"You mean, you stay here all day and watch the Omniverse?" Merlin said
"Heavens, no" Daimyo said "we will interact with people within our scope. I have an entire dimension that features tournaments between the best of the best from around the Omniverse"
"Why do you do that?" Merlin asked
"Partially because it's entertaining" Daimyo said "and partially to allow them to become more skilled, so people can learn how to defeat their enemies"
"How do you know that the people that competing are good people trying to defeat evil?" Merlin asked
"I don't" Daimyo said "I don't try and find out whether the people competing in my tournaments are good or evil, and even if I know someone is evil, I don't stop them from competing. That being said, they do have to abide by the rules of the tournament and they can't start unsanctioned fights while in the Battle Nexus, otherwise they are thrown out and banned from returning. Most evil warriors won't follow the rules, so most of the people that compete in the tournament are good people training to take down evil"
"So you won't directly interfere in a battle between good and evil, but you will train the good to help them overcome the evil themselves?" Merlin asked
"Correct" Daimyo said "and note, that is simply how I run things, every Original Power has their own way"
"But aren't there cases when the good is simply outmatched and no amount of training can help them?" Merlin asked
"Sadly, yes" Daimyo said "but is not our place to interfere in the natural order of things. We can't help everyone, we're powerful, but not infinite, we can't be everywhere at once. And we can't predict what impact our actions will have. We deal with immense amounts of power, unregulated use of our Magic could tear the Omniverse apart. But this is why we created the Holy Grail, the cup you just drank from. The Holy Grail was forged from each of the Original Powers and will grant you Magic on level with ours. We forged a protection spell around it so only someone that is worthy can drink from it, otherwise they end up like your friend"
"So I can interfere?" Merlin asked
"More than we can" Flora said "you may help those that need it, but you must be careful, especially as your Magic is new, you must learn to control it"
"And you must be very careful not to interfere more than is absolutely necessary, even once you've mastered your Magic" Nyx said
"This is all very confusing" Merlin said
"You will figure it out with time" Flora said
"I suggest you follow my example" Daimyo said "but instead of with fighting styles, do it with Magic. Most people have the ability to use Magic, they just don't know it. Although you will find a few people that lack the ability to use Magic at all, although even they can still make potions or wield a wand. I also wouldn't do it on so quite a wide scale as I am, choose an apprentice or two, and train them. They can them help you train others. But you should become a master over your own Magic first. You can wait a few hundred years before you take on an apprentice"
"Wait… a few hundred years… hold old am I going to get?" Merlin asked
"Oh we didn't mention, you're immortal" Daimyo said
"More or less" Simultaneous said
"More or less?" Merlin asked "what is that supposed to mean?"
"My Father, Kronos" Zeus said "used to be one of the Original Powers until he was killed by brother Hades using one of my lightning bolts that had been infused with one of the Original Powers' Magic. The lightning bolt has been broken and the only people with the power to fix or recreate it are in this room. So, I think we're all safe. However, none of us knew any of us could be killed even with the lightning bolt… so there may be other ways we're not sure of."
"For your training" Ninjor said "pick a Realm and you may practice in it"
"Just send me back where I came from, that will work" Merlin said
"You sure you don't want to look at any of the other Realms?" Ruel asked
"No, I'm good" Merlin said
"You really are worthy of the Grail" Daimyo said "most men would find the biggest and best Realm they could"
"You sure you don't want another Realm?" Ruel asked
"What's wrong with it?" Merlin asked
"Blue's just upset that you chose 'her' Realm" Simultaneous said
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it's already taken" Merlin said
"It's not" Simultaneous said "Blue already has the Fairy Realm, but she also spends a lot of time in the Fairy Tale Realm and doesn't want to give it up to you"
"That's not…" Ruel began
"I don't need or even want the whole Realm" Merlin said "how about the area I just used my Magic in. It was previously a desert, so no one owns it or was using it for anything
"… that is acceptable" Ruel said
"Can someone take me back there?" Merlin asked
"Do it yourself" Ruel said and she flew away
"Woah, you upset her" Simultaneous said "I haven't seen her that upset in ages. But she is right, you need to do it yourself"
"How?" Merlin asked
"I'll show you" Simultaneous said "there's many different ways to go between the worlds, teleport, portal, etc. But we'll choose portal today. Picture the portal in your mind. It doesn't have to look like the portals you see in the wild, it can look like anything you can go through. Think about where you want it to appear and where you want it to take you. Feel the Magic run through you" Merlin closes his eyes to help visualize and he casts a spell. He opens his eyes and sees a grand door "not what I would've done, but it'll work"
"It was so easy to do" Merlin said "why don't more people do this"
"Most people don't know how" Simultaneous said "and even it did, this is not easy to do. It was only easy for you because you have that much power. There's two lessons to learn here. One, just because it's easy for you, doesn't mean it'll be easy for someone else, keep that in mind when training your apprentices, they will not find it easy to do such things and will not appreciate you telling them it's easy. Lesson two, because of your great power, you can easily cast incredibly destructive and irreversible spells, so you must be careful. You chose very wisely in choosing a region no one has ever lived in, so you will have a lot of time to yourself to train where you can do little damage to those around you. But sooner or later, the news of your Magic will spread and people will come to see you and you must be very careful to not hurt them. When people first come for help, I highly suggest helping with the small things, don't try to change the whole Omniverse or even a single Realm, not yet anyways. Healing the farmer so that he can feed his family can change things for the better in ways you can't predict and in ways that conquering a realm can't. One last thing to keep in mind. Most of the Realms run in the same timeline. The Hall of Legends does not. Hours here could be less than a second elsewhere. It's not consistent unfortunately, but I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless you spend years here, chances are not enough time will pass to be noticeable in other Realms"
"Thank you, Lord Simultaneous" Merlin said
"No problem, Lord Merlin" Simultaneous said "you know, I was once just a man like you. I was a native inhabitant to Mount Olympus, and I was trained in Magic, but still just a man, not a god, or an Original Power. I'll watch out for you, in ways the others will not. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"
"I got the reference!" Merlin said
"I got that one too" Simultaneous said "it's good to have someone else who will get references to things that won't exist for thousands of years. But it is time for you to step through your portal begin your training. By the way, what are you calling your new area. The realm already has a name, but where you were was just called the desert"
Merlin thought about it for a moment
"Camelot"