Chapter 1 - The Veil

Quick note - This is a proof of concept. The story may not be updated with any real schedule. Please let me know what you think.


"Chioma Esi, research log: the Veil. [sighs] I don't even know where to start. When we landed on Neptune, there was... something waiting for us. An alien structure. It's an electromagnetic anomaly. No mass, but a tangible surface area. It's like a thesis statement to the Von Neumann-Wigner hypothesis. It's definitely Paracausal, like the Traveler. Maya calls it the Veil. She says she heard the name in a whisper when... when she looked at it. When I asked her who whispered, she said it was... her own voice. I still haven't had time to process that. Everyone on the initial survey team died. The minute they touched the object, they entered a state of... of brain death. Well… most of them. Three of the researchers, all brothers, just disappeared the moment they touched the object. To make it worse, the EM radiation emitting from the Veil is causing psychological distress in the Exos that came with us. They've all described moments of intense, hallucinogenic reverie. Some of them went silent and rigid and just... stopped. Maya called it "billboarding." Something from the early days of Clovis Bray's Exomind project. She doesn't seem afraid. Or surprised. She's convinced this thing - in her own words, she says - it'll be our "salvation"."

\-/

The Department of Mysteries was the epicenter of secrets and research in the British magical world. A collection of minds working together to dispel the deepest mysteries in the magical world from prophecy to time. Love and memory. Even death had a dedicated room.

In this Room of Death, there was a doorway-like structure. No door sat within it though, only a curtain that swayed lightly in a nonexistent breeze. If one listened close enough, they could even hear whispers beckoning them closer.

Those who listen never survived touching this Veil.

One of its overseers, an Unspeakable of no name and no discernible features save for a black band on their equally black robes, stood a safe distance away and observed the Veil as it lightly swayed.

'This thing still gives me the creeps.' The Unspeakable thought before sighing lightly, 'At least nothing ever happens on overwatch duty.' Their eyes traced the Veil at the thought, daring it to prove him wrong.

It does not.

The Unspeakable pulled a hidden book from their robes and started to read, wanting to get something done today other than stand around.

Whoosh

A sudden sound, like a gust of wind, broke the general silence of the Veil room. The on duty Unspeakable froze before looking up. The Veil's curtains still fluttered, but nothing else seemed amiss. They almost looked at their book once more before it happened again.

Whooosh

The Veil blew open more than normal, like a particularly strong gust of wind swept through it. The book was put away as the Unspeakable tilted their head in confusion.

WHOOOSH

A sudden, stronger blow swept wind throughout the room and nearly knocked the Unspeakable over. They only stumbled for a second before a wand appeared in their hand. The Unspeakable placed its tip on a nearby stone and it flashed red. Lights of the same color matched a sudden blaring that rang out through the area.

WHOOOOOSH

The wind became an angry gale and the Unspeakable was only saved from being thrown by waving his wand at his feet, sticking them in place, and forming a shield in front of themselves. The nearby door slammed open and three more Unspeakables in the same robes rushed in casting the same wind buffering shields. Another Unspeakable followed, their robes tattered and displaying skull motifs.

"Sir," One Unspeakable spoke, voice untelling of gender, "What's happening with the Veil?"

The one in tattered robes stood silent for a moment, "I'm not sure." They observed the Veil for another moment, "Everyone out. Lockdown procedures are to be activa-"

BOOM!

Like a cannon shot the wind blasted harder for one moment, cracking shields, before dying completely, making the room stand still in sudden silence. That silence, however, was not due to the now dead wind.

It was for the body that now laid in front of the Veil.

\-/

His head was foggy, his memories jumbled. A metaphorical void of static. Where was he? What happened?

'G…d…n.'

There was a disturbance on Neomuna, near the Veil. He was called to investigate with Osiris. He went ahead, leaving Osiris to go through research logs. The disturbance was above the Veil, on the glass walkway. Observation showed that the Witness's forced connection of the Traveler and the Veil created an energy spike above it.

'Gu..di.n!'

Foreign energy was trickling through the 'tip' of this spike, like a tear or hole leaking water. He attempted to seal the tear with Strand, stitching it back together. It worked, but his memory was more spotty after that.

'Guardian!'

Glass had shattered. He fell, didn't he?

Where was he then?

'Cornelius!'

His eyes shot open, finally registering the voice in his mind. He was greeted with an eyeful of a wooden table. He didn't move and his armor was still on, the tattered black warlock robes lined with a few purple lines. His helmet, one reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian art, prevented his head from connecting to the table.

'Where are we?' Cornelius questioned his Ghost, Particle.

'Finally,' The Ghost responded, 'I've been trying to wake you for hours. And I don't know where we are, but the inhabitants dragged you off some time ago. Dreary lot, but they share your fashion sense.'

Cornelius rolled his eyes, 'Anything useful to add to that report?'

'Yes, yes. The people here are all human, that's for sure, but I can't get anything else on them. Their robes are blocking any attempt to discern their gender or looks. Though you were brought straight here so I didn't get many chances to look.'

Cornelius slightly flexed his fingers, getting the feeling back through his body. He felt his Void tingle beneath his skin, Strand laced through it. 'What about this place?'

Particle was quiet for a moment, 'I'm not sure actually. This room is blocked from the rest of the world, no signal is getting out or in. I'm not even sure how they're doing it. Though I do have an idea.'

Cornelius slowly lifted his head, only to find he was alone in the small room. Only a table and another chair sat with him. 'That would be?'

'The ones who dragged you here were flinging energy of all sorts about.' The Ghost explained, 'Well, it's more accurate to say they floated you in here.'

Cornelius raised an eyebrow, 'With this energy I assume.'

'Yup.' Particle confirmed, 'Waved a stick at you and you started to float.'

Cornelius stretched his senses out and felt the foreign energy from before seeped into the very walls. In fact, he felt a glimmer of it latched to himself. With an annoyed click of his tongue he let out a controlled burst of Void and severed the connection.

A second later, a door materialized onto the blank wall in front of him. Before he could be surprised, the door opened and two people stepped in.

The first was a figure clad in dark robes, a shadow hiding their face. A red band, like his own bond, sat on their arm. Their robes however, were covered in a chaotic assortment of items ranging from blank pictures, multi colored envelopes, flowers, and other random things.

The other person was clearly a man, his face with dark hair, clean cut beard, and blue eyes on full display. He wore dark robes, but not black like the other person's. The robes themselves were cut like a suit, tie included.

The door closed and disappeared behind them as the man took a seat and the other leaned on the wall behind him, staring at Cornelius.

"Well, look who's finally awake." The man started, "You gave us quite a startle there, just appearing in the middle of the room like that. Mind explaining yourself?"

Cornelius only tilted his, "Where am I?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "I think it's only fair you answer my question first, don't you think?"

He gritted his teeth as his mind replayed the scene of shattering glass, "I fell, and now I'm here. Where am I?"

"Must have been quite the fall to get here. Who are you?"

The startings of a headache appeared as his own name flashed uselessly across his mind, "Where am I?" He once again repeated.

"Where did you come from?" The man questioned instead.

The headache, and his annoyance, grew as images of Neomuna, Earth, and the Last City filtered through his head. He absentmindedly noticed the other robed figure shift uncomfortably from their position on the wall.

"Where. Am. I? This is the last time I'm asking before I just go figure it out myself." He spoke to the man.

The man gave a little smirk, "Is that a threat? What makes you think you can follow through with it when you're in here?"

Images of armies and monsters appeared in his mind. Hive, Vex, Cabal, other assortments of creatures far fiercer than the man in front of him. All dissolving into purple ash and green threads. Being broken apart by gunfire and blunt force. The image of a self proclaimed king crumbling into dust in the vacuum of space. His hand started to glow a faint purple.

"Earth!" An indistinguishable voice rang as the other figure stumbled to the table, hand clutching their head as his own headache disappeared, "London, Department of Mysteries!"

'London..?' Particle trailed.

The man turned, surprised, "Mnemosyne, what ar-"

"He was going to kill you." Their gaze was focused onto the table space where Cornelius's hand once was, the space now glowing a hungry purple as it ate the table in the imprint of a hand before the light faded.

"Thank you." He spoke, making Mnemosyne flinch and take a step back. The man flicked his eyes between the two, suddenly nervous. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave."

He stood only to stop at Mnemosyne's next words, "I don't think that will be possible." His heavy gaze fell on them forcing them a step back, "I-I mean that. I don't think your home e-exists at the moment…"

'... Exits?' Cornelius questioned his Ghost.

'Another disappearing door behind you.' Particle answered immediately, 'You might be able to tear through the wall though.'

He turned and ignored the startled movements of the two behind him as he touched the wall and flooded it with Void, his own power devouring the energies that kept the wall in place. The door that appeared vanished just as quickly, leaving only a hole in the wall. One he immediately marched through.

The hallway floor was tiled with reflective black tiles, soft blue flames lighting the way. 'Left.' His Ghost spoke at the first intersection, 'They brought you through here.'

The hallway went on and on until he arrived in a circular room that, once he entered, the walls literally spun to rearrange the doors on them.

"What the…" An icon appeared on his hud over one of the doors to his right.

'This one.' Particle stated.

"... How can you tell?" Cornelius questioned, but pushed through the door anyway.

'Every room in this place has its own… flavor I guess you could say.' The Ghost answered, "They're all pretty unique at least.'

The room they entered was reminiscent of a large stone amphitheater, one with tables and other furniture lining the walls with all sorts of papers and books scattered about. In the center of the room was an archway with a curtain that reeked of Paracausal power.

'You fell out of that after falling into the Veil.' Particle said, 'Though, now that I'm getting a better read on it, I don't think that's going to work in reverse.'

He couldn't help but agree. The feeling it gave off was… off. He couldn't explain why, but he just knew that if he so much as touched it, he would die.

And it would probably stick.

"Stupefy!" A voice rang behind him.

Cornelius turned and raised a hand, a purple shield appearing before it to stop the red streak of light. A flash of light placed his Kindled Orchid into the other hand as he raised it and fired.

His assailant, a figure in tattered robes like his own with a shadowed hood and white skull patterns running across it and a black band across their left arm, raised the stick in his hand making a translucent shield form in front of them. The bullet shattered the shield instantly but didn't go through, saving the figure from a quick death. They launched three more streaks of light from their… stick and dashed to the side as Cornelius returned fire, dodging the lights sent his way. The ground in front of the figure rose with a flick of their stick, blocking the bullets before the stone was launched at him.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance but stood his ground and filled his palm with Void. When the stone got close he struck it with a Void filled palm strike, breaking the stone slab into fragments that started to glow purple. With a wave of his hand the volatile stone fragments were ensnared by green threads that he launched at his opponent. The volatile purple rocks landed around the figure, detonating and ignoring the shield they raised.

They cursed as their robes were splattered in Void, trying to cut away the energy as it started to eat at the cloth. It was useless though, as the Void ate quicker than they could cut.

'Wait! Don't kill them, they could lead us out of here.' Particle interjected.

Cornelius sighed, but waved his hand. The Void stopped spreading but Strand threads rose around the figure and suspended them in the air. A clatter of wood followed as the figure dropped their stick and began to struggle against the Strand bindings.

They froze as he placed a hand on their chest. "If you don't want to die, you're going to lead me out of this place."

The figure scoffed, "I'm not afraid of death."

The warlock's eyes narrowed, "So be it." His hand started to glow.

"Wait! Please, don't kill him!" The door burst open and Mnemosyne rushed in, "We can help you!"

Cornelius turned his head toward them, but kept his hand on the suspended figure's chest, "You can start by showing me the exit."

"It's not that easy." They responded.

"Why not? Just show me the exit and I can lea-"

"It's 1991." Mnemosyne interrupted, "You're city doesn't exist yet."

"... What?"

'1991?' Particle said in disbelief, 'That can't be right. But then, that might explain…' The Ghost went silent.

"I know this must all be strange to you," Mnemosyne continued, "But we can help you. Want to help you. Just, please, put Thanatos down so we can talk."

Silence rang throughout the room as they stared each other down. 'Particle? Your take?'

'I… I think they're telling the truth.' The Ghost stated in disbelief, 'I said earlier that all signals were being blocked, but taking the supposed year in account, I think any signal was just too primitive to find at first. I've managed to connect to a… honestly pretty crappy satellite. The internet, or World Wide Web is barely in its starting stages but it agrees that the year is 1991. August 1st to be exact. It could all be an elaborate lie, but…'

Cornelius hummed lightly. A ruse like that would depend on them knowing he could even access the web at the moment. But there was one detail that put a slight hitch in the idea.

"How did you know about The City?" He questioned, no room to question what city he meant.

Mnemosyne fidgeted under the gaze but explained, "I, uh, read your mind."

'... What?'

"Excuse me?"

Mnemosyne backed up again, "I-I can explain everything if we can just sit and talk."

'... I mean, concerning mind reading aside, I think it might be a good idea to hear them out.' Particle said, 'If nothing else, you can force your way out if they try anything.'

It was only the fact Cornelius agreed with that that got him to drop Thanatos to the ground and wipe away the remaining Void with a wave of his hand.

Mnemosyne breathed a sigh of relief.

\-/

Magic.

As in, actual wand waving, fantasy magic. An entire world hidden from those who couldn't use it, muggles, through various magical tricks. It sounded crazy, but Mnemosyne and Director Croaker, as the man who didn't hide his face called himself, showed him some of this magic with those wands they held. From summoning objects to their hands to creating animals from thin air, this magic seemed to be limitless.

The mind reading trick was apparently rare and hard to learn, only slightly easing Cornelius at the thought.

While the two wizards explained the magical world to him, Particle browsed the meager web and found what he could, but ultimately decided that they would need to physically learn about the non-magical world by going there.

Mnemosyne explained that they were a Senior Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries, a part of the magical government. Specifically, they were in charge of all research into the mind and memory. Thanatos was another Senior Unspeakable in charge of research into death. Their room was the one he had shown up in, out of their Veil of Death.

Croaker however, was the Voice of the Unspeakables. He was the only known figure in the department and their leader. He also held a seat on the Wizengamot, the 'senate' of the magical government, due to the position. He apparently didn't use that power a lot, not really caring for politics.

Their rundown was interrupted by another figure entering the room they had commandeered, the first one needing the wall rebuilt. This new figure wore a grey band on their black robes, but you could barely tell the robes were black due to the feathers. Feathers that covered the entirety of their robes in a mix of colors like white, brown, and grey. Their hood took the image of an owl but still covered their face in shadow.

"Ah, good." Croaker put his hands together, "Meet Athena. I've called them here to test you for magic, if you're willing of course."

Cornelius side eyed the new figure, box in hand, and despite the situation found himself curious. Could he use these people's magic?

He nodded and turned to Athena who sat next to him, "A pleasure to meet you, a real pleasure." Athena stated, shaking his hand after placing their box down. "Word of you has spread throughout the department thanks to your quick battle with Thanatos, and I have to say I would love to sit you down for a discussion about that power you used, magic or no. First though, tests." Their hand waved around as they talked, only stopping to open the box, taking out a metal plate, a piece of parchment, and a quill. They placed the plate in front of him. "I'll just need a few drops of blood. Three would do nicely."

Wary, but even more curious with the apparent blood magic, Cornelius took off a glove in a flash of light and weaved a sharp dart out of Strand. Athena muttered a 'Fascinating' as he pricked his finger and let three drops of his hit the plate. His glove flashed back on as the quill came to life and wrote on the parchment on its own.

"You're not human I gather?" Croaker commented as the quill wrote, having noticed the blue hue of his Awoken skin.

"No, I'm not." Cornelius responded, "I'm Awoken. It's close enough."

"Fascinating." Athena interrupted any further conversation, "Immunities and enzymes I've never seen before. Not human indeed, but close. Very close. Maybe an evolution? Oh, and wha-"

"Athena." Croaker interjected, "Can he use magic?"

The muttering research looked back up from the parchment, "Oh, yes, sorry. He should be fine. Here," He pulled a simple looking wand from the box, "Give this a wave."

Cornelius hesitantly took the wand, but did in fact give it a wave. The air suddenly popped and crackled with sparks before the wand cracked down the center and stopped working. He carefully set the wand down.

"Good, good." Athena stated, picking the broken wand back up and placing it back in the box along with the plate and writing supplies, "Don't worry about the wand, it was just a practice one used for this purpose. I suppose I'll leave you all back to it." They stared directly at Cornelius, "I would like to have an in depth discussion with you later if all possible. I'm sure we could learn much from each other." He nodded and left the room quickly after.

"Sorry about Athena," Croaker apologized a moment later, "They can forget themself sometimes, but they have a passion for the unknown that can't seemed to be quelled." He turned back to the conversation at hand, "Now that we know you can actually use our magic, I want to extend an offer."

Cornelius tilted his head in question, "And that would be…"

"I want to help you." He responded, "In that train of thought, I invite you to stay and learn here in the Department of Mysteries. Learn about magic, our world, and how to live in this time while we try to find a way back with you."

'Sounds good.' Particle commented, 'But a little too good. There has to be a catch.'

"What's in it for you?" Cornelius questioned, thoughts aligned with his Ghost.

"Let's be honest, if you went out now there would be no place for you in the magical or muggle world with no identity and no knowledge about the current world. Especially with your non-human nature."

"Again, what's in it for you."

Croaker shrugged, "With how easy you can potentially get out of here, and the potential destruction you could wreak onto the unprepared world, I find it in my best interest to be on your good side while making sure you don't do anything stupid through a lack of knowledge."

'I'm afraid he's not wrong.' Particle added, 'Any real records would need to be created on paper and you can't hide like a hermit forever.'

"Besides," Croaker continued, "Your situation is simply fascinating. Imagine what could be learned through some joint research."

That, at least, he could agree with.

\-/

Months went by as Cornelius learned all he could. First was a visit to Hephestus, the Unspeakable in charge of magical artifacts. They had him test different wand woods and cores before making a wand for him. Elder wood and Threseal tail hair made up his wand, an apparently worrying but powerful wand.

Threseals, as he learned from Artemis, the Unspeakable in charge of magical creatures, as a winged horse that could only be seen by those who have witnessed death.

He learned various spells and subjects at a rapid pace. From History of Magic to Runes he absorbed everything he could get his hands on. Potions was his least favorite, but still useful, while Particle fell in love with the concept of Arithmancy and its math centered focus.

Where Cornelius really shined through was Defense Against the Dark Arts, or DADA. Most of the spells in the subject came naturally, though that made sense with the combat oriented position of the subject. The Patronus, said to be one of if not the hardest spell to be learned for the subject, came naturally in a flow of Light. His form was a great horned owl apparently.

Divination was a lost cause though. He supposed it was due to the same problem the Vex had in predicting a Guardian's future.

Appraising his skill in all subjects, Croaker planted OWL and NEWT test files along with his identity into the ministry's archives.

That wasn't the only thing he got up to though. Cornelius and various other Unspeakables ran many, many experiments on his Paracausal abilities and its interactions with magic. They found that his Void shields could block most magic with only a few exceptions. The Unforgivables would instantly shatter his shields but otherwise still block the spells, though it was noted that a stronger killing curse could probably rip through the overshields without much issue. Feindfire could eat away at the shields and consume threadlings, but could be dosed quickly with enough focus.

The Patronus was the biggest surprise though. An accident at first then repeated attempts showed that the light born creature could shatter his shields as easily as the killing curse. Woven mail however would stand strong against it.

All of it had Athena marking it down and making detailed notes, practically salivating.

Theories were made on trying to get home but nothing concrete, or safe, had been found.

Soon, August of 1992 came around and Cornelius had learned all he was willing to in the cramped DOM. But where to go from here.

\-/

He sat in the dimly lit Leaky Cauldron, combat robes still on but helmet on and Awoken nature hidden by a ring made by Hephestues to make his skin closer to that of a slightly pale caucasian instead of a slightly glowing blue. His hair however was still its natural stark white reaching down to his shoulders.

His purple eyes swept over the Daily Prophet. Raids had been done on homes of magical families in search of reportedly illegal items. Some muggle baiting items were found, along with some reportedly strange ferrets, but nothing else of note. He was more focused on the job listings.

Potion Tester, pass.

Magical Painter Wanted, pass.

Curse Breaker Needed, interesting, but too busy for the research he still needed to do to get back home.

It was the last one, tucked away at the bottom of the page, that caught his attention. It would provide not just time but also additional resources he could use as well. All he would have to do is teach children how to defend themselves.

How hard could it be?


Once again, this is a proof of concept. Please let me know what you think.