Chapter 0.12
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That seemed to be the portal she was looking for. It was a normal archway, just standing there on a stone at the top of a waterfall. For a moment, Cassandra looked through it. On the other side, all she saw was the rest of Glimmerbrook, and beyond, Granite Falls. She wondered what the other side would be like, and then figured she didn’t really want to know right away. She’d learn when she got there, and musing on it probably wasn’t a good idea. She’d spend so long musing that she couldn’t work up the courage to go in, and not going in wasn’t an option. She had to.
Magic Realm was maybe her only hope.
With that thought in mind, Cassandra’s hands balled into fists, and she set her jaw again. The cool air sent shivers down her spine, and she marched right through the archway, one hand out in front of her, as the world spun and twisted and changed. There was a great flash of light, and then Glimmerbrook was gone, and there were so many stars. Cassandra looked up at the sky, a smaller ball of light that looked like a sun in the sky, glimmers of colours whirling around. It was stunning.
As she looked around, though, she saw what her father meant. Bits of broken building had begun pulling away into the sky, the bridges between the floating islands broken up into pieces, the waterfalls dropping into nothingness. In that moment, seeing the damage that had been wrought, the difference between the picture her father had shown her that day and what she was looking at, she felt an intense sadness. How old was Magic Realm, she wondered. How many centuries of history and knowledge were threatening to be lost?
Cassandra wondered why, and whether something could be done to stop it, but perhaps that wasn’t for her to be worried about. It wasn’t like, given how young and inexperienced a spellcaster she was, she could be of any help. She didn’t even know the first thing about magic, and perhaps it was just as well. Magic Realm was just so beautiful, and so unlike anything she’d ever seen. She wondered what the shops were down that way, on a different island than the one she’d come to. How did people get around? Oh, there were archways at the broken ends of the bridges that once connected the islands together. That was clever. If they worked anything like the archway she’d just come through, they teleported between islands. Certainly, Cassandra couldn’t think of any other way of handling the situation.
She turned back around, staring up at the large building in front of her. A creek bubbled behind it, a bridge leading to an open area. Little flickers of lights were scattered around the trees, and she watched the light from the odd sun in the sky filter through the leaves. It was beautiful and she wanted to spend more time watching the environment out of sheer fascination, but, she was here for a reason. Being a tourist wasn’t going to find sages.
Cassandra turned back to the building once again, and then wandered up to the door. She tapped lightly on the wood, waiting. “Hello?” she called. Though there were flames dancing against the walls she could see through the large windows, no one seemed to answer. So, she decided to see if the door was open. She tried the handle, and sure enough, it unlatched when she turned it. This place wasn’t really a house, so it wasn’t the same thing as intruding, or at least, that was how Cassandra figured it. Quietly, she stepped into the entryway, closing the door behind her.
This place made her feel strange. Tingly and giddy, almost, but also like someone was watching her. Perhaps these sages wanted to observe before making contact. That made some semblance of sense to her, and so that in mind, Cassandra looked around. The centre of the entryway had a sunken area with an interesting design in the stone. She spent a moment studying the floor, looking at the interesting symbols etched into the stone, and felt like she should know those symbols. Like she’d seen them somewhere before, but she would’ve remembered them, she was sure.
Cassandra shook her head, peeking around one side. She then followed the corridor, and came up to another room with rows of bookshelves and what looked like a fairly large pot of some kind. Looking under it, Cassandra saw a cluster of crystals beneath, but she couldn’t say why there were crystals under it. The place smelled strongly of aged paper and perhaps the slightly pungent scent of ink. She loved the scent of paper.
“Is anyone here?” she asked again. Just slightly, she could hear her words echo faintly, but nothing ever answered. Cassandra sighed. It’d seem no one was here, but she could feel their presences, could sense them watching her. It was making her a little uneasy, to be honest, but she had to stay, and prove whatever it was they were looking for.
As she turned to the side, to go explore some more, one of the books on the shelves caught her attention. The spine was faded and worn, but just slightly, she could make out the name Ravenna Goth. Cassandra glanced around one more time, and then reached out to pull the book off the shelf. It practically jumped at her, and Cassandra had to admit to being a bit startled by it. Quietly, Cassandra cradled the book in her hands, and settled down in one of the nearby chairs. The cover title was labelled The Five Elements. Cassandra frowned, slightly. There were four elements, everyone knew that. But the author was called Ravenna Goth. Was this one of her ancestors? It seemed most likely.
A loud thunk sounded from behind her. Cassandra jumped up from the chair, a quiet gasp loosing, and whirled around. There on the floor was another book. Cassandra glanced the other way, and then cautiously approached the tome on the floor. This one was called Plants and their Magickal Properties, by someone called Silver Bachelor.
Cassandra carefully lifted that book up, too, and then returned to her seat. For now, it’d seem she had reading material, even if the sages had decided to remain hiding.
* * *
She spent as long as she felt like reading the books that were on the shelves. So many of the tomes were about surprising things, like the early spellcaster wars and the effects of the witch hunts on the overall world economy. That was a surprising subject, but Cassandra had found herself drawn into the tales. She wasn’t sure how to tell the time in this place, but her watch said it was much earlier than it looked like. There was some momentary concern about whether or not the time was correct, because perhaps not. It was possible time flowed differently here. Cassandra sure didn’t know how this all worked.
Instead of worrying about it too much, she put the books she’d been reading away, and then headed down the pathway that led to another portal, presumably this one to the island with the rows of shops. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure that was where this portal went, but it was worth trying. That was what was across this bridge. Cassandra took a breath in when she reached it, stared at the designs around the frame, and then stepped through. She came out the other side, right next to one of the shops. Cassandra released a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding, and then turned to see the row. There were only a handful of stores along this cobblestoned road. They each had different stock, and Cassandra was greatly interested in their wares.
The first one seemed to be mostly books and… what were these sticks for?
“Oh, hello, Cassandra,” a familiar voice said. Cassandra looked up, and found a familiar face smiling at her.
“Mister Kim?” she asked. Dennis Kim was the father of Alice Spencer-Kim, one of their neighbours in Willow Creek. Well, sort of neighbours; they lived across the creek. He was somewhat transparent, though. “Oh my gosh…”
“Oh don’t worry,” Dennis said. “I haven’t died, this is a special effect.”
Oh. That was good then. She wasn’t sure she was terribly fond of having a discussion about magical tomes with a dead guy she used to be friendly with.
“Have any idea what you’re looking for?” Dennis asked.
“I’m not sure,” Cassandra answered honestly. “This magic stuff is new to me.”
“Well, in that case, I’d definitely have a look at the other stores,” Dennis suggested. “This store carries familiars, wands, and tomes. If you go right over there, you’ll find crystals and brooms for sale. And finally, you’ll find the potion ingredient shop. They’re all worth looking into. Are you after anything in particular?”
Cassandra thought for a moment, and then shrugged one shoulder. “I was up there, at that building,” she said, pointing at the building she’d been in a few moments before. “Looking for the three Sages, but I couldn’t find them.”
“Ahh,” Dennis said, smiling knowingly. “They’re up there, alright. Well, L. got married some time ago, so she comes and goes, but Simeon and Morgyn should still be around. If you didn’t come across them, they’re probably waiting until you’re ready.”
Cassandra frowned. “What’s that mean?” she asked.
“Oh, who knows,” Dennis replied. “Probably, it means different things to either one, but just keep being yourself, Cassandra. You’re of good blood, good strong blood. One or the other one will eventually decide to come to you. And don’t mind L. so much,” Dennis added. “She’s always in a bad mood.”
Cassandra considered that for a moment, and then had to move to one side as someone else stepped up to speak with Dennis about purchasing a book. “Thank you, Mr. Kim,” she said, before wandering on her way. The woman that had come up seemed curious about her as she glanced her way, but she didn’t stop the girl as she left.
“Who was that?” the woman asked, dark skin and dark braided hair, which was in a short style that hung slightly in her face over her forehead. She wore white and yellow, and somewhat stood out.
Dennis smiled, reaching for the books Grace had asked for, and handing them to her. “That would be Miss Cassandra Goth,” he said.
“Goth?” Grace repeated. “I thought they’d left the Magic Realm for good?”
“So it would seem,” Dennis said. “But it might yet be that this newer generation of the Goth family are returning, and the Realm will be better for their presence.”
“You think so?” Grace asked. “It seems kind of silly for them to leave and then change their minds again.”
Dennis patted Grace’s hand. “It is a complicated thing, Grace,” he said. “The Magic Realm holds both wonders, and if you are unfortunate enough to find them, untold terrors, and for the Goths, the Realm had a few more untold terrors than they were willing to put up with. Surely you can understand the desire to protect their family.”
“There’s a threat to them here?” Grace asked. “I haven’t found one.”
Dennis laughed. “Oh, no, but you wouldn’t,” he said. “Ah, but there was a time when the Realm was uneasy, when there were threats to more than just the Goths. We lived in fear, then, of one of the Sages whom had turned to dark magics. That time is over now, thanks to the Goths. It is thanks to that girl’s grandmother that you don’t live in fear now, Miss Grace.”
“A Sage would never -“
“Ah, but one did,” Dennis said. “More than once, if I recall. Power corrupts, Grace, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It brought my beautiful ex-wife’s life to an end… my daughter never knew she has blood from one of the Five Families, and she never will. I cannot lose her too.” And the more their lineage married non-magical folk, the less magic would be in their veins, until finally, it was gone, and the threat of their destruction would be gone with it. That was Dennis’ goal, why he refused to tell Alice of her heritage.
“I see,” Grace said. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kim.”
“Don’t be,” Dennis said. “Instead, if Miss Goth needs your help and you can give it, do so. You might make a friend along the way, too. She’s a nice girl, she’s just shy.”
* * *
And the light converged to create the new realm, a world between one dimension and another, that exists and does not, the passage read, and Cassandra wasn’t quite sure how long she’d been reading this book. Then again, she also wasn’t so certain that it mattered. Her mother might be wondering where she was by now, but on the other hand, Bella likely understood how time worked in this place. Cassandra still hadn’t yet gotten the hang of it.
She settled back down in her seat, and then shook her head, and stood back up, returning to the bookshelf she’d been taking books down from. She remembered where they all went, because she left behind something of hers to mark the place. This slot here had a penny, this one had a nickel, this one had her bracelet… it was better than forgetting where the books went and inadvertently making a mess of it.
Quietly, she slid one of the other books down, leafing through it, her elbow holding the place it was at open. Cassandra sighed slightly, jiggled her leg. So far, she’d mostly been learning a lot of the Realm’s history. Nothing about Circe was in any of these books, but Cassandra didn’t expect that. That would’ve been stunning to find out her parents were old enough to be in history books, but then somehow it also wouldn’t be surprising. She was learning about magical plants and how herbs were ground together to make them suitable for creating potions from, how crystals were ground into dust for the same, how the Realm was founded and how it worked and what the Great Vortex was theorised to be.
Cassandra huffed, putting the book back. “But where is the one before this one…” she said, more to herself. Her voice echoed slightly. She could still feel that someone was watching her, but she hadn’t run into anyone else since she’d been at the shops down the way and spoken to Mr. Kim. It was surprising that he had anything to do with this place, but then it also made sense. How many others that were living in Willow Creek, that she saw in day to day life, were also spellcasters? How did anyone tell who was a spellcaster and who wasn’t?
That seemed to be part of the root causes of the witch hunts of the middle ages. No one knew who was a spellcaster and who wasn’t, and it incited the masses into wave after wave of hysteria. Things like that still occasionally happened in the world even now, so certainly Cassandra could believe it. She frowned to herself, and then shook her head and went back to her books.
Except that she turned around, and suddenly there was another person there, just behind her. It was difficult for her to say for sure if the Sim she was looking at was male or female. There was a strong androgyny that seemed both effortless and deliberate, and Cassandra found herself immediately jealous of how beautiful they were. Short, loose blond curls framed their face, piercing green eyes that seemed older than the body they looked out from.
There were pretty Sims everywhere, but this one was so beautiful it made her heart hurt.
“I -” she started, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just reading… um, I’m Cas -“
“Cassandra Goth,” they said, and it sounded masculine but still somehow melodic and at a higher register than Cassandra might’ve expected out of a man. “Yes, I know. My name’s Morgyn Ember, and I’m the Sage of Untamed Magic. And I may or may not have been expecting you. Not quite this soon, though, I have to admit.”
Oh. Morgyn knew her name. Why did one of the Sages know her name? “I see,” she said.
Morgyn smiled, an oddly mischievous look if she’d ever seen one, and then reached around her to slide one of the books off the shelf. Morgyn then held it out for her. “This is the one that comes before that one,” Morgyn said.
“Thank you,” she said, gratefully taking the book, and then she slid one of her other bracelets into the slot it used to occupy.
“Do you always mark their place like that?” Morgyn asked.
“Yeah,” Cassandra said, moving back toward the table she was reading at. “It seems kind of rude to me, to come in and start rearranging the books on the shelves. So I mark where the different books I’ve pulled out came from, that way I can put them back where they were.”
Morgyn looked surprised, and then smiled softly. “Clever.”
Cassandra shook her head. “Not really,” she said.
Well, Morgyn thought it was clever, but clearly Cassandra Goth didn’t have much in the way of confidence. The Sage could see that much already, as it was rather obvious in her demeanour, the way she held herself. Morgyn had to wonder what had happened in her life to make her, probably one of the most powerful spellcasters the Realm will have ever known, like that, but there was time for that later.
They’d be spending a lot of time together in the future, because L. was too busy raising a family, and Simeon was… well, he was a jerk sometimes. A little too blunt for a young and rather delicate flower such as Cassandra to be able to handle extended periods of time around. Morgyn loved Simeon like a brother, truly, but he was awfully candid, and not always in a good way. It was most likely that Morgyn would be the one guiding her, though Morgyn did figure the Goths would be doing the majority of the leg-work. After all, they were one of the Five Families. Morgyn was just some poor farmer from rural France. Or had been at one point.
“I think it’s clever,” Morgyn said, head raising slightly. “And welcome, officially, to Magic Realm.”
