070 - The Sleeping Forest

Everything here was connected through him, the trees, the river, the mist, the earth itself. Magnus felt an enormous oneness, his heartbeat was that of the forest, his blood was the flow of the river.

The Ether . . nothing can be real in the Ether, it is a realm of illusions. In Soo's memories he saw the young brother and sister venture into the Ethereal plane. Those with Mens had an affinity to the Ether, those without had to rely on external means.

But the forest was real. The damp earth, the smooth stones, it was as real in every sense as any woods Magnus had ever been, nothing like the Ether he saw in Soo's memories. And beyond the trees? In every direction was the white mist, impossible to see beyond.

Magnus picked a direction at random and set off into the mist. He walked by several trees, catching his foot on a root, the foliage getting thicker and thicker with every step.

Suddenly, the mist cleared, the trees and scrub opening up to . . to . . the black water stream, across the stream the tree with Soo's and Lars' faces.

Great. How do I get out of this place?

Whoosh!

At the mere thought the mist rushed in through the trees forming a white vortex over Magnus, the entire forest and stream shrinking into a condensed ball of gas, falling lightly as a snowflake onto his forehead and sinking into his skin.

"Back already?" Kujata waved over. She sat cross legged by a wide black water river, an expanse of ash coloured grass covering the flat expanse of land.

Magnus scratched his head, an lopsided grin on his face. "I guess so. How long was I in there? It felt like ages."

"Two minutes. Feel much longer, doesn't it? Well, you'll get used to it, I'm sure. How's your head? No more headaches?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Soo's memories, I don't feel so mixed up no more."

"That's good to hear. I don't know what your form your inner aspect has taken, but it oughta be a reflection of the self. I guess you can think of it like a house within your mind, within the Ether."

"It does feel like a . . a safe space I guess." Magnus replied. If it was anything, the forest and the trees certainly gave him a feeling of warmth, of serenity.

"Know thyself; take your time exploring lad, whatever you build up in the future depends on the foundations you set in the now . . ah . ." Kujata paused, looking at him with remorse. "Listen Magnus, we need to talk about the plan, I -" Kujata stopped mid sentence, frowning. "At last! Sorry boy, got to go! We'll talk later!"

She vanished in an instant, leaving Magnus alone on the flat expanse. He took a proper look around for the first time. The Ether, the spirit realm, the plane of divination, of pure will and intent given form. Not much here, is there? Hmm . . Kujatas last words to him, her parting expression troubled Magnus.

The plan . . Kujata's plan . . he had never really put too much thought into it before, but now knowing the full extent of the Alchemists from Soo's memories, knowing so much more about the universe . . there seemed to be several strange points about her plan, or at least in what she'd told him.

Get stronger, right. Magnus had no issue with that. But get into the Alchemists tower, as a Celestial? That was near impossible! It posed such an immense risk, akin to walking into a lion's den . . well, she had said it would be dangerous. What were her words? I'll teach you how to eat, how to live, and in exchange . . in exchange . .

Yeah, pretty bloody obvious, ain't it Magnus? In exchange, give me your life. She'll help you live, have your revenge, run rampant through the Alchemists tower, and in exchange you'll die. Right. I've known that all along . . but that's not the strange part . . no . . the strange thing is that she only gave me that option at all after knowing I was a Celestial, knowing that I am like her.

Are all Celestials like this? Are they so willing to sacrifice even those just like them for their own ends? What do I know of Celestials? Hells, I didn't even know the name until just now! Why hadn't she told me?

Know thyself! I don't know a thing about Celestials, but Soo does. Did. Ah, whatever.

With a thought a white ball of mist exploded out from the top of his head, placing him right before the tree with Soo's wood visage. Magnus made an instant connection with Soo's mind, touching his face on the tree. Celestials . . what is a Celestial . .

Soo and Min, both children, sat in a classroom with a dozen others. At the front of the class was a middle aged man droning on in a monotone voice.

"Demons, Devourers, Scourges of the Stars. Celestials were the most powerful entities in the galaxy, and it is thought that they have been for a very long time. Gods, you know? Before the advent of reason Celestials were thought to be Gods, worshiped as such, that is where they get their name; Celestial, meaning heavenly being. That was before the cataclysm . . who can tell me about the events of the Celestial Cataclysm?"

No student raised their hand, after a brief pause the middle aged man continued on in his monotone lecture.

"Ten thousand years ago, before even the Martial Courts spread throughout the millions of stars of the galactic cluster. This was a golden age of human advancement and technology, our ancestors possessed many vessels and machines that could sail through the void of space, taking centuries to reach distant stars at near light speeds."

"No one knows where Celestials came from, or if they have been there all along. Heradatos writes, on page four hundred and seventy six of his Galactic Histories; 'the divine filled the air, made the earth tremble with his very presence. A God of the highest order had come to Ria.' This is taken from Tirus of Rias first hand account of the tragedy of Ria, where the entire planet was devastated by a single Celestial. Now, if you turn to page five hundred and eleven we will -"

The lecture continued for another three hours, the man's monotonous drawl lulling the students and Magnus into a sleepy state of mind. But, his words contrasted entirely with the content of the lecture; Magnus mind was set reeling at the constant incredible revelations - the histories and events being recounted were things he could have never imagined, the concepts of stars and planets, of millions and billions of people on worlds over thousands of years . . .

The Celestial Cataclysm and the war the followed . . so many billions of humans died, hundreds of worlds destroyed . . then, the rise of the Martial Courts, the Cults and the Oracles, from the furthest reaches of the galaxy . . this was a long drawn out and bitter conflict, the way the teacher painted it was as a truly desperate struggle, humanity's last stand against powerful and malevolent foes.

The Celestials, Gods . . Demons . . awe inspiring entities that could take the form of a human or a mighty beast. Their origin a secret, their methods entirely unknown - no one could even say for certain even now who or what they were, only that they were creatures mad with power, bent on the destruction of all.

The more Magnus discovered the more his heart sunk. Monsters. There was no other way of looking at it . . creatures of death and destruction, guilty of slaughter on a scale that sent his mind spinning . . .