Darian Leaned back into his chair, looking up over her head into nothing, seeking his memories and a good place to start.

Shae was calming down a bit now. Her feelings quite likely suppressed somehow. As she grew calmer in his presence, the quicker she was able to recover due to that suppression. She waited on him, even managing to start to drink her tea. Watching him over the rim of the cup.

He began…

“When I was young,” he said his vision lowering to look her in the eyes. Making sure she understood he was being serious. “The world was a much different place than it is now. People were… Different. When the world was young and full of strength, humans had special, abilities. Some were much stronger, some much faster, most a lot smarter. Maybe that is why things did not last. Too much intelligence, without wisdom often leads to self-destruction by way of various courses. Mostly ego.” He leaned forward placing his elbows onto the table, resting his chin in his right hand. His left a fist pressed under the right side of his chin, completing a comfortable balance.

“Humans knew and used magic like they breathed. The world’s core was strong and firm, full of energy that was more than just heat and pressure. Some call it mana, some call it presence, as if the world itself were alive. Whatever you wish to term it as, the world held real power.” He leaned back into a seated upright position. “Maybe it’s better I show you as well as describe things. Think of this as a three-dimensional interactive video. Like a VR display. That way you can process what you see and maybe even feel, without losing your… how do they say it these days… your shit!”

With a bit of a snort over her tea Shae managed a small laugh. He was never one to use harsh language, and when he did, it was always out of context.

“Also understand, language back then was a different beast. People used different words than they do now. Like Thy and thee and yon. I will make things easy on you and skip the Shakespearean language course.”

He then waved his hand, and she felt an immense pressure flow from him. It wafted though her like a massive explosion had gone off in the distance. Without the boom, of course.

The room was gone. Leaving them in a soft white emptiness. Though they both still sat at the table. As he began his tale again, she was shown humans walking the earth, in small cities and villages. They were doing incredible things. Some lifted immense weights, like large stones to clear fields. Some ran messages so very swift of foot. Others able to start fires with not even a word. Or even move the earth itself. As he told his story she was brought along the tale alive around her.

“I was twelve when my parents’ noticed things about me. Most children Began to show signs of power at the budding of adulthood. Puberty as they call it now. I was you might say, very pious. I held a strong love for the gods, or god you might say. Even more so than my family. Since I was able to recall my own memories, and put thoughts together, instead of just being instinctive, as most children. I could process my feelings with great efficiency. Most cannot even do that until they are mid-life.” He chuckled a bit here. “Some never even mange it.”

The room went black as his tale really started. Then it was brought to life with visions of his words.

“God, The creator of all things.” He held up his hand as her mouth began to open. “Just sit and listen. Take my words for the truth I speak. As they very much are the truth of all things known. And I don’t mean by science.” He almost spat that last word out, making her eyebrows lift a little. She had always thought he was very much into science and inventions.

“Now, God the creator off all things, and yes there is a whole debate about who created god etc. That is beyond my paygrade. Anyway, the Creator created our universe. All of it. The starts you see the constellations the laws of physics, everything. Beyond our universe there are others very similar to ours. I theorize that since there are other dimensions, that other creators had a hand creating those for themselves, and all the creator worked together to connect them through what are call spirit bridges.”

“Our world as you saw was once very fantastical. People were fantastical. There was nothing we could not do.” As she started to budge, he continued as if reading her mind, “Yes Atlantis was a real place. It was the first great city of this world. Great scholars and great leaders did many things to push humanity into the light. Gave the world a place to live free from danger, in a very dangerous world. Dinosaurs were the least of the creatures this world has seen. After all, the folklore may sound fictious, but trolls were a thing. Aught.” He raised his hand again. “You will never find a troll fossil or even Atlantis. It has been forbidden and whipped from our world’s history. You will hear why.”

The visions around her showed her a massive city of spires and twisting towers that touched the clouds. Bustling with people. Even a humanoid creature with overly long powerful looking arms and hands with fingernails that could be dagger. Squat, wide shouldered, but thin as if it had never been fed. It had whisps of scraggly hair and a green-greyish complexion. Its lower fangs jutted out of its mouth overlapping its upper lip. It had a large flat nose with little curls at the sides like a dog. Obviously showing it hunted by scent as well as other senses. It had overlarge ears that stuck out the side of its head, that had a small hole where the ear met the head, maybe for hearing behind? It’s hands and feet were webbed, likely semi aquatic. There was more, but it changed as he continued.

“I was born in the Atlantean age. It was a time when dinosaurs walked the earth. I, as I have always said, was not blessed with great intelligence. I was born with a sense of self, however. I knew what and who I was. I was able to make my own decisions very young. Not smart, but aware. My parents having seen this, sent me to the academies at Atlantis for training. Well, they had to really, it was a law. If your child showed signs of greatness and you did not send them, you would be killed, and your child taken anyway. Even then the world was not always fair. The strong dictating to the weak or poor. Man has always kept a boot on his fellow man’s throat for his own gain.”

“While not greater in my intelligence, I was far beyond in my understanding. I was able to learn from a very younger age. Touted as a prodigy. They thought I was beyond measure in intelligence. I just more years to learn. Even before the academy I could use magic… yes, magic. What do you think all this floating around you is… Illusionary magic.”

“I learned magic, and combat skills at a very young age. I had a great head start on those around me. I was able to create magic items and spells of my own by the age of sixteen. Very much mostly unheard of. But, as I did not have the compacity of a genius, my teachers grew angry with me. They assumed I was being lazy, wasting my potential. They grew angry and threw me out. Without a home now, as I had heard of my parents passing two years ago, I drifted alone through the world. But I did not give up my study of the great gift the creator had given me. I went form seedy villages to other large cities in search of magic, or clues to enhance my own. I was like those stories you read on the internet. The Xania thing or whatever you call it. I searched for the ability to see the heavens that I might give thanks to the creator in person.” With a nod he answered the unasked question.

“While I never made it to heaven per say, I did get to give my personal thanks to one of his aspects. And there by to the creator himself. I was beyond emotional and humbled.” A small tear left his right eye as he looked up.

“Aspects are if you will, are the creator, worshipped by men long ago. They did not know there was one true power. They could only see what was before them. Blinded by their own ignorance. Unable to see beyond their own great noses. People worshiped the creator through the aspects they perceived around them. The aspect of nature had many names, for example, Antheia, Aja, or Aranyani. In the Atlantean age, she was Gia. Each idea was given a name and thought of as a god itself, War, Thunder, Love. You get the idea. They had an idea of power beyond them, but they couldn’t pin it down to one thing.”

“As I wandered through my life, I gained many opportunities. I grew beyond those around me. I was given a gift through my devotion. It always led me forward. The more I gave the more I grew. There were some who had heard of me. They would come to learn. When they didn’t like my answers, they would attack me. Mostly with their words. Though some tried their own might against mine. They were always lacking.” Here a few scenes of battle flashed between someone who could be a younger version of her uncle and other men. Great battles that wove strange powers into being. Even blowing away a mountain once.

“My words were never heeded, likely because I was still just guessing myself. Then came the age of destruction and abandonment. Humans in their arrogance began to think of themselves as gods. Above the aspects, since they could obviously control them with their own might. Why should they bow to some power that bowed to them? They stopped giving the creator their love. As they had grown beyond him. They were the true creators now, no?”

“Now as I have found out this is how the reality is. The creator’s love of his creations, flowed down into them, then through them, into the world’s core. Then from the world back into his creations, and through them and their love back to the creator. This created a continuous loop. This power flowed into all things. The more alive and in tune with the creator the more power was transferred through the loop. Humans, as sentient beings loved the creator more in the beginning, which allowed more power to flow into the world and back again. Even plants receive some power, feed it into the worlds core and back out. Though as they are not overly loving or intelligent, they do not loop much power. Same for animals. But you should know even a rock can grow sentient through the loop.”

Here she saw a large humanoid grey as stone. Its body was made of stone. Not detailed, just plain rock. It had no face, nor fingers. It did have joints, they moved as liquid, as the being moved in various forms. Though not always did the being move as a human or as a human could. It was able to rotate any part of itself along those joints as it saw fit. Even beyond three hundred and sixty degrees. As she saw one spin its arm, faster and faster, in a windmill fashion to throw a rock at humans attacking it from afar with magic. The rock flew at bullet speed piercing through a man’s chest, tearing out a larger hole in his back as the rock blew through him.

She shuddered at this. Like a cold wind blew across her own back. Since it was a vision and not real? she was not overly bothered by the sight. She saw it as if it was cinematography. He continued…

“Once we humans began to turn their back on the love for the creator, the power loop started to fade. As time went on, the worlds core started to weaken from the loss of power. The world was once much larger. As the core lost its strength, it compacted into itself more and more, which caused to world to shrink into itself, compacting, getting smaller. This caused many disasters around the world. All cities were destroyed, Even Atlantis was wiped from the earth. Swallowed as if a void had opened in the middle and sucked it into the earth. Mountains were thrown up, then torn down. Seas raged and boiled. The core erupted throwing ash and lava out in its death throws. This of course happened over less than a Fortnite. Very little was spared, millions died. Only about three percent of the world’s population of man, beasts, and plants survived. Eco systems were thrown into chaos. I’m sure you can imagine the wanton loss and destruction. I, having seen the signs, created what I called an ark space. Through my magic and with the blessing of the creator I saved as many of earth’s flora and fauna as I could. I brought it all here to this place. Which I guess I should tell you, while it was a part of earth once, it now resides between dimensions. I was given permission to reside outside of all creator’s realms. And” he added with a slight smile “I have kept it as my own creation. No, don’t even go there… I only exist here by the grace of the creators. Otherwise, I would have been thrown out long ago.”

“Once the earth, now reformed, grew safe, I spread seeds to the wind, and released the animals back into the world, for them to find their own places. This I might add, is why there is a platypus. It was once a magical creature created by a mage who specialized in biology. Now it is just another oddity left over from another time. As I said, some humans survived this great cataclysm. I was not alone to hold faith I guess, which is how some managed through with dwindling power. I was however apart from this dying world. My space here still holds a part of the worlds original core. And through myself and our family in the village outside, and of course you, it is maintained through strength and our belief in the creator. We still have the loop. But as it is weakened greatly. Our family will never gain the powers humans once wielded. Though we still wield magic.” He said with a smile and a nod.

“The village outside is filled with my descendants. All of whom I brought with me into this space before the world died. Most didn’t even know of their own heritage. My… our family was far flung in the old days. I was, after all only human, with human appetites.” He blushed a little, and then cleared his throat.

“Anyway, there is the short of it. The world core of course still held residual power. This was stolen by fiends that travel between worlds. They offered the few humans that were willing to give up their souls for power a way to once again be fed by the loop again. They reached through these people into the last of the core’s energy, pulling it out through them. Which allowed these people to once again have minor abilities. Since the creator had turned his vision away from earth, there was no stopping these beings. This was our dark ages. Where there were witch hunts, warlocks, and well, Me! I was once named Merlin.” Here she sputtered and coughed on her tea. He ignored her and kept on.

“I hunted down these fiends and destroyed most. Though to this day, there are still a few, who hide in the shadows, whispering in ears humans. They have set themselves up as kings. As such they have no reason to leave. Though I doubt they can anymore, as they no longer have power to wield themselves on this desolate planet. Myself, I just leave them be now. Why bother with the riffraff when they can do no more real harm. The planet is dead to magic, science has killed our belief in the creator, and I do not see a way back for humankind here, as the creator has turned to other projects. In their failure to him, they have failed ourselves.” At this he sighed, looking far off as if remembering greater times.

He clapped his hands which made her jump in her chair and caused the vision to disperse, leaving them once again in the cabin. That still held no doorway out.

Then he leaned far onto the table looking her deep in the eyes.

“I have gotten permission” he said with a child eating wolf’s grin. “You who still believe as strongly as I do, are allowed to go on a journey of your own choosing!” he said sitting backward straight in his chair arms widespread to the roof putting a bit too much enthusiasm into the motion.

Then he sat forward again, looking into her stunned face. “You are allowed to follow in my footsteps. You are allowed to learn as I did. Well or not. It is of course what you wish to do with this chance. I will however say this. It could, and I mean a very slight chance, allow this world to be saved for those who still try to believe. You could be paving a way for others to be brought away, others who maybe deserve a chance to enjoy something greater. But know this, Life is always a challenge, and dangerous. With greater power there are greater dangers and greater struggles. I have been beyond. I have had some amazing experiences. And I tell you now, you will regret not choosing to go. Though you maybe be dragged through vile and dangerous places, your life held on a knives edge, you will also see amazing wonderous things. Experience more than you could even pretend to imagine.” Here he leaned back deeply into his chair and pulled in a big puff of his pipe as if letting all this seep slowly into her head, so she could make an informed decision. After all there would be pain and danger too. He could wait. And would answer any questions she might have.

Her face had locked into an awed and stunned look for the last few minutes as he finished saying his peace. As he sat back pulling on his pipe as if waiting for the world to end, she sprang up out of her chair faster than she could even believe, bounding around the table and grasping both his hands into hers. Her nose almost against his, her eyes wide as they could possibly go.

“When can I start!!” She blurted out.

He coughed and sputtered out his pipe smoke into both of their faces in surprise. Then he pulled her in and hugged her tight.

“lets get started right away”