Many days earlier….

In a tall, gleaming tower in the largest city on Ku-Aya II, a young mage named Purattu sat with nine other young mages, and one elderly mage, around a hardwood conference table.

The young mages were all High Mystics. The fact that they had reached such a high level of arcane ability, with not a single one being over a hundred years of age, was a testament either to their level of skill or the resources their families could put into their training. Or both.

In Purattu’s case, it was both. His family was well-off even by the standards of the Ku-Aya starisle. Because of that, he noticed the chips and dents in the conference room’s ceramic tiles, and other such details. The wooden table was fine, but was not brand new. And the plastered walls could use a touch-up.

But despite his background of relative privilege, he despised mages who advanced by the grace of wealth alone. After all, he had true aptitude in magic, and had worked hard to make the advancements he had. His father, a self-made man, had demanded it.

He didn’t look the part of a talented mage, being so stocky he verged on overweight, with blue eyes that tended to squint cynically at people who didn’t understand things that he understood, and light brown hair uncharacteristic of people in this part of the starsea. But talented he was. Even though every member of this group of mages was considered young, Purattu was on the young end of the group. He wasn’t even thirty years old.

At the head of the conference table was a grim old man who was beyond the level of the Mystics or High Mystics. He was an Archon, the only one in this starisle, and a man of renown even in more civilized locations such as Sin-Amuhhu. In fact, he had just returned from that higher starisle.

“The situation is as we feared,” the Archon said to the young mages. “There are confirmed reports of Abhorrent activity in numerous starisles. How deep the problem goes is uncertain. However, all of the reports seem to come from starisles subsidiary to us. In fact, the vast majority are all focused on Ira, although there are hints of activity elsewhere. In any case, that means we bear primary responsibility for dealing with the situation.”

“But why, Archon?” one of the young mages asked. “And how? How did the Abhorrent even get here from the Nightmare Cove?”

The Archon huffed. “Those are the two most relevant questions, to be sure. For now, ignore the ‘how’ part. The High Archons in Sin-Amuhhu are exploring a few theories. And of course, the Annunaki aren’t unaware of the situation.”

“Sir, why don’t the Annunaki step in? The Nergal could handle some rogue Abhorrent.”

Hearing this, Purattu forced himself not to laugh scornfully. Instead, he tried to keep his voice neutral as he said, “Come on. The Nergal has a specific job, and it’s not dealing with monsters. Besides, the Anunnaki are superior beings. They’re not going to step in to deal with a few random attacks on some lesser starisles.”

Three of the other mages started talking at the same time, but the Archon raised his voice to interrupt them. “First of all, High Mystic Purattu,” he said, “I’ll remind you that we speak in terms of higher and lower starisles. Not greater and lesser. Is that understood?”

Purattu forced himself not to roll his eyes. “Yes, Archon.”

“Good. That said, your general assessment is correct. There’s no indication this invasion involves Abhorrent anywhere near the same level as an Annunaki. For the time being, we Sighted will handle matters.

“As I was saying, the ‘how’ of the invasion isn’t important at the moment. But the ‘why’ is absolutely crucial. The ten of you here comprise roughly half of the total number of High Mystics in the Ku-Aya starisle. You no doubt noticed that the rest were assigned military responsibilities earlier this morning.”

There was a stir among the young High Mystics. It had been noticed, and of course, had been a point of contention and discussion in the hours before their meeting with the Archon. Some of the young High Mystics were angry that they hadn’t been given responsibilities, and were ready to hurl out accusations of bias. Some others claimed it was because they were to be given a more important mission by the Archon.

Purattu was convinced it was the latter. After thinking about it from all angles, he’d even made a small bet with a fellow High Mystic. If it turned out that they were being given a mission, he was going to have thirty shekels of extra pocket money. Not that he needed it.

“Unbeknownst to even myself,” the Archon continued, “the mages of Sin-Amuhhu set up a secret laboratory in the Ira starisle.”

“What?” one of the High Mystics exclaimed. “Sir, that’s outrageous!”

“It goes against all protocol for a higher starisle to bypass us and do things on one of our lower starisles!” another said.

“They can’t circumvent our autonomy that way!” Purattu added.

The Archon raised his hand to quiet them. “Normally speaking, yes. But the work going on in this laboratory warranted such an arrangement. They’ve been crafting a Gateway Key, and in fact, the work is likely already complete.” He stopped talking for a moment and looked around the room meaningfully. “Now do you understand?”

Purattu understood immediately. Gateways were the links between starisles, and were what allowed easy travel and communication throughout the massive empire. Normally speaking, the Gateways could only be opened downward. In other words, higher starisles could open the Gateways to lower starisles, not the other way around. It was possible for a lower starisle to send occasional messages up. For instance, they could request a Gateway be opened earlier than usual, although, such requests were rarely approved.

According to rumor, Gateway Keys could be used to open a Gateway in reverse fashion. And from what Purattu had heard, it was only the Annunaki who had such keys, which they used to travel more easily through the empire.

“I don’t understand,” one of the other High Mystics said.

Idiot, Purattu thought.

“Would anyone else like to explain?” the Archon asked.

Purattu raised his hand and the Archon nodded at him.

“There’s an Abhorrent invasion in the exact same area where a Gateway Key is being developed,” Purattu said. “Perhaps it’s a coincidence. Or perhaps they know about the key. Either way, it’s dangerous. Forgetting about how the Abhorrent got here from the Nightmare Cove to begin with, if they gain access to a tool that allows them to open Gateways any time they want, it could be a massive catastrophe.”

“Well-explained. Purattu is exactly right. And thus we come to your mission.”