Young Justice: Shadowcrest
July 17th, 2010
Of course I did not jump right in with a demand of the man, that would be both rude and counterproductive. When searching for aid or information, it was far better to be gentle and move with the flow of the conversation.
The table was mostly silent for the first few minutes of the meal. Giovanni questioned Zatanna on her progress with her summer work and she briefly told him that it was all coming along well enough. I’d seen some of the assignments that her muggle teachers had assigned her for the summer holidays and they’d seemed like dull, mindless tasks meant only to keep idle hands busy. The sort of thing you gave a child, and not a full grown young woman like Zatanna.
When Zatanna asked about what Giovanni had been doing with his time, his response was just as lacking in details. Part of that was certainly my presence––he seemed leery of discussing his work with the Justice League while I was at the table––but I knew from Zatanna’s stories that he often avoided telling her about his work. He thought her too young and inexperienced to become involved with his work, despite the number of younger protegees that worked alongside the other members. It was a common complaint, one I’d heard dozens of times from her in just the past ten days. For most of her teenage years he had even been reluctant to include her in his stage performances, only finally allowing her to do so in the past two years.
The conversation stalled for a time after that, until eventually Kent Nelson, who had been content to eat in silence until now, turned to me. “So Mr. Black,” he began.
I raised a hand, “Hydrys, please. Mr. Black makes me feel like I’m back in school.”
The older wizard smiled jovially. “Of course, of course. Hydrys then. So, how have you been finding our wonderful world? I understand that Giovanni has been too busy to check in on you as much as he perhaps should, but I hope that you don’t think we’ve forgotten all about you. Are you having any troubles? I see you’ve gone and found yourself some new clothing. You look very sharp indeed.”
I had indeed acquired a number of new outfits, though I wasn’t actually wearing much truly muggle clothing right now. I hadn’t felt comfortable wearing many of the garments that Zatanna had picked out for me to a dinner with two older wizards, so we’d compromised on making my outfit look muggle, while leaving me dressed in primarily my enchanted Hogwarts clothing.
I had left my robe at home, replacing it with a dark gray blazer that Zatanna and the merchant we’d purchased it from had said matched my eyes and complexion. Beneath it I wore the white shirt and black pants from my uniform, along with my black leather shoes. Instead of a Slytherin tie which I hadn’t brought with me to this Plane, I wore a blue and silver striped tie that was vaguely reminiscent of what a Ravenclaw might wear, but done in darker shades of both colors.
I’d done my best to layer both additional garments with as many enchantments as I could manage, but between the completely mundane and partially artificial fabrics and my own lack of practice with the spells, the results were completely incomparable with the clothing that I had once possessed.
“Thank you, sir. I’ve found that my robes tend to stand out when I venture out into the city and chose to acquire some more modern garments to better blend in. Fashion has changed greatly from what I am familiar with, but I do like a number of the garments I’ve come across. Fabrics have become so much more colorful and varied, and there is a vast plethora of options to choose from.”
“I’m glad. And none of that sir’ing, please. It makes me feel even older than I already do!”
“As you wish, Mr. Nelson,”
He laughed, “Just Kent is alright, I don’t like to stand on formality. I had more than enough of that for one lifetime when the Justice Society was working with the Army back in the day.”
“Just Kent it is then,” I paused, then smiled widely. “Just Kent, could you please pass the bread?”
Kent snorted, then brushed his hand over his cane. The basket of focaccia rose into the air and landed in a clear spot beside me. He turned to Giovanni, dramatically shaking his head. “Ah, youth these days.” Then he turned back to me. “In any case, I hope your time has been both productive and enjoyable. I can’t say that I’m in the best position to help you get adjusted to the times. I’m old and I fear I too do not fully understand much of what has been invented in the past forty years, but if there is anything I can do to help you get settled, I am always happy to assist a young mage.”
Well, that was convenient. I wasn’t sure how far he was really willing to go, but as long as my request was not too onerous it seemed that I was in luck. I pretended to think for a moment. “Well, there is one thing. You seemed to have realized that I was a planeswalker pretty quickly, even though I’d met Giovanni hours earlier and he was unaware of it. I’ve tried a number of detection spells on myself, but nothing seems to stand out as different from before. I was hoping you could perhaps shed some light on that? Or anything else you’re willing to tell me about being a Planeswalker.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Yeah, I was wondering about that too,” Zatanna chimed in. “I tried to look up Planeswalkers in the library, but I haven’t found anything yet and Hassan couldn’t help me either.”
“That is perfectly understandable my dear, though I applaud your curiosity,” Kent told her. “I’m not surprised you haven’t found anything. It has been many centuries since a Planeswalker visited this place, and none that I know of stayed particularly long in our world.”
I leaned forward, “Oh? Do you know anything about these planeswalkers?” I definitely wanted to know about some of the very, very few people in the multiverse who I couldn’t just get away from once I figured out how to Planeswalk.
Kent quickly dashed those hopes. “Very little, unfortunately. Only what some of Nabu’s former hosts have written down over the millenia. I know some names: Nahiri, Masrath, and Azor. Of the first two, I know only that they were immensely powerful mages, while the third was certainly that as well, but also a colossal sphinx. Apparently he inspired a number of ancient monuments in what is now Egypt.”
Well, that was something at least. If nothing else, I learned that it seemed that certain intelligent beasts could be Planeswalkers as well, not just beings.
He continued. “There were a few others as well, but Nabu did not encounter any of them before they left the Plane. Judging from the records I’ve seen, it's possible that there is also a Planeswalker out there somewhere that was originally born here on Earth, but if so they have never returned home.”
“So then, I take it that you have some way of detecting when a Planeswalker enters or leaves the plane?” I asked slowly.
“Exactly! The Tower of Fate contains a plethora of artifacts and enchantments designed to detect various phenomena and threats. This plane contains a number of dimensions, but with the correct spells it is possible to find the boundary between all our dimensions and what lies beyond them. Interacting with that boundary is, as far as I know, all but impossible, but watching it for ripples and disruptions is. Difficult, very, very difficult, but as a Lord of Order, Nabu is uniquely suited to such magic. His kind are present in all dimensions, so to them the boundaries are much more apparent.”
That did seem to make sense, as far as I could tell. From what he was saying, I was curious if it was possible to detect which it was, an entrance or an exit. I very vaguely remembered some of my first trip between my world and this one, and I thought that I could recall seeing the boundary that Kent was describing. Maybe it was something I’d be able to view in more detail once I better understood what I was doing.
“What about when you looked at me and knew I was the planeswalker you were looking for?”
“Ah, well, that is actually a rather good question. The thing is, the spell I used does not necessarily check whether or not someone is a planeswalker. Instead, it is a highly specialized mana-sight spell designed to look for something called aether. Aether is not a substance that exists naturally within any portion of our reality, but the area beyond it is said to be absolutely teeming with it. When I saw that your body was covered in lingering wisps of aether, I knew that you were likely the planeswalker I was looking for.”
“That’s…very clever. Do you think you could––”
“I’m afraid it is a very complicated piece of Order magic. You would need a considerable amount of experience before I could teach you something of that complexity.”
“That’s unfortunate. I guess I’m going to have to find someone to teach me the basics of Order magic then.” I looked pointedly at him. “You know, I’ve heard that you’re something like a specialist in that field.”
“I am, aren’t I,” he mused softly. “Well, that’s a convincing argument young man. I won’t teach you for free, but I’m sure there are some chores I need taken care of that you could help me out with.”
“I would expect no less.” A few chores, or whatever tasks that was a euphemism for, was a small price to pay for lessons from a renowned expert like him.
“Very well then. I will expect to see you at my home in Salem at noon tomorrow then.”
Giovanni butted in before I could say anything. “I don’t have time to act as a chauffeur, Kent.”
“That’s fine, I can get there myself. Where in Salem?”
Kent rattled off an address that I committed to memory. “Don’t worry if you can’t find it, I’ll open the door for you when you’re nearby.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it. You’ve helped me a great deal. The uncertainty of not knowing what was going on was really eating at me.”
“I may not be Doctor Fate any longer, but I like to think that I am still a hero on the inside.”
From there, the conversation turned to lighter topics. We exchanged anecdotes about our lives and worlds, ate dessert, and generally had a nice meal together. Both Kent and Zatanna expressed some curiosity about my wand and magic, and––secure in the knowledge that I could recreate it at a moment’s notice––I allowed both of them to hold and examine my yew wand.
It did not respond to either of them, but Kent mentioned feeling something when he held it. Perhaps it was simply a matter of compatibility? I did not know much about wandlore, but maybe it would be possible to make a wand that did respond to the wizards of this Plane. Something to look into in the future.
At the end of the night, I wished everyone farewell and Giovanni teleported me back to just outside my little apartment. I would have liked to go straight to bed so I could be up early for my trip to Salem tomorrow morning, but unfortunately it seemed as though someone had tested the protections on my temporary home. The wards on the door showed signs of mundane tampering, as did the outward-facing window in my bedroom. I didn’t think anyone had gotten inside, but just the fact that someone had tried was concerning all on its own.
Only after an hour spent reinforcing the wards and setting specialized detection spells on the windows and doors did I finally turn in for the night. I did not like the idea of someone poking around my things in the slightest. I would need to accelerate my plans for a new, more secure residence. Just another thing to worry about.