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Alexander Goodwin sighed as he made his way lower into the complex. He really hated this section of the facility, he thought as he stared at the plain steel elevator doors as some monotone music played through the single speaker in the upper corner.
Then a dull chime rang out as he now found himself on Section X. The home of the Occult Division of the Research & Development Department. Though one wouldn't know it at first glance since the walls were barren and void of any sort of decoration save for the odd signage to tell someone their destination.
The floor was the same as the walls. Brutalist concrete with thick pillars to hold up the megatons of stone above his head. But he wasn't concerned. He was involved in the modernization of the facility some years back. He chuckled as he walked across the concrete floor. Back then it looked more like some sort of overworked office building. Floors had no rhyme or reason to their placement. Little was in the way of proper order and management.
Then the Cold War happened. No more could they rely on some aboveground structure that looked like it stepped out of the Colonial Period. No more could they afford to spend time and money maintaining rugs and décor for the sparse few official visitors they ever got. It was time for an upgrade, he had told his predecessor.
To which the old man, who was old enough to recall back when the US was still called the Thirteen Colonies, disagreed. He thought there had to be a sense of decorum that came with their job of maintaining The Veil between their world and the one terrifyingly close to it.
He broached the topic to the Director. Who he had yet to determine how old she actually was since she had very few personal items in her office. But she seemed to agree with him surprisingly. Which he was glad for and made to tell his predecessor. Only to be informed that HE was now in charge of R&D.
When asked about his boss, he was also informed that it was his time to be "retired". He had been in the organization long enough to know that meant one of two things. Either he took a dirt nap after eating a lead breakfast, or he was wiped of all memories of this life and sent off to a home to live out what little time he had before all the years caught up to him after being preserved by all the things they worked with on a daily basis kept Death at bay.
After that, he got to work. With the threat of M.A.D. being just as real a thing as anything else was, he decided that digging down into the ground was the best bet and turned the facility into a proper underground bunker, though the former colonial structure was left above and turned into a museum.
He then oversaw the construction of all the different departments and the floors they would be on. From the underground tower of bureaucracy that was the Law Department that contained thousands of papers and treaties and whatever manner of legal paper they could get their hands on in order to facilitate the agencies' "grey" nature. To the glorified barracks of Security and the various armories, containment cells, and training facilities there within. To the great vaults of Finance that housed the physical, and sometimes metaphysical, wealth of the agency as well as home to the leprechauns and other fae that oversaw everything per an agreement between them and the agency back when Celtic settlers, human and otherwise, arrived seeking work and protection from feuds back in the old country.
Then there was R&D. His own personal fiefdom. Just like any fiefdom, it was split between various divisions that oversaw compartmentalized specialties. Biological, mechanical, chemistry. Name a field of study, orthodox or not, and there was a division dedicated to the study, creation, and improvement of it somewhere within the R&D Department.
He arrived at the large vault-like door that separated the Occult Division from the rest of R&D. He groaned and took a couple of Dramamine and buzzed in his card that allowed the vault door to begin to grind and slide open. Revealing why it was called the Occult Division.
Despite the fact Occult was part of R&D, they were almost entirely independent of his actual oversight. Which also included building regulations back when he was overseeing the construction of the current facility. So while he could physically walk to Biology or Mechanical without issue, save for the trek doing a number on his shoes and feet, getting into Occult was a bit more... different.
For one thing? It wasn't actually physically connected to their dimension. Instead, it resided in some sort of pocket realm or dimension created by the American Magisterial Society. The New World, and more modern, counterpart to the Order of Magi that they have absorbed into the agency in order to tackle problems that had to be solved in a very specific manner.
As the door opened he immediately felt his gut drop just from what he could see in his peripheral vision as he stepped over into another dimension. As long as he kept his eyes forward on the relatively normal looking foyer with its couches, end-tables, lingering groups of students studying or joking, and maroon rug running along the center, he'd be fine, he thought as he took deep breaths to avoid looking at the cosmic landscape coming through the floor. Despite not being able to see any source of light nearby, he could see just fine as if he was walking through a perfectly normal office space.
Then a comet darted just below his feet, causing his eyes to zoom to the spot and where he beheld the cosmic wonder that played out below him. Fun fact, the floor was see-through. Or it didn't exist at all. He still wasn't entirely sure and he suspects the A.M.S. don't tell him as a joke at his expense.
Swirling oceans of stars mingled with nebulae all shades of colors, some of which he couldn't even begin to describe. Vast expanse of the void seemed to stare back at him between the fonts of cosmic activity below. Comets whizzed and zipped by, some seeming to brush the very soles of his shoes. His eyes tracked one going to his right and he had to force a hand to his mouth as he saw the infinitesimal halls branching off towards the horizon that housed doors that lead to rooms that he was sure was just as if not more outlandish than this one.
Halls that stretched on forever with the only occupants of this floor being some apprentices in dress suits with over coats covered in runes and sigils stitched into the fabric or even imprinted into any leather they wore.
He groaned and lowered himself to the ground and put his back to the end of a bookcase nearby and took deep breaths to steady himself. He closed his eyes in an effort to keep the sheer magnitude of craziness from affecting him.
"Chief Goodwin? Are you alright?" A voice called out from nearby.
The R&D head cracked open an eye and peered at the youthful face of an apprentice that had walked over and was checking on him. He waved a hand at the boy.
"Yeah. Fine. Just can never get used to all... this."
The boy chuckled.
"Yeah. It takes some getting used to. Do you need help?"
"No. I just need to speak to Magister Grimsby about recent events."
"Alright, but he's in a class right now." The apprentice stated.
"That's fine. I'll observe until he's done with the lesson."
"Okay, follow me then." The boy said and started to walk off before turning around when he realized that the Chief Goodwin wasn't following.
"Are you sure you don't need help?"
"Maybe just a hand?" He suggested as he kept his breathing steady and his eyes shut.
The lad came over and slowly eased him up to his feet, as unsteady as they were. The boy then assisted him in moving over between simple yet elegantly carved wood end-tables and several burgundy colored couches with sigils and runes stitched into the fabric and onto some sort of pedestal. The lad took a deep breath and summoned a simple staff from the ether before placing it into an opening in the center of the pedestal.
He lurched onto the boy when the pedestal started to rise! The boy took a quick glance to the poor man but kept his focus on the task at hand.
"Chief Goodwin? I know this might be uncomfortable, but I REALLY need to keep my concentration."
"Hurgh! Sorry." He apologized and got onto all fours and gripped the railing of the moving pedestal they were on.
He cracked open an eye and peered at the bookcases that rose and rose and continued to rise with them. As he did he saw a mix of some sort of magical stone orbs wreathed in all manner of different colored fires slowly floating this way and that as well as what appeared to be apprentices meticulously etching runes and sigils into the ends of the bookcases.
"You don't come here often do you." The boy stated.
"I try not to. My stomach doesn't agree with... this." He explained and gestured with a hand to their surroundings.
"At least you can hold in your lunch. Some people hurl the second they see what's around us."
"Oh I did the first time too. For some years I couldn't even step into this place without passing out in a puddle of what I had for lunch."
"That's too bad. As disorienting as this place is, it's really wonderful." The boy stated with a sense of awe in his voice. Which he stopped when the pedestal they were on shuddered for a brief moment.
The boy gave a nervous chuckle as he saw the Chief of R&D's face turn green from the jolt.
"Sorry. Got distracted. Was thinking about that time a beholder broke loose and a Magister trapped it in a rubix cube until it could be transfer back to holding."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
They stayed quiet after that. The apprentice keeping his focus on whatever spell, incantation, or enchantment that allowed the pedestal to hover and fly like it did. Leaving the R&D head to do little more than hold on to the railing for dear life. The only mild comfort he was able to get was watching what he assumed were troublemakers etching away at the runes and sigils on the bookcases as they also fought to maintain their own floating pedestals as well as boredom.
Not quite as soon as he would've liked, they arrived as the pedestal slotted into a jutting section of stone. From there the apprentice twisted and removed his staff with a relived breath as he turned towards the Chief of R&D.
"We're here sir."
He peeked an eye open and saw purplish colored stone wide enough for two to stand side by side leading off to his left before expanding into a proper floor of stone. It looked like some sort of medieval dungeon, he thought as he slowly crawled his way off the pedestal and onto, what he assumed, was solid ground. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt cool stone beneath his hands.
The apprentice walked over towards him.
"Magister Grimsby is in a classroom down the hall there. Do you need anything else?"
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. Could you lead me there?" He asked in an almost pleading voice.
"Alright sir." The apprentice said with a nod and held his elbow out for the R&D head to take hold of.
He led him off the jutting stone and onto something a bit more comfortably solid. He let in a deep relieved breath at the feel, and look, of something solid, and immobile, around him. As they went, the R&D head peered into open doorways as they did. Most appeared to be classrooms by the way men and women stood before rows of students while teaching them all about the arcane and occult. From his understanding, most would just become regular agents and these lessons were to teach them how to handle situations they may face outside. Some would go on to join the A.M.S. though. But that was a fair few number.
They passed few number of students out and about, usually on their way to their next class or to do some minor assignment set by their magister teachers. By the time they arrived at the classroom that Magister Grimsby was teaching in, he had a bit more strength back in him. He thanked the apprentice and dismissed him, sending him off to do whatever it was that he took time out to assist him to do.
He fixed and adjusted himself before knocking on the wooden door. From within a voice called out.
"Enter."
He opened the door and entered the classroom. He saw what appeared to be a regular college classroom complete with tiered seating set in an amphitheater style with all the focus being on the central position where one Magister Grimsby stood before a group of twelve student.
The magister turned towards him. His head was bald save for a dark goatee on his pale face. His dress-suit and over coat were a deep purple and covered in runes and sigils that would faintly glow now and again. His eyes were a warm honey color that matched the welcoming smile he had.
"Ah, Chief Goodwin. What do we owe the pleasure?"
"Just some official business is all regarding matters. Don't let me stop your class though. It can wait a moment longer." He said and took an empty seat off to the side so as to not distract the students.
Magister Grimsby bowed slightly before turning back towards the dozen students.
"Now where were we?"
A manicured hand of a girl from East Asia shot up. Magister Grimsby nodded at the well dressed girl and she spoke in a mousy voice.
"The Schools of Magic and their relations, Magister Grimsby."
"Very good Ms. Hokkiko. But since our illustrious head is here. Why don't we give him a little rundown of what we're learning." Magister Grimsby declared.
Another hand rose from a boy that was dressed in a looser style of the apprentice clothes and he spoke in what sounded like a New Jersey accent.
"We're loinin' 'bout the schools a magic and how they, ya know, interact."
"While technically true Mr. Carsetti, that isn't quite what I meant." Magister Grimsby replied.
"We're learning how each forces affect one another and how to wield and counter them out in the field." A faintly British accent sounded from a dirty dishwater blond lad.
"Very good Mr. Lorris. Care to give an example?"
"Sure. Simple one would be fire and frost."
"And how do they interact?"
"Fire melts frost, but then frost becomes water which douses fire."
"Good, and what school of magic would these forces be placed in?"
"Evocation."
"Why?"
"Because utilizing these forces requires one to 'evoke' them from their natural place within reality."
"And why not, say, Conjuration, Mr. Lorris?" Magister Grimsby asked.
"While it could technically be classed as Conjuration, they are two separate schools. One involves forming something from something else, Evocation, while the other is forming something that wasn't there before, Conjuration."
"Very good. As Mr. Lorris explained, Evocation is the act of creating something from something else. We create fire from heat in the air, or frost and water from the cold or moisture, respectively."
"But we can't do that outside." A feminine voice called out.
"Exactly, Ms. Beauregard. In this dimension, we can do that. Observe." Magister Grimsby stated and then proceeded to wave his hand in the air while muttering something under his breath.
Then for all to see, he produced a small ball of flame floating in his hand! He stared at it and spoke to those around him.
"Now, why wouldn't I be able to do this in the outside world?"
"Because of Eldritch Theory?" Ms. Hokkiko suggested.
"And what is Eldritch Theory?" He asked as he sent the small ball of fire into a nearby brazier.
"The Eldritch Theory is that while magic can be freely used in other dimensions and planes of existence, some more than others like Divine Magic within the realm of Heaven or Infernal Magic in the realm of Hell. The presence of a high number of eldritch beings here on Earth causes an entropic affect on the mana. Making it far more unstable and hazardous to wield."
"Excellent Ms. Hokiko. And correct. To a degree. While there are a higher number of eldritch beings here on Earth, it isn't entirely correct to assume they are what causes mana to be the way it is. To be honest, we still don't know what causes mana to react the way it does. After all, other dimensions have their own eldritch beings present, yet magic doesn't seem quite so severely affected in them. Even here in our own pocket realm we have several such beings."
"Then what is the cause Magister Grimsby?" A quiet voice called from the right where a dark haired girl with her coat collar popped up asked.
"The truth? We don't know. That is the eternal mission of the A.M.S. and any other occult divisions around the world. To know the unknowable, to see the unseen, and to discover the undiscoverable. So while Eldritch Theory is the most common explanation, never assume it is the only one. Now that we've established why we can't. Someone explain what we can do instead."
Another hand and another student answered.
"Patrons?"
"Correct Ms. Davenport. While freely slinging fireballs is fairly simple here in this dimension, and some others. In our world not so much. Magic users have gotten around such a restriction by turning to patrons. Ancestors, nature spirits, God. All those and more are sources that can 'filter' the mana for you, allowing you to conjure fire or frost or whatever have you on the outside without the affect one would face when trying to channel it oneself."
"Now, who can tell me the repercussions of NOT using a patron to wield magic on the outside? Mr. Thompson."
"Magical Enfeeblement or even Magical Rebound."
"Correct. See, while forces exist outside that would allow us to conjure say a fireball. The act itself is rather hazardous and even fatal depending on the circumstances. If one were to try and conjure a fireball outside this dimension, they may find themselves suffering from hypothermia as the spell takes the more readily, and reliable, source. Yourself. As will most other schools of magic. Try casting a water spell? Be ready to guzzle gallons of water right afterwards. Scrying? Lose a lesser vision to gain a greater one. All schools of magic, especially within the school of Evocation, will demand something of yourself if you're not careful. If that isn't enough to deter you and you insist you can push through such a thing, then you may suffer a magical rebound effect. Since we're sticking with fire, the act of 'forcing' through a fire spell will result in one suffering from what is commonly referred to as spontaneous combustion."
"But don't other schools not rely on the same spells?" Another student called out.
"Indeed. Some schools are fairly mundane and don't require quite the expenditure. Take for instance the schools of Alchemy or Illusion. Both schools are schools of magic, except the former relies more on mild enchantment and more science work and so its position as a school of magic is more controversial. While Illusion is the act of creating nothing from nothing. Images and phantoms require nothing more than deep concentration compared to the act of actually conjuring a sword or something more substantial."
"What about enchantment?" Someone else asked.
"Enchantment is the act of pushing mana into an object or rune with the intent of something specific. The most common enchantment is the Luck Enchantment. This is something quite a few people are capable of without even realizing they have a talent for magic. Some items do have an inherent enchantment to them, four leaf clovers for instance come from the fae realm and so posses an innate amount of luck. But for most, they push the luck into items, coins for instance are common, that they continuously reinforce through constant exposure of said enchantment. The more the enchantment appears to work, the more people will continue to feed it the mana it needs. Creating a feedback loop where the enchantment and person both provide for one another."
"So why isn't everything enchanted?"
"Some will point to the Eldritch Theory being, again, the most common explanation. Just because you push that mana into something doesn't mean it is immune from entropy. While they don't quite need the same amount of attention here in this dimension. Outside such efforts require a more consistent method. Hence why you will see troublesome students wandering through the facility reinforcing runes for their misdeeds. Though we do have Servitors to do that, half-enchanted half-summoned constructs that regularly oversee such a crucial function of safety. But make no mistake, if you misbehave you will be scratching away at runes until your mind melts." Magister Grimsby stated in a tone that made it seem unsure if he was joking or not about their brains melting.
"Moving on. What are some other schools of magic?"
Before another hand and another voice could call out, the R&D head cleared his throat to get the Magister's attention.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but our business needs to be dealt with now."
"Right. Apologies Alexander. Class dismissed. Turn to your studies, we'll be going over the expanded forces of the universe next class. Pay particular attention to the forces of Entropy, Void, and Death for they will be our focus next class!" Magister Grimsby called out as the students packed up and started to file out.
As they did, Magister Grimsby walked over to the R&D head.
"So what new problem today Alexander?"
He sighed.
"Things are getting worse outside Eddard."
"You didn't need to come all the way down here to tell me that."
"No. But I did need to come down here to find out just how bad it was getting. The Director is getting antsy and we're receiving reports that recent events aren't just a local matter anymore."
Magister Grimsby sighed before gesturing for him to follow.
"How much are you informed?"
"Enough to know that what you're about to tell me probably wont make a dent in our growing list of problems."
"Probably not. But it sure will add a few more to them." The Magister stated cryptically before entering a dark room that held nothing but a jukebox player.
"What's that?" Chief Goodwin asked.
"I take it you'd rather not take a platform?"
"Depends. What does that do?" He asked while pointing towards the jukebox.
"It'll get us to where we need to go." The Magister stated and walked towards the jukebox.
Sighing, he followed after him. When they got near, the Magister was browsing through the various tracks on the machine.
"Ah, here we are."
Before Alexander could ask what it was, Magister Grimsby pressed one of the worn buttons on the record player. Causing an old timey song to begin playing. But by the end of the first verse, it started distorting and deepened. As did the world around them. The R&D head looked around with growing nausea as the world warped. It stretched and flattened and twisted.
Then as he was about to lose his lunch, the world snapped back normal. With the record on the jukebox finishing and clicking off. Magister Grimsby turned to the R&D head.
"So? Better than the platform?"
"I'll let you know when my gut catches up." Alexander stated and followed after the Magister, who chuckled at his friend's misfortune.
They left the darkened room and out into another stone hallway. This time it was more a warm orange color though instead of the dark purple before. Alexander followed Eddard along as he led him to a door, that parted like sand before him, and entered after him. The room was circular with the only sources of light being the floating balls of fire wreathed stone nearby.
In the center of the room was a pool of various colors of sand and a ring of what he assumed were Servitors. The floating balls of stone wreathed in fire floated in seven circles around the pool of multicolored sand. Eddard walked towards the only open circle and turned around towards Alexander.
"You really wanna know how bad things are getting?"
Alexander nodded. Eddard turned back around and began to chant an incantation while he summoned his own staff and plunged it into a hole in the ground in front of him. At a certain point he twisted it and the multicolored sand in the pool shifted. Black sand moved that way, gold sand moved this way. It was like watching a water-color painting, Alexander thought as he watched the display.
Then the sand rose. It formed a column and began to expand over the pool. Forming an orb in the air. As Alexander watched, he began to know what it was. It was the Earth. Blue sand formed the oceans, green and brown formed forests and mountains and so on and so forth. But along the sandy image of Earth. He could see spots forming here and there every so often.
Spots of gold would flicker every now and again. Sometimes for barely a second, other times for at least a minute before disappearing and reappearing elsewhere.
"What's that?"
"That is the cause of our current problems." Eddard said in a strained voice as he kept his focus on the spell.
Alexander, noting this is what his friend wanted to show him, looked at the sandy globe again. Where he started to get an idea of what was happening.
"Those are the anomalies aren't they?"
"They are. And wherever they appear, something else is left behind."
The R&D head watched as the small spot of gold appeared in the Rocky Mountains. Then Texas. Then the middle of the Atlantic. Then the Pacific. Then Europe. Then the Great Lakes. It didn't seem like there was rhyme or reason to where it went or how long it was there, he thought as he studied the spot flickering back and forth. He also noted other spots beginning to glow and move as well.
Black sand formed in places he knew were centers of eldritch activity. The South Pacific. West Virginia. The Deep Atlantic. He also saw glowing emerald sand form in places like the British Isle and the Red Woods in California.
"What are those?"
"Fey portals. It would seem this activity is doing more than just stirring the Elder Beings. Not only are the fey getting riled up, whatever it is is causing old creatures to awaken from slumber." Eddard said.
Hellish red sand would appear now and again, as did a golden white sand.
"And those?"
"Devils and Angels. They aren't the only ones though."
Alexander just stared as he started getting the picture.
"What does this mean Eddard?"
"It means the times are a changing. And fast. I would recommend the Director get ready for I fear The Veil won't last much longer at this rate. Our time in the shadows is running out."