Fun Fact: The staff is a magi’s essential tool for casting magic, or a weapon to those more inclined to do harm. Since a staff can be materialised and dematerialised at will, the average magi is often seen without it. Materialising it is more than often seen as an act of provocation.

The invention of staves was inevitable, considering man’s natural fondness for weapons. A tool borne of necessity, the staff was mainly used to control and channel the turbulent arcani of the early magis. Many materials were used, until the ancient artificers found the simple yet perfect combination that could channel arcani without losing its efficacy.

----------------------------------------

“Hey, you! Oi homie, over here!”

It took a while for Felix to realise that the voice was directed at him. He looked around wildly, before spotting the thin man waving in his direction. Felix approached him, flashing an uncertain smile at the stranger. He was sporting a fashionable turquoise undercut and looked slightly familiar, although the boy could not recall where he had seen that man before.

“Hi… do I know you?” Felix asked.

“It’d be a great honour if ya did. But don’t sweat it, bruv.” The man had a strong accent distinctly reminiscent of the Pollux isles, although a pinch of Siriuan accent was also mixed within it. “I’ve always wanted to thank you for pulling that metal beam out of the concrete for me back then.”

“O-oh!” Felix let loose a small chuckle as the memories returned to him. “You’re that shapeshifter meta, right? My pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. Still can’t believe it myself; a fellow meta in the Guardian Council.” The man gave him a toothy grin. “Meta-kind Represent!”

“That’s very kind of you. Great to see that you’re safe too, Mister…”

“Doukas. Nero Doukas,” the man replied cheerfully, but a grim look quickly crossed his face. “But my wife and child… the constables couldn’t get to them. They’re still out there.”

“I’m so sorry about that, Doukas. We’ll do our best to save every citizen still stranded out there.”

“You really are a hero,” Nero said. “Please. Call me Nero, homie. I know I’m not the only one who’s missing my family, and I don’t mean to impose, but-”

Felix held his hand out, gesturing for Nero to touch it.

“What’s this?” the man asked as his palm touched the telepath’s hand hesitantly.

“Just committing to my memory what your family looks like.” The glow in Felix’s eyes flickered as he gave the grateful looking man a warm smile. “You have my word. I’ll get them back safely. You stay safe too, Nero.”

A wall of murmuring crashed into the boy soon after as he walked into the common area. His heart sank at the sight before him. There were way too many people packed into this modestly sized room, and their numbers were only going to increase over the days. But he had no time to think about that now.

“Hey, Aglaia. Need some help?”

The little girl looked up at her mentor. Blue light faded from her palm as she moved it away from her parents’ knees. Relief was etched on their faces, though it was obvious they were in some sort of pain just before.

“Thanks Felix, but not at the moment,” Aglaia replied. “My parents are terminally ill, you see. They need a constant influx of arcani to keep their motor functions alive. With the arcani in the air now corrupted, they can’t draw on it for sustenance anymore. So it’s up to me to provide the required arcani.”

“You’re a kind girl.” Felix nodded at her parents, before turning to the girl again. “Will you come outside with me for a short while? We need to discuss some Guardian matters.”

They left the room.

----------------------------------------

“So, our leader has given us our instructions,” Felix began. “Our mission is to eradicate the abominations and rescue any trapped civilians.”

Aglaia remained motionless as the gentle breeze wafted through her hair.

“I know you’re new to this, so you’ll remain by my side and act as my aide,” he continued. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no harm comes to you.”

The girl was still facing away from him, looking as though she was eerily frozen in time.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Aglaia?” Felix’s voice dropped as he reached out a hand to her. “Are you alright-”

She turned around slowly.

“There is a presence.”

Felix released a sharp exhale of shock. Aglaia’s eyes had turned completely black, and murky lines of tears were leaking from her eyes. She clutched her head in pain without warning and began screaming in fear.

Oh gods… What is happening?

The psychic moved without thinking and touched her forehead to calm her thoughts. Pain exploded in his own mind instead.

Why does it… HURT! WHY DOES IT… HATE! So much… hate. So much… SIN!

“Aglaia…” Felix clenched his jaw in effort, trying to push her thoughts out of his mind.

So cold… so scared… We’re all dead… Why… WHY ARE WE ALL DEAD?!

“Calm… your mind- Guh!” Her telepathy was overwhelming his own. A magenta glow exploded from his irises as her vision forced its way into his mind.

Fire sizzled all around him, while cries of agony grated his ears. Cries of people- No. Not just people. Different lifeforms, all sharing the same pain and nightmare. The air crackled with despair. It was as if he had just looked upon what the entire world had to hold of horror, and neither poetry nor madness could do justice to what he witnessed.

“No… I don’t want our future… I don’t want our pain!”

Aglaia’s agonised voice brought Felix’s mind back to the present. He let go of her and fell backwards as the vision abruptly left their minds. The boy heaved a sigh of relief. It was over, for now.

“Hey. Hey hey hey, calm down.” Felix knelt down beside a shivering Aglaia, pulling her back to her feet. “Everything’s going to be alright. You’re safe… you’re safe.”

“So scared… There was something else… in my head,” the girl whimpered as Felix comforted her gently. Her eyes were back to normal, and her tears were no longer clouded.

“You need to calm your mind,” Felix said firmly. “It has been a very stressful time for you, so it’s no wonder that you lost control of your telepathy. Tier five metas like us have to exercise extra caution over our power, lest we accidentally destroy everything around us.”

“No,” Aglaia insisted. “There was this… very dark presence that made contact with me and showed me all those horrors. The connection in my mind is still open, and I’m afraid whatever that is will attack me again.”

Meaning her mind can connect with anything. Past, present, future… Even across the infinite universes beyond our own.

Felix cast his eyes downwards, recalling Cicero’s words about Aglaia’s power. Could she have made contact with a demon? Or something even more sinister?

“Open your mind to me next time.” He gave the frightened girl a tight hug. “We’ll fight off that psychic entity together, alright? I promise.”

Aglaia nodded hesitantly. “I’ll try my best.”

----------------------------------------

Gaius looked towards the rapidly setting sun, ignoring the perplexed stares of the gate guards. They were nice enough to warn him about the dangers of wandering outside the camp, but it did not matter to him in the least. He was not intending to return.

The boy rummaged his hands in his coat once more. He should have enough supplies and weapons to survive an encounter, though he was not exactly hoping to have to fight anything.

“Just search and rescue. No need to engage,” he reminded himself. “It’s a simple mission, Gaius. All you need to do is direct as many people as possible to safe spaces.”

He exhaled slowly as orange light flickered behind his eyelids, searching for his first target-

“Gaius!” Footsteps caught up to him. The Sorcerer stifled a frustrated groan as magic retreated from his arcani channels.

“Gaius, where are you going?” Parthena’s face was pale, and she was slightly out of breath.

“Is she really that unfit?” Gaius wondered to himself.

“Never mind that,” she interrupted herself. “I need your help. My friends are in imminent danger. Please call on the Guardian Council to help them!”

“Calm down, Parthena.” Gaius gestured, though his voice was still filled with urgency. “What happened?”

“Orion just called me. My congregation members are gathered at our church, and they’re planning some kind of suicide ceremony,” the girl wailed. “He’s trying to talk them down at the moment, but he needs my help too. Please, we have to bring them back here before they do anything stupid!”

“I… I’m not part of the Council anymore.” Gaius hung his head. “I just quit.”

“W-what?” Parthena’s eyes widened in despair. “Oh no… I need to save them… They’re all I have.”

“I’ll go with you.”

There was a low rumbling as Gaius casted the teleportation spell. The two of them quickly stepped into it and left the camp.

A girl stepped out from the pillars, directing a technomagick reader at the ground where the warp portal had just faded away. The reader beeped for a few seconds, before displaying a location on its screen.

Kleopatra furrowed her eyebrows and pulled out her teleportation wand.