Another life, another failure. The faces blurred, but each one haunted him, starting with his closest friend. He pretended to be callous toward the outcome. It was all done in the name of discovery. But he knew the truth.
If they failed again, magic would unravel. Each experiment took years of research—and every one had failed. It was his fault. He had started this, and no one else could fix it.
He closed his eyes as his hand touched the cold black metal. The door couldn’t muffle the screams beyond. Footsteps in the hall quieted as he pushed the door open.
The room, a dressed-up prison cell, had walls carved from the rocky ground beneath the estate. Black lines snaked through the dull stone, sparking like the heartbeat of the land. The four-poster bed, once a prized luxury, lay in splinters—just fabric and broken wood.
The woman chained to the wall was a shell of her former self. Her hair hung in matted strings, her eyes sunken deep into her skull. Bruises covered her pale arms and legs, and blood caked her fingers, where her nails had been scraped away.
It looked like torture, but it was all self-inflicted.
“David, she’s…” came a quiet voice from the doorway.
“I know.” he replied without turning.
A silver shutter blinked open. Tiny wires crisscrossed his topaz iris, pulsing like the sparks in the stone. They stared at the poor wretch who looked up at him with desperate recognition.
He took a few slow steps toward her, caressing her bruised cheek. She leaned into his hand, her eyes closing as she rubbed against his warm skin. He rested his forehead against hers.
“I think you’ve had enough,” he whispered.
She groaned in response, her throat raw from screaming, unable to form words. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks, carving clean lines in the steely dust that covered her face.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Black and blue clouds swirled from his fingers, forming shadowy tendrils that snaked toward the woman, then hesitated, as if sensing his thoughts. One eye closed, and the metal shutter snapped shut as the shadows cradled her body like a mother holding a child. The magic made quick work of her, ending her suffering with no pain and no memory of the last few weeks.
A lifeless body hung from the chains. There was nothing more to do.
Every time this happened, he lost a piece of himself. It was a never-ending punishment that he had to endure, and there was no way to stop it. The only solace he had was ensuring no one was alone when it was all over. They were comforted and loved to the very last breath.
“One of these days, I won’t have to do this again!” he growled.
His footsteps echoed on the stone as the door slammed behind him. His metallic hand balled into a fist, striking his palm until the skin turned red. The implant had been a failure, and she had died for it. They would have to find out what went wrong and reconfigure the Technomagical constructs. Next time, a life could be saved.
He remembered the first time it had happened. The vision of someone throwing themselves against wooden walls until their bones broke had never left his mind. Their timid voice had become loud and raving over the discoveries made in that prison of a bedroom. Their small, gnarled hand held up a chipped cup, claiming it was the Technomagical discovery of the age.
He walked toward the stairs, wondering how long he’d been in Varelith. Centuries, by Earth’s standards. How had it come to this? How had it come to this? How many lives had they sacrificed in the name of discovery?
“Just like I tried to make hearts beat on earth, we break minds in this world in pursuit of the same impossible solution.” He thought to himself. His mind went back to the beginning, where an artificial heart on Earth refused to beat.
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2098: Earth
David Lochner’s innovations changed lives. He created artificial limbs and body parts that interfaced with the human brain. The paralyzed walked again, the blind could see. His technology improved life for all, and David was hailed as a hero.
He was overworked, underpaid, and isolated. Day after day, he bent over a screen, mumbling to himself, obsessed with creating his masterpiece—a functional human heart.
Little did David know that someone had been watching him for years.
That night, the Mage leaned over a stone pedestal where water bubbled and played. With one touch, the water stilled, hardening into a glowing mirror. The reflection was not his own, but of a man pacing in a cluttered office, running a hand through his short, wavy hair.
David slapped a half-built model off his desk. It landed in a trash can filled with rotting food. He ignored it, glaring at the screen as the simulation flashed the same red error code. This was his life’s work all boiling down to this one perfect piece of technology. It wouldn’t work.
The chair scraped across the floor, nudging a defunct cleaner bot into a corner. After years of failed models and simulations, all he needed was one breakthrough.
A noise made David jump. It sounded like gas igniting, but there was no heat or explosion—only the whoosh of flames. He turned to see an orb of deep blue water. It bubbled and stretched from wall to wall, blocking his way.
“What in the…?” He squinted, “Ramona! Ramona! Is this a joke?”
David assumed it was another of Ramona’s harmless pranks. But the water felt too real.
The quiet buzz of machines gave way to the pleasant sound of a bubbling brook, filling the office. David reached toward the water, then jerked back as cool droplets cascaded over his skin, splashing onto the dingy tile.
“Ramona?” David yelled, “How did you do this?”
His assistant did not answer over the trickling of the brook. It seemed Ramona created an elaborate form of virtual reality. That, or she somehow put a water feature in the office. Both were nearly impossible. When he touched the water again, it grabbed his hand, pulling him into the projection.
Of course, you and I know this was a portal and David was pulled through it by the magic itself, tumbling through worlds at a speed much faster than light. On Earth, the water squeezed together until it was nothing more than a small drop. It hung in the air for a few moments before splashing on the floor. David Lochner had disappeared into thin air.
On Varelith, something entirely different and exciting was happening. The mirror became an angry sea, swishing and churning with the oncoming storm. The water splashed up over the stone again and again until it found the floor, springing up into a smaller version of the same “projection” David saw. An echoing scream preceded the thump and tumble of a man rolling in to a stately study in Zloras Castle.
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David opened his eyes to the smell of a musty rug. He blinked as his vision adjusted to the dim light of fire and candles. As he picked himself up, he inhaled a much more pleasant scent of comforting wood smoke. It was like a smoky marshmallow fresh from a bonfire, combined with a sweet citrus that David couldn’t place.
Fire crackled in a hearth, casting warmth across the room. A cool breeze drifted through the window. The light didn’t come from candles but from an orb filled with glowing liquid, orange and yellow, casting its glow throughout the room.
Bookshelves lined every wall, overflowing with books. A cluttered desk, scattered with open volumes, mirrored a mind overloaded with thoughts. A pedestal of shining metal sat in the center of the desk, holding a map of continents David had never seen before.
Shiny black shoes shuffled across a rug that had once been royal blue. David’s eyes bulged when he saw the man in front of him. He was nearly seven feet tall with a thin frame that was hidden by the gray slacks and blue tunic billowing over a white shirt. Two eyes like sapphires smiled at David; they were wrinkled and heavy with age. It wasn’t the eyes or odd clothes that got to David. It was the ears. His ears extended well past the back of his head, finishing at a perfect point.
“Welcome to Varelith, Mister Lochner,” the man spoke like David’s own grandfather. “Are you hurt?”
David’s shock gave way to logic, and he scrambled to a standing position. “What? What - what is this? Ramona! This isn’t funny anymore!”
“Mister Lochner, I can assure you Ramona is not here. And you are not on earth. Goodness, you’re a sight. Here, let’s get you some tea. Then I’ll explain everything.”
He did not wait for David to respond before turning on his heels towards a long desk near the arched doorway. David squinted at a few people who walked past the open door. Like this man, they too wore slacks or leggings and tunics that reached just below the waist. They all had the same long ears coming to a point at the end. Every one of them paused and watched David for a few moments before smiling a greeting and going on their way. It was as if they expected him.
A note of herbs along with the bitterness of tea reached David long before the cup did. He was directed to an oversized high-backed chair covered in an earthy green leather. The chair creaked when David sat on it, but cushioned him in comfort that had been broken in long before David settled there. He took a confused sip of the tea, tilting his head when a burst of floral and sugar ran over his tongue.
“Our finest blend from Athary. I thought it would suit you.” The man said. “Now that you’re sorted out, allow me to introduce myself. I am Collin Div’vossian. I am a Mage here in Varelith.”
“A Mage?” David blinked, “Who did the work on your ears? Everyone’s ears!”
“We are Elves, Mister Lochner.” Collin said.
The fragrant tea spilled on the worn rug when David lost all cognitive function for a brief moment. Collin’s eyes followed the mug, but he didn’t move to pick it up. Instead, he sat erect in the chair, holding his own cup in one palm. To David, he was like an old Professor — ready to share his years of knowledge with anyone prepared to hear the lecture.
“Hm…” Collin mused, “You’ve never seen one of us before. You’ve never seen magic either. You have. Yes, you have. You weren’t aware of it.”
“An Elf?” David grasped his head in his hands, “I’ve gone and done it. I’ve overworked myself and I’ve lost it. I’ll be committed! I’ve gone insane! I knew this would happen one day!”
Collin was unmoved. “If I may, sir. If you were that self-aware, do you truly think you’ve gone insane?”
“I don’t know! I don’t…! What is going on?” David asked.
“Let me get you another cup of tea to calm your nerves. I will explain everything.” Collin chuckled.
While David drinks his tea and learns that he is in Varelith, I will share with you what Collin shared with David. Varelith is comprised of six major lands, Athary, Espachor, Stej Pria, Xasmal, the islands of Bruy Clines and Ordrya. David came through the portal into Ordrya, which is the forested land of the Elves. Zloras is the capital of Ordrya, where the great Zloras Castle stands. Zloras Castle itself is a shining city, home to Varelith’s strongest military and some of the greatest magic users in the world.
Collin Div’vossian was not only one of Varelith’s most accomplished Mages, he was also the ruler of Ordrya itself. He had watched David for many earth years, waiting for the opportunity to bring him to Varelith. It was Collin’s hope that David would see his magic awakened in and take it back to Earth. This was the way they had done it since the ancient days of the world, and David was one of the many chosen to learn.
David scoffed at Collin, waving his hand back and forth. “You are telling me I’m in some alternate world where Faeries and Elves live and magic exists. Oh boy. I have absolutely lost it.”
“That is what I am telling you, and you will believe me in a moment.” Collin said.
“How do you suppose you can prove that?” David asked.
David ran his hands over the smooth surface of the desk, expecting it to flicker, distort, or simply disappear beneath his fingertips. It didn’t. The cool, solid wood stayed firm, resisting his touch the way any real object would.
Collin walked to a pedestal on the far side of the room. The stone itself was like marble that glittered with some sort of silver gemstone embedded into it. On top of the pedestal was a shallow bowl that held the same deep blue water David had seen in his office. The water swished back and forth, as if it was waiting for Collin to command it.
“There is your office. Right through the portal. You can see it clearly, can you not?”
David shrugged, “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m not hallucinating everything.”
“Step through it.” Collin said, “I will leave it open long enough for you to return. Do hurry. It is a bit shaky since I’m pulling from far too much of Earth’s magic.”
David walked towards the watery reflection of his office. “Sure. I just walk right through and…”
Again, David found himself grasped by the water and pulled through to Earth. It wasn’t as jarring as the first experience and he landed on his knees, feeling the cool tile floor rise up to give them both a nasty bruise. He opened and closed his hands, listening to the hum of computers and a distant coffee machine brewing a fresh cup.
“See? It was all a hallucination.” David sighed. “I need to make an appointment with a Doctor right now. I knew…”
David’s voice caught in his throat when the roar of a portal opened up behind him. He dreaded to turn around, but forced his body to move. There it was again, stretching from one wall to the other, waiting for him to come back.
There was no logic left, not even for a man as analytical as David Lochner. This was unexplained even to a Scientist as brilliant as he is. He paced in front of the portal, looking up at it every few steps and glaring at the Elven study on the other side.
“Pinching yourself to wake up,” he muttered.
He pinched himself, hard enough to bruise his own skin. The pain shot through his arm, but the portal remained intact. In a sudden burst of anger, he struck the wall with the side of his fist. The thud reverberated through the plaster and metal, but it didn’t bend, break, or reveal any hint of illusion. The pain in his knuckles was real, sharp, and the portal still remained.
He looked around the room, trying to find anything that would make this illusion go away. Nothing broke it, no matter what he did. This could not be real. It could not be! There was one way to know for sure….
David’s eyes fell on a desk drawer slightly ajar. A terrible thought crept into his mind.
The portal grasped hold of David again, and he landed on his feet back in the study. Collin squeezed his hand into a fist, closing the portal behind him. The water itself seemed to almost giggle as it splashed back in to the shallow bowl.
“Mister Lochner? You brought something back?” Collin asked.
“An insurance policy, Mister Collin.” David nodded. “A way to truly test whether I’m awake.”
Collin pointed to one of David’s models of a Human heart. “I know that is one of your creations, but the other is a weapon.”
He nodded his head towards the holster David held. Most people in David’s line of work carried a weapon with them. Corporations killed for pieces of technology that would make them rich. Scientists and Doctors of David’s status were always in danger, and they needed security.
“Yes. I’m going to use it on myself.” David said.
Collin stretched out his hands towards David. The click of the safety was followed by a swift crack of a gunshot. A searing burn ran through David’s leg and hip. It was like someone had poured flaming oil deep inside of his muscles.
He had never been shot before and did not stop to think of the consequences of such an injury. Nor did he stop to think of the nauseating pain that followed.
A warmth ran down over his leg as his pants stuck fast to his skin. David gulped in a few gasps of air, watching the study begin to spin around him. Footsteps echoed in the hall, and the quiet gasps grew as fuzzy and dark as his vision. His legs lost their ability to hold him up any longer, and they buckled to the floor.
As the world spun around him, David’s last thought was “It’s real…”