The Magi's Society

Mevi felt something, something was stirring from within her peace in sleep. It was as if she was awakening, but also wasn’t. As she was roused from some deep slumber, her awareness attuned to her familiar space. She found herself within her dreams, lucid once more. Her senses felt dulled, drowsy almost, as if she was greatly exhausted and was moments from collapsing in on herself. What strength of will she had, before her entombment into dreams, vanished as if it was never there. The mystical adrenaline had worn off, and her memories began to flood back in slow order. Her first glimpse into her memorial visions was of her body’s possession and rage. Then her memory of Kalesi’s wounding, and their fall.

Mevi shook free what memories pressed their return, forcing whatever tried to follow behind them away. She remembered little of the last few days, if these events even happened days ago. Mevi felt lethargic, she was almost tired of sleeping. As if someone was keeping her in a forced unconsciousness well beyond what was necessary. In fact, some strange sense within her told her that might exactly be the case. Tracking the sense to its source led her back to her entrapped daemon. The dark core that resided within herself was quiet and calm, it was almost communicating with her. In some strange way it was trying to tell her something, that she had been away for a time. That it had been attacked. These thoughts and messages came in the version of emotions, fits of panic, flashing colors, and alien sounds that were transmitted through an ethereal link between only themselves.

As Mevi absorbed the hastened report from her once enemy, she felt a presence that was unknown to her. Now noticing she was being observed, and her slowly awakening senses only now coming into realization of her cosmic surroundings. Great eyes, disguised as the wide cosmos above, watched her every movement, or what was considered movements in a formless realm. As Mevi gazed upwards, meeting the intent stare of her watcher, the eyes shut close and disappeared. As they disappeared from her mental sight, the feeling of their presence remained clear. Mevi could track the ethereal movements of this new entity as long as it remained within her dream domain. The presence stopped suddenly, after invisibly circling her several times in complete silence. As they did, a booming voice echoed around her, suddenly talking as if very far away and muffled through thick doors but also so loud she wanted to bind shut her ears. The distant voice communicated, for the first time in her dream world, in coherent words she could understand, “Strange. Your abilities progress faster under extreme stress, I will archive this for later study.”

Mevi felt the oppressive voice was, somehow, reducing their presence despite the great sound that was their echo. Mevi tried to shout back a reply, but could not formulate normal words. Even her own message was skewed and misunderstood by her own senses, a shout of confusion and fear of the unknown was all that could be produced. The great eyes, who remained invisible, studied her carefully as Mevi flailed her senses in vain. After a time of intent observation, the voice echoed once more, “I see… Not as developed as previously assumed, I will archive this regardless. You can understand me, to some degree, at least?”

Mevi responded with whatever feeling of affirmation she could, as if mentally nodding her head furiously.

“Good. Then you might assist me. My wife has bid me aid you, and remove your parasite. What walls are produced within your mind prevent me from directly removing it, without internal assistance.” said the booming voice matter-of-factly.

Mevi was confused, and as she translated her feeling the invisible entity didn’t seem surprised or concerned. In a way that only raw emotion could communicate, Mevi felt some amount of superiority leak from the on-high being.

Speaking as if beginning an academic lecture, the voice began to explain, “I can only guess what you may, or may not, see or understand. Regardless, it is not of immediate importance. Rather, I must know if you have the ability to perceive the crude device you use as a ‘Maige’ or not.”

Mevi was not sure if she should trust this bodiless voice, but affirmed to it she could comprehend the Maige.

Before Mevi’s message was fully translated the voice somehow knew her answer and began quickly, “I will mark the time for spacial awareness development… Then, if you have identified it, you must allow me to lend you my intent. You will then use it for its purpose: to remove your Maige safely from your body.”

Mevi was surprised by the sudden offer and following command, refusing to allow some new alien power within herself.

“Interesting. You are unwilling to accept power when it is freely given, I will archive your decision. Regardless, your Maige is slowly going to kill you. It was placed there with malign purpose, and will only do you harm. Even now it steals away vital parts of you for unknown motives.”

Mevi was conflicted, the voice was new but somehow felt trustworthy. Like it was so honest it couldn’t be lying, but that idea could also be caused by her skewed perspective within her dream-scape. Even without the voice’s reassurance of her Maige’s alignment, she had been wounded so much from even simple use of the device; the device had even somehow taken over her body and forced her to commit devilish acts against her foes. Yet, to trust some new and unknown disembodied entity and willingly allow it within herself? Mevi needed guidance, and could not decide which option was the less of the two evils presented.

As Mevi debated within herself, and the watchful eyes observed her every emotion, a slow feeling of familiar origin caressed her soul. Looking behind where her perceptions focused, a distant but familiar sky began to roll into view. Faraway, and very faint, the blue expanse stretched out not towards Mevi but to the invisible entity in her mind. The feeling of calm washed over her regardless, but the other entity encircled the scrutinizing gaze with a firm grasp. Not a grip to threaten or banish the unknown entity, but rather a soft envelopment with some unknown firm message. As the expanse’s influence fully trapped the entity in its warm embrace, it was fully illuminated.

Where the calm, warm, and curious entity was like the ever expanding sky and the curious expanse of space. The new entity was their earth, the ground that those who wished to gaze up had to stand on; a solid foundation, where truth and fact could be engraved into stone. Two halves of one whole, one cold and old by nature while the other was new and promised warmth of exploration. Mevi wasn’t sure why, but she trusted the endless sky, or more so longed for the familiar warm embrace if brought with it.

After the familiar entity departed fully, its message seemed clear to Mevi. It believed the watchful eyes were somehow trustworthy, or otherwise important in some way. And without a clear alternative, being stuck within her own wakeless dream Mevi realized she needed to accede to the eye’s demands. The, now invisible again, entity reacted as she came to her conclusion without emotion. Instead the voice echoed out again, as instructional as it was before, “I will archive your trust in warmth, and things considered traditionally benevolent. I will attempt to breach into your mind, slowly and without real power, and you must open the way in whatever manner you can fathom. Imagining a door being opened for a guest may help, I am told. Once you allow me in, I fear tampering with your fragile ego myself for the chance of untold damage to your psyche. Instead of my own, you must use your wits to break the seal on yourself that is emplaced by the Maige.” Then, despite Mevi’s confusion and slighted pride, a foreign power began tapping at her mind. While the voice was, for the most part, a distant echo muffled by her mental walls, this was as if someone was tapping hard against a thin pane of glass. At any moment where the tap used slightly more force than intended, the glass might shatter, but it was expertly moderated to only produce a slight annoyance on Mevi’s psyche.

Mevi followed the source of the tapping, traveling further into her own subconscious. The ‘sound’ was found, if you could call it a sound or say it was found within a formless space. Yet as the voice had said, Mevi couldn’t fathom exactly how to let it in. So she did what made sense from the tapping it produced. Within her mind, Mevi imagined her mental barriers as a wall and the tapping coming from a balcony window, not unlike her and Kalesi’s apartment. The tapping came from a peculiar source, with Mevi’s imagination of solid objects the entity was fathomed into existence alongside her mental space. At the balcony window of the home Mevi longed to see again soon, a small and annoyed squirrel tapped at the glass with an acorn in hand. Mevi had seen pictures, and read what she could understand, within the texts and data from her house’s library. The unknown entity seemed less scary now, but its watchful eyes still gazed up at her unblinking as the tapping continued. Mevi moved to open the balcony door, and as she did the squirrel sprinted in without hesitation. Once entered the, previously squirrel, entity’s form shaped and changed while growing to a stature well taller than Mevi.

The once-fuzzy creature now changed into an amalgamation of stone and earth, in the idea of some crumbling man’s statue. An ancient thing, gripping tightly to memories that fought against nature and thus wore away with time. The crumbling thing turned to Mevi, his eyes and mouth now made out of the dusted and cracked face of a plain-faced stone man. He almost began to sigh, in a way that projected creaking rock and echoing stonefalls, but gathered itself to a mostly solid shape to address Mevi, “I will archive that you prefer to change something you see as intimidating, into something you found cute in your childhood. Now, as I am unfamiliar with your mind, proceed and I shall follow. We should make haste to your Maige.”

“I think I can show you the way… We just need to float… This way…” As the words slowly exited her mouth, she was almost amazed at their formulation and vocalization.

The earthen statue was less surprised than Mevi was, off-handedly stating, “Curious, your development will be further archived.”

Mevi looked down at herself, and what had always been mists of colors now presented her solid form. There were moments when parts of her, the pieces that were used or thought about less, would vanish and return to their misty form but for the most part she was whole again. It was almost as if she had fully awoken, and was returned to Kalesi’s household apartment, if not for the strangely liquid state of the walls and world. When Mevi focused on an object it could solidify to a perfect memory but if she focused less the edges of her vision, or less remembered items, would shift and change like a floating liquid suspended in space. She could almost be fooled into the hope that she was awake, but the presence of the crumbling stone man, which followed her like a looming shadow, continued to prove she was still in a wakeless world. Said statue roamed close to Mevi, but investigated the terrain intently. Mevi thought he might know what was happening, the space she could once understand with her expanded consciousness suddenly became restricted to her dream body. The statue turned to face Mevi, and studied her face before speaking, “I can no longer hear your expressions, nor what thoughts you hide within your second mind. You stare at me as if to wonder something, but you must speak.”

“I am sorry… I am still getting used to this. Do you know what is going on? I thought to take us to where I think my Maige is, but instead we are in my home.” replied Mevi.

“Strange, you seemed to create this realm but it is now outside of your power. I will archive this development. As for your question, if you do not control this realm it must be created from the Maige defending itself. It may know what I am, and try to block me by using your power, but I am only a passenger to you, and cannot directly interfere with this realm.”

Mevi wasn’t sure exactly what the stony creature meant, but was suddenly afraid. She could no longer control her own dreams? How could something else infect her mind enough to take hold of it, even her daemon could only creep and chase but never control. Suddenly possessed by a fear of powerlessness, Mevi began straining her willpower against the world around her. The terrain shifted, and unfocused, melting into a liquid before erupting, in parts, into mist. Yet as she strained, she felt her body stress under her own command and in the far distance her daemon writhed and screamed in response. Mevi forced herself to take hold of the dream, but her willpower buckled under the mystical pressure that fought against her new ethereal body. The world shifted back to its, mostly, coherent shape. Mevi heard the statue mumble something, probably ‘I will archive this development.’ but she ignored the entity’s idiosyncrasy. The entity watched silently, with a stone and emotionless face, and then spoke up when Mevi gave up, “If I may make a suggestion: The Maige is attempting to keep you, and me, at bay but can only use what you already have and know. It has likely created a maze of memories to keep you occupied. Our only course, without inflicting permanent damage to your psyche, is to progress deeper into these memories until we reach wherever the Maige hides.”

Mevi hesitated, the creature’s logic seemed to make sense but she was still not entirely sure if she could trust the entity, “I think that makes sense… But what do I call you? I am having trouble knowing what to address you as.”

The realization passed over the entity’s crumbling face as a brief moment before returning to its stony expression, “Indeed. You may call me Odion. Now I, again, suggest we make haste.”

The strange entity was named Odion, Mevi wasn’t sure why it having a name at all surprised her. Its physical form, at least within her dream, was so far from a coherent human that she thought it might have some vague title or claim no name at all. Odion studied her carefully, as Mevi marveled to herself about its strangeness. Regardless, Mevi turned and began formally entering her home. The layout was identical to how she remembered it, and as she progressed into the main parlor, Mevi felt drawn down the hallway. Almost as if she was being directed by some unseen guide, Mevi followed the sensation past Kalesi’s room and into her own.

Mevi opened the door to her room, and as if passing through a thick wall of fog she exited her apartment and entered onto a new landscape. With Odion following behind, Mevi found herself in the familiar hallway of the Unending Spirit; the same ship that was owned and commanded by the dreadful Magi Falcier. Odion nodded to himself, as if he recognized the location, but Mevi wasn’t sure where exactly they were. She only knew, by the coal-black sleek walls, that she was on the ship that transported her to a new life.

Deciding that exploration was the only way forward, Mevi began walking down the hallway and hoped it was a good direction. As the two of them traveled the dream seemed to quiver and blur in places. “Interesting, the dream maze seems to dematerialize somewhat in areas of presumed vague memory. I will further archive this.” remarked Odion. Mevi wasn’t sure if that was correct, but she did recall often staring at the ground out of nervousness and fear so perhaps Odion’s assumption made sense. Just as Mevi began to feel completely lost, one of the strange doors opened next to her. The creeping passageway melted away from itself, pulling back as if the metal was a type of muscle retracting into itself. On the other side Mevi saw the room where she was brought into this new and strange world. The walls lined with strange capsules, ordained with gold and silver, bubbling blue liquid seemed to boil inside the human containers. Inside each capsule was a person with the signature white hair and fair complexion of her people. Mevi searched the decorated tanks slowly, investigating each one carefully, but they all contained sets of unfamiliar faces. Until she arrived at the center, where a taller than most capsule loomed high. Inside she saw a face that was indisputably recognizable, it was her own.

As Mevi confirmed her own body was inside one of the alien capsules, she suddenly felt her spirit ripped from her old form and into the gold and silver prison. Her eyes shot open, panicked and scared, she was suddenly submerged under the strange blue liquid, and a dark tint on the glass prevented her from seeing details outside. Mevi struggled to wail against the glass, to break free, but her arms and legs were bound by strong chains. Deformed shapes of people stood outside her suddenly small confines. The walls pushed tightly against her, almost crushing her in the claustrophobic space. Voices shared unknown words and sounds just beyond the glass barrier. Mevi begged for one of them to notice her plight, to take some hint that she was awake and ready to be released. She shook and thrashed against the chains that bound her to the small space, hoping that someone could free her, if she could only show that she wasn’t asleep. Then she remembered, Kalesi had set her free. Mevi searched the deformed shapes hunting for some hint of Kalesi’s fox-red hair, which stood out against most crowds.

As Mevi continued to struggle against the bindings, her panic only grew. Some of the formless people outside approached her capsule, only to watch briefly then leave the circular room. One after the other the room, slowly, was removed of any figures mimicking humanoid shape. Then, after Mevi began to give up hope of anyone returning, the door opposite her pod opened wide. From the opening a figure stepped into the room, red hovered around its head like falling leaves billowing in the wind. Its form was not entirely functional, and what little of it Mevi could see was blurred by the tinted glass and blue liquid. As the new entity approached, it stopped near Mevi’s container to interact with something. Mevi knew this was Kalesi, she had somehow pierced her dreams to save her. Mevi could rest peacefully, she would soon escape the tight confinements.

As if to answer Mevi’s prayer for release, the upward-swinging door to her small prison opened suddenly. Her bindings were cut as the door opened, and Mevi fell down to the metallic floor. Looking up, hoping to see her savior was Kalesi, the horrible form of her kidnapper stood. With spiraling mists of blood and terror orbiting his head, the Magi Falcier loomed over her with a smile made of shadow and eyes ready to consume her soul. His body was made of insects and dead flesh, writhing in a terrible horror as his gore and body dripped down onto Mevi, and the floor. Looming closer the form of Falcier grew to eclipse what light was ambient in the room, leaving his dark shadow cast over her that threatened to devour her whole. Just as the dreadful form of Falcier began to descend, some small part of Mevi’s mind screamed to fight the plagued monster. Mevi channeled what little rebellion hid within her, and summed a word to defeat Falcier’s echo. A shouted command, in an eldritch language, caused the once-terror to disintegrate into dark dust at her feet.

Mevi was almost surprised that she defeated the echo of her worst memory, and looked around herself. Behind her, standing just to the side of her once-prison capsule pod, was Odion and his earthy and crumbling statue form. The statue seemed equally surprised to see the effect of Mevi’s word, inquisitively asking, “Very intriguing, how did you know to use the word in such a way? In what place did you learn the Magik Speak? I must archive this, if you know any other words please elaborate.”

Mevi was astonished with her own ability as well, “I am not sure. I just spoke something that I was reminded of, and Lord Falcier was killed… Oh no! I hope you won’t tell anyone I did this, I don’t know how it would affect Kalesi!”

“Worry not, this version of Falcier was barely an echo of a memory, a fragment of some small percentage of himself he showed you. I will, however, archive your continued confusion between reality and this realm.”

Mevi realized that Odion was correct, and became almost bashful, but before she could respond the world began to crumble and change around her. As she fought to catch herself, and maintain what little understanding of her surroundings she had, Mevi accidentally fell onto Odion to catch herself. To her surprise, the stalwart statue held her willingly as she stabilized herself. With Mevi holding onto Odion’s side, the two descended into a new memory. One of bright light and great noises.

Mevi was put into her first memory of the City of Light. The overwhelming dazzle and brilliance blinded by infinite colors, while echoing noises of enormous magnitude pounded against every surface in an attempt to reach her ears and deafen them. The great city sprawled before them, thousands of creatures hurried up and down the street as they pushed and clawed past them. It became a boon that Mevi had held onto Odion for support, the churning masses seemed to tear and grab at her as if to sweep her away into places unknown. Odion’s large, and concrete, frame broke the tide of creatures as they passed over the two while Mevi retrieved her barings.

Mevi was stunned by the glory, and size, of the dream city. Even after the length of time she had spent within its real domain, Mevi could not even begin to get used to the bustling ecumenopolis within the Barge. As Mevi looked out across the crowd, something seemed to diminish the bright glory that always shone greatly across the city. Some darkened shroud faraway clouded the amazement of the city’s expanse. Mevi looked to Odion, she had no idea what was going on and he had been shown to be some kind of authority. Odion was investigating the horizon intensely, looking far in the direction Mevi had sensed the darkness. “Odion, what do we do now? I can’t understand what is happening, even if these are my memories they aren’t playing out the same as they should.” asked Mevi.

It took a moment for Odion to quantify a replay, his unblinking eyes watched the distance with a studied gaze, “Interesting. I will archive your skewed perception of the city. Regardless, it seems you are being placed into memories you find difficult to face. It is my assumption that you must seek out the controller of these dreams, and relive your memories so as to escape them.”

“What do you mean? In my last memory Falcier came to me, and he didn’t do that before.”

“I can only give assumptions based on what I know, and until we investigate further I know very little of the inner workings of your mind. It may have been an attempt to permanently dissuade you from further exploration, or it may have been a forgotten memory that was skewed. Even some memories, within mortals, tend to become diluted and mix several memories into a singular, inaccurate, memory overtime. Especially if under duress as you probably were.”

Mevi processed the statue’s words. It made some sense, she thought, but also no sense at all. Her memories were mixing together? Or she had memories she forgot and were coming back to the surface? Either idea had equally terrifying insinuations. Facing her own dread, on the other hand, was something she might be incapable of doing. Her summoning some power within to dispel the echo of Falcier was almost certainly a fluke. Mevi couldn’t even remember the word she had said, or how she had summoned it to her mind. It was as if someone else had given it to her, and she only borrowed the idea for a short time.

As Mevi debated the situation, and dreaded the path forward, a sudden pull forced her forward. The same sense she held before, that told her to go forward into the dream, but much stronger this time. It directed her to continue, and gave the road she needed to follow. Flowing with the foot traffic, Mevi continued up the road towards the great golden walls that were the interior of the Barge. Odion followed close behind, staying within arm’s reach at all times, seemingly unfazed by the bustling bodies that slowed Mevi’s progress greatly. Mevi didn’t know where she was being taken, but knew she had to reach the end of this test. Her daemon called to her, and more than that her consciousness was at stake. Mevi needed to see Kalesi again, and to do that she had to fight against these dreadful memories. To be with and protect Kalesi, nothing was going to stop her.