Multiverse of Magic & Mistakes (Completed)

2.3.23 Chapter 23

St James Park, London, Earth, December 2019.

"They're working!" came Allen's exuberant shout, cutting through the distraught Guardians.

"What?" muttered Vi, wiping the tears from her eyes upon her blue sleeve. She had cried what felt like a whole lifetimes worth of tears in the days since the battle. And now she had started sobbing again after Caeli's death, she felt as if she would never be able to stop. Rho, Middy and Lily were at her side, all equally as upset.

Caeli Azabin had been a renowned leader for centuries. It was inconceivable that she was no more. And ultimately, her death was another red mark upon Vi's ledger.

Middy, who had worked at Caeli's side for decades, was not at all OK.

"The 'equivalencers!'" replied Allen, "They are all actively pulling the magic from the world!"

Vi forced herself to get to her feet and to make her way back to the table where the eight machines were. The other's followed her slowly.

"Touch the extraction runes here-and here," instructed Allen.

Vi did as asked, unsure what she was doing, for she hadn't got as far as studying Allen's form of magic at the College. But you didn't need to be a Master Imburer to sense the hum of power passing through the beads. And when probing deeper, she could sense that some of the red crystals were no longer empty, they now contained a tiny bit of power. She pulled back, amazement and relief pushing through her. For now, dampening some of the sadness.

"It worked!?" she said, then added softly. "Caeli's sacrifice wasn't in vain."

"It wouldn't have been possible without her input, as well as Alyssia's" added Oddit, the Guardians equivalent of a master Imburer.

"What do we do now?" asked Rho. He was bent over, examining the machines in much the same way Vi had been.

"It will be a few days before we can calculate the rate at which they are working," answered Allen confidently. "Then we find appropriate places around the globe for the 'equivalencers' to be left. We set up heavy wards around them to deter any unsuspecting humans from discovering them. And we wait."

≠

Skylark Islet, Azuhelm, December 2019.

The Emperor offered the Guardians a wide strip of coastline to the North of Skylark Islet to establish their new lives. It was a beautiful place, with the rough pebble beach, the crashing waves, and the pandemonium of rainbow parrots gliding between the palm trees. It was about as far from the scorching, lifeless red desert, or the forests of Verdyn that they could get.

And for that Vi was eternally grateful.

She walked slowly along the narrow coastal path with Rho, hand in hand taking in the hive of activity inland.

Many of the existing houses on this part of the island were run-down and in deep need of some work. There had been an exodus, with families choosing to move to settlements on larger islands a few years back, the lighthouse keeper had explained. The building of the comms hub had brought some people back to Skylark, but it remained one of the archipelago's more quiet islands.

It was exactly what the Guardians and their allies needed. A place to rest and recover and regenerate. To rebuild and to start living their new lives.

Construction was already underway of a new school that would be open to all and would teach the Verdynian form of constrained rune-magic, the Guardians form of free magic and shifting, as well as the Azuhelmian's blend of magic and tech. Masters Allen, Antonetta and Eliza had all agreed to resume their former teaching roles, as well as to start a series of introductory classes for any Azuhelmian who wished to learn the basics of their rune magic. The lighthouse keeper's classes upon the Azuhelmian comms system and their 'computational engines' was already fully subscribed. Rho was going to teach Elementals and Stryder magic, in very much the same way he had taught Vi. And although she had no teaching experience and was frankly terrified of the idea, Vi had agreed to give some talks to the fascinated Azuhelmians about the magic-free life in her homeworld.