Upon the higher realms of existence, where the fractured nature of the multiverse makes sense only to those who tended to it, the possibilities are literally endless. A semblance of order that can be found in the overwhelming spectrum, are concepts, and from each concept there are divergent paths, exponentially growing as branches in the form of dividing timelines. The trunk is the core of all these scenarios, from which all defining decisions and events are altered in ways few could envision and fewer could cross over to. Of the world-trees swaying in the garden of eternity there was One, the first and the strongest.

       It was here the branches of reality were most frayed and its extremes extreme. There were the most travelers here too, those who swung across its span to right wrongs or gain immensely through the plunder of a world whose mistakes had not yet come to pass. These feats and many like them were made possible by a primordial force coursing as one with the fabric of space/time and mass, the third cosmic axis known as magic. Its presence had just as much of an influence as its brethren and thus created a way of life most other trees were born without.

       The fruit of One were its own worlds, each of which with its own way. Here the Gods toiled over their domains, driven by the instinct to cultivate, to nurture and in some cases, destroy. Of these worlds there was a chosen one which defied the cycle of life and death others followed, one whose way was rebirth. This Earth was where magic repelled the influences of logic most and therefore held the most domain.

       It was here long ago a group of higher beings gathered after their homes were destroyed by a war that ravaged most of a galaxy. They learned from the mistakes of their kind, defecting before they could be consumed, and in turn, hid clinging to life on this one body in the deepest reaches of space. Together the young pantheon agreed to create an undying world so that their despair could never be repeated again. This Earth had seen more than its share of holocausts, world wars and outright apocalypses. It endured.

       Each incarnation of civilization lent to the cycle, streamlining the process of renewal so that more prolonged periods of prosperity came quicker with each passing. The current age was born from the spoils of great strife that scoured most of its surface. Survivors had decades to scrape by and reflect on what brought them to this dismal fate. Tensions rose between the schools of logic and magic and as the true details of their despair faded from memory, one began to blame the other. The leaders of each corner of the civilized races knew better. Their world could not endure another war this close to the last.

       And so, the Kingdoms of Magic were born. Fifteen territories spread across the nine continents suddenly segregated two halves of the way that always was. Great cliffs and walls rose to literally draw the borders between one and another. Apart, man and magic were able to thrive in ways they never had before. Their civilizations grew so distant that what most knew of the other was through myth. Only the highest officials from each side met and only when their separate wars threatened to spill over the borders.

       The human faction, called civilization, had truly grown into their own in the thousand years since magic left them. In the past they relied on portals and rifts to travel instantly across the planet, which was why this time, these people became uniquely advanced. From then on they raced to reclaim their trade routes and a new age of industry began, one untainted by the shortcuts magic provided for aeons. Their progress was slow at first but as in every other incarnation of man, the development accelerates at an alarming pace.

       The Kingdoms were more of a persistent presence than the ever-changing one civilization had become. Hosting three of the four civilized races, the concentration of power within the confines of their nations created landscapes and hosted creatures the likes of which civilization could never fathom. Magic was a strange force, and unlike science, thrived on regression, not progression. The old magicks that set forth the first end of days were primal and raw and to this day the Kingdoms strived to control it, tapped into it for life and consulted demons and spirits to understand its intricacies.

       As the first of their kind to develop without magic to aid them, these humans were well on track to become the most advanced civilization if they did not end themselves in the process. Ingenuity and greed flourished in ways that raised the ceiling for how great any one man or woman could become. Assets and fame created a new form of power that created legends of one greater than the other. Now, it was the heights of pride that killed millions instead of the blind rage of some free-range behemoth. Progress was progress.

       Without the temptation of wealth that came with living among humans, the Kingdoms were at peace, although that description was far from what outsiders would consider it. The wilds were rife with mythical beasts which all saw the high races as a delicacy. Law here was absolute but also allowed for much; rivalries often ended with grim finality in front of an audience starving for sport. Unlike their human counterparts, their legends were those of great might. Their ranks were known to have both saved and threatened or even destroyed the world through feats known in myth even in the civilized world.

       Not a half century earlier, relics had been uncovered by civilization that altered these paths. Projects to resurrect the resource known as the Aethernet ushered in an age of perpetual connectivity. Stripped of the magic exploited to graft it to thought, the concept was adapted by the unprecedented innovation of man and became a modern convenience taken for granted every single day. Amateur video of feats posted by witnesses spread like wildfire online, making many realize just what those from the Kingdoms were capable of. Paranoia and fascination spread throughout the human billions. Those same sentiments were beginning to evolve into thoughts of progress and profit.

       As the old tales began to fade and the generations became increasingly fascinated by the other side, more grew daring enough to cross over. One of the Kingdoms’ children could easily hide themselves among the masses; while almost a rite in some way, too many were becoming dazzled by what the civilized world had to offer. Deserters chose to walk among them, to live, learn and prosper using the talents every one of them was born with. Media had become an obsession for many within the Kingdoms, creating a lucrative smuggling market that tainted their ways forever.

       It was all happening so fast. Both factions had tasted what could be gleaned from one another and tentatively they explored their options. Even the slightest magic leaking from the Kingdoms had an impact on the untainted ways of the human people. Civilized capitals teemed with pest-like manifestations of the aether-race who were only born where their element lingered. Children wielding the powers of the mage joined the population as a rare but serious birth defect.

       The Kingdoms suffered too as so many crossed over for the foreign power one could gain or the pursuit of knowledge. Their ways were being lost to the wealth of distractions the other side was notorious for producing. Television, the internet and most music stood as an illegal yet persistent influence over their people. Tradition was beginning to fall to the wayside, greed returned to them as the factions exchanged tides; something needed to be done. An ancient order once stood for this, one which had long been deemed unnecessary and whose presence was mostly ceremonial, if nothing else.

       Masks, they were called, and through great deliberation, their ranks were restored. Theirs were made up of the best and brightest from both sides, those touched with the waning yearning to uphold the balance. They monitored the effects of magic, studied it and most of all, policed it. Smuggling of artifice was a growing problem that needed a persistent thwart. While the Kingdoms had their own laws regarding trespass, the Masks were an unseen fixture of every major city.

       With the Masks reinstated, life settled into a new, loosely controlled state of harmony that would stand until and if it all was to be undone. The Kingdoms once again moved on so set in the ways that had led them this far, knowing they too will end. No matter how high the cliffs or walls they raised along their borders, too much had been let in and too much had been let out. Mages so easily passed for humans and now traveled across civilization almost casually.

       The sprites, bound to so few physical laws, did as they pleased, although travel away from latent magic often greatly weakened their kind. All that remained to be the Kingdom’s own were its mightiest people, the Nephilim, a race made imposing by their connection to raw, brutal forms of magic, more so even than their incredible, towering statures. And so, while segregation was undone and restored over and over, the things that took both factions’ collective efforts to defeat were free to rise in the spaces in between.

       One such space was a city named Undel, and while magic was always a presence somewhere in every capital city, here it was bursting through the seams. With the Kingdom of Flyjia only six hours drive away, this was often the first stop for many wanderers and for some the last. The Masks here were the most concentrated of any population in the world and Undel’s three-and-a-half million people kept their ranks busy on a daily basis.

       Only the wise or the crafty could make it in this city and Spring Hudson too often considered himself both. His story was a common one: his first glimpse of civilized media hooked him on images of what civilization had to offer. With little exertion from his reserves, he was able make his job in construction more of a menial chore than a demanding profession. Early in his Undel days he ran with a group of others also living the dream and in turn learned tricks that made life here much easier.

       Spring found his niche in the corner of the hottest clubs the city had to offer, drinking, partying, laughing with the people while never being one of them. His purpose was his own. He spotted them early in the night, that man and that woman who wound up talking on the dance floor. He joined her at her booth of friends but the rest of them might as well have been home. Their chemistry alerted him to their need for his services. He sent a text to another elsewhere in the club who scanned them for intent and found them both clean.

       Somewhere else in the building was his partner, a psychic he only met once in person, whose powers shortly after erased every one of his features from Spring’s memory. He used to try to pick him out in the place but soon realized he couldn’t care less. The man was very talented and did good work. Also, like Spring, he wasn’t using his powers to gain immense wealth… just a little bit at a time. The psychic passed one nuance to another, down the line of people until the conversations were just right for the set up.

       Everything changed at once. The lights went down, the beat got heavier, inhibitions were left in the seats as everyone was compelled to thrive. A mix of heat and pheromones filled the club from the bottom up. It was getting thick. The psychic may play his part but it was word of mouth that was Spring’s true best friend. A customer was silently urged to approach the couple, hint about what he had to offer and send them his way. They sat in his booth, nervous yet curious.

       From afar Spring mistook the male for one of the many randoms who came here smothering their insecurities in hair gel. This guy was the real deal. He had the confidence and was in tremendous physical shape; Spring just couldn’t get past that obnoxious smirk he used to chew his gum. “Name’s Tim.” He said, and they shook hands.

       He turned to the brunette fox sitting to his left so he could really see what he was dealing with tonight. She was a sharp featured beauty with deep brown eyes that stayed locked on him almost as if he were her prey. She averted just as he did to look her body over and the way that little red dress kept it tightly under wraps. “So who’s this?” Spring asked, “Or do you even know her name yet?”

       “It’s Nadine.” They shook hands and he thrived in being a little creepy about it.

       “I can’t help but notice the two of you hitting it off out there,” He started his pitch, “I was wondering if the two of you would be interested in making the night one you’ll never forget?”

       “I’m listening….” Tim said, looking to her, “Are you?”

       “I’ll listen.” She shrugged but he didn’t care. They both leaned forward.

       Spring laid out the deal to use his powers as an enchanter to heighten their senses to a new level for as long as they were willing to pay for. It was a drug-free way not to get high, but be high on every resource the body already had in it. “It basically makes you be all you can be… for hours….”

       “Sounds like a good time.” Tim said,

       “Probably one of the best you’ll ever have.” Spring assured him, “Two hundred apiece.”

       “That’s steep,” Nadine told him, “I had a guy in Obret who charged half that.”

       “I add a little more in mine.” He matched Tim’s snide grin, “There is a powerful prophylactic effect added in. It’s new.”

       “Sold.” Tim took out his wallet, where there was much more than enough in it to pay for the hits, “Don’t worry doll, I have it covered and you can pay me back whenever or however you like.”

       Cash in pocket, Spring took their hands from across the table. Several charges of the spell were ready so he merely tapped into his magic and handed each a dose of the powerful enchantment. The light in his chest traveled down his arms and up into each of them. The next time they blinked their pupils stayed dilated and the effects took hold. He waved them off and watched them plunge headlong into the engineered jubilation as his regulars began to wait their turn at his table.

       He was two couples in and already felt drained. He had his partner hold the next customer and sat back in his booth to close his eyes and weave a spell that would keep him going. It wasn’t working. Right then Spring knew he had been made; these were inhibitors and someone out there slipped one into his drink. He called for his partner. Either the drugs blocked him from sending thought or the other one knew already the gig was up. He went for help the only other way he could. That’s when he noticed his phone was gone.

       With a flick of his wrist the table shattered against the ceiling and three leaps through the stunned crowd had him dashing out a side exit. Leaving the crumpled door against the alley’s opposing wall, his blurring vision shot straight for the roof. He wasn’t going to make it, not in one shot at least. He dashed partway up the wall, then sprang off the opposing fire escape to clear the roof and from there started running.

       Spring could barely keep his balance and found himself staggering when he should have been beyond optimal. On his first leap from one roof to another he crashed through the building’s air conditioning unit. The mess was loud, but with Undel’s night life in full swing there was a good chance it was not heard. That chance was negated as he looked back to where he touched down last and found a pair of them in pursuit. Their identical black suits and those horrid, faceless masks allowed them only to be differentiated by their stature.

       He hid, knowing he couldn’t make the jump to the next rooftop without making a scene. There were only two of them after all and if he could deal with them then perhaps he could make it out of here to sleep off his dose well out of their reach. The smaller of the two was getting close. Spring decided to take the agent out in one shot with a haymaker enhanced just enough to make them sleep as long as it took to get away.

       “Hunt, look out!” The larger agent shouted in that androgynous, mask-filtered voice just as Spring appeared to make his move. It really shouldn’t have mattered, though, his arm was to collapse their guard and send his fist right into the skull, but it was not so. Instead Spring’s attack was both blocked and snatched up by a grip far too strong for a mere human. He hit again, this time to the chest knowing the magic cancelling element, Magusite, woven into all their uniforms, would absorb much of the damage. It didn’t matter, he got his desired effect.

       The agent was thrown back but the larger one came in moving too fast for his own good and hit too hard for Spring’s liking. He countered, only to have it caught with lightning reflexes, was hoisted up by his own collar and pushed clean through the rooftop. Spring smashed through the table hosting a posh dinner party and was just about to lift his heavy body when the agent crashed into his chest with both feet, dooming him to his fate.

       Without the exertion of wielding his magic, Spring was able to regain his senses almost fully once the Magusite shackles were secured to his ankles, wrist and collar. “So?” He asked, “Got mages on the team now, I see?”

       “Not quite.” The larger agent spoke, removing his mask – it was his first customer, Tim. The other followed suit revealing Nadine, “Thanks for the edge though.”

       “Dammit…” Spring spat at their feet, “I wasn’t even hurting anybody.”

       “It doesn’t matter.” Nadine said, kneeling down to look him face to face, “And you know that.” Spring was handed over to a Kingdom representative to face the harsh justice system his people were known to rely upon. He wasn’t a bad guy, Nadine knew this absolutely, but he tampered with the balance, and that was an intolerable offence.

       “So….” Tim leaned into her as they left the transport and Spring behind them, “We still have a few hours left on that enchantment.” She looked at him, unimpressed by the obvious track his thoughts were taking, “Feel like celebrating?”

       “Absolutely.” She replied, but left him, his libido and the magic surging through both to head back to the club to spend his energies on a more willing, gullible target.

Continue to Chapter 1