《The Death of Magic》 Final Exam Rootworld Hunter¡¯s Guild lack ¡° ¡°
Crossing the Barrier ¡° ¡° This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° hadn¡¯t ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°
Rootworld Hunter¡¯s Guild ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡ª ¡° ¡° ¡° Teasing Teasle Alpha had suddenly made himself scarce. That meant that his hunting party would be fanning out over the fifteen square kilometers of the Earthwise Forest reserved for their trial. There were also caverns in the Earthwise woods. According to Maurice, all the creatures of the world came up from the roots of those caves. ¡°You know where I am looking,¡± said Maurice. John watched as his friend sized up a headband and started tapping on the lamp attached to it. ¡°It¡¯s working,¡± said John, ¡°It¡¯s just too bright to tell right now.¡± Maurice cupped the bulb in his hands, then threw his cloak over his head. He came back up grinning and shrugged. Then pulled the band over his head letting it rest around his neck. John sometimes thought that Maurice¡¯s acne, also the dark rings under his eyes, were the probable result of stress induced insomnia. Apparently, Maurice¡¯s cavern theory was just one of the bedtime stories his father had lulled him to sleep with as a child. John knew a word for that type of theory. A word that had gotten him a strange look when he¡¯d mentioned it over lunch at Maurice¡¯s house one afternoon. A lot of things, like the theory of evolution, electricity, and magnetism, produced a vibe like he had just farted. Those were concepts he¡¯d brought over from his high school education on the Globe. Although his friends had made the grades over here, those textbooks were fresh off the press in Rootworld. ¡°Dad told me that everything came up from the Root through those caves,¡± Maurice had said, during that lunch. ¡°Some things worked and some things didn¡¯t. Anyway, the strongest animals spread out, eventually populating everything.¡± ¡°Not true!¡± Maurice¡¯s little brother Bobby had piped. ¡°Mom says that Father Time and Mother Earth gave every being exactly what they asked for when they were created, and that if you were nice and grateful enough not to ask for anything special like, fins, or wings, then they gave you a brain to think for yourself.¡± ¡°Okay, Bobby! Don¡¯t you have homework to do or something?¡± Maurice rolled his eyes. ¡°Anyway, even if all that was true too, they still came out from the caves. The living things we know about are just the ones that made it out to the sands before getting eaten by some other creature.¡± That¡¯s when John had said it was like evolution. Only the strong surviving and all that jazz. After the fart abated, Maurice had said, ¡°Thing is, Dad told me that all those things that didn¡¯t make the cut are still down there, trying to fight their way out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not true, Maurice!¡± Bobby wailed, squeezing his stuffy. ¡°Just think!¡± Maurice pushed, seeing he¡¯d gotten his little brother in a tussle, ¡°think of all the weird mutations skittering up through those caves. Some with an extra arm, or three eyeballs!¡± At that, Maurice had made bug eyes at Bobby, and the poor kid started wailing. ¡°Maurice!¡± came his dad¡¯s voice from the kitchen before their mom had come in and scooped up the balling child. ¡°Don¡¯t scare your brother like that.¡± John still remembered the flush on Maurice¡¯s cheeks. ¡°I was just telling John about the caves.¡± ¡°It sounds like evoluti¡ª¡± But Maurice¡¯s dad had made a chopping sign at John with his hand, and the look he gave him said that the word was taboo. It had made him think back to how Kristen¡¯s mom used to forbid her from hanging with his crew because they were all boys. Seems it wasn¡¯t only the Globe-siders who were having trouble accepting new truths, John thought. John was broken from his reverie when a voice that always reminded him of a ferbie doll blurted out, ¡°Go big or go home!¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Teasle was approaching the crew. He was hefting what resembled a Globe-side blunderbuss over his shoulder. He reminded John of Gunner from back home, well, minus the elbow and knee pads. Teasle is half-bunny, which made his joining the Hunting guild a bit awkward to Globe-siders like John. But the guy would be straight from a Rambo novel if not for the ears. John pointed at the blunderbuss. ¡°It still rubs me wrong that I couldn¡¯t come through with my paintball gun, but crafting explosive weapons from salt peter, sulfur, and stone seems to be okay.¡± Teasle scoffed. ¡°Globe side it¡¯s chemistry, but here it¡¯s just considered good ole alchemy.¡± ¡°You planning on pouring what¡¯s left of your kill into the tube?¡± Maurice asked. Teasle chuckled, which was always entertaining to watch. Ben had satisfactorily examined his tube and collapsed it again. He was currently putting it in his satchel. ¡°To be clear, your documents go in the tube guys. Technically that¡¯s the most important part. Alpha won¡¯t tell us, but we are literally heading up the Academy of the Arts classification department. No one was ever interested in documenting the species of things over here before the Globe-siders showed up.¡± John though about it. The assignment was really simple. ¡°Hey, what was the trial like before the student exchange program?¡± ¡°Uh, that¡¯s a question for Alpha. I think his father was a guild instructor before the breach,¡± said Ben. ¡°Or,¡± said Teasle, dropping the barrel of his cannon into his left palm, ¡°You could ask Sail.¡± John followed the bunny¡¯s right ear, which had gone rigid and pointed the girl¡¯s direction. Sail had her foot up on a bench and was tightening the laces of her leather high heeled boot. He couldn¡¯t tell if the pointy metal things that protruded from the leather body suit were decorative or deadly. And why, he thought, would such a tight suit need laces? She reminded him of Cat woman, but with scarlet pig tails. He was thinking the red blotch on her face made her look menacing when her green eye darted their way. ¡°She¡¯s new here,¡± John said. ¡°Far from it!¡± said Ben. ¡°It might be the first year she¡¯s been in this guild, but Sail has been around.¡± Teasle¡¯s ear went limp when he saw her coming. ¡°Not in that way, John. Ben means, she¡¯s flunked a few trials. I heard she failed the Rogue trial. You don¡¯t fail the Rogue trial and live. It¡¯s the Rogue trial!¡± The bunny was trying really hard to ignore the incoming Sail. Her heels clicked on the pavement. She put her hands on her hips just a few feet away. ¡°Did you paint your nails for the event?¡± John asked. Teasle dared a slow glance her way. Ben adjusted his binos. The reflection in his lenses showed a set of huge leather breasts, which was an effect of the glasswork, as the chick was, at best, a c-cup. Sail lifted her fingers and turned her hand so they could see the red nails and she did a little midair piano dance with the digits. Then she balled them into a fist and flinched. Teasle¡¯s ears scrunched up like a cat doused in cold water and Sail stood there smiling. Her eyes landed on John. ¡°Just for you guys as a matter of fact.¡± Teasle relaxed. Maurice¡¯s laughter only tempered by Sail¡¯s possible wrath. ¡°They¡¯re nice,¡± John said. Her hand dropped languidly to her side. Her body turned beneath her head like a marionette on strings and she said, ¡°Happy hunting.¡± Then her head snapped around, catching up with the rest of her. Happy hunting, John thought. That¡¯s what his dad had said before he crossed the Memorial Skybridge. He was thinking of asking his question when Teasle¡¯s voice took over. ¡°Now there¡¯s your new species!¡± Sail turned her head back toward Teasle and put two fingers up, flicking her tongue in between them, then continued walking. ¡°She¡¯s always teasing me,¡± said Teasle. ¡°Quiet down, man,¡± said Maurice. ¡°You want her hunting you?¡± Teasle licked his wrist and ran it up along his ears and then over his head. ¡°Sure, as long as she cleans me after.¡± He continued cleaning himself with his spit. ¡°Ug,¡± Ben said. ¡°You do know there¡¯s such thing as a shower.¡± ¡°This is more tactile,¡± said Teasle. ¡°Well, just don¡¯t ask me to scratch for you.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t give you the pleasure of pleasuring me,¡± said Teasle, putting his eyes to the ends of Ben¡¯s binos. Then, throwing an arm over John¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ve already got a cuddle buddy.¡± John gingerly lifted the hand away. ¡°Uh, not this time Teasle. I¡¯m gonna run this thing on my own.¡± Maurice deflated but then shrugged. Ben adjusted his binos uncomfortably. ¡°Okay,¡± said Teasle. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, huh? I thought we were a team.¡± ¡°Look,¡± said John. ¡°You guys have been riding my coat tails the whole year¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªUh, who sighted your bow for you?¡± interrupted Ben. ¡°Really?¡± scoffed Teasle at Ben. ¡°Please!¡± barked Maurice. Then at Ben, ¡°Who taught him to throw?¡± ¡®Well who¡ª¡± started the bunny, and the arguments blended together in an uproar. ¡°Okay,¡± said John evenly, but when Teasle took Maurice by the collar and Ben grabbed Teasle by an ear, he finally put his arms between them. ¡°Okay! Enough!¡± They finally abated. ¡°Truth is, we¡¯ve been riding each other¡¯s coat tails. But it¡¯s time we stand out.¡± He looked over when he noticed Sail give him a final glance from the edge of the woods. Besides the collapsed tube slung over her shoulder, she only seemed to be armed with a set of throwing darts and a deadly looking hairpin that she¡¯d slid between her pigtails as she disappeared. He pointed, ¡°She seems to be confident enough on her own.¡± They all looked at one another. ¡°I just wonder where she keeps her pencil,¡± said Ben. They all laughed. Introduction Introduction A Time with Death A skeletal hand reached out and turned an hourglass over on its axle, then turned it back upright. The devices were mounted in neat rows and columns like in a library, but the shelves were twice the height of the hooded figure that stood before them and stretched out in to seeming infinity beyond him, disappearing into the extreme distance of the gothic space. Anyone but Death might get lost in this labyrinth of hallways if they were trying to find an entry or an exit. Light played along the mahogany shelving and glittered off the blown glass of the artifacts and Death knew the incoming visitor was using no door. ¡°Trying to get my attention?¡± asked the Incarnation of Time, who had materialized behind the grim reaper. Death did not turn his shrouded head, only paused with the hourglass half-tilted again. The Incarnation could see that the hourglass was his own. The letters of his name carved into the golden plate at its base KRONOS. ¡°Oh,¡± said Death, in the hollow voice one would expect. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to break it.¡± This time he did turn to the Incarnation and said, ¡°It¡¯s just so much easier to hold a conversation when the sand is running backwards.¡± A lash of golden light went over Kronos like a jump rope when Death settled the glass properly upside down. Another lash threatened, then faded and the sand began to drop again in a more steady stream. ¡°We won¡¯t have long,¡± said Kronos, his golden eyes returning to Death¡¯s empty gaze. Death dropped his hand to his side. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just do the thing?¡± The way Death tilted his skull beneath that cowl made the question more pronounced. Kronos grimaced. ¡°Yeah. Well, since our last stunt, I¡¯m already up two demerits. Not to mention, I¡¯m supposed to be dead.¡± Death would¡¯ve looked surprised if he¡¯d had any eyebrows. He thought he was the only Incarnation with two demerits! He settled for empathy and said, ¡°Understandable. I just thought I¡¯d make it up to you.¡± Another lash of gold jump-roped Kronos, this time gyroscopically. Before its orbital glow guttered out again, he spotted a baby blue hourglass along the rail. It rested just near the tip of Death¡¯s scythe, two shelves up. Death turned his head to it when he was sure Kronos had noticed. ¡°I thought,¡± said Death, ¡°you¡¯d like to witness the birth.¡± Kronos stepped around the cloaked figure as it grew taller, and he stood beneath the hourglass. Now, Death was large enough to easily manipulate the blue artifact, as it was only at elbow level. ¡°I always wondered how you managed the upper shelves,¡± said Kronos. ¡°Size¡ªturns out,¡± said Death looking down at him, ¡°is relative.¡± Kronos read the gold identification placard on the blue hourglass aloud, ¡°Science?¡± Death nodded. ¡°It¡¯s empty,¡± said Kronos, then noticed a particularly interesting hourglass that was two different shades of red. The top placard read ¡°Magic¡± and the bottom placard ¡°Love¡±. The sand was more than half-full on the bottom. He reached out to touch it. A sharp rap echoed through the hallway and Kronos snatched his hand away. ¡°It¡¯s not empty,¡± said Death pointedly. ¡°You scared me,¡± Kronos said. ¡°And look. You¡¯ve broken one of the floor tiles.¡± Death lifted the butt of his scythe from the floor, ignoring the tinkling sound¡ªsurveyed the damage¡ªand then shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not empty,¡± he continued, looking again at the blue artifact. ¡°There is a single grain of sand in the bottom. It¡¯s simply waiting its turn.¡± ¡°And then we¡¯ll have a bouncing baby boy?¡± ¡°Boy?¡± Death looked down at the grinning, golden haired man. ¡°Oh, the color.¡± He put a phalange to his chin and said, ¡°We can hope.¡± ¡°So, the color has nothing to do with it?¡± Kronos asked. Two more golden hoops flashed around Kronos¡¯s body. A third joined the fray before they finally fizzed out.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Death sighed. ¡°Not in my experience,¡± he said. ¡°Would you like to the honors?¡± Flabbergasted, Kronos said, ¡°Could I?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Death. The reaper thumped the base of the shelf with the sickle handle and a step slid out. Kronos climbed onto it. He could now see the tiny shimmer at the bottom of the glass against the backdrop of blue wood. He reached but paused. ¡°What is going to happen to the other one?¡± Death stared at him. Small dancing lights had begun emanating from his eye sockets. It was like the far-off twinkle of stars. When Kronos got no response, he said, ¡°The other hourglass labeled ¡®Science¡¯?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Death. ¡°Nothing. That one is in the history section.¡± ¡°And what section are we in?¡± ¡°New age.¡± Kronos looked thoughtful, then shrugged. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, then he spun the hourglass over on its axle. There was a flash of blue light as the grain passed through the bottleneck and sand then started filling the base. Kronos was about to ask where the sand was coming from Death remarked, ¡°Now that means it¡¯s a boy.¡± Kronos turned to face Death and was relieved to see the light in his eyes receding like silver coins flipping at varying rates of speed. ¡°The flash?¡± he asked. Death nodded. ¡°What color do the girls get?¡± ¡°Yellow,¡± said Death, ¡°interestingly enough.¡± Kronos stepped down and the golden arcs began dancing around him again. Death toed the step back into its housing and shrank to normal size. He still stood head and shoulders above Kronos. Death cocked his head and gestured at the loping yellow orbs. ¡°Always yellow,¡± he said. ¡°Ha!¡± barked Kronos. ¡°Real funny!¡± The ambiguous corona finally abated. ¡°We better flip mine again or we¡¯ll have to do this all over. The next warp is gonna take me.¡± Death nodded and then reached for the hourglass pausing. ¡°So,¡± he asked. ¡°What did you think?¡± ¡°About the birth? Rather anti-climactic,¡± he admitted. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the point,¡± Death said. ¡°It is only a beginning.¡± The words hung there for a moment, and then Death reached his bony finger to tip Kronos¡¯s glass back proper. ¡°Uh, could I?¡± Kronos asked. Death turned beneath his cowl toward him and said, ¡°You may try.¡± After Death¡¯s hand was safely away, Kronos reached cautiously up¡­ ¡°Oh,¡± Death said. ¡°And Kronos?¡± Kronos stopped, the tip of his finger resting on the wood bevel. ¡°The sand comes from the endless desert.¡± Kronos nodded. ¡°Now you know,¡± said Death and he gestured to the hourglass with his skeletal palm. ¡°Thanks,¡± said Kronos. ¡°This is gonna make a real mess of things.¡± ¡°I believe its now referred to as entropy,¡± said the skeleton. Kronos tried the word out for himself, ¡°Entropy.¡± Then nodded. ¡°Well. Be seeing ya.¡± Then he righted his own hourglass. ¡°It is inevitable,¡± said Death to the space where Kronos had been. Only a small golden glitter still faded catching back up to the reverse flow of time. Death looked to the hourglass. It sat one degree off from plum. He put out a bleached digit and finished righting it. ¡°We all think we can do it alone,¡± he said aloud. Then he glanced down at the strange glass marked magic and love. It was righting itself on its own, making little tilts and adjustments. This wasn¡¯t surprising. It was how they were all supposed to work. It was when they stopped that caused any real trouble. Something tinkled down by his foot and the reaper stepped back. ¡°Squeak!¡± ¡°Thank you, Garth,¡± Death said to the skeletal rat in the black cowl. The Death of rats squeaked again and another rat¡ªthis one in a bonnet¡ªstepped out from under the footboard of the endless shelving. She took the ceramic shard from Garth and handed him his tiny scythe. Then¡­ the two rats nuzzled their heads together. ¡°Hmmph!¡± The old reaper¡¯s own scoff surprised him. He looked awkwardly away from the rats¡¯ show of affection, smoothing his robes. Well, they¡¯ll have that tile fixed soon, he thought. Then he peered at the strange reddish hourglass. He had never met the Incarnation of Magic nor Love, whichever this one represented¡­ Death dared another look back to the floor and saw Garth staring up at him while the lady rat fixed the new tile in place. ¡°Squeak!¡± said Garth. The lady rat looked up from her work and waved. ¡°Hi, Ramona,¡± said Death. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± There were multiple squeaks before they resumed their tiny work. Well, thought Death, there¡¯s nothing for it. In a flash he was standing at the gate of his home, patting the shoulder of Buxly. The large pale horse was also a skeleton, but stroking its hair was comforting. Death placed both hands on the horse¡¯s bleach-white nose and leaned his forehead against it, pretending Buxly was feeling anything but tolerance. Then, he opened the white picket gate and strode up to his red front door. He was going in there and doing anything but thinking about her¡­ and he was most definitely NOT going to interfere!