Long ago the great mages of Altra built the citadel of magic as a barrier between us and infinity. They built it out of stone brick and filled it with every book of magic and physics they could, to keep us from ever having to glimpse that which humanity should ever see.
Or so I was told when I was a small boy.
I’ve never seen the citadel up close before. Any relevance it has was destroyed by the passage of time. First artifacts came and made it pointless to learn spells, then Magitech came and made artifacts irrelevant. Yet the citadel still stands as it did almost 1000 years ago, looking almost exactly the same, as if time passing made no difference to the way magic works and things still are the way they were back then.
Looking at it, I’m struck by how worn down it is. It looks like it’s being maintained, but only as much as is necessary to keep the building from falling down. Bits of it are crumbling all over, vines are creeping over every surface that isn’t covered with moss. There don’t seem to be any windows. I know that was the way buildings were built long ago but combined with the cracked stone I can’t help but get the impression the people living here don’t want anyone to know how bad things have really gotten. It’s like they’re hiding until we decide to go away on our own.
“I hate to say it, but this place is a dump.” I say to no one in particular.
“How did we get here?” Someone asks.
I think for a minute. I don’t actually know. I seem to recall we were walking through a field that went on for miles when Jessica started shouting at something, then the next thing I know we were here.
“Didn’t you want to come here?”
I turn, but I don’t see anyone. “There’s no point looking for me, you won’t find me.”
Suddenly I’m in a circular room with Julia, Rachel, Zachary, and Michael. In the center of the room is a woman I’ve never seen before, but who looks oddly familiar. “Now that you’re all here, why did you decide to enter my domain?”
That voice is Jessica’s voice, I’m certain of it. I’m transfixed. My entire body is screaming at me to run, but there’s nowhere to run to, and I’m not sure what I’d be running from. “Jessica, is that you?” I ask.
The woman glares at me. “I’m not Jessica. I’m not sure how you know her, but she and I are far from the same person. My name is Mildred Stonebridge. You may call me the enchantress.”
I don’t believe it. She’s the enchantress. I know Jessica said she was an unimpressive woman, but no enchantress would be this short, stocky, or old. She doesn’t look like she could command a dog to sit, let alone the respect and fear of everyone in the citadel.
“Ma’am, with all due respect, you turned my family against me, set assassins on Julia and Rachel’s tail for no reason, and have been trying to frighten the people of Altra all because you don’t want to admit that both you and your citadel are well past your prime and would be better off leaving everyone alone.”
Everything goes black. I feel the world spinning. Then I’m back, as if nothing had happened. “I may not be as strong as my ancestors were.” Mrs. Stonebridge says, calmly, “But I’m still a mage, and everyone knows that even a weak mage can wreak havoc if enough magic is present, and she knows her opponent’s weakness. And do keep in mind your majesty, your weaknesses are know by everyone in the entire kingdom.” She turns to catch all of us in her gaze, “All of you would do well to remember that I have access to the best scrying equipment in all of Altra, and I have been watching you since you enter the Citadel’s radius of power. I know what I need to do to keep you in line.”
“Then why are there only five of us here?” Zachary asks. “You did see we had another person with us, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did! But mages are so very slippery.” She waves her hand at us. “Don’t worry, she’ll be here in due time.”
The room dissolves and turns into another room, this time with almost nothing in it. It’s a prison cell, I guess. I look around the room for anything I could use to get out, but I have no luck. Strange, given how obvious it was that the building was falling apart outside, it should be easy to find a way out. Yet I can’t find anything.
Suddenly I hear a loud crash. I turn and see a small bit of paper on the floor. I pick it up and see what looks like spell writing on it. I try reading it out loud, but nothing happens. Then I look up and see that the room looks like it’s melting. I push my hand on the door and realize I can go right through it.
Well, I guess my time in this prison cell is over. Time to escape.
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