Finally, Ohin sighed. “I cannot tell you how happy I am to have Ling back with us.” He placed his hand on Ling’s shoulder. “Her loss would have been nearly too much to bear. But we would have borne it. As we will bear the loss of any of us. None of us is so important that we can risk the stability of the entire Continuum for one of our lives. You, as the Seventh True Mage, may be the exception to that rule, but not the rest of us.
“What you have done was risky, selfish, shortsighted, and incredibly dangerous. More than that, you may have succeeded in giving Apollyon the one thing he will truly desire now. You. We will speak of this further. For now, we will go back to the castle and report to the Council. They will most likely charge us with the task of severing the branch of time you created. You will not only need to be there, you will assist with the process. Now that you know how to make a new world, you must learn how to end it. And how to bear the burden of it. You have the amber?”
Gabriel looked to Rajan, who dug into the small leather pouch for the chunk of amber with the imbedded dragonfly that would lead them back to the castle. He handed it to Ohin. No one spoke as each one extended a hand to the center of the group, Ohin placing his palms on either side of the stacked hands. Gabriel stared at the others’ hands. He could not look them in the eyes. Their silence told him enough of what they thought of his actions. But what did his own silence tell him?
He had not tried to justify his actions to Ohin. He had not told him his motivations at the time. What he had felt in his heart. Why he had thought it was the right thing to do even though it was forbidden. And Ohin had not asked. Gabriel didn’t suspect that the Council would ask these questions, either. He wondered what their punishment would be. These thoughts flooded his mind and threatened to overwhelm him as the familiar blackness surrounded them, and the blazing white light, which he was beginning to even enjoy, washed them away from the late 20th century Mexico City and left them standing in the Lower Ward of the castle once again.
Chapter 15: The Sword of Unmaking
A thick fog of silence hung over Gabriel and his teammates as they walked back through the castle courtyards to the living quarters in the apartments surrounding the Upper Ward. Ohin told Gabriel to wait for word from him in Gabriel’s quarters and walked toward the Round Tower and the Council chambers. Teresa looked over her shoulder to watch Ohin go.
“Now that Mr. Responsibility has left,” Teresa said when Ohin finally stepped out of earshot, “I’d simply like to say that, I, for one, could not be happier that Gabriel saved Ling. Even if it does mean he may have upset the balance of power in the Continuum, which might result in the destruction of everything the Council has been trying to prevent for six hundred years.” She turned to Ling with a playful smile. “See, I do like you.”
Ling tried to laugh, but it came out sounding too much like the beginning of a sob. Teresa put her arm around Ling as they walked.
“We’re all glad you’re back,” Rajan added. “I’m sure the Council will go easy on you.”
“What choice do they have?” Teresa said. “He’s the Seventh True Mage. The golden egg. The great prize. The hope of ages and all that crap. If they try to give you any grief, threaten to go on strike.”
“Don’t give the boy any ideas,” Marcus said.
“Yes,” Sema added. “He has plenty of ideas of his own.”
“Ignore them,” Teresa said, giving Gabriel a hug as the group parted ways, each heading for their own apartment. “I think you did a great job for your first mission.” She kissed him on the check and Gabriel felt an unfamiliar flush of warmth well up within his chest. However, his thoughts were already too confused to be even more confused by any complicated thoughts about Teresa. He breathed deep to clear his head.
“Thank you,” Gabriel whispered. He watched them head for their own apartments, Sema and Marcus in the state apartment wing, and Ling, Rajan, and Teresa in the private apartment wing. Gabriel headed to his room in what had been the visitor wing of apartments. He was lucky to have his own room because he was still new. Apprentices were expected to share rooms, but this rule was lifted for the first month of residence at the castle to give each new mage time to adjust to their new life and the loss of their old one.
Gabriel undressed and took a hot shower. He let the water run over his head, down his face and along his back. He always did his best thinking while in the shower. The water gently cascading along his body seemed to relax and unlock parts of his mind that were harder to access when he was dry.
He found himself thinking about the future. His personal future. What did it mean for him to be the Seventh True Mage? He had only just begun to accept the idea of being a Time Mage. What would it mean to be one of only seven people who could use all six magics? Moreover, what would he become if he could access the power of both imbued and tainted artifacts? Had Teresa been right? Was he too important to the war to punish too severely? Was he so important the Council would try to use him like some new and dangerous chess piece able to mimic the movements of all the other pieces? Did he have a destiny? What did it mean that he was the fulfillment of a prophecy? Did he still have control over his destiny, whatever it might be? Did he really have any choices left?
He had chosen to go back and risk the stability of the Primary Continuum to save Ling. Had that really been the right choice? What would happen to all those people cut off from the Primary Continuum when the Council severed the branch of alternate time he had created? What would happen to the other version of himself?
The water began to run cold before Gabriel came up with an answer to even one of his questions. He got out of the shower, dried off, and changed into a new set of cotton tunic and pants. He chose the black set this time. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe because it made him more noticeably different. As different as he felt. He had just finished slipping on the matching black cotton shoes when a knock came at his door. It was Ohin.
“I need to speak with you,” Ohin said. “Inside would be best.”
Gabriel showed Ohin in and sat on his bed. Ohin eased himself onto a slender wooden chair far too small for his large frame. They were both silent for a moment. Gabriel wasn’t sure what was coming next, but he didn’t want to risk getting in more trouble by opening his mouth before he understood the consequences. Finally Ohin spoke.
“The Council held an emergency session.”
“I don’t even get to make a statement to the Council?” So much for keeping a closed mouth, he thought to himself.
“No statement was needed,” Ohin said. “The Council has chosen to be lenient. You clearly knew that creating a new branch of time to save Ling was a violation of Council laws, but you are also a very new apprentice under great duress. You will make restitution for your actions by helping Akikane to sever this new branch of time from the Primary Continuum.”
“That’s it?” Gabriel said with a sigh of relief.
“It’s no light punishment,” Ohin snapped. “You will watch as a world of people you brought into existence are snuffed out for all eternity.”
Gabriel swallowed as Ohin’s words sunk into his heart. His real fear came to his lips. “I thought they might kick me out.”
“Kick out the Seventh True Mage?” Ohin asked with a frown. “Impossible. They need you too much. So much so, that we have all been sworn to secrecy regarding your true nature. We know the Malignancy Mages have spies among us. You must not reveal yourself to be the Seventh True Mage until it is safe to do so.”
“When do we sever the branch I made?” Gabriel asked.
“Soon,” Ohin said. “Akikane has requested to meet you first. He will be one of your teachers now. To help you in becoming a True Mage. He’ll call for you when he’s ready. Until then, remain in your room.” Ohin held Gabriel’s gaze for a moment. There was a great deal said in that silent stare. Gabriel had to struggle both to keep his eyes locked with Ohin’s and to keep back the tears that seemed ready to burst forth. It did not help that Ohin’s eyes revealed a
heart in great struggle.
The elder Time Mage seemed torn between disappointment in Gabriel’s actions and gratitude for saving Ling’s life, much the way that Gabriel’s heart seemed torn between guilt and pride. Ohin sighed and silently stood. Without saying a word, he left the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
After Ohin left, Gabriel had intended to meditate or study. Anything to take his mind off the events of the past few days. Anything to keep his thoughts from fixating on the events that were to come. Sitting at the small desk, staring out his window onto the fields and forests beyond, he found he couldn’t concentrate. Looking across the room at the bed, he realized how tired he was, even though he had awoken only a few hours before. Lying down on the bed, he told himself that he would just rest his eyes.
The knock on the door woke him. And a voice. Rajan’s voice.
“Akikane wants to see you.”
Gabriel looked at the clock. He couldn’t remember what time it had been when he had dozed off, but the sun was now considerably lower in the sky. Shaking his head to clear the sleep, he went to answer the door.
“Decided on a little siesta, did you?” Rajan said, standing in the doorway holding a book in his hand, as usual. “Akikane wants to see you.”
“Do you know what for?” Gabriel asked, closing the door to his room and following Rajan down the hall.
“Do you honestly think anyone tells me anything?” Rajan asked. “I was sent to fetch you like a pail of water.”
“Why you?” Gabriel asked as they left the old visitor wing and headed for the old state apartments across the Upper Ward courtyard.
“I volunteered. I wanted to talk to you.”
“What about?” Gabriel asked.
“I wanted to tell you what the others won’t.”
“Tell me what?” Gabriel asked, fearing from Rajan’s words that the others of the team were secretly harboring resentment at his actions.
“The truth,” Rajan said. “They are not really angry at you. They are angry at themselves.”
“I don’t understand,” Gabriel said.
“You did exactly the right thing, for exactly the wrong reasons,” Rajan said. “And those reasons would have kept everyone else from doing what you did. You risked the entire Continuum to save one life, to save Ling. They are all glad that you did so, and now they are angry with themselves for caring more about Ling than about the entire Continuum. And the reverse, as well. In their heads they know you were wrong, but in their hearts they want to believe you were right.”
They walked in silence as they crossed the courtyard. Rajan led Gabriel through the corridors of the state apartments to Akikane’s suite. Finally, Gabriel could resist no longer. “What about you? What do you think?”
“I only hope I have the courage to ignore the rules in a crisis like the one you faced,” Rajan said, a hard look in his eye. “What’s the point of saving the world if all the decent people are dead at the end? In here.”
Rajan opened a door and ushered Gabriel into a large room filled with light and the sound of combat. The same ornately paneled wood so common throughout the castle lined the walls, but the room had been renovated to resemble a Japanese dojo, with padded floors and wood-framed rice paper screens. Japanese ink paintings adorned the walls, bamboo and bonsai plants placed to catch the light from the large windows.
In the middle of the space, a small Japanese man with closely trimmed gray hair fought five men and three women with wooden swords. Akikane and his students. They were all barefoot and dressed in simple white uniforms. Akikane held a long wooden sword in his right hand and a shorter one in his left. The students surrounding him held only one sword each as they wove in and out of a constant series of attacks.
Akikane moved through them like smoke flowing around trees, deflecting attacks and delivering unblocked strikes in return. Gabriel had never seen someone move so fast. It seemed impossible how fast he moved. He appeared to know when a blade was going to move toward him before its owner did. The fight was exhilarating to watch, but puzzling. Gabriel noticed that some of the students moved with almost the same speed and grace as Akikane himself. The True Mage glanced up at Gabriel with a smile. Suddenly, a blur of motion flickered around the room and all eight students were lying on the floor.
Akikane held his swords at the ready for a moment and then lowered them with a bow to his opponents. The students struggled to their feet and bowed in return. As they straightened up, Gabriel could see them rubbing their arms, legs, backs, and heads. Places that had come into contact with Akikane’s swords.
“Good, good,” Akikane said and smiled. “Much improvement.”
“Yes,” said a tall blond man as he rubbed his head. “We lasted nearly a minute longer.”
“More importantly,” Akikane said, “you and Marie came very close to actually hitting me.” One of the women smiled and Gabriel guessed that she must the one Akikane had singled out. Akikane looked across the room at Gabriel. “Now I must attend to another student. Out, out. Same time tomorrow. We will work with blindfolds.” Akikane handed his wooden swords to one of the students and waved his hands at them as though shooing small birds out of the room.
Gabriel turned around to say goodbye to Rajan and discovered he was already gone. Gabriel had been so engrossed in watching the swordfight, he had not noticed Rajan depart. The last student to leave closed the door, and Gabriel found himself alone with Akikane, who stood in the center of the room, his face beaming with a nearly beatific glow. Gabriel had never seen someone who looked so completely happy and at ease with himself. Moreover, the elderly man seemed hardly winded after the fight with his students. Gabriel felt unsure of what to expect, so he said the only thing he could think of.
“Rajan said you wanted to see me.”
“Yes, yes,” Akikane said, striding across the room and grasping Gabriel by the shoulders. His hands seemed incredibly strong, but his grip was merely firm, not painful. “I wanted to meet you before we begin out little adventure together.”
“Adventure?” Gabriel said, wondering if he was referring to Gabriel becoming his student.
“To sever the branch of time you created,” Akikane said. “We will leave in a few minutes.”
“So soon?” Gabriel asked. For mages who could control time, they all seemed to want things done as soon as possible.
“Yes, yes,” Akikane said. “There is no choice.” He walked over to one side of the room where several swords hung on the wall. Gabriel noticed that the opposite wall featured a large statue of the Buddha and a shrine. Gabriel followed Akikane to the wall of swords as the elder mage spoke. “The branch must be severed within thirty-seven hours of its creation. Preferably by the hand that created it.”
“Why thirty-seven hours?” Gabriel asked.
“Who knows, who know?” Akikane said with a wide grin. “There are people who like to make theories to explain it, but I prefer to think that it is simply the way it is. Why is the universe here at all? Why is time travel even possible? Why is the speed of light exactly what it is, never slower or faster? Some people question too much. It is as it is.”
“I still don’t understand,” Gabriel said, trying to get it straight in his head. “If the branch is created, then it exists already in the future. What do thirty-seven hours have to do with it?”
“The branch of time you created only exists as a potentiality,” Akikane said. “After thirty-seven hours, that potentiality will collapse into a reality. For thirty-seven hours of relative time, time as you experience it after creating the branch, the alternate timeline exists only as potential. Like a gift box that has been not yet been unwrapped. Until it is unwrapped, there could be many things in the box. But once it is opened and you see it, the potential becomes reality.”
“So if we sever the branch I created right after the moment of its creation,” Gabriel said, thinking it through as he spoke, “the doubles of myself and Apollyon and Sema and Marcus won’t just cease to exist,
it will be like they never existed at all.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Akikane said, poking Gabriel in the chest for emphasis. “Very bright.”
“And if we waited longer than thirty-seven hours,” Gabriel said, “then the branch I created would become a new reality and Apollyon could escape from it with the other version of me.”
“Yes, yes,” Akikane said. “This would be unfortunate.” Gabriel thought that was more than a little bit of an understatement.
“But I took Ling out of that branch,” Gabriel said. “If we sever the branch before it becomes a reality, what happens to her? Does she just disappear?” The idea chilled him. To have caused all this trouble to save Ling, only to have her fade away.
“No, no,” Akikane said, grinning again. “Taking her from the branch of time you created and bringing her into the Primary Continuum collapsed her state of potential being into a state of actual being. Potential became reality.”
“That’s good,” Gabriel said, sighing with relief. Something occurred to him as he thought about the new branch of time. Something unsettling. “Sir,” Gabriel began. He wasn’t sure how to address the True Mage, but using his first name seemed ill-mannered, considering his age and his experience. “Why is Apollyon creating branches of time to double himself if he could just go and pluck himself from branches that already exist? And if he could do that, can’t he find another branch where I already exist and take that version of me?”
“Good questions, good questions,” Akikane said. “The reason is simple. Only one version of a person can be realized as a mage. No matter how many branches of time might have a version of you living in them, only one can ever become a mage. Once that potentiality is realized, it can never be realized again. As with much about magic, we do not know why.”
“You mean if I die,” Gabriel said, “There will never be another Seventh True Mage?”
“Exactly, exactly,” Akikane said. “Unless you have made a double of yourself in a branch that is allowed to collapse from potentiality to reality. This is why Apollyon is creating copies of himself from the Primary Continuum. Making branches around a time when he was already a mage.”
The Wizard of Time (Book 1) Page 15