“Louis’ wife died in 1953. He remarried a year later, after which L. Janus chose to live on Mearth as a hermit in a small cave in the hillside farther down the valley. He finished his notes and swore he would have nothing more to do with The Prophecy or with any other people on Mearth ever again.
“On February 5, 1955, Louis read an article in the Kentucky Post, which caused him to return to the Order of The Key chamber to revise his notes. He now knew how Mearth and Earth were related, and he had a new theory about the true purpose of The Prophecy.”
Janus paused, looked around the room, and asked, “Hey, does anyone want to take a break for lunch?”
Versera and Stavius had to physically-restrain Nariana as she lunged at Janus.
Stavius laughed, “It’s good to see that you’re feeling like your old, annoying self, but you had better continue. I don’t think we can hold her back for long.”
Janus smiled, “I’m just kidding, but you’re right. Sharing this with you is making me feel better.
“Science fiction started becoming popular in the 1940s with stories about Martian invasions and alternate universes. Like us, L. Janus believed that Mearth was another version of Earth.
“The geography of Septumcolis and Cincinnati exhibited a lot of similarities, but there were also major differences. One world has magic while the other does not. The climates are different. Mearth’s moon has forests and oceans, while Earth’s is lifeless and barren. Some of the stars are in different positions. And, while the general terrain of Septumcolis matches Cincinnati’s, the river flows in a different path.”
This was not news to anyone in the room, and they wished Janus would get to the point. However, he ignored their muttering and slowly continued to build his story.
“Louis decided to search for the cave valley on Earth in an attempt to prove that the worlds are connected. He was a salesman for a lumber company and frequently traveled throughout eastern Kentucky on business trips. Louis extended many of these trips with excursions searching for the cave, and, in 1949, he found it. The cave where the Soul Reapers live is called Great Saltpeter Cave, and is located in Rockcastle County, Kentucky.”
The crowd gasped, and there were a few murmurs of “I knew it.” Nariana glared at him and demanded, “What does this have to do with a newspaper article? And what do you find so scary?”
Janus held up his hands and said, “OK, no need to threaten me. I’m almost done.
“Finding the cave seemed to prove to Louis that Mearth was another version of Earth. There were similarities and differences, but one thing was consistent. Nothing manmade matched between the two worlds. The roads and buildings in the two cities were all completely different. This proved to him that Earth and Mearth had evolved differently due to one having magic and the other not. However, that morning’s newspaper article changed everything.
“As you know, the primary route north to Clothton and Septumcolis is a wide, reasonably flat, rocky swath through the hills. Perhaps this valley was carved by some ancient river or glacier on Mearth, but Louis’ Earth did not have such a path. The roads he traveled in northern Kentucky were all winding highways weaving in and around steep hills.
“The article he read that fateful morning described a proposal to build I-75 from Florence through Covington. This was a massive federal project to excavate many of the hills and replace narrow, winding roads with a high-speed, limited-access expressway.
“Louis realized at that moment that Mearth’s rocky riverbed wasn’t a riverbed at all. It was the ancient remains of I-75. Mearth isn’t an alternate Earth. It is our Earth far enough in the future for everything man-made to have disappeared except for where people transformed the topology of the Earth itself.”
Everyone was silent for several minutes while they tried to comprehend what Janus was saying.
Urtish was the first to speak. He said, “So we’re in the future?”
Terra said, “If L. Janus is right, then we must be over ten thousand years in the future because that is how long it would take for something like the Ohio river to change course.”
Janus added, “And for stars to shift. I remember Stavius pointing out that Orion’s bow was wobbly on Mearth but smoothly curved on Earth. I’m guessing that those particular stars have moved over ten thousand or a hundred thousand years.”
“But why does Mearth have magic? Where did it come from?” asked Elisa.
Janus sighed and answered, “Well, that’s the scary part. L. Janus believes that someone already fulfilled The Prophecy.”
“Wait, that doesn’t make any sense,” complained Nariana. “Who would have fulfilled The Prophecy, and when would they have done it?”
“Someone from Earth’s future and Mearth’s past,” answered Terra. She paused to think and then continued.
“If L. Janus is right, then The Prophecy’s objective is not to restore magic to Mearth but to bring magic to Earth. It hasn’t happened yet on Earth, but some group of heroes who lived on Earth after us must have successfully fulfilled The Prophecy.”
Versera interrupted, “Or, perhaps we are the ones who fulfill The Prophecy. We just haven’t done it yet.”
Nariana groaned, “All this time travel logic is making my brain hurt. It’s like Club S&M.”
Elisa asked, “But where does this magic come from, to begin with? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Janus said, “I agree, but Louis was a rather religious man and postulated that magic is a gift from God. He was convinced that God is sending us a message with the gift of magic from the distant future. He believed that the heroes must follow God’s teachings and bring magic to Earth to uplift humanity.”
Stavius said, “That sort of aligns with the cycles I found on Earth. Maybe other people have been trying to decode the message for thousands of years. But why is this so scary? I mean, think about it. We’ll bring magic to Earth if we succeed! And we’ll be the resident experts on how to use it. How cool is that?”
Nariana agreed, “What’s the problem, Janus? This sounds like a good thing. Why do you and Mr. Urtish look like you’re going to puke? It all sounds awesome to me.”
Urtish started to speak, but Janus cut him off.
“Louis was too young to serve in World War I, but he witnessed it. He saw many soldiers return home with missing limbs and other traumatic battle injuries. And he knew many families who had lost members in the fight.
“He was too old to serve in World War II, but, again, he saw the horrors of a global war. This time he witnessed the added effect of advanced technology, like tanks, jets, and the atomic bomb. And, by the mid-fifties, he was seeing the arms build-up of the Cold War.
“He was afraid that human-kind was not ready to handle the power of magic. He was terrified that magic would be used to destroy the world rather than to save it, and I think he might have been right. It appears that a group of heroes did manage to bring magic to Earth sometime in our future, but perhaps they live in a saner time where people didn’t use it to destroy the world.”
“Or maybe not,” Urtish softly added. “If this really is future Earth, then where are all the people? Most of Mearth appears to be wilderness with only a few scattered towns and small cities. Perhaps we are the ones who bring magic to the world, and this is all that is left.”
A woman said, “That’s a pretty good story, and maybe you’re right, but do you really want to defy the words of the Gods? I mean, sure, one possibility is that Janus destroys the Earth by bringing magic to it, and the gods step in and resurrect it. Or, perhaps you aren’t the ones who created Mearth by fulfilling The Prophecy. Maybe that was done by some future heroes when the world was already collapsing. Maybe your job is to save the Earth by bringing magic back earlier in time before people manage to destroy it. Or, maybe there really are multiple versions of Earth, and your job is to spread magic to the next one in line.”
Urtish started to explain why that didn’t make sense when he realized he didn’t recognize the woma
n’s voice. Shock washed over his face, and everyone turned to see a tall, young, Asian woman standing in the corner.
She smiled and said, “Hi, my name’s Terra.”
Chapter 8
Terra
None of the travelers spoke, so the new Terra walked toward the group and asked, “Which of you is Janus?”
She was barefoot, pretty, had wavy, untamed hair, and wore a simple yellow and green, floral sundress. Her voice sounded sweet and lilting, as though it were emanating from a young, carefree girl.
Janus gulped and raised his hand, but the new Terra ignored him after a quick glance and walked straight over to Stavius, who was frozen with fear.
“So, you must be Mars. Where are the talismans? How many do you have?”
“Don’t say anything, Stavius. We don’t know who she is or what she’s doing here,” warned Urtish.
The new Terra looked at Urtish and said, “Wise words, Saturn, but you have nothing to fear from me. This is my home, and all that is here belongs to me. But why do you call him Stavius?”
“Because that is his name,” answered Urtish. “Now, I must insist that you explain yourself, young lady.”
Urtish took a step toward the new Terra, but Stavius yelled at him to stop. “Stay back, Mr. Urtish. That’s not a girl, it’s a Soul Reaper! It’s just illuding itself to look like a girl.”
Urtish and the others jumped back, and the new Terra turned to face Stavius again.
She said, “So, you can see through illusions. That’s different, but it changes nothing. We are not a threat to you.”
Nariana was about to ask what she meant by the word we when two more figures appeared. One was an enormous man wearing a thick fur coat, and the other was a woman who could only be described as an athlete. Both were carrying swords, and the woman also had a compound bow and a quiver of arrows.
“Terra, babe! How’s the world treating you? Or, how are you treating the world?” the big man asked with a hearty laugh. “It seems like centuries since you’ve invited me over.”
The other woman snarled, “Do you think there might be a reason for that?”
The big man seemed oblivious to the woman’s comment as he looked around the cave, turned to Urtish, and said, “I love what you’ve done with the place, Saturn. Absolutely nothing!” Then he laughed at his own joke and began taking off his coat while continuing, “Hey, it’s hot down here. What temperature do you keep it at, Terra?”
The travelers backed farther away from these new arrivals in trepidation. Mr. Urtish, in particular, seemed ill at ease. He liked to know what was going on and to live in an ordered world. He had no idea who these strange people were, where they had come from, or why they called him Saturn. He cleared his throat to get their attention when the second woman, whom he had decided was a huntress, cut him off.
“I hate to agree with the big lunk there, but why did you call us here all of a sudden, Terra? I was right in the middle of a hunt and didn’t appreciate the interruption.”
“Well, as you can see,” the new Terra began before she was interrupted by a flash of light revealing a new arrival.
The most beautiful woman they had ever seen was now standing in the cave. She was wearing a long, loosely-fitting, red dress that seemed to be made of wispy veils that shifted and floated as she moved. Her garment seemed almost translucent enough to offer glimpses of her shapely body underneath.
“Sorry I’m late, sweetie,” she immediately began. “I was having the most marvelous scented bath and couldn’t bear to ruin the mood. What have I missed other than my man putting on a few dozen well-placed pounds of muscle? What have you been up to, big guy?”
The big man was now standing shirtless with his fur coat casually tossed on the ground.
“Oh, you know, I’ve been trying to eat right and working out. And might I add that you’re looking as lovely as ever,” the big man replied.
The huntress shouted, “Guys! Enough of the chit-chat. My prey is getting away. Terra, why are we here?”
“We’re here because these kids have collected four of the talismans,” the new Terra proudly proclaimed as she swept her arm toward the group of people huddled in the corner of the room.
“Oh, how wonderful,” exclaimed the beautiful woman. “Have they started to put them together yet?”
“No, in fact, I was just asking to see them,” answered the new Terra.
“So, where are they?” muttered the man as he scanned the room while eating an oversized apple which he had pulled from, well no one could really figure out where the guy had found it given how little he was now wearing. His long, leather pants were tossed on top of his fur coat, and he was standing in, what appeared to be, gym shorts.
“Whatever,” he grunted. “Now, which one of you is Mars?”
The new Terra nodded toward Stavius, and the large man strode over and punched him in the shoulder while saying, “Yup, pretty obvious.”
“Um, my name is Stavius,” Stavius replied.
“What kind of name is Stavius?” the man asked in disgust. Then he looked at Janus and Mr. Urtish and said, “Nah, it’s gotta be you, kid. There’s no way that either the old guy or the dweeb could be Mars.” Then he turned and trotted toward the entrance. “I’m going outside to get some sun while you guys figure it out. Nice seeing you again, V.”
“I can’t believe you used to like him, Venus,” said the new Terra to the beautiful woman.
“Hey, he’s not much of a thinker, but what a body! And don’t tell me you haven’t paid him a visit once or twice over the past few millennia,” the beautiful woman replied.
It was apparent from the momentary silence and slightest of blushes on the new Terra’s face that Venus was correct.
Urtish grasped that momentary silence and quickly interjected, “I insist that you explain who you are and why you are here.”
This stopped everyone in their tracks as the three newcomers stared at Urtish. It only lasted a few seconds before being broken by a yell echoing from the cave entrance. “Woo-hoo! This sun feels great! I love the heat!”
Nariana and Versera exchanged silent, confused glances. The temperature was below freezing, and there were over three feet of snow on the ground outside.
“I don’t believe I care for your tone, Saturn,” complained Venus. “I don’t see any need for rudeness. I was taught that patience is a virtue and that interrupting is an indication of someone completely lacking in that ability.”
Urtish was clearly flustered and replied, “My apologies for appearing ungracious, but I must insist that you leave. And why do you keep calling me Saturn?”
“Because it’s your name, dimwit,” the huntress sarcastically answered. “Are you sure these clowns are going to fulfill The Prophecy, Terra?”
Just then, another yell echoed from the entrance. “Hey, dragons, anybody wanna come out and wrestle?”
The new Terra, who appeared to be the mediator of the four of them, sighed and said, “Give them a break, guys. They are just confused and probably a little scared.”
The others didn’t look convinced. The huntress crouched on a rock and fiddled with her bow. And the woman in the red dress crossed her arms and glared at Urtish.
The new Terra began the introductions. “I’m Terra, and this is my home. The woman on the rock is Luna, and the woman in the red dress is Venus.”
“And old Woo-Hoo out there is Mars,” added Luna.
“What is with parents naming their kids after the gods,” muttered Janus. “Don’t they know how inappropriate that is?”
“I couldn’t agree more,” said the new Terra. “And what is your name, child?”
“I was named Janus when I was born, and I don’t really consider myself a child anymore,” he replied as he also crossed his arms.
“You were really named Janus?” she replied with a start. “That is most unfortunate. You must have been teased a lot while you were growing up. And I’m sorry to call you a child. It’s just that you
’re so much younger than us.”
“Thanks for understanding, although you don’t appear to be all that much older than us. I imagine your parents’ decisions to name you after the gods caused you to suffer some ribbing as kids too,” Janus replied.
At this point, the new Terra chuckled, Luna snorted, and even Venus unfolded her arms and smiled.
“Well, that is very kind, Janus, but you misunderstand. Our parents didn’t name us after the gods. You see, we are the gods,” the new Terra explained.
It took several seconds for that information to sink in. Then several more for the six of them to decide it was true. Suddenly all seven travelers dropped to the ground.
“Oh, get up, you fools,” laughed Luna. “You really don’t know why you’re here or even what you’re supposed to do?”
“We believe we’re supposed to collect the talismans and use them to build a device to bring magic to Earth. Each component is currently inactive but has been absorbing magical energy, much like a capacitor. Once the motor we build is running, it should create a powerful, magical plasma field,” answered Stavius.
Versera added, “Which will open a portal to Earth.”
“Wow, a great body and a brain,” marveled Venus as she stared at Stavius.
“Yeah, both of them,” commented Luna as she looked at Versera. Venus glared at her.
Goddess Terra smiled and said, “You are close to being right and yet are very wrong about many things. I’ll try to explain it to you, but Janus is the only one with all the answers.”
Janus looked as though he had been slapped. “I don’t have any more answers!” he insisted.
Goddess Terra laughed again and said, “Of course you don’t, at least not yet. But you will in time. Let’s start with your names. What do you call yourselves?”
Mr. Urtish assumed the role of introducing the heroes. “My name is Urtish. This is Stavius, that’s Terra, Versera, Nariana, Elisa, and you’ve already met Janus.”
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