Arrival

         His mind was blank. There was nothing, and he was nothing. Time was meaningless, and substance non-existent. The only existence was in his mind. His mind was alive. No longer blank, it began with questions. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? No answers existed. There were none for him. A new concept emerged. He had a body. Bone and muscle surrounded him. Limbs existed. He could move them. Awareness consumed him as his senses began to work. Eyes, nose, ears, skin, and tongue all granting him a world to observe.

         His eyes opened. He was lying on a bed in the corner of a smallish square room. The bed was just a mattress and pillow, nothing more. He swung his legs out over the side of the bed and stood up. He wore running shoes and navy blue jeans that fit well, but he wore a black belt anyway. He also had a black digital watch that wasn’t working and a white T-shirt. He had well muscled arms, that weren’t big, but well toned. No veins showed through his tanned skin, and his arms were smooth as well. His face was smooth, with medium sized lips and a rounded straight nose. His eyes were a deep blue with a ring of slight green around his pupils. His hair was straight and thick, with bangs long enough to cover his eyes a little. The rest of his hair was long enough to cover his ears, but no more. Also, his hair was such a deep black that it seemed to suck the light from around it.

         He scanned the room. He now stood in the center of the room facing a door that was in the center of the wall in front of him. The room had no windows. He stood on a red carpet and the walls were set up like a medieval stone castle might have looked like. The bed was behind him and to the right was nailed to the floor. He learned nothing.

         Just as He was about to move towards the door, it opened. Two people walked in. All he could do was watch. The first one to walk in didn’t look much older than He considered himself to be. In his teens the first boy wore white robes that were complemented at the neckline by a collar of black. The robes fit nicely but still hung loose about the boy. A Black belt at the boy’s middle was the last feature. The boy looked young, but he seemed to hold an aura of authority in His presence.

         The second man to enter seemed to be middle aged. He was probably more in the third quarter of his life according to his physical presence. His aura, however, told a different story. There was no doubt in His mind that the air sizzled around this man. This man commanded a power and a great authority that could only suit a man who had lived for centuries.

         The second man spoke, “Not bad, David. For your first attempt I must congratulate you. You’re only a minute or two late according to my own senses. However, most people are off by ten minutes at least on their first try.”

         “Thanks Mentor. Is my test finished?”

         “Yes it is, you know how to handle new students, right?”

         “I do, Mentor. Good time to you.”

         The older man left. David turned to Him, “You don’t know why you’re here do you?”

         “No, I don’t. Should I?”

         David laughed, “No, you shouldn’t, if you did, we’d have to confine you for a while to erase your memory.”

         He smiled, “My memory is gone so don’t worry about that.”

         David walked around Him, “I don’t recognize your clothes, you must be from a more future time considering the stitching.”

         “Future time?”

         “Yes, a time where less and less wizards get born all the time. Probably cause they all end up here, and graduating means you get to go when you want. Magic isn’t needed so much in the future, so not many people go there.”

         “Magic? I have magic?”

         “Oh,yes,” David smiled, “if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be alive.”

         He drew himself into deep thought. He thought of the nothing he had sensed. The questions he wanted to ask. He finally came up with the most pertinent question he could think of.

         “Who am I?”

         “Interesting question, “David frowned, “I could give you many complicated answers with philosophy, theology, and anything else you can think of combined. But I’m under the impression that you want a name.”

         He smiled.

         “Well, to get your name you have to do some magic.” David grinned, “Would you like your first lesson?”

         He didn’t’ know how to respond. He wanted to know something, anything. This would be a step to understanding. He couldn’t refuse.

         “Yes, I would.”

         “Wonderful!” David smiled gleefully. David pointed a finger at His forehead and the last thing he saw was a flash of light.

         The nothing returned. All of nothing, but this time He knew something. He had a firm hold on what he wanted, and it had come. He had his name. He didn’t know what it meant or why it was his, but it was. It felt right. It was his name.

         He came out of the nothing. This time he forced his way out, back to reality, and the world of the living. He pushed through the nothing until he found something. He found the room where he was still standing. He opened his eyes, again.

         David was opening the door to leave.

         “Wait. I know my name.” David’s hand stopped. His head turned.

         “Well then, What is it?”

         He said it aloud. Heard from his own lips and in his own ears was extremely calming. It was his name. “Jeremy Knight”

         David smiled, “Very fast, I congratulate you. You’re not the only one who’s done it that fast though, so don’t get cocky.”

         Jeremy flexed his fingers. Felt his strength. He bent his knees and stretched his arms. Rolled his head around his neck and bent his back and waste. He bounced a few times checking himself. He was in good condition. He felt great.

         David motioned for Jeremy to follow him and they both left the room. After David had shut the door, Jeremy could have sworn that the door disappeared for an instant.

         David took Jeremy down corridors. He knew where he was going and Jeremy knew that if he ever got separated from David, he would be hard pressed to find him again. Soon they came to a staircase. It went up to a wooden double door. David went up and Jeremy followed him. The doors opened and they both walked out into a grand hall. There was a huge marble staircase in the center and a red carpet running from the entrance door to the top of the staircase over the stone floor. People were waiting for them. There was a crowd formed in a semi-circle around the door as they both came through.

         David spoke first, “May I introduce, the newest student at the Timeless Academy: Jeremy Knight.” Jeremy saw that many people in the crowd were teenagers, just like himself and David. However, unlike David, not all wore robes, and of those that did, not all were white. Some wore pants and shirts and there was a rainbow of colour in some of the robes. Some clothes were bright and other’s dark. The variety was staggering.  After that sentence some applause broke out, but it didn’t last long. That was just as well, as it made Jeremy uncomfortable.

         One student in the crowd caught his eye. She was looking directly into his. They captured him. They were the most beautiful eyes in the world. They sucked him in and he was lost. Lost in the beauty of those eyes, they became his world and his life depended on seeing those eyes. Losing contact was death.

         Another student shouted for all to hear, “I’ll do it.”

         Jeremy didn’t notice but he followed the eyes till he was in the center of a circle. The student who had shouted circled him, but Jeremy was still lost in those eyes. The boy walked in between the gaze and Jeremy hated the boy for a second until he was gone.

         The boy who circled him wasn’t wearing a robe. He was wearing a loose brown tunic and black pants.

         The boy smiled at how easy this was going to be for him. He aimed a side-kick at the back of Jeremy’s head. The boy was doing a perfect kick and it was fast, but Jeremy caught the kick with one hand, eyes still locked on the girl’s. The boy was surprised and pulled his kick back. Jeremy gave no resistance. The boy kicked again from the other side. Jeremy, again, caught it without a pause. The boy began a series of punches of kicks that moved at a practiced and swift speed. Not one punch or kick failed to be blocked by Jeremy. The boy became enraged.

         “Drop the spell so he can talk!”

         The eyes no longer mattered. Jeremy blinked. He was in the center of a circle of people. The girl smiled at him, almost apologetically. Another boy was in the circle. Jeremy looked at him. The boy was winded, but not too much.

         “What did you do to me?” Jeremy questioned.

         “Not me, the girl. She bewitched you. A simple spell, but usually it gets the job done for newbies so we can give them their initiation. Tell me how you could still fight?”

         “I fought?”

         “Don’t play games with me newb! How the heck did you still fight while your mind was off somewhere else.”

         Jeremy smiled as he heard the question. “If my mind was somewhere else, then it only makes sense that I have two minds.”

         The boy heard those words with shock on his face. “Two minds? You have two minds?”

         Jeremy laughed, “You asked me a question. I gave you an answer, the best one I had. I’m having some fun with you.”

         The boy didn’t smile. Fine, if you could fight then, can you still fight now?” he attacked again with his punches and kicks. This time Jeremy didn’t block a single blow. He dodged every time. Not once did the boy touch him. Jeremy was fast and agile. Ducking, sidestepping, leaning, flipping, and jumping gave the audience around the two fighters a good show. Finally, Jeremy decided that he was bored. With one hand he grabbed a punch and twisted the arm back. He brought up his leg and pulled a kick exactly one centimeter away from the boys nose. It took less than a second. Both boys froze, neither of them moving, Jeremy because he knew he had won, and the boy, out of fear.

         “Again students! How many times have I told you NOT to harass the new students.” A woman’s shrill voice filled the hall, “You all know that they know nothing about their own surroundings and you harass every new student anyway. Do ANY of you have any compassion for these confused and disoriented kids.”

         The woman, in long flowing green robes, looked at the boy and Jeremy. “Let the boy go now!” Jeremy obliged in an instant, letting the other boy fall to the floor. The woman got a good look at Jeremy now and then looked to the ground. Amusement shone from her eyes in an instant as she realized that Jeremy was the new student.

         “Andrew? Did you lose to a new student?” The teasing in her voice was evident. No one else joined in teasing. They almost seemed to fear that if any of them so much as snickered then they would be forced to try and fight him.

         Andrew got up, a scowl on his face. “He knows how to fight, he has a memory.” Andrew grinned, “He’ll have to leave”

         The woman looked at Jeremy, “Do you know how to fight? Do you remember learning how? Do you act on instinct or have you actually learned this somewhere?”

         “I have no idea. I moved easily. I’m faster and stronger than him. Even if I didn’t know how to fight, he didn’t have a chance.”

         The woman held her gaze on him. As if she was peering into the very depths of his soul.

         “Alright, then, follow me, I’m Master Mentor Ginger, and I run this school”

         Jeremy followed her up the stairs. The crowd behind dispersed before he reached the top. She walked with her robes flowing softly behind her. Her hair didn’t wave as it was in a tight bun behind her head. Jeremy followed through into more and more dizzying corridors turning left, right, right, left, straight. He lost count quickly.

Finally they entered an office. There was a desk in the center of the large room, at least three times as large as the room where Jeremy had found himself. The wall on his right was lined with shelves full of odds and ends. Balls, cubes, statues, liquids, jars, and many other strange things filled the shelves. The left wall was covered in paintings of everything. There were portraits, landscapes, even abstract art. Finally the wall behind the headmistress were hundreds of cubby holes, full of scrolls, and books. One other thing Jeremy noticed was that there was not a speck of dust anywhere at all.

The Master sat down in her chair behind her desk. It was a clear desk with nothing on it at the moment. She gestured for Jeremy to take a seat. He did so. For the longest time she simply stared at him. She looked deep into his eyes, and he felt the tendrils of power touching him ever so slightly. 

He felt it throughout his body and soul. His mind was invaded, and now he got a new awareness. As she went through his mind Jeremy seemed to experience an opening of information. He was in his mind, looking around. He saw the rooms that should be filled, considering his age. He saw the Master Mentor’s power in his mind. Saw that she was looking around, apparently she could sense something else in his mind that he couldn’t by the feel of it. Then he found it. A room in his mind, it was locked tight. A crack was in the door, but the wall and door held fast. He couldn’t open it. He had all the keys to his mind. Everything that was in it he could access. Except this room, something about it was wrong. There was a crack in it, and something leaked out. That he had access too.

It was information. He already recognized the feel of some of it. He recognized the ability to fight that he had already gotten from it. He recognized the new information from the same source.

“Jeremy, you have a very strange mind.”

Jeremy’s thoughts left his mind. He was still in the Master Mentor’s room, but he could still sense his mind. He had gained a new sense while she had probed him. He wondered if she knew that already.

“First of all, Jeremy, it seems that you have two minds.”

Jeremy stared, and then began to laugh. “You’re joking. I said that to Andrew, but I wasn’t serious.”

The Master frowned, “What did you say to Andrew?”

“He asked me how I could fight while my mind was lost in the spell that the girl put on me. I said that if my mind was lost and I still fought. Then it only made sense that I had two minds.”

“Well, it seems you weren’t far from the truth.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, you see, Jeremy there’s a part of your mind that I can’t get to. It’s locked away from you and it’s sealed with magic. That’s why it wasn’t obliterated with your memories. The dangerous thing is that whatever it was that’s in there had at least a limited knowledge of magic so that it was able to keep a few things in the time warp.”

“Time warp?”

“The time warp is how you got here. Every wizard who’s born, when they reach a certain age, falls into the time warp. It’s a part of their adolescence and it brings them here. Always. We don’t know why, or how it knows to bring them here, but it always does.”

“So, I’m a wizard?”

She looked into his eyes very carefully, and said, “Yes, Jeremy, you are a wizard, if you weren’t, then your mind would not have survived the warp that you fell into. Your body would be an empty shell.”

Jeremy looked at his hands and flexed his fingers. “What can wizards do, exactly?”

The Master Mentor smiled, “Not many people ask that question Jeremy. Those who do show that they don’t carry much bias with them.” She got up and walked to a picture on her wall. The picture showed a man in crimson robes with his hands over his head. Lightning seemed to flow from his hands to the dark clouds above him. Another man, in the picture, was dressed in a traveler’s cloak. It was brown tattered with the hood drawn back. From behind the cloak, Jeremy noted a sword being drawn by the man from over his back. He had a green tunic on under the cloak and brown trousers. His worn dark brown boots completed his look. Both men faced each other as if they were going to battle. The only other living thing in the picture was the grass that the two men stood upon. Nothing else alive was in sight. The sky was full of the dark clouds that seemed to get lighter as they got further and further away from the man in crimson robes.

The Master Mentor pointed to the picture, “Which man, Jeremy, is the wizard?”

Jeremy thought that obviously the man in the robes was the wizard, especially since he seemed to command lightning. Jeremy also knew that such an obvious question would not be asked without a reason. Jeremy continued to stare at the picture, focusing on the man with the sword. He began to see the intricacies of the artwork. There was detail in the painting that could only have been applied with magic. Then He saw it, the menace in the traveler’s eyes, the blue spark. Jeremy saw the spark that he had at first seen in the blue eyes and began to see it elsewhere. He saw it spread around the man in a waving aura of blue energy. It didn’t actually move, but the way it was revealed made it seem to. Jeremy knew the power of this man, regardless of the obvious threat the robed figure had, the traveler had a power as well, and it was far more deadly than anything as weak as lightning. His power wasn’t obvious, but it was there, unmistakably.

“They’re both wizards.” Jeremy said, “The one with the sword will win the fight.”

The Master Mentor looked surprised, “True, though it is that they are in fact, both wizards, the robed man will win the battle.” She smiled, “Did you think I was going to use trick questions twice? The second to expose the lie.”

Jeremy looked confused, “What lie?”

“That you can actually see the difference, the first trick question, ‘Which one is the wizard?’ is obviously both. The fact that you say that the traveler will win proves that you are simply believing that I am trying to use trick questions on you, when, in fact, you should be able to see that they are both wizards.”

“I can see it. The man with the sword will win, I don’t know how, but he will. There is no mistake, he has the power to kill and he will use it.”

She looked at him strangely, “You may be right, Jeremy. Many wise and powerful wizards have argued about this point. Many think that the robed man will win, and others, that the man with the sword will, however, the battle has never been witnessed and so, the answer can never be proven.”

Jeremy asked a question, “What’s the big deal about this picture, that wizard’s argue at the results?”

The Master Mentor got gleam in her eye and a grin spread across her face, “When this picture was created, the one who saw it said that the two wizards represented the two types of magic: outer magic and inner magic.  Outer magic is the command of the elements.” She pointed to the robed wizard. “For example, lightning. Outer magic is the control over the things outside of yourself. You can create fire and lightning, move things, crush them, basically let your imagination go wild, and control the world around you with arcane power, within the limits of magic, of course,” She said smiling.

“Inner magic is something else. It’s basically an extension of you. It can make you stronger and faster than normally possible. It can teach you, it knows a great deal of things. It could help you fight, like Andrew uses it. It can extend your mind, like I just did with you. It’s the opposite of outer magic, which is what allows you to control. Inner magic makes you give in to your feelings and relinquish control. When you feel it you’ll understand.”

“Don’t take that the wrong way, though. Both types of magic can do similar things. Some things easier than others, but inner magic can produce fire, and outer magic could increase your strength, but the feel of the magic is different and it is easier to do some things with one type of magic than the other.

Jeremy nodded, “Alright then, when can I start to learn to use it?”

“Eager are you?” She nodded, knowingly, “Most new students are, but you won’t have any kind of control for a long time. You’ll have to make do with the skills you have now to get by.  The first thing you have to do is feel your magic and control it. We’ll start to help you with that tomorrow, but it’ll take a week at least for you to feel the magic, even longer ‘til you can control it.”

Jeremy had thought as much, magic sounded complicated and it made sense that it would take a while.

The Master Mentor waved her right hand and an instant later another boy, maybe a few years older than Jeremy, came in the door behind him.

“Ah, Matt, a few minutes early, as usual. Could you take Jeremy and show him around.”

Matt bowed his head, “Of course, Master Mentor.”

Matt motioned to Jeremy to follow him and they both left the room. Jeremy was led though more and more endless corridors before reaching the grand hall that he had started in.

Matt turned and faced Jeremy before he spoke, “Hi, My name is Matt, as I’m sure you’ve realized by now.” He held out his hand and Jeremy shook it. “Showing you around is pointless as the place here is huge.” He smiled in a strange way. Jeremy became locked on Matt’s eyes much like he had been locked the girl’s an hour ago. But this time it wasn’t as strong.

“Jeremy I am going to give you some knowledge it will feel a little strange but it won’t hurt you, okay.” His voice was beautiful, Jeremy couldn’t say “no”.

“Alright.” Jeremy replied in a daze.

Matt placed two fingers on each of Jeremy’s temples and a glow began to emanate from them. Jeremy felt a flood of energy rush into his mind. He knew the school now. It was a maze the likes of which was designed in the most confusing way possible. Corridors changed all the time, but Jeremy knew them all. He knew it all, everything he needed was there.”

Out of nowhere a spinning metal star was came directly at Jeremy. Matt sensed it too late, he had no chance to stop it, he tried and threw a shield of magic around Jeremy, but it didn’t stop the star. It reached Jeremy’s cheek, and his hand had already started coming up before Matt had sensed the star, and he caught it.

Matt’s senses had found the culprit by now and Andrew was pulled out of a dark corner by Matt’s power. Matt was angry, but before he could start scolding Andrew, Jeremy held up the hand with the star.

“That was a very impressive throw. Magic guided you I presume.”

Andrew wasn’t angry, just annoyed and impressed, “It wouldn’t have killed you or even hurt you badly. Just scratch you is all.”

Matt’s yell rang through the hall, “You aimed a deadly weapon at this boy. He could’ve been killed.”

Jeremy looked at Matt, “The throw was perfect, there was no way it would’ve killed me.”

“He doesn’t have the kind of control to know that. It could’ve seriously harmed you.”

Jeremy shook his head, “A millimeter closer or a degree difference on the angle of the spin and it would’ve seriously hurt me. It was no accident.”

Andrew face was full of pride, “I knew that, it wouldn’t have hurt him, I promise.”

Matt looked torn. He was a merciful person, but he was completely against Andrew getting away with hurling a deadly weapon at anyone.

“What if Jeremy had moved, Andrew?”          

Andrew’s eyes grew wide, “Could he have moved while you were doing that? I thought that you were locked still.”

“I was almost finished, a few seconds longer and we would’ve moved.”

“Seconds? But it took my guide about and hour to do me, and he said I was average.”

Matt looked curiously at Jeremy, “I know, your mind wasn’t cluttered with anything. It was easy and short to place the knowledge in your head. Are you sure you don’t know how to use magic?”

Jeremy laughed, “I barely know what it is.”

Matt frowned, “But then how did you catch the star, how did you know it was coming.”

“I knew Andrew was here when you touched me. I got your information, but a part of me was almost more awake than normal in that state. I could hear him, and knew the star was out of his hand the moment it happened. I don’t know how, but a part of my mind is locked off from me. I can’t get to it.”

Then Jeremy made a strange request, “Andrew can you throw another star at me. Still far enough away that it won’t injure me, but close enough for a scratch.”

“Jeremy!” Matt nearly screamed, “Why in the times would you ask him to do that.”

Andrew had barely heard the words before another star was ready in his hand. This time, however, Matt was alert and ready. His power held Andrew in place, Andrew couldn’t move.

“I will not allow it, Jeremy. You have no control over yourself, and Andrew’s power is limited.”

Jeremy looked into Matt’s eyes, “It widens the crack. If you won’t let him throw a star at me, let him fight me. It might open the door, I want my mind.” The last sentence was said with a passion that Matt rarely heard from a student, let alone a new one. It was laced with magic. But Jeremy didn’t know that.

Matt sighed, “Alright. Fight, then.”

He released the hold on Andrew, but instead of letting them fight, he aimed his own kick at Jeremy. Jeremy blocked it and grabbed the leg, but Matt had already jumped and swung his other leg around to kick Jeremy a second time. Jeremy rolled to the side, just missing the second kick.

Matt stood before him, ready. “I can fight too, you know.” He said with a grin and a glint in his eye.

Jeremy grinned back, “Bring it on.”

Matt began a relentless assault, Jeremy was next to helpless. Matt moved with a speed and grace that Andrew could only envy. He was Andrew’s superior in every aspect of the dance. He moved faster, with stronger attacks, and with much more experience behind his technique. Matt seemed to know anything that Jeremy would do before he did it, that’s how fast he moved.

Jeremy was fast, and strong, but not equal to the magical enhanced prowess that Matt held. It was all Jeremy could do to, to dodge and block Matt’s attacks. Jeremy needed more, needed to know more about what he could do. The crack in the door ran up the door. A glow pulsated from it.

Jeremy’s speed increased, so did his strength. Still not equal to Matt’s, but he could fight on more even ground. They exchanged blows, not one of them landing a successful attack. More than once their eyes made contact, and the joy of the battle was evident in both pairs.

The crack in the door widened. As Jeremy continued to fight with the energy from the room it pushed out even more. The magic holding the room began to fail. It weakened more and more, as Jeremy pulled from the energy inside. It didn’t take another minute for the whole room to explode with everything inside.

Jeremy was shocked. Matt landed a punch and Jeremy flew up into the air and hit the wall behind him. Jeremy’s mind was flooded. Memories evaporated before his senses, but the core of the room remained intact. It was there, and Jeremy felt its presence. The second mind.

It wasn’t like his mind. It was analytical and never forgot. It was fast in all calculations but unable to fathom anything imaginable. It was a computer. The two minds could not inhabit one mind space. The only possible result played out. The minds fused. They had once been fused before, Jeremy knew. But the magic had separated them. The computer had known about the magic, known everything about Jeremy. Knew a little how to use it, it used it to protect itself from the time warp. When the magic had failed, all the memories protected by it went with it. None remained. Jeremy had no recollection of anything before he had woken up. But now he knew himself.

He knew what robots were, he knew that millions of tiny nanobots flowed through his blood. They increased his strength and senses. He knew what the computer was programmed to know before any memories had become. He knew how to fight, how to assemble most technological and electrical components. He knew everything he needed to know. He knew that he hadn’t begun to use his strength yet. He had now, truly, arrived.