Pocket Dimension

Daphne Snow School of Arcane Art

08:00 PM

 

“Annya can you stop being so nervous?” Tesla asked, exasperated as his daughter held on tightly to the sleeve of his lab coat.

The blonde woman looked around her as all the glowing fairies zipped around them, goblin workers saluted them while gardening as they passed the fountains in the school plaza. The young woman just couldn’t believe what she was seeing; Fairies, Goblins and magical crystals illuminating the road and the school grounds.

“But dad, this is so unscientific!” Annya blurted out.

Annya had a Ph.D. in Physics and Psychology, countless papers that appeared in different science magazines due to her helping her father in developing most of his tech. Being confronted by the unknown like this terrified her; she couldn’t explain how those beings could exist.

“Yes, I know but as always there is a good explanation to all this.”

Tesla’s lips thinned as he looked around him, he heard the laughter of the fairies who seemed to be amused by their reactions and mocking them. The blue light of the floating crystal mage lights around them gave an eerie yet majestic feeling to their surroundings. The scientist in Tesla couldn’t stop being curious about the forces involved, thanks to his augmented reality HUD he tried to take some readings with the instruments in his techno-armor but there was nothing, zilch, nada. So the scientist concluded that the tools to detect this energy called ‘mana’ weren’t invented yet.

“Mister Tesla!” A feminine and young voice interrupted his musings.

A young woman in a white hoodie and black leggings zipped toward him and hugged him tightly lifting him from the ground and after the man patted the young lady’s head she put him back on his feet.

“Ah, young Elissa! I am so relieved to see you are well.” Tesla was happy to see that she was well, he had heard she had been wounded in the fight with Benjamin Price.

Tesla straightened his crinkled lab coat and continued to speak, “I heard that you had an altercation with a student today.” His gaze found Elissa’s who suddenly looked apologetic.

The young woman looked down to the ground, embarrassed by this entire affair, once again she had let her fiery nature take over, how ironic that someone with ice power could lose her cool. Tesla was a family friend and he gave her a chance to enter a prestigious school and make something out of her life, and she was repaying him with troubles.

“You could say that I still don’t know why he attacked me. But my guess is that he was just a sicko who likes to force himself on girls.” Elissa said.

Annya went on to hug Elissa and stroke her hair. “Oh, my poor dear.”

“Huh?”

Tesla laughed heartily at the scene of Elissa struggling in his daughter’s embrace. For once he wasn’t on the receiving end of it, the young girl gave in and placed her arms around Annya who after long seconds let go of her.

“Elissa, this is my daughter Annya.” Tesla introduced his youngest daughter.

Annya laughed and introduced herself more in-depth to Elissa who warmed up to her as she began to speak about what she does at the academy. She is a councilor and the head of the HR department because of her telepathic power. Annya obviously knew most things about Elissa as her father had informed her of what to expect. Thanks to her ability the young telepath could literally feel the goodness exuding from the redhead, and Annya thought herself a good judge of character, she couldn’t imagine this girl being capable of such violence as her father had told her about, but appearances could be deceiving.

“Where is your mother?” The scientist suddenly interrupted them.

The young lady before the two Teslas became serious and pointed a thumb towards the door of the palace behind her. “Mom and dad told me to wait for you and escort you to the family wing and into the Sanctum.”

““The Sanctum?”” The two family members said at the same time.

Elissa began to laugh when she saw their expression and said, “You’ll see.”

---

The Sanctum

 

The torrent of blue and white lights of the portal that brought them in the Sanctum closed behind them. Elissa checked that everyone was with her and led the Teslas in the meanders of the fount of knowledge, the three of them ended up on a stone platform made of white stone with glowing magical runes shining at its borders. There was a chasm separating them from the space where different floors and platforms with doors and shelves full of books and walls where artifacts of all uses and forms are stored as decorations or locked behind forcefields and enchanted from ever leaving this space. The lighting was a gigantic crystal turning on itself with multiple other ones orbiting it.

Annya and Nikola looked astonished by the scene before them.

“E-Elissa, where are we?” Tesla stuttered.

He looked around him, books flew out of their shelves to get onto others, on the next platform there was a desk with a chair and an ethereal and beautiful female humanoid, with white horns reminding him of a deer, was scribbling on paper, she was surrounded by a mountain of books of all sizes. Elissa waved at the woman who did the same and promptly got back to writing.

“Mister Tesla, this is the Sanctum.” Elissa opened her arms wide.

Malicia appeared in a shower of golden light, making Annya and Tesla jump back from fright. The Dae smiled at that; The redhead stepped away from her mother.

“Thanks for bringing them daughter, you can return to your dorm.” Malica said to Elissa who couldn’t help but lower her gaze when Malicia’s glowing eyes were upon her. “don’t forget, you cannot leave the school.” The sorceress said as a reminder.

“Yes, mom,” Elissa said, more subdued than usual.

Annya had never felt jealous in all of her life of another woman, she had been described as beautiful or gorgeous by members of both sexes, but she felt like a cow compared to Malicia. As for Tesla, he looked at the strange exchange between mother and daughter, how the young lady deferred to her mother and seemed to change behavior when confronted to her; he had seen the same happen with Cassandra and Heracles. Elissa said goodbye to Annya with a kiss on the cheek and a wave to Tesla who reciprocate the gesture.

Malicia stared at Tesla. “You are finally here Nikola.”

“Malicia, I am happy to be here. This place is simply wondrous, I don’t know how to describe what I feel…”

“Oh, being marveled should be enough.” Malicia giggled.

She was proud of being the possessor of this place of power, even though she realized that it wasn’t totally hers, some doors and sections of the library were still locked to her. Tesla and Annya looked at each other and laughed in turn, the humor relieving them from the tension they felt when they arrived in this strange but mesmerizing place.

“Follow me.” Malicia turned heel and walked toward the chasm and when Tesla was about to stop her from walking into the gulf, glowing rectangular forms deployed to form stairs leading to the next white stony platform.

Annya felt scared when the woman floated on the light platform, but she didn’t seem to fall or anything; her father braved putting a foot on the light construct and was mesmerized by how solid it felt. Putting his other foot he began to jump on the glowing light construct. When he noticed Malicia looking at him as if he was a particularly naughty child caught doing something ridiculous his face reddened and he followed her. His daughter followed suit, trusting her father’s assessment.

They traveled from platform to platform to reach the second floor of the library area, then the warehouse where the precious magical materials were stocked, followed by the portal room where an uncountable number of rooms could be found. Malicia explained that in this place there were all the different portals leading to different places on this planet and… other worlds. Tesla had tried to pry more information about them from Malicia, but she dodged the subject.

Finally, the group reached a place you could call a control center with white walls and glowing golden crystals, a giant mirror levitated in the center of the room. Its surface was shining with all the colors of the light spectrum. Other than that the room seemed too spacious and bare. However, the giant form of Heracles could be found looking at the mirror, as if enthralled by it. He turned towards the newcomers when he heard them step into the room. Malicia teleported to him and the man opened his arms as his spouse embraced him and rubbed her face against his chest.

“Cles, I have returned,” Malicia said with affection.

Annya suddenly felt envious of Malicia as she put her eyes on this hunk of a man, Tesla just thought that Heracles was out of the dog house since the last time he saw him.

“Good, my little devil.” He stroked her head and kissed her full on the mouth.

Cough. “We are still here.” Tesla interrupted them.

Malicia took her time to disentangle herself from Heracles and the muscular man made a shy smile. He wasn’t embarrassed to show love to his wife publicly but being called on it was kind of making him feel ill at ease.

“Oh yes, I almost forgot. Welcome Nik, and you must be Annya.” Heracles greeted the young woman.

“Nice to finally meet you, sir.” The blonde woman said almost flirtatiously but a scowl from Malicia stopped her.

“Likewise.” Heracles nodded.

Malicia waved her hand and a table and chair manifested in the room, then she sat with her husband; It was simple furniture made of a white grey wood whose sheen glimmered slightly. Tesla cooed at the display and as he ran his gauntleted hand on the table to see if it was solid he marveled at the display. His instruments didn’t feel any energy signature nor space displacement, so this wasn’t teleportation but creation, Malicia just created some kind of virtual matter that she made real. The scientist’s mind was astonished by the implications of such an accomplishment! Annya didn’t think anything about Malicia making things appear out of thin air, she just sat and became embarrassed by her father’s reaction who she tried to get to sit on the chair next to her.

“Dad you are embarrassing yourself!” Annya chided him while hitting his arm.

Tesla looked like a kid in a candy store, but when he looked at his daughter’s tempestuous expression he sobered. “Sorry.” He said as he sat.

“Nik you are always the same.” Heracles chuckled.

“This place defies the laws of physics.” The scientist said in an excited tone.

“As you know them,” Malicia interjected. “There are a great many things that you don’t know about, Nikola.” The Dae smiled slightly.

“Ah, maybe you should teach me then.” Tesla’s eyes twinkled.

Malicia tilted her head, looking at the man through her mage sight, he had the potential to be a good enchanter. “It could be possible, but first we have something to get out of the way.”

Tesla looked at her with wide eyes and then enthusiastically nodded. Yet again, the sorceress waved her hand and two sheets of paper appeared. Tesla took it in hand and began to read what was written on it. It reminded him of the Non-Disclosure Agreements his lawyer concocted with a more permanent punishment in case of breach of trust. Death, and imprisonment.

“Those are soul contracts, anyone breaking an oath-bound by them forfeit his eternal soul. If you want to know the truth about us, and my family and to be able to benefit even more from our partnership you’ll sign.” The sorceress lifted her chin and as usual, a light glowed in her eyes.

Tesla looked at the woman before him, he has been helping her and her family for four years now, she also helped him in a consultant position with disasters or foes brought by magic, she had either taken care of the problem or given him the tools to save the day. Malicia has a reason for the things she does, and it always concerned her family and more precisely Elissa. He had followed her exploits in Europe even before they met, she had been merciless but had also avoided involving bystanders in her feud.

“Dad, are you sure you want to do that?” Annya was worried as she had not expected something this grave to happen.

“I have nothing to fear, those people are like family to me and Malicia must have her reasons to make the requirement this steep.” The man said smiling confidently.

As Tesla signed the soul contract, the sound of thunder rang out, the paper dissolved in motes of light and disappeared. Malicia smiled at that, her eyes then focused on Annya who appeared to be terrified by the implications of what was happening.

“You can leave, I am not forcing you.” Malicia was about to wave her hand and teleport the young woman outside but got interrupted when Annya’s voice rang.

“I will sign.”

The woman looked terrified but she was courageous, her father had taken a step and she will do the same, she thought.

“Are you sure?” Malicia was giving her another out.

Tesla looked at his daughter, *She’s like her mother,*

“I want to know why you are doing this.”

“I hope it won’t be too much for you.” The sorceress stood up from her seat and walked toward the gigantic mirror and snapped her fingers, the surface of the mirror began to reflect Malicia’s likeness until a green orb that was definitely a planet with three moons dancing around it appeared. It orbited around two suns, one yellow and the other pink, then the view expanded and there were an asteroid belt and three gas giants, one even had two rings around it.

“Our family isn’t from this world, or should I say this part of the galaxy.” The mirror zoomed out of the alien solar system.

Tesla stood mesmerized by the spectacle Malicia offered and the revelation shocked him. The mirror stopped to show a familiar spiral galaxy.

“Compared to Earth’s position in the Orion arm,” The mirror showed the position of Earth’s sun in the galaxy by highlighting it in a different light. “The position of my planet should be here, in the Norma Arm near the center of the Milky Way.” Malicia put a finger on the third spiral arm the milky way.

The view came back to the green planet that turned on itself, white and blue clouds obscuring the number of continents but the ocean and sky were green. Suddenly the cover of clouds dissipated and the spectators could see the lands on this green gem; there were polar ice caps in the North and South, a giant landmass comparable to Europe and Asia was visible in the center and on the East side of it three giant islands could be found from the equator until it reached the North Pole. On the South Western part of the central continent, an Archipelago of Giant Islands shared the Southern Pole.

“This our world, Phantasia. We have fifteen months in our calendar and four seasons like on Earth, it’s a world full of mana and drowned in cosmic energy. Our suns are younger and more powerful than Sol. Our population is made of six races; The Dwemer, Fae, Werecat, Merpeople, Ancient Humans and Demons.”

An example of the races she spoke about appeared in the mirror, grey-skinned humanoids with black eyes and horns, people with butterfly wings that could become as big as a human or be thumb sized, mermaids and tritons, human people but who all looked quite beautiful, cat people wearing asian styles of clothing and to finish red-skinned humanoids with horns and arrow like tails.

“Demons?!” Annya exclaimed.

She stood up from her seat, horrified.

“Yes. They interbred with some of the population and integrated into our society.” Malicia lifted her glamour, letting her black and gold horns appear and her eyes changed to become more cat-like.

“I am what Phantasians call a Dae, the offspring between a Fae and Demon. Am I not beautiful?” Malicia posed for effect.

Annya’s eyes rolled in her head and she fainted landing sonorously on the ground.

---

Annya woke up in the same white room, she laid on comfy green and gold cushions; The young woman slowly sat up and looked around her. She was on a slab of stone that could be called an altar. As if she felt that she was getting cooked, the blonde woman jumped from the altar. She was seeing no sacrificial dagger or skull with satanic symbols.

*Calm down, me. There’s no reason that Malicia would sacrifice or harm me.* She thought as she sighed heavily.

A migraine speared her brain as she felt through the emotional link she had with her father throb with pain. He was in pain, even though she suffered herself Annya looked for him and what she saw scared her. Her father was kneeling before Malicia, holding his abdomen. The young woman rushed to Nikola and was stopped by Heracles who put himself in her way, taking her in his arms.

“Don’t interrupt, it could kill him.” He said.

Heracles’s voice sounded even but to Annya’s touch, he felt anxious. The young woman beat on the muscular man’s chest, trying to make him let go of her, to no effect.

“What are you doing to my dad?!!” Annya shouted.

Her dad was screaming in pain, and then it stopped. Tesla was on the ground, panting.

“He is taking his place in our circle,” Heracles said as he let go of Annya and then got out of her way.

The young woman rushed to her dad and knelt at his side patting every part of his body to find out where he was hurt.

“Јеби га, то боли ! (Fuck, that hurt!)” Tesla observed.

“This is normal, opening the spiritual meridians and unsealing your core this late in your life is painful; normally this action is done when someone is still in their childhood or teenage years. As the body is more malleable.” Malicia informed them.

“I can do magic now?” Tesla asked with an enthusiastic tone.

The scientist took out a comb from the inside pocket of his lab coat and began to comb his black hair back that was put in disarray earlier.

“Indeed, I am pleased to say that you can be an enchanter. You’ll be able to craft magical items and create formations to protect or reinforce structures. I can teach you if you so wish.” In Malicia’s hand a book appeared, it was as big as an encyclopedia. “Or you could learn by yourself?”

The sorceress looked at him as if she was judging him through his next action, however, Tesla was a lot of things but not an idiot.

“I am not foolish enough to think myself able to learn your art alone. I wish to learn at the feet of someone who knows what they are doing.” He said after chuckling.

A light of approval appeared in Malicia’s eyes, and Tesla sighed when he realized that he made the right choice.

“Then we will do it like that.” The sorceress said.

Malicia made the book disappear and took out a silver necklace that she threw at Tesla who caught it mid-air.

“Malicia, what are we going to do about Elissa?” Nikola couldn’t believe that this hot potato had dropped in his lap.

Him getting cozy with magical aliens? If someone had told him that it would happen in his lifetime he would have kicked their ass. Malicia’s face became serious

“We need to prepare her and I think that you can help.” She already knew how he will be able to help, it was just a question of knowing if the man would be able to.

“Wait, what is it about Elissa? I am lost, what have you been doing while I was unconscious?” Annya’s voice broke the serious atmosphere between her father and the sorceress.

Tesla always ready for a laugh interjected, “Ah мој драги (my darling), you always choose the right timing to ask the right questions.”

Fuming with indignation, Annya said, “Dad!”

Tesla’s daughter hit him on the arm.

“Fine, I will tell you.” Tesla stood up from the ground and helped his daughter to do the same. “The Von Brauns are political refugees from the planet they showed us earlier. It seems that Elissa isn’t really their daughter, but their ward. She's the Imperial Princess and primary heir of another planet currently in a self-imposed exile, biding her time to gain enough power and allies to return to Phantasia and retake the throne from the Demon usurper who has been terrorizing the population. The worst thing is she's almost entirely in the dark about everything.”

“Говно (shit).” Annya said while looking surprised.

Tesla cackled.“That’s my daughter, she takes after me!”