Interlude: Zhered-Na

Zhered-Na was supposed to be the sorcerer supreme of her time, her duty was to protect the people of earth from otherworldly and physical threats that are targeting earth, and yet, she couldn’t even protect her own hometown, Atlantis. She had seen it with the eye of Agamotto, her predecessor’s tool, Atlantis will sink to the depths of the ocean, earthquakes and Tsunami will hit them, annihilating the population.

Yet, she could not save them.

She tried to convince them to leave the place, but they were stubborn and people thought that she was mad, they mocked her, saying that she is a liar, while the inhabitants continued to do their debauched ways, not knowing that what she said was all true.

And so, Zhered-Na, along with her small group apprentices, are now preparing to leave the only magical sanctum so far on earth, and was planning to travel in search for another place to build a sanctum.

But when she was prepared to leave, she also prepared for something, an arrival of a man, or rather, an Eternal.

As the apprentices were packing the books in the sanctum, a knock came from the door. The apprentices were rightfully alert, as they aren’t really welcome in Atlantis right now. But Zhered-Na knew who it was, and told her apprentices to stand down.

Zhered-Na then walked up to the door, and opened it herself.

“Hello,” said the man behind the door. “Is this the earth’s sanctum?”

“Welcome, Eternal.” said Zhered-Na, although the man wasn’t surprised.

The Eternal then looked at what was in Zhered-Na’s collar, and smiled. “Wow, I’m welcomed by the Sorcerer Supreme? That’s an achievement…”

Zhered-Na ignored his comment, and said. “Please, come in.”

The Eternal and Zhered-Na then entered the sanctum, and both of them walked to Zhered-Na’s office, sitting face to face. The apprentices brought some local refreshments for them to enjoy while talking.

“This is nice.” hummed the Eternal. “My name is Pluto, may I ask your name, Sorcerer Supreme?”

“Zhered-Na.” she said coolly.

“Interesting name.” Pluto murmured. “You should know why I’m here, right?”

Zhered-Na leaned against the desk in front of her, and she took some refreshments to eat. “It’s important to note that, while most creatures are capable of using magic, you technically aren’t alive, Pluto.”

“I know.” Pluto sighed. “That’s why I’m asking you, is there a way?”

Zhered-Na stared at Pluto’s violet eyes, and said. “I ask you, Pluto, why should I help you in your conquest of knowledge? Your mission is a threat to earth, and it is my duty to protect this planet from otherworldly threats.”

Pluto smiled widely as she said that. “Why didn’t you kill me now, then? I am powerless right now.”

Zhered-Na leaned against her chair and spoke. “While I must admit, it is quite tempting to do so… your existence is rather crucial to the development of the earth, you helped humanity develop and prosper, so I suppose that it’s the problem of my successors to deal with the celestial underground.”

Pluto laughed. “You even know about that? Most of us didn’t even know that their mission was a lie.”

“It is the duty of the sorcerer supreme to know Pluto.” Zhered-Na spoke calmly. “I will ask again, why should I help you?”

Pluto raised his eyebrows. “I will protect the world from the deviants.”

“Your colleagues are doing it right now, they don’t need you as of now.”

“Fine, what do you want?”

Zhered-Na’s eyes sparkled as Pluto said that, that might’ve been a mistake…

“Let us study you.” spoke Zhered-Na calmly, but Pluto could tell she was excited.

“P-Pardon?” Pluto stuttered. “Study me?”

“Yes.” said Zhered-Na. “We wanted to know how your body works, how you use the cosmic energy inside you.”

“But I don’t have one right now, I’m just a synthetic being with inhuman strength right now.”

“It would always leave traces,” said Zhered-Na silently.

Pluto thought about it a bit, a couple minutes later, he spoke. “Fine, but I also want something besides you teaching me magic.”

Zhered-Na’s eyes sparkled. “Speak.”

“If hypothetically that one of us, an Eternal, got a disease, I will find the sorcerer supreme at that time to cure him or her using the knowledge you gathered, and he or she cannot refuse. Make a note for your successor or something…”

Zhered-Na was tapping her fingers to the table, after a while, she finally spoke. “Agreed. I will make sure your request will be granted in the future.”

“Then, do we have a deal?” said Pluto as he stood up. He offered his hand to the sorcerer supreme in front of him.

Zhered-Na smiled. “Deal.”

—

Before Pluto got to study, he helped the sorceresses to leave Atlantis first, as all of them knew magic, however, they didn’t really need any help. They left Atlantis with a heavy heart, as it was their home, but they knew that if they stayed there only doom will fall upon them, so they followed the sorcerer supreme.

When Pluto asked where they were going, Zhered-Na said they were going north. Zhered-Na made a portal, and one by one, the apprentices entered it. Pluto was the last one to enter, and a chilly wind suddenly struck him. He looked around, and saw that a river was there.

“Where is this?” questioned Pluto.

“The land of Albion.” said Zhered-Na. “If I remember correctly, it will change to Britannia later.”

“Oh…” Pluto murmured, it’s quite far away from Greece…

And so, the apprentices quickly travelled to a village near the river, there, they disguised themselves as the locals, they already knew the language as Zhered-Na had sent some scouts before.

As they entered the village, Zhered-Na spoke with the chief privately, Pluto didn’t enter, as he was just a background character in this journey.

As all the moving matter was done, the apprentices started building huts for the new sanctum. While it was tiny on the outside, it was big on the inside. It is practically similar to the ones in Atlantis, Pluto didn’t complain, and helped them move.

—

Years later after they settled in, and Pluto had been studied rather extensively by Zhered-Na, Pluto finally started to learn magic.

There was only one magic that Zhered-Na could think of that Pluto could use, the Eldritch magic, as the power came from another dimension. So, Pluto studied it for years on end, he became adept at it quite quickly, he also studied runes, enchantments, and other things that don’t require the person who uses it alive.

Overall, he studied magic for over 100 years, Zhered-Na was getting older, as she didn’t use the dark dimension to extend her life, but she used other mothers to shortly extend her life. In that 100 years, he was practically buried in books, and in the morning, he practised in sanctum.

Pluto however, decided that 100 years is enough to study. He wanted more, he wanted to create, his artistic senses were tingling, the possibilities are endless. But first, he needed a tool, a tool to wield all the magic that he had studied. After all, knowledge is useless if you can’t use it.