Trials of a Planeswalker Ch. 01: Rising

"Move! Move!" Blayne yelled, grabbing Varia's hand. His other hand lit up in a bright orange flame and the room brightened around them. They hurried down the aisles of books and into a hall. The magic chains chased them relentlessly, almost touching them a dozen times. If they slowed at all, they would be ensnared.

"Where are we?!" Varia cried out, hurrying alongside him.

'Yes, where are you indeed.' A voice boomed in their minds. It startled Blayne so much that he stopped cold and the fire around his hand went out. The magic chains grabbed them around their ankles and wound up their bodies. They were bound solid, the chains clenching tight around them.

"Come out! Show yourself!" Blayne yelled out.

"Blayne? What the hell are you doing?" A familiar voice said from the other end of the dark hall.

A cool blue light approached them, lighting a man in a dark navy cloak. His eyes shone blue and he stared into their very minds.

"Jace. How the hell did I appear here this time? Why is it that I can pop into existence right into my sister's apartment, but when I try to go anywhere else, I always just show up in a random place?" Blayne said, shaking his head, "Get these damn chains off me."

"Not until I know you are you." Jace said, "Thoughts of you are on my mind, a powerful mage could be using my own memories against me."

He stepped closer to them and Blayne felt his mind being probed. He got more annoyed by each passing second of silence as Jace stared at them.

"Look! I'm me Jace, damn it! Get out of my head!" Blayne yelled.

"Yes, indeed, you are." Jace nodded and the phantasmal chains faded away, freeing them, "It takes practice to appear in a particular place. Your home will feel natural to you and you'll be able to navigate it easier."

"Okay, well I wasn't too far off. I was thinking of coming to talk to you when I came here. I need to know of a woman named Jhoira." Blayne said as he followed Jace.

"Of the Ghitu? For what reason do you need to know about her?" Jace asked, climbing a circular staircase.

"I need to find Urza, and Jaya Ballard mentioned that she was one of his students." Blayne said, following Jace quickly.

"Find Urza? Urza died millennia ago during the Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria." Jace said with a laugh.

"Fuck. You wouldn't happen to know much about Powerstones, would you?" Blayne asked.

"Okay, this is starting to sound a little serious. Let's get to my study and sit down." Jace said, his humorous attitude immediately gone.

They reached a floor another few steps up and he led them down a few plush-carpeted stone halls and into the sitting room that Blayne had been in before. A few high-backed chairs still sat before a large fireplace, which was cold and empty. He led them in and they stood inside the doorway as he started to rifle through the boxes and drawers around his desk on the other side of the room.

"Blayne, why are you trying to dig up this ancient history? Urza and the Powerstones are long gone, you needn't know anything of them." Jace immediately berated him.

"Nicol Bolas is on Dominaria trying to reconstruct the Powerstone factory beneath the Tomb of Yawgmoth on Urborg. He plans to craft a Powerstone and gain immense power. He threatened my world and I have to stop him." Blayne said quickly.

"Nicol Bolas? How do you know? Who told you?" Jace snapped around and looked at him closely.

"He did. Jaya Ballard, Varia and I confronted him. His mental powers were too strong and he bested us." Blayne said.

"And yet you lived. Few have faced Bolas and lived. The one time I faced him, I barely escaped. I am a master mind mage and I could barely protect myself from his mental attack." Jace warned, "But have hope. There is something we can do."

"What is that?" Blayne said quickly.

"I have an artifact that, if fed mana, it will create a static that will prevent him from penetrating your mind. Be careful though as it works both ways. You cannot see beyond your own mind when it is active." Jace said, "It will prevent all mind powers."

"Sounds good enough. If I can keep him from violating our minds, Varia and I can handle him. She is a masterful Sangromancer and I'm willing to be Bolas will not like all his blood being torn from his body." Blayne smiled.

"That won't be enough. I will give you this artifact, but you will still need to find and talk to Jhoira. She's the only one who knows anything of the old ways of making Powerstones. You'll need her help to fight against a Powerstone if he makes one." Jace said, digging through the drawers quicker, "Aha!"

He pulled out a strange brass necklace. It was a thick chain with a wire sphere hanging on it. He held it out to Blayne and he took it.

"Just put it on and your own reserves of mana will feed it, creating a mind static around you." Jace nodded and Blayne put it on. He felt the drain in his mana, a little more than he thought it would be. But Jace had been right, he could feel the static around his mind as if his head was wrapped in scratchy wool. He couldn't see through it or reach with his mind. Taking it off, it was like pulling cotton from his ears and taking the shade from his eyes. He was really surprised at how much he took in by just idly reaching out with his mind. The emotions he plucked from the air and the feelings he just noticed about Varia and the others. It felt strange not to be able to sense things about other people, but it would be great for fighting Bolas.

"Okay, so where do we find Jhoira?" Blayne asked.

*******

They found Jhoira's workshop without too much of a problem. Jace had imparted an image of it into his mind and that made it considerably easier to find. The shop was underground in a far corner of the Izzet District, making Blayne and Varia a little nervous with it's locale.

A small tunnel led down from the entrance and they found a large stone door. Blayne banged his fist on it and it started to slide open.

"I was told you would be coming to see me. Jace sent me a message." Jhoira said, waiting behind the door for them. She was much shorter than they had anticipated, only coming to Varia's shoulder. "Come in."

With a wave of her finger, she closed the large stone door behind them, sliding it back up. The workshop was not that different from the Izzet's. It was messy, full of gadgets and machines. A number of crystals embedded in the ceiling lit the room in a gentle blue.

Jhoira had short black hair streaked with crimson. Her clothing was blue trimmed in white and gold. It looked good on her.

"So we need help defeating Nicol Bolas. He is trying to craft a Powerstone under Urborg in the volcano." Blayne said, running his finger nervously along the large ruby in his pocket.

"That factory? No, no, no. It was destroyed when they activated the volcano. There's no... Oh no... If they had used the red and generated a barrier and deflected the lava upward... Partial survival or even maybe complete survival of the machinery could be ensured." Jhoira said, tapping her forehead as she thought and rambled.

"Well what do we do? How do we stop the Powerstone?" Varia said impatiently.

"Powerstone? No, no. Can't be stopped. You have to stop the controller. It doesn't offer any power or assistance until it is actually charged. However, charging takes months, usually one hundred and fifty-two days to be exact. Grueling process, tedious and annoying. You could easily kill him in that time." Jhoira waved it off.

"But he said something about absorbing planes, entire worlds, with it. He said he was going to take my home first." Blayne said, grabbing her arm.

"He must've found Urza's notes. He always theorized that if Powerstone of sufficient quality could be crafted, it could contain a Plane, but he never crafted the spell to compress the Plane. I don't know how he would do it. It could take very little time. It could be happening soon." Jhoira rambled quickly, pulling away from him, "God I wish I had a Mox. They have the power to give the edge in battle. I assume you have faced him before? You are at least able to stand up against him?"

"Well now that I have this amulet from Jace, yes. I should be able to, but I need to know how to stop the Powerstone." Blayne said pulling out the ruby and the amulet from his pocket.

"Whoa! Stop, hey. What is that?" Jhoira said, pointing at the ruby.

"It's a gem I got on another world. It's a keepsake of my sister's and mine. It has no power." Blayne said, "But Jace gave me this necklace that stops mind powers. It should hold Bolas at bay in that term."

"Give me the ruby! I could craft a Mox from it!" Jhoira said, holding her hand out expectedly.

"What is a Mox?" Varia asked in annoyance.

"It's a gem that offers a perfect and unbreakable connection to a Plane's mana to the one holding it. Did this ruby come from a world rich in mana?" Jhoira asked as she looked it over.

"I'd say so, yes. Mana was quite plentiful on Azeroth." Blayne nodded.

"Good, when I am finished, whoever is holding this will have a essentially a pipeline to that world and it's mana. It will give you quite the advantage." Jhoira said, putting the gem down on a table. With a flick of her hand, all the machinery on it crashed to the floor and made room for whatever she was going to do. "Few if anyone know the process of crafting a Mox anymore. It was a skill lost in Urza's time."

"Now we're getting somewhere. A pipeline of mana, that sounds powerful and useful." Varia nodded.

"Because of it's nature, it will attune itself to red mana naturally and that's what will come most readily. I hope you are good with red." Jhoira said as she sprinkled salt in a circle around the Pandaren Ruby.

"That's fine. I've fought with lightning quite a lot." Blayne smiled.

They watched for a while as Jhoira created intricate patterns in salt around the ruby. After a while, she finished drawing and held her hands out. A blinding surge of pure mana burst from her entire body and struck the ruby. The salt began to glow and it grew to a blinding brilliance. There was the crackling of fire and the searing heat of the sun itself. The ruby shimmered and the light all died at once. The salt had been consumed, only leaving behind burnt lines. The ruby sparkled with a new brilliance, more beautiful than ever.

"Blayne, you must realize what power I am handing you. If this Mox were to fall in the hands of your enemy or anyone else, it could spell great destruction. Mox aren't made commonly and they are made with a lot of careful concern because of the power they impart. When you defeat Bolas, do me a favor and put this away somewhere. Hide it, make sure nobody gets it. Throw it into the Blind Eternities." Jhoira said as she picked up the ruby and handed it to Blayne, "It will be better for everyone."

"I'll be giving it back to my sister. I promised her that I'd keep it and bring it back to her." Blayne said, taking it, "Whoa! That is amazing!"

The moment his fingers brushed the gem, he felt like he had plunged headlong into a burning lake of pure red mana. The power flowed in his veins and he felt it's volcanic strength fill him. Fire flickered around him and lightning crackled through his hair. He grinned widely and looked up.

"I can take Bolas with this." Blayne smiled, clenching the gem tightly.

"Blayne, all this power is limited by your own strength. You can have all the mana in the world, but if your own fortitude and magical power can't take it, you won't be able to do it." Jhoira warned, "Now go save your world, don't let my efforts go to waste."

"Why don't you help us?" Varia asked, "You know so much around these Powerstones, you should be fighting them."

"It's not my place. He's not threatening my world. You must be the one to fight him Blayne, he is your foe." Jhoira said, "It is your destiny to face Bolas."

"Great." Blayne sighed, "Alright, fine! Varia and I can take him anyway!"

Blayne grabbed Varia's hand and in a split moment, he stepped into the AEthers. The power that filled his body gave his mind a calmness that brought Planeswalking easily to him.

*******

CHAPTER 30 - FINAL CONFRONTATION

"Whoa! That was fast." Varia exclaimed.

"Let's go. I'm not letting Bolas have another moment. I want to catch him before he finishes that Powerstone. It's only been a week or so; we should be able to catch him off guard." Blayne said, rushing through the AEthers towards Dominaria. Varia grasped his hand tighter and followed close behind him. They reached their destination and solid ground hit beneath their feet. They were standing on the cliff inside the volcano, Blayne having finally landed with pinpoint accuracy.

Bolas was standing atop a repaired facility, a look of triumph about him.

'Ahh, little Blayne, you still live.' Bolas said into their minds, 'It is too late. Victory is mine.'

He lifted up a perfect crystalline orb almost a foot across, floating above his large claws. He gave a loud, growling laugh that shook the cavern around them and the volcano beneath them rumbled powerfully. A geyser of lava exposed into the air, splashing against the ceiling. Bolas disappeared in a shimmering pop of magic, Planeswalking away. Another geyser of lava exploded closer to them, engulfing the repaired facility in lava. The volcano was erupting again and Blayne grasped Varia's hand. He breathed deep the sulfuric air and calmed his mind. In a moment of clarity, the Blind Eternities opened before him and he Planeswalked. He opened his eyes and saw Bolas in the distance of the AEthers, his figure ghostly and far away.

Quickly slipping on the necklace, he barely noticed it's pull on his mana. He set off quickly after Bolas. His trail through the AEther was fiery and straight as an arrow, carrying him directly towards his home. Bolas was already there floating behind it with the Powerstone before him. He stared at the world with lust in his eyes, his godhood almost within reach. Blayne let go of Varia and struck the dragon with everything he could muster. He and Bolas tumbled into his world, the Powerstone falling with them. They burst into blinding light of New York. The sun shone brightly above them.

"Bolas!" Blayne screamed at the top of his lungs as they raced towards the buildings below them. A surge of mana and Blayne slowed, but Bolas was not as nimble. He snapped his wings open and flapped them powerfully. He slowed enough to land on top of the Empire State Building with a ground-shaking impact. Like many monster movies he had seen, Bolas perched atop it with his wings spread wide and his eyes locked straight on Blayne.

"You have an amulet of Mindstatic! This will be interesting." Bolas yelled in his own booming voice, "But, like god, I do not play with dice. I have planned and planned for this. A young weakling such as you will not stop me!"

"You will not take my world! I swear it Bolas! My corpse will be long dead before you take this world!" Blayne yelled, letting lightning crackle through his body. He felt the gem warm in his left hand mana flowed into him from Azeroth.

People in the streets below were screaming in terror. Cars screeched and horns blared. Pandemonium quickly broke out as the sight of Bolas was taken in by the city. Blayne needed to end this quickly and raised his arm. A powerful bolt of red lightning struck the great dragon, barely making him flinch. Bolas responded in kind, opening his maw and letting out a great torrent of flame that forced Blayne to retreat backward.

"This will not be over quickly and you will not come out on top." Bolas warned loudly.

Humans, being humans, were flooding out onto the viewing deck atop the building to see Bolas. It was dangerous enough with people running in terror, but with people moving towards Bolas now it was a suicidal situation. Blayne couldn't think of what he should do. It would be so much easier to fight Bolas if he was a man. But his huge draconic form made things ever more complicated.

He we used nothing would be gained by waiting and so he turned and shot the other direction. Bolas gripped the building and launched into the sky, scraping off chunks of concrete that rained on the city streets below. He whipped a wild wind about himself and he raced after Blayne.

Ahead of him there was a bright flash of fire and a dragon roared loudly. A red dragon about ten feet long appeared and loosed a fireball towards Blayne. He barely dodged, swerving off to the side in a wild motion. Expending white mana, he created a bright flash. The dragon was blinded and he cringed, making him open for the attack. Shyara roared and lunged forth, catching the dragon by the throat. Her large fangs broke it's scales and it's blood rained down. She snapped it's neck ruthlessly and let it's corpse crash onto the building below.

"Stop running Blayne and fight!" Bolas yelled, loosing another cone of flame.

"There are innocents here. People will die!" Blayne yelled, "Let us fight elsewhere!"

"Are you trying to get me to feel bad? I want all of these insects dead!" Bolas yelled and he blew a huge fireball downward. It struck in the street and liquid fire rolled forth across the cars and crowd, killing hundreds. "Stay and finish this fight or I will kill every person in this city!"

Blayne groaned and turned to face his foe. If he didn't then Bolas would keep his word and millions would die. Shyara came along side him, blood dripping from her mouth.

'Master, I fight for you.' Shyara reassured him.

'How can you hear me? My necklace should stop it.' Blayne asked as he threw a distracting bolt of lightning at Bolas.

'I am immune to it, just as I am immune to his mental powers.' Shyara said, staring at Bolas.

"Let this be through!" Bolas yelled, releasing a great torrent of fire in their direction.

Instead of dodging, Blayne raised his arms and met his fire with a powerful shield. He moved forward, feeling the heat of the flames wash over him. His barrier held strong and he brushed off the last of the fire. He lunged forth out of the smoke with lightning crackling along his arm. Face to face with Bolas, he thrust it forward and a powerful bolt struck his foe in the face.

"Gaaah!" Bolas yelled in pain, jerking backward.

"I am not going to let you win Bolas!" Blayne hurled another bolt at him, and another, and another.

He was slowly driving the dragon back, striking him with every bit of magic he could.

'Shyara! Find Varia. I don't know what happened to her, let her know what is going on!' Blayne called in his mind.

'Yes master!' Shyara said and she swooped away from the fight.

Bolas landed again on the Empire State Building. He shook off the pain from Blayne's attacks and held his head high in pride. The dragon would not be so easily defeated.

"I give you one chance to end this Blayne! Give up now and I will let you live. You can leave this doomed world behind and I will not hunt you down." Bolas offered, "But I swear with all that I am as a Planeswalker, if you carry this fight on any longer, I will end your life in the most painful way imaginable."

Blayne didn't waste words. Instead he lit his body up with red mana, electricity crackling in every cell. The magic launched him forward like a crack of lighting. He struck Bolas with all the anger born of the deaths he had seen today. The dragon roared loudly but held his ground, knocking Blayne back.

"Blayne! Blayne!" Varia called out.

His eyes looked away for only a moment, seeing Varia and his sister on Shyara a distance away. It was all Bolas needed and he struck hard. His claws hit Blayne and knocked him back. He followed with a ruthless cone of flame, engulfing him in searing flames as he crashed into the roof of a building far below.

The pain wasn't nearly as bad as he had expected. The barrier he managed to erect as Bolas had swung at him took the blunt of the blow, however it did little to protect him when he fell on the building. It took a moment for him to regain his breath and get back on his feet. Bolas was staring down at him and he opened his mouth.