Trials of a Planeswalker Ch. 01: Rising

"Of course I do...lots of important stuff." Blayne sighed, "Like I grew up in this huge city in America called New York. I had a sister and a mother. My dad didn't stick around long when I was young. But I was alright. I grew up in a nice part of town. It wasn't too dangerous, I mean there were your usual gangsters and druggies, but it's not like you were going to get stabbed in the back in broad daylight."

"America? New York? I've never heard of those places before." Lizzex said, leaning forward, "Tell me more."

They spent much of the evening talking. Blayne told her how he grew up in a small apartment and how the city never slept. She told him of high school and of his childhood. It fascinated her to hear how he grew from a baby to an adult in only a dozen and a half years. She described how she was a child until her twentieth birthday and wasn't an adult until her thirtieth. Her life was much different than Blayne. She grew up with her Elven mother. She didn't speak of her father at all and Blayne assumed him to also be a hit-and-run father. She spoke of the fondness she had for the forests and the peaceful lakes. But no matter her love of nature, she was quickly ostracized by the Elven community on account of her half-blood lineage.

Blayne spoke of his mother and his sister. His mother was a taxi driver and his sister, his twin, worked at a convenience store. At least that's what he last remembered. His most recent memories being his high school graduation who knows how long ago. He didn't rightly even know how old he was. His body didn't look that different from what he remembered, maybe a bit more hair and a bit bigger, but for the most part the same. It couldn't be more than two or three years after graduation now that he thought about it.

"So you really just don't remember anything at all, do you?" Lizzex asked.

"Nope. It's a bit discomforting and I worry about who I left behind. What about my mom or my sister?" Blayne asked, leaning back in his chair.

"You'll make it home some day." Lizzex said reassuringly.

"I don't doubt that I'll make it home, I mean I made it here. What I worry is just when will I get home?" Blayne sighed, "When will I master this power inside me and regain my memory so I can go home?"

*******

CHAPTER 5 - REGATHA

Blayne stood beside Lizzex on the peak of the Izzet facility. It may go for a mile underground and dozens of miles around beneath the surface, above ground was entirely Ravnica. Near the facility of course was all slums and industrial. But in the distance he could see amazing sights. Towering spires of gorgeous stone and colorful glass hung suspended above the ground, floating of their own volition high in the sky. Beneath them, rich, squat buildings covered the ground. Thousands and thousands of people filled the streets below. The peak of the facility was a metal spire a hundred yards in the air that had been build for weather experiments. All around them, the steamworks and other factories spread outward.

The breeze ruffled Blayne's old jeans and T-shirt.

"It's amazing. What's that place over there?" Blayne asked her, pointing at the spires and buildings.

"That's the middle class district and some markets. You see, the guilds may control much of Ravnica and the guilds themselves may have thousands of members each, it's still nothing compared to the plain people of Ravnica. They number in the hundreds of millions. The planet is huge, bigger than you could imagine and it's covered in a great swathe of cityscape." Lizzex explained, "In fact, barely a percentage of the planet is actually part of a guild. Most just work for the guild or work for businesses that work for the guilds or they just sell to the guilds. The population of Ravnica far outstrips any or even all of the nine guilds."

"That's amazing. I mean, my world is pretty big too and a few million people alone lived in just New York. Our planet had a population of six or seven billion." Blayne explained as he watched a flock of huge black birds fly high overhead.

"That's an insane amount of people! How did you all fit? I mean, Ravnica as a planet is almost completely city and the last census almost a century ago was like four hundred million. Less then a tenth of our planet is natural forests. If you include the Selesnya tree communities and all the Gruul lands, you're still only at a sixth of the planet undeveloped." Lizzex exclaimed.

"Barely a quarter our planet was civilization. South America was much of rain forests. Africa was covered in wild forests and free, open Savannah. The middle east is mostly desert and actually half our planet or so is entirely ocean and icy tundra." Blayne described.

"Your planet must be magnificent in size! Think of all the minerals and amazing wildlife." Lizzex exclaimed, "So much to experiment with!"

"And most our cities aren't even like this. Neighborhoods and such are all plots of land with some grass and plants on them. Only the big cities like New York are completely packed with buildings and people." Blayne looked down at the crowds hundreds of feet below, "Kinda reminds me of home."

"I wish you knew how to fly. I'm really good at flying. We could soar over the city and down to the coast, go see some of the grander Izzet works that are under construction." Lizzex sighed, "It's only like an hour flight. I can almost do it without stopping."

"You can fly? Of course you can, I'm in magic land, how could I forget." Blayne said, rubbing his face.

"It's just a telekinetic bubble around yourself. You pick yourself up with it and just..." She lifted off the ground and floated over the railing, "Fly away."

"I've barely been able to move around a ball with my telekinesis. I couldn't pick myself up if I wanted." Blayne chuckled, watching a small fireball appear in his hand and crackle softly.

Suddenly there was a massive eruption from behind them. The entire tower shook and Blayne turned quickly. Lizzex float alongside as he ran around the circular balcony to the other side of the tower. In the distance, smoke was rising in the air. People's screams and yells could be heard. The smoke was rising far from the Izzet facility, out in the residential areas.

All at once, a dozen of the buildings shuddered and collapsed, sinking into a great hole in the ground. An eerie glow emanated from it as hideous and horrific looking demons and other creatures crawled and flew forth from the hole. They swooped and swarmed citizens, killing and devouring everyone they could.

"The Rakdos! This is bad!" Lizzex exclaimed, "But even the Rakdos shouldn't be crazy enough to attempt open warfare. They'll have the entire city of Ravnica turning against them!"

"I don't think that matters right now, because they're all coming this way! They mean to attack the facility!" Blayne called, pointing at the waves of dark demons heading their way.

"Damn it and with our steam power so low, the mechanical defenses are minimal. This is really bad." Lizzex breathed, shaking her head.

"You guys are wizards and mages! Shouldn't you be able to magic these away?" Blayne asked urgently.

"Of course we can! But the mechanical defenses are heavily relied in to relieve ourselves of casualties and injuries. Without, we will be left to fight face to face." Lizzex said.

Behind them, there was a loud screeching of the bulkhead door opening and Crixzix came running through.

"We're being attacked! To battle stations! Conserve steam power where possible and cut off all unnecessary systems." Crixzix called out.

"Who are you talking to?" Blayne asked her in surprise, "We're the only ones up here!"

"Get out of the way you fool!" Crixzix yelled, pushing Blayne aside.

"All the Izzet have trinkets of one kind or another that are linked in a very minimal manner to The Firemind. Using that thin link, Crixzix can telepathically speak to or locate any and all guildmages." Lizzex explained.

"Mortar teams! To battle stations! Rakdos demon attack from the south. Large numbers of flying enemies and vicious close combat ground units. Charge Mizzium cannons and aim for southern civilian district as well as southern edge of facility!" Crixzix called, "Lizzex, you and your lover stay here and keep this tower safe. Blow anything out of the sky that gets within range. The mortar teams will hold back the assault while our ground units ready themselves. I want you to report any and all major movements to me, hold nothing back."

"Yes Crixzix." Lizzex nodded and Crixzix ran back through the doorway.

"What? We've got to fight this alone?" Blayne cried in shock, "Lizz, I don't know how to fight! I've never done anything like this before!"

"Oh loosen up handsome, you've learned enough, throw some fire around!" Lizzex said, throwing her arm out.

A bright, rippling bolt of lightning erupted from her bare hand and a demon screamed in agony as he was burnt alive. It spiraled out of the sky, barely making a change in the cloud of demons getting ever closer.

"Alright, here goes!" Blayne nodded, summoning up the mana inside himself.

He hurled his hands forward and a surge of bright fire burst forth from him, falling short of a demon, but still reaching a dozen feet from him.

"Whoa! Cool!" Blayne yelled.

"Focus it more away from you! Charge the fire with more mana and give it a cocoon of telekinetic power. Hurl it away from you and let it just go!" Lizzex yelled, twisting and shoving her hands forward.

A massive ball of fire burst forth form her hands and screamed away from her, crackling loudly. It engulfed a demon and the demon fell to it's death, it's wings burnt and crispy.

"Okay, let's try!" Blayne said, holding his hands together.

He generated a ball of fire and tried to feed it as much mana as he could. It flourished and brightened. His magic encircled and kept it intact. He threw it forward and it raced away from them. He watched in awe as it struck a demon and the demon's flesh was melted away in a searing heat. Lizzex threw two more fireballs and struck another with lightning.

"God I wish I had my equipment!" Lizzex yelled, "Blue mana is just not plentiful enough around here for me to pull it in normally."

"Hey, I've got a better idea!" Blayne called to her, "How about me?"

He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. Focusing himself, Blayne began to absorb mana. He took it into his body and fed the blue mana into Lizzex.

"Whoa! Damn! Blayne, that's great! That's better than my equipment! Here we go!" Lizzex laughed.

She punched out and a massive telekinetic fist smashed a demon. She slashed an arm down and another three demons were cut in twain. Blayne saw a flickering aura appear around himself and he could see a bright blue glow around his hand. Lizzex fought wildly, unleashing the blue mana in amazing ways. She crushed and cut, stabbed and smashed demons that were yards and yards away. Her telekinetic powers reached out and destroyed the demons without any challenge.

"Fire Mizzium cannons!" Crixzix's voice echoed in Blayne's mind.

He watched as hundreds and hundreds of swirling fireballs erupted into the air around them. They whistled and screamed through the air, arching across the Izzet facility. The first salvo struck the civilian district and hundreds fell down the Rakdos hole. There were massive explosions and loud eruptions. Bright flashes blinked all across the surging armies, blasting flesh apart and killing hundreds with shrapnel alone.

"My god..." Blayne whispered in surprise, losing his focus.

The mana fluttered away and the last of his blue mana faded into Lizzex.

"Blayne? Blayne, I can't keep this up without you!" Lizzex called, glancing back at him as she was downed to fighting with only her own power.

The demons took ground and the ones in the sky swarmed forth, getting ever closer.

"Sorry! I...damn it they're getting close...I...I can't do it...I can't focus." Blayne said, sweat dripping down the back of his neck as he saw the demons getting within yards of them, "Oh god I'm going to die!"

He turned for the door and hit it, finding it locked. Terror filled him. He was having fun up until the danger truly set in and he realized the situation he was actually in.

"No! No, no, no, no!" He cried frantically, jerking on the handle angrily.

"Blayne!" Lizzex cried.

Blayne turned to see the demons only feet away from the railing. He slammed back against the door, his hands grabbing frantically at the edges of it. Terror ruled his body and he screamed in fear. A particularly large demon in front of them lunged at Blayne, his claws extended and his fang-filled, bloody smile spread across his face. His claws

"No!" Blayne screamed at the top of his lungs.

There was a blinding eruption of mana around them and darkness fell on Blayne.

The darkness lasted for a split second and suddenly he found himself tumbling wildly. Mana and other strange forces assaulted him from all sides. He was totally lost as he felt painful and chaotic powers tearing at his very soul. He screamed and no sound escaped. He flailed and achieved nothing. All around him darkness pressed in, invisible forces swirling wildly around him like a maddening storm.

In the raging, infinite storm around him, he felt like he was seeing something. He noticed some kind of glimmering lights ahead of him. He tried to move towards it and found himself surging forth. In a bright flash, he was suddenly on solid ground again. There was a deafening crack at the moment of arrival and the ground about him shook. The red rock he stood on cracked and the air around him erupted outward in a sudden burst.

He gasped loudly, feeling as if he had just surfaced from a raging sea. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees. Lights blinked and popped in his vision as his blood ran to his head and the sun shone down brightly from above. He grabbed his head and fell sideways on the hard ground. His head throbbed painfully and he felt as if it might split open.

"Whoa!" Someone called, "Who's that?"

"I don't know..." Another person said slowly.

"What is going on?" An elderly woman's voice rang out with authority and strength.

"Mother Luti, this man just appeared out of nowhere!" The first young man exclaimed.

"What?" The woman asked flatly.

"Yea, at one moment Brannon and I are just standing here talking and the next there was this clap of thunder. One moment he wasn't there and suddenly he was. Then he just fell over." The second young man explained.

"Shut up! Ohhh..." Blayne yelled and groaned, "God my head hurts..."

"Brannon, Dreven, go inside." The woman said.

"But...!" Brannon starts.

"Do into argue, go!" She yelled and Blayne's head throbbed again.

Silence fell around the room and Blayne reveled in the peace. There was a crunching of ground and she knelt by him.

"Are you okay?" Mother Luti asked.

"My head is killing...wait! Lizzex!" Blayne cried, jerking upright, "Where am I?"

"You're at Keral Keep on Mount Keralia." Mother Luti said gently.

He glanced up at her. She was a very old looking woman with long grey hair. She wore thick red robes that went down to her knees. Beneath was a pair of old black pants. His head was starting to feel better and he looked around. There were all brown brick and stone walls around him with some open archways in them. Around them was a flat red rock courtyard.

"What? Where is Mount Keralia? I was just at the Izzet tower." Blayne groaned, rubbing his head again, "Oh god I was about to die...oh no...Lizzex...no..."

His head sank into his hands and he groaned loudly. Sorrow filled him as the realization hit him. Somehow he escaped his death there and he left Lizzex to her fate. Guilt only renewed the pounding in his head and he felt tears in his eyes. The woman put a hand on his shoulder and he gritted his teeth. He threw her hand off and leapt to his feet. He stumbled and and caught himself.

"Where am I? Where on Ravnica?" Blayne demanded.

"Ravnica? You're on the world of Regatha." Mother Luti said, "Are you a...Planeswalker?"

"Regatha? Oh god I didn't just run away. I left that world behind." Blayne grabbed his head, "Gaaaah...my head is fucking killing me!"

Another agonizing surge of pain rushed through him and his vision wavered. He fell to his knees and he collapsed completely.

*******

"Ohhh...damn it." Blayne groaned as his consciousness returned to him.

His eyes cracked open and he licked his dry lips. He was lying on a prickly, stiff bed in a cold and dark room. His limbs were stiff and heavy. His stomach rumbled loudly in the dark and he sighed. His head was feeling considerably better, but his memories were fuzzy. He remembered the fight on Ravnica. He remembered appearing here on this plane. He remembered pain.

Grabbing the edge of the bed, he pushed himself slowly upright and slid his legs out of bed. He rubbed his face and looked around again. Holding up his hand, a small beacon of cold blue light appeared on his finger. The room lit up with it's icy blue light. It was a simple light magic, some of the first magic he had truly figured out.

The door creaked and opened. Blayne looked up suddenly and the light blinked out. A flickering torchlight was coming from the hall. Mother Luti stood in the doorway, a small ball of fire held in her hand.

"How long have I been out?" Blayne asked.

"Half a day. Here, I imagine you're thirsty." Mother Luti said, holding out a cup to him, "Just so you know, we changed that bandage on your arm. Nasty burn."

"Oh thank god." He exclaimed, quickly taking the cup out of her hands.

He drank the glass down quickly, sighing with relief.

"So where am I again?" Blayne asked.

"The world of Regatha, in Keral Keep. This is a mountain retreat for training pyromancers. It was set up centuries ago by a Planeswalker who went by the name of Jaya Ballard." Mother Luti explained, "We had another Planeswalker here a while ago, one by the name of Chandra. You wouldn't happen to know her, would you?"

"N...No, the only Planeswalker I've ever met was a man named Jace Beleren." Blayne said.

"Beleren...I want to say she might've mentioned him...my old memory isn't what it used to be." Mother Luti sighed, "So what is it you are here for?"

"I just ended up here after I...I left my friend to die..." Blayne hung his head, "Oh damn it...You've talked to Planeswalkers before, how do they do it? How do they, I mean we, Planeswalk? I leapt here out of fear, I have no idea how I did it."

"I really don't know either. Chandra, she didn't talk about it much. Nobody here knows about Planeswalkers except me. I only know because she shared it with me when she arrived, much like you did. She arrived here randomly and out of fear." Mother Luti explained to him.

Blayne groaned and looked down at the empty clay cup.

"She did once describe it though. She said that after meditating and concentrating on 'the journey ahead' she would just sort of will herself out there. Some unexplicable force would pull her into the space between worlds. She said it was dangerous and easy to get lost, but as long as you were focused, one could walk without too much fear." She said, "She also told me that doing it without preparing beforehand was painful and nausiating. I presume that's why you were in so much pain?"

"I don't really know. It would make sense though." Blayne nodded.

"Well you are free to stay here for as long as you need. This is a haven to all who wish, not just Pyromancers. The monks here are good people and we are all willing to help those down on their luck." Mother Luti nodded, "I'll leave you to yourself."

She turned and walked out, closing the wooden door with a small creak. Blayne set the cup on the bedpost and sat back down on the side of the bed. His stomach growled again and he groaned. He couldn't believe he had done what he had. Hopefully Tazzex was still safe at the coastal facility and, in time, he would have to explain to her what happened. He knew she would hate him for it, he hated himself for it too.