Year 0 Month 2 Week 1

  “Mythic Messengers Courier service.” A man in a nicely fitted, loose gray medieval-style outfit with a large poncho held up a small package. “I am courier Rata-Rata-Rat.a.toskr the messenger squirrel.” He stuttered, having trouble saying the name. Nerves hitting him hard. -ehem- He cleared his throat, “I’d deliver an insult, but all I have is a delivery for .”

  The receptionist sitting at the front desk was holding back a laugh, “They make you say that?”

  Zephyr’s face heated, “We’re still work-shopping it. How was it?”

  She shrugged.

  “That bad?”

  “What was with the insult line?”

  “Ratatoskr, mythological squirrel delivered insults. We’re going back and forth on whether or not to add an insult with every delivery, hence the cheesy line.” It was an argument he went back and forth with Killian about. It sounded like fun to him but then what would the other messengers —when they actually hire some— do? Would the angel names give bible verses? Get the Hermes messenger to sing on a lute; would that even make sense? How many people even know Hermes supposedly created the lute for Apollo?

  “Fun. Did you chicken out ‘cause that wasn’t actually an insult?”

  “Ehh.” He had, in fact, chickened out, but it was more due to the fact he completely blanked on figuring out an insult that was not simply cruel, crude, or seriously offensive. “Would you have been insulted if I did an actual insult?”

  “I don’t know. Through one at me.”

  Zephyr had to think, searching for something that wouldn’t get him thrown out, it was hard to think of something on the spot when a simple idea hit him, “I don’t know if I should. Especially if I have to ask if you can take an insult.”

  The receptionist stared at him for a minute, taking it in before letting out a tiny chuckle, “It’s kind of mild. If I didn’t know what was going on, I’d probably think you’re being a dick or completely miss it altogether. Make it more obvious.”

  “Guess I’ll keep working on it.” He held up his parcel, “I still have a package to deliver.”

  The woman stood reaching out. “Sorry, you can leave it here.”

  “Actually,” pulling the package back. “Part of the contract states I have to deliver in person.”

  “One sec.” She sat back down and pulled out her phone, “Who is it to?”

  “Sabeen Salha”

  The receptionist dialed a number, “Sabeen, I got a Mythic Messenger here for you. Uh-huh. I’ll send him right up.” She stood with a camera in hand.

  -Click-

  -whir-buzz-whir-

  The printer kicked out a cheap piece of paper with his face on it. She grabbed a clip, attached it to the paper badge, and handed it to Zephyr, “Alright, you’ve been cleared. Here is your visitor badge. She’s on the ninth floor.”

  “Thanks.” Before he knew it, Zephyr stood in front of a really nice monogrammed office, “Sabeen Salha,” in bold lettering on the door.

  -Knock-Knock-

  “Enter.”

  Stepping inside, Zephyr stood straight and spoke while walking up to the woman's desk, “Mythic Messengers Courier service. I am Courier Ra-ta-Toskr.” He slowed down to make sure he pronounced it right, “The messenger squirrel. Climbing the branches of Yggdrasil to deliver your package.” It was another line they were trying, saying aloud Zephyr thought it was one of the better ones. He’d add an insult, but he couldn’t think of any. Instead, he simply presented Sabeen with the package. As soon as she took it, the quest crystal trailing behind him began to glow, showing it was complete.

  “Ah, just like I imagined it,” Zephyr said with a massive smile.

  “What was that?”

  “I’m just saying this was just like I hoped.”

  Sabeen beamed as she began to perk up excitedly. “I’m Sabeen.” She held out her hand to shake as she set the package down. “This courier service is such a brilliant idea; half the firms in the city are annoyed they didn’t think of it first.”

  “Thanks?”

  She laughed, “Oh, we are all on board here. Half the firms are already working with Killian. We realized it would be a great way for all of us to capitalize on these new powers. So far, you’re the first, but mind you, there will be more soon enough, but we will be first.” She walked around Zephyr, eyeing him up and down; for his part, he just stood there confused. “Couriers dressed like this. Ah, it is so perfect.”

  “You’re already working with Killian? We just set everything up yesterday.”

  “We move fast, and a lot of us are looking for something—” She pointed at Zephyr “like this. And we all want to be a part of the future, and we’re all excited to see the future in action.”

  “Oh. Thanks.” Zephyr was already feeling out of his depth and shocked at how much support he received and how forceful lawyers were.

  “Don’t be surprised if you get more work than you can handle; you are the original, the trendsetter, the first! When the copycats come, you’ll know you started it all.”

  Before he knew it, Zephyr was ushered out of the office after Sabeen went off praising him. He stood on the street, unsure how to feel about what happened. Though the hundred-dollar tip in his pocket definitely helped.

  #

  After a long day of meeting other rather enthusiastic lawyers, half of whom claimed they had given Killian the idea for the service. Zephyr was ready to just relax at home and count the shockingly generous tips he’d received. So it was when he was grabbing a drink when he saw it, it was out of his kitchen window, something new. Something that would make his night a bit longer.

  In the middle of his backyard, inset inside his favorite climbing tree, a glowing scar nearly six feet tall stormed and pulsed silver. This concerned Zephyr for many reasons: the tree was one of the favorite features of his house, his own bodhi tree. Something he had to look up what it was after he bought the place. He only actually cared that it was perfect for climbing, each branch at the perfect height for him to reach.

  The second reason was that as he looked into the silver light, he felt something tugging him towards it.

  I should make a call.

  Not an hour later, two large white vans pulled up in front of Zephyr's house. He watched through the window as two men ran from each van and frantically grabbed various equipment before rushing through Zephyr's fence and into his backyard. They seem excited. Zephyr laughed as he went to meet them.

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  Before he knew it, Zephyr was standing in his backyard, staring at two scientists who had yet to notice him. At first, he just stood there and watched them setting up equipment moving back and forth. Then, he became curious as to how long it would take them to notice him standing there.

  Tim, the scientist, turned towards his associate, Jake, “I can’t believe we have a fresh one!”

  Jake was setting up large tripods, “I know they won’t let me near the portal team.”

  They moved off into their own little world, moving equipment and writing down information on their clipboards. Moving around with machines Zephyr couldn’t even guess at.

  With curiosity finally getting the best of him, “Tim! Jake!”

  Neither of the scientists heard him as Jake set up a camera and Tim straightened up his lab coat.

  “Jake! This is so exciting! We’re going to see this first hand.”

  “Are we sure we want to? I mean, it is literally pulling me towards it. We don’t even know what’s inside.”

  “It can’t be bad. I’ve heard the others went in fine.”

  “Ok. But it still is weird and a bit unsettling.”

  Tim looked towards the rift inside the tree curiously, but his smile never left his face. “It’ll be fine. Now, are we ready?”

  After checking the camera again, he “Ok and 3. 2—” he trailed off, finishing counting down with his fingers.

  Jake smiled wide, “Hello, students; this is your glorious headmaster, Archmagus Tim. And we’re here for—” Tim’s voice trailed off as he finally noticed, “Zephyr! You’re just in time, and really in the spirit of things I see.”

  Confused by the nonsensical statement, he looked at himself, realizing he was still in his courier uniform. Oh. “What are you—” It slowly dawned on him, as in disbelief he asked, “Are you making a YouTube video?”

  #

  A self-proclaimed Archmage and a confused messenger stand in front of a tree. A tree that one might wonder why it had a massive crack that pulsated silver, or why the messenger was wearing a strange outfit, or why, if he was an Archmage, he was wearing a lab coat. Other observers might completely ignore them as their sight drew towards the silver, as it beautifully pulsed and rippled, the edges slowly splintering reality infinitesimally. A doorway to an unknown world waiting for someone.

  It looked like it would hum or spark or something. But there was nothing, only a pulsating light as the video continued, and the two stood there waiting.

  Jack’s voice from off-screen spoke, “Ok, in three, two…”

  Zephyr looked over at Tim under his breath, barely audible to the audience, “Why am I doing this?”

  “Because it’ll be fun.” Tim replied as he quickly shifted to the camera, exuding excitement, “Hello, students! This is your glorious headmaster, Archmage Tim. And this—” He gestured to Zephyr in his full messenger outfit, “Is messenger Ratotskr the squirrel. Who else but a squirrel should guide us into the soul of a tree?”

  “Wait, are these doors into their souls?” Zephyr’s voice filled with trepidation as he looked into the rift.

  “We don’t know!” Tim excitedly answered. “It might be. It might not. But what we do know is it’s like memory.”

  “Memory? How so?”

  “You and our lovely batch of students will soon find out because today. We have something very exciting. The first ever —at least at this time— journey into a portal or rift. One not from a human but from a tree. A tree sitting in a squirrel’s backyard.” He said with a laugh.

  “It’s nuts,” Zephyr replied deadpan.

  “Ha. Why don’t you tell us when did this appear?”

  “Today, I think. Not sure what time, though.”

  “While I wish you had a time, it’s still amazing! A fresh rift, and he called us in. Now I’m dying to know, have you gone in?”

  “Not yet.” Zephyr stared behind them into the portal, “Kind of afraid to see what’s in it.”

  “I understand your apprehension. Will you be joining us inside? I mean, it is your tree, after all.”

  “Of course! I just don’t like how it looks at me; it’s always asking me to leaf.”

  “Wooooowww.” Jake’s voice from off-screen came as Zephyr smirked.

  Tim paused before blinking at the pun. “Nice.” Tim turned back towards the camera, “Now, students, there is still a lot we don’t know. We think this is safe—backed up by some other data I’ve been privy to— and it’s asking us for help. This rift radiates a request for assistance, like a tugging at the back of your mind as though you’ve forgotten someone you were supposed to help. I will say this now.” Tim’s tone became serious, “This is a risk, probably one we shouldn’t take. We here at the academy do not condone the following behavior of entering stray rifts. Or following alien feelings. Yet we know many of you are curious and will do it anyway. We show you this in hopes of keeping those unfortunate enough to stumble in something like this to remain safe.”

  The camera cuts to a mobile view, approaching the two and the rift. Tim beckoned the audience to follow, “Now, let’s go in.” The smile belaying any of the previous ominous warnings.

  The screen goes bright white for a few seconds as the world lights up to a sunny afternoon. The light balance off, and the focus blurred. Slowly, everything adjusts and corrects as it comes into proper focus—a seemingly endless expanse of grass. The cameraman pans around, showing Zephyr and Tim wide-eyed as the cameraman pans around, only showing grass until it focuses back on the tree’s trunk, which they had just stepped into and out of. Looking nearly identical down to the rift in its trunk.

  Everything seemed normal, at least until the camera began to pan higher. What should have been a tree with a reasonable amount of branches and leaves, the canopy lovely, letting a bit of light through, and branches thick and sturdy. Instead of what the viewers saw as clusters of thin and thick branches sticking out at every angle with so many leaves, the canopy looked more like a furry, matted mess. It was like a tree with matted fur.

  “Do you feel that?” Tim’s voice snapped the cameraman back to Tim and Zephyr, who stared at the branches.

  “It’s like a quest, but everywhere. Do we help it?”

  “Yeah.” Tim finally seemed to notice the camera and remembered what he was doing. “Students! It appears once you enter a rift, much like a quest, a task will be given to you. And in this case, what is being asked is to help this poor tree. We need to help clear out the memories of old leaves and branches that are choking this portion of the tree. It’s fascinating.”

  “You know.” Zephyr smiled, “If we’re still doing game terms. It would be like an area quest; one that read something like: Clear the excess leaves and branches. So the tree can get the proper sunlight and nutrition.”

  “A bit simplified but not inaccurate. Now Mr Squirrel”

  “Please Ratotskr. My father wasn’t a squirrel.” He answered playfully.

  “It’s time to climb.”

  Zephyr looked at the tree and shrugged, “I mean, I can try.”

  #

  -Crackle-

  -Snap-

  -Thud-

  “Ow”

  As it quickly turned out, the squirrel could not, in fact, climb the tree, as witnessed by whoever happened to watch the video. He stumbled over himself, grabbing loose branches or leaves. He could pull himself up on a single branch before learning it wasn't attached to the tree as it slid out, and he fell to the ground as a pile of branches fell on top of him, leaving little scrapes and branches in his hair. The branches and leaves vanished the moment they touched the ground.

  The video began to cut through his many attempts and failures. Fall after fall. Frustration and annoyance were clear on his face when eventually Zephyr tossed his hands in the air. “I can’t climb; we need to clear it out first.”

  Tim was busy writing on a clipboard when the camera panned to him, “If you say so.”

  -Tap-Tap-

  Tim thought, then smiled, “Now, how about a bit of a run?”

  Zephyr looked confused before the video cut to Zephyr running across the grass plains out into the unknown.

  With the camera focused on Zephyr, a much clearer voice-over began. “Instead of simply showing you all the long boring tests Ratatoskr did for us. This one was probably the most important.” Zephyr quickly disappeared into the distance. The video began to fast forward as the voice continued. “See, the rifts somehow warp the space around it.” Suddenly the camera was pointing in the opposite direction as a spec of a person appeared running towards the tree, “And there he is. From the completely opposite directions. Trippy, and amazing.”

  The video cuts from Tim’s awed reaction to three people, Tim, Jake, and Zephyr, with rakes and long poles knocking down branches and leaves. “Now I know all of you are dying to know what happens when you clear a rift. Well, we did that, too.”

  Everything shifted to random moments of everyone using rakes and other tools to shake and remove limbs and leaves. Every time a leaf or branch touched the ground, it would dissolve into dust. “Ahhh!” A massive branch barely misses Tim and disintegrates.

  “Whoops,” Zephyr said, looking chagrined, hanging upside down on a limb.

  Another scene shows Zephyr hanging from the rake stuck in the tree. “COME ON! GET OUT!” A single leaf fell as the rake was freed, and he hit the ground. -thud- “Seriously.”

  The rest was a sped-up effort by Tim, Zephyr, and even Jake, who were all running around and cleaning up the tree.

  Soon enough, the final leaf fell, and they were finished. How did they know this? As soon as the final leaf hit, the ground went white. As the scene shifted to the outside, the three suddenly stood right in front of the tree with the rift gone.

  For their, part, the three looked confused before the camera cut to Tim alone inside what looked to be a lab. He was wearing a different lab coat and a nice big wizard hat.

  “Wow, we looked confused, didn’t we? I mean suddenly being moved into a different place and being flooded with energy will do that to you.” Tim laughed. “Yes, just like a video game, we completed the quest and got experience as a reward. See, like quests, rifts also seem to give a large burst of energy when you complete them. That is not to say we didn’t experience anything while clearing.” The image cut to a collage of leaves and branches dissolving, “See, we felt a much minor version of energy like a trickle every time one of the leaves or branches was removed.”

  The screen was back on Tim, now sitting at his desk in the lab. “Our current theory is that this is like a symbiotic relationship or incentive to help the tree and clear the rifts. A fascinating field of study, one we have almost no information on, and I will be at the forefront with all of you, my lovely students! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell, and never miss the latest and greatest lessons. See you next class.”

  * * *