Interlude: Who are we? Where are we from?
Before we get further into the story, let's have a quick breakdown of the terminology you've encountered so far: Masterminds, Homothea, The Oracles, Writers, Witches... what are they, really?
Note from the author: I’m not sure how well I’ve done in the previous chapters in setting the scene for this urban fantasy world of mine… but I figured that before we jump into the actual story (where things are going to escalate!) I should make a few of the main concepts crystal clear to you, dear readers.
And who would be better suited to explain everything other than the nerdiest and smartest guy in the room…? Yes, Jake Lewis himself!
Now, close your eyes (or at least pretend to, because you have to keep reading) and imagine you’re sitting in a comfortable chair in the cosiest part of the giant library café owned by Jake himself, Portal. Surrounded by tall dark wooden shelves, filled with books, the smell of inked paper mixed with coffee beans tickling your senses…
I’ll leave you to it now. Enjoy the ride.
———
Jake was disappointed: it was a slow day at Portal, which meant three things:
He couldn’t talk enthusiastically about literature and the latest book releases with customers while leading them to buy a cup of coffee or a piece of cake at the café area.
Everyone was either at work or at school so he couldn’t even go to the storeroom at the back to tease the hell out of Jack (who not only worked part-time at Portal as a way to repay him for his kindness/mentorship but who was also his No.1 suspect of being Nya’s secret boyfriend.)
He couldn’t show off his new favourite K-pop-inspired outfit: he opted for his gold-framed prescribed round glasses to match his oversized off-white cotton shirt, layered with a loose grey vest, paired with fitting classic black trousers, Oxford shoes and finally, to piece it all together, a black denim-like jacket, that looked almost like a short-sized trenchcoat.
Well, then, it also meant he had time to go to the quietest part of his shop, where he kept those special books… in which their history was disguised as fairy tales and legends.
The history of Homothea and the ones who came before him.
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Indeed, this was a similar apocalypse to the one which the Mastermind of Truth had been warning us all, predicted to happen in this present era. History would repeat itself with today’s new Mastermind reincarnations: the trigger was believed to be a clash between the most two powerful Masterminds of their kind, Light and Chaos.
(Fun fact: Masterminds are generally not scared of dying as their physical human form is only meant to act as a vessel for their actually power. When a Mastermind dies, their power does not die with them, instead, it is passed on to the next chosen newborn.)
An overall definition of the three kinds of Homotheans: Masterminds, Writers and Witches
And within Masterminds, there was a hierarchy from the most to the least powerful abilities…
Starting with the two at the top:
It was believed that, on Homothea, they were the main rulers of the land.
Then there were the next most powerful ones called the Elemental Masterminds, as they each held the most fundamental powers that could sum up the concept of life in the universe:
Something to highlight: each Mastermind would always have an opposite counterpart, i.e. the Moon versus the Sun, Earth versus Sea…
Only one Mastermind could be described as being an exception: the Mastermind of Death (reincarnated as Jack in this lifetime). Death was always considered a ‘null’ power, a neutral one… Its sole existence was to regulate the deaths that occurred, making sure that souls didn’t end up lost and that the world of the dead did not pose a threat to the living.
Death had no counterpart.
A little more info about Writers…
While the above brief description of ‘Writers’ could sum up their ability in a nutshell, in reality, ‘Writers’ might be the most difficult for humans to understand (should they ever learn about Homothea) as they have no relation to what ‘writers’ mean in the human world.
In human terms, one could say that Homothean Writers are the equivalent of a police force, a team of trained fighters though not only in martial arts and weaponry but also in using their ultimate power of the pen. Even if there are no pens to be used, Writers can use other tools, like blood, to write what they need to manifest. Paper, walls, skin and air… the world around them is their canvas.
(As the story progresses, it’ll start to make more sense!)
As much as Jake was given the responsibility to keep and maintain all the archived works of their history, the actual reality was that… what happened thousands of years ago on Homothea was not well documented.
All he could do was trust the ones who had been there, the only three beings who had survived the apocalypse and dragged the remnants to Earth to start a new life…
A new government… namely The Oracles.
How did they survive? How did they become immortal? No one knew. Even Jake had never seen them in person, although his Writer wife, Judy met with them almost every other week because of her seniority at her job.
Jake knew that she had to keep so many high-profile secrets from him, things he would probably not even be able to comprehend…
When he thought about it was a miracle their relationship had lasted this long.
Though they wouldn’t have the luxury to worry about such trivial matters as their marriage when they were threatened with the end of the world…
Jake sunk into one of the bean bags, surrounded by the fairy tales section, and closed his eyes. Nya, please, stay as you are. Grow up to be a kind and fine woman. Go and marry Jack.
Because we can’t afford to fuck this up.
D. K. Waye