Chapter 093 – Advice

[2009 – August]

I wasn't surprised that the sorcerer greeted us at the door without us even knocking or ringing the bell, as I had left a note in the mail two days prior to today, informing the Ancient One about our visit. I didn't want to appear unannounced considering that my barrier shielded me from any kind of divination.

Coming here only to realize that the Ancient One was busy with other matters would have been rather embarrassing after all.

I had also told Jean about who it was that I had intended to visit this morning so her surprise was limited, even though I knew that she was still rather curious about the Masters of the Mystic Arts.

"Thank you for having us, Master Drumm.", I replied politely as he gestured for us to step into the house while Jean likewise offered her thanks.

"Please follow me, the Ancient One is waiting for you in the library.", the Master stated with a gracious nod as he led the way up the large winding stairs made of some kind of well-maintained dark polished wood.

Jean and I followed behind in silence, while Arya just looked around with equal amounts of curiosity and vigilance.

As an owl, she was a predatory bird and therefore very sensitive to changes in her surroundings, though her age also made her a curious little thing which was a rather adorable combination.

I had created an Epsilon-level power that I had named Mental Link that allowed me to link my mind with a single animal so that I could understand and communicate with the tiny owl, though what I hadn't expected was that this seemed to have greatly enhanced Arya's mental capabilities, almost to the level of a small child.

I knew this was most likely the effect of having been connected to a vastly stronger mind so I wasn't bothered by it, not to mention that I had also extended my mental barrier to her mind through our link to prevent others from spying on me through her, so there wasn't really anything to worry about.

Currently, though my attention was drawn to the many ancient-looking exhibits we passed by, some of them were weapons while others just looked like trinkets. I knew better though, and my Extrasensory Perception also told me that each and every one of them carried magic inside of them.

Jean seemed to be able to sense it too, which came as no surprise considering the strength of her mind, and she looked at the different artifacts with curious eyes, especially the cloak that just hovered inside a large glass display.

Unable to help myself, I waved in greeting at the 'living' clothing article and I was greeted back as a corner of the coak waved in my direction, causing me to smile and Jean to look on with wide eyes. The Master though didn't comment as he just watched this short interaction with a raised brow.

"All these artifacts, how could they still be ownerless considering the considerable number of mystics in Kamar-Taj?", I couldn't help but ask in curiosity, even though I knew that most of these artifacts choose their owner themselves, not the other way around.

Still, with at least several hundred members, there had to be more mystics that were worthy of these artifacts. In the end, it was just a numbers game after all, pure probability.

"While Kamar-Taj indeed has many capable students, only those at the rank of Disciples are allowed to try and connect with an artifact.", Drumm answered calmly as he explained, "None of these artifacts are simple or harmless after all, and only those with enough experience and strength are allowed to try and tame them to avoid any unnecessary accidents."

From what I knew the ranks of students were Novice, Apprentice, Disciple, and Master, while the Sorcerer Supreme was chosen from the ranks of the Masters as the leader of Kamar-Taj.

So it made sense that many artifacts had not found an owner at this point in time as it could take many years for normal people to reach the rank of a Disciple, not to mention that being a member of Kamar-Taj wasn't exactly risk-free.

I could only assume that the death rate amongst the order members wasn't low at all considering the threats they had to face and battle.

Passing by a few corridors, we were eventually led before two large and ornately carved wooden doors. The Master knocked lightly, upon which a clear voice sounded out from inside and called for us to step inside.

Opening one of the doors, Drumm gestured for us to do exactly that, which I did with a grateful nod to him, thanking him wordlessly for guiding us here. Jean followed behind closely, though the Master himself didn't enter, as he just closed the door behind us and left.

"Welcome, Elijah. And Ms. Grey.", Ancient One greeted with a smile as she rose from her seat on the leather couch, a book in her hand, "Come take a seat."

The room was tastefully decorated with bookshelves all around while small tables stood before the two large windows to allow those writing and studying to do so with the help of natural light. Two dark-brown leather couches occupied the middle of the room with a small coffee table in between.

Sitting down opposite the powerful sorceress, I started: "Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice, Ancient One."

Accepting my words of gratitude with a nod, the Ancient One replied: "It was no trouble, though I suspect you didn't come here just because you had some free time, now did you?"

Unable to predict why I came to meet her, I was sure the Ancient One's curiosity was genuine as she had probably not met someone that could escape her sight for a long time, considering that she was in possession of the Eye of Agamotto, i.e. the Time Stone.

Shaking my head, I answered: "I came here because I had some questions and a favour to ask of you."

"What kind of questions?", she questioned calmly, not commenting on the mentioned favour for the time being.

Glancing down at the tiny owl peeking out of my breast pocket, I moved the fingers of my right hand inside it so that Arya could hold onto them with her little claws and climb out of my shirt pocket and onto my hand.

Caressing the adorable little avian with my other hand as she hooted happily and pressed herself into my palm, I couldn't help the small smile that had made its way on my face.

The sheer affection and the feeling of dependence that was transmitted over our bond caused warmth to surge in my heart.

Sighing lightly, I turned back my focus to the Ancient One and replied: "About 'fate'."

"Hmm.", the Ancient One paused for a moment as a deep and unreadable look appeared in her eyes, "Are you afraid that you are not in control of your own fate?"

Her question was voiced out lightly but it pierced straight into my heart as I had been preoccupied with such thoughts for the last few days, Arya's appearance making me frown deeply whenever I thought about this particular topic.

Logically speaking, I knew that the future was unpredictable as every decision and action had the potential to create infinite timelines, but I also knew that while some timelines differed greatly from one another, others were hardly discernible from each other.

Seeing as I had found Arya by 'chance' by following a 'hunch', I hoped that the Ancient One could help me gain a better understanding of 'fate'.

As someone that had peered into the future and had seen an uncountable number of timelines, while being the strongest sorceress on this planet and undoubtedly the wisest one, I knew that she must have her own understanding of 'fate'.

"It's not so much about controlling my own fate as it is about understanding my fate, or the concept of 'fate' in general.", I explained as best as I could.

"If I told you that fate is simply an illusion, would you believe me?", the Ancient One asked calmly, the same unreadable look still in her eyes.

"I would.", I replied with only minor hesitation, which caused a smile to appear on her face.

"Time is a curious thing, Elijah.", the Ancient One stated, "I have seen so many different timelines that it is impossible to count them even."

"And yet, there are events in each of them that seem so grand and inexplicable while also seeming like they are happening due to pure coincidence, that I sometimes forget that the heart of a living being is the most difficult thing to comprehend."

"It's not 'fate' that guides us towards one another, it is who we are that does. Sometimes it seems arbitrary, though it never is. We meet exactly who we are 'supposed' to meet because of the kind of persons we are and because of the dreams and ambitions we carry with us in our hearts."

"So just because we can't understand something, doesn't mean that there is no explanation for it.", she said, her calm and clear voice ringing in my ears as I listened intently to her words, "Now, you could devote yourself to finding an answer to all your questions, but I imagine that life would become pretty tedious and monotone without things to surprise you."

I could feel myself relaxing some of the tension I had not even known was there, as the Ancient One's words slowly sunk into my mind.

Of course I knew that she was right, and I was aware that humans generally feared what they couldn't understand, though realizing that I was also just a normal human in this aspect was still rather humbling and enlightening.

Indeed, wisdom didn't come with power. Wisdom had to be earned with blood, sweat, and tears. It was an accumulation of experience that simple knowledge just couldn't compare to.

"Thank you.", I voiced out sincerely while lowering my head gratefully, greatly appreciating her willingness to share her wisdom.

Accepting my words with an enigmatic smile, the Ancient One inquired: "So what kind of favour did you come to ask me for?"