No More Waiting, The Time Is Now

My alarm goes off before the sun rises. I made sure that it would be well before I actually needed to be ready. I step outside into the darkness with nice, clean clothes that I had bought and kept stashed for this. I wish I had the suit that Madam Odette had made for me. That looked sharp. That would look like someone ready to show the world something amazing. I'll settle for the store-bought dress shirt I was able to find.

The walk to the church is colder than normal. It may be the early morning or it may just be a lull in the weather. Without the lights, the street is a lot harder to navigate. What little light from the city spills over is helping. My eyes adjust with a little help from some alchemic magic. Any extra light that I can scrape up is pulled into my vision.

I take the corner where it becomes a mostly straight shot to where I need to be. I get that feeling that I'm being watched again. I send out a short-range ping but nothing shows. Where is this feeling coming from?

I continue on my way with a heightened sense of awareness. The feeling never leaves. The further I travel the worse it seems to get. It finally becomes unavoidable. I stop in my tracks ready for anything. I feel something touch the middle of my back as someone whispers to me, "Please, don't turn around. Just listen." This voice sounds concerned. There's hesitancy in the shaking words they speak.

"Red, please reconsider this action of yours. These rules have been in place for a long time to protect us. They were written in the blood of those who were hunted and killed for having this ability. People don't understand. They don't want to understand. They only see something different that is scary. Something that they see as unnatural. We've survived for this long because we hide."

I take a deep breath as I hold myself steady. These words carry a lot of pain. "You don't know what you'll unleash with this path of yours. Please don't do this. Don't do this to yourself. You'll make yourself a target. Don't do this to the others who follow you. They'll be shunned by their communities and even their own families. You need to understand that this arrangement wasn't made from want but from necessity. I know I can't stop you but I beg that you please reconsider. You could have a quiet life where you can learn as you, please. You can find someone to share that knowledge and your life with in peace. But not if you chose this path."

The touch disappeared. There were three clicks of what sounded like shoes as they stepped away from me. There was no point in me turning around to see who it was. They were already gone. I reach into my pocket to grab the envelope they had left for me. I can feel the plastic cards that are inside. I have access to my funds again. I'll have an ID that I can use. I just wonder if it's me or a forged one. The government did a thorough job of erasing me.

I look up at the night sky to see a few twinkling bodies in the sky. Do I want to do this? Is this really what I want to do?

I arrive at the church to the sound of a few happy folks welcoming me. Everyone here today should be someone with a job to do. We are limiting visitors to ensure that this goes as smoothly as possible. I step into the side office to take over the final version one last time. They'll be moved over to large notecards so I can read them as word perfectly as possible.

One of the more active members, Jonathan, steps in with a worrying smile, "We are ready for today but you seem quite troubled. What is on your mind?" His raspy voice only makes me feel more uneasy. If he was confident in talking to me, his words are clear. He thinks he treading a line by asking me a question. He's one of those followers that believes that I should not be questioned, ever, and that doing so is an affront. I've had to work with him many times to tell him that it is OK to ask questions. If someone doesn't know something, it's better to educate them rather than demand they follow blindly. Communication brings reasoning. Reasoning brings understanding. Understanding is how we get folks to join our cause. Some will not understand and rather than waste time and resources trying to get them to understand, we are better off moving on to the next person.

"John, would you still support me if right here, right now I said let's not do this? If I just said pack everything up and everyone go home to live their lives as they are?" The look in his eyes told me that he was deeply troubled by this. But he forced an answer, "I would but… All this work… All this time… Is that what you want to do?"

I'm at a crossroads. I can take all this work, all this time, and all this dedication and just throw it away to pursue a different path. Or I can continue down this path and see what this has in store. Do I stop this before it gets out of hand or handle everything I'm about to unleash? The longer my silence, the more on edge John seems to be getting.

I slam both paws on the table as I stand up. "Alright! Let's go knock this out!" His face lights up at that answer. He's the first out of the room as he starts getting people fired up. Everyone gets to their spot. The engineers double-check their end of things and give the all-clear. I get to my position where I stand up. They get me in the frame to show the best side. I'm asked one more time if I'm ready. I nod and fluff the fur on the top of my head.

They turn on the lights and do one more check. Everything is green across the board. With the push of a button, every signal in the world goes dark for a few seconds. The TV that is just outside of my view turns black before I see my face appear. I remind myself to speak slowly and clearly. To enunciate and shape the words I am saying. I lock my eyes on the camera with the cue cards just off to the side.

I take a deep breath and it begins…

Attention ladies and gentlemen of the world. I come to you to tell you about a world that exists within your own. A world that many have hidden from you.

My name is Red…

I look at the cue card to get the next line but I stop. There is a long pause. The people behind the cameras begin to look panicked. I take another deep breath and come back with confidence.

I am The Fox, Red. And I am the nine-tailed fox!

I straighten myself up letting my six tails flow behind me. They fill the background as I tell myself that I am in charge.

For years! There have been those who live among you as your neighbors and your friends who have to hide who they are because they are not accepted in this world that you see on the surface. Today I want to change that. I am a mage. I use magic to manipulate the elements around me and within me to produce skills and abilities that are not seen as normal. However! It is an everyday thing for other mages, magicians, witches, and warlocks who study and practice this ancient skill.

We don't want to be hidden away. We don't want to be used by our militaries and governments as tools of war. We want to be treated as anyone else. To walk the street like anyone else unashamed of what we can do. There is so much we have to offer.

We also want to bring more of you into our world. There are many of you out there that don't know you have this ability. Unless you were born into or introduced into this world of ours then you don't have access to what we can do. As a sign of good faith, anyone who wants to learn magic will be allowed. You can dive into and see what kind of power you have buried and suppressed inside of you.

With this offer, I want to ensure that there is a balance.

Some of the crew are watching the event live on news channels. There is a huge flair of online activity of people talking about this. People are live-streaming this broadcast. Some are in favor and others criticize me. To each their own.

I am going to personally ensure that magic users and non-magic users get along. That one does not raise over the other. Magic users, you have lived in the shadows and hidden away. We do not want to impose what we have been through.

I give you all a personal promise that no one will claim superiority over the other. I do not want to use force but know that I am a creature of legend known for destruction. I will use that power at my disposal to ensure the balance on both sides. Neither mage nor non-magic user will subjugate the other.

The world is now open. Search for your own answers. It will no longer be the magical world and the normal world. It will just be our world that we both share. This will bring everyone into a new era. A new level of technology. A new level of progress.

I nod to the camera to give my sign that we are done. The feed is cut but I stand there until I see the TV facing my direction return to its normal programming. News channels came back to blank face reporters unsure of what just happened. A few were able to run with it. The reception was not positive for the most part. A lot of people think it's just a joke. They see it as someone pulling a prank.

I'm going to hope that those we recruited can quell the naysayers. I shake it off. There's more work that needs to be done, "Alright! Begin to tear down! We've got to move out of here before they come looking!" Everyone starts going into overdrive. Cables are pulled and wound up before being thrown into totes and bins. The cameras are packed away with care. They start taking the containers out the back and loaded them into a rented van to move them somewhere else. The only ones who stay behind are the regular followers who live and work here. They know their mission should anyone show up.

The can of worms has been opened. There's no putting them back now. The information is out there and I can only sit back and watch as the news begins to spread. I hope those that have magic abilities begin to emerge. I hope they are no longer going to hide. I really am banking on these people coming out and showing themselves to the world.

I leave the church heading out to the street. I hide my tails for now but I look around expecting there to be something different. I guess for changes to happen it would take time. There's some immediate activity online but how long until it moves into the real world? He went back into the area where the power was still out. In the middle of the day, it still looked weird that the inside of these shops and stores was dark. I locked myself inside my motel room. There is nothing I can do now. It's out there in the world. I can only question what the effect will be.

I look at my phone. I want to see what people are saying but I think it would be best to let this run its course for right now. I've taken a huge step forward. My next step is to try and find that library that I had seen before. I have no idea where to being. I'll have to bring it up with the congregation. They still have access to Phinnis's findings. There might be something hidden away in there. A location or something that they can use to figure it out. I can try and recreate the tapestry with the map. That may be the biggest clue for them to use.

I lay down on the lumpy bed staring back at the ceiling. I completely forgot to change out of these formal clothes. I don't care enough to correct this. I don't know that releasing that massive amount of power didn't wipe me as much as that did. My body feels like jelly once again. It was all nerves. Everything was set up so I couldn't fail unless I intended to. However… That does sound like a nice title.

The Fox, Red.

It tells people who I am. It denotes that I am not just a fox but THE fox named Red. It decerns me from so many others. It was made up on the spot and I hope that it carries the weight that I feel it should. I can only wait and see.

I don't even remember the rest of the day. I lay in bed rolling over now and again occasionally waking up from a nap. Eventually, the sun went down and the string of naps turned into sleep. I didn't set an alarm to wake me up, I just wanted to sleep as long as possible.

The sun became my alarm clock. The light was enough to stir me from my sleep. Now, I can change out of these clothes and into my usual attire. Comfy shirt and comfy jeans. I step outside to find that nothing has changed. Everything is still standing and nothing is on fire. The power is still out in the area. I'm not sure what to do now.

I should avoid the church for a while in case someone comes sniffing around because of the broadcast. My curiosity is still getting the best of me. Against my own better judgment I head to the church. The streets are a murmur with talks of what happened yesterday. A lot of people are questioning what it was to begin with. A few are wondering what had to be done to pull off an elaborate prank like that.

It's not the result that I was looking for but it at least has people talking. I guess that's the first step. The church looks as normal as ever. We were worried about the broadcast being traced back so we took the proactive measure to move everything out as soon as it was over. It looks like the fear was unfounded. Everything seems normal as I walk in the door.

I am greeted by the few who elected to stay behind. They report that no one has come sniffing around. No one has come asking more questions than normal. They're still reaching out to the public to find more people to come in. They did notice that the broadcast has had a positive effect already. Different churches are reporting back that as they talk to more people, they are more open to listening to them.

I hung around the church for most of the day just to get out of the motel. I sat in the chair looking over the box of journals that were still sitting around. A few of the followers came in to greet me before heading on their own way. I've noticed that they seem a lot more motivated with me around. That or they want to make sure that they see they're working as though I'm their boss and they're worried they'll be fired. I'm not concerned about it.

It's a few hours of quiet before one of the followers comes in with a laptop. He seems rather flustered in excitement. He's lost all sense of decorum as he starts up, "You have to see this!" He flips the lid open with a video paused on the screen. He moves the mouse over the Play button and steps back.

At a quick glance, this looks like some setup that someone uses to play games. I don't recognize the name of this streamer but looking at the stats from the reply shows that they are not a small fox. The chat replay is flying by with people talking. The current viewership is in the tens of thousands. I sit back and just let it play.

"Now! I need to talk about something that happened yesterday. I know we all saw it. It was everywhere. People posted it online over and over again. It was translated into nearly every language on the planet. I want to talk about this Fox Red guy."

Great… I knew people were already talking smack online about this. This is not what I want to see but this follower seems to be ecstatic about it. I let it play but temper my expectations.

"Guy, I need you to understand something. As hard as it may be to believe. As farfetched as it may seem. What he is saying is very real." I raise an eyebrow. He's going to out himself in front of these many people? "Look, I know it's weird. But! I can confirm that magic is real. I'm a mage myself. My parents are mages. My mom works at a university where they teach classes on theory and practice. My dad works with the government coordinating research into magical application. I spoke with both of them on this and they both agree with what Red said. They don't want to hide anymore. My dad doesn't want to be used by the government any further. I am putting their well-being on the line to tell you that this is a real thing."

My eyes dart between the video feed and the chat feed. His chat has some mixed reactions. Some are calling him a fake and a liar. Others are confused. Some want to see magic. There are very few who are claiming that they are also a mage but were wondering if the broadcast was an attempt to flush them out of hiding. "Here. Let me show you."

He adjusts his camera before standing up from his chair. He moves it out of the way and stands in the center of his room. With his paws palms side up, he exhales and creates two flames. He throws them between his paws until one misses and goes off to the side. It hit the floor rolling like a ball catching some of the carpet on fire. "Oh shit!" He went into a panic and started stomping out the fire. "See? This is real. And I need some more practice. But Red is trying to make it to where I can practice more. To where I can get better."

The clip stopped there. The chat replay stopped with people laughing that he set his room on fire. Others were calling that this was staged and a fake attempt to try and play off current events to gain followers. The laptop lid closes with the rat smiling, "People are talking about you! There are more who are stepping out from the shadows and telling the world who they are. A lot of them are government workers who are telling people what they've been doing under everyone's nose."

It's a small step. But everything starts with a small step. I can only hope that this continues. Those who are stepping out may convince their friends and family to do the same. If it cascades, then this may be worth it. But that also means I'm going to be attracting a lot of attention. If I know one thing, governments don't like losing their weapons. And I know that many mage bombs are going to take this chance to break free.