The First Call

The universe is expanding at a constant rate.

Each second, a new star is born, and each second, an old star dies.

In this dark void, a new planet revolves around a young star.

Somewhere in the distance, the sleeping god dreamt, unaware that it was about to be devoured by the same dreams it had created.

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It started as a dream.

The shadows in the corners of his vision elongated strangely.

Everywhere he went, it always felt like there were eyes staring at him from within the walls.

Sometimes, even his own shadow didn't match his movements.

It was a dream, he was sure of it.

Because in this dream, no matter how strange and horrific the things he saw were, he always felt at ease. As though things were as it should be.

And that was perhaps because the shadows and the eyes hold no malice for him. The unintelligible whispers in his ears were like the reassurance of a worried parent.

But, one day, he realized that perhaps, those dreams were something more than dreams.

They followed him into reality.

It was a strange book that fell straight onto his lap while he was daydreaming that started it all.

One look was all it took, and suddenly, he was no longer where he previously was.

He remembered that day clearly.

He was 7 years old, alone and sad, hoping someone would find him and take him away into an adventure, when suddenly, a strange book appeared as though an answer from a god.

He shouldn't have opened that book.

Now, he knew too much.

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Ymir Schreiber was a lonely child.

Being the sole heir to a pureblood wizard family, one might expect his life to be nothing but happiness and riches, but in truth, while he did have the riches, he was never happy.

After his father went to Nurmengard Castle to guard the lord he was still sworn to, Ymir was left alone in a large fortress with only house elves to talk to.

Each day, he would wake up to the cold and silent halls of the fortress, walking to each room, hoping to see the faces of his family members that were growing blurrier in his memory with each passing day, and daydreaming alone while staring outside the large windows.

He didn't talk much, didn't play outside, and didn't cry like other children.

So, no one realized that one day, this lonely child was haunted by another.

Black as the darkest abyss, all-seeing and all-knowing.

It whispered secrets that no one should know, lest they go mad and insane.

It cannot be viewed directly, so it only showed the tip of it's cloak to him, but even that was enough to make his mind go blank.

But, it was never malicious, atleast not to him.

In fact, it treated him like he were it's beloved child; with care and gentleness. The things he lacked the most.

Perhaps that was the reason why he accepted it so easily. Along with the strange gifts it brought him from the depths of the cracked space.

Black, grey, and deep red, the pigment of the paint marred the white surface of the canvas, forming an image of a dark creature hiding within the shadows.

"Young Lord Ymir, it is lunch time." Quietly popping into the room, a one-eyed house elf spoke softly. "And, a letter from Nurmengard was just delivered by owl this morning."

A being from the vast and broken cosmos was slowly brought to life under his agile paintbrush.

"I see." The child said, but made no move to stop what he was doing. "I'll go see to it once I finish this."

Each stroke added shadows, making the creature even darker than before. The painting, appearing more like a window to another realm than flat canvas.

"..." Silently, the house elf watched its master become lost in his own world once again, neither leaving nor aiming to disrupt. Guarding him quietly, as he should.

"..." And, silently, the boy regarded his creation with fervent eyes, only regarding the other living creature as an afterthought. "You may go, Glas."

"Understood, Young Lord." The house elf bowed respectfully and popped out of the room.

Now, the only sounds left were the soft strokes of the brush upon the canvas and the rhythmic ticking of the old clock on the wall.

Soft sunlight entered gently from the tall glass windows, reflecting upon cold silver hair. And, finally, the paintbrush left the painting.

"There, finished." The boy leaned back on his chair to admire the dark amalgamation from a slightly farther distance. "What do you think I should name it?"

There was no answer to his question, but that did not deter him one bit.

"How about Adumbrali?" He asked, grey eyes squinted, pleased.

From the corner of his eyes, the shadows flickered.

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The Beschutzer Fortress, inhabiting the Black Forest of Germany, was formerly used as a war fortress during the Wizarding World War lead by the first Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald.

It was designed by Leonhard Schreiber and Johann Vogel, two of Grindelwald's most trusted advisors, and was built with the help of Goblin craftsmanship. Layered with hundreds of defensive runes and spells, it was expected to aid in the conquest of countries bordering the south-west of Germany.

Theoretically, it's durability would be able to outlast both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang castles.

Though, sadly, shortly after the completion of the fortress, the Dark Lord was imprisoned in Nurmengard, a prison created by the Dark Lord himself, and was never able to showcase it's use.

With the fall of Grindelwald, the Beschutzer Fortress was left under the name of Leonhard Schreiber who passed it down to his son, Maximilian Schreiber for safeguarding, not owning, as for him, the fortress was still owned by his Lord and the Schreiber family are only to guard it until the Lord decides to step out of Nurmengard once more.

Leonhard Schreiber (56yrs old) left the title of Schreiber Patriarch to Maximilian Schreiber (23yrs old) directly after Grindelwald's arrest and dedicated himself to guarding Nurmengard in hopes that one day, the Dark Lord could be persuaded to regain his freedom voluntarily. This would continue until his death at the age of 74 due to an attack from victims of the Wizarding War.

After his death, Maximilian Schreiber (41yrs old) followed his father's footsteps, and passed down the title to his son Salomo Schreiber (20yrs old), and dedicated his life to safeguarding Nurmengard until his death in 1987 when, in a show of loyalty and dedication, he, along with three others (Adalard Ritter, Volker Kraus, Zigmund Vogel), directed a Killing Curse to themselves in view of the Dark Lord, but even that was unable to persuade him to step out of his prison.

Even so, the loyalty of the Schreiber family was unshakable as soon after that event, Salomo Schreiber (44 yrs old) left the title of patriarch to Ymir Schreiber (7 yrs old), and was still guarding Nurmengard to this day, July 1991.

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[Mein Shatz,

In order not to be attacked by crazy heretics, I am afraid that you will have to study in Hogwarts instead of Durmstrang. I do not want you to follow the footsteps of your Great Grandfather too early. Prepare for weather that cannot make up it's mind and food that will attempt to make eye contact with you.

Dein Vater]

"..." Ymir regarded the letter with a strange gaze. The tone was incredibly stiff, but it could be seen that the writer was attempting to be humorous. In any case, for a letter from a father to his son, it felt a bit alienated.

But that was perfectly fine. Alienated was alright. Because, now, he couldn't even remember clearly what his father looked like. In his memory, all he could remember was that he had the silver hair which he inherited, and cold blue eyes.

Though, if there was one thing he could remember clearly, it was what his father said the day he left more than 3 years ago.

"Magic is dying. Only the Lord can save it."

From that day on. That message had been stuck in his head.

Magic was dying.

Nevermind that, the main thing to think about now was about this whole school thing.

Hogwarts? Wasn't that the school which was heralded as the best school for magic despite completely banning dark magic?

Ymir thought of the many shady books stored in his personal library.

That might not be a good match for him.

But, since his father said so, there was nothing he could do about it.

It seems that they started classes on September, but enrollment ends on the first of August...

It was nearing the end of July now.

"Mm... Glas." Idly chewing bratwurst, Ymir called for his house elf. "Prepare the manor in Yorkshire. I'll start living there from tomorrow."

"Yes, Young Lord."

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In his dreams, there is creation.

In his dreams, there is destruction.

For each planet created, another is destroyed.

For each being that lives, another is killed.

The universe runs on an intricate balance. An unseen give and take.

The gods cannot be seen with the naked eye, lest madness befall you.

So, devour them into your stomach, for the only place that you can never see is the insides of your own body.

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When Ymir woke up from his nap, there was a strange taste on his tongue, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion.

What was he dreaming about again? He can't seem to recall.

But, whatever that dream was, it must be important because, right now, he was nowhere near his bedroom.

Actually, this place wasn't even Earth at this point.

Floating in the dark universe, Ymir saw a planet around the size of the moon in the distance.

One blink, and he suddenly found himself right above the planet's atmosphere.

Another blink, and he was already standing on its surface.

As far as his eyes could see, barren land stretched for miles. No water, no plants. Just rocks, sand, and silence.

Behind him, a shadowy portal marked the exit.

This doesn't seem to be a dream.

Needless to say, he plunged straight to the exit and appeared right back into his room.

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Summer was ending, but somehow, it still felt humid everywhere.

Perhaps that was because the weather in England was warmer and wetter than what he was used to in Germany. It was also much more unpredictable.

When he thought it would rain, the sun would suddenly make it's presence known. When he thought it would be sunny, it would suddenly rain out of nowhere. Sometimes, it would even rain with the sun out.

Fortunately, right now, the weather was strangely stable. And by stable, he meant it was neither sunny nor raining. Just cloudy and humid.

So, on a rare mood to relax outdoors, he visited the pond where the dragonflies roamed outside the manor while Glas, the house elf, busied himself with tidying the entire manor.

Plop.

A flat stone fell into the pond, creating ripples upon the previously calm surface.

Beneath the murky waters, fishes and tadpoles alike were startled and swam away.

How lively.

Not like the lifeless planet he saw the day before.

Looking behind him, he confirmed that the strange portal was still lurking in his shadow, inviting him to plunge into it.

Just what was that world he saw at the other side of the portal?

From yesterday to this day, the portal never disappeared, but, all the people he encountered (in the German and British Ministries of Magic when using the International Floo Network), none of them seemed to be able to see it.

At this point, he had too many questions, and no answers.

Ymir was a curious child. So, he sighed and leaned back, plunging straight into the portal.

What greeted him on the other side was still the same sight.

A small planet in the distance, a yellow star much farther away, and no moon to be seen. But, this time, he remained floating outside the planet's atmosphere instead of landing on it. Strangely enough, he was still able to see exactly what was happening on the planet's surface despite being so far away. Even the details on each rock could be seen clearly.

In this plane, his mind felt dull and hazy, like it had been soaked in viscous liquid, slowing down his thoughts and making everything appear dreamy.

Staring at the strange orange planet in silence, somehow, at the back of his mind, he had a strange feeling that he was able to control the planet like he would to his own finger.

So, with a subtle mental flick, he urged the planet to move closer towards the sun, and when it did so, the planet immediately showed signs of redness, indicating the increase in heat on the surface of the planet.

Looking closer, he was able to see volcanoes erupting and the land splitting from the sudden disturbance in the planet's magnetic field.

After watching the planet at this state for several revolutions, it could be noticed that the planet was starting to revolve around the star faster and was even getting closer unprompted, as though it were being dragged into the star by its sheer gravitational pull.

If this were to continue, the planet might end up getting swallowed by the star.

So, with another mental flick, he pushed the planet away from the star, albeit a little farther than it's original location.

Now, without the danger of being burned off, the planet began to stabilize, and because of the sudden cooler temperature, the magma which had no time to flow down completely, rapidly solidified into stone, causing strangely shaped rock formations to decorate the previously flat surfaces.

Watching the planet for so long, he realized that there was actually no bodies of water in it. Or, if there ever was, it had already evaporated when the planet was closer to the sun, or turned into mist when the planet moved farther away.

But, even the cooler temperature now was actually still dryer and much hotter than the temperature on earth.

On another note, because of the rapid changes in temperature, a strange yellow mist began to form which quickly blanketed the whole planet.

Whether the mist was toxic or not is still yet to be determined, but Ymir had no plans on finding out himself. Instead, now that his mind was slowly clearing up, he looked at the previously orange planet, now yellow, and resolutely plunged back into the portal, arriving right beside the pond where he left from.

Before anything else, the first thing he did was to judge how long he had been in the strange space. Fortunately, during the time he spent there, the sun had decided to peek through the clouds, making it easier for him.

If he remembered correctly, he entered the portal shortly after eating lunch. So, with the position of the sun being only slightly past the center of the sky, unless a whole day has passed, that meant he had only spent less than half an hour in that space.

But, he watched 6 whole revolutions of the yellow planet. Each revolution counts for a year.

"Glas!" Ymir called out, stumbling slightly as he stood, feeling unbalanced on his feet after floating for so long.

"Yes, young Lord?" Immediately, his house elf popped in front of him, respectfully waiting for instructions.

Good, no strange reactions. Which meant, it was unlikely that he had been gone for too long.

"Bring me a blank journal, a quill, a clock, and an empty jar." Not letting his thoughts leak onto his face, Ymir commanded blandly.

Now that he had a vague grasp on what he could do in that strange space and his ability to influence the unnamed planet, he realized the possibilities that it could bring.

Particularly, to the rapidly shrinking wizard society.

"Understood, sir." With a quick pop, Glas disappeared, before reappearing some moments later with the requested items.

The strange space might just be the thing that saves all of magic, so it was important to take it seriously.

Starting by giving it a name.

Taking the journal and the quill, he wrote with large sweeping letters on the first page.

"01-Terra."

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July 25, 1991

01-Terra

Observation Entry #1

Previously called the Orange planet, after pushing the planet closer to the yellow star (renamed as Pueri) and later adjusting back further away from the star, Terra experienced various changes to its surface, including the appearance of a yellow mist which completely turned it's previous orange color to yellow.

As the yellow mist is not yet determined to be safe, as an experiment, several insects were gently set on top of the new mountain formations rising above the yellow mist.

The first specimens were; 2 dragonflies, 5 spiders, and 12 ants.

Note that I am watching the proceedings from a safe distance.

At first, the insects showed no signs of movement, most likely, startled by the sudden heat. But, the heat in the planet, while much higher than that on earth, was still within the survival capability of the insects.

After three rotations, several insects began to move, while the rest were confirmed to have died.

Now, there were; 2 spiders, and 9 ants.

It can be seen that ants had adapted better than the rest.

But, after two more rotations, the population was cut down once again to just 4 ants.

And, after three more rotations, all ants had died.

No specimen survived the heat of Terra. And that was before they even entered the vicinity of the yellow mist.

Normally, if it was just heat, they wouldn't die so quickly. There must be something else that I was missing.

And that's when I remembered.

The planet had no water. And no food.

Entry End.

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