Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

"You mean like insects?"

"Yes, but other entities as well-some so small we can't even see them, others totally invisible because they lack physical properties-but their existence is no less real. The dark realm is just one more layer, but it is placed out of normal reach, connected only by magic. It may be a land of monsters, but it is also a realm of imagination, and there are layers there as well."

Jure began to grasp the concept.

"So you're saying Ansas is still in the dark realm, but he has separated himself from the rest of the dark creatures. In essence, he is in his own layer."

"In simplest form, yes, but I need you to be careful in how you perceive all of this. There is a great deal of overlap and if you attempt to isolate particular sections, you will lose him. You have to allow the magical trail to be your guide and open your consciousness to wider possibilities. I don't believe it's Ansas that's clouding your mind. I believe you are just having difficulty allowing your thoughts to take hold of alternate realities."

"I'm not sure that helps me find him," Jure revealed. "I can't just wipe my mind clean and let some new reality take shape."

"You don't have to," Enin allowed. "You just have to let the magic take you where you need to go. You know Ansas better than I do. Where would he place himself in the dark realm?"

That was a question Jure could answer easily.

"Far above it all. Even the largest of monstrosities would still be nothing more than a mosquito to him."

"He is that arrogant?" Enin questioned.

"Absolutely."

"Then if the dark realm is a physical reflection of the darkest corners of our imagination, use Ansas arrogance to help define the space around him. Don't try to create it yourself. Instead, let the magic and your understanding of Ansas guide you to his exact location."

With a new direction, the elder wizard concentrated once more on the magical strands of ebony magic. Though he could not grasp the dark energy that flowed back into the nightmare dimension, he could follow it and he knew it led directly to Ansas.

Jure ignored his previous experiences in the dark realm, forced out the images that his memory recreated in his mind. He allowed his consciousness to travel across existences without preconceived notions of what to expect.

Near the very end of the magical line, he reached a murky haze. Initially, it kept him from discovering his surroundings, but he patiently remained just outside the fog. He didn't attempt to burst through or shape the mist based on his own expectations. Instead, he waited for his surroundings to take on characteristics of their own.

He considered everything he knew of Ansas. The sorcerer was beyond arrogant. He was totally self-indulgent. He was also brash and self-assured, perhaps a bit too confident in his ability. Jure decided to use that to his advantage.

The elder wizard remained patient as well as persistent. He simply allowed his consciousness to take hold just outside the haze. He would use Ansas' brashness against the sorcerer. In essence, he offered a challenge, one he believed the sorcerer could not refuse.

The haze began to take a more detailed form. It first took the shape of a dark cloud, like a large puff of smoke, but it quickly took solid structure. He could see a wide plateau, a stretch of ground upheld high in the air by a single column, but one with a firm foundation. He knew they could walk upon the lonely ground, even the massive cliff behemoth would be well supported.

As Ansas' location came into greater focus, Jure realized he was not alone in issuing a challenge. The sorcerer had issued one of his own, one the elder wizard had met and overcome.

"I have him," Jure announced.

"I'll give you credit; you continue to surprise me," Ansas conceded. "I wasn't sure if you could reach me here on your own, but you did. You may not have Enin's vast energy or his control, but you are relentless. Is that how you achieved your white circle of magic?"

"What I achieve and how I do it is my own business," Jure responded coldly.

"Is that belligerence or modesty? I hope it isn't the latter. It's a useless characteristic. I have no use for braggarts, mind you, but humility is a self-imposed impediment. In order to achieve greatness, you can't deny it. Modesty is just one more weakness that must be cast aside. You should be more attentive to yourself and willing to learn what I can teach you."

As if to contradict that very point, Jure ignored the sorcerer and checked on the others. With one spell, he brought them all to the dark realm; Holli, Enin, Dzeb, Ryson and Linda, as well as Birk Grund and Shantree Wispon. He wanted to ensure their safety, for he knew they were in a perilous situation. To his relief and satisfaction, they were all on stable ground, well away from any of the dangerous ledges that, beyond the sorcerer, represented the most immediate threat.

They stood upon a high plateau elevated well above the lands of the dark realm where horrific creatures stalked. It was a simple stretch of ground, but it was lifted into the vast heights by one towering mass of solid gray rock. They ventured into a region of the dark realm far above the tallest cliff walls where hook hawks and spin vultures built their nests. There were no other apparent hazards nearby-no lakes of fire, shifting sand pits, or dark caves with unknown terrors-but a fall from that height would have been devastating, even to the cliff behemoth that made his home in the majestic Colad Mountains.

The ground at the top of the plateau was flat, hard, and devoid of all life. There were no warped, half-dead trees jutting out of the gray rock or disfigured insects burrowing into the dry soil. It was empty and dim, shadowed from the flickering lights of the fire pits below.

The plateau existed in the vast gray reaches of the dark realm's sky, but the dimension was so very different from the lands of Jure's home. It was shrouded in the shadows of a gray canopy that gripped the realm with unforgiving sameness. There were no stars, no sun above. They stood upon the upper reaches of that dreary existence, a dimension without beauty or joy. It was not a scenic overlook that allowed for glorious views of some distant horizon. There was just turmoil and hopelessness below, and the plateau served as a detached platform to overlook it all. Perhaps Ansas used it as a testing ground for spells of various nature, or perhaps he just liked to place himself high above the other dark creatures.

Jure believed the high plain was created by the sorcerer, another sanctuary like his simple wooden house, but one that was neither simple nor ordinary. The plateau was not merely some tall peak of a vast mountain. It was an area totally isolated from the rest of the dark realm.

Physically, the flat ground sat atop a mystifying spire that defied its surroundings. While very little in that nightmare world appeared natural, the solid column of gray rock appeared to reach beyond the limits of even twisted sanity. It was as if the plateau tested the very confines of the dark realm, pressed against the edge of the nightmare existence.

While many winged beasts of the realm could reach dizzying heights, none of the flying monsters dared to soar overhead. Jure realized they stood at the upper boundary of existence and any airborne creatures that dared to pass beyond the peak were risking entering a void.

Jure also understood that was why he had such difficulty in pinpointing Ansas' location. They stood upon an area that marked the upper boundary of the dark realm, and the haze he had to reach through was the twisted mix of one existence over another. There was the dark realm and the void beyond, and the flat ground of the plateau served as the last stop before emptiness.