84- Sanctum Sanctorum

Mason and Minx walked hand in hand, and Mason was thankful he had disappeared from the radar for this long, as no one appeared to recognize him. It also helped that he had changed out of his haori, going with more traditionally Western clothing.

Minx squeezed his hand excitedly as she practically squealed, "So, are they like wizards in Lord of the Rings? Angels with immense power but only meant to show the way? Is there a bad wizard who uses that power for evil? Is that why no one knows about them?"

Mason chuckled, "No, more like Harry Potter. Hiding because they chose to. Apparently, they used to be a lot more open about the way they did things, like Merlin carrying King Arthur."

"Arthur existed? Was he a prick?"

"How would I know? It’s not like I met the guy, I just read a bit about him. Excalibur was real too, by the way. It’s probably resting in some crypt or pocket dimension… although, now that I think about it, I may have inadvertently released it back into our world. Hey, maybe we’ll get to see the sword ourselves someday."

Minx looked excited at the prospect, but after a moment, she looked down at her black dress and asked, "Are you sure we should have dressed this casually? We are about to meet magicians."

Mason rolled his eyes, replying, "Don’t worry, I could come buck naked, and they’d probably not mind. You look fabulous as always."

Minx could not help but be a little worried still. "It’s one thing for them to not appear to care, but there’s a certain decorum with positions like these. Even if no one says anything, they should expect you to be… I don’t know, honoring? And I don’t want to embarrass you, looking like some stupid girl-"

Mason stopped her, shutting her up with a kiss before reassuring her, "You’re fine, Minx. They look like they got a broom up their asses the first time you meet them, but they’re chill. You should meet Yao someday. She’s the Sorcerer Supreme, but she’s also the chillest of the bunch. Good friend, though a tad manipulative."

Mason did not intend to meet with her today, because there was simply no need. All he needed was to get a necklace appraised, not something he would bother the Sorcerer Supreme with. Any decent Disciple would do the trick.

The two quickly arrived at the New York Sanctum, where they were welcomed by a familiar man.

"Disciple Drumm, nice robes. Is it Master Drumm now?" Mason greeted the very Sorcerer who had come to help them with Fisk, or rather the Incarnation of Set.

The new Master remained ever so serious, however, bowing deeply to Mason. "Greetings, Honored One. I was indeed able to meet with the Loa and sign a contract with them, after their realm was opened. I was subsequently offered a position as Master of the New York Sanctum."

"Congratulations!" Mason was genuine, as this was a feat not many could achieve. Master was the highest rank that could be achieved by any Sorcerer, bar Sorcerer Supreme, which was special, and meant that someone had at least taken the first step on the Third Path of Magic, Exocentric Magic.

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The Rank of Master was also the broadest one in terms of power, since the Ancient One was also technically considered a Master, besides her status as Sorcerer Supreme.

Exocentric Magic was another name for inter-dimensional magic. Mason remembered reading somewhere that of the Three Paths of Magic, the first is the magic of the self, the second is the magic of the world, and the third is the magic of other worlds.

So the gap between the weakest Master and the strongest was quite considerable, more than any other rank among magicians, but that was not to say any Master was weak.

Exocentric Magic was, in truth, the usage of extra-dimensional energy. But humans themselves are far too weak to connect with those kinds of energies by themselves, much less channel these energies through themselves, so they had to sign contracts with Mystic Principalities. They were a special set of beings among Realm Lords.

Not all contracts were the same, and not all Principalities either, but they were all extremely powerful, so being able to draw on their dimensions’ powers meant gaining access to the most powerful of spells. Moreover, signing one contract made it easier to sign others, so there were very few Masters with access to only one dimension.

Mason knew that there were some more complexities to this level of magic, but that was all he knew as an outsider. In any case, anyone who was able to reach the level of Master in the Mystic Arts was someone outstanding and very capable.

And since Mason happened to know this Master, he gestured toward Minx, about to present her, when Drumm added, "Honored One, the Ancient One is waiting for you and Ms. Goldwood."

Minx’s real name was Miriam Goldwood. Speaking of which, she did not look worried that a complete stranger knew her, but excited instead. Awed, even. She said, "Thank you very much, Master Drumm," accenting the ‘Master’ part, sounding proud of herself, "for your hospitality. You have a beautiful Sanctum."

The usually taciturn, always serious Drumm actually offered her a smile, nodding, "Nothing but my duty, Ms. Goldwood. You are welcome here anytime."

Drumm led them deeper inside, passing by various displayed artefacts, to a room filled with tall mirrors. The Master introduced the room to Minx, since Mason had already seen a similar room in Kamar-Taj. "This room is known as the Mirrorway, and it connects to some of the most important locations for practitioners of the Mystic Arts. Of course, they may only be activated with the right sequences. Allow me."

Drumm stepped to the most central mirror and started making strange gestures, both grand and subtle, and muttered an incantation in a language Mason had never heard before. Which was to say something, considering Mason had picked up the basics of quite a few languages during his time around the world.

Minx looked equally curious, but she knew not to disturb Drumm as he activated the portal. Watching him at work, and seeing the bead of sweat forming at the man’s temple, Mason thought it would have been much simpler to use the Sling Ring, but he supposed there had to be some restrictions that forced his hand.

The two stepped through the portal and, with a single step, crossed over to the other side of the world, deep inside Nepal. They arrived in a room identical to the Mirrorway, and if Mason’s gut was right, this was actually nothing more than an extension of it.

Knowing about the Mirror Dimension, Mason guessed there was a relation between it and this mysterious means of teleportation.

The portal closed behind them, and another Sorcerer was waiting for them on this side of things. Only an Apprentice this time, going by his robes.

He bowed to the two of them, though his form was not as good as Drumm's, and led them outside.

As they passed by the training grounds, Minx looked around in wonder when all the Sorcerers in the yard, currently training, stopped and bowed, calling as one, "We greet the Honored One."

Mason rolled his eyes and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. He had tried to get them to stop with that the last time he was here, right before his journey, but they had ignored it. Mason could only hope they would ease up with time, as they had with Yao, and stop shouting his title every time they saw him.

Minx gave the group a glance when they shouted, but her gaze quickly returned to the majestic mountains surrounding the fortress, asking, "Where are we?"

Mason grinned, pointing to the peak of the tallest mountain, proclaiming, "That’s my training spot, right there."

Minx had heard enough from him before to understand that the mountain was none other than the main peak of Everest, and they were in Nepal.

She catastrophically failed to keep a composed expression.