Magus had lied. He had no intention of staying behind and trying to find a way of tapping into Woodwose’s mind. He knew what was going to happen, and he also knew that the events of today would have a far reaching effect not only on him but on all his friends around him.
Standing up he left a bemused Chief Jackson alone as he strode off purposefully. I can’t let it happen he began to think to himself. I must stop him. I must stop Woodwose. If I do none of it will happen.
Magus knew that he had the power to stop the mighty man-beast, and stop him before he caused pain and destruction. He had seen something that told him that he would be saving the lives of many in the years to come by stopping Woodwose now. He knew what he had to do.
He then launched himself into the sky and headed into the direction his comrades had headed moments earlier. They had no chance of stopping Woodwose, he knew that. Only he could. Only an Istarian could halt him.
But this Istarian never had the chance to. Just as he was nearing full speed something stopped him, some sort of invisible barrier. Magus crashed into it and plummeted down onto the ground, crashing into the earth, except that he wasn’t on Earth any longer.
Magus looked around, and the surroundings were totally different. Gone were the scenes of the countryside surrounding Dentonville Prison. Gone were the cities and towns of England he had seen in the past few moments, gone to be replaced by something different, some place different, where time had no beginning and no end.
The sky above him was a variety of different colours, too many to name in one go. There appeared to be no ground beneath him, yet he could feel it, touch it with his hand, and it felt as solid as the ground of Istarix.
Looking around Magus saw a looming building ahead of him. He knew what this place was. He had found this place by accident. And now he found himself here again.
Getting to his feet. Magus began to walk towards the mighty citadel. It gleamed before his eyes, yet there was no sun reflecting off it, and even though the ground had felt as hard as rock his footsteps made no sound as he walked along.
When Magus was just a few feet away from the entrance there was a shimmer in front of him. The shimmer began to take humanoid form, the form of a beautiful young woman, a woman who had helped him in a major campaign recently.
“Rhiannon!”
“Come Magus! The Overseers wish to speak with you!”
Rhiannon led Magus inside the citadel. The building was just as impressive on the inside as it had been on the outside. Technology Magus hadn’t even dreamed of lined the walls. Great forms of art where nearby, art forms from the past which Magus had seen, and art forms from the future which Magus would see later in his long life.
Rhiannon led Magus into a huge hall. This hall made the Great Hall of Istarix look like a dining room in a second-rate bed and breakfast in Cromer. Magus had only seen the likes of this once before, the last time he was here.
At the far end of the hall was a platform where a row of seats were situated by a bank of viewing screens and control banks. In the centre of this platform stood a grim-looking man garbed in black. This man stared at Magus sternly.
“I would say it is good to see you again Bishop.” said Magus. “I suppose it was you who had me brought here.”
“You are correct Magus.” Bishop replied. “And you know why you are here.”
“Send me back now, to the point where you took me from.” Magus urged. “I must stop Woodwose! I must!”
“We cannot do that Phineas.” said Rhiannon. “Your last visit here was an accident, and your seeing the events to come was also an accident. We Overseers are not permitted to change future or past events, and your swore an oath not to change these events!”
“But you helped us before Rhiannon.” said Magus. “You helped us in the campaign against Damien! Help me again! Help me stop the suffering that will be caused if I do not stop Woodwose!”
“She cannot do that Magus.” said Bishop. “The Rule of Azimuth forbids us from changing events in the time stream. Rhiannon did so and almost paid dearly. She was almost thrown out of Azimuth forever.”
“But I am not an Overseer!” said Magus. “I am not bound by your laws!”
“But you are an honorary Time Lord, are you not?” asked Rhiannon. “Therefore you are bound by the First Law of Time! You have seen the future! You must not alter the time stream, for to do so could be disastrous!”
“In what way?” asked Magus. “My best friend and countless lives would be spared!”
“The events to come only strengthens the characters of those involved!” said Bishop. “These events must be allowed to follow their natural flow!”
“So what am I meant to do?” asked Magus. “Return to my proper place in time and bury my head in the sand?”
“You must not act!” said Bishop. “You must do what you are meant to do!”
“We must have your promise Phineas.” said Rhiannon. “Your promise that you will take your rightful place in the natural flow of things.”
Magus looked at his hosts and thought long and hard. He looked at the vast array of screens behind Bishop and he began to wish that he had never found this place. Yet he knew that if he did not obey the First Law of Time the flow of the space/time continuum could be damaged.
“I will obey.” he said grudgingly.
“You have no other choice.” said Bishop. “Although I must say I am glad we did not have to convince you another way.”
Bishop then turned to Rhiannon.
“Send him back to the point where you took him from.”
“And his memory?”
“His memory will remain as it is. I trust you will tell no one of us?”
“That is the promise I made to you before Bishop.” said Magus. “I will keep it.”
“Then do it Rhiannon.”
Rhiannon waved her hand, and Magus vanished.
“Are you sure we did the right thing?” she asked.
“We had to.” said Bishop. “I was just a young boy when all of this happened. It affected me deeply. I wanted to stop them also when I got this power but I knew I couldn’t. Magus knows this also. He knows what he must do.”
Standing up he left a bemused Chief Jackson alone as he strode off purposefully. I can’t let it happen he began to think to himself. I must stop him. I must stop Woodwose. If I do none of it will happen.
Magus knew that he had the power to stop the mighty man-beast, and stop him before he caused pain and destruction. He had seen something that told him that he would be saving the lives of many in the years to come by stopping Woodwose now. He knew what he had to do.
He then launched himself into the sky and headed into the direction his comrades had headed moments earlier. They had no chance of stopping Woodwose, he knew that. Only he could. Only an Istarian could halt him.
But this Istarian never had the chance to. Just as he was nearing full speed something stopped him, some sort of invisible barrier. Magus crashed into it and plummeted down onto the ground, crashing into the earth, except that he wasn’t on Earth any longer.
Magus looked around, and the surroundings were totally different. Gone were the scenes of the countryside surrounding Dentonville Prison. Gone were the cities and towns of England he had seen in the past few moments, gone to be replaced by something different, some place different, where time had no beginning and no end.
The sky above him was a variety of different colours, too many to name in one go. There appeared to be no ground beneath him, yet he could feel it, touch it with his hand, and it felt as solid as the ground of Istarix.
Looking around Magus saw a looming building ahead of him. He knew what this place was. He had found this place by accident. And now he found himself here again.
Getting to his feet. Magus began to walk towards the mighty citadel. It gleamed before his eyes, yet there was no sun reflecting off it, and even though the ground had felt as hard as rock his footsteps made no sound as he walked along.
When Magus was just a few feet away from the entrance there was a shimmer in front of him. The shimmer began to take humanoid form, the form of a beautiful young woman, a woman who had helped him in a major campaign recently.
“Rhiannon!”
“Come Magus! The Overseers wish to speak with you!”
Rhiannon led Magus inside the citadel. The building was just as impressive on the inside as it had been on the outside. Technology Magus hadn’t even dreamed of lined the walls. Great forms of art where nearby, art forms from the past which Magus had seen, and art forms from the future which Magus would see later in his long life.
Rhiannon led Magus into a huge hall. This hall made the Great Hall of Istarix look like a dining room in a second-rate bed and breakfast in Cromer. Magus had only seen the likes of this once before, the last time he was here.
At the far end of the hall was a platform where a row of seats were situated by a bank of viewing screens and control banks. In the centre of this platform stood a grim-looking man garbed in black. This man stared at Magus sternly.
“I would say it is good to see you again Bishop.” said Magus. “I suppose it was you who had me brought here.”
“You are correct Magus.” Bishop replied. “And you know why you are here.”
“Send me back now, to the point where you took me from.” Magus urged. “I must stop Woodwose! I must!”
“We cannot do that Phineas.” said Rhiannon. “Your last visit here was an accident, and your seeing the events to come was also an accident. We Overseers are not permitted to change future or past events, and your swore an oath not to change these events!”
“But you helped us before Rhiannon.” said Magus. “You helped us in the campaign against Damien! Help me again! Help me stop the suffering that will be caused if I do not stop Woodwose!”
“She cannot do that Magus.” said Bishop. “The Rule of Azimuth forbids us from changing events in the time stream. Rhiannon did so and almost paid dearly. She was almost thrown out of Azimuth forever.”
“But I am not an Overseer!” said Magus. “I am not bound by your laws!”
“But you are an honorary Time Lord, are you not?” asked Rhiannon. “Therefore you are bound by the First Law of Time! You have seen the future! You must not alter the time stream, for to do so could be disastrous!”
“In what way?” asked Magus. “My best friend and countless lives would be spared!”
“The events to come only strengthens the characters of those involved!” said Bishop. “These events must be allowed to follow their natural flow!”
“So what am I meant to do?” asked Magus. “Return to my proper place in time and bury my head in the sand?”
“You must not act!” said Bishop. “You must do what you are meant to do!”
“We must have your promise Phineas.” said Rhiannon. “Your promise that you will take your rightful place in the natural flow of things.”
Magus looked at his hosts and thought long and hard. He looked at the vast array of screens behind Bishop and he began to wish that he had never found this place. Yet he knew that if he did not obey the First Law of Time the flow of the space/time continuum could be damaged.
“I will obey.” he said grudgingly.
“You have no other choice.” said Bishop. “Although I must say I am glad we did not have to convince you another way.”
Bishop then turned to Rhiannon.
“Send him back to the point where you took him from.”
“And his memory?”
“His memory will remain as it is. I trust you will tell no one of us?”
“That is the promise I made to you before Bishop.” said Magus. “I will keep it.”
“Then do it Rhiannon.”
Rhiannon waved her hand, and Magus vanished.
“Are you sure we did the right thing?” she asked.
“We had to.” said Bishop. “I was just a young boy when all of this happened. It affected me deeply. I wanted to stop them also when I got this power but I knew I couldn’t. Magus knows this also. He knows what he must do.”
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