Domain: Awakening

Chapter 1. Not a very good evening. Sub-chapter 2.

Gradually Negat came to his senses. Yes, he found not too suitable time and place to remember about such high matters!.. However, understanding these facts assured him that he was not crazy after all. The pain subsided, my head stopped spinning and my vision returned to normal. He was terribly thirsty. Plain water. But where to get water in the night forest? It would be logical to conjure water for yourself. Ivan is a mage, a enchanter! it sounds proud!.. And that would be true. Any magician, even a first-year student, is able to condense water condensate from air vapors. More powerful and experienced magicians are able to generate hydrogen atoms directly from the Ether, and after that, in their typical reaction, they will combine with atmospheric oxygen in the well-known H2O. But alas, despite the official status of a magician of the 3rd stage (out of five existing ones) and extensive knowledge in all known disciplines... he couldn't cast any spells on his own. More precisely, he could not make a single pass - that is how the effect on the Ether by the effort of the mind is correctly called. He could not pass even with an amplifying wand- a conductor-concentrator of Ether. And by the way, just such a device is now hanging on Ivan's belt, secured with a buckle for quick removal and fastening. The lower end of the rod is in the right pocket of his trousers. The wand is not only an amplifier of magic, but also a kind of personal document of each magician, it has a unique etheric imprint that any magician, even with an initial level of Clairvoyance, is able to feel and identify the bearer if he is familiar with it. Yes, the wand is not the only option. there are other conductors-concentrators of Ether - rings for subtle and secretive magic, staffs for powerful and destructive magic, stationary magical devices that can reach sizes... Egyptian pyramids, for example. These stone tetrahedra are the most outstanding example of ancient enchanting technologies. There are also specialized devices that do not look like anything for a specific task. But, the most frequently used, convenient, versatile and optimal conductor-concentrator is still a rod. In his youth, the magician independently makes and charges his first wand. Everyone is unique. The author decorates his rod with ornaments and engravings. Each Domain has its own style of making wands, but their essence is quite simple - it is a cylindrical hollow ethereal resonator made of the finest gold of the highest grade, arranged from the inside with layers of mica or graphite and with a focusing gemstone at the end, usually a rhinestone and colored stones based on it, less often a small diamond. Each magician chooses his wand according to the capabilities of the Domain and his own preferences. In fact, the rod resembles an electric capacitor-ionistor with a heated cathode ray tube with its device. Quite complex in theory, not very difficult in execution, it is absolutely useless for a ordinare person, but it serves as an indispensable everyday universal tool for a magician. You can conjure without a wand, but with it, any pass is much more accentuated, concentrated, accurate, economical, and in general more powerful. It is easy to hide, disguise, even if discovered, it will not cause serious suspicions among inexperienced people - it's not a knife or a gun. And this great instrument for Ivan was just a formality. By that very document, a sign of belonging to the mighty and mysterious caste of the true magicians of the Covenant. The bottom line is that Negat suffered from a rare magical congenital ailment - the Aura of Antimagia. Some atypical mutation in the brain gave Ivan the ability to bend the Ether to his will, but somehow too crooked. Not a single manifestation of the transformation of Ether could penetrate beyond its etheric shell around the body, and instead of having the necessary effect, any magical pass, even positive, even negative, instantly disintegrated back into pure Ether. And in the same way, Ivan could not use his own magic beyond his own body. His passes were similarly scattered into the Ether, but from the inside, and using any serious magic for Ivan was not only useless, it was also dangerous. As a result, he mastered only a few safe and simple passes that were possible given his faulty aura, and began experimenting in the field of automagy - this is a discipline aimed at changing the vital processes in the body of the magician himself, it does not require the presence of a wand. He achieved great success in this and wrote several scientific and magical articles about it. But alas, the classical active disciplines, the most recognizable and respected, were inaccessible to him. Ivan did not even decorate his wand in any way, in appearance it was just a smooth cylinder of yellow metal with a transparent hemisphere at the end.

Not to say that the antimagic aura brought him only troubles. There were also advantages. Sometimes he was taken on the most dangerous tasks to capture and eliminate renegade magicians. These extremely insidious and dangerous criminals of the magical world could only be surprised how all the passes fly away from an ordinary-looking man in a magical outfit, without bringing him the slightest harm. They didn't have time for anything else. The banal, not at all magical TT pistol in Negat's hand reliably cut off their magical-criminal activity. Alas, because of this very aura, Ivan did not know a normal personal life. There were many pretty and charismatic magesses in the Azgorod, but they were all afraid of him. The reason was banal- no one wanted to pass on his aura to their children. To communicate, to weave light affairs without consequences is easy, but they were not ready for something serious. And as practice has shown, magical inclinations and features are quite reliably inherited. Not one hundred percent, but with a high probability. In this regard, Domains conduct special genealogical programs in which they try to bring the most promising candidates into married couples. Again, as the age-old practice has shown, dynastic magicians are on average stronger and learn faster than those who were born into a family of ordinary people. Because of this, dynastic magicians are called Born, and those taken from the families of simpletons are called Awakened. Ivan was a typical Awakened. Magicians are allowed to create families only within the Community of the Covenant. There are few Magicians, from a thousand to several thousand in each Domain, any Domain is in fact a large village where everyone knows each other since childhood. And therefore, almost from the first days of the Covenant, in order to avoid degeneration, a voluntary exchange of magicians is encouraged among friendly Domains. For example, if a magician or a magician became uncomfortable in his native Domain, or he (she) found love in another Domain, then they have the opportunity to move to another Domain. Because of this, the Community is an international, more colorful than the European noble dynasties. There were exceptions to this rule. Other Domains willingly accepted magicians from Rosdomen, but they themselves tried their best to prevent their magicians from moving to Rosdomen. And that's why there was an unspoken ban among Soviet magicians on accepting magicians from outside and on transferring their own to other Domains. The ban was regularly violated, some magicians of Azgorod sometimes ran to their neighbors. Those wishing to join Rosdomen were not particularly observed. Ivan himself from time to time thought about whether he should go to the Gerdomen or Bridomen to friends. But, having visited there once at the invitation of his wizard friends, he realized that he would never become his own there - except for the fourth-degree magician and ethereal Gerard McKinley and the third-degree magician Anna Stockhausen all other foreign colleagues treated Negat with a fair share of suspicion and distrust. And all because of this idiotic aura. Well, he thought it was because of the aura. He decided to stay at home. Several years have passed since then. McKinley was recently killed in an attack on Azgorod. Negat knew this for sure, because he himself had slain him in battle. This unlucky professor managed to drag a collapsible installation to break through stable spatial corridors to the Urals through the security guards' cordons. Initially, this unit, which was designed by the three of Ivan, Gerard and Anna, was intended for a daring scientific task - testing the technology of portals to other planets. Alas, there was still work to do before reaching the planets, but this machine was much better suited for breaking through local magical protection. Ivan involuntarily turned out to be the creator of a weapon directed against his house. And then he volunteered to conduct a sortie in order to destroy a dangerous unit. The Citadel Council approved his plan. Together with a group of younger students, covering them with his defective aura from enemy attacks, Ivan managed to break through to the collection point of the spatial puncher. The puncher was almost ready, the enchanters were already assembling the final blocks. Negat shot the puncher preparation group and their guards with his trusty pistol. Fortunately, the installation's security team did not have time to surround themselves with magical protection that could block the flying bullets, but they managed to attack in response. Among those killed was his former friend Gerard McKinley, who led the assembly and configuration of the puncher. After a brief battle, Negat fixed the last missing blocks, set the installation an incorrect and dangerous mode of operation, after which it exploded with an ethereal explosion that vaporized everything within a radius of a hundred meters. By this time, Negat and half of the surviving students were returning back to one of the secret exits of the Citadel. Half of the students did not return from this sortie, killed by the passes of the guard's combat magicians- a few seconds were enough for them to create attacking passes. And if not for the defective aura of Negat, which blocked more than two-thirds of all these lightning, vibration-tearing attacks and thousand-degree thermal zones, no one would have returned, because the service group of the puncher was guarded by selected combat magicians who can fry or freeze a person in a second. Or several people at once. Or they can lift a person into the air to the height of a five-story building and gently let go. Combat magicians have a specific humor and a rich imagination... Alas, by that time there were almost no real combat magicians left in Azgorod, they died in battles with superior forces of enemy magicians in the first year of this war. Those who survived had to fight on the defensive with negligible forces, even resorting to the help of students. And then... Negat didn't remember exactly what happened after. He didn't know what happened to Anna Stockhausen either. He didn't even want to know about her anymore.

Other magicians of Rosdomen treated Negat differently. Some of them did not hide their arrogant and condescending attitude, others, on the contrary, understood his problem and tried to support him. After the destruction of the spatial puncher, the authority of a simple enchanter Negat rose to the skies. Except it didn't make him feel any better. Negat understood that the whole damn thing had gone on too long and nothing good could end. He suggested that the Citadel Council leave Azgorod, disperse to secret shelters and switch to a partisan position. He was refused. And then... Ivan did not remember what happened next.

Night... Only trees, grass and moss. The smells are appropriate. He didn't really see anything. Ivan was not afraid of the dark, there was very little to frighten him, especially after several years of exhausting magical warfare. But he clearly understood that he had nothing to do here. He needs to get out to people. He sat down on his knees and listened carefully. In the distance to the left, from time to time, a barely perceptible intermittent noise was heard. Highway. Other directions were silent, only occasionally an unknown night bird sang about something of its own in the pine crowns. Where there are cars, there is a way to human habitation. Ivan got up carefully and, staggering, on unsteady legs, slowly walked towards the sound, trying to look at his feet without colliding with anything. He was thinking as he walked. The memory was not as reliable as at first. she opened some memories clearly and very clearly, others abruptly and briefly, and others dimly and almost illegible. And some questions didn't get answered at all. For example, he couldn't remember for the life of him what happened to him in the coming days or even weeks. How did he end up here and by whose grace? What about Azgorod? What about colleagues, brothers and sisters? Who is alive and who has disappeared into the Ether?

Soon the awakened magician came out onto the highway, which glowed dimly with wet cracked asphalt. On both sides, the highway is covered by an unusual fence - a low steel fence painted in black and white like a traffic policeman's baton. Hmm... Why fence the road with such a fence? The asphalt itself is covered with a semi-erased white dividing marking. What a mess! An ordinary two-lane, definitely not a highway of union or at least republican significance, why show off like that? It would be better if they monitored the quality of the asphalt, he just got on the track, but even in the dark, numerous holes and cracks are visible.

Having rested a little, Ivan wandered along the path at the edge of the highway. Cars drove by every few minutes at a decent speed, blinding a lone traveler with bright headlights. It was dark, glare danced in his eyes from the headlights, but Ivan noticed that among the passing cars there were some that he had never seen. Moreover, in addition to the usual yellow headlights, some cars shone with a bright white light, as if from an electrode spotlight. Yes, he didn't go out on field assignments so often to know exactly all the brands and models of cars, but it seemed that way. It's a pity he didn't really look at them. Okay, he'll see enough during the day.

Attempts to attract a passing car did not lead to anything. All drivers ignored the strange loner on a deserted highway at night... What is that in the distance on the road? The figure of a man! The figure stretched out his hand trying to attract the attention of passing cars. Coming closer, Ivan saw that it was a young woman standing with her back to him, with long blonde hair arranged in a bizarre hairstyle, her clothes seemed very strange for a night road: a short leather jacket, well, a very short red skirt, translucent dark tights in fine mesh and pink shoes with incredibly high thin heels. The girl had a good figure and Ivan was forced to admit that even from the back she looks very tempting, but... what's the point of dressing like that here, in a deserted wilderness?! It's nonsense!.. Okay, anyway, he needs to ask for directions. When he got very close, he spoke:

-Um... I'm sorry...

- Aaaaaah!!!

The girl turned around sharply and screamed in horror so that Ivan's ears popped for a moment. His head exploded in a flash of pain again.

- Are you crazy to sneak up like that?!- she shouted in a very unpleasant shrill voice, extremely inappropriate for her appearance. - Who are you? And what are you doing here?

-I'm sorry if I scared you,- Negat replied conciliatingly. -I didn't mean to. I seem to be lost. Tell me, where are we?

-In p***y!- the girl shouted, her gray eyes glittering angrily in the light of another car. Oh, she's covered in makeup as if she's playing in the theater!.. She smells like booze... and tobacco.

Ivan tensed. He abruptly stopped liking this strange unknown girl. A crazy thought flashed through his mind-what if she was a renegade witch? They're all so crazy. Well, it's very easy to check. Ivan unhurriedly took off his wand from his belt. The girl was not noticeably impressed. So she's not a witch. They know perfectly well what a Covenant mage's wand is, and when they see it, they either run away or attack. And she just stands there and is afraid as if he is an evil spirit and not a person. Ivan realized that whoever she was, the conversation would not come out. He did not like boors, and moved forward to get around her and go further. She doesn't seem to need help, and he definitely won't get help from her.

- Ahhh! Don't come near me, bum!!! She yelled and grabbed a small rounded object from under her jacket, which she pointed at Ivan like a pistol. Negat brushed her off like an annoying fly and moved forward, intending to bypass the crazy girl and go further. And in vain. A cloud of steam escaped from her strange contraption, which made Ivan clench his teeth and close his eyes from the pain in his eyes.

- Take it!- the stranger slammed her knee right into his groin, Ivan bent over and fell, howling in wild pain. At that moment, he didn't mind being shot by someone-it would have been less painful. The psychotic girl took off her shoes and, splashing on the asphalt, ran along the highway.

Several cars sped past. None of the drivers seemed to be confused by the sight of a man lying on the side of the road. It is unclear how long Ivan lay at the steel striped barrier, writhing in pain. The lessons of automagy saved him - gathering his will into a fist, he concentrated and began to mentally concentrate the etheric flows into the damaged places. Not immediately, but it helped- the pain subsided from unbearable to just annoying, he was able to get up and move on. It was getting light. He was still thirsty. In the distance, the lights of street lamps and distant glowing windows of houses appeared. Soon Ivan reached the big road sign. On it was printed in even type: "SAKHAROVO". Behind this sign was the same inscription, but crossed out with a diagonal red stripe. Entry and exit from the locality. Right under the sign there were cigarette butts, a couple of empty packs from imported cigarettes and a beer bottle split in two. So he got to... um... civilization.