The Barbarian Race was blessed with 7 Ancestors. They were blessed with seven men and women who had the power of Phenoms. However, these 7 weren't always around. At times all but one were outside Intersection, seeking to find the mysteries of the world they didn't quite understand although they had reached the very summit of the said world. It was rare for all 7 to be present at Intersection at a time. At most there would be about 4 or 5 available. But even then, the people of Intersection had no idea which Ancestors were around, and how many remained to watch over their city. Even the Elders weren't privy to such knowledge. Of course there were some Elders who knew more than others. A few families which were blessed to have a member of their race as an Ancestor knew when their Ancestors were around. And an Elder like Glass was also made privy to such knowledge because of his special identity. However, there was one person who was always aware of the movement of the Ancestors. There was one person who always knew how many Ancestors were around and when the others were expected to return. This person was the Barbarian Lord – Magma.
As the son of the former Lord who was now one of the Ancestors, Magma knew more than most. And as the Lord, he knew everything that happened in his city. And the details of the Ancestors were part of his vast knowledge. For they lived right here with him.
Magma walked through the halls of the palace with a solemn look on his face. In one of the strangest scenes of his life, Magma was without any Protectors. Waska and Rasa not allowed to see the people he was going to see. Knowing that Ashera had stretched her bony hands for a boy who was meant to be here with them, suffering agony and pain only known to the vilest prisoners of the Barbarians, he understood that he didn't have the power to handle the current situation. He had to inform the Ancestors about this. The Phenoms had to be made aware of the vastly powerful threat that had appeared once again.
Magma walked for quite a while before branching into a desolate corridor. Unlike the previous corridors there weren't any maids or manservants scrambling to pay their respects to the passing Lord. This place was dark and quiet, and the only source of light was a flickering candle which stood on a small lampstand at the end of the corridor. Magma walked all the way to the end of the hallway. A huge wall stood in his path, yet Magma was certain that his journey was beyond these walls. Ignoring the heat of the candle and the burning wax that would have singed the skin of any normal man, Magma held on to the candle and gave it a gentle tug. The huge wall groaned in response to his actions, and slowly caved inwards before sliding to the side to give room to Magma.
"Hoo"
Magma took a deep breath to calm his rampaging heart. It was like this every time. No matter how many times he came to see them, or even when he left their presence; every time he came here he was filled with a sense of anxiety and dread that he just couldn't overcome. It didn't matter that his father was usually behind these walls. For even the man who had raised him didn't feel the same. For images of the smiling and gentle father that Magma knew had been slowly washed away and replaced with the stern, expressionless gaze of an Ancestor. Magma was a Lord; a ruler of an entire race. Yet even he cowered before the man that was his father once upon a time.
Once Magma felt that he was good to go, he walked past the wall and into the path its movements had created. He found himself in an ordinary room with only a few necessities.
When Magma got past the wall a bright light assaulted his eyes, yet his gaze remained steely, fixed on the man who was seated several meters away from him with a chessboard on a table before him. This man had long black hair without a single strand of grey. He was handsome, and shared a lot of facial similarities with Magma. And this was no coincidence, for he was Magma's father. However, his red eyes were solely on the chessboard before him, almost as if he didn't sense that someone had come in. He wasn't alone though. There was another person seated opposite him – a woman. This woman was dressed in a comfortable pair of trousers and a large shirt that covered her entire torso. Her beautiful face was all smiles as she enjoyed the game of chess with the man.
The huge wall shut behind Magma with a small boom. Yet the two who were engrossed in their game of chess didn't turn to acknowledge Magma's presence. And Magma didn't dare to interrupt them. As he waited the anxiety in his heart grew heavier, and like a filled up dam it threatened to break.
"Yes! I won this time! Finally, the old triumphs over the new!" The beautiful woman exclaimed, her laughter like lovely bell chimes that soothed the soul.
"I lost," the man smiled bitterly and finally turned to look a Magma.
"You still hesitate to come in after you open the door. If you don't learn to calm your heart even in this mild situation, how would you ever reach the realm of Phenoms?" the man shook his head as he chided. Magma remained quiet with his head bowed as he listened to his father's words.
"Don't be so hard on the boy Pathfinder," the woman stood up and walked over to Magma.
"He is at the peak of the Pseudo Phenom Realm now. He didn't have this strength the last time we spoke." The woman said. Then she pulled Magma's hand intimately and led him to the table.
"You have to stop being so considerate towards him Primogenitor," Pathfinder shook his head with a wry smile on his face. When he became an Ancestor he gave up everything he owned, including his name. Pathfinder was the title he had been given by the other six because he was the first to rediscover the path to the realm of Phenoms in the Barbarian Race in the last 2000 years.
"And why would I do that? Just like you he is my descendant, and I always pamper my descendants." Primogenitor waved away Pathfinder's advice like she was swatting a fly.
The Primogenitor was the first ancestor. She had lived longer than anyone in Intersection, and had been present since the time the three races were allies, to the times of the first war, and was still alive now. So vast were her experiences that no one remembered her actual name, and neither did she. She was the first ever ruler – the first Lord of Barbarians – and Pathfinder and Magma's direct descendant.
"Besides, he has my hair," Primogenitor added with a smile. Indeed, Magma's hair was directly inherited from his ancestor. His red streaks were just like hers, only a tad bit duller in brightness.
"So, why are you here?" Pathfinder sighed and asked his son. Magma only came here when he had something important to share, and Pathfinder didn't think that this time was going to be any different.
Magma who had been quiet the entire time finally lifted his head to speak. His eyes first settled on the Primogenitor, before he hastily turned to face his father upon seeing the teasing smile etched across her beautiful face. He knew that if he stared any longer, she would start pulling his cheeks. He was old, very old. But to The Primogenitor he was still a child, and he wanted to avoid being treated like a child at all costs.
Although his father's eyes brought him an immense amount of discomfort and a bit of disappointment, Magma was able to power through and state the purpose for his visit. He narrated the incidents of the past few days simply yet accurately. He told them about the death of the Princess, and their pursuit of the one who was responsible. Yet even when he mentioned the Princess's death, his father didn't flinch even once. It was like the man was hearing about the death of a complete stranger. As for the Primogenitor, she furrowed her brows at his words. However Magma didn't for once think that she was touched by the loss of a royal. It was more likely that she was wondering why he had come here for something of this nature. After all, she didn't know the Princess, and she expected that Magma should be able to handle the capture of a puny Pseudo Nightmare.
"What was the complication?" Pathfinder asked. His sharp brain was quick to understand that his son who was hailed as the greatest genius ever to appear in the Barbarian Race was never going to come here for this.
"Ashera. Ashera appeared and came for the boy." Magma stated, and the expressions of the two Ancestors before him finally changed.
Over the course of the vast and long history of the Barbarian Race, there had been 15 Barbarians who had broken into the realm of Phenoms. Of those fifteen, war amongst the three races had robbed the Barbarian Race of 8. The Ancients alone were responsible for the death of 6 of those 8 Phenoms who had been lost. Ananse and the Matriarch had killed two each. The other two were shared amongst the other Ancient Ancestors. As for the Elementals, they had only two deceased Barbarian Ancestors to their name. However, this was not all. The two had fallen to one Elemental and one Elemental alone; the accursed Master of the Tower of the Hundred – Ashera! Just like Ananse and the current Ancient Matriarch, she was responsible for the death of two Ancestors.
And that was the only reason why Magma was here. For there was a person with a personal vendetta against Ashera. For those two Ancestors whom she killed were the brothers of the red haired Primogenitor! The eyes of the Barbarian Primogenitor became fiercer, and a turbulent aura filled the entire Intersection as she squeezed a short sentence through her clenched teeth.
"So that witch has finally shown up again!"