The various border cities are as different as the various countries of Earth. But each border city has one thing in common. They serve as a bridge between Earth and the Magical realm, existing in the border between both. In every border city in the world, the North and South end of the city end in massive stone gates inscribed with a mind-boggling amount of spellwork. The South gate always leads to Earth, while the north gate always leads to the magical realm.

It was only about twenty minutes before Cassidy pulled up to Grey Manor astride a well-cared-for motorcycle. As she dismounted her bike she took a moment to glance around the estate before turning to me and saying "Nice place you got here. You some kind of rich kid?"

"Hardly," I laughed, "The place was inherited. I guarantee I'm the most broke person here right now. Come on in and we can go over the plan."

I led her inside the house and to the dining room table where a series of maps and texts were lying open. Damian was busy cross-referencing the map with different texts to try and plot a way to our destination. One of the most difficult things about navigating the magical realm was that it was frequently prone to changing suddenly. While the various lands and areas that make up the realm rarely changed too much, their exact positions within the magical realm would frequently shift without warning. All we knew with any certainty was the area where Eden City connected to the magical realm and the area where our destination connected to the realm. Which is why, it was common practice for those seeking to enter the magical realm to have multiple routes plotted out to their destination in case of the unexpected. It was also not unheard of for fake maps of the realm to circulate frequently. Hence why Damian was busy trying to establish the validity of different maps of the areas we expected to pass through to ensure that the maps were as accurate as possible.

"Damian, you about ready to go? Cassidy just arrived, and I've already finished readying the gear." I hefted three backpacks which I had taken particular care in filling with important things like food, clothing, temporary shelter, and various magical tools. The journey to Avalon wasn't expected to take longer than a few hours, but only an idiot would enter the magical realm without planning for the worst-case scenario.

"Yeah, I think I have a path to Faerie charted out. But there are no real maps of faerie out there. The Fae are way too unpredictable to ever allow a map of their home to exist."

"That's fine. Once we reach Faerie I'm sure we can find our way to Avalon." I reply not bothering to dwell on something I couldn't control. I then took a step back and looked at my two companions "Have either of you ever visited Faerie or dealt with any Fae?"

Cassidy shook her head while Damian said, "I've had some of the Fae visit the Siren's Call on occasion."

"Ok well, we're going to try to avoid running into any of the Fae. Faerie might be where they live, but it's a massive land, and depending on where you go, the chances of meeting any of its inhabitants drop significantly." I tell them, "But just in case we need them. Each backpack has a small cold iron club in it. Cold iron is the best weapon for use against Fae. But don't pull out the clubs unless you have no other choice. Possessing iron in Faerie is the ultimate insult to the Fae. And the last thing we need to do is catch the eye of anyone too powerful or important. Understand?"

Both voiced their understanding and handed them each a bag before saying, "alright let's get going then."

On our way out I made sure to inform Johann that I was taking a trip and wasn't sure when I'd be back but that he should be on high alert in case someone attempted to break into the manor while I was gone. Cassidy found Johann and the other golems infinitely fascinating. And I made a point of swearing her to secrecy on their existence. While we hadn't known each other long, I felt like I could trust her.

Although I thought darkly, I trusted Johnson too and it got my friend killed and our business burned to the ground.

I decided to distract myself from such thoughts instead choosing to review spells in my head. Clear visualization was the key to any spell. I had to be sure that if I encountered anything in the magical realm that managed to disrupt my concentration, I would still be able to at least cast some basic spells. I also reached towards my back pocket to make sure that my pocketbook was still there. I felt the familiar bulge of the book beneath my fingers and relaxed slightly allowing the knowledge that I still had my father's research to calm me.

We loaded into my car one last time and drove north to the gate. We were a few miles away when I glanced in the rearview mirror before saying "Damian, you have your revolver?"

"Right here why?" He replied holding up an old-looking revolver. The gun held very special bullets. Each one was made of a composite metal which included silver and cold iron. The bullets were further enhanced with runes that I had personally carved into them. I had offered as Damian and Jax were the only people aware of my knowledge of runecraft. The runes essentially made the bullets incompatible with magic. It was only because of the gun's strictly mundane nature that the bullets would function at all. The end result was bullets which were effective against most magical creatures.

"See that black car behind us? I need you to roll down the window and shoot it. I don't care if you hit anything, I just need you to shoot it." I said trying to sound calm.

"Excuse me what?! You want me to just start shooting at some random in the middle of the city?" He sounded incredulous

"Not a random car. And yes, shoot it now!" The intensity in my voice must have been enough because he didn't bother arguing further. Instead, he rolled down the window and leaned out slightly aiming at the front tire of the vehicle. Half a beat later he squeezed the trigger and fired. Damian always had excellent aim and this time was no exception. He managed to hit the tire causing it to pop. His second shot did the same to the other tire and the driver of the vehicle lost control as the car careened into the side of the highway.

"Mind telling me who I just shot at?" He asked as he pulled back into the car

"Promise not to get mad?"

"No."

"Inquisitors from the Midnight Tower." I tried to make the statement sound casual.

"What?!" He all but roared and I saw his eyes flash a different color as his inner beast threatened to take over for a moment.

"Relax. If you hadn't shot their car they probably would have followed us to the gate and then tried to kill us on the other side."

"I swear to god. If we survive this mess, You owe me so much." He said calming slightly but clearly still not pleased with me.

"I'll buy you a beer." I said in response and didn't need to look back to know he's scowling at me again.

"I own a bar, You'd be buying me beer from myself." He pointed out.

"I can buy it from somewhere else."

"No. You don't"

I just shrugged unable to argue. We continued in silence the last while until I pulled off the road and parked.

"Alright We're here." I say turning off the car and stepping out.

"Why are we stopping here? We should use the lot they have near the gate." Cassidy said and she was rewarded by laughter from Damian and I.

"They charge for parking there. Also we aren't going through the normal way. Some of the stuff in these bags isn't exactly allowed through the gate. So we have to sneak in." I could see the disbelief and judgement on her face, "Don't give me that look. If it makes you feel better, The Towers are the ones responsible for supervising the gate."

"Oh. Yeah fuck those guys. So how are we sneaking in?" She was much more on board after that bit of news.

Instead of answering Damian and I made a beeline for the large fence erected to prevent unauthorized entry through the gate. Once we reached the fence I pulled out of my bag a bundle of hollow tubes inscribed with spellwork strung together with cord. I fit the tubes together creating a rectangular shape and placed it against the fence before activating the magic within.

Turning back I said to Cassidy "Borrowed this from Jax years ago. It's specifically designed to interfere with the protective spells on the fence here."

"Why does that exist and why do you have it?" She asks but I just gesture at the checkpoint some distance away and she adds "Oh. Right, nevermind."

The rectangle began to glow and the section of fence behind it disappeared. I let Damian through first before turning to Cassidy and gesturing that she should go next. She looked hesitant but took a deep breath then ran through the gate. Once she was through I stepped in behind her feeling the gentle tickle of the magic. I then turned and reached through grasping the top corner of the rectangle and pulling. With a soft thwick sound it dislodged and the fence resolidified with us now on the other side. After quickly dismantling and stowing the rectangle, I smiled at my companions in triumph before setting off with a quick pace determined to reach the gate before we were noticed.

By that point night had fallen and so as we made our way over clear open ground under the light of the moon we kept low but moved as fast as we could without drawing attention. After several heartpounding minutes we reached the edge of the gate. That close, the gate was a massive swirling void of cerulean. So different from the mirror like surface of the Earth gate. The three of us locked hands and then as one we plunged straight into the gate and fell out the other side into the strange and foreign lands of the magical realm.

I managed to touch down on my feet, but Damian was not so lucky and we ended up all falling to the ground in a heap pulled down by his weight.

"Everyone ok?" I called out and was rewarded with two affirmatives, "Alright then let's get going. It's dangerous to spend too much time in the magical realm. Our bodies aren't accustomed to it and prolonged exposure can have some nasty side effects."

I rose to my feet and helped the other two up as well. We dusted ourselves off and surveyed our surroundings. The area in our immediate vicinity was a large clearing full of buildings which served as a camp for those visiting the magical realm. Beyond the clearing was a forest of exotic and strange trees unlike any on Earth. In the distance we could hear the cries of some unidentifiable animal that called the forest home. Sadly we didn't have time to enjoy the beautiful sights. I knew that at least a few of the buildings in the clearing would probably be currently in use, so loitering for too long would be a bad idea. Luckily, Damian was already pulling the maps from within his bag.

He consulted the maps for a moment before pointing in a direction and saying "This way. If move fast enough we should reach the edge of this land in less than an hour."

"Lead the way." I responded fully confident in his ability to navigate.

We followed behind Damian as he charted a course through the thick forest. Occasionally He would stop and randomly change direction, but we continued in relative silence. Our only accompaniment being the sounds of the forest's inhabitants following us from a distance. I could see their shadows flitting in and out of sight between the trees. And it was clear from the mood of the group that I wasn't the only one.

"Hey I think I see the end of the forest." Cassidy said sounding excited

At her words Damian and I broke into a sprint as we yelled variations of "Damn it! Why did you say it out loud?"

Sprinting behind us she asked "What's the big deal?" but her question was answered a moment later as the forest erupted with activity.

"The denizens of this particular forest are pretty wimpy normally. That's why Eden City is connected to this particular point via a gate. But they're also weirdly possessive of their prosepective food. Thanks to you they now know we're almost out of their territory so they'd rather take the risk and just attack us than risk losing a meal." Damian shouted as we rushed to the edge of the forest.

I could hear the creatures closing in behind us and realized with some dread that at our speed they would catch up to us before we made it out of the forest. I yelled "Damian grab on!" before grasping Cassidy around the waist. Damian immediately understood and grabbed ahold of my torso as threw my free hand towards the ground and shouted "Gindael". The blast of wind catapulted us forward and past the final line of trees. Turning slightly I saw a single blackened limb reaching past the treeline only to be quickly withdrawn as it began to burn no longer shaded by the thick roof of branches.

I turned forward again a moment before the three of us impacted the ground hard. We rolled forward several feet before coming to a stop sprawled. I couldn't stop myself as a loud laugh slipped out. Damian also began laughing in relief which only served to intensify my laughter. It was almost a full minute until we had reigned in our laughter enough to properly sit up and survey our new surroundings. We were now in an open grassland. Rolling plains stretching for miles. In the distance I spotted what looked like tight grouping of buildings.

"Hey Damian look." I said nudging my friend and pointing towards the buildings.

"Oh, we found a Wyldborne settlement. Let's go see if they'd be willing to let us fill up some spare bottles of water." He responded and we pulled ourselves to our feet.

"Wyldborne?" Cassidy asked

"Do you know anything about the magical realm? Or you know, magic?" I said in disbelief at her question

Damian chose to simply answer her question rather than give her a hard time like I was, "There are on occasion, those who feel more at home in the magical realm than on Earth or in one of the Dvaram. A number of these people chose to settle in planes of the magical realm in small communities. Eventually these settlers would go on to have children. Children who were born in the wilds of the magical realm. Hence, why they came to be known as Wyldborne."

"They can be dangerous though. Anyone able to eke out a living in the magical realm has to know how to fight. And some Wyldborne settlements are known to be rather hostile towards visitors from Earth. Which is ironic seeing as how they're descended from people from Earth. But I guess even on Earth there's prejudice and suspicion towards those perceived as outsiders." I add to his explanation, "Anyway, the point is that we need to be on our guard until we know that this particular settlement isn't likely to attack us."

I started towards the settlement assuming that the other two were following behind me. As we made our way, Damian and I kept our heads on a swivel to make sure we wouldn't be snuck up on. When we finally reached the settlement we were welcomed in with warm smiles. The Wyldborne were always quite the sight. They dressed in odd clothing clearly inspired by a combination of utility and the historical garb of their ancestors. The first time I had seen a settlement of Wyldborne, I imagined it must have been similar to settlers from long gone empires encountering the natives of the lands they set foot upon. Although, I suppose in a way that is exactly what it was. The sun was shining clearly overhead and the Wyldborne were going about their day in full swing. But as anyone who spent time in the magical realm knew, time of day meant very little. As such the Wyldborne had adapted so that they lived their lives in essentially two shifts. With one half of the settlements sleeping while the other half went about their day. To better smooth the transition between the two groups, there was always food actively cooking in a Wyldborne settlement. It was to the firepit where their food cooked that we were ushered and offered a hot meal. Despite my urge to reach Avalon and gain answers as soon as possible, I found myself thankful for the chance to fill my stomach in a relatively safe environment. Likewise, as I gazed around us at the open plains I was once again captivated by the alien beauty of the magical realm.

"Hey guys how about a story while we eat?" I said feeling somewhat nostalgic.

"Really? You're not normally much of one for reminiscing." Damian said with a slight chuckle.

"Fine then I'll just shut up and eat in silence." I responded petulantly

But I had piqued Cassidy's interest. As made clear by her saying "What kind of story?"

I grinned in triumph as Damain rolled his eyes, "This story is from my first visit to the magical realm back when I was fifteen. At that time I had been living with Jax for just about two years. Most of my days back then were filled with learning of one kind or another. Jax would bring tutors in the day who would teach me normal topics like history, Math, and science. And at night, Jax would teach me magic. After two years of this, Jax woke me early one morning and told me that we were doing something a little different that day, we were going to take a field trip. He gave me five minutes to get ready and then we departed. We showed up at the gate and Jax spoke to the guards on duty who proceeded to let us through. Upon reaching the forest he used some weird magic to guide us through. I still remember how deathly silent the trees were. As if every living thing in that forest aside from us was holding its breath. When we emerged we found ourselves at the base of a mountainous region. He made me hike with him up to the top of one of the mountains before he handed me a bag and proceeded to push me off. I would have died if he hadn't cast a protective spell around me before he pushed. Regardless the fall wasn't pleasant. In the bag was a small knife, a blanket, and two pieces of paper. The first one was a note that told me I had one month to make it to Avencrag, a land present at one of the deepest parts of the magical realm. The second paper proved to be a rough map. I traveled through a number of lands on my way to Avencrag. I met some monsters I thought existed only in legends. And let me tell you, if you ever meet one of the Hecatoncheires, run. Just run. Nothing is worth that level of grief. But it was my chance encounter with a manticore that proved to be my largest challenge to that point. I won, but was left severely injured. It was while I was wandering in a haze that I first met one of the Wyldborne. Her name was Athia and she was young and beautiful. Her hair was raven dark and her eyes deep pools of brown. Athia was the daughter of the settlement's leader and was a competent hunter. She brought me back to her settlement and they welcomed me as a guest and treated my wounds. Unfortunately for me, the manticore had done a real number on me and it was going to take several days for me to heal. In that time Athia taught me about her people and the land they called home. She and I grew very close. And once I was ready to set out again, we parted with a fair bit of tears. Unsurprising, I think we all remember how intense first love can be. Truthfully, back then I was still a rather dour kid. But Athia opened my eyes to how beautiful the world is. Both here in the magical realm, and anywhere else one may go. She also made me realize the value of ones life. I am still eternally grateful to her. I ended up barely making it to Avencrag on time, but I did so a different person than when I started. That's the beauty of life and youth, the constant growth we seem to experience daily at that time in our lives."

"What about Athia?" Cassidy pressed.

"The magical realm is beautiful. But as we've already seen, it's also extremely dangerous. I tried to visit her again, but when I did I found that the entire settlement had been wiped out. As it turns out the land to the north of their settlement was home to a dragon. Now they had lived peacefully with the dragon, being careful to avoid its territory. But some other being or creature had apparently invaded the dragon's territory and the ensuing fight led to Athia's settlement being accidentally destroyed. I visited the magical realm many times in the years after that. But none ever evoked the same sense of beauty as the first time, nor the same sense of sorrow as the second."

After I had finished speaking a heavy silence hung in the air, its only interruption the occasional crackling of the fire. I could see that my companions weren't sure what to say after my story. So I rose thanking the Wyldborne cook for allowing us to share in their food and slung my bag back over my shoulder. Then I turned to Damian and Cassidy and said "Come on, now that we've gotten some food into us, I think we can make it a little further before we have to camp for the night."

They silently stood and retrieved their bags as well, giving a subdued thank you to the Wyldborne cook before following behind me.