The Wish Made II
After giving it some quick thought, as much as you can spare given the limited time you have before Maazi can no longer remain outside of his lamp, you sigh internally as you make your decision – you feel it would probably be best you focus on the Shard location where Maazi’s Master is apparently keeping this zoo of hers, then go from there.
Aye, Moirine says. I agree, pup. She turns back to Maazi. “Where is this Shard, Maazi?”
Maazi chuckles. “I’m not surprised you’d choose that question…” He tuts and shakes his head for a beat. “Very well, but if you’re intending to go there for yourselves at some point, you,” he glances at you, “will have a hard time finding it without help. You see, my Master wanted a place that was detached from this plane of existence – she desired somewhere private that no human would ever find, not without the external will of an entity like myself or you, selkie. So, I chose a Shard that’s not located within this plane.”
Of bloody course he did, Fia says dryly. And I… wait, what’d he just say?
You frown, and you take a moment to think back to what Moirine said regarding Shards to you before – as you recall from her explanation about Shards, all Shards are attached to your world, the one you know from being a human, but where they’re at can sometimes vary. Yet the way Maazi is talking about it sounds like that isn’t the case?
You look to Moirine quizzically. “How can a Shard not be in… this, er, this world?”
Moirine frowns. “I was about to ask that same question, pup.”
“Ah… I see, I see,” Maazi remarks. His expression becomes one of amusement for a moment, and he chuckles. “So you’re old enough to know of my true name and a good bit more, I imagine, but you’re clearly not old enough to know that detail for Shards…”
“Know what, djinn?” Moirine asks. “Is this some jest on your part to waste our time?”
“No,” Maazi says, and he says it so bluntly and firmly that you kind of feel he’s being sincere. “I’m simply commenting to myself how you apparently don’t know something I felt would be common knowledge for your kind, selkie.” He shakes his head, and his expression sobers. “While it’s true that most Shards are attached to this realm in some shape or form, consider the word I used, if you would – I said it wasn’t in this plane.”
You frown again. You feel lost.
“Ah, forgive me,” Maazi says. “I forget what I’m speaking with.”
“What exactly do you mean?” you ask.
Maazi shrugs. “You see, mortal and selkie, when I say ‘plane,’ I mean there are different, shall we say, layers of existence attached to this realm. When I say this realm, what I speak of refers to everything,” he regards you, “your planet, galaxy, universe, and so on. Everything that exists in the tangible plane where you live and breathe is but one of the planes of existence. There are many planes of existence, and they’re all connected to one another, but, a normal mortal cannot easily traverse to them.”
“I know what he’s speaking of,” Moirine says after a moment. “I hadn’t heard the term ‘plane’ used for defining this before, so you threw me off in calling it such, djinn.” She meets your puzzled gaze. “Have you ever heard of the astral plane before, pup?”
You blink rapidly. “The… Oh, isn’t that sort of a spirit world?”
“Oho, the astral plane is so much more than that, mortal,” Maazi says.
Moirine waves him off. “Think of it like that, pup – it’s a domain that’s connected to the living world where we come from, yet it’s not a place you can walk or swim or fly to. Only, there are more than just one such ‘planes,’ as Maazi here has defined them.”
“My point,” Maazi says, “is that the Shard you’re seeking is located in one such plane.”
“Dare I ask which one?” Moirine remarks.
Here, Maazi frowns and taps his chin. “Mm… Using a name to define the plane I speak of in this tongue is difficult for me, even more so than speaking my full, true name. You can take my name and create the necessary syllables for it,” he indicates Moirine there, “but, the true names of the eleven planes are… not as simple to put into the mortal tongue, in any language.” He ponders for a beat. “Ah, but, I again forget I’m talking to a selkie, and I’m assuming you know the more ‘colloquial’ terms used to identify them?”
“Aye,” Moirine says. “Spit it out, if you would.”
“The asomaton plane,” Maazi replies.
Moirine’s eyes go wide. “Oh…”
You, naturally, have no clue what that means, but you refrain from asking just yet.
“Venture there, and you will find the Shard that holds my Master’s domain,” Maazi says with a nod. “It is located in one of the Southernmost Shards, to be precise – and fortunately for you, there are only a few of them in that particular region.” He sighs. “I cannot guarantee she’ll be there in person by the time you opt to visit it, of course, and that’s if you decide to go there yourselves, but that is the honest truth of where it is.”
Moirine says nothing. Fia is silent, too.
“Now then,” Maazi says. “My time in this place has come to its end for now, because I cannot maintain this solid form any longer. I suggest you go and do whatever you must, and that includes informing someone of higher authority about me, I assume.” His shoulders slump. “I will accept my fate, whatever that fate may end up being, however.”
“Wait,” you say. “Before you go back to your lamp…”
Maazi frowns. “Yes, mortal?”
“…why did you not send me to this zoo after you turned me into a selkie?” you ask.
Maazi blinks slowly, and his expression becomes one of uncertainty. “Good question.” He taps his chin once again, yet he ends up shrugging. “I don’t rightly know myself. Ta.”
Without another word, Maazi’s body erupts into a bright flash of green energy that crackles in front of you, and he vanishes from where he was standing moments ago – it leaves only you and Moirine, and Fia, you presume, by yourselves in a silent shop.
You shift around awkwardly in place, unsure of what happens now. You look to Moirine.
“Let’s go outside,” Moirine says, and she turns on her heel without another word.
You follow her outside the strange shop, back toward the area where you were not long ago with both Moirine and Fia – and seconds later, Fia appears in full view as the two of you come to a stop there. She’s scowling, visibly irritated, while Moirine isn’t exactly looking happy, either. You don’t say anything at first, as you feel it isn’t your place to.
“Well,” Fia eventually says. “What a stinking shitshow, as the humans say.”
“Aye, tell me about it,” Moirine mutters, sighing.
You bite your lip. “I, uh, don’t really know much about what that last part was.”
Fia shakes her head. “This whole scenario is one big clusterfuck, pup, and I fear how much worse it gets given the things we still don’t know about this Master of his.”
“What’s the… what did he call that realm again? Aso… something?” you ask.
“Asomaton plane,” Moirine replies. She meets your gaze. “It’s one of the different planes attached to this one we’re standing and speaking in, as was said.” Her lips twitch; she seems torn between frowning or not. “It’s not the worst place of existence, I suppose, but regardless, it isn’t a ‘nice’ place, either. Yet I get the sense that Maazi chose it because of this reason, since it isn’t easily accessible, even to beings like us selkie.”
“I… see,” you murmur.
“Sorry, pup,” Moirine says. Her expression softens. “I know this is probably confusing to you since you’ve barely spent a full day as a selkie. There’s a lot that can be expanded on, of course, but if you’d rather we focus on the matter at hand, I can always tell you more of what you’d like to know later. It’s up to you – do you want a quick lesson on all this rubbish you’re hearing about, or would you rather save it for another time, pup?”
Both selkie look at you expectantly as the question hangs in the air.
You consider what you’d prefer to do in the moment – ask or not?
Written by Hollowpages on 22 February 2022
