“I’ve never seen evidence that any gods are real.”
“Oh, they’re real. Gods and things outside of our reality.”
“I’d be very interested in hearing more about that.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Jason said. “Consider it a teaser for what I can offer when I’m looking for a favour from the Cabal.”
“I will,” Vermillion said. “I suspect my people will be even more interested than I am, so long as what you’re saying has any validity. In the meantime, would you like me to continue my explanation of new magic?”
“Please do. You said essence magic was trapped at the lowest rung for many years.”
“Centuries. For the bulk of new magic’s history, in fact.”
“I take it that changed?”
“Yes. Our people investigated the rise of this new magic, which took place over the space of several decades, all around the world. Even amongst civilisations not yet discovered by the wider world, such as the indigenous cultures of this region of the Pacific. What our inquiries ultimately uncovered was that one person was responsible for all of it.”
“One person?”
“That’s right. One person, whose command of this new magic was far greater than anything we’ve seen since. They could speak any language and change their face. We don’t even know if they were man, woman, or even human. We believe this person seeded the secret societies of new magic.”
Vermillion gave Jason an awkward smile.
“If I may ask, are you an essence magician?”
“I am.”
“Then you know that the magic comes from magical objects. The essences that give essence magic its name. For a long time, the source of new magic was a closely guarded secret, but the practice of new magic was spreading. Eventually, the truth was revealed. This person founding the secret societies across the world was giving them these essences.”
“Did your Cabal ever get a hold of any?”
“I’m sure they did. As for what came of it, I have no idea. If there are any essence magicians in our ranks, I’ve never seen them.”
“And probably wouldn’t tell me if you had.”
Vermillion smiled, sipping at his wine before answering.
“Probably not, no. So this person provided what we now know to be the essences that facilitate new magic. For centuries, though, essence magic was limited and weak. It had few users, none of whom possessed any great power. But as you said, that changed.”
“What happened?” Jason asked.
“You can probably guess better than I, since you obviously know how to grow your power.”
“I know how to do it where I’ve been, but here I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like the conditions are right.”
“That was our assessment as well. But something changed around the turn of the nineteenth century. Some manner of global threat began to manifest, at which point we realised that these secret societies had been prepared specifically to combat this threat.”
“What kind of threat?”
“Monstrous entities. Myths come to life. These secret societies had some way of seeing them coming and preventing them from arriving. We only saw what happened when they failed, which was the appearance of strange and dangerous creatures.”
“Let me guess,” Jason said. “The more they confronted these threats, the stronger these new magicians became.”
“Indeed,” Vermillion said. “I only know limited amounts about these threats, but I know they have grown stronger and more frequent over the last century or so. Over time, travel and communication advanced. The secret societies of new magic realised that they were all akin, using the same methods and powers. The means by which they detect the threats is the same.”
“Which is what?” Jason asked.
“Some manner of mystical grid, crossing the entire globe. We believe it was set up by the person who founded the societies, in preparation for their future purpose.”
“So, these secret societies all work together, now?”
“Yes,” Vermillion said. “They call themselves the Network. Over the last century, their numbers and power have grown rapidly, overtaking my Cabal as the strongest of the major magical factions.”
“The terrorist readiness exercises,” Jason said.
“The increasing rate of these threats has made the Network stronger,” Vermillion said, “but the danger seems to be escalating faster than their ability to meet it. They needed to scale up their operations to a level they simply couldn’t as a hidden organisation. More and more creatures were slipping through the cracks. It became harder and harder to hide. A little over three years ago, they made a very dangerous decision and revealed themselves to a variety of world governments.”
“They didn’t turn to the other magical organisations?”
“The Cabal would never expose themselves to that degree,” Vermillion said. “As for the third major organisation, covering up magic is not in alignment with their principles.”
“What is the third organisation?”
“The Engineers of Ascension,” Vermillion said.
“Engineers of Ascension,” Jason repeated. “Are you talking about the EOA?”
“I am,” Vermillion said. “As you have no doubt surmised, they are much less reticent about revealing themselves than the other organisations. While their true nature remains hidden, it’s only barely.”
“Victor Tollman wanted me to stand against the EOA,” Jason said. “I’m confident in my abilities, but I can’t take on one of the dominant magical forces on the planet by myself.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Vermillion said. “The EOA is very decentralised as a movement. They tend to operate in clusters, which makes them flexible and resilient to outside attack, but they lack cohesion and are less likely to retaliate against the loss of individual members. It’s a necessary position for the weakest of the three groups.”
“They’ve butted heads with the others?”
“Mostly the Network, who are very invested in keeping magic secret.”
“So, if the EOA group here in Sydney goes down, there won’t be large-scale retaliation?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. Do enough damage and they’ll start mobilising their forces. It’s just that you can probably afford to take down a few members, should you get into an altercation, without being too worried. If you take out some Cabal or Network members, by contrast, the people behind them will come down on you like gods of old.”
“To make an example,” Jason said.
“Exactly. It’s the privilege of being hegemons. The EOA must be more circumspect. They’ve become adept at knowing when to offer a hand and when to raise a fist. For the most part. It’s the nature of a fractious organisation that there will be different people with different views.”