Incubus Honeymoon

by August Li

  Looking at it, I felt like I’d been transported back to the nineties, and it was painfully slow. Very little of what I saw was criminal in nature—mostly sites where people wanted to communicate anonymously, or those originating from places where any political statement necessitated discretion. Of course there were anarchists, UFO conspiracy theorists, pornographers, and pedophiles, and I considered searching for information on the WLF and their activities, but Moirin’s contact would have already checked, and whoever they were, they were far better at this kind of thing than I was. I found a few people offering burner guns for sale or even assassinations, but based on the language, I had my doubts. Most likely these were scams that would take a potential customer’s Bitcoins and run.

  After a few hours slogging through the darknet, I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my eyes. They stung and felt gritty. I stood to stretch and make myself another espresso. I also toasted a piece of bread in the hopes it would prevent the coffee and alcohol from giving me heartburn. I still hadn’t found anything, even among message boards full of conspiracy theories so wild no one could invent their existence. Maybe I hadn’t seen what I thought I’d seen.

  But no. No. I knew what I had seen as sure as I knew that if I returned to that spot in the woods, the strange misshapen tree would be there. Thinking about it, I shuddered, feeling vulnerable and alone in a way I hadn’t since I’d received the news about my brother and I’d first had to face the idea that the world did not operate in the manner I’d always believed. Before returning to the study, I checked all my locks and made sure my security system was armed. When I sat down, I opened one of my desk drawers and slid the false bottom aside to reveal the Ruger SR45 I kept there. I was reassured by its presence, the feel of its angles against my fingertips.

  One of the conspiracy-theory message boards was still open, and as I read, I noticed a commenter posting as H_Yardley repeatedly directing other users to a site called the Black Chamber “if you want to know what’s really going on.”

  Having wasted most of my night, I decided I had little to lose. Between memories of what had happened in the woods and some of what I’d seen on the darknet, I didn’t even want to consider sleeping. I followed the links to the page, another display of blinking green letters on a black background.

  Dear Guest,

  YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. USE EXTREME CAUTION!!! WHILE YOU ARE ANONYMOUS ON THE DARKNET, VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS CAN SEE YOU ARE USING AN ONION ROUTER FOR SOMETHING. SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS DISCUSSED HERE MIGHT HAVE CAPABILITIES BEYOND THAT. HAVING THIS KNOWLEDGE PUTS YOU IN DANGER!!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

  You are here because you know your life is not your own, that you are being controlled. You are here because you know you are being lied to, that the truth is being deliberately and aggressively hidden. What you do not know is how long this conspiracy has been perpetuated against you, or what has been committed in its name. If you choose to continue reading, the life you had before will be gone. You will no longer be able to ignore what is being done. You will be taking the red pill. Before proceeding, be sure you want the responsibility of this knowledge.

  This writer certainly had a flair for the dramatic, though I’d noticed this wasn’t unusual on many of these sites. Below his introduction was a long list of dozens of articles. I went to the first one: Major Magical Guilds and Factions.

  Dear Guest,

  BEWARE!!! DO NOT SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH ANYONE!!! DO NOT SPEAK OF IT IF THERE IS ANY CHANCE YOU WILL BE OVERHEARD. DOING SO CAN PUT YOU IN DANGER!!!

  This is the information I have been able to uncover on the major factions, but I must assume it is incomplete.

  SEKHET-AARU

  Some sources estimate Sekhet-Aaru has been in existence for almost two thousand years. It is impossible to dispute the level of power this guild has gathered. It is equally impossible to imagine what their ultimate goal might be, but we can be certain it will not benefit the people of this world.

  The guild’s name translates to Field of Reeds and is a reference to the ancient Egyptian concept of paradise or heaven. Some speculation exists that Sekhet-Aaru believes itself to be destined to bring paradise to the world. However, its methods are cutthroat. There is an abundance of evidence showing the guild’s control of many multinational corporations and world governments, including the governments of the United States and many European nations. Whether this group of mages is operating with or without the knowledge of elected and appointed government officials is not clear.

  In addition, there is evidence that the guild has orchestrated many pivotal world events as far back as the fall of the Roman Empire. Please see my essays detailing the clues that show their hand in over thirty historical events. Taken cumulatively, it is hard to deny that Sekhet-Aaru is fabricating wars, economic collapse, and possibly even natural disasters to further their own ends.

  What are those ends? Certainly distraction is a continuing goal of the guild, and events are often organized to draw the attention of the populace away from their machinations. There is evidence that they are also staged to distribute power, granting it to some and stealing it from others, for reasons that are known only to guild members.

  As far as an end game, there is some indication that the guild is moving its pieces into place for a denouement. Prophecies taken seriously by many magical practitioners indicate that a major event is imminent. They believe that magic and history move in cycles of two thousand years, and that we are two thousand years or more since the last major event—the founding of the Roman Empire by Augustus and the time when magic “broke” with mundane society. Mages were driven underground, though Sekhet-Aaru took full advantage of this to manipulate politics from behind the scenes. Some believe that the guild plans to remedy this. One theory states that the mages will orchestrate a total societal collapse that will allow them to step in as saviors and regain the place of power they feel they deserve.

  Sekhet-Aaru is by far the greatest threat facing the human race. They are willing to unleash plagues and destroy entire nations of people to further their goals. More evidence can be found in my essays. For example, there is evidence the guild became aware of climate change not long after the Industrial Revolution. It is clear that the guild took control of newly emerging technology, manipulating some of it while suppressing other advances. Who knows what technology they have kept secret? It is extremely likely that Sekhet-Aaru encouraged climate change. Two phases of their plan appear to be controlling energy sources and water. The third and probably most terrifying is the rumor that they will, at an opportune time, release some sort of a magical/biological weapon that only they have a cure for.

  The question we must ask is not whether Sekhet-Aaru will control every aspect of our lives. They already do. They are carefully keeping you distracted with minutiae, keeping you just content enough to not take risks, giving you just enough that you are afraid to lose it. By the time the population becomes aware of what is happening, our chances of standing against it are likely to be slim to none.

  THE COUNCIL OF ANTIQUARIANS

  The Antiquarians are a much more benevolent guild than Sekhet-Aaru, but their views of humanity in general are equally dismal. Rather than using knowledge to manipulate and grab power, the Antiquarians hoard magical information, believing it to be beyond the understanding of the average person.

  The guild seems to have formed around the time of the break, with the goal of protecting magical manuscripts and items from destruction. With the advent of Christianity, its mission became even more critical, and as a result, the guild became much more secretive and isolated. It is impossible to find even the briefest mention of them throughout the Dark Ages and the medieval period. They remained underground until the late Renaissance at the earliest, when it is rumored that men like Leonardo Da Vinci may have reaped the benefit of some of their accrued knowledge—with or without the realization of the guild’s existence. To this day they are steadfast in their mission to protect their treasure “until
they are needed.” It is accepted that they, too, believe some sort of epic event is coming in the near future. Until then, the world is unlikely to know the extent of the knowledge held by the Antiquarians, if we will ever know.

  Though evidence shows the members of this guild to be scholarly and peaceful, if elitist, they are more than capable of using the information they control to their advantage. It is probably only this that grants them autonomy from Sekhet-Aaru, who rely on what is reported to be a massive library for their own magical endeavors.

  Little more is known about the Antiquarians due to their secrecy. If they have goals or aspirations to power, we will likely not know until it is too late for us to do anything about it.

  WÚ CHÁNG

  This guild is truly the stuff of nightmares. Members of Wú Cháng are able to perform magic impossible for other mages. It is not surprising that even Sekhet-Aaru is afraid of Wú Cháng and is careful to keep it appeased.

  The guild likely formed during the Han Dynasty in response to the consolidation of power in Imperial China and the resulting bureaucracy. Like its counterparts in Europe, the guild went underground for survival, and the timing, which coincides with the split in the Western world, is hard to ignore. Wú Cháng is somewhat more mercenary than other factions, and there is evidence that they aided in military campaigns and political power grabs, particularly during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

  These mages are expert flesh manipulators and necromancers. Their knowledge of human anatomy rivals that of a world-class surgeon. Combined with magic, they use this information to exact horrific torture and mutilation. They are able to control growth and decay in skin, bone, and muscle. Their methods also offer them an infinite number of ways to cause death. Without even making their presence known, a member of Wú Cháng can cause a blood clot to form, facilitating heart attack or stroke. They can perforate the internal organs or cause bones to weaken and deteriorate. As a result, they often work as assassins. Other victims are left blinded, crippled, or terribly disfigured.

  The guild’s name translates to impermanence, though they have perverted the Buddhist tenet to give themselves permission to kill without remorse. From its founding in China, the guild has spread out and now includes people of various nationalities operating in dozens of countries. Like Sekhet-Aaru, they have become wealthy over the years and control many lucrative businesses.

  These mages are known to work in pairs, mirroring the Heibai Wú Cháng (Black and White Impermanence)—two deities from Chinese mythology in charge of taking the dead to hell. For those who are interested, the names of these gruesome escorts are Xie Bi’an (White) and Fan Wujiu (Black). Interestingly, they are sometimes described as a single being, which is either benevolent or an instrument of punishment. From what is known of the guild’s history, morals play little part in which of these manifestations someone is likely to encounter.

  It goes without saying that if someone gets on the wrong side of this guild, they WILL DIE. There’s nothing they can do to stop it. If they have plans for the event the guilds agree is coming, they are not known. Of all of the guilds, Wú Cháng is the most shrouded in tradition, superstition, and fear. I have collected several essays on bizarre injuries and medical anomalies believed to be the work of these mages, but be warned—they are very graphic and not for the faint of heart.

  THE WHEEL

  This is a smaller and newer faction that operates primarily in the American Southwest, Central and South America, and parts of the Caribbean. Like its European cousins, the guild formed to protect magic and mages from destruction, but in this case, it was to protect Native magic from European invaders and likely began around the time of their arrival in the New World. Since then, it has absorbed and adapted various Native traditions and is believed to have access to the forgotten magic of several civilizations. This claim can be backed up by reports of the guild’s mages having mastered shape-shifting—an ability out of the reach of the other factions.

  Within the last few hundred years, The Wheel bolstered its ranks with Native practitioners from other parts of the world, particularly among slaves arriving in the Americas from Africa. Currently, they welcome any mages whose beliefs align with their own, but they remain an insular community, mistrustful of outsiders and fiercely loyal to each other. Unlike the other guilds, The Wheel is active in promoting the well-being of the nonmagical members of their communities. They believe these people will be essential when the expected event comes to pass. The Wheel does not seem to have designs on global power, but it is clear that they will do whatever they must do to ensure they are never exploited again and that their traditions and way of life are preserved. Impressively, The Wheel has successfully resisted being absorbed, or later, wiped out, by Sekhet-Aaru for well over three hundred years.

  The faction’s name is simple out of necessity—the group formed from people speaking dozens of different languages—but it is also symbolic. Things will come full circle, or what goes around comes around. Again, the similarities between the belief that something significant is coming and the prophecies of the Mayans, Aztecs, and others is difficult to dismiss. The timelines coincide a little too closely for comfort, at least for mine.

  THE ORDER OF MARIAN

  This faction of feminist practitioners, who prefer to be known as witches, formed in the British Isles and spread to western Europe in an attempt to preserve local magical traditions when the Romans invaded, though there is strong evidence the Order existed prior to that time, just not secretly. The group contains both men and women. They are Luddites who believe industrialization is harmful to both the earth and the human race. Opposite to most other factions, the Order looks forward to the coming event with anticipation, because they think it will purge the world of harmful technology and usher in an era of peace and a natural paradise in an agrarian society aided by magic.

  Though I should be writing this entry in the past tense. The Order of Marian disappeared in the late 1700s, and I cannot find even speculation as to why. Prior to that time, they seem to have been a force to be reckoned with, mainly because of their affinity with nature spirits, some of which were quite powerful. They were said to be able to summon the fey easily, and they were feared for this reason. My research indicates that mages have been unable to duplicate this feat in many centuries, at least. From what I have learned of the unpredictable and often violent nature of these fey, that’s likely a good thing.

  ELECTROSENSORY MIRAGE

  The newest of the factions, this group prefers to be called a collective, and it’s an apt term. Organization is loose at best, with most members operating in small cells and communicating via advanced technology. You won’t find them on the darknet. Don’t try. The collective seems to have little in the way of an overriding philosophy, though a strong resentment of rules and authority is common. Many members are working for individual causes like environmentalism, animal rights, or income equality.

  What ties ESM together is the opinion that the future lies in a combination of advanced technology and magic. Using their unique skills, they have devised ways to merge the two to great effect. Several prominent scientists, computer programmers, and engineers are rumored to be affiliated with ESM. I haven’t been able to confirm this.

  If ESM sounds like a pack of unruly kids behind computers, you’re partly right. But don’t be fooled. These techno-mages are capable of things even skilled hackers can only do in their wildest dreams. They have resisted aggressive attempts by Sekhet-Aaru at absorption. The larger guild, along with Wú Cháng, cannot operate its businesses without automation and technology, and so far both have proved unable to devise magic similar to what is used by ESM. The collective manages to keep Sekhet-Aaru at bay by threatening their financial assets, or in some cases, wiping them out. Their knowledge of the members and operations of both of the larger guilds also gives them an insurance policy, since it can always be leaked.

  Remember, these people are capable of hijacking nuclear launch codes.<
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  And they probably know you’re reading this.

  It ended there, and I sat staring at the green letters on the black screen, my eyes on fire, my thoughts racing. It would be easy to dismiss what I had read as the rantings of a paranoid lunatic, if a well-spoken one. But though I was no historian, I had to acknowledge some of the parallels the author had drawn.

  And then there was what I had seen in the woods. What else but magic could cause something like that? Had the two men with Dante been mages? Had they belonged to one of these groups? If they were manipulating Dante, coercing him, I would put a stop to it. Right now I wanted to believe that was what was happening. I didn’t have the mental energy to consider other possibilities.

  I stood and stretched. I’d been at my desk for the better part of six hours, and I was no longer a young man. I wandered over to a shelf and ran my fingers over the spines of the books, looking for something to read when I went to bed. I needed to think about this, but not tonight. I was too depleted. After some consideration, I chose Maja Haderlap’s Angel of Forgetting. I was fluent in the Romance languages, so the German novel would tax my skills enough to keep my mind from other things. Besides, the subject matter was fitting.