章 103: ICW
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
—
Watching the homunculus take shape, I sigh and sit back down. An Agreement made so long ago, yet fulfilled just now.
Honestly, I'm a bit ashamed to admit it but I had forgotten about the deal I had made with Ragnuk. In exchange for helping me create the swords which became Galadmagol and Durmagol, I had vowed to create a Homunculus for his ghost to possess, and allow him to check in with the Goblin Nation.
When I had removed the Bond that Aunt Mia put on me, that prevented me from Healing other people without their permission, I had unintentionally removed all Magical Oaths and Bonds binding me. It was completely unintentional, but appreciated nonetheless.
I doubt that would have worked on anyone other than me, the Guardian of Magic, however.
And then, I moved on with my life. I had a woman to love, places to see, adventures to have, and all that. Between all that, I forgot about my promise to Ragnuk the First.
It wasn't until I visited the Chamber of Secrets for the Resurrection Stone recently that I remembered it, funnily enough. I saw the giant Magic Silver spoon, and then suddenly I remembered the promise.
I could have not gone through with it, I could have just ignored it, but why would I? Creating a Homunculus that would last two weeks is not going to harm me, it won't be any trouble either. And if I don't honour this agreement of mine, what's to say I'll even trust my own words anymore?
And so, I spent the last year preparing and creating the Alchemical solution to my problem.
With a crack, the cauldron shatters and a three foot tall Goblin lands down on the floor, disoriented. For a second, he lays there unmoving, before..
"GAH!" he gasps, breathing in fresh air after over 900 years.
Waving my hand, I conjure a pitcher of water and hand it to him, watching as he greedily gulps it all up. He then tenses, finally noticing me, and turns his eyes towards me.
I wave at him, and taking a step back, sit down on my chair, waiting for him to make the first move.
Instead of attacking me, or trying to run away, Ragnuk sits down on the floor, the pitcher beside him, and just stares at his pointed hands as he keeps moving them around.
"This.. this feels so real." He whispers, after a while of playing with himself. While the ghost Ragnuk spoke in modern English, because of a quirk of the Resurrection Stone, this Ragnok spoke in the Anglo Saxon dialect of Old English.
Nodding, I reply, "The Golem is as real as I could make it, since it was made out of your bones." Which I had to dig out of an old forgotten mine belonging to Goblins, annoyingly enough. "You can eat in it, sleep in it, fuck in it, fight in it, and even die in it. You can do everything as if it was your own body. Hell, if you do find someone to fuck, you could probably also become a father, although I don't know that for sure."
Ragnuk nods, and looks down, finally noticing his nudity. Leaning forward, he taps his long pointed nail on the ground, and sends out a pulse of Magic that covers a couple meters around him.
The magic seeps into the ground and melts it, turning it into a liquid. The liquid then rises and starts covering Ragnuk, sort of like an earthen cloth. As the spell stops, Ragnuk now wears some sort of dulled steel armour, along with some cotton cloth underneath it. The ground also rises up to form into an axe that he picks up and puts on his hip.
Damn, that's impressive for someone that has been dead for 900 years.
Goblin Magic, magic that focuses on the Earth with their specialization being metals. They can transmute the Earth on a very small scale, and even somewhat manipulate it, which makes them a bitch to fight inside the caves.
He then turns towards me, and asks, "How long has it been? Since you last called me here? And how are the swords?"
Smiling sheepishly, I say, "I'm afraid it's been a long time since I last called you, King Ragnuk. 14 years, in fact. As for my swords, I still use them, but I've reforged them multiple times since then."
Ragnuk scowls at the fact that I took so much time, and says, "Show me."
Or maybe he's just displeased that I reforged something he believed to be perfect.
I snap my hand to the side, conjuring my Orcrists in one hand, and float them over to him.
As he starts caressing the swords, his eyes wide at the Magic he can no doubt feel from them, I ask, "What do you think?"
"Exquisite." He whispers, excited. He then holds the sword up, and spins it around, smiling when he feels the magic thrum happily at being used. He says, "When you said you reforged the swords I expected you to have made something far, far inferior to the old swords. But this.. this is perfect, better than the original two swords that we reforged, even."
I can see the greed in his eyes, see that he wants to keep these swords for himself.
Smiling in amusement, I say, "You won't be able to steal them, you know." He startles, and glares at me angrily. I say, "The swords are bound to me, and they will always come to me, no matter what you try. Besides, you may have forgotten it, but I haven't. The swords won't work against me."
Ragnok snarls, and with a wave, sends the two swords over to me. Looking around, he then asks, "Enough talks, I need to go back to my nation. Tell me how I can do that, show me the way, and I will consider our agreement terminated."
Nodding, I wave my hand, conjuring a portal to a side alley inside Diagon Alley. As we exit out into the alley, Ragnuk looks around at the wizards shopping there, and asks, "There's too many wizards here for this to be a Goblin Nation, Wizard. What are you playing at?"
I chuckle, and say, "What you used to live in was a Time of War, King Ragnuk. Goblins and Wizards couldn't handle being in one another's presence then. Now that the Magical beings have completely retreated from the muggle world, the two races have had no choice but to mingle. Sure, there are battles and wars still, the last Wizard-Goblin War being just 150 years ago, and there are some disagreements here and there. But on the larger part, Goblins and Wizards are at peace."
As much peace as there can be, to be honest. Even after 2000 years of living I can't say I know everything about Goblins as a race, and how they might react in specific situations. They're greedy, devious, prideful, but they're also hard working and will keep their word to the law.
At least, until they find a loophole, which they almost always do.
"I don't believe you." Ragnuk says, putting his hand on the axe on his hip.
Snorting, I say, "Come with me then if you don't believe me. I'll drop you off to the door to the Goblin territory, and then leave you to it. After that, what you do is not my problem."
Honestly, what can he even do? He won't be able to remember that Mason Aves was the man who brought him back to life. For him, I'm just another Wizard whose face he won't be able to remember.
And what he does next is not my problem. I have much bigger things to worry about than a dead Goblin causing chaos inside the Goblin nation, and I have no doubt that it will lead to chaos. At least it won't lead to anything like a massacre or a genocide. I know his character, having been inside his head. Ragnuk was a good Goblin King in his time, and he actually cares about Goblins.
At most, he will try to overthrow the current King and die trying it. Or he'll succeed and then die two weeks later.
Anyway, my job done, I show Ragnuk to the stairs of Gringotts, and after sensing the Wards around the place, as well as the two Goblin Guards standing inside the doors, he waves me away.
—
International Confederation of Wizards is an organization created just around 300 years ago, for the sake of international cooperation with their most important aim being the establishment, and management of the Statute of Secrecy.
Within each Nation's Ministry, there is a Room that contains nothing but a single door inside it. This door, or Gate, leads straight to the Headquarters of the ICW, in Vienna. It takes a set of keys held by the Nation's representative, as well as the Nation's Minister for Magic, for the Gate to turn on, only after both of which are used will the Gate allow one to pass through.
While most nations send just their National Representative, the designated Diplomat, they are also allowed to be accompanied by one other member of the office of the Minister for Magic of their nations. Sometimes, even the Minister themselves may appear.
This time, however, Albus Dumbledore was the only person from the British Ministry of Magic to enter into the Meeting chambers of the ICW.
He didn't know what to feel about the recent events. Tom Riddle was dead, once again, and he was killed by someone claiming to be a myth.
Whether it was true, he didn't know, but he knew that the man was far too strong to be just a man. Shaking his head, Albus thinks, 'I will do my job, and let the Aurors and Unspeakables do theirs. For now, let's start with the meeting.'
"As the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, I call this meeting to order." The Supreme Mugwump, an old Norwegian man named Jakob Koss says, banging the gavel down twice once all the members are seated. "Mr Dumbledore, you may begin with the first event on the agenda."
Albus Dumbledore, the British Representative nods. Standing up at his seat, he looks around at the people gathered in these halls, and says, "As you no doubt know, the Dark Lord Voldemort is dead as of three days ago. He came to Hogwarts to attack the school, and was stopped by the appearance of a man who calls himself Atharva Joshi. The British Government has declared the threat to the Statute over, and has retracted the request for help. At the same time, they have asked me to put forth a request to the esteemed nations for any information they may have on an old mythological figure named Atharva Joshi."
"Atharva Joshi?" A young Indian man of around 40 asks.
Nodding, Albus says, "He says so, yes. Whether it is the same Atharva Joshi from our legends, we do not know. But from what I saw, this man was most definitely strong enough to be the same man."
The Indian representative looks to the side, where the Assistant to the Indian Prime Minister for Magic sat, and says, "Do you have it?"
The Assistant nods, and pulling a file out, hands it to the Indian Representative. Taking it, he stands up.
"The Court recognises Mr Pundalik Berde, Staffcrafter and Alchemist, and the Indian Representative for the ICW." The Supreme Mugwump says.
(A/N: Berde- pronounced as Bare-day, and Pundalik- pronounced as Poon-duh-leak.)
Nodding at the Supreme Mugwump, Berde says, "As soon as we heard about the events of three days ago, and about the name, we began searching for answers. We couldn't dismiss the chance that one of ours had gone rogue. Well, while a lot of our Wizards have gone rogue, thanks to the events carried out by Great Britain, none of them are named Atharva Joshi. And our scholars found many things about the name."
"He first showed up in our history in the First Century BC in Nalanda University. He didn't stay there for long, just completed a trade of knowledge, and left after reading some more books about Divination and Soul Magic. After that, the name was noted down as a student of Kamar Taj, and during his tenure as a Sorcerer, he became the Master of the British Sanctum. The next he showed up was during the fight which your people know about. The Fight against a God which led to the King of Gods descending down. And then, he vanished. He hasn't been seen since then."
The American representative, John Smith, scoffs, and asks, "What bullshit is this? Why are we even discussing this man? This myth? He is a British problem, just like Voldemort was. He is not a concern for the ICW. Besides, I doubt this man is the same one from your myths, no Wizard can live that long."
The Indian wizards get outraged, and for once, even the Nepali, Sri Lankan, and Pakistani representatives agree with them. And even Albus couldn't help but agree.
Voldemort may not have caused much damage to the world, not as much as Grindelwald did at least, but Albus had no doubt that if Atharva Joshi, or even Mason Aves, hadn't interfered, he would have become a far more dangerous enemy.
And Atharva Joshi, this man came into the Wizengamot chambers as if they belonged to him, ignored the Wards as if they weren't there. If there is one man that could be called a world threat, it was this man.
For a while, there's a cacophony of noise as men and women yell over one another, trying to prove that they're the only correct ones.
Suddenly, however, there's complete silence even when mouths keep moving.
With a rustle of clothes, a man stands up, and Albus smiles, seeing the annoyed look on his old friend's face. Nicholas Flamel looks at them all as if they're children, and says, "You're all representatives of your nations, people, behave like it. Mr Smith, I don't have to remind you that a threat to one nation's Statute of Secrecy is a threat to the statute in all nations now, do I?"
Sufficiently chastised, the people that were yelling just a moment ago sit back down. Nicholas, however, remains standing, and says, "As for the age concern, yes, it is perfectly possible for the man named Atharva Joshi to have lived that long. From the first Century BC to now, without dying. Why, I personally know two more people that have done so and remain hidden to this day, staying away from- pardon my words- mortal affairs. I know multiple others who have lived for far, far longer."
"Truly?!" Smith asks, astonished.
Nicholas nods, and says, "What did you think? That I was the oldest Wizard alive? No, dear boy, I am simply the only Immortal Wizard that chose to still mingle amongst others, even if it is very rarely done."
There's a chorus of murmurs, as people talk amongst themselves. Pundalik Berde stands up, and asks, "Master Flamel, it sounds as if you have contact with others like you, long living people. Have you ever met this man, Atharva Joshi?"
Nicholas shakes his head, much to Berde's disappointment, and says, "I'm afraid not. While us Immortals like to keep an eye on one another, it is possible for one to have slipped our attention. I even asked a couple of my friends if they know him, but alas, they didn't tell me anything if they did."
"I would like to meet this man, ask him why he didn't interfere before." The Japanese representative, Tadashi Hamada says as Nicholas sits down.
"What do you mean?" Albus asks, being the only man still standing, since he was the one leading this meeting as of now.
Hamada hums, and says, "Why did he interfere now? Why not before? Why not when Grindelwald was gallivanting around the world? Why not when any of the other Dark Lords were killing people by the thousands? Why not when Britain was doing so much injustice against his own Home, India? I am just curious, if this Atharva Joshi believes himself to be an honourable hero, why didn't he save his home from being conquered?"
Albus nods, accepting those questions as valid. Even he had them, even he had wondered why this man hadn't interfered before, and why he did now. What were his reasons? And were any of those reasons nefarious?
Suddenly, he hears the sounds of chuckles along with a voice that says, "Trust me, it was no heroic act but purely a selfish one."
The voice came from the centre of the room, a point that the chairs of the ICW members were surrounding. The members all pull their wands and staffs, and along with the Aurors and Unspeakables, point them at the spot.
Within one blink and the next, Albus sees a man standing where no one just was, and he was sure of it. The man stood in his place, his hands raised to show that he came here unarmed, but the amused smile on his face told Albus that even unarmed, the 300 or so members, Aurors, and Unspeakables, currently inside the halls were no match for him.
"I come in peace, honoured members of the ICW." The man says, and how can Albus ever forget this face.
The face that made him feel useless, feel weak beyond anything. The face that made him feel fear for his life.
"Atharva Joshi." Albus whispers, his wand hand shaking a bit.
Atharva looks at him, and smiles. He says, "I know you, you're Albus Dumbledore. You were there that day, when I captured Tom Riddle."
"Why have you come here?" Albus asks, seeing that no one was making a move to attack him, which was uncharacteristically smart of them.
Atharva raises his eyebrow, and says, "I came here to talk, and to warn you all of something."
Talk?
Frowning, Albus asks, "Is this something the same Great Change you warned the Wizengamot about?"
"Why, yes it is." Atharva says, smiling wide.
"What are you all waiting for?! Capture him!" The French representative yells, shooting a stunner at the man standing in the middle.
Before Albus can warn them not to do that, a hundred more spells follow, while some just look on, wide eyed.
Atharva Joshi however just raises his hand, casting a glowing yellow shield that swallows all the spells without harming even a single scratch on his body. He then snaps his fingers, and all the wands inside the room belonging to everyone vanish from their hands. Even Albus's wand was nowhere to be seen, and he wasn't even one of the attackers.
Raising his eyebrows at the terrified people, Atharva says, "I suggest not trying that again. Trust me, you do not want me as an enemy."
"Who- who are you?" Smith asks, taking a step back and falling down on his chair.
Joshi turns towards him, and says, "I am who Albus and Berde over there said I am. Atharva Joshi. A Wizard, Sorcerer, Scholar, Healer, Librarian, and most importantly, the Guardian of Magic. I am the same Atharva Joshi that studied at Kamar Taj, exchanged knowledge with the Professors of Nalanda University, and fought the Goddess of Asgard. All of them are me."
"How can we believe you? You could be just some man claiming to be the old myth!" Someone from the Asian side yells, and when Albus looks at the voice, he finds himself staring at a Chinese woman he knows to be Ya Zhao, the Chinese Ambassador since the 1920s.
Atharva nods at her, and with a smile, he asks, "Did you forget me this soon, Madam Ya Zhao? After the help I gave your sister, and after we fought a Demon together? Why, if I didn't know any better, I would say you're doubting my claims."
What? He didn't know Madam Ya Zhao had a sister.
Contrary to what he expected, Madam Ya Zhao just smiles, relieved, and says, "I am so glad to see you're still alive, Atharva. I had thought you were just an imposter."
Once again, what?
She then looks at the astonished faces of all those around them, and says, "I am older than I look, far far older. I was already thousands of years old when I met Atharva in the time that he was the Sanctum Master. He helped me and my siblings fight a demon, and then he helped my sister with an issue of hers. No imposter would know those details."
Albus frowns, questions going through his mind faster than he can think clearly. Madam Ya Zhao was thousands of years old? And she was pretending to be just over 90? He should have expected it, since she hasn't aged a single day since he first saw her, but still. This was something he did not see coming.
"Why?" The Indian representative, Berde, asks, standing up once again. When Atharva looks at him, he asks, "Why didn't you help us? Why didn't you save our nation from being stolen from?"
Atharva smiles, a bit sadly, and asks, "Why should I have?"
Berde gasps, and says, "India is your home!"
Atharva sighs, and says, "When I was born, it wasn't even called India." Shaking his head, he says, "I lived a life in India, Mr Berde. I was born there, and I grew up there. And then, I moved on with my life. I moved on from my home. I found myself in Alexandria, fell in love there, and then, after Kamar Taj and the London Sanctum, I found my own place in the world, and I found a new home. India was not my responsibility, and neither was the rest of the world. As I said, the reason I interfered this time was nothing heroic. It was purely personal."
"What was the reason, may we ask?" Albus asks, as politely as possible.
Atharva glances at him, and then turning towards Madam Ya Zhao, he asks, "Do you remember the woman I was with when I was the Sanctum Master?"
Madam Ya Zhao nods slowly, and says, "Her name was Tatiana.. I believe."
By now, all of the other members were silent, either due to fear, or due to curiosity. No one dared to speak anything, but Albus could tell that the Indian members were not pleased with the excuse he had given before.
Atharva nods, and a strange look crosses his face as he says, "Soon after you left, Tatiana and I separated. She went on to live her own life, and I mine. Lord Voldemort killed the last descendant of Tatiana's adopted and only daughter. And that is why I interfered. If he hadn't done that, I would have left you mortals to live your own life without my interference just like I have done for the last 2000 years. Simple as that, I needed vengeance for what Tom Riddle did."
For a few seconds there's silence, as people take it all in.
Vengeance? Was it all an act of vengeance? So many terrorists killed without a trial because one man needed his vengeance justified?
Atharva then says, "Besides, even if I had interfered, Mr Berde, what would your nation have done then? They would have put me on a pedestal, made me into a Saviour like they did to Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, and Nehru. I don't like that, being put on some sort of high horse for something that didn't even take me any effort. And then, I would have felt some sort of responsibility with taking care of the nation, which is a chore on its own when the nation in question is so stubborn. And that's why I didn't interfere. Most of the time."
"What do you mean?" Someone asks, his voice trembling through the silence.
Atharva waves his hand, and says, "I introduced myself as the Guardian of Magic, it wasn't me being conceited. I was named that when I fought and defeated the Asgardians Goddess of Death, Hela. I had taken on the duty of making sure Magical creatures don't die out by any hands, be it wizard, muggle, or Divine, or even Demonic. And so, Mother Magic came to me and bestowed the title on me."
"For 2000 years I've ensured it, hiding away animals when it seems they're going to be endangered. And sometimes, when a Dark Lord crosses too many boundaries, breaks too many laws of Magic, I step in and orchestrate their Deaths. I do interfere, but I don't do it directly. Tom Riddle was the only Dark Lord I directly fought."
"The Dark Lord Inferius, I killed him by taking over his Inferi and having them kill him. Dark Witch Alchema, I killed her by having one of her experiments blow up on her face. Dark Lord Famine, well him I killed directly. Stabbed him in the chest with his own cursed dagger."
A dagger which he had used to spread diseases all around the Roman Empire, Albus remembers.
Albus thinks that this man was not as devoted to his goal as he said. He could tell that above all else, the man was really selfish. Where are the animals he saved? What happened to the animals he couldn't save? Because he doubted that the man saved all animals from extinction for 2000 years.
Ignoring that for now, since this is a superior Wizard to him, Albus asks, "You said something about a warning?" Bringing the conversation back on topic before the others interfered.
Atharva nods, and his face suddenly becomes serious. He then looks at them all, and says, "As I told the Brits, a time of Great Change is coming. And I have come here to help you deal with it."
"What?" Someone asks, and Albus is far too worried to even look back to see who asked that.
If even Atharva Joshi, who didn't come before them all when so many Dark Lords have gone through, finds a matter worrying, it makes anyone worry even more.
With a grim look on his face, Atharva says, "Within 3 decades, 5 at most, the Statute of Secrecy is going to become Void. Muggles will begin actively hunting and experimenting on Wizards, until slowly, there's an all out war between wizards and muggles. As a matter of fact, one of them has already begun."
Immediately pandemonium begins, as people start yelling at once, giving no regards to where they are. And Albus could understand it.
If what Atharva said was true, then the Wizards were in danger of facing another war they might not win.
—
A/N: Atharva has shown himself to the ICW because he wanted to give this warning. Ominous, no?
Some people have guessed what will happen, and I won't say what, because I am still conflicted between two choices.
Ragnuk, I'm still keeping his plot open, I might bring him again and show what chaos he causes in the two weeks that he has in this world.
Madam Ya Zhao is the Eternal named Sersi, for anyone that doesn't remember.
Anyway, thank you for your support! Tata!
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