As though they had a mind of their own, my feet marched toward the manor. “Might as well see if anyone is home!” The Hero chortled. The Coward hissed, “Are you mad?! Or are you just suicidal?” “Neither, but I am in control. And this time, I say Sir Adam is right.” I rolled my eyes, hushing the bickering voices. I strode deliberately up the drive, but I refused to look at the looming estate before me; not daring to see its warping visage firsthand.

  The rickety steps wailed under my weight, pleading to be left to their slow march into dilapidation. As I stood on the top riser, the great doors warped into a monument of dread, “You can’t do it!” The Coward taunted. My feet became wood with the sun-bleached wood beneath them. “He’s right. I can’t do it.” I shuddered. My knees trembled as I tried to unroot myself from the deck. “He’s a liar and schemer! You are more than he has ever thought you could be!” The Hero forced my legs to move inch by inch; not through strength, but sheer willpower. “Adam, I can’t do this alone!” The Hero’s voice strained in my subconscious. “You can’t fight me, Adam. I am you.” The Coward’s words spilled from my lips. “You’ve always jumped at shadows, been afraid of the dark, been too scared to fail. That’s why you’re here. Well not here. That was all him, but I mean this podunk you call home.” he continued. Scared to fail? That’s not true, I fail all the time! I’m really just making this up as I go. “Why will you listen to him?” The Hero’s voice seemed to be fading into the background. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. You just have to…take the plunge.” The Hero encouraged.

  “He can’t do it.” The Coward taunted in a singsong voice. The task was Herculean. All I have to do is take five steps. “C’mon, Adam! It’s just five steps.” With dogged determination, I took a step forward. “Four to go.” Another step. “Three.” I planted my foot for the third time. “Two left. Come on, Adam! You got this.” The Hero spoke with me. My soles seemed to grow roots, keeping me from taking the last two steps. Just two steps. I was pleading with myself at this point. I clawed at my legs, gripping below my knee and pulling the leg up manually and slammed it back into the boards. “It’s not too late, Adam. Turn tail and run. Cower under your blankets like the petrified little boy you really are.” The Coward frantically tried to get me to stop. “He doesn’t want you to grow, Adam. I want to see you blossom! Please, take the last step.” The Hero begged. Everything shifted into place. “I can do this.” I assured myself. “I just have to take this last step.” I said, dragging my foot off the ancient decking and reaching for the handle, an elaborate brass scrollwork, dulled by a century of neglect. As I turned the knob, that jolt of power exploded through my body again. I flung the door wide, and The Coward shrieked in pain. “Aaadaaam! We had a good thing going.” his voice broke with sorrow and pain. “You were never me.” I said dismissively. The Coward’s sobs faded into silence. “Good riddance to bad rubbish.” The Hero celebrated. “Great showing, My Boy!” a boisterous voice laughed from the now open doorway. “Let’s see how deep the rabbit hole goes, I guess.” I chuckled nervously.

  The Manor was silent, the only sound was that of creaking floorboards under my step. The scent of weathered pages wafted from the bookshelves lining the corridor I traversed. Deep within the heart of the Manor, I saw it: a door that defied all logic. It shouldn’t have been there, couldn’t have been there, yet there it stood– beckoning me to it. Iridescent wood shimmered every color from sapphire blues to ruby reds, pulsing as if it were breathing. The frame was adorned in intricate patterns– twisting vines interlaced with arcane runes delicately interlocking around the edges of the portal. The wood rippled and flowed like water, a mesmeric pattern of scrawling runes dancing along its surface, yet solid to the touch. “Curiouser and curiouser!” The Hero said with a laugh. I reached my hand out, the wood was cool to the touch, and with the faintest push the entrance swung wide; revealing a churning lightshow on the backdrop of a cosmos. “Welcome, Adam! Come in, come in!” that same voice called, both miles away and from right beside me.

  With the first step, the cosmos rippled. Where there was nothing a moment ago, slabs of glittering white stone exploded into being, swirling into existence from cast off stardust. “Can’t get much weirder than this.” I said crossing the self constructing platform. I pressed my hand against the portal, pins and needles rushing up my arm. With one final leap, I exploded through the portal. “Nice of you to join me, Adam!” the disembodied voice I’d been hearing coming from the man in front of me. He stood tall yet seemed at ease, cloaked in billowing robes of deep indigo laced with constellations that swirled along his form, as if the starscape I emerged from draped him in its fabric. Kind, wise, ancient eyes met mine, and the old man smiled. “My name is Aurelius, welcome to my Archives!” he said cheerily. “Are you responsible for all of that?” I asked, gesturing to the portal— only now realizing it was no longer there. “That, and so much more, My Boy!” Aurelius chuckled. With a snap of his fingers, the space behind him warped: bookshelves sprouted from the void, reaching infinitely for a sky that wasn’t there, soft blue light bathed the room, emanating from tomes scattered here and there along the shelves, books fluttered open flipping pages in an unseen wind, whispering to each other in a language of ink and memories. I stood in awe, mouth agape for some time. After a longer than it should have been moment, Aurelius broke the silence. “Adam, it is by no accident that you find yourself in these mystical halls. Only one like you can overcome the aversion to the grim facade of this place. Those who make their way to me have a spark, an opportunity to rise among the mundane.” “You mean that I can do this?” I asked, a hand motioning around us. He laughed, a boisterous melodious laugh. “Not now, but what fate holds for you, none can say.” He said, dashing my hopes of a late acceptance letter to wizard school. “I see; so why am I here?” I questioned. “You’re here because I need your help, as I’ve needed the help of those who have come before you. I wish for you to become a Traveler– my champion. I beg you to ascend past any limit you’ve ever enforced upon yourself.” he said, as though it were as easy as crossing the street. “Your champion? What does that even mean? I’m just a guy, man– er… Sir, no offense, but I think your selection method is flawed.” I said with a nervous chuckle. “To answer your first question, my champion, a Traveler, is tasked with keeping The Archives whole and as peaceful as deemed necessary. Confrontation is expected if these societies are to progress, but I have had to quarantine a troubling and increasing number of them–""What do you mean, ‘quarantine societies’? Are you saying you’re God?” I asked, cutting him off. “One of them, yes. But not in the sense that you are thinking. These Archives are meant to keep all the knowledge I have gained safe, no matter what happens to me.” He continued. “What could happen to a god? It’s not like you can die!” I scoffed. “You would be surprised, Son.” his face fell slightly and I could see sorrow tint his irises.

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  “Off topic! Off topic! First things first, great showing conquering the fear aura around this place! I saw your struggles, and I saw you triumph!” Aurelius said and my cheeks flushed. “See, Adam! I knew it was a trick of your mind!” The Hero nudged me mentally. “Secondly! It’s time for an evaluation!” with a snap of his fingers an orb the size of a basketball floated to rest in front of me. “I-I’ve never been good at tests–” a booming laugh made the thought die on my lips. “This is unlike any test you are used to! You cannot fail, I merely need to take the measure of your potential. Just rest your hand on the sphere and clear your mind. Magic will do the rest!” he said, reassuringly. Unlike the door shrouding this indescribable structure, the orb was warm to the touch. “Clear your mind.” his words echoed. I closed my eyes, my roiling thoughts melted away, the panic and wonder I had been feeling calmed to still water, and the entire world fell from my notice. The sensation was like nothing I had experienced before, a pair of hands grasped my very soul, seeing something that even I could never put eyes on. The hands crawled along my insides, the questing fingers brushing along every inch of my being, only to come to rest right above my belly button. That’s when the pain started. I yelped, a slight discomfort threatening to break my concentration. Slight discomfort morphed into undeniable agony, and I cried out. “It hurts! Stop!” I begged. “You’re doing well, Adam. Endure for just a moment longer.” Aurelius’s voice spoke directly into my mind. As soon as it began, the unending torment faded, a distant memory that had already started to fray along the edges. “Another fine showing, My Boy.” Aurelius’s hand fell on my shoulder. “Let’s discuss the results of this test. And what they mean for you and your mission.” He said, cracking a smile as I opened my eyes, struggling to fight the tears that battled to spill down my cheeks. “When was the last time someone seemed proud of me?” I thought, bringing my emotions back under control.