Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Nick was awoken the following day by the Resting Room's door sliding open and a stubby gray cat stepping in dressed rather casually in jean shorts and a yellow tee-shirt. The hyena rubbed his eyes. "Mm . . . ?"
The cat stopped in the middle of the room, holding a clipboard up. "Nicholas Flynn?"
"Mhm . . ." Boy, Nick was tired. The bed hadn't been comfortable, despite being soft. Maybe because he was so used to his own.
"I'm Regis. I'm going to be your Guide around the Mortal Guard facility." Regis grinned, not taking his eyes off of Nick.
"Already . . . ?" Nick yawned. "What about breakfast?"
"That's part of the tour, don't worry."
"I don't even get any time to wake up before you bombard me with even more info?" Nick pouted.
"They told me to wake you up at 9:00 sharp. The tour is going to take a long time, Mr. Flynn."
"Fine . . ."
Regis tapped his fingers on the clipboard. "Alright, then. I'll explain how it works. We'll go Sect by Sect, and I'll explain how each one functions, and you'll ask questions. It's simple, really."
Nick scratched his back, tiredly. "Am I the only one taking the tour?"
Regis wiggled his head back and forth. "No, sir, of course not. You're just the only one on my tour. So, after we're done seeing all the Sects, you'll have to choose which one you're going to work for, basically. Once you do that, you can start going to your courses in the Institute."
Nick sighed. "Courses, right." He sighed and stood up. "Just how big is this dimension?"
"It's an entire city," Regis said. "Speaking of, you'll get your Transmission Set the day you graduate and get your residence."
"What's that?" Nick asked.
Regis reached into his pocket and pulled out a small clear lock and a matching key with an 'R' as the crown. "You stick this key into the lock and turn it, and it will shoot out a portal to Prostasia, as long as it's on a flat surface, of course."
Nick blinked. "Where does the portal appear here?"
"That's actually the first place on our long tour! Come along," the dark-furred feline waved his hand, keeping the clipboard close.
Nick yawned again, sitting up. He had been lying down that entire conversation, the gravity of sleep threatening to pull him back under. As the hyena arose, he felt the tiredness drain from him. He stepped off the bed and looked at Regis, who was about a foot shorter than him.
Regis smiled and turned around. "You'd think giving this tour all the time would be tiring, but I find the history and structure of this place magnificent. Not to mention the wonderful architecture by our very own Hephaestus."
"The Greek god?" Nick furrowed his brows.
"He's like a god! Hephaestus is the Mortal Guard's architect. He designed, well, basically everything! You'll learn all about him in your courses. The amount of accomplishments he did is astounding."
Nick looked around as they walked down the loud hallway of the Medical Sect. "Jeez . . . one guy doing all of this . . . ."
"Pretty remarkable, huh? I mean, of course, he had help," the cat said in a tone that almost sounded like he was proud of the work he didn't do. "Anyway, each major city in the world has a Prostasia and a station of Mortal Guard members there.
"They all operate on basically the same level, but the cultures are indeed dependent on where a Prostasia is, and the language, money, and animals change accordingly. But we all operate under the same banner of the Catastrophe Sect, which is the last Sect you'll learn about today."
They continued down the bright halls and stopped just before an elevator, the feline pushing the button to go down and turning to Nick as they waited. "Since we're already here, I'll tell you about the Medical Sect. The Sect Leader's name is Cara Selena."
Nick just nodded in response, curious as to what awaited him that day.
"It'll probably come as no surprise to you that the Medical Sect is rather basic. Members come here to be healed from the injuries they sustain while out in the Mortal Realm on a case." The doors of the metal box opened, and the two stepped on. "However, a large difference between mortal hospitals and Medical Sects is that we have magic. We can heal basically any wound and then send our members on their way. Sure, if they're possessed or cursed, they might be here for a bit more time, but most patients are out within a matter of hours."
The hyena exhaled. "Possession and curses. That means ghosts are real and . . . witches, I guess?" A thought occurred. Astrid could be a ghost.
"Yep, yep! But you'll learn all of that during your time at the Institute. Please follow along." After the elevator descended to the bottom floor, the two got out, and it was the same sight as on the upper floor. Still white, still loud, still eerie.
Regis continued walking forward and talking. "We're almost out of here. The Medical Sect also uses Soul Candles to track vitals and keep Souls nice and healthy, as you've seen. The flame takes on different properties based on the status of the Soul. For example, a blue flame means the Soul is away from the body."
"I remember . . ." Nick swallowed.
"Very spooky stuff indeed," Regis said, and they turned a corner, now entering an open space with a large glass door and windows leading outside. The cat made a beeline toward it with Nick in tow. Exiting the building, Nick immediately froze at the sight before him.
They were on a flat piece of land with a cement walkway leading down along the ground, but the first thing the hyena noticed was the congregation of rectangular buildings up ahead. All manner of mammals were strolling around the walkways, wearing different outfits and colorful armbands. It looked like a movie set.
Regis moved again. "Prostasias are always laid out the same way. You have the Plaza in the very center, and surrounding that is all of the Sects and Subsects." Nick just nodded once again. Regis led him along the path, and now they were passing by animal after animal, the hyena noticing a pattern in their clothing.
The ones with the gray jackets had pink armbands, while those in the brown jackets had orange ones. Quite a few of them wore the same style of boots, too, no matter the outfit or color of the armband. Nick was sure he'd learn the fashion in time.
"I'm gonna be taking you through the Plaza first, actually," Regis said. "Makes more sense since we'll be cutting through it."
"Alright."
As they approached, Nick saw a large, green glowing sign with the word "Plaza" and an arrow pointing to the jumble of buildings on the side of the walkway. "The Plaza is the most colorful part of the city," Regis began. "This is where members go shopping and eat and hang out. It's like a city within a city. Very urban. Lots of lights. The restaurants are designed to remind you of home, but the things sold in the shops aren't anything like you'd find in the Mortal Realm."
As they walked between the first two buildings, a bustling center with a fountain greeted Nick, a strange statue adorning the middle of the water. It was an animal he had never seen or heard of before. Mammals chatted and walked around, doors opened as people went in and out of the shops, and the smell of all different types of food swirled in the air. Nick swore he could almost taste the Chinese restaurant nearby. At this point, he noticed the air was stagnant; not a single breeze could be felt.
Regis sighed as he looked around. "You'll get very acquainted with this place. It's always exciting when they add a new shop or upgrade an existing one. I don't want to spoil anything else until you get to explore it for yourself, but for now, let's keep moving."
The duo continued along, straight through the city and all its inviting neon signs. Once they were out of the hullabaloo, they were heading toward a gargantuan white building with round columns and a red carpet extending from the large opening like a fuzzy tongue. As usual, animals were moving in and out of this building as well, and it seemed there were multiple entrances on all sides.
As they drew near, Regis spread both of his arms. "This!" he said, loudly, "Is the Station! Now, it's not like any train station you would know because it isn't a train station at all! Here, members go to and from the Mortal Realm and the Institute using their Transmission Sets. Come on inside." The feline began power-walking toward the structure excitedly and, before they knew it, they had entered the towering arched entrance. The interior was nothing like Nick expected. Then again, he wasn't sure what he expected.
Inside were walls upon walls with white space. It would be the plainest building you would have ever seen if not for what went on inside. Animals in the same outfits seen everywhere stood, inserting strange translucent keys into locks and shooting rectangles of almost blinding light onto the walls, which they promptly stepped into. These identical shapes appeared on other walls where no one stood, and animals stepped or ran out, the shape lingering behind them before vanishing.
Nick gawked at the scene. "And I'm . . . gonna do that?"
"Yep! Once you get your Transmission Set, you'll be able to visit the Mortal Realm to your heart's content once you're licensed. Well, maybe not to your heart's content, since you need to be cleared to leave."
"Licensed?"
"It'll all be explained. They can't just let you go out there all willy-nilly, right?"
"I guess so. I don't know."
"Right," Regis repeated. "Alright, time to visit each Sect! Are you excited?"
"As I'll ever be," the hyena answered, still staring ahead.
After exiting the station and walking for a bit, Nick and Regis came across a building even more significant than the last one, a ginormous shield symbol adorned with orange and featuring a strange face hanging over the entrance. Regis smiled, his teeth practically shining as he gazed up at the multi-layered facility. The primary color of the building seemed to be a dark brown, and tons and tons of windows circled it. "The biggest Sect. Creature Hunting, led by Iwai Watanabe."
Nick felt almost daunted by the Sect that was looming over him. "It's huge . . . ."
"Exactly. This is the most dangerous Sect, which makes it the most respected. A great majority of our members are a part of it, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Here, you'll participate in cases and go out in the Mortal Realm, hunting down supernatural creatures and getting paid to take them down if they cause trouble. You'll learn a lot about the Other Side here, but I must stress you could 100% lose your life if you join it."
"And they're like monster hunters in there? Like, they actually kill real monsters?" Nick asked with his mouth hanging open.
"Among other things!" Regis responded. "As you can see, their color is bright orange."
"Cool . . ." Nick looked down for a moment. Could he possibly join this Sect and have a chance at freeing Boris from his chains?
The next building was relatively close by but almost just as massive. It sported a strange, curved shape, and the shield above the door had three bubbles on it and the color pink. "This is the Spellcasting Sect," Regis reported. "The second most crucial Sect and where many of the members who don't want to become creature hunters but want to learn magic go. Naturally, we call the members here magicians, and the Sect's color is pink. They are led by Cayden O'daire."
"If you join, you'll be in more of a supporting role to Creature Hunting, as magicians are often paired with creature hunters on cases for their use of magic and such. You'll also go on research missions for the Scribe Sect and study a monster, gathering info on its magic so that we might be able to turn it into a spell. Rather rewarding but difficult work. Then again, nothing is straightforward here."
"I'll say," Nick nodded, bringing a hand to his chin. A support Sect didn't sound active enough to help Boris, but magic could be beneficial. He tabled this Sect, for now. There were still eight others.
"But there is something I want to warn you about." Regis pursed his lips.
"Yeah?"
"Not everyone supports magic. There's a whole political climate here about it. Mags/Anti-mags."
"Why wouldn't animals support the use of magic?" Nick tilted his head, genuinely not understanding.
"Because of where it comes from. All magic draws from the darkness, even the most beneficial of spells. A good amount of animals are convinced that it makes magic evil."
"Pff." That sounded silly.
"I wonder where you'll end up standing?"
"Never really cared for politics."
Regis hummed. "We'll see."
The next Sect they arrived at had a large, cylindrical building with a purple dome on the top. It was in a forested area, and Nick wondered if each tree was planted or if they were somehow natural. For a different dimension, the trees seriously looked like they came from Earth. The shield here had the image of a crescent moon, and the color was purple. "The Dream Sect is where you'll go into the dreams of animals possessed by demons," Regis explained.
"Demons?" Nick's ears perked. "Like . . . movie demons?"
"Nope. Real demons only appear in animals' dreams, using them to control that person and destroy their livelihood. The only thing is that being a Dreamwaker is insanely dangerous as you're bound by the laws of the dreamer's dream, and if you die in the dream, you die in real life. Oh yeah, and the SL is Melody Schuster, but she just goes by Mel."
Nick pondered this one for a good moment. On the one hand, he did recall Boris calling Absalom a demon at one point, but on the other hand, Boris didn't know what an actual demon was, and Nick didn't even know if investing himself into this Sect would yield results. Still, it fascinated him that any of this was even possible or real.
After visiting the Dream Sect, the two passed a smaller building with a strange, futuristic design. Regis explained that it was one of the Sub-Sects he mentioned. This one managed and maintained the Digital Ocean: The Mortal Guard's version of the internet. Another trek later, they came across another rectangular building, white but with four spires on the top of it, things that seemed like metal extending from them. An open eye was the symbol on the shield, and the color was blue. Nick couldn't help but feel intimidated as the eye stared him down. He was afraid that if he strafed left or right, it would follow.
"Welcome to the Truth Sect," Regis announced. The cat slicked the fur on his head back. "If you like solving mysteries, this is the Sect for you. Your job would be to take in reports of sighted creatures and determine if they're real or not. It's basically how the Mortal Guard discovers most of its creatures and debunks Urban Legends in the Mortal Realm. You don't fight here, though. Purely for observing. Led by Isaac Ulrura."
Nick immediately crossed the Sect off the list in his head. He decided that he wouldn't join anything that didn't have him actively figuring out how to save Boris. Regis turned around with that same excited grin on his face. "What do you think so far?"
Nick fumbled for a moment, trying to let the words fall on his tongue but finding that any letters just slipped off before he could speak. "It's . . . something."
"Very common answer," the cat laughed. "I usually do this in groups. The stunned faces on an entire bunch of animals are always priceless. One of the reasons I love my job as a Guide. Anywho, now's time for a break."
"Oh?" Nick blinked.
"I'm going to let you explore the Plaza for a while before we continue the tour. Make sure you get something to eat to keep your energy up." Regis reached into the pouch on his shirt and pulled out a somewhat shiny silver card, which he held out to Nick.
The hyena took it and blinked. "What is it?"
"Your beginner solvency card! It has $1,000 on it to get you started. That's what you're going to use to pay for your food and stuff."
"Wait, $1,000?" Nick's jaw fell. "You're just . . . giving me this?"
"Well, yeah! Every new member has to start somewhere, and we can't use your bank account from out there! Gotta start fresh! Don't spend it all in one place!"
Nick looked at the card for a moment. " . . . Well, thanks."
"Time passes regularly here, so meet me in about an hour at the fountain in the Plaza, and we'll continue. If you get lost, just follow the signs sprinkled around. You can't miss 'em!"
Nick could make no other face but the blank one he had been making the whole time. "Sounds good . . ."
Regis turned around, speeding off and looking down at his tiny clipboard as he went, leaving Nick alone yet again, half of the tour now complete.