“Swooosh!!”
The shining bright red cloak flew across the room towards the lean but physically fit man standing near the tall gothic window of the ancient-looking house. The early morning sunlight was beaming through the recently replaced transparent glass pane. The gent with short black hair held a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand, peering through the window and observing the growing crowd as the sun continued to rise from the east.
“Creaaakkk”
A young man in his twenties entered through the room’s dark brown, massive entrance door. His almond-shaped eyes were trying to search for the Sorcerer in the room. On the left, the sizeable wooded desk was filled with parchments and papers scattered throughout the desk. The cabinet of books right behind it was neatly closed, with tonnes of publications kept safely under the safety of ancient magic. In the center was a circular staircase leading toward another building floor. As soon as his eyes reached the rightmost corner of the massive room, he saw the Master of the Magical Arts standing there.
“We have an issue!!” exclaimed the well-built man adorning a blue robe. He moved toward the window and sat down on the black Sofa, huffing and puffing.
“Flap-Flap!!”
The flying red cloak, now neatly hanging on the Sorcerer’s collar, made a flapping sound as its Master turned around. “Wyatt!! Good morning, you are early,” he mentioned greeting his apprentice with a smile.
“By the way, it seems you haven’t been practicing magic, as it seems you ran a marathon to climb the stairs,” he added, observing Wyatt’s sweaty forehead.
“Doctor… give me a second, will you!!” urged Wyatt, still huffing while holding up his right-hand palm.
The Doctor walked towards Wyatt, placed the cup of empty coffee on the hand-carved designer center table, and sat on the Sofa across from his apprentice.
“Are you ready now?” inquired the magician calmly.
“Yes, Dr. Magnus, I am ready,” replied Wyatt, sitting upright while adjusting the collar of his robe. “We have an issue!!” he added.
“Oh, I heard that the first time; get on with it already,” he mentioned moving his right hand in a circular motion, an indication Wyatt needed to pick up the pace.
Wyatt was to the point this time as he continued, “We have received news from the London Sanctum that the Excalibur has been stolen!!”
“Hmm, do we know who stole it?” Dr. Magnus inquired with his right arm supporting his chin.
“The CCTV footage caught a glimpse of Shadowcaster, but there is more bad news.”
“Okay, go on; what could be worse?”
“We also received news from the Hidden Sanctum, off the coast of the Indian Ocean.”
“What happened there?”
“One of the ancient weapons is missing.”
“Which?”
“I heard the name for the first time, but it is the Pashupatastra.”
There wasn’t a spec of fear on the face of Dr. Magnus, but his voice reflected anxiety as he mentioned, “Oh My, that’s not good.”
“Who took this weapon?”
“Same friend of ours, The Shadowcaster,”
Dr. Magnus smiled and mentioned, “The Interdimensional Invader robbed us of two weapons that we have been guarding for ages, and that too in one day.”
The room was filled with silence as Wyatt did not have any response to the Sorcerer’s statement. “Do you know where our friend leapfrogged to?”
“In the past few hours, the Cosmic Planisphere has been showing power surges in the Solar Realm, so we believe Shadowcaster is there,” responded Wyatt while showcasing the power surge on a thin green screen that he cast out of thin air.
“You know, it’s interesting; you can magically bring up the map but cannot use your powers while climbing up the stairs!!” stated Dr. Magnus as he laughingly got up and started walking towards his desk, placed on the other side of the expansive room.
Wyatt followed suit as he walked behind his mentor, defending himself by responding, “I am working on it; it’s…. it’s just that I’m just scared of heights.”
Dr. Magnus just smiled as he stopped a few steps beyond the wooden desk, looking at a photograph hanging near the leftmost side of the cabinet.
“Who is that with you?” inquired Wyatt looking at the well-built man standing on the right side of Dr. Magnus in the photo frame. The person in the photograph looked like a bodybuilder, with a pair of glasses, and long black hair, dressed in a dark blue formal attire with a Red tilak on his forehead.
“A close friend of mine and someone whose help we will need to catch Shadowcaster!!” exclaimed Dr. Magnus.
Wyatt’s eyes now fell on a small idol on the frame’s right side. Wyatt’s eyes went back and forth multiple times as he looked at the idol and then at the image. “The eyes of the idol match that of your friend, but they look so different,” observed Wyatt with a tone of surprise.
“They are the same person!!” replied Dr. Magnus.
The person in the silver idol looked muscular, with a broad jawline, holding a mace on his left shoulder. He wore a simple loin cloth, a scarf around his shoulders, and his tail above and around his head.
“But, how can he help us?” asked Wyatt, mentioning, “He looks so simple.”
“You said the Pashupatastra is stolen?”
“Hmm..” Wyatt nodded and said, “but I don’t know what that is?”
“My friend, you need to start reading ancient scriptures.”
“I will, I will, but tell me about this weapon.”
Dr. Magnus smiled again and answered, “It is an Astra, meaning a weapon in English which is the second part of the word Pashupatastra.”
“Interesting!!”
“The first part of the word means Pashupati, another name for Lord Shiva.”
“Now, I get it; it’s a weapon of Lord Shiva,” informed Wyatt, reposing the question, “But how can your friend help us?”
“For two reasons, don’t interrupt and listen carefully!!” stated the Sorcerer.
Wyatt nodded in agreement as he pondered what was unique about this person’s abilities.
“My friend here is an incarnation of Lord Shiva, and as a small kid, he thought the Sun was a fruit, and he almost gobbled it up,” mentioned Dr. Magnus with a wide smile.
“Oh, Wow, but why did you tell me about the Sun?”
“Buddy, you need to learn to connect the dots. You mentioned Shadowcaster is in the Solar Realm, isn’t it?”
“Hmm, Yes.”
“Solar Realm is associated with the Sun, makes sense?”
“Oh yeah!!” replied Wyatt, as his eyes caught one more thing in the photograph, the signatures at the bottom. One was of Dr. Magnus, while the other was signed ‘HH.’
“Your friend’s name is HH?” further inquired Wyatt.
“Yes, we call him HH, short for Humble Hanuman!!”
“Wow, what an interesting name, but how do we send out a …”
Wyatt had not even completed his statement when the room was filled with dust, and the only thing they both heard was a loud sound.
“Claaaang!!”
******
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