Excerpt: When Worlds Collide (Tentative)

Alex did not realize how late it was until the door bell rang at 6:30.
“Mom, I got it!” Alex called up the stairs to his mother.
Of all people to be at the door, Alex was greeted by who he might have least expected: two police officers.
“Good day, officers,” Alex said. “May I help you?”
“Is this the residence of Mr. Fenix?” one of the officers asked.
“It is,” Alex said. “What may I do for you?”
“Is Mrs. Fenix at home?” one asked.
Alex could see from there expressions that not all was well.
“Why don't you come in?” Alex suggested. “I will summon the Mrs.”
Alex walked up the stairs such that he was a point where he wouldn't have to shout.
“Mom?” he said. “There are some police officers here to see you. It sounds important.”
He returned to the first floor and showed the officers into the kitchen.
“Do sit down,” Alex told them. “My mother will be down in just a minute.”
Mother came down the stairs, looking most shocked to see two police officers sitting at her kitchen table.
“Officers! What may I do for you?” she asked.
“Mrs. Fenix?” one of the officers said. “There has been...an incident.”
“Oh?” Mother said.
“Your husband was driving on I-87 when he was sideswiped by a pickup truck. His car spun off the roadway and flipped. EMTs rushed to the scene, but they were too late.”

Soveliss led Lung out of the chamber. They were in a hallway now, decorated with long columns lining the wall, covered in traditional Elvish architecture. The end of the hallway opened into a balcony, facing a massive waterfall that crashed into the river below. The compound in which they resided was built directly into the side of two mountains which formed a valley, with the river flowing between.
On this balcony was the scrying pool. Soveliss dipped his hand into the clear water and drew it out again. He then waved his hand over the pool. The image of clear water was gone. Almost as if looking out a window, Lung found himself looking at a patch of snow-covered ground.
As he continued to watch, a female humanoid with flowing red hair entered the image. Lung couldn't tell if she was Elven or human. She waved her hand in front of her, then brought both hands together, clearly getting ready to cast a spell.
She opened her palms so that only her fingertips were touching. A ball of energy began to form in the open space. She brought her hands apart as the ball grew in size, and then turned her palms outward. The ball floated a couple inches away from her, and then suddenly elongated itself and formed a sort of portal, which the female promptly step through.
Lung couldn't believe he was witnessing this. He knew what it was. This was research that the Metallic Dragons were conducting just before the start of the war. He thought that anyone with knowledge of this would have been long dead. It bothered him even more that this humanoid sorceress was able to produce something that even the dragons had thought to only be theoretical.
“What do you make of it?” Soveliss asked.
“That...that is impossible,” Lung answered.
“You've seen something like this before?” Soveliss asked.
“Never seen,” Lung answered. He would have to be careful not to reveal too much information about Dragon-lore here. “Only read about. According to legend, the dragons were conducting research on this very thing just before their great war. It was supposed to be theoretical.”
“But what is it?” Soveliss asked.
“It's a reality portal. It works on the same concept as a gate spell, except, instead of crossing planes of existence, it crosses multiverses.”
“Is that even possible?” Soveliss asked.
“It's not supposed to be,” Lung answered. “If someone had managed to collect enough knowledge-through lost scrolls, tomes, and such of Dragon-lore, they might be able to fabricate a ritual. But to have the knowledge-the sheer, Arcane knowledge-to rip a hole in the fabric of reality without the assistance of, say, three dozen master wizards? This sorceress is a danger to all of us, as well as everyone and everything in that multiverse. Where is this location?”