10New Camelot was the shiniest gem of the British isles, and a still growing kingdom built on the ideals of equality, loyalty, and courage in and outside of battle.
It was one of the many nations of Rifts Earth, trough not one of the most powerful, such as the Coalition or the Republic of New Germany, but magic flowed strong within the land and many, human or not, could gather the power of the Ley Lines to combat the foes of their kingdom.
And the place where most of these magic wielders took refuge from the many dangers of this world was the fortress city of New Hogsmeade. This fortress was created using the base of what had remained of what once had been Hogwarts, a school where children of the old world had studied magic.
The building had been a bastion for centuries, both physical and moral, for the wizarding world in Britain during their darkest hours, so it was no surprise that, when nearly twenty years earlier when the Ley Lines of the world had been activated at full power like a the Cataclysm that had nearly destroyed the Earth three centuries ago, most wizards and several other magical beings had reunited at the castle to build their new refuge, for man and beast alike.
Now, under the guidance of King Ar'thuu and Merlin, Hogwarts was an actual city where wizards and D-Bees of many kinds lived under a sometime uneasy, but stable balance where they mixed magic and modern technologies. The castle itself had been enlarged many times to house everyone who sought refuge, including the more physical defenses in the case of a full assault, such as the four enormous towers needed to oversee the borders. Each of them had the banners of the four Hogwarts Houses, despite that system no longer being used.
Outside of the walls, cultivated camps extended for several kilometers, where the Druids practiced their herbal magic, while guards ensured no unwanted guests arrived. But the greatest addition to the whole area was the enormous Millennium Tree in the center of all. It was even taller than the aforementioned towers. Her branches where incredible, big, strong, and full of beautiful leaves while windows could be seen all over its surface.
Millennium Trees were, in fact, demi-sentient plants with enormous magical powers that allowed people to live in them with no problems. This particular tree was the home of a good thirty percent of New Hogsmeade's population and the location of several offices, including that of the mayor.
It was a nice morning in the beginning of June, and Harry Potter was enjoying the peaceful aura the tree emitted. The Battle Magus possessed a certain taste for battle, like many other of his colleagues, but, on occasions like this, he let his mind wander, knowing only what he could perceive in the purest state of mind.
The young wizard was a pretty muscular boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in Mega-Damage armor and a mantle of bear fur. On his right side was a vibro-blade and, on the other, a laser gun, which he combined quite efficiently on the battlefield with his spells.
Currently, he was going to the Weasley home for breakfast. He was more than capable of cooking for himself in the absence of Sirius or Remus, his guardians, but Molly's cooking was just too good to not have just one every time he went to Ron's family home for a mission or lesson with him.
Ginny liked to joke the only reason they were together was because of how much he loved the food her mother made. The young warrior took one last breath to fully enjoy the immense magical power that saturated the air thanks to the Millenium Tree and walked towards the home of his fianceè.
The home was a relatively small building with many mystical symbols and magical items upon it. On both sides of the house were chicken coops with many hens and some space for a cow. Harry knocked on the door, adorned with Lugh's symbol and, less than a minute later, he was greeted by a pretty muscular man ten years or so older than him with bright, shoulder length hair. He appeared to emit a strong heat, making his hair seem much more tremendous.
"Good morning, Harry. Here to grab Ron for work?" Bill asked. He was the eldest of the Weasley siblings, and the overall man of the house. The sheer heat around him indicated his nature as a Burster, an extremely powerful fire manipulator.
"Yes, and, by the way, is your mother still up there?" Harry asked with a smile. A delicious smell answered him before Bill could speak up.
"Let me guess, you're feeling too lazy to make your own breakfast? Don't worry, she's still in the kitchen."
The two then shook their heads and entered the home, which inside was simple yet comfortable, with a few furniture and photos that often depicted Harry himself. The kitchen and dining room were nearly full. Molly was a quite chubby woman of nearly fifty years with bushy red hair, dressed in full robes similar to those of the Druids. She had also lost an arm a few weeks earlier and was waiting for the next cargo of bio-systems to replace it, so most pates were being moved around via her telekinesis.
"Good morning, Harry!" The woman greeted the boy before she moved him to sit down with the others of the family. "Put yourself at ease!"
Percy, the third eldest son and the mayor's assistant, was present; he was a Zapper, gifted with electricity as Bill was with fire. Everyone politely welcomed their house guest, with one exception.
Ginny Weasley, the little fire angel of the house and a fervent believer in the god Lugh to the point of being one of his Priestesses, as her long white dress and staff proved. No matter what happened, she would be faithful to her patron and aid them in one way or another.
""Hello, Shrimp," She greeted Harry, while the various plates flew in front of everyone with a flick of Molly's only wrist.
"Hi, honey," Harry said, giving her a little kiss on the cheek before starting on his scrambled eggs.
The twins, Freed and George, both of whom were Technomages, were already out of the city for a mission.
"Sorry I'm late," Another voice said, preceding the second youngest member of the family, Ron Weasley. He was a bit taller and bulkier than Harry, with many freckles on his visage. He was also a Mystic, a medium who combined an outside combat magic with psychic powers. Compared to Harry, his armor was much lighter, but he had even more guns and even a bag full of grenades.
"Once again, awake all night playing with your damn chessboard?" Bill asked with a laugh at his little brother, though Ron did not seem fazed.
"They're the most realistic reproductions of fights in the village, and they saved your ass more than once if I'm not mistaken." The red haired boy replied with a middle finger.
"Hey, Ron," Harry said, shaking hands with his friend, who hurried to finish his own plate. "Today we're guarding the camp, and then have a few lessons and a patrol at the walls."
"Will Hermione be with us?"
"She should be working at the hospital most of the day, but we'll have Remus' lesson together," Harry answered again. A few minutes later, everyone went out to work, following a few last second recommendations from Molly. After all, even within New Hogsmeade, no one could be sure of what would happen in Rifts Earth. Although, in this time, the woman seemed to be particularly worried, even said, which led Harry and Ron to talk.
"Last night she held a photo of dad and Charlie to her chest," The young Mystic said with a sigh. His mother had fought tooth and nail for years while trying to control her powers, changed by the dimensional travel between this version of England and others, just as many others did including her sons. She had lost more than she could ever express, and it wasn't rare for her to cry when she thought no one was watching. Sirius, Harry's godfather, was quite like that sometimes himself, especially after talking with Remus about their school years.
But, after all, Molly's second son, Charlie, had died just three years earlier after entering into the Knights of the Round Table. Everyone was sure he could have gone far and, in a way, he did. He had stood his ground against a group of giants led by the Cernouns to let his teammates and wounded civilians escape. Even the king himself had spoken at the funeral.
As for Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, there had been no news of him since the Rifts' opening. The same day when those blasted portals had opened, the man had decided to try to fly an automobile he had created himself. A rudimentary experiment of technomagic, as some had defined it, but just half an hour after he departed the Ley Lines nearly exploded all over their old world, a force without equal.
The Rifts opened, and thousands, if not millions, of wizards in England alone were taken into a world of which they had no knowledge of, and many died just during the travel. It had taken many sacrifices and hardships to adapt to this new land, especially in the elimiation of certain traditions (as the wizards more grounded in them called them, though Ron and Harry and most who were raised on Rifts Earth considered them to be nothing more than stupid prejudices) regarding other magical creatures and D-Bees from the various dimensions.
And, of course, they managed to learn how use the technology of the world, technology that probably would have stunned Arthur if he were there. But he was dead. Just as Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Dedalus Lux, and several other wizards who had given up their lives for New Hogsmeade and Camelot. The two wizards passed in front of a weapons shop where a lizard woman was giving discounts for several weapons and ammunition. Both Harry and Ron took a bit of the latter while chatting on more cheerful things, until a weird cracking sound behind them interrupted their conversation.
Within a second, the duo pulled out their guns, fearing an attack, but what they saw instead was a rather wounded man who was still barely on his feet. This man was a very tall, muscular, dark skinned wizard with a mantle adorned with stars while the rest of his clothes were covered by mere fragments of armor, which was also stained by his blood while the burns on his skin were even worse.
"KINGSLEY!" The two boys shouted, at once running to help the wounded wizard before he fell over, others in the city already coming to the rescue.
Nevada, Seventeen Years After the Opening of the Rifts
The blinding light of the sun shined upon a ruined Ford Anglia. The vehicle was half buried in the ground, clearly there for quite a long time, given how much the metal had been damaged by the wind, rain, and sun. Several animals over the course of time had clearly made it their home for a while, like the rat sleeping under a chair.
A gloved hand touched a broken light with the affection of a parent and the nostalgia of an old friend. This gloved hand belonged to an older man in his fifties, dressed like an old-style pilot. On the top of his head there were large mechanics goggles, and he was armed with several weapons, while, under his pilot dress, was a very heavy Mega-damage armor
"Hello, I'm sorry it took so long for me to return. But coming here has awoken too many memories, including the moment that everything was taken away from me. Although you saved me that time," The man said, tears in his eyes before he took out a photo of his wife and their youngest child. "I've spent the last few years searching for them. I learned to fight, to use technomagic and to see the world in ways I never thought possible..all while escaping from the worst assholes this continent has to offer. Therefore…"
He was cut off by a clacson. The one who played said clacson was a figure dressed like a cowboy. Its skin was green and, instead of eyes and a mouth, it had odd protrusions that resembled a cactus, complete with spines. It was at the driver's seat of a large vehicle with no wheels, white and four seats behind were occupied by figures that, maybe, weren't truly human.
"Arthur! The plane for England departs tomorrow morning! You can stay here talking that piece of junk and lose your mind or you can come with us and find your family!" The humanoid cactus yelled with an annoyed female voice that came through from a device on her wrist.
"My apologies, guys, I'll finish immediately," Arthur said, turning back to the automobile "Thank you for resisting the Cataclysm and taking me to safety. Now, I will see Molly and our children again. I'll have to fight in an immense battle. If I manage to survive, I'll reforge you with my own hands. My companions have suggested making you into a Glitter Boy, but I want to make something that can help without killing other people….goodbye….keep this here while I'm in England."
The man finished by putting the photo of him and his wife and daughter under the dashboard, their figures greeting him with waved hands while he returned to his friends.
Arthur Weasley, after nearly twenty years, was about to find his family again and even if the forces of Hell tried to stop him, may the gods have mercy on them.
Here a list of Rifts' terms for your use and consume.
Ley Lines: The lines of magical powers that flows for all the planet(s). Most spellcaster can draw powers from them, and when two intersecate they create a Rifts. The Cataclysm on Rifts Earth was caused by a simultaneous burst of all of the Ley Lines, causing several natural disasters and more.
Rifts: Portals created by the union of two Ley Lines that takes who go across them in several worlds, one weirder than the others.
Mega- damage: term that applies to several armors and creatures against which actual weaponry doesn't work against. But is also used for the weapons, mostly energy based, and powers that can harm said creatures.
Vibro- blades: Weapons covered by a force field to inflict Mega- damage.
Cybernetics/ Bionics: Artificial implants to replace an organ or a limb. Many, called bionics, are made especially for combat and possess great endurance and strenght or hidden weapons. But psionics and mages who use them limit their reserves or energy and the quality of their powers. Luckily exist also implants that are nearly full organic, the bio- system, which give no problem to their users with little exception.
Psionics: Users of more or less varied and powerful psychic powers.
Battle Magus: Wizard that specializes not only in the usage of both magic and weapons, but also in a full control of his body, mind and spirit.
Mystic: Powerful medium that comines its great sensorial abilities with magic and psionics.
Technomage: Wizards and psionics that combine technology with magical gems to create powerful and wonderful machinery, powered by the inner powers of those who wield it.
Glitter Boy: Mighty power armors created even before the Cataclysm. These war machine of legend were the only hope of mankind during the centuries where technology was still nearly lost and magic was barely used. They are incredibly resilient and their main weapon is a sonic cannon able to destroy nearly everything. Most of the majestic walking tanks were passed from father to son and from teacher to apprentice for centuries.
Coalition: The dictatorial nation that taken most of the territory that once belonged to the US and a good part of Canada. They have no true education systems for the masses, are highly militarized and have an enormous hate for all magic users and most D- Bees.
Fourth rei... Ahem, the New Repubblic of Germany: The strongest human nation in Europe and perhaps on the Whole planet. Their technology is produced by Triax, a corporation that has a nearly full control of their country, to the point the vice president is a well their CEO.
New Camelot: The biggest nation in the british Island, founded upon the ideals of the old Camelot by a new King Arthur and Merlin. Its main forces consists of knights that come from every races.
King Ar' Thuu: The young king of New Camelot and a powerful psionic who wields X- Caliber ( technological version of Excalibur). He's a carismatic and generous leader with great trust and authority over his knight and people.
Merlin: The wise and kind... of, mentor and adviser of Camelot's king. The main reason the wizards of old Earth were so eager to join a kingdom that was barely born.
D- Bees: Humanoid and intelligent species from other dimensions.
Hello to everyone, I hope this prologue was of your liking. I discovered Rifts a few month ago and immediatly fell in love with its over the top ambientation and class, beetween them the Technomage, which made me immediatly think of Arthur. And so the overall plot of this fic( it will be 10 chapters or so, with perhaps a future sequel if I feel like it and the reception is good enough) was born. Let me know what you think and what could improve.
For now the chapters will be divided into what's happening in the present in Britain, and Arthur's adventure during his period in America, mostly how he met his party.
Happy new year, hoping again you will enjoy. Meanwhile thanks to my beta, sleepywritestuffnow, and Nomadic Chaos, that helped me set for a title.
P.S. More than a few things are probably different from Rifts' material, either because the arrival of Harry Potter's wizards changed them, or because I don't think I would able to write them properly: biggest example so far are the way Chi, with related martial arts, can be used, and Guinevere's nature.