Chapter 7 - Powers & Principalities [*] When: outside time and space as we know it Where: in the Nobles Council room inside the Star Tower on the world of infinite size that Birthed all worlds and stars in the known Time and Space, known as Titan. Who: a small appearing humanoid being, with a cherub-like smile, who prefers to go by the moniker of The Traveler.
"That should do the trick. Now to fold through infinite iterations until we find the right one. I know we can find him with the Imaginarium. He's still entangled with it," said the Traveler to himself, working on a console that lit up in the round table in front of him. The screen showing some kind of search occuring, with different worlds scrolling through the screen faster than any mortal eyes could perceive.
He was all alone in the room. Had been for a while now. Eternities if he still measured time the way he had back when he'd first met Joshua Magnus. He remembered the first time he'd heard about him, his roommate wouldn't stop ranting about this dude that ran tabletop roleplaying games that were just next level if he was to be believed. Turns out, the guy was pretty fun to play games with. Joshua started out as a new player and in a semester had become the favorite DM of many in the group. He had a knack for paying attention to the player's personal interests and work them into the narrative somehow in a way the player could interact with meaningfully. Between that and his capacity for getting players that normally can't get along outside of a game to love playing the game together, the group became too large to stay as one. It split off into many that would swap players every few weeks as their characters died or separated from that group. Lots of lifetime friendships were made around the tables of his games. And more than one enemy as well. 'None of us could have expected back then what had eventually happened to us all.'
He looked around the Councilroom of the Nobles. The long empty seats of friends lost in a battle across all of Time-Space and Beyond. The Nobles and their allies The Titans had created an infinite number of variations of all worlds in an attempt to win against the forces of Entropy. It had only proved a holding action in the long run. Now, even the great machine in the heart of the infinite motherworld Titan itself was beginning to fail. When it finished failing, the barrier around the original timeline of this universe created by the infinite timelines of the Birthworlds of Titan will begin to fail. Those timelines will begin to fall to the true enemy of reality and all who exist within it, an unknowable force of utter oblivion. Anything that has ever come into contact with it has been erased from existence. Such is its power that those who can see it's effects often go mad as their minds reason through the implications. Many of those who fall to the madness almost seem to worship it like a primitive worships the gods of fire that light it's campfire at night.
He shook his head at the memories. "They had no clue. None of us knew what we were really fighting. Except for him. I can't enact the plan before I figure this out. Because we failed. And if he really is a paradox, his reason to be so must be to allow us to groundhog day all of reality to fight this thing. That's why he had us build the Imaginarium. He gave us infinite power and never forced us to do anything, just let us choose for ourselves. Why? What did he see that I don't yet? What was his plan?" The words echoed through the empty chamber, further punctuating his despondent tone.
He felt his stomach lurch, not hunger as he didn't need to eat at this point in his evolution. No, this is something energetic, he can feel it in his being. Because it's a magic that touches his domain, the domain of travel. A portal opens behind him, in the shadows just beyond the doorway in the hall.
"I'll have to adjust the lights out there. Why do you dare enter this place?" The Traveler asked calmly and plainly. Not even looking away from the console displaying search results scrolling by.
"I come with something you seek," said the raspy wheeze of the being known on the world of Changing Stars as the Night Trader.
"That's no reason not to end you where you stand." Said The Traveler coldly.
"Perhaps, but if you do, you will not gain that which you seek beyond all else."
"What could you know of that?" Flashed a tenor of incredulity from the being known as The Traveler.
"The reason I'm still alive. I owe him. He asked me to tell you when I saw him again. And I have, in one of my avatars bodies I did sense him. Felt his magic fresh and new, I had to go take a look. As best I can tell it's him from earlier in his timeline than I've ever seen him before." Said the being with many cursed names, in his guise as a fat human man with a greasy thin ponytail and pale white three-piece suit with buttons on the vest straining from his girth. A cane in his left hand, looking strained as he uses it to stand steady.
"Why would magejosh save you? He killed you, twice. Nothing you say can be trusted." Traveler began mentally commanding the rules of magic and technology around him to close all means of travel off into a loop back on themselves. He had no intention of letting this thing escape.
"Because we were friends once, he said to me when I asked that same question, and that he knows even I am redeemed some day. So if that's true, this dying reality is not the end, and that stirs something in me I didn't know I still had the capacity for." The Night Trader said solemnly.
The Traveler stopped what he'd been focusing on, the energy to rip the Fat Slug of a Soul apart instead relaxing again as he speaks, "So, you will lead me there to the world where you found him because you believe you can escape me somehow in the process and make it to the fantasy future you're clearly insanely dreaming of where you find redemption. Is that the plan?"
"Not exactly. I will give you my eye, with it you can track my avatar to the world he's manifest on. Then you can go ahead and kill me." He replied.
"Wait, what? You're not trying to go Obi-Wan are you? You do remember he is the good guy right?" The Traveler asked, turning fully towards the Night Trader.
"No, not at all. This form cannot be redeemed, but I can if I transform through death again. That is my way forward. I know that now. You on the other hand have only just begun your journey. He's going to need you or he'll never become who we both need him to be. And if he's right, we do need to use him as he's intended us to do." Said the fat man as he eased his way into a chair at the round table.
"Which eye do I need?" The Traveler asked, looking pointedly at his adversary.
"Oh, neither of these will do. You need the one I traded to Mr. Deets, as that is the one connected to that particular avatar." He said in response, almost amusedly.
The Traveler touched a button on the console in front of him on the table surface. The surface opened in the blink of an eye, and revealed the heart of the Imaginarium. The Traveler called on his Domain Authority as the Principality of Space And Time, folding space around the Night Traveler to hurl him into the burning heart of the core of the infinite reality machine called the Imaginarium. He spaghettified instantly as he crossed the event horizon of the table's opening, his very being folding around an infinite scale of time and space, ever diluting through an infinite number of eternities as his essence burns in the heart of the machine.
He touched the button again and the table sealed away the fate of that incarnation of the Night Trader, "Thanks for the information." And with that he stood up, knowing now where he needed to go. Back into the Last War. At least then, Mr. Deets was an ally. He would be able to ask for the Eye and then follow the trail and at least check out the story while the Imaginarium continued to search as well.
He began walking, the world around him folding away as his intention set where his steps would take him, he sets the rules in that Domain.
-_-
The Traveler stepped onto the streets of New Vegas, the reality warping effect of his magic around him fading as he stepped up the stairs of the Grand Casino of New Vegas. When he approached the doors, a concierge rushed his direction and held the door open for him. "I am your VIP Liaison, anything you need please let me know and I will facilitate your every pleasure during your stay," said the young man with Deer Horns sticking out of his head and hooves for feet, but human face and hands, and wearing a nice suit.
The Traveler said politely, "I'm here to speak with Mr. Deets. You'll want to let him know."
The liaison looked surprised, "Of course, Right Away." They quickly pull out a small handheld device from their pocket and speak to it quietly in another language. A short moment later they turn back, "Right this way sir."
The Traveler had been staring at the people here engaging in decadence and subtle evils, slowly eroding their souls in this funhouse grinder of morality, when the liaison broke his musings. He silently followed them to an elevator.
[*] When: 03.13.993 A.C. - 2311 hours F.C.T. Where: inside The Queen's Bedchambers in the The Queen’s Palace located in Amberhall, the capital of Tyrnolique on the world known as Changing Stars. Who: The Queen of Tyrnolique, Lysary, a half-elf.
The storms outside the palace whipped wind through the halls of the capital. But there was no wind or noise of storms inside the opulent bedchambers of the Queen of Tyrnolique. The air is heavy with the scent of dragon's blood and sandalwood incense, casting a hazy, ethereal glow over the room. The queen sits upon her lavishly decadent throne-like bed, adorned with the regal insignia of her station: the royal crown, pulsating with a faint, otherworldly energy.
With a deep breath, the queen closes her eyes, allowing her mind to drift into the realm of visions. Suddenly, she finds herself standing on the precipice of a dark and desolate landscape, shrouded in swirling mists. In the distance, a red star blinks ominously, casting its eerie gaze upon the scene below.
Before her, a cosmic game unfolds, like a grand chessboard of fate. Strange and powerful beings, each seems to be representing cosmic forces beyond mortal comprehension, manipulate the pieces with what appears to be a chilling indifference. Demons and undead swarm across the board, their twisted forms contorted in grotesque displays of power as they slaughter knights and wizards and other heroes of every imaginable size and type on the board.
Amidst the chaos, the queen's gaze is drawn to three figures that stand out amidst the cosmic tapestry of power on the grand chessboard. A human man, his features partly concealed behind a purple hooded cloak and beard, moves with a strange kind of grace across the board, his eyes twinkling with uncanny charm. Beside him, a bison with flaming eyes and hooves charges forward, trampling everything in its path with reckless abandon. And finally, an elf girl, her face hauntingly familiar yet shrouded in mystery, watches the unfolding chaos with a knowing gaze. None of the dark beings or forces of chaos ransacking spaces on the board and forces around them seem able to cut the three figures down though. Each of the three moves protectively around a space on the board marked with a symbol she would know anywhere. The symbol of her nation's crest, the family crest of her mother, the queen before her. They seem to be defending it.
As the vision unfolds, the queen senses a deep foreboding in her heart, a sense of impending doom that threatens to consume everything in its path. She sees naked people in yellow masks dancing in some kind of unholy ritual on a beach somewhere as something dark and tentacled opens an eye beneath the waves. She sees cloaked figures in dark crimson robes with daggers slashing out at her back from the darkness. But amidst the darkness, she glimpses a faint glimmer of hope, a slender thread of light that pierces the shadows like a beacon in the night. Purple and Green Lightning flash in her eyes.
With a start, the queen awakens from her trance, her heart racing with the weight of her vision. Hastily, she records every detail, knowing that the fate of her kingdom hangs in the balance. Her breathing still ragged, she reaches for the magical quill and journal on her bedside table. She flips the journal open and places the quill tip upon the first blank page and says, "Record, I've had a vision of ill portents and signs of those who might help us through them.." She continues recounting every detail she can, the quill magically moving across the page transcribing her every spoken word.
Once she is sure that each detail she can recall has been committed to the pages of her dream journal. She reaches for a bell on her bedside table and rings it to summon her Seneschal. With that she begins to order her thoughts into a series of commands she'll ask him to see to.
[**] When: outside time and space as we know it Where: in the New Vegas Board Room inside the Grand Casino on the world of infinite size that Birthed all worlds and stars in the known Time and Space, known as Titan. Who: a man and woman, immaculately dressed, who prefer to go by the names The Devil in the Details and The Lady of Grace. Though they call each other Mr. Deets and Mrs. Grace.
Mr. Deets looked over the last revisions to the strange contract spell he'd been working on, one of the most complex and masterful works he'd ever done. Though, to be fair, he'd only been trying to improve something he'd been given by a friend long ago, when they were still enemies.
As he reminisced about that day long ago, he heard his wife enter his office. He looked up around the oval shaped room, exquisitely decorated in the finest furnitures and art. His eyes locked onto the love of his immortal life, she who made his rationally dark heart beat. Her dark features and red cocktail dress were enough to cause heart attacks in mortal men as she sauntered towards him. He rose from his seat like a man possessed, as if propelled by a tune none but he could hear, he danced across the space between them spinning into her arms and sweeping her back deeply into a kiss hot enough to ignite the stars in the skies.
They are both breathless as they stand upright again, she says, "Mr. Deets I do declare, you set my veins on fire when you ravage me like that. Surely you are done with your work for now and might see to the fine details of our marriage contract." That last is punctuated with a smile and a sultry wink, as her dress falls to the floor.
He grins, "Mrs. Grace, I find your exercise of the statutes of our agreement to be well within your rights and cannot refuse your most polite request." He leans in to begin ravishing her, as he hears a beeping from his desk.
Her eyes roll, "Go ahead and get it," she says snapping her fingers as her dress magically reappears on her body, without a single wrinkle.
Mr. Deets groans and walks back to his desk, tapping a sigil etched into the darkwood surface of the desk. A display window appears above the desk, showing the lobby with the VIP guest.
Mrs. Grace opines, "He looks a lot older than the last time we saw him doesn't he?"
"Indeed, much older, intriguing." Mr. Deets remarks. He taps another sigil and sees them begin moving towards the elevators. Mrs. Grace moves to the bar and begins making a pair of drinks. The elevator door dings and begins to open in the hall outside the room's open door. The Traveler steps off the elevator and turns towards the open door.
"My friend, how are you doing today? How can I help you?" Asks Mr. Deets as he waves The Traveler into his office. Mrs. Grace hands a drink to Mr. Deets as The Traveler approaches, and offers the other drink in her hand to him. He shakes his head and she shrugs before taking a sip.
"I am not here for a long time or a good time today. I am on something of a mission to hopefully bring our mutual goals to fruition." The Traveler says briskly.
"Well in the spirit of our people's partnership, how ever can I assist your mission's swiftest resolution my friend?" Mr. Deets asked him earnestly, with a southern sounding charm to his big frame's bassy resonance.
"Excellent, I am in need of artifact I'm told you were traded. The Eye of the Night Trader." The Traveler reveals.
Mr. Deets lets a look of surprise cross his face before his natural poker face reasserts itself as he somberly replies, "That's not good, not good at all." He picks up the scroll on his desk and rolls it up as he gestures to it, "I traded it for this, a long time ago. Long before we became friends, when we were still opposition in The Great Game and had still not met each other in person yet."
"To who?" The Traveler asked, his shoulders slumped slightly at that news. He was more than a little apprehensive about who it might have been traded to. In the Many Worlds of the Imaginarium, there are many ancient and powerful beings which might be the type the dark lord of New Vegas would do business with. None are one you might want to make a deal with or owe a favor to, not if you had anything approaching sanity or rational thinking capabilities. Nor are any entities like that feeble enough to just attack them or try to steal from them outright. 'No, this might get very tricky,' thought The Traveler.
"I actually don't know, I was just thinking about that day. Which is why I had this out," Mr. Deets explained. "I was trying to remember the trade, but, it's just a fake memory of some unseen friend offering me the scroll for the eye."
"Interesting, when was that?" Asked The Traveler as he looked at the scroll in Mr. Deets hand.
"You don't think?" Began Mr. Deets, "We didn't?"
"It would explain the memory, who else would you have called a friend at that time in your life?" The Traveler reasoned.
"Right then," Mr. Deets finishes his drink and sets it on his desk. He looks to his wife, "Mrs. Grace, I'll be back to finish that negotiation shortly. Please let the board know I'll be gone for a bit." Then to The Traveler, "Ready when you are." His face a devil may care grin as he tucks the scroll under his arm and stands beside The Traveler. A cane appears in his hand and he taps it onto the floor, a flash and they are beyond the border of New Vegas.
He offers the scroll to The Traveler, "This should contain the Temporal Signature you need to lock onto."
The Traveler looks at the scroll, through all layers of reality, focusing into its shape through time, seeking out the event his ally was referring to. He was about to fold them back into their own timelines, this would cause a paradox, but luckily they had already figured out what kind it was.
The world around them began to warp, the Traveler said, "This way." And Mr. Deets followed.
[**] When: before the Ascension of New Vegas Where: in the New Vegas Board Room inside the Grand Casino on the world of infinite size that Birthed all worlds and stars in the known Time and Space, known as Titan. Who: Mr. Deets and The Traveler.
The two beings step through the warp in time and space and out onto the streets outside the Grand Casino. The Traveler says, "Surely you have a way to get up there without being seen by everyone?"
He grins, "What would be the point of that? I'm the C.E.O. and what I say goes. There is a benefit to proper management of power."
"We don't want to create new paradoxes though," The Traveler reminded him.
"We don't have to worry about it, since it didn't happen and we already know this happened. All we have to do is walk in and make the deal." And with that Mr. Deets walked up the steps and the doors to the casino opened for him, welcoming him like it knew him. The Traveler shook his head and followed his carefree companion.
Neither of them noticed the well dressed man standing just down the street watching them as they appeared and then walked inside the casino. Anton, the Chief Security Officer of the New Vegas Board thought to himself, 'What are you doing Mr. Deets, you have to know I'll see you colluding with the enemy.' He pulled out a phone and tapped a speed dial contact, waiting for it to pick up before saying, "We have a problem."
[**] When: 03.14.993 A.C. - 0031 hours F.C.T. Where: inside The Queen's Bedchambers in the The Queen’s Palace located in Amberhall, the capital of Tyrnolique on the world known as Changing Stars. Who: Seneschal Torrian, a human male and The Queen of Tyrnolique, Lysary, a half-elf.
Seneschal Torrian slipped into the queen's bedchambers quietly, casting his eyes around the room he saw her crown glowing on the top of her head as she sat with her legs over the side of the bed. He moved to her side as he said gently, "My Lady, I'm here for you."
She lifted her eyes to his, the sunken expression and tears on her face tugged at his heartstrings as she said to him, "I need you to handle something quietly for me."
"Anything you need, it is yours to ask," He responded.
"Copy the details from my last entry in the dream journal here on my table. Send messages to the Governors and ask if they have had any strange reports in their states. Check with the generals and the Nightwhisperers as well. Do not give details, only look for them. Find all the Diviners that have been vetted and task them with divining details about the vision from my dream using those details in the journal. Report all findings back to me as they are gained," came the orders of the Queen, direct and rapid fire as she rattled each item in the list off to him. Her solid stature sways slightly as she sighs.
"Right away your Majesty, are you okay? Is there anything you need?" He asked her, concern clear as can be in his tone. Even as he says it though, he is moving towards her side, but a raised arm from her waives him off. He takes the journal and begins reading the entry. Then slides a topaz lens from a small velvet bag he pulled from his pocket onto the journal page and over the words on the page as he whispers an activation incantation. The magical light from the lense captures the words on the page below it and stores them within.
"I will live, perhaps a nocturna tea though to help me get back to sleep. I cannot afford to miss my sleep tonight with everything I have to do tomorrow." She tells him.
"I will have it for you shortly my Lady. Please excuse me," He responded, waiting for her permission to turn and leave.
"Of course, thank you my friend," She said, thinking it wouldn't be the worst thing if he were to cuddle into the bed with her after her tea. 'I better not, I really do need the sleep,' she thought.
[***] When: outside time and space as we know it Where: in the Nobles Council room inside the Star Tower on the world of infinite size that Birthed all worlds and stars in the known Time and Space known as Titan. Who: a small appearing humanoid being, with a cherub-like smile, who prefers to go by the name Traveler. He is being spied upon by another of the Nobles, the Lantern.
"What are you doing?" Asked The Traveler, as he tapped away on a holographic screen. He scanned the bit of temporally transversive code he'd detected active inside the Imaginariums memory matrix. Then his eyes bulged as he decoded a message within it that was using his own signature.
It wasn't a complex message, just two words blinking as he decrypted them:
'Forget this.'
"What am I supposed to do with that? Clearly it came from me, but why would I tell myself to butt- out?" He ruminated to himself aloud, even as he failed to notice his hands had deleted the findings and then he unceremoniously forgot all about what he'd found.
He blinks and looks at the console, just displaying a dashboard of activity within the Imaginarium. "Everything looks to be operating well, I think it's time for breakfast." And with that he rose to go find something to eat, leaving the room after turning off the console.
The Lantern waited to step out of the cocoon of light he'd wrapped himself in, patience teaching him long ago to leave enough time to make sure The Traveler doesn't double back into the room. Once he is reasonably certain it's been enough time, he releases his grip on the light folded around his form and moves to his own console at the round table. He has to know what just happened.
He'd also learned long ago not to rely on his ability to beat any of the other Nobles with a computer system, instead he pulls up the security system. And replays the light recorded in the room, filtering it to reconstruct the display on The Traveler's console screen clearly enough for him to read it. A temporal search for the first incarnation of magejosh. Authorized by The Traveler. 'What's that about?' The Lantern questioned, his investigative brain latching onto this new mystery. He couldn't have let this go if he wanted to, it is his responsibility to make sure the Nobles maintain security ethically. They had all agreed to leave their own timelines alone long ago now. This was a violation of that agreement.
He gathered his power, tapping into the Light within the temporal code searching through the Imaginarium, tapped his staff to the ground and his whole body and essence transmuted into a cloud of radiant energy, he passed into his console using it as a bridge to the temporal code where he latched-on to ride it to its destination.
[***] When: 03.14.993 A.C. - 0503 hours F.C.T. Where: in the Queen's chambers inside the The Queen’s Palace located in Amberhall, the capitol of Tyrnolique on the world known as Changing Stars. Who: Seneschal Torrian, a human male and The Queen of Tyrnolique, Lysary Qel'De'la'croix, a half-elf.
Torrian: "My Queen, your Governors report nothing amiss to their knowledge but will conduct a survey and keep us posted. The Generals are in the War Council Room awaiting your debriefing them. The Royal Diviners are now retasking to work on the meaning of your vision you had last night. None of the Nightwhisperers have returned anything we did not already know about."
Lysary: "So no news, you could have just said that."
Torrian: "News is news, even if it's not what you want to hear."
Lysary: "A valid answer isn't always the best answer."
Torrian: "Point Conceded to my better."
Lysary chuckled, "Another wasted effort to convey information as that outcome was known already."
Torrian acted mock offended as he responded, "An effortless jab from beneath that crown My Lady. We should get you to breakfast and then the War Council, it sounds like they will want to spend a good bit of time with you this morning."
Lysary frowns at that, "Do we have to? Who can I send in my stead? What's Lor or Berynor doing today?" She rises from her bed as she asks that and heads towards her vanity to look at herself in her full length mirror. She picks up a platinum handled brush from the vanity and waves it like a wand as her hair reforms itself into a beehive like arrangement of braided locks, with some spilling free onto her shoulders. The mirror begins showing her different outfits, she navigates through them using the brush like some kind of remote control activated by swishing motions of her wrist.
"Yes it has to be you, Your Majesty. Their budgets need to be renewed, and the law requires you to review their accounting and achievements for the last year with their commanders. Lor will be there, Berynor is out of the capitol today and should be returning next week with Prince Faxinus and his diplomatic delegation for the conference." Torrian pauses as he watches her selecting her outfit, "That will not flatter your exiting form."
Lysary glances towards Torrian with a smirk, "And since you follow me around all day you'd prefer a nice view. Is that what you are saying?"
Torrian's face gets slightly red as he struggles to maintain his composure, "I could never admit that I would want anything other than the world to see your glory, My Lady."
Her face lights up as she giggles at his response, "Well spun my faithful Seneschal. Of course we couldn't have that," she says and swishes her wrist moving through the options for outfits again. Then she spots something she is sure will fulfill his request.
[***] When: 03.14.993 A.C. - 0530 hours F.C.T. Where: in the Dining Hall inside the The Queen’s Palace located in Amberhall, the capitol of Tyrnolique. Who: Seneschal Torrian, a human male and The Queen of Tyrnolique, Lysary, a half-elf.
She looked around the dining hall, her outfit far more revealing than he would have selected for her. But, he lived to serve her, so what she deemed appropriate he would have to learn to live with. It would certainly draw all attention in any room she entered. He reminded her they didn't have a lot of time, so she should try to finish eating.
"Torrian, with what I saw last night, we have larger problems than some budget meeting. I am not thrilled to spend half my day wasting away with that. That is the whole reason I implemented a senate in the first place. So the people could be responsible for the oversight of the secular aspects of governing the country." Lysary reasoned to him before spearing a quail egg with juneberry and tsa-tsara jam and taking a bite.
He casually rebuffed her reasoning with practiced ease, "Of course your wisdom knows no bounds Your Majesty, and in that bounty you have granted a provision for the Senate to require Crown Oversight if they feel the need. And the people did vote for that in regards to military spending. So, by your own decree, we must still do this meeting and review this morning."
She stuck her tongue out at him before saying, "Of course you would use my own words against me, I thought you were supposed to be on my side."
"I would suggest, since I am adhering to your decree by my actions, I am indeed on your side." He quipped back at her. Their playful discourse keeping the mood light and still on task. The building good mood was quickly squashed as a maid entered the room pushing a dining cart with a single dish-cover made of silver on an onyx plate resting in the center of the cart. She placed it silently in front of the Queen and wheeled her cart back out of the room.
The Queen leaned away from the dish as Torrian reached over her lap, placing his body between hers and the dish as he opened it, just in case. Inside was a simple parchment card with a message upon it.
'An Ambassador and an Arbiter from the Accord Security Council have just teleported into the capital and are seeking an audience with the Queen.'
Torrian smiled, "This should make you happy."
Lysary leaned forward as he moved out of the way to read the card he had revealed. "Oh, this means I can declare an emergency and empower you to do the review in my place."
Torrian frowned, "Or you could at least go there and make a show of listening to placate the senators until the Ambassador and Arbiter interrupt us to ask for a formal audience."
Lysary pouts, "You are no fun. Fine, lets go do this."
