Amorak looked over and saw the guy still on the ground, unconscious. He walked over to him and tried shaking him awake. He realized that he was muttering something. When he leaned in closer, he heard him say, "...d/h = ((((T / SK) + (T * -0.390527)) / (((T + -0.421559) * (SK + (SK + ((SK / (SK + (((T * -0.39954) + (SK + (T / SK))) + SK))) + SK)))) / T)) * -0.376824)..."
He looked up. "Um, a little help here guys?" Alsifar waved his hand and the guy jerked. Then he woke up. He looked around for a little bit while sitting up. "Um, where am I?" Alsifar said, "where you need to be." "Uh, ok."
After they had all settled down and introduced themselves to the new guy, he stood up and said, "I guess I should tell you guys who I am. My name is Juslnitlaaicnalienaenlfmaifenacnaldortnaicmvaoidtor; however, you can call me Justor. I come from a world where magic is abundant. I myself am a master of light and sound." When he said that, he raised his arms and the area around them seemed to suddenly bend and twist as if reality itself was being messed with. Then he lowerd his arms and it all suddenly went back to normal. "I think what happened that made me get here was a glitch on an Interdimentional Matter Transportation Matrix, or the IDMTM for short. It was going to be a way to get from place to place without the use of magic. I was beta testing it, and it must have had something wrong and ejected me here."
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The Quest
Alsifar Suddenly Appeared The unexpected Coldness of his Silver eyes Held Everyone Where they were. Jacob Strained Against its force trying to Reach Farther Toward Elsteba “DO NOT TOUCH HER!” He Roared, the Invisible Force Pulling his arm Away. “ There had been a Shadow of the Umbering here, And It has already Taken its First Hostage! Elsteba is in the hold of the Umbering now, as long as it has a hold upon her, the Shadow Lives off of her lifeforce. If any of you would have touched her you too would have been feeding its life. Gammon Athelia!”
The Watch on Jacobs wrist Jerked slightly and Athelia Appeared, Gammon looked Shocked and Relived at the same Time “Both of you! You are our greatest Protection against this darkness, I am Disappointed in how you have both Let your Guard Slip so far. if you would have stood together instead of let your individual Day Dreams run away with you this never would have happened! I did not allow Dr. Russle to give you a second life for no reason!” Alsifar Banged the Butt of his crystal Staff on the Ground and with a Flash a bright light illuminated the area.
In the light they all could clearly see a Writhing Black Mist about Elsteba. He held his hand up towards it. “be gone!” he commanded. There was another burst of Light and the mist dissolved. Elsteba let out a Gasp and fell unconscious. “Athelia and Gammon Make a perimeter, and make sure the shadow is gone, don’t let your minds stray from your Duty.” With a Bow they both floated away from camp.
Alsifar let out a sigh “I have much to tell all of you, but first everyone must be awake and well.” he walked over to Amorak and his hands began to shine with a Bright Nimbus of Light. “Awake Amorak “ he said putting a hand over his face. “you are needed here” Amoraks eyes flashed open. He tried to throw the hand away but could not move. Alsifar Moved to Elsteba and said “Awake, and Be well” waving his hand over her. She gasped again and woke but could not move. He finaly moved to the burnt personage that lay on the ground. He pointed his palm toward him and his burns and wounds began to mend.
When he finished, the Oppressive force Lifted and Alsifar let out a deep breath and leaned on his Crystal Staff. The use of his power had obviously taken a toll on him.
“you all are here for a specific reason, me and my Order chose you all because it was you three who had it within you to Either help me Restore Existence back to its previous balance or create a new one. However some of you took longer to get here than others…” he looked meaningfully to the Dazed looking Person who had just recovered from his burns. “introductions are far past time, I must introduce you all to the Mission. It’s quite simple we need to save Everyone and Everything from the Umbering.”
Jacob had heard the word before, he had heard his father use it under his breath several times when he was working, “what is the Umbering?” he asked slightly angry that his own father had kept so many secrets from him. “A good question, but a hard one to answer, The Umbering is a Growing Darkness, its wish is to destroy all light.” This didn’t really Mean any danger to Jacob, so what if the umbering destroyed all light, living in darkness wasn’t really all that hard. “I don’t see the danger, I see inconvenience, but not danger.” Jacob said crossing his arms. “Jacob, your thinking of normal light, I am talking about the light of free life. the Umbering wishes to Control Dominate and Manipulate the Light of Life and thus extinguishing it forever. You will learn more of this later for now that is all you need know of the Umbering”
Elsteba Was Still quite frightened, though since she had been roused from unconsciousness, she had felt peace, a little too much peace for what had just happened, she knew it had somehow been placed inside her. “what was that thing!” she said standing up, remembering how it had approached her in a dream and then touched her with a touch so cold she woke up to find it real. “that was one of the Many creations of the Umbering. Made from Light it has already destroyed. Its one of its pets. It was partially my fault it came here. I am sorry you had to experience what you did.” She was angry at Alsifar for Disrupting her Peaceful Life
“Your not near sorry enough!” she yelled at him, her hands grinding into fists,
“ I want to go home! I didn’t have the most Exiteing Life but at least it was safe! Things like this aren’t supposed to happen!”
“Elsteba calm down…” alsifar tried,
“no! send me home, you can do it I know you can, all I was trying to do was get to class and you Pulled me off my own world into this Nightmare!”
“I didn’t bring you here, now calm down and i will explain…”
“what do you mean!!!? You just said You and your order chose me!” she was now very close to alsifar and almost ready to hit him.
“you Elsteba came here by Accident. You where never meant to be a part of this Adventure.” Dumbfounded she stepped back, “what are you talking about?! Why am I here then!?”
alsifars silver gaze never wavered, it was slightly comforting, “I don’t know why you are here” he said,
“ the others where ment to be here, but how you came here specifically I don’t know, it still puzzles me. You came through when the Umbering tried to Attack your world, it found the place of least resistance and tried to come through, but you stopped it somehow and fell through the hole it made to get to your world. You saved your world and didn’t even know it.” he winked.
“Now, as I was saying before the umbering came for Amorak, would you care to tell us why amorak or should i?”
Amorak grunted, annoyed “ I am a key” Alsifar Nodded, “a key to a very complicated lock, a key that sits in the key hole ready to be turned, either to lock tight or to open forever. Amorak is the key to the Umberings cage.”
“I can speak for myself” amorak said even more annoyed “that vision you saw, on your watch Jacob, that is what happened to me, I don’t remember everything but I do remember at least now that if I were to be used for good I would save existence but if I were used for evil I would release the storm of darkness and destroy everything. If I were also to die anything but a natural death the umbering would be released as well…it’s either I hide until I die of old age or the darkness breaks free. That is why I came here! And all of you had to ruin it!”
alsifar Tuted Amorak. “ for one so old you are quite selfish, Amorak is only one way to defeat the umbering or to release it. But it is his task to Discover how to Control his Power over the Prison of the Umbering. How the Shadow made it here was bolth because of me and because of him, as I departed my station the Umberings gaze followed me and saw amorak through the key hole and before his prision prevented him he sent the shadow through to get amorak and take him to his followers. Luckly this guy showed up.” Alsifar Pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the newcomer who still looked dazed.
“Alsifar Can you send me home? As I am not needed here can I just go home” Elsteba asked suddenly. Alsifar smiled she obviously had been in deep thought “only through the hole you came, and I doubt you want to do that, it would allow the umbering access to your home. There are other ways but those options aren’t open yet…well there is Jacob… and as for you not being needed, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, you could be useful. I since I first saw you I felt the Fire in you” she didn’t seem to pay attention to the last half of his sentence.
“ Jacob? How could Jacob send me home?”
Alsifar smiled “ Jacobs watch is the way we will be traveling from now on. He is the one who is going to take us world to world till we find the other way to defeat the umbering.”
Jacob Looked up quizzically at Alsifar “What?” alsifar smiled wider “that is your role Jacob, you are the one who, if the umbering escapes, will defeat it, and so you needed a way to get to where the umbering is. The watch. You have great power in you Jacob.” Jacob also ignored the statement alluding to his hidden power.
“my father built the watch, how did you know what it would do!”
alsifar sighed “as I said before, I know your father. I gave him the design and some of the materials for the watch. He knew and trained you for the time when you would be called upon to save existence. I also gave him what was left of Gammon and Athelia to serve as your protectors, as your world Was already being Absorbed by the Umbering.”
“wait a minute if the umbering is imprisioned how can he be destroying worlds and sending shadows out?” Jacob asked
“when Amorak was made the Key, A key hole also had to be made, as you can Peek through a Keyhole so can it, it can also push some things through, it is trying to find ways to make the key hole bigger so it can just step through out of its prison, and still have a fortress where nothing can go, but this to we must stop. Your world Jacob was the first he tried to do this with, it attached the keyhole to the core of one of your suns so that he could manipulate it's power and make the Keyhole larger... but it wasn't totaly efficient the Star now runs On some of the power of the Keyhole as well... it has discovered other ways or draining power from its prison. very horrible ways.” Amorak grunted “I have heard enough talk, now that we know the problem what do we do to fix it.”
Alsifar nodded “ first we need to get off this world, I fear that the umbering may have alerted his followers to this location, we must leave this world, and then we must search for the wepon, and the way to close the door.”
The Watch on Jacobs wrist Jerked slightly and Athelia Appeared, Gammon looked Shocked and Relived at the same Time “Both of you! You are our greatest Protection against this darkness, I am Disappointed in how you have both Let your Guard Slip so far. if you would have stood together instead of let your individual Day Dreams run away with you this never would have happened! I did not allow Dr. Russle to give you a second life for no reason!” Alsifar Banged the Butt of his crystal Staff on the Ground and with a Flash a bright light illuminated the area.
In the light they all could clearly see a Writhing Black Mist about Elsteba. He held his hand up towards it. “be gone!” he commanded. There was another burst of Light and the mist dissolved. Elsteba let out a Gasp and fell unconscious. “Athelia and Gammon Make a perimeter, and make sure the shadow is gone, don’t let your minds stray from your Duty.” With a Bow they both floated away from camp.
Alsifar let out a sigh “I have much to tell all of you, but first everyone must be awake and well.” he walked over to Amorak and his hands began to shine with a Bright Nimbus of Light. “Awake Amorak “ he said putting a hand over his face. “you are needed here” Amoraks eyes flashed open. He tried to throw the hand away but could not move. Alsifar Moved to Elsteba and said “Awake, and Be well” waving his hand over her. She gasped again and woke but could not move. He finaly moved to the burnt personage that lay on the ground. He pointed his palm toward him and his burns and wounds began to mend.
When he finished, the Oppressive force Lifted and Alsifar let out a deep breath and leaned on his Crystal Staff. The use of his power had obviously taken a toll on him.
“you all are here for a specific reason, me and my Order chose you all because it was you three who had it within you to Either help me Restore Existence back to its previous balance or create a new one. However some of you took longer to get here than others…” he looked meaningfully to the Dazed looking Person who had just recovered from his burns. “introductions are far past time, I must introduce you all to the Mission. It’s quite simple we need to save Everyone and Everything from the Umbering.”
Jacob had heard the word before, he had heard his father use it under his breath several times when he was working, “what is the Umbering?” he asked slightly angry that his own father had kept so many secrets from him. “A good question, but a hard one to answer, The Umbering is a Growing Darkness, its wish is to destroy all light.” This didn’t really Mean any danger to Jacob, so what if the umbering destroyed all light, living in darkness wasn’t really all that hard. “I don’t see the danger, I see inconvenience, but not danger.” Jacob said crossing his arms. “Jacob, your thinking of normal light, I am talking about the light of free life. the Umbering wishes to Control Dominate and Manipulate the Light of Life and thus extinguishing it forever. You will learn more of this later for now that is all you need know of the Umbering”
Elsteba Was Still quite frightened, though since she had been roused from unconsciousness, she had felt peace, a little too much peace for what had just happened, she knew it had somehow been placed inside her. “what was that thing!” she said standing up, remembering how it had approached her in a dream and then touched her with a touch so cold she woke up to find it real. “that was one of the Many creations of the Umbering. Made from Light it has already destroyed. Its one of its pets. It was partially my fault it came here. I am sorry you had to experience what you did.” She was angry at Alsifar for Disrupting her Peaceful Life
“Your not near sorry enough!” she yelled at him, her hands grinding into fists,
“ I want to go home! I didn’t have the most Exiteing Life but at least it was safe! Things like this aren’t supposed to happen!”
“Elsteba calm down…” alsifar tried,
“no! send me home, you can do it I know you can, all I was trying to do was get to class and you Pulled me off my own world into this Nightmare!”
“I didn’t bring you here, now calm down and i will explain…”
“what do you mean!!!? You just said You and your order chose me!” she was now very close to alsifar and almost ready to hit him.
“you Elsteba came here by Accident. You where never meant to be a part of this Adventure.” Dumbfounded she stepped back, “what are you talking about?! Why am I here then!?”
alsifars silver gaze never wavered, it was slightly comforting, “I don’t know why you are here” he said,
“ the others where ment to be here, but how you came here specifically I don’t know, it still puzzles me. You came through when the Umbering tried to Attack your world, it found the place of least resistance and tried to come through, but you stopped it somehow and fell through the hole it made to get to your world. You saved your world and didn’t even know it.” he winked.
“Now, as I was saying before the umbering came for Amorak, would you care to tell us why amorak or should i?”
Amorak grunted, annoyed “ I am a key” Alsifar Nodded, “a key to a very complicated lock, a key that sits in the key hole ready to be turned, either to lock tight or to open forever. Amorak is the key to the Umberings cage.”
“I can speak for myself” amorak said even more annoyed “that vision you saw, on your watch Jacob, that is what happened to me, I don’t remember everything but I do remember at least now that if I were to be used for good I would save existence but if I were used for evil I would release the storm of darkness and destroy everything. If I were also to die anything but a natural death the umbering would be released as well…it’s either I hide until I die of old age or the darkness breaks free. That is why I came here! And all of you had to ruin it!”
alsifar Tuted Amorak. “ for one so old you are quite selfish, Amorak is only one way to defeat the umbering or to release it. But it is his task to Discover how to Control his Power over the Prison of the Umbering. How the Shadow made it here was bolth because of me and because of him, as I departed my station the Umberings gaze followed me and saw amorak through the key hole and before his prision prevented him he sent the shadow through to get amorak and take him to his followers. Luckly this guy showed up.” Alsifar Pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the newcomer who still looked dazed.
“Alsifar Can you send me home? As I am not needed here can I just go home” Elsteba asked suddenly. Alsifar smiled she obviously had been in deep thought “only through the hole you came, and I doubt you want to do that, it would allow the umbering access to your home. There are other ways but those options aren’t open yet…well there is Jacob… and as for you not being needed, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, you could be useful. I since I first saw you I felt the Fire in you” she didn’t seem to pay attention to the last half of his sentence.
“ Jacob? How could Jacob send me home?”
Alsifar smiled “ Jacobs watch is the way we will be traveling from now on. He is the one who is going to take us world to world till we find the other way to defeat the umbering.”
Jacob Looked up quizzically at Alsifar “What?” alsifar smiled wider “that is your role Jacob, you are the one who, if the umbering escapes, will defeat it, and so you needed a way to get to where the umbering is. The watch. You have great power in you Jacob.” Jacob also ignored the statement alluding to his hidden power.
“my father built the watch, how did you know what it would do!”
alsifar sighed “as I said before, I know your father. I gave him the design and some of the materials for the watch. He knew and trained you for the time when you would be called upon to save existence. I also gave him what was left of Gammon and Athelia to serve as your protectors, as your world Was already being Absorbed by the Umbering.”
“wait a minute if the umbering is imprisioned how can he be destroying worlds and sending shadows out?” Jacob asked
“when Amorak was made the Key, A key hole also had to be made, as you can Peek through a Keyhole so can it, it can also push some things through, it is trying to find ways to make the key hole bigger so it can just step through out of its prison, and still have a fortress where nothing can go, but this to we must stop. Your world Jacob was the first he tried to do this with, it attached the keyhole to the core of one of your suns so that he could manipulate it's power and make the Keyhole larger... but it wasn't totaly efficient the Star now runs On some of the power of the Keyhole as well... it has discovered other ways or draining power from its prison. very horrible ways.” Amorak grunted “I have heard enough talk, now that we know the problem what do we do to fix it.”
Alsifar nodded “ first we need to get off this world, I fear that the umbering may have alerted his followers to this location, we must leave this world, and then we must search for the wepon, and the way to close the door.”
Thursday, November 27, 2008
the new arrival
An explosion suddenly rocked the whole scene. The demonic... thing reeled back from the sudden attack. Gammon, seeing his chance, stabbed it in its core. It fell back, flailing its many tendrils, into the water. The whole lake started to boil as the thing screamed once-an earpiercing, horrifying scream-and then started to dissolve.
Gammon stood there, panting, expecting to feel elation at killing the beast but feeling none. A groaning noise startled him. He looked towards where the noise was coming from and saw a kid lying there in the ground. He looked a little scorched, and he rolled over and groaned again. He rushed over to Master Jacob, then saw Elsteba lying there, in shock. "Help me!" Jacob cried. "If I don't get her out of this, she might die!"
Gammon stood there, panting, expecting to feel elation at killing the beast but feeling none. A groaning noise startled him. He looked towards where the noise was coming from and saw a kid lying there in the ground. He looked a little scorched, and he rolled over and groaned again. He rushed over to Master Jacob, then saw Elsteba lying there, in shock. "Help me!" Jacob cried. "If I don't get her out of this, she might die!"
Sunday, November 23, 2008
a battle at the speed of light.....
But as soon as Jacob had gotten the watch looking wrist band, off of his wrist the small fabric like elastic that had engulfed his wrist when it first took to his arm sprung out of it again, searching for something, with in a matter of seconds the stupid thing had re attached its self to his wrist. What is this thing? Jacob thought as he accepted the fact that the he would never get rid of it, he had attempted to remove it the night before a few times only to the same effect, the stupid thing would just reattach its self in a matter of seconds. father what did you give me? He thought as he looked at the watch witch was now glowing a bright blue. A few seconds later a small soft humming sound started coming from the watch, then the Figure of Athilia appeared over head as he sat up in his bed roll that Amarok had showed him how to make before he went back to sleep. Amarok had been doing that the past couple of days, waking up only to give a bit of useful information, only to fall asleep a few seconds later. Alsifar' had told them something like this would happen, before he left to saving what he could from his ships dibree, he had also said He will come out of it when his mind finishes rustling with its self, and comes to a conclusion that will change the face of this universe and the others of this and many other existence’s.
Athilia looked some what startled to find her self where she was, hovering over Jacob. “Jacob… why did you summon me? I was enjoying the stars as all of my people use to do so long ago…” her voice trailed off but her gaze did not, she was annoyed with him and he knew it, what’s more SHE knew he knew she was annoyed with him. “I am sorry Athilia I didn’t mean to summon you, I must of rolled over on the Watch or something… sorry about that. Maybe that is why the watch was freaking out on me a second ago?” he posed it to her as if it where a question that she needed to answer. But instead of doing so she simply floated away after giving him another glare that would have melted Iron. With a shrug Jacob laid back in his bed roll and stated to go back to sleep.
Gammon was panicked; he had just seen something he never thought would have happened, the love of his life, and indeed after life, killed by dark Tendrils from beyond where he could see her blue light never to be known by another, or ever to be seen by him again. He raced mile after mile it seemed over hills and plains over lakes and rivers, to get back to where Master Jacob was, so he would not be alone. Unbeknown to him however he was leading the second greatest darkness, and there for danger the planet had ever known to the group. As he raced he fought off the tendrils of darkness as they attempted to engulf him, as they had done to his love, with his sword of energy, cutting off thick black tentacle after thick black tentacle.
As he approached the sight of the fire, he herd himself scream at the top of his longs, now having a far enough lead on the darkness to scream. “The darkest night is coming!!! To arms brothers and sister! To arms! Help me Friends! Slay the one that has slain my beloved!...” as he approached the camp his yelling grew more frantic and more instance. But no one was moving, he was almost on top of them and they where not doing anything… why don’t they help me? The thought in a panic they said they are my friends, why do they not stir when I call?? The panic that had almost taken him was now replaced with anger, anger and the demon that now assailed him, anger at his so called friends for not aiding him in his fight. He stood over Jacob, his back turned to him as he slumbered protecting his master from the demon, but he did not do so willingly, if it where to his free will Gammon would have turned there and stabbed the dammed traitor in the throat right then for not aiding him when he called, but he could not, for Athilia loved and charged Gammon with the traitors protection. Gammon was a man of his word, and that kept him from hurting Jacob... no matter how much he wished to.
He stabbed and slashed frantically at the beast, his sword moving faster then light, the darkness however somehow matched him in speed, sending tentacle after black oozing tentacle silently after him and his companions, but he fended them off, ever and ever he fought, he fought for what felt to him like an eternity, never tiring, and his friends still never string to help him in his plight.
The two moved in a dance of death faster then has ever happened in the known record of time, sword vs. demonic black tendril, moving faster then light, faster then death… faster then life….
As Jacob sat there in the dark, he felt a flurry of motion at his back. So much that the wind was moving at Gail force speeds! He hurried and jumped out of his bag, yelling to the others to wake up and get moving toward shelter, but the Gail over powered his tenor voice. So he crawled on his hands and knees over to the Elstaba to wake her up, she was frozen stiff with terror and while she was awake she couldn’t move… or even scream…..
Athilia looked some what startled to find her self where she was, hovering over Jacob. “Jacob… why did you summon me? I was enjoying the stars as all of my people use to do so long ago…” her voice trailed off but her gaze did not, she was annoyed with him and he knew it, what’s more SHE knew he knew she was annoyed with him. “I am sorry Athilia I didn’t mean to summon you, I must of rolled over on the Watch or something… sorry about that. Maybe that is why the watch was freaking out on me a second ago?” he posed it to her as if it where a question that she needed to answer. But instead of doing so she simply floated away after giving him another glare that would have melted Iron. With a shrug Jacob laid back in his bed roll and stated to go back to sleep.
Gammon was panicked; he had just seen something he never thought would have happened, the love of his life, and indeed after life, killed by dark Tendrils from beyond where he could see her blue light never to be known by another, or ever to be seen by him again. He raced mile after mile it seemed over hills and plains over lakes and rivers, to get back to where Master Jacob was, so he would not be alone. Unbeknown to him however he was leading the second greatest darkness, and there for danger the planet had ever known to the group. As he raced he fought off the tendrils of darkness as they attempted to engulf him, as they had done to his love, with his sword of energy, cutting off thick black tentacle after thick black tentacle.
As he approached the sight of the fire, he herd himself scream at the top of his longs, now having a far enough lead on the darkness to scream. “The darkest night is coming!!! To arms brothers and sister! To arms! Help me Friends! Slay the one that has slain my beloved!...” as he approached the camp his yelling grew more frantic and more instance. But no one was moving, he was almost on top of them and they where not doing anything… why don’t they help me? The thought in a panic they said they are my friends, why do they not stir when I call?? The panic that had almost taken him was now replaced with anger, anger and the demon that now assailed him, anger at his so called friends for not aiding him in his fight. He stood over Jacob, his back turned to him as he slumbered protecting his master from the demon, but he did not do so willingly, if it where to his free will Gammon would have turned there and stabbed the dammed traitor in the throat right then for not aiding him when he called, but he could not, for Athilia loved and charged Gammon with the traitors protection. Gammon was a man of his word, and that kept him from hurting Jacob... no matter how much he wished to.
He stabbed and slashed frantically at the beast, his sword moving faster then light, the darkness however somehow matched him in speed, sending tentacle after black oozing tentacle silently after him and his companions, but he fended them off, ever and ever he fought, he fought for what felt to him like an eternity, never tiring, and his friends still never string to help him in his plight.
The two moved in a dance of death faster then has ever happened in the known record of time, sword vs. demonic black tendril, moving faster then light, faster then death… faster then life….
As Jacob sat there in the dark, he felt a flurry of motion at his back. So much that the wind was moving at Gail force speeds! He hurried and jumped out of his bag, yelling to the others to wake up and get moving toward shelter, but the Gail over powered his tenor voice. So he crawled on his hands and knees over to the Elstaba to wake her up, she was frozen stiff with terror and while she was awake she couldn’t move… or even scream…..
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
A Perplexing Dilemma
Athelia looked up from her thoughts. She had been wondering of the state of the world; more specifically, her world. When they had left that dimension so suddenly, it had seemed as if the very fabric of time had been thrown into chaos. All their work, hers and Dr. Russel's, had been for nothing. And when we were so close...
She looked out across the landscape, her gaze settling on the group of her new acquaintances. They were circled around a campfire, wrapped in large leaves they were able to find in the forest, and were currently sleeping the night away. Athelia used to revel in her inability to grow weary - it meant she had more time and effort available to channel toward research, toward Dr. Russel's experiments when he finally had collapsed from exhaustion. Tonight, however, she longed for nothing more than being able to close her eyes and forget the issues of the universe, as her companions were doing.
She averted her gaze and instead looked to the sky, marveling at the millions of twinkling lights that blanketed the heavens. Each one had its own story, its own bit of life to share, swirling with energy. If she could only reach out and grab that energy, she felt as if her existance would finally make sense-
"Gazing at the stars again, are we mistress?"
Athelia turned to face Gammon. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough."
"You just got here, didn't you?"
"Possibly."
Athelia couldn't hide a grin. Gammon had the habit of being mysterious, although he usually failed at his attempts, and looking rather silly after doing so.
"I want to see those stars, Gammon," she said, "I want to be up there with them."
Gammon eyed her surprisedly. "Athelia, are you going back to your Caelvitanian beliefs? You all but abandoned those decades ago."
"I'm not sure. I guess it's just the strain these past few days of alternating between frantically surviving and not doing anything has just got me a little on edge. But it's true. I want the stars in my hands again. I feel dark without them here with me." She did indeed seem dimmer than usual.
"Athelia, we've been having this discussion ever since I met you. The stars aren't alive. They are big masses of energy and light hovering over a bend in the fabric of space. It's impossible for something so structurally simple to sustain life, let alone contain it."
"What are we, Gammon? We aren't even as great as the stars - we don't have the energy or the gas or near the size of a star, and yet we exist. We live. We create. Is it really so difficult to imagine something greater than us also has these gifts?"
Gammon sighed. Athelia's irroneous beliefs that stars were the paradisical beings that watched over the cosmis were foolish, but eons of bickering hadn't changed her mind any other way. Caelvitanians, he thought. Who'd have thought such foolish people once held the greatest technology in the history of the universe before the natural selection process of life decided their collapse?
Gammon started. He had realized something. Athelia was getting dimmer. He glanced at himself to see that he was as well. What is going on?
"Athelia! We need to get back to the others now!"
She looked into his eyes, still filled with wonder and longing. "You go ahead. I will say my goodnights to Master Jacob in a moment. For now, I need to reaquaint myself with the stars. Who knows? If this is indeed a separate dimension, there may be new ones to know."
Gammon flew away to get a better view of what was happening. What he saw terrified him.
From the darkness behind Athelia - behind where he was just standing - tendrils of an unnaturally dark energy were reaching out for the both of them. Athelia was still gazing at the stars, half focused, oblivious to what was happening.
"Athelia!" Gammon shouted, but she didn't hear him. The tendrils wrapped their way around her until the head was all that was visible. Her light was so dark now it was difficult to even know she was there.
With a sudden constriction, the tendrils engulfed the area where Athelia was standing. There was a gust of gossamer-thin light whisps, then all evidence that Athelia had previously occupied the space had vanished.
Gammon tried to scream. He tried to call for help. He tried to jump forward at the essence that had just taken Athelia away from him. All he knew was that a moment later he was speeding as fast as he could to the safety of the camp, where the fire still glowed.
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Jacob woke with an excruciating pain in his entire arm. His entire body seemed to be convulsing with the sheer agony. He looked at his arm to distinguish the source of the pain. What he saw startled him.
The wristband that Dr. russel had given him was surging with power at an astonishing rate. Electric arcs were leaping off of it and linking to his skin, hence the pain.
With a yell, he frantically scraped at the latch holding it in place. In his panic, he jumbled with the catch for a few moments before he managed to rip it off of his wrist and thrust it to the ground.
She looked out across the landscape, her gaze settling on the group of her new acquaintances. They were circled around a campfire, wrapped in large leaves they were able to find in the forest, and were currently sleeping the night away. Athelia used to revel in her inability to grow weary - it meant she had more time and effort available to channel toward research, toward Dr. Russel's experiments when he finally had collapsed from exhaustion. Tonight, however, she longed for nothing more than being able to close her eyes and forget the issues of the universe, as her companions were doing.
She averted her gaze and instead looked to the sky, marveling at the millions of twinkling lights that blanketed the heavens. Each one had its own story, its own bit of life to share, swirling with energy. If she could only reach out and grab that energy, she felt as if her existance would finally make sense-
"Gazing at the stars again, are we mistress?"
Athelia turned to face Gammon. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough."
"You just got here, didn't you?"
"Possibly."
Athelia couldn't hide a grin. Gammon had the habit of being mysterious, although he usually failed at his attempts, and looking rather silly after doing so.
"I want to see those stars, Gammon," she said, "I want to be up there with them."
Gammon eyed her surprisedly. "Athelia, are you going back to your Caelvitanian beliefs? You all but abandoned those decades ago."
"I'm not sure. I guess it's just the strain these past few days of alternating between frantically surviving and not doing anything has just got me a little on edge. But it's true. I want the stars in my hands again. I feel dark without them here with me." She did indeed seem dimmer than usual.
"Athelia, we've been having this discussion ever since I met you. The stars aren't alive. They are big masses of energy and light hovering over a bend in the fabric of space. It's impossible for something so structurally simple to sustain life, let alone contain it."
"What are we, Gammon? We aren't even as great as the stars - we don't have the energy or the gas or near the size of a star, and yet we exist. We live. We create. Is it really so difficult to imagine something greater than us also has these gifts?"
Gammon sighed. Athelia's irroneous beliefs that stars were the paradisical beings that watched over the cosmis were foolish, but eons of bickering hadn't changed her mind any other way. Caelvitanians, he thought. Who'd have thought such foolish people once held the greatest technology in the history of the universe before the natural selection process of life decided their collapse?
Gammon started. He had realized something. Athelia was getting dimmer. He glanced at himself to see that he was as well. What is going on?
"Athelia! We need to get back to the others now!"
She looked into his eyes, still filled with wonder and longing. "You go ahead. I will say my goodnights to Master Jacob in a moment. For now, I need to reaquaint myself with the stars. Who knows? If this is indeed a separate dimension, there may be new ones to know."
Gammon flew away to get a better view of what was happening. What he saw terrified him.
From the darkness behind Athelia - behind where he was just standing - tendrils of an unnaturally dark energy were reaching out for the both of them. Athelia was still gazing at the stars, half focused, oblivious to what was happening.
"Athelia!" Gammon shouted, but she didn't hear him. The tendrils wrapped their way around her until the head was all that was visible. Her light was so dark now it was difficult to even know she was there.
With a sudden constriction, the tendrils engulfed the area where Athelia was standing. There was a gust of gossamer-thin light whisps, then all evidence that Athelia had previously occupied the space had vanished.
Gammon tried to scream. He tried to call for help. He tried to jump forward at the essence that had just taken Athelia away from him. All he knew was that a moment later he was speeding as fast as he could to the safety of the camp, where the fire still glowed.
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Jacob woke with an excruciating pain in his entire arm. His entire body seemed to be convulsing with the sheer agony. He looked at his arm to distinguish the source of the pain. What he saw startled him.
The wristband that Dr. russel had given him was surging with power at an astonishing rate. Electric arcs were leaping off of it and linking to his skin, hence the pain.
With a yell, he frantically scraped at the latch holding it in place. In his panic, he jumbled with the catch for a few moments before he managed to rip it off of his wrist and thrust it to the ground.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Waking Revelations
Amorak slowly opened his eyes to the faces of all those he had met in the past few days. At first, he got a warm feeling inside, but this was quickly replaced by a wall of indifference that had sheltered him for his entire life. He pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"Back off, people," he said irritably. Obediently, they took a few paces back. Never once did they take their eyes off of him.
Each of them bore a different expression. Elsteba looked as if she was fighting the wishes of every muscle in her body to run up to him and throw her arms around him. Jacob wore a film of slight impatience, though failing to hide the happiness inside. Both of the holograms, Gammon and Athelia, were hovering over the rest, almost directly between Amorak and the sun. The light made it impossible to see their faces; indeed, it was a wonder he had even known they were there in the first place.
Then he saw a new face, one he hadn't seen at first. This face was older by far - he appeared to be in his mid-fifties. What shook Amorak far more than his appearance, however, was the expression that it contained; interest, concern, and maybe a little ... fear?
"What happened?" Amorak asked hesitantly, directing the question to the whole group but never taking his eyes off the newcomer. Something didn't feel right about him.
Jacob started to respond, but Elsteba cut him short. "It was really incredible! Remember that bright light? It was actually a spaceship owned by Alsifar here." She gestured at the newcomer. "According to him, you saved us. That is so cool, Amorak! How did you do it?"
This revelation was enough to distract Amorak from Alsifar. "...What?"
"Oh, don't be so modest, Master Amorak," Gammon said, "We are all trembling with anticipation. Do tell us how it happened."
"Maybe I can assist our oung friend here," Alsifar said. Amorak's eyes snapped back to Alsifar's, judging his every move, assessing every word he spoke. He couldn't put a name or reason to it, but something about Alsifar made every fiber in Amorak's body scream out ENEMY.
Whether Alsifar noticed or not, he made no mention to it. "The light you saw eirlier was indeed my spacecraft, but Amorak shielded the whole planet from the true intensity of the light. Otherwise, you all would be blind at best, and burned to a crisp at worst.
"From the minute he sensed something was wrong, his body started seeping out a dark mist, nearly invisible, which blanketed the entire planet with several shades of darkness. If my light hadn't ben present, it would have seemed like the darkest night you have ever seen."
The others all looked at Amorak with a mixture of speculation and awe, but Alsifar retained his same level of concern, if not more so. Amorak returned the look in kind.
Athelia seemed to understand at least a bit of the interaction between Alsifar and Amorak, and decided to steer down a different path. "Let us be joyful now," she said, clasping her hands together, "We are all still alive and well. Let us look on toward the future with high hearts and happy spirits. Jacob, be a dear and help me look for something that we may prepare for dinner."
This was taken as a general gesture to disperse. Alsifar turned his back on Amorak, hiding his gaze from the young man.
As soon as Amorak was free of the old man's gaze, he immediately relaxed - maybe too much. His body reminded him through his aches that it was not done resting yet. Obligingly, Amorak, laid back down on the earth, his mind full of thoughts of new possibilities. Dark mist? When was I able to do that? Then he remembered his vision; the darkness of the chamber, the chanting figures, and the single figure on the table...himself. It was too much to take at the time; Amorak was still tired, and his body was commanding him to rest.
The last thing he heard before he fell into a dreamless slumber was Jacob saying, "Oh great, he's going back to sleep..."
"Back off, people," he said irritably. Obediently, they took a few paces back. Never once did they take their eyes off of him.
Each of them bore a different expression. Elsteba looked as if she was fighting the wishes of every muscle in her body to run up to him and throw her arms around him. Jacob wore a film of slight impatience, though failing to hide the happiness inside. Both of the holograms, Gammon and Athelia, were hovering over the rest, almost directly between Amorak and the sun. The light made it impossible to see their faces; indeed, it was a wonder he had even known they were there in the first place.
Then he saw a new face, one he hadn't seen at first. This face was older by far - he appeared to be in his mid-fifties. What shook Amorak far more than his appearance, however, was the expression that it contained; interest, concern, and maybe a little ... fear?
"What happened?" Amorak asked hesitantly, directing the question to the whole group but never taking his eyes off the newcomer. Something didn't feel right about him.
Jacob started to respond, but Elsteba cut him short. "It was really incredible! Remember that bright light? It was actually a spaceship owned by Alsifar here." She gestured at the newcomer. "According to him, you saved us. That is so cool, Amorak! How did you do it?"
This revelation was enough to distract Amorak from Alsifar. "...What?"
"Oh, don't be so modest, Master Amorak," Gammon said, "We are all trembling with anticipation. Do tell us how it happened."
"Maybe I can assist our oung friend here," Alsifar said. Amorak's eyes snapped back to Alsifar's, judging his every move, assessing every word he spoke. He couldn't put a name or reason to it, but something about Alsifar made every fiber in Amorak's body scream out ENEMY.
Whether Alsifar noticed or not, he made no mention to it. "The light you saw eirlier was indeed my spacecraft, but Amorak shielded the whole planet from the true intensity of the light. Otherwise, you all would be blind at best, and burned to a crisp at worst.
"From the minute he sensed something was wrong, his body started seeping out a dark mist, nearly invisible, which blanketed the entire planet with several shades of darkness. If my light hadn't ben present, it would have seemed like the darkest night you have ever seen."
The others all looked at Amorak with a mixture of speculation and awe, but Alsifar retained his same level of concern, if not more so. Amorak returned the look in kind.
Athelia seemed to understand at least a bit of the interaction between Alsifar and Amorak, and decided to steer down a different path. "Let us be joyful now," she said, clasping her hands together, "We are all still alive and well. Let us look on toward the future with high hearts and happy spirits. Jacob, be a dear and help me look for something that we may prepare for dinner."
This was taken as a general gesture to disperse. Alsifar turned his back on Amorak, hiding his gaze from the young man.
As soon as Amorak was free of the old man's gaze, he immediately relaxed - maybe too much. His body reminded him through his aches that it was not done resting yet. Obligingly, Amorak, laid back down on the earth, his mind full of thoughts of new possibilities. Dark mist? When was I able to do that? Then he remembered his vision; the darkness of the chamber, the chanting figures, and the single figure on the table...himself. It was too much to take at the time; Amorak was still tired, and his body was commanding him to rest.
The last thing he heard before he fell into a dreamless slumber was Jacob saying, "Oh great, he's going back to sleep..."
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
What Is Your Purpose?
Elsteba looked out over the land, her emotions turning over in her stomach. She sat on an outcropping that overlooked the whole area she had become familiar with the past few days. From her perch, she could see the vast expanse of the ocean, as well as the small island that Amorak lived on, as well as the place where the other three members of the party now stood. Amorak was still out cold with no real guess as to when he would arise.
Now that she was alone, without the constant strange happenings occuring everywhere she looked, she got her first real opportunity to mull over what had happened over the course of the few days.
Where am I, she thought, and how can I get home? And then outloud, projecting her voice out as far as she could, "Where am I?!?"
The only response was her own anguished voice crying back to her from off in the distance. She felt so very alone, and so very homesick. Jacob had been sent here from his home, and this was Amorak's home. As for Alsifar, from what he had said, he didn't really have a home, and even then he still had come willingly and knowingly. Only she didn't have a real reason to be here; she didn't even know how she got here, and much less what she was supposed to do now that she was here, if she was supposed to do anything.
She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She felt so feeble and weak for even thinking these things. At home (wherever home was) she had been tough and independent. Whenever a boy had approached her with the assumption that she was easy, they quickly learned otherwise. At home, she was a master. Here, she could barely be considered a puppet, and likely no more useful than a rock thrown at a mirror.
"Having a rough time, little one?"
Elsteba whirled around, startled. Standing behind her, barely visible in the sunlight, was Athelia.
"Don't scare me like that!" Elstema yammered out, "I nearly swallowed my lungs!"
Heart still pumping, Elsteba stood up. How long had she been there?
"I am sorry. I could tell you were thinking, and what you were thinking about was causing you some concern."
"...you are correct," said Elsteba. Then she turned her back on the teacher and stared out over the ocean, not looking at any particular thing.
Without looking, she could feel that Athelia was still there, watching her. How she longed to be alone with her thoughts, so she could at the very least savor the peace of the moment.
"Do you wish to talk, little one?" asked Athelia tentatively, "I am a hologram, and so I am a very good listener."
Elsteba almost immediately flatly refused her offer, but something inside her begged to tell, needed to spill her sorrow onto another person. A sorrow shared was a sorrow relieved.
"...alright," Elsteba said finally, "Just promise you won't tell the others."
"You have my word."
So Elsteba recounted her past. She told of how the school system always seemingly treated her unfairly, how she had always felt as if something was wrong, and how she had no real friends. She then talked of what had happened in the transfer tube, how she got stuck, how she walked through abyss, and how she eventually found herself on the patch of grass.
"...And even when I was comfortable, Amorak stormed over the next morning and got mad at me for laying on his property," Elsteba concluded, "I don't blame him or harbor any mean thoughts. I just think of how fate must enjoy keeping me constantly unhappy."
Athelia was silent for a small while, and Elsteba couldn't make out her facial features to distinguish what she was thinking - she was hard enough to see in the light, any attemp to make out details was futile.
"You have been under a great deal of stress," she finally said, her eyes kind and full of motherly affection. The look puzzled Elsteba, for she had never seen that expression directed at her before. "However, " Athelia continued, "you show great promise, little one. To be as strong as you are and still be able to feel these emotions...that shows you are among the great of your kind. You are a prodigy, and, sadly, prodigies are rarely happy for a great deal of time into their lives.
"But do not lose hope, little one. You have the power to shape a wonderful future for a great many people, and in so doing, find your true happiness. Have faith. When you find your happiness, it will be greater than the happiness of anyone else in existance, and you can count yourself among the great and true of all time."
Elsteba was left astonished at her words. To think she may be a prodigy was, of course, absurd. She was a normal person who has had a lifelong string of bad luck, and that was all. And yet...
A warmth from deep inside of her filled Elsteba with a simmering passion. She could feel it working through every fiber of her being, from the tips of her fingers to the tapers of her hair. For the first time in her life, she had an overlying purpose blossom forth. She didn't yet know what the purpose was, but the mere feeling made her leap inwardly with joy.
Athelia watched her with quiet amusement, then said, "Come, little one. Your friend stirs and will wake soon."
Now that she was alone, without the constant strange happenings occuring everywhere she looked, she got her first real opportunity to mull over what had happened over the course of the few days.
Where am I, she thought, and how can I get home? And then outloud, projecting her voice out as far as she could, "Where am I?!?"
The only response was her own anguished voice crying back to her from off in the distance. She felt so very alone, and so very homesick. Jacob had been sent here from his home, and this was Amorak's home. As for Alsifar, from what he had said, he didn't really have a home, and even then he still had come willingly and knowingly. Only she didn't have a real reason to be here; she didn't even know how she got here, and much less what she was supposed to do now that she was here, if she was supposed to do anything.
She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She felt so feeble and weak for even thinking these things. At home (wherever home was) she had been tough and independent. Whenever a boy had approached her with the assumption that she was easy, they quickly learned otherwise. At home, she was a master. Here, she could barely be considered a puppet, and likely no more useful than a rock thrown at a mirror.
"Having a rough time, little one?"
Elsteba whirled around, startled. Standing behind her, barely visible in the sunlight, was Athelia.
"Don't scare me like that!" Elstema yammered out, "I nearly swallowed my lungs!"
Heart still pumping, Elsteba stood up. How long had she been there?
"I am sorry. I could tell you were thinking, and what you were thinking about was causing you some concern."
"...you are correct," said Elsteba. Then she turned her back on the teacher and stared out over the ocean, not looking at any particular thing.
Without looking, she could feel that Athelia was still there, watching her. How she longed to be alone with her thoughts, so she could at the very least savor the peace of the moment.
"Do you wish to talk, little one?" asked Athelia tentatively, "I am a hologram, and so I am a very good listener."
Elsteba almost immediately flatly refused her offer, but something inside her begged to tell, needed to spill her sorrow onto another person. A sorrow shared was a sorrow relieved.
"...alright," Elsteba said finally, "Just promise you won't tell the others."
"You have my word."
So Elsteba recounted her past. She told of how the school system always seemingly treated her unfairly, how she had always felt as if something was wrong, and how she had no real friends. She then talked of what had happened in the transfer tube, how she got stuck, how she walked through abyss, and how she eventually found herself on the patch of grass.
"...And even when I was comfortable, Amorak stormed over the next morning and got mad at me for laying on his property," Elsteba concluded, "I don't blame him or harbor any mean thoughts. I just think of how fate must enjoy keeping me constantly unhappy."
Athelia was silent for a small while, and Elsteba couldn't make out her facial features to distinguish what she was thinking - she was hard enough to see in the light, any attemp to make out details was futile.
"You have been under a great deal of stress," she finally said, her eyes kind and full of motherly affection. The look puzzled Elsteba, for she had never seen that expression directed at her before. "However, " Athelia continued, "you show great promise, little one. To be as strong as you are and still be able to feel these emotions...that shows you are among the great of your kind. You are a prodigy, and, sadly, prodigies are rarely happy for a great deal of time into their lives.
"But do not lose hope, little one. You have the power to shape a wonderful future for a great many people, and in so doing, find your true happiness. Have faith. When you find your happiness, it will be greater than the happiness of anyone else in existance, and you can count yourself among the great and true of all time."
Elsteba was left astonished at her words. To think she may be a prodigy was, of course, absurd. She was a normal person who has had a lifelong string of bad luck, and that was all. And yet...
A warmth from deep inside of her filled Elsteba with a simmering passion. She could feel it working through every fiber of her being, from the tips of her fingers to the tapers of her hair. For the first time in her life, she had an overlying purpose blossom forth. She didn't yet know what the purpose was, but the mere feeling made her leap inwardly with joy.
Athelia watched her with quiet amusement, then said, "Come, little one. Your friend stirs and will wake soon."
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Awakening
"it is Time Now my Little Travelers to wake" said a voice that Roused Jacob to his senses. "the three of you have slept for Nearly two days." Jacob opened his eyes to find Amoraks Arm on top of him. he moved it carefully and sat up. he found himself Looking at a strange tall man who sat nearby, holding a strange crystal staff verticaly.
At first impression Jacob Thought he was an old Man but Jacob Realized This mans Face was as young as his own. his hair was white and an air of wisdom and power sourounded him. "who are you?" jacob asked.
" i am Alsifar, Jacob Son of Dr Russle" the Man Replied With a mysterious smile.
"how do you know My Name? and how do you know Who my Father is?" jacob asked astonished that he knew bolth who he was and who his father was. The strange man smiled a strangly comforting smile "do not be alarmed jacob, i mean none of you any harm, i am here to answer all your questions but first the others must wake."
Jacob looked over his shoulder at Amorak and Elsteba who where still unconsious. "we where really out for two days?" he asked unbeliveingly for the first time realizeing that there was a small camp of sorts build around them. "you indeed where. Surviveing a impact by an extraterestial object to your planet will do that." jacob wondered where this man had come from but the look the man gave him at the moment told him to wait to ask the question.
Elsteba Groaned quietly and rolled over, and then reality hit her. with a gasp she shot up from the ground ready to act. when she found that all was tranquil she relaxed with a sigh dropping to her knees, her entire body hurt.
then she noticed Jacob and a strange old man watching her. She was Over joyed to see Jacob but was perplexed by the Unreadable gaze of the old mans silver eyes. " Jacob, What happened? i saw you get blown away." she said decideing to ignore the old man for now, her head hurt to much to belive he was real. Jacob shrugged, "i don't know i blacked out soon after that. "Amorak used much of his Strenght to save bolth of you." the old man said " a strenght he has not used in quite a while." he added as an after thought.
jacob looked at him and almost asked a question but he decided not to ask it, she looked between the old man who didn't quite look so old anymore and Jacob a few times. "Jacob, is he real?" she asked timidly. jacob nodded streaching out his sore arms. " his name is alsifar, he will answer our questions when Amorak wakes up." "which might not be all that soon. he was utterly drained savening you, he came close to death. but he will live." alsifar said with a pleasent nod. "which forces me to refraise what i said. i can answer questions only that relate to you two which for the most part i already have, this will be so untill amorak wakes then he can explain to you what he must explain, and then i will explain what i need to explain and everyone will be much enlightened."
Elsteba looked around at the island and the beach across the waves, there were hardly any trees but alot of stumps, the fallen trees either radiated away from where the comet had hit or floated lazily around the island. she noticed the blast was only a narrow band. up the coast a little either way and there was a normal covering of trees. despite seeing it she hardly belived it. "did the comet actualy happen?" she asked almost to herself.
alsifar shifted uncomfortably, "i feel the need to apologize to the two of you. surviveing a comet impact can be quite a shock,and this comet was no accident. i litteraly fell from the sky onto this world." bolth elsteba and Jacob looked at him with unbeliveing Looks. "the comet was you?" jacob asked skepticaly "in a way, i was in the comet it carried me here."alsifar replied "so you hitched a ride on a comet from where ever you came from and rode it here?" elsteba asked.
alsifar smiled "no, tecnicaly the comet was where i came from. it was my vessle, i guided it here. though it had hardly any power left, i was aiming for the ocean out there." alsifar pointed far out to sea, "but i didn't have the power to change my velocity enough, i had to aim where it would cause the least damage at the velocity i was going, which was over there into a mountian range just over the horizon." Alsifar pointed the other direction. "no matter what you do a large impacting body falling at escape velocity causes much damage."
jacob suddenly curious asked "your ship must be very strong, harder than any substance i have ever heard of." alsifar smiled "either that or more flexible than any ship you ever have seen, who knows it might be a combination of bolth. mabey i will show you some day, but for now it is useless to us all it's power is gone, and cannot take us anywhere. for now we are on our own."
They sat there for a while waiting for amorack to awaken, he didn't. Alsifar cautioned them to let him be untill he moved himself, saying mysteriously "reminants of his strength may still be present." Alsifar entreated them to food and water he had brought from his ship and as the sun went down he already had made beds for them. once asleep alsifar went back to amoraks side. knowing it was best best that he be the first one for amorack to see. they needed to speak.
At first impression Jacob Thought he was an old Man but Jacob Realized This mans Face was as young as his own. his hair was white and an air of wisdom and power sourounded him. "who are you?" jacob asked.
" i am Alsifar, Jacob Son of Dr Russle" the Man Replied With a mysterious smile.
"how do you know My Name? and how do you know Who my Father is?" jacob asked astonished that he knew bolth who he was and who his father was. The strange man smiled a strangly comforting smile "do not be alarmed jacob, i mean none of you any harm, i am here to answer all your questions but first the others must wake."
Jacob looked over his shoulder at Amorak and Elsteba who where still unconsious. "we where really out for two days?" he asked unbeliveingly for the first time realizeing that there was a small camp of sorts build around them. "you indeed where. Surviveing a impact by an extraterestial object to your planet will do that." jacob wondered where this man had come from but the look the man gave him at the moment told him to wait to ask the question.
Elsteba Groaned quietly and rolled over, and then reality hit her. with a gasp she shot up from the ground ready to act. when she found that all was tranquil she relaxed with a sigh dropping to her knees, her entire body hurt.
then she noticed Jacob and a strange old man watching her. She was Over joyed to see Jacob but was perplexed by the Unreadable gaze of the old mans silver eyes. " Jacob, What happened? i saw you get blown away." she said decideing to ignore the old man for now, her head hurt to much to belive he was real. Jacob shrugged, "i don't know i blacked out soon after that. "Amorak used much of his Strenght to save bolth of you." the old man said " a strenght he has not used in quite a while." he added as an after thought.
jacob looked at him and almost asked a question but he decided not to ask it, she looked between the old man who didn't quite look so old anymore and Jacob a few times. "Jacob, is he real?" she asked timidly. jacob nodded streaching out his sore arms. " his name is alsifar, he will answer our questions when Amorak wakes up." "which might not be all that soon. he was utterly drained savening you, he came close to death. but he will live." alsifar said with a pleasent nod. "which forces me to refraise what i said. i can answer questions only that relate to you two which for the most part i already have, this will be so untill amorak wakes then he can explain to you what he must explain, and then i will explain what i need to explain and everyone will be much enlightened."
Elsteba looked around at the island and the beach across the waves, there were hardly any trees but alot of stumps, the fallen trees either radiated away from where the comet had hit or floated lazily around the island. she noticed the blast was only a narrow band. up the coast a little either way and there was a normal covering of trees. despite seeing it she hardly belived it. "did the comet actualy happen?" she asked almost to herself.
alsifar shifted uncomfortably, "i feel the need to apologize to the two of you. surviveing a comet impact can be quite a shock,and this comet was no accident. i litteraly fell from the sky onto this world." bolth elsteba and Jacob looked at him with unbeliveing Looks. "the comet was you?" jacob asked skepticaly "in a way, i was in the comet it carried me here."alsifar replied "so you hitched a ride on a comet from where ever you came from and rode it here?" elsteba asked.
alsifar smiled "no, tecnicaly the comet was where i came from. it was my vessle, i guided it here. though it had hardly any power left, i was aiming for the ocean out there." alsifar pointed far out to sea, "but i didn't have the power to change my velocity enough, i had to aim where it would cause the least damage at the velocity i was going, which was over there into a mountian range just over the horizon." Alsifar pointed the other direction. "no matter what you do a large impacting body falling at escape velocity causes much damage."
jacob suddenly curious asked "your ship must be very strong, harder than any substance i have ever heard of." alsifar smiled "either that or more flexible than any ship you ever have seen, who knows it might be a combination of bolth. mabey i will show you some day, but for now it is useless to us all it's power is gone, and cannot take us anywhere. for now we are on our own."
They sat there for a while waiting for amorack to awaken, he didn't. Alsifar cautioned them to let him be untill he moved himself, saying mysteriously "reminants of his strength may still be present." Alsifar entreated them to food and water he had brought from his ship and as the sun went down he already had made beds for them. once asleep alsifar went back to amoraks side. knowing it was best best that he be the first one for amorack to see. they needed to speak.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Alsifar's Entrance
Alsifar sat on the new ground he had just raised back from the ocean. He felt that a small island wouldn't accommodate the four of them suitably enough, and it was really his fault the rest of the land had become submerged anyway. He was aiming for the waters several miles off the coast; the water would act as a good enough cushion to absorb most of the impact blow. Unlike on many other planets, the water on this planet was, though similar in structure, thicker and gelatinous. This had the pleasant effect of not creating massive tidal waves whenever something big crashed into it.
Which is why the inhabitants of this world are great star-travelers, but make their home in great domes under the depths of the ocean. They were almost as advanced as his race had been, and were, in fact, much more alike than he had first thought a hundred years ago when he had first discovered them. They had created a self-sustaining communications disruptor which scrambled any signal other than those predetermined by the pilots and governors. It took him a very long time to find that signal, and still longer to decipher their odd language, which consisted of clicks, slurrs, guttoral noises and nasal squeaks, and yet graceful and legato-smooth at the same time - anyone listening would think of an elvish chant from the ancient fairy tales of Earth.
He looked out over the ocean and wondered what they were doing now. His space-time platform was destroyed and would never again be able to reconstruct. He would never again get the opportunity to learn from their past and descover their future. This race had much hope of becoming one of the greatest races of all time - even greater than Alsifar himself, the sole survivor of his race, dedicated to the forever imprisonment of the Umbering. But now, he would have to look over the water and wonder.
A rustle behind him made him jump with fright. He whirled around, his hands already glowing with the solpower he had called to bear.
He relaxed when he discovered the noise had been caused by one of the sleeping figures behind him - the girl, most likely. Now that he was outside his protective platform, he had become increasingly paranoid he would be attacked by the Umbult Cultists at any moment, even though he knew full well they were trapped in the same prison as the Umbering itself.
His power was already activated, and he had no choice but to expend the energy he had called, so he shot the blazing white energy at the fire, making it billow with heat, now burning solfuels rather than wood.
He was satisfied with the result; it made the surrownding area much more comfortable, which enabled the three young figures to sleep a deeper sleep - one they desparately needed. When they wake, he thought, they will have much less opportunity to rest then they would like.
Until then, however, leave them be.
Which is why the inhabitants of this world are great star-travelers, but make their home in great domes under the depths of the ocean. They were almost as advanced as his race had been, and were, in fact, much more alike than he had first thought a hundred years ago when he had first discovered them. They had created a self-sustaining communications disruptor which scrambled any signal other than those predetermined by the pilots and governors. It took him a very long time to find that signal, and still longer to decipher their odd language, which consisted of clicks, slurrs, guttoral noises and nasal squeaks, and yet graceful and legato-smooth at the same time - anyone listening would think of an elvish chant from the ancient fairy tales of Earth.
He looked out over the ocean and wondered what they were doing now. His space-time platform was destroyed and would never again be able to reconstruct. He would never again get the opportunity to learn from their past and descover their future. This race had much hope of becoming one of the greatest races of all time - even greater than Alsifar himself, the sole survivor of his race, dedicated to the forever imprisonment of the Umbering. But now, he would have to look over the water and wonder.
A rustle behind him made him jump with fright. He whirled around, his hands already glowing with the solpower he had called to bear.
He relaxed when he discovered the noise had been caused by one of the sleeping figures behind him - the girl, most likely. Now that he was outside his protective platform, he had become increasingly paranoid he would be attacked by the Umbult Cultists at any moment, even though he knew full well they were trapped in the same prison as the Umbering itself.
His power was already activated, and he had no choice but to expend the energy he had called, so he shot the blazing white energy at the fire, making it billow with heat, now burning solfuels rather than wood.
He was satisfied with the result; it made the surrownding area much more comfortable, which enabled the three young figures to sleep a deeper sleep - one they desparately needed. When they wake, he thought, they will have much less opportunity to rest then they would like.
Until then, however, leave them be.
Thoghts of Darkness
The Umbering sat in its own shadow. Watching the man with silver blue eyes, watching him as he prepared to go back to a real world. Why was it so interested in this, the last survivor of a dead race, a race that was sworn by creation to everything that was opposite the Umbering. Maybe it watched because it was curious why he still tied to stop the inevitable, just like his for fathers before him, though the Umbering had to admit that there was only one out come that might be beneficial to the man with blue eyes who now sat watching the Umbering as the Umbering watched him.
The Umbering was well known, but not by its true name, it was known on countless existences as Kohalek the deceiver, Berudock the murderer, Strodel the god hatred, Corahor the consumer of worlds, and perhaps the most accurate of all of the names that was not his true name, yet, was Darkness. Though it was not yet darkness, it was still the Umbering, the growing dark, it was not yet darkness the thing it wished to be, the thing it was born by some unknown force of chaos to become, Darkness that covered not just its world, but all worlds, all existences, and all life would be consumed by it and the light of all suns would dim… eventually.
The man with silver blue eyes broke his gaze, and didn’t look back.
“OUT!!!!!!!!!” screamed a voice that shook his cell almost to the braking point. But it still didn’t brake. It knew it wouldn’t, but it made it feel better to scream out its frustrations and disturb the force that kept it there, to prove that its power was real and not just a figment of its own Imagination. However it still couldn’t become darkness with the last seal in the way, the Cultists had don there job almost completely; they had removed all of the seals but one, the seal of light, another one of its own enemy.
It shook his cage again, and again it almost escaped, but it didn’t. the man with silver blue eyes was gone now, he had become a falling star on the farthest world from him, he was alone again, and his cage shook again with more vigor then it had ever mustered before! … But the last seal held, with a sigh the Umbering went back to influencing things on countless worlds, by countless names.
The Umbering was well known, but not by its true name, it was known on countless existences as Kohalek the deceiver, Berudock the murderer, Strodel the god hatred, Corahor the consumer of worlds, and perhaps the most accurate of all of the names that was not his true name, yet, was Darkness. Though it was not yet darkness, it was still the Umbering, the growing dark, it was not yet darkness the thing it wished to be, the thing it was born by some unknown force of chaos to become, Darkness that covered not just its world, but all worlds, all existences, and all life would be consumed by it and the light of all suns would dim… eventually.
The man with silver blue eyes broke his gaze, and didn’t look back.
“OUT!!!!!!!!!” screamed a voice that shook his cell almost to the braking point. But it still didn’t brake. It knew it wouldn’t, but it made it feel better to scream out its frustrations and disturb the force that kept it there, to prove that its power was real and not just a figment of its own Imagination. However it still couldn’t become darkness with the last seal in the way, the Cultists had don there job almost completely; they had removed all of the seals but one, the seal of light, another one of its own enemy.
It shook his cage again, and again it almost escaped, but it didn’t. the man with silver blue eyes was gone now, he had become a falling star on the farthest world from him, he was alone again, and his cage shook again with more vigor then it had ever mustered before! … But the last seal held, with a sigh the Umbering went back to influencing things on countless worlds, by countless names.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Comet
Jacob and Elsteba sat in the shade of the one and only tree that was on the beach. They waited for Amorak to return from the island. After a while Elsteba spoke “do you think we should go find him” “I don’t think he wants us to” Jacob replied. Athelia nodded “that young man has a lot on his mind.” They were quiet for a while longer watching the tide roll out.
“well, I believe that our first priority should be securing an adequate food and water supply, seeing we are in a survival situation.” Gammon said pointing to the lowering water. “our greatest food source is the ocean right in front of us, we must prepare a way to catch some food so that when the tide comes in we can effectively catch enough food for the entire party. That just leaves the freshwater…what do you suppose we do master Jacob?” gammon asked facing Jacob.
Jacob watched the waves and then looked back toward the sparse forest of tropical trees behind him. “Gammon, you and Elsteba go find a source of fresh water, me and Athelia will try and make something to catch some fish.” The hologram nodded and then floated over to Elsteba, “follow me miss Elsteba, and keep a good look out for running water, or anything else that might be useful” she stood up and followed the hologram out into the light. His features faded but he still was faintly visible.
Athelia immediately began to offer suggestions about different ways to catch fish, “Athelia, how do we catch fish when all we have readily available are tall grasses and small sticks?” she was quiet for a moment. “Well we could always weave a net if the tall grasses are strong enough.” Jacob nodded. It sounded like a good idea. He needed to test the grass.
Elsteba and gammon patrolled the shores for evidence of any small streams that emptied into the ocean. After a quarter mile trek through the beach sand they found a small stream. As they neared several rocks seemed to raise themselves on eight legs and move toward the ocean very quickly.
“stand back Miss Elsteba!” gammon warned, they soon disappeared and gammon let her come forward. “now we follow it to the source! There it will be freshest.” He said beginning to travel up towards the interior of the mainland. The trees got thicker though Elsteba would hardly call them trees, she had seen a few trees before but they were nothing like these, they were more like Giant ferns. Eventually the stream led them to a pool at the bottom of a rocky outcropping.
“I calculate that this is only 500 lengths from where we started.” Gammon stated “what’s a length?” Elsteba asked, “it is approximately the length of your body. We need to return to Jacob and see how we can transport this water back to the camp.” Elsteba sighed More walking, walking was so slow! She should have asked if they could take Jacobs hover sail.
The net ended up more like a large spherical basket of sticks and grass, half Jacobs height. The grass was not strong enough on its own to hold wriggling fish. Jacob was forced to improvise, every now and then Athelia would offer some advice but for the most part she watched satisfied with his design. “now we need some bait.” He said frowning. “you could try the fruit in those trees, there is also a rotting log that might provide some good bait.” Athelia answered. “we’ll do both, the more there is the more fish we catch right?” Athelia bobbed up and down “ I am unsure what the fish of this planet find attractive, but it’s worth a try.”
Jacob bent down over the rotting log and split it open easily with his hands. Many strange creatures crawling and slideing through the decaying tree matter. He cringed for a second and then picked up an entire section of the log and placed it in the basket. He then picked up several fallen orange oval fruit that where slightly mushy and threw them in as well.
Jacob picked up the basket and carried it out to the beach closely followed by Athelia. He found a place in the rocks where the tide would soon cover , that would keep the basket in place. His idea behind the basket was that fish would swim into the basket to eat and leave when they were done but as soon as he tilted the basket up any fish inside would be unable to escape. Now all there was to do was to wait.
On the way back to the shade of the trees, he saw gammon and Elsteba returning. “we found some water” She reported pointing back towards the way they had come. “about 500 lengths from here.” Jacob nodded. “Master Jacob, how will we transport the water.” Gammon asked. Jacob looked around, “I don’t know, for know we will just have to take trips between here and there to get drinks.” “what about Aquatic Pathogens?” Athelia asked sounding concerned. “Gammon did you scan the water?” Jacob asked quickly “no” he replied “go back and scan the water, we need to make sure the water is drinkable as it is.” Gammon nodded and began his trip back to the pond.
“as for us” Jacob said a little tired. “we need to make a fire and some shelter.”
As Jacob and Elsteba worked on making a fire, gammon returned and reported that the water was safe. The tide began to roll back in and Soon they were all working, Jacob had sent Athelia to go see if they could find Jacob, to see if he wanted anything to eat, He and Elsteba where making shelters, and keeping a small fire going.
As Jacob and Elsteba worked on making a fire, gammon returned and reported that the water was safe. The tide began to roll back in and Soon they were all working, Jacob had sent Athelia to go see if they could find Jacob, to see if he wanted anything to eat, He and Elsteba where making shelters, and keeping a small fire going.
A thing Jacob found slightly Strange about Elsteba was that she knew a lot, a lot about fishing and building and other things to do with survival she just never had done any of it. it Prodded him into asking whether or not she had ever been out in the wild. “no” she replied “all the places like this are preserves on my world, hardly any one is let into them.” it boggled Jacob that a place could be so dominated by technology.
His world had very high technology but he had always been able to do things on his own without the aid of Machines. His world may have been a war torn waste but he still had done things mostly on his own.
His world had very high technology but he had always been able to do things on his own without the aid of Machines. His world may have been a war torn waste but he still had done things mostly on his own.
When the water line on the beach seemed at its highest, Jacob ran out to the basket trap and rolled it until the hole faced the surface. Struggling to lift the slightly wiggling basket he made it back to shore and tripped spewing a large quantity of fish across the beach. He Raced to pick up the fish closest to the water, but was less concerned about the ones farther away.
Jacob always had a knife with him and so began the laborious task of gutting all the fish, he kept the entrails hoping to use them as more bait. Elsteba watched With a slightly interested gaze.
“you find this Entertaining?” he called finishing with the last fish. “No, I’ve just never seen it done before.” “You’re going to be seeing a lot of it.” Jacob said grimly. He took the fish carcases to the fire and then hung them over the fire on the newly made rack. They had breakfast, even though it was closer to noon.
“you find this Entertaining?” he called finishing with the last fish. “No, I’ve just never seen it done before.” “You’re going to be seeing a lot of it.” Jacob said grimly. He took the fish carcases to the fire and then hung them over the fire on the newly made rack. They had breakfast, even though it was closer to noon.
Athelia and gammon returned reporting they could not find Amorak. Gammon Began a tale about how They had found his tracks but the trail ran cold Athelia scolded Gammon for thinking like they had been hunting Amorak. “not hunting no, Tracking” Gammon Said defending himself. The whole argument caused Both Elsteba and Jacob some laughs but they both where a little worried.
As they day wore on, the spent more and more time under the shade of their newly build shelters. They were insubstantial and small due the fact they had used up all the materials around to make them but they served their purpose. Jacob dosed off several times into a dreamless sleep. Every time he woke he found the sun had sunk only a few degrees. The day was proving more and more boring. Before the tide pulled out for the last time that day, he made sure the basket trap was up so that the fish inside would be trapped for later but still fresh.
Elsteba Didn’t sleep, she was too worried. Too worried about Amorak, too worried about survieing on this world. As the day grew ever closer to Night she grew more and more restless. Until finally she could stand it no longer she got out of her shelter and stepped over to his. “Jacob!” she said prodding his shoulder lightly. “hmm?” He mumbled rolling over and opening his eyes. “we need to find Amorak.” She said almost pleading. Jacob Sat up, he knew she was right, it would be getting dark soon. “ok, Let’s go.” He said getting to his feet.
He started up his hover Sail and they Flew over to the island. Where they scanned the Beach but found no sign of him. They called his name and Flew over the dense tree tops close to the center pinnacle of the island. No responses to any of their calls. All was silent and empty. The sun began to set and they were forced back to the main land.
They waited till the sun went down, and then they roasted and ate some more fish. Soon the moon rose, Elsteba watched it in wonder. It was a very large moon, Jacob noted this earlier, which explained why the tides came so often. The Moon on his world was much smaller and farther away.
Suddenly Amorak strode into the firelight, without a word and took a fish that was on a stick from the fire and began to eat. Elsteba immediately questioned where he had been, he didn’t answer, he didn’t even look in her direction. As soon as he had his fill he went straight to his shelter. Both Jacob and Elsteba exchanged worried looks but didn’t Question any further.
Before the moon was directly over head, they all were asleep. Except Amorak he stared out at the moon with almost a hateful glare his eyes reflecting a sad tone of color. Suddenly he felt something, he wasn’t quite sure what but he knew something was coming. He noticed a new star light in the sky. Brigher than all the stars around it. after a while it became apparent that the star was moving slightly and growing larger. Amorak watched it for hours weary of what it might be. at first he thought it would pass by and dissipear but then there was a sudden change of direction it was headed straight for them. he knew then who it was that was comeing.
amorak didn’t feel threatened in the least. There was a loud boom that woke the others as it broke through the atmosphere and Brightened dramatically out shining the moon. “It’s a Comet!” Athelia Shouted “it’s going to impact this Planet! We need to find higher ground!” “no!” Amorak shouted over the Wailing of the wind “we are safe now, safer than we ever have been, this is a good thing! not a Bad thing! i will explain later!” Both Jacob and Elsteba gave him Shocked Looks of unbelife. The roar grew to a deafening volume as the comet soared over head. The heat was just barely felt as it went by and flew farther inland.
For a brief Second there was a light Brighter than 10,000 suns blazing far inland and then it dimmed leaving everyone Blinded for a few moments afterward. Now there was only a faint red light. “hold onto something!” Amorak Shouted dropping to the ground, suddenly a huge Torrent of wind ripped past them sucking the air out of their lungs and ripping up trees and blowing sand from beneath their feet. To Elsteba it seemed the world was being torn apart, she could no longer hold to the ground as it was blowing away, the tree Jacob was clinging to just blew away and Amorak was nowhere to be seen. She let out a scream that was never heard.
When the First light of morning broke over the horizon, the beach was gone. Now in its place was water. Few trees remained though they tilted away from the impact crater which was far over the horizon. The only thing remotely familiar was the island. Though stripped of trees it was still enact. Near the shore lay Amorak his arms clinging tightly to Jacob and Elsteba. All three were still unconscious.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Paradox: Stably Unstable?
The Principal Schellhous was always a very buissy man, which was why when Mr. Slavinois requested his presence IMEADIATLY, he Showed up several Hours later. at which point Mr. Slavinois already knew all he could know about the Dimensional Gateway in Quantogenics lab 13. Mr. Slavinois had already quarentined the area to other staff members, though there where not any risks. school had also been cancled on the grounds that the student's could no longer get to their classes, this was because the space time feild distortion emitters where now out side of their universe...of course the students didn't know that, Mr Slavinois inwardly smiled at this. he hated the students for their contant system hacking, all so they could sluff.
Principal Schellhous entered the room slightly out of breath. "has it finaly happened?" he gasped alludeing to their slightly covert operation, "yes, but what shocks me is the probability that it would happen in our life time was almost zero." "i take that as you came up with a break through then?" Mr. Slavinois smiled and shook his head, "No suprizeingly it happend completely on it's own. which is a little odd." "why?" Principal schellhous finished leaning on the door frame and ploped himself into the hovering chair on the other side of Mr. Slavinois's desk. the door closed and locked imidiately. "Quantum fluxuations never occur at this magnetude, i suspected at first a small malfunction in the space time feild distortion emitters but i ran a full diagnostic on the systems there was no malfunction, the only reason we noticed it was because the emitters stopped emitting, well in this universe at least." Principal schellhous was nodding, a good indication to continue. "this happend on it's own and to be blunt i have no idea how." Prinipal Shellhous finished nodding, "Does the Rift behave as we theorized?"
Mr. Slavinois tilted his head to one side, "not, exactly...first of all, i haven't been able to send anything through it. there is a feild of some unknown force proventing that. our theories predicted constant instantanious transfer from one side to the other and vice versa, but something seems to be stopping it. the transportation side doesn't seem t be feasable. it also seems to be Stably unstable." principal schellhous blinked "Stably Unstable! do you know what this means?" "besides stumbleing upon sciences' first observable paradox, it means that this Gateway isn't stable and it isn't unstable..." the principle jumped in "... stable rifts don't radiate energy! unstalbe rifts do, however they close eventualy. this will exist infefinately as well as radiate it's energy into our universe! we have the power of twenty billion suns sitting right in our back yard, not only that but it's safe it's clean and doesn't have any ill effects! i'd say our little tinkering has done man kind well." Mr. Slavinois tried to force a smile "there is a catch." the principle stopped danceing around the room "what?!" "when it opened someone fell through...."
Principal Schellhous entered the room slightly out of breath. "has it finaly happened?" he gasped alludeing to their slightly covert operation, "yes, but what shocks me is the probability that it would happen in our life time was almost zero." "i take that as you came up with a break through then?" Mr. Slavinois smiled and shook his head, "No suprizeingly it happend completely on it's own. which is a little odd." "why?" Principal schellhous finished leaning on the door frame and ploped himself into the hovering chair on the other side of Mr. Slavinois's desk. the door closed and locked imidiately. "Quantum fluxuations never occur at this magnetude, i suspected at first a small malfunction in the space time feild distortion emitters but i ran a full diagnostic on the systems there was no malfunction, the only reason we noticed it was because the emitters stopped emitting, well in this universe at least." Principal schellhous was nodding, a good indication to continue. "this happend on it's own and to be blunt i have no idea how." Prinipal Shellhous finished nodding, "Does the Rift behave as we theorized?"
Mr. Slavinois tilted his head to one side, "not, exactly...first of all, i haven't been able to send anything through it. there is a feild of some unknown force proventing that. our theories predicted constant instantanious transfer from one side to the other and vice versa, but something seems to be stopping it. the transportation side doesn't seem t be feasable. it also seems to be Stably unstable." principal schellhous blinked "Stably Unstable! do you know what this means?" "besides stumbleing upon sciences' first observable paradox, it means that this Gateway isn't stable and it isn't unstable..." the principle jumped in "... stable rifts don't radiate energy! unstalbe rifts do, however they close eventualy. this will exist infefinately as well as radiate it's energy into our universe! we have the power of twenty billion suns sitting right in our back yard, not only that but it's safe it's clean and doesn't have any ill effects! i'd say our little tinkering has done man kind well." Mr. Slavinois tried to force a smile "there is a catch." the principle stopped danceing around the room "what?!" "when it opened someone fell through...."
Amorak's Secret
Amorak was pulling two long bits of wood he was able to salvage from the remains of his shack. Almost all the other wood was either lost or too damaged to use. He would have to go later to the forest to get more supplies. The problem was the forest was two miles away, and he didn't look forward to dragging the wood all the way back to the island.
He sighed and walked to the water's edge, prepared to dive into the salty water. One way or another, he needed that wood.
He was halfway across the lake when a shot of pain streaked through his body, arcing from the soles of his feet to the tips of his outstretched fingers as he swam. His back convulsed and he inhaled a mouthful of water. In seconds, Amorak was unconscious.
He awoke a moment later in a giant circular room dimly lit by candlelight. There were columns ringing a chamber in the center of the room, which was like a massive amphitheater. At the center of the chamber was a raised platform with a single figure strapped to a table. Around the platform, numerous hooded figures were swaying and chanting loud enough to be easily heard, but too low to make any sense of what was being said. Around the room, seemingly random marks of red, purple, and black lined the walls and columns with eerie symbols, and the symbols were pulsing with an ethereal light.
What is this? Amorak thought to himself as he edged closer to the platform. As he neared the figures, he feared they would discover him, but they seemed not to notice him. Rather, they kept their heads down underneath their hoods and chanted with single-minded vigor.
He climbed the few yet steep stairs that lead to the platform and the table. The figure was also hooded, the edge of a chin barely protruding out from the darkness within the garment. It did not move. Out of unconscious curiosity, he reached for the hood and pulled it back to reveal the face of the person underneath.
It was him.
With a yell, he thrust himself backwards, away from ... himself. His foot caught the edge of the stair, and he fell back off the platform. He jumped up with a fright, poised to fight off the hooded men if need be, for surely they were alerted to his presence now. But no, they were as devoted to their task as ever. He straightened up and looked at the figure again, certain he had hallucinated, but the unmistakable face was still there, lying on the table in a comatose state.
then he noticed something he hadn't before. From underneath the robes of the chanting figures emanated a soft fog, colored a shade of deep red. When he had first descended to the chamber, it was unnoticeable, but now it almost filled the while lower part of the room, with the platform solely standing above, and growing all the while.
It was when the fog reached the table and his other self upon it that all the forces of chaos broke loose. Lightning of every evil color imaginable filled the room, bouncing off walls and wrapping around the columns. Mysterious floating glowing orbs of light flew out from underneath the chanters' shawls. And the fog started to coalesce around the table and...boil?
The lightning struck the orbs, which grew in size and luminosity. The orbs then began to home in on the bubbling mass of fog. When one of them touched it, the fog flashed the same color of the orb it absorbed.
Just before the final orb was drawn in, a blinding flash of white light filled the room. The chanting figures were thrown back across the room, their incantation interrupted. Their hoods were forced back by the momentum, revealing their features to be rough and mildly scaled with a hint of red.
From the origin of the light came a horde of robed beings wielding rods which shined with the light that was filling the room. They rushed at the platform and blew away the fog, destroying the final orb. His other on the table convulsed and let out an unearthly scream of terror and pain. His shriek alerted the chanters, who leaped back to the platform with catlike speed and dexterity, poised on all fours. they were baring their teeth, which were pointed and uneven, giving them the appearance of deranged beasts.
What happened afterward threw Amorak's head in circles. The chanters threw themselves into the mass of lighted beings, whose light was now flickering in the room, mixing and swirling with the darkness of before; it was as if the light itse;f was warring with the darkness. Explosions rocked the floor, several columns collapsed, and all the while his other was still howling and convulsing on the table...
When Amorak regained conscoiusness, he saw the swimming images of Elsteba and Jacob hovering above him. He was lying on the beach of the lake. He coughed violently, and a lungfull of water sprayed out of his mouth.
"Are you alright?" Elsteba asked him worriedly. In response, he coughed out more water.
"We heard you shouting, and Elsteba saw you in the lake first. It took a while before we could get past your fists in order to get you to shore, " Jacob said, a little too smugly. Indeed, he had a few scratches on his face that he had apparently recieved from Amorak's flailing limbs.
Amorak pushed Elsteba off of him and got up from where he was laying on the ground. He straightened himself up and walked off, intending to get back to his task of rebuilding his shack.
"Who were the hooded figures?"
Amorak froze. It was unmistakably Jacob who spoke, but his mind was suddenly reeling. How did he know?
He turned around. Jacob was looking him straight in the eye. Elsteba was looking away shyly, which told him she also knew about his vision.
"After we pulled you to shore, Jacob's wrist thing went haywire and threw us into another holographic vision," Elsteba said hesitantly, "We...we saw the whole thing."
Amorak glared at the two of them for a moment longer, then turned on his heel and started back to his island, all desire of rebuilding his home lost. He just wanted to be alone.
"Wait," Jacob called after him, "What exactly was that whole bit about?"
"Long live the Umbering," Amorak responded with a mix of irony and sarcasm. He then swam to his island and sat on the shore, watching the sunset. He didn't once look back.
He sighed and walked to the water's edge, prepared to dive into the salty water. One way or another, he needed that wood.
He was halfway across the lake when a shot of pain streaked through his body, arcing from the soles of his feet to the tips of his outstretched fingers as he swam. His back convulsed and he inhaled a mouthful of water. In seconds, Amorak was unconscious.
He awoke a moment later in a giant circular room dimly lit by candlelight. There were columns ringing a chamber in the center of the room, which was like a massive amphitheater. At the center of the chamber was a raised platform with a single figure strapped to a table. Around the platform, numerous hooded figures were swaying and chanting loud enough to be easily heard, but too low to make any sense of what was being said. Around the room, seemingly random marks of red, purple, and black lined the walls and columns with eerie symbols, and the symbols were pulsing with an ethereal light.
What is this? Amorak thought to himself as he edged closer to the platform. As he neared the figures, he feared they would discover him, but they seemed not to notice him. Rather, they kept their heads down underneath their hoods and chanted with single-minded vigor.
He climbed the few yet steep stairs that lead to the platform and the table. The figure was also hooded, the edge of a chin barely protruding out from the darkness within the garment. It did not move. Out of unconscious curiosity, he reached for the hood and pulled it back to reveal the face of the person underneath.
It was him.
With a yell, he thrust himself backwards, away from ... himself. His foot caught the edge of the stair, and he fell back off the platform. He jumped up with a fright, poised to fight off the hooded men if need be, for surely they were alerted to his presence now. But no, they were as devoted to their task as ever. He straightened up and looked at the figure again, certain he had hallucinated, but the unmistakable face was still there, lying on the table in a comatose state.
then he noticed something he hadn't before. From underneath the robes of the chanting figures emanated a soft fog, colored a shade of deep red. When he had first descended to the chamber, it was unnoticeable, but now it almost filled the while lower part of the room, with the platform solely standing above, and growing all the while.
It was when the fog reached the table and his other self upon it that all the forces of chaos broke loose. Lightning of every evil color imaginable filled the room, bouncing off walls and wrapping around the columns. Mysterious floating glowing orbs of light flew out from underneath the chanters' shawls. And the fog started to coalesce around the table and...boil?
The lightning struck the orbs, which grew in size and luminosity. The orbs then began to home in on the bubbling mass of fog. When one of them touched it, the fog flashed the same color of the orb it absorbed.
Just before the final orb was drawn in, a blinding flash of white light filled the room. The chanting figures were thrown back across the room, their incantation interrupted. Their hoods were forced back by the momentum, revealing their features to be rough and mildly scaled with a hint of red.
From the origin of the light came a horde of robed beings wielding rods which shined with the light that was filling the room. They rushed at the platform and blew away the fog, destroying the final orb. His other on the table convulsed and let out an unearthly scream of terror and pain. His shriek alerted the chanters, who leaped back to the platform with catlike speed and dexterity, poised on all fours. they were baring their teeth, which were pointed and uneven, giving them the appearance of deranged beasts.
What happened afterward threw Amorak's head in circles. The chanters threw themselves into the mass of lighted beings, whose light was now flickering in the room, mixing and swirling with the darkness of before; it was as if the light itse;f was warring with the darkness. Explosions rocked the floor, several columns collapsed, and all the while his other was still howling and convulsing on the table...
When Amorak regained conscoiusness, he saw the swimming images of Elsteba and Jacob hovering above him. He was lying on the beach of the lake. He coughed violently, and a lungfull of water sprayed out of his mouth.
"Are you alright?" Elsteba asked him worriedly. In response, he coughed out more water.
"We heard you shouting, and Elsteba saw you in the lake first. It took a while before we could get past your fists in order to get you to shore, " Jacob said, a little too smugly. Indeed, he had a few scratches on his face that he had apparently recieved from Amorak's flailing limbs.
Amorak pushed Elsteba off of him and got up from where he was laying on the ground. He straightened himself up and walked off, intending to get back to his task of rebuilding his shack.
"Who were the hooded figures?"
Amorak froze. It was unmistakably Jacob who spoke, but his mind was suddenly reeling. How did he know?
He turned around. Jacob was looking him straight in the eye. Elsteba was looking away shyly, which told him she also knew about his vision.
"After we pulled you to shore, Jacob's wrist thing went haywire and threw us into another holographic vision," Elsteba said hesitantly, "We...we saw the whole thing."
Amorak glared at the two of them for a moment longer, then turned on his heel and started back to his island, all desire of rebuilding his home lost. He just wanted to be alone.
"Wait," Jacob called after him, "What exactly was that whole bit about?"
"Long live the Umbering," Amorak responded with a mix of irony and sarcasm. He then swam to his island and sat on the shore, watching the sunset. He didn't once look back.
Friday, September 19, 2008
A Story Explained
When Amorak departed, he left Jacob and Elsteba on the shore of the small island. As Amorak swam toward the main land and what was left of his shack, tensions between those who remained grew.
"Well…" said Jacob as he stood and stretched his arms toward the sky "I need some time to think, I will not be far away." And with that he dropped his hover sail turning on its sun charged battery and bringing it to life, jumped on it and sailed a few meters away, to a small cove on the Island, still in sight of Elsteba but far enough away that she could not hear him.
As he came to a stop the two blue figures shimmered back to life. "So… tell me why did my father send me hear? Why did he send me hear when… when we where so close to finally having victory over the Thunder birds? Why, when we where so close to perfecting the Pathogen and final victory, did he sentence me to this Hellish seclusion?"
"First your father wanted us to tell you that he loved you, and that he did this for your own good," said the armor-encased hologram standing arm in arm with the teacher dressed in ancient robes.
"Understood. Now tell me WHY!?!" he yelled, getting upset.
The two figures looked down sympathetically at him. "He discovered that if you would have stayed in your existence, you would have been killed or enslaved. He never told us what," said Athelia, "He just mentioned that you where the only one who could leave our dying world. The solsages of our planet created a powerful weapon this you know, but you don't even comprehend how powerful. It was on a level that the second it was discovered it sent the whole of infinite existence into a downward spiral, and not even your father couldn't predict where it would end up. Some of the affects we saw on our world. The two suns merging into one dying red star, the mutation of your people, and the loss of countless lives - while these things were travesties, they are nothing compared to what was coming."
Jacob was in a state of shock. Yellow SUN!! "If all of these things have already happened, what, then, has happened to my father?"
"No one can say, we don't know if our home has been destroyed or enslaved yet by the force that your father detected, or if home is still waiting there for us to return when the time is right."
"How did my father know of this impending attack on our world?"said Jacob sarcastically.
"He found some artifacts that supposedly dated back to before the big bang. Ten years ago, when you were still pretty young, the artifact gave him dreams about a darkness that enveloped everything. There was nothing specific about the dreams, just that single impression about a dark force, as well as one additional dream about the location of other artifacts. Your father went out in search of them, and they all did the same thing - gave him dreams about an impending doom, a darkness that would swallow our home whole, and then continue onward, devouring world after world after world, meanwhile becoming stronger all of the time."
"So my father sent me to a different dimension because he thinks that some cosmic force that has tried before to destroy all of existence is coming back, and he thinks this because he found some odd artifacts that gave him dreams filled with a dark presence?" The two floating figures in front of him couldn't answer at first. They just looked at each other, then back at him and nodded. "Great. Well better get back to the others, and see if we can find some food," said Jacob dismissively, "I am hungry."
"Well…" said Jacob as he stood and stretched his arms toward the sky "I need some time to think, I will not be far away." And with that he dropped his hover sail turning on its sun charged battery and bringing it to life, jumped on it and sailed a few meters away, to a small cove on the Island, still in sight of Elsteba but far enough away that she could not hear him.
As he came to a stop the two blue figures shimmered back to life. "So… tell me why did my father send me hear? Why did he send me hear when… when we where so close to finally having victory over the Thunder birds? Why, when we where so close to perfecting the Pathogen and final victory, did he sentence me to this Hellish seclusion?"
"First your father wanted us to tell you that he loved you, and that he did this for your own good," said the armor-encased hologram standing arm in arm with the teacher dressed in ancient robes.
"Understood. Now tell me WHY!?!" he yelled, getting upset.
The two figures looked down sympathetically at him. "He discovered that if you would have stayed in your existence, you would have been killed or enslaved. He never told us what," said Athelia, "He just mentioned that you where the only one who could leave our dying world. The solsages of our planet created a powerful weapon this you know, but you don't even comprehend how powerful. It was on a level that the second it was discovered it sent the whole of infinite existence into a downward spiral, and not even your father couldn't predict where it would end up. Some of the affects we saw on our world. The two suns merging into one dying red star, the mutation of your people, and the loss of countless lives - while these things were travesties, they are nothing compared to what was coming."
Jacob was in a state of shock. Yellow SUN!! "If all of these things have already happened, what, then, has happened to my father?"
"No one can say, we don't know if our home has been destroyed or enslaved yet by the force that your father detected, or if home is still waiting there for us to return when the time is right."
"How did my father know of this impending attack on our world?"said Jacob sarcastically.
"He found some artifacts that supposedly dated back to before the big bang. Ten years ago, when you were still pretty young, the artifact gave him dreams about a darkness that enveloped everything. There was nothing specific about the dreams, just that single impression about a dark force, as well as one additional dream about the location of other artifacts. Your father went out in search of them, and they all did the same thing - gave him dreams about an impending doom, a darkness that would swallow our home whole, and then continue onward, devouring world after world after world, meanwhile becoming stronger all of the time."
"So my father sent me to a different dimension because he thinks that some cosmic force that has tried before to destroy all of existence is coming back, and he thinks this because he found some odd artifacts that gave him dreams filled with a dark presence?" The two floating figures in front of him couldn't answer at first. They just looked at each other, then back at him and nodded. "Great. Well better get back to the others, and see if we can find some food," said Jacob dismissively, "I am hungry."
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
An Untold Past
"...and that's how I got here," Elsteba concluded. Emerging of of her memory, she had the satisfaction of seeing the awe on Jacob's face. Amorak, however, though unmistakeably listening intently, looked as if he could care less.
"Wow. Amazing," Jacob finally managed to get out, "Your world must be quite the spectacle for everything to shine like the great Yellow Sun."
"It looks kind of cool, I guess," Elsteba said, "Though it gets very boring. There's nothing like this...nature." She gestured to the grass they were sitting on - which was not grass that Amorak harvested - and then to the cliff they were sitting on which overlooked the gigantic lake, as well as Amorak's late shack.
"Really?" Athelia asked, astonished, "How do you get your exercise - or air for that matter."
"The machines take care of everything." Silence filled the group for a few minutes. "So anyway, what about you, Jacob?"
Athelia and Gammon shied sideways glances at each other while Jacob's demeanor immediately fell into melancholy. For a moment, Elsteba regretted asking the question.
"You told me your story...I suppose it's only fair I tell you mine."
Ignoring Elsteba's protests of how he didn't have to share if he didn't want to, he stood up, pressed a few buttons on the watch-machine he was wearing, and before they could think twice, they were thrust into a holographic world - one that seemed a little too real for Elsteba's taste.
They were standing in the middle of a vast city. Apart from the many colors and lack of a metallic biodome, it wasn't that different from Elsteba's home city. There were many hovercrafts soaring through the air in every direction, none going in exactly the same route, but none interfering with the flights of the others. It was perfect symphony of cooperation.
But Elsteba's attention was not on the city. She was too focused on the sky, where two great suns resided. the brighter of the suns was a great vivid yellow, and the other, oddly enough, was a deep reddish purple. The combined lights made the world look almost bruised.
"Here is my legacy."
Elsteba looked at Jacob and was very surprised when he saw the discomfort and pain etched in every pore on his face. He made a few adjustments on his wristwatch, and soon they were flying through the city, weaving in and out of skyscrapers, until they came to a tall box-like building with a giant circular piece of glass fixed to the roof. Elsteba could discern mo purpose for this building.
Until Jacob showed what happened next. He pressed another button, and the glass raised out of the building, revealing itself to be an odd looking lens. One side of the underside had a shallow droop, and the other was an elongated pyramid shape, ending in a fine point.
"This is the greatest invention of the solsages, the priests who lead us in our worship of the two great suns, Yellow and Blood. This is a diverser. It collects the light given by the suns and splits them according to the origin. The result is two separate collections of pure solar energy, or Solacaden. This Solacaden had many uses due to its powerful nature, but one corrupt solsage had different intents for it."
They closed in on a relatively calm looking man wearing a bright yellow robe that was embellished with red-purple lining. He held in one hand a vial of swirling yellow liquid-like substance, and in the other a vial of deep purple contents.
As if in slow motion, the man opened the vials and poured the liquid into his open mouth. Or at least, he tried to. His mouth was open and his hands were nearly to his face when a loud flash of light appeared, accompanied with a sound similar to a thunderclap a meter away. The substances flew out of their vials and engulfed the man, the lens-topped building, and most of the surrounding area. A bright swirl of color flashed through their eyes, and, as sudden as it had come, the light disappeared along with another thunderclap. When it was gone, it left destruction and ruin in its wake. Everywhere the light had touched, it looked like the city had been in a state of decay for a hundred years.
"You would imagine that this kind of power would be realized and quickly put down and discouraged, but other solsages started to get the same idea. It wasn't long before they implemented their idea across the world, destroying every other city that dared stand up to them. It wasn't long before every city looked like this.
"The energy started to spread from ruin to ruin, corrupting minds and mutating bodies wherever it went. One particular fierce mutation was-"
An enormous shadow passed overhead in the shape of a large tattered crow.
"-the Thunderbirds."
The shadow burst into shape and color, and Elsteba could see it for what it was - a giant bird colored the deepest purple, with a single jagged line of yellow crawling its way down the birds back.
"Not only were these creatures mean and powerful; they were also intelligent. Evil and twisted, but very smart. My people had no choice but to wage war on them. And we were losing.
"My father was an ingenious scientist, and invented a massive shield that would keep out the destructive energies, as well as those altered by it. However, a side effect of this was whenever the shield was up, it blocked the powerful energies from the suns, and we could not get power. This wasn't a problem most of the time, but when we needed to refill our energy stocks, it meant shutting the shields down.
"My job, therefore, was to patrol around the surrounding area and scout for any approaching creatures. That's what was happening on my last day there."
The hologram flickered, then centered on a second Jacob, speeding along on his hoversail across the now wasted ruins of the city. A shadow approached him, and Elsteba recognized the shadow as a Thunderbird. They followed Jacob's progress back to the hanger, through his home, and into the room where he was transported into another dimension.
A few more buttons, and they were back on the grassy cliff overlooking the lake.
"...Woah..." Elsteba managed to get out. And I thought I had it rough...
Whether there was an unspoken signal not to discuss this voyage through Jacob's history or they were to winded to be able to, they instead looked expectantly at Amorak.
"My story is my own," he said, and promptly stood up, dove off the cliff into the water, swam to his island, and began to repair his shack.
===================================================================
Woah, now I'm a little winded after writing this post...
"Wow. Amazing," Jacob finally managed to get out, "Your world must be quite the spectacle for everything to shine like the great Yellow Sun."
"It looks kind of cool, I guess," Elsteba said, "Though it gets very boring. There's nothing like this...nature." She gestured to the grass they were sitting on - which was not grass that Amorak harvested - and then to the cliff they were sitting on which overlooked the gigantic lake, as well as Amorak's late shack.
"Really?" Athelia asked, astonished, "How do you get your exercise - or air for that matter."
"The machines take care of everything." Silence filled the group for a few minutes. "So anyway, what about you, Jacob?"
Athelia and Gammon shied sideways glances at each other while Jacob's demeanor immediately fell into melancholy. For a moment, Elsteba regretted asking the question.
"You told me your story...I suppose it's only fair I tell you mine."
Ignoring Elsteba's protests of how he didn't have to share if he didn't want to, he stood up, pressed a few buttons on the watch-machine he was wearing, and before they could think twice, they were thrust into a holographic world - one that seemed a little too real for Elsteba's taste.
They were standing in the middle of a vast city. Apart from the many colors and lack of a metallic biodome, it wasn't that different from Elsteba's home city. There were many hovercrafts soaring through the air in every direction, none going in exactly the same route, but none interfering with the flights of the others. It was perfect symphony of cooperation.
But Elsteba's attention was not on the city. She was too focused on the sky, where two great suns resided. the brighter of the suns was a great vivid yellow, and the other, oddly enough, was a deep reddish purple. The combined lights made the world look almost bruised.
"Here is my legacy."
Elsteba looked at Jacob and was very surprised when he saw the discomfort and pain etched in every pore on his face. He made a few adjustments on his wristwatch, and soon they were flying through the city, weaving in and out of skyscrapers, until they came to a tall box-like building with a giant circular piece of glass fixed to the roof. Elsteba could discern mo purpose for this building.
Until Jacob showed what happened next. He pressed another button, and the glass raised out of the building, revealing itself to be an odd looking lens. One side of the underside had a shallow droop, and the other was an elongated pyramid shape, ending in a fine point.
"This is the greatest invention of the solsages, the priests who lead us in our worship of the two great suns, Yellow and Blood. This is a diverser. It collects the light given by the suns and splits them according to the origin. The result is two separate collections of pure solar energy, or Solacaden. This Solacaden had many uses due to its powerful nature, but one corrupt solsage had different intents for it."
They closed in on a relatively calm looking man wearing a bright yellow robe that was embellished with red-purple lining. He held in one hand a vial of swirling yellow liquid-like substance, and in the other a vial of deep purple contents.
As if in slow motion, the man opened the vials and poured the liquid into his open mouth. Or at least, he tried to. His mouth was open and his hands were nearly to his face when a loud flash of light appeared, accompanied with a sound similar to a thunderclap a meter away. The substances flew out of their vials and engulfed the man, the lens-topped building, and most of the surrounding area. A bright swirl of color flashed through their eyes, and, as sudden as it had come, the light disappeared along with another thunderclap. When it was gone, it left destruction and ruin in its wake. Everywhere the light had touched, it looked like the city had been in a state of decay for a hundred years.
"You would imagine that this kind of power would be realized and quickly put down and discouraged, but other solsages started to get the same idea. It wasn't long before they implemented their idea across the world, destroying every other city that dared stand up to them. It wasn't long before every city looked like this.
"The energy started to spread from ruin to ruin, corrupting minds and mutating bodies wherever it went. One particular fierce mutation was-"
An enormous shadow passed overhead in the shape of a large tattered crow.
"-the Thunderbirds."
The shadow burst into shape and color, and Elsteba could see it for what it was - a giant bird colored the deepest purple, with a single jagged line of yellow crawling its way down the birds back.
"Not only were these creatures mean and powerful; they were also intelligent. Evil and twisted, but very smart. My people had no choice but to wage war on them. And we were losing.
"My father was an ingenious scientist, and invented a massive shield that would keep out the destructive energies, as well as those altered by it. However, a side effect of this was whenever the shield was up, it blocked the powerful energies from the suns, and we could not get power. This wasn't a problem most of the time, but when we needed to refill our energy stocks, it meant shutting the shields down.
"My job, therefore, was to patrol around the surrounding area and scout for any approaching creatures. That's what was happening on my last day there."
The hologram flickered, then centered on a second Jacob, speeding along on his hoversail across the now wasted ruins of the city. A shadow approached him, and Elsteba recognized the shadow as a Thunderbird. They followed Jacob's progress back to the hanger, through his home, and into the room where he was transported into another dimension.
A few more buttons, and they were back on the grassy cliff overlooking the lake.
"...Woah..." Elsteba managed to get out. And I thought I had it rough...
Whether there was an unspoken signal not to discuss this voyage through Jacob's history or they were to winded to be able to, they instead looked expectantly at Amorak.
"My story is my own," he said, and promptly stood up, dove off the cliff into the water, swam to his island, and began to repair his shack.
===================================================================
Woah, now I'm a little winded after writing this post...
Fufilling the Prophesy
Far Far away Two intense Silver eyes Watched the Gigantic Crystal Shpere they had been charged to watch since the Current Aeon Had Begun. Alsifar had been entrusted with watching over a very well guarded unknown secret. one which governed the fate of many universes. this amazeing crystal sphere before him monitered and recorded nearly all of Recorded Space time. no event could be over looked, for any could mean something either very bad or very good, for many countless years he had watched and reviewed hundreds of space frames, looking for indications of either the good or the bad. in all the that time he had neither seen, the good or bad he was looking for. then it happened, a slight shift in space time, an indication of change...in this case the good change alsifar was looking for he watched it manifest. he sat back for a moment and smiled as he watched it grow, and then another shift started and converged with the other and was made manifest. then Unexpectadly several other changes began, these made him frown...though they where small and had not made themselves manifest it was the beguinning of the bad. Finaly thought alsifar, my time to act is here. i must make haste and return to Real Spacetime. Alsifar sighed, the entire Station would Have to Become Unreachable for A long time, the power requred to launch him into Reality would take time to aquire, and surely would eclipse his dwelling place into nothing, but it must be done, he conviced himself for the final time. They must know all he knew if they where to survive the comming storm that all realitys would have to endure, they being the Carefuly selected Protectors of All Space Time. as they had already entered into one Singular space time he needed to Beguin prepairations for his depature, it would take time, but it would give them time to get to know one another.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Converging of Fates
Elsteba was hanging on to the boy's neck for dear life. He was swimming on the surface of the water at speeds she didn't think possible, and as a result she had difficulties in staying on his back. The freezing morning water didn't help matters at all.
They were about halfway to the shack when the boy suddenly stopped. Grateful as she was to regain her grip around his shoulders, still she was a little worried at his sudden halt.
"What's going on?" she asked hesitantly.
For an answer, he stuck his head under the water, almost submerging them both. He was looking for something.
Just then, there was a shaking tremor almost directly beneath them. The boy brought his head out of the water with a scared look on his face. that, more than the tremors, scared Elsteba. If this wasn't something the boy was accustomed to, it apparently wasn't supposed to happen.
The water began to bulge, with them at the crest of the mound. Higher and higher the water rose, until they could easily see the top of the hill they had come from, as well as the shack they were going to. If Elsteba had chosen to look over the edge, she would have seen the mound's sides were almost vertical.
When they were almost willing to jump off, the mound burst, spraying water in every direction. A wave crashed town onto the island and the shore alike, destroying everything in its path. Elsteba and the boy fell sideways into the salty lake, landing with a crash into the wakes.
When the mound had completely fallen, there was a floating figure in the air where it was, standing on a board, with two luminescent partners standing on either side of him.
They were about halfway to the shack when the boy suddenly stopped. Grateful as she was to regain her grip around his shoulders, still she was a little worried at his sudden halt.
"What's going on?" she asked hesitantly.
For an answer, he stuck his head under the water, almost submerging them both. He was looking for something.
Just then, there was a shaking tremor almost directly beneath them. The boy brought his head out of the water with a scared look on his face. that, more than the tremors, scared Elsteba. If this wasn't something the boy was accustomed to, it apparently wasn't supposed to happen.
The water began to bulge, with them at the crest of the mound. Higher and higher the water rose, until they could easily see the top of the hill they had come from, as well as the shack they were going to. If Elsteba had chosen to look over the edge, she would have seen the mound's sides were almost vertical.
When they were almost willing to jump off, the mound burst, spraying water in every direction. A wave crashed town onto the island and the shore alike, destroying everything in its path. Elsteba and the boy fell sideways into the salty lake, landing with a crash into the wakes.
When the mound had completely fallen, there was a floating figure in the air where it was, standing on a board, with two luminescent partners standing on either side of him.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Stranger, and Friend
As she watch him leave toward the shore, Elsteba imediatly noticed a black pattern imbedded in the middle of the young man's back. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she ran up behind him to get a closer look. It was a tattoo of some world, strange to her. It occurred to her that it was a map.
Unexpectedly, the young man whirred around and stared her right in the eyes. _*GASP* Red eyes?_ The young man looked angry. "Why are you following me?" he growled.
Opening and shutting her mouth a few times, Elsteba finnally got the courage to stammer "oh...y-you have a tattoo on your back!"
Due to it's location on his back, the young man was unable to see it. He walked over to the edge of the water and turned his back to it, so as to look at his reflection in the water. With an air of shock, he looked back at Elsteba. The wonder in his eyes was almost tangable. _HUH! His eyes! They are blue! Like the ocean!_
"Woah...Of all the people to know my body, you think I would have seen this before. Can you read?"
"Of corse! Can't you?!"
An akward silence followed. Then, suddenly, the young man grabbed her by the arm, flung her over his back and before she knew what was happening, she was being swam accross the salty water to a little run-down shack.
Unexpectedly, the young man whirred around and stared her right in the eyes. _*GASP* Red eyes?_ The young man looked angry. "Why are you following me?" he growled.
Opening and shutting her mouth a few times, Elsteba finnally got the courage to stammer "oh...y-you have a tattoo on your back!"
Due to it's location on his back, the young man was unable to see it. He walked over to the edge of the water and turned his back to it, so as to look at his reflection in the water. With an air of shock, he looked back at Elsteba. The wonder in his eyes was almost tangable. _HUH! His eyes! They are blue! Like the ocean!_
"Woah...Of all the people to know my body, you think I would have seen this before. Can you read?"
"Of corse! Can't you?!"
An akward silence followed. Then, suddenly, the young man grabbed her by the arm, flung her over his back and before she knew what was happening, she was being swam accross the salty water to a little run-down shack.
Friday, September 12, 2008
A New Friend
"Oi!"
A loud noise made Elsteba wake with a start. Heart pounding, she looked for the source of the noise. At first, all she could see was the landscape from before, if not brighter due to the fact that it was morning. Then, however, her eyes fell upon the small figure standing almost directly behind her.
It looked to be a small boy - he couldn't have been older than twelve years old. And yet, he was different, somehow. He was more worn and rugged. He was unmistakeably Caucasian, but his skin was tanned enough to almost look Hispanic. His muscles were - well, not necessarily bigger, but their tone was amazing. He looked like he had never seen the leisure of a day's laziness in his life.
"Excuse me?!? Can you get off my harvest?"
The voice made her jump a little. It was deeper and more formed than it should have been, like that of a teenager that was well on the upswing of his puberty curve. She looked down on the earth she had rested on, and saw that it was indeed covered with green blades of grass.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know this belonged to anybody..." she managed to stammer out, making her way to the patch of trail-hardened dirt the boy was also standing on.
The boy, however, didn't seem to be listening. Once Elsteba had moved, he quickly enveloped the patch of grass and, with the hands of a master, began straightening and repairing the bent and matted blades. In fact, it seemed as if he had completely forgotten she was even there for all the attention he gave her.
She decided to take the opportunity and stretch her sleep-sodden limbs. As comfortable as the soil was, she could see now why man had created beds - the soil didn't exactly conform to your body as you slept. And now she had a huge knot in her back which she was fervently trying to get at.
Suddenly a powerful hand maneuvered its way onto her back. It gave a few prods and squeezes, then ended with a mighty blow which toppled her. It all happened so fast she was on the ground before she could get her thoughts straightened out. She turned around, and the boy was walking back down the hill. She jumped up and ran over to his side.
"What was that about?" she demanded. She didn't appreciate unfamiliar people touching her.
"I know how it feels to lie in dirt all night, " he shrugged, as if what happened was just another part of life.
"Well I - oh. " This was an answer she didn't expect.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
A Dying World
Jacob flew on his hover-sail, ducking in and out of the remains of the city, the red light of the pulsing sun shining down on him. The red leather jacket and pants he was wearing helped him blend into his surroundings giving him at least some protection from the roving gangs in the area. He maneuvered his way toward the tower as fast as he could, while trying to use the ruins as cover. He wasn't in any real danger at the moment, except the danger of discovery. If that happened then he would have cause to worry, but for now he was just enjoying the surf home.
One hand on the sail, the other hanging to the side, he gained speed, his suit and helmet protecting him from the high winds. He was with in a few city blocks of the tower when a massive black shadow crossed over him "YELLOW SUN!!" he swore as he kicked the back of his board, letting out the full sail to catch more of the wind.
He didn't even have to look up, he recognized the "Thunder Birds" shadow when he saw it plain enough, and that meant fighting was about to begin, lots of fighting, all he had to do however was get to the hanger before the doors finished closing.
He got through just barely; he had to fold his sail up in mid flight in order to make sure it didn't catch on the closing doors. He landed on the floor of the hanger on his two feet catching his board as he landed.
He was greeted as usual by his two holographic companions, Athelia the Teacher, and Gammon the guard. They both shimmered to life as soon as the two thick metal doors behind him closed, for they could not exist in the red light of the dying star. "So what has my father gotten us into this time?" Jacob asked the two blue figures standing on a plane about two inches off of the real floor.
"I wish I knew what Dr. Russell was thinking some times," said Gammon, brandishing his sword.
"Don't we all," said the Athelia the other shimmering figure.
"Well we better go find out. Shall we?" said Gammon, offering Athelia his armored arm. She accepted and they both followed after Jacob who was already half way to the lift that would take them to his father.
The two metal doors opened and Jacob walked out of the lift and onto the Control Room - the largest room on the highest floor - their home. It was under attack ... as it always was. This left Jacob's access to the outside very limited, and his time surfing the mighty winds was even more unique.
"Father! Where are you?" he called out as he exited the lift, "We are under attack again!"
Just as he said this his father burst from a side room that he used as a study, library, and cafeteria.
"No time! Come with me now!" Dr. Russell yelled as he grabbed his son and threw him back on to the lift again. His father joined him and they went down to the basement.
"Father… what is going on?" No response - the doctor looked extremely agitated. "Father, the Thunder bird cant brake through the shield, let alone the concrete and the steel armor that protects the tower…you don't have to…"
"That is not why I am agitated son. I…" Just then the lift came to a stop, and his father pushed him out, and then forward until they came to a part of the tower that Jacob was not familiar with.
"Russ, where are we going?" he asked again, getting scared.
"Just move now… I will explain everything later… if I can…" They continued to move faster and faster, his board still under his arm, until they came to a small metal door that opened into a massive room that held a circular disc shaped device with a haul in it a little bigger then a human.
"Go into the space in the center with your board and that pack over there by the door" he pointed toward an old green army back pack that was packed full of emergency supplies. Jacob grabbed it and did as he was told. He jumped up onto the ramp that led to the haul in the disc and stood there. A few minuets later he heard his father's voice over the intercom.
"Jacob I left a watch on the table by the door with the pack. Go grab it too, would you? I completely forgot about it until now." There was a panic in his father's voice that was so subtle that even he almost didn't pick up on it. He was half tempted to stop and demand an explanation from his father, but he knew his father meant it when he said "I will explain later", and that was good enough for him. The watch was more of a gauntlet then a watch. As he reached for it elastic bands immediately attached it to his arm, and the watch started to grow green with a tint of red - everything had a tint of red. As soon as he saw that the deed was done he ran back to the spot he had just vacated in the center of the disk.
Just as he did so he heard gears start to wine and move. The disk he was standing in started to revolve and tilt around him; it slowly went faster and faster until it became a blur. "Father! ... Russell!" he shouted.
"Don't worry, Gammon and Athelia will explain every thing! I love you!" His fathers voice boomed over the intercom.
A wave of panic enveloped him - as did light. Then there was only darkness; darkness and the feeling of free fall. He grabbed for his board and hugged it, putting it underneath him, but to no effect - he was still falling. He was alone… or was he? He pushed the giant green button at the center of the gauntlet like watch that his father had told him to grab. Two blue figures appeared next to him as he fell. He tried to speak to them but it didn't work. He knew they where
trying to speak to him, he could feel the vibration from the speakers of the watch, but he couldn't understand them. He could not communicate. He was cold, it was dark, he had just lost his father, and he had no idea where he was, but at least he was not alone.
Note: small change by Andrew he made it flow better so thanks to him.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Something's Happening...
Looking at the numerous flashing lights around him, Mr. Slavinois knew immediately that something was wrong. Not that it was the flashing of the lights that troubled him - they always did that. What he was worried about was the way they flickered, random and chaotically fast, not the mesmerizing order that had been the normal occurrence before. Of course it's not enough I work my tail off keeping this school in line, but now I have to go chasing after every little glitch in the new software.
As head of the technical support, however, he had no choice to investigate.
He headed off in the direction the flashing lights told him. The system was set up in a way where when something went wrong somewhere in the school, lights would flicker pointing in the direction of the general area. It made it easy to pinpoint the problem. It also made a person want to go into seizures and go crazy watching them on the way.
As he walked the engineering corridors, he thought to himself, Why am I even here? There are a million other jobs that need my expertise, all of which pay better than the miserly salary this stupid school supplies me with. What am I -
His train of thought was cut short as he nearly collapsed with shock - he had reached the maintenance room where the problem had originated. The door was a solid steel two foot thick vault door. The label at the top read, "Dimensional Quantogenics: Storage". No...
He ran back down the corridor in the direction of the Principal's office as fast as he could. There was only one thing that could trigger an alarm in the quantogenics lab. Something had caused a dimensional flux, and now a gateway to another world was opened. This could be either the greatest thing to have happened in the history of mankind. Or, possibly, the worst.
As head of the technical support, however, he had no choice to investigate.
He headed off in the direction the flashing lights told him. The system was set up in a way where when something went wrong somewhere in the school, lights would flicker pointing in the direction of the general area. It made it easy to pinpoint the problem. It also made a person want to go into seizures and go crazy watching them on the way.
As he walked the engineering corridors, he thought to himself, Why am I even here? There are a million other jobs that need my expertise, all of which pay better than the miserly salary this stupid school supplies me with. What am I -
His train of thought was cut short as he nearly collapsed with shock - he had reached the maintenance room where the problem had originated. The door was a solid steel two foot thick vault door. The label at the top read, "Dimensional Quantogenics: Storage". No...
He ran back down the corridor in the direction of the Principal's office as fast as he could. There was only one thing that could trigger an alarm in the quantogenics lab. Something had caused a dimensional flux, and now a gateway to another world was opened. This could be either the greatest thing to have happened in the history of mankind. Or, possibly, the worst.
Amorak
Sunlight streamed in through the window of the little shack, waking the young man sleeping on the grass bed he had made for himself so long ago. His eyes, bleary with sleep, opened slowly. Yawning and streaching, he rolled out of bed and stood up. Lethargicaly, he pulled his clothes from the wall where the hung and dressed himself in his work attire. His pants, brown with dirt and worn through in places, was all he ever put on. He lived by himself, and as far as he knew, was the only person alive in the world. Leaving his shack, he walked to the lake's edge and proceeded to wade in the salty water until it came up to his sholders. Pushing off the ground and aiming for the island in the center of the vast lake, he began his daily swim. It took him only a short time to swim there, but today, something told him to take it slow. He was hungry, and couldn't wait to get to his crop he grew on the small island. Soon, he was walking up the side of his island and onto the dry earth. He had just stopped to dry off in the sun's warm rays when he saw something laying on the small patch of grass he harvested occasionally for his bed when it rotted. The grass was smashed flat, probably by the thing laying in it. Outraged, he stomped toward the tresspasser, not knowing exactly what he was going to do about it. All he knew was that something was there, and it had destroyed his property. And he was mad.
A Strange New World
Eventually, Elsteba's eyes focused enough to make out the surrounding area. It was, however, still far more dark than her liking. A faint light fell on the land, casting a silverish glow around her. She looked up toward the source of the light, and was delighted to see the stars the had imagined hanging in the sky. There was an odd light in the sky as well. It looked like an arc of dim, pale light. Thinking hard on the Ancient History class, she remembered the light was called the moon, and was worshiped by much of the world. _No wonder! It's so beautiful!_
Elsteba became aware of an odd, ambient-like noise coming from behind her. Turning around, she saw a vast pool of what seemed to be a liquid of some sort. Approaching the edge, she dipped her finger in cautiously. Seeing that no harm came to her from this, she raised her finger to her mouth, hoping the liquid was drinkable. Until now, she hadn't realized how thirsty and hungry she was. A single drop fell from her finger and landed in her mouth. "EWWWWWW!" She shouted. The liquid tasted heavily of salt, which did no good to her parched throat.
Quickly, she scurried back to her landing place and sat, thinking about what had just happened, and fell asleep on the soft earth.
She had dreams of Ancient Earth, and of strange worlds with three moons, liquid mercury lakes, and of her family who she was sure she would never see again.
Elsteba became aware of an odd, ambient-like noise coming from behind her. Turning around, she saw a vast pool of what seemed to be a liquid of some sort. Approaching the edge, she dipped her finger in cautiously. Seeing that no harm came to her from this, she raised her finger to her mouth, hoping the liquid was drinkable. Until now, she hadn't realized how thirsty and hungry she was. A single drop fell from her finger and landed in her mouth. "EWWWWWW!" She shouted. The liquid tasted heavily of salt, which did no good to her parched throat.
Quickly, she scurried back to her landing place and sat, thinking about what had just happened, and fell asleep on the soft earth.
She had dreams of Ancient Earth, and of strange worlds with three moons, liquid mercury lakes, and of her family who she was sure she would never see again.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Where?...And When?
When she regained consciousness, the first thing she discovered was she was laying on a solid surface. This thought alone made her sigh with relief. I'm not falling anymore...
Then she realized it was not like any surface she had ever witnessed before. It was not smooth and cold, like the steel and chrome that had covered most of everything before, but instead was loose and gritty, almost like dry bread, but harder. Much harder. And yet, it was not uncomfortable. It had a certain measure of comfort attached to it that made it almost an enjoyable experience.
She opened her eyes. The surface was dark and mottled and indeed loose - she could pick it up and let it run through her fingers like the sand she used to play with when she was still young enough to play in the primitive sand boxes. She would have been completely confused with the substance if it hadn't reminded her of one of the few times she had paid attention during Ancient History class:
"Back when the world was young, before the Great Birth of Technology, it was covered in strange and primitive functions of life, commonly known as nature. It included such things as plants and animals, the common flora and fauna of your fairy tales which you read in your English classes. Of course, during the Great birth, these were all done away with, such ancient and primitive things, and new more efficient ways were created to continue the Earth's natural processes. The most basic and beneficial change was, of course, the conversion from 'soil'.
"Soil was a dirty loose surface which once covered the whole globe. You couldn't go anywhere on Earth without encountering some of it. It caused many problems, such as being subject to violent upheaval every time it sank beneath the Earth's crust violently, causing earthquakes and the like. That is, now, a thing of the much less recent past. It was replaced with our chrome paneling, which was more easily manufactured, maintained, and altered."
So that was what she was now resting on. Soil. Bizarre, but it doesn't seem to be the dirty annoying substance everyone says it is...
Then she realized it was not like any surface she had ever witnessed before. It was not smooth and cold, like the steel and chrome that had covered most of everything before, but instead was loose and gritty, almost like dry bread, but harder. Much harder. And yet, it was not uncomfortable. It had a certain measure of comfort attached to it that made it almost an enjoyable experience.
She opened her eyes. The surface was dark and mottled and indeed loose - she could pick it up and let it run through her fingers like the sand she used to play with when she was still young enough to play in the primitive sand boxes. She would have been completely confused with the substance if it hadn't reminded her of one of the few times she had paid attention during Ancient History class:
"Back when the world was young, before the Great Birth of Technology, it was covered in strange and primitive functions of life, commonly known as nature. It included such things as plants and animals, the common flora and fauna of your fairy tales which you read in your English classes. Of course, during the Great birth, these were all done away with, such ancient and primitive things, and new more efficient ways were created to continue the Earth's natural processes. The most basic and beneficial change was, of course, the conversion from 'soil'.
"Soil was a dirty loose surface which once covered the whole globe. You couldn't go anywhere on Earth without encountering some of it. It caused many problems, such as being subject to violent upheaval every time it sank beneath the Earth's crust violently, causing earthquakes and the like. That is, now, a thing of the much less recent past. It was replaced with our chrome paneling, which was more easily manufactured, maintained, and altered."
So that was what she was now resting on. Soil. Bizarre, but it doesn't seem to be the dirty annoying substance everyone says it is...
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