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kors -> RE: Chronomancer (4/16/2013 20:39:24)
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Prologue: Epoch
He did it. Kor had won the war. The massive command ship began it’s unexpected descent into Loreon’s atmosphere. With a sigh of relief the pilot slumped in his chair and gave control over to the autopilot. In a few more hours hopefully this ordeal would be over in full.
Stray pieces of metal followed his ship on reentry, turning a bright orange as they began to burn. The ship was not too far behind. “Autopilot, land somewhere where I can see the Shadowscythe ship crash safely,” he commanded.
Other Shadowscythe ships and mechs fell from the skies along with their commander’s ship. The tide of the battle had turned away from the massive fleet that had decided to invade. It seemed so long ago that the first scouts of these strange alien beings first arrived in Loreon space. After that, things steadily moved on to war and more war.
The moment a large cliffside perfect for watching the end of the Shadowscythe mothership came into view Kor got up and began heading to the front entrance. He wanted to see it end without any obstructions to the destruction only moments away. It was not even too far from Soluna either, allowing what few people still inside the city to get a decent view of their victory.
Fire and metal filled the skies as the freshman student watched the beginning of the end of the war. The large mothership crashed into the ground with a resounding thud and ensuing explosion. It was over.
Kor shifted his chair to a more comfortable position and closed his eyes, hoping to get a moment’s rest in the chaos of the last few hours. Or was it days at this point? Either way it felt great for him to finally rest after all this.
A sudden roar filled the air, anger and pure unbridled hate dripped from every word, “You have already lost!” Faintly in the background of the roar several other words echoed across much of the universe, “Urgent Notice: Doomsday device activated. Countdown to destruction... 10.” The imposing figure of the injured Valoth rose up the cliff face, bearing the scars of their recent battle.
The young man’s eyes widened in shock. He leapt from the command console of his starship and made his way to the front exit. His laser blade activated as soon as he grabbed the hilt of the finely crafted weapon. His mechs all were in a state that would be virtually useless in a fight after the damage the entire ship suffered, not once but twice now, leaving him with only on-foot weapons at the moment.
***
Somewhere inside the cargo bay of the large starship a lone egg shifted ever so slightly. The creature growing inside had waited to leave that ancient cave for ages. It knew something important was happening around it. Strange vibrations woke it up at odd intervals, the steady warmth of the cave had been replaced with fluctuating heat, and the calming familiarity of it's invisible companion was gone.
More vibrations rocked the egg. "What is going on? Is it almost time to hatch?" the egg's occupant asked the shell around it impatiently. It began to wiggle and squirm in it's protector's embrace, thinking the had come.
A sudden chill stopped the early hatching quicker than it had begun, something had it's eye on the egg and it's occupant could feel the gaze. Whatever it was that had turned its gaze to the egg in the black box also evoked a feeling of familiarity. Perhaps this being would tell the unhatched creature what was going on, and more importantly when the time has come.
The egg could feel itself, and the box it was trapped in, move. It was the second time in the last day that something had moved the box, telling yet again to the egg's impatient occupant that these events were important to it. Like with the first disturbance, the being inside protested. Only after a faintly familiar pulse of magic came did it stop to think of what had decided to manhandle it's box. The one who had brought the boxes to the cave an unknowable time ago.
***
Doom. That was all the dark-cloaked figure could use to describe the events and their inevitable results put in motion. A satisfying end to a universe that, in the end, was more trouble than it was worth. Little time remained yet, leaving even less time for the entire reason for this campaign to come to him.
Many times have they come across the fruitless universes where the items they searched for had either vanished entirely from history or never existed there at all. And each time the end came, and the champion had been killed for their failure. But this one bore fruit, two of them had been left behind and slowly are making their way to the Stranger.
No one had seemed to care about his presence on this world, making all the easier to slowly corrupt the ones with the potential to be a threat. He had done this to many would be heroes, making them into pawns and allies, that at this point it was more a game than a challenge. Spending day after day doing nothing more than enticing heroes to buy the dark items he could produce gave him all the information he needed, and eventually guaranteed victory.
The sound of footsteps in the now empty city told him victory had truly been guaranteed. The exiled princident of this troublesome world proved easier to turn than his father, and more loyal and skilled. In his blind quest for vengeance he had sought the former friends and allies of his father, and turned away each time. A perfect pawn in the end.
As he drew closer it became obvious that the fallen royal carried only a single box, not the two he promised to bring. "Another failure in this universe too, it would seem," the Stranger thought as he moved towards the prince, "But I can work with this... Oh yes I can..."
***
Emptiness surrounded the servant. Raw unused potential everywhere. A beautiful emptiness, and his master hid in the very center. The Void was to be the final hiding place of the eggs, or so the master had said.
A piece of strange stone drifted by, away from the center at an odd pace. Other things drifted by at a similar pace and even more different ones, something was happening. "Once more, they have won? A shame that this failure is to be,” it said as it drifted closer and closer to the “location” his master still hid in.
***
Pieces of sand dripped from the dragon sitting in front of the almost identical, but noticeably larger, dragon. The Hour glass resting in the center of the smaller dragon was slowly cracking, ending the timeline housed within. Something of immense power was resetting the reality without the full knowledge of the consequences, but not them.
Others streamed in slowly, each showing the signs of temporal decay. “Time to start anew..., I am sorry my children. Once more should be enough to end this endless dance...,” the larger dragon said as it noticed the loyal demon that had served Him for many of these pointless cycles. “Things spiral towards their inevitable fate. Heroes, Villains, Pawns, Kings, all have their place. All fall to irrevocable destruction,” it spoke as the gathered dragons deteriorated beyond recognition.
An item that had been hidden for ages now had returned. Only one returned, and now it was too late for the Hope of time to be complete. Hour glass after Hour glass shattered and turned the bodies of the dragons who housed them into the golden sand. Timelines ended then, waiting to be returned to an Hour glass Heart to begin again.
The last dragon stood over the ash-like sands and sighed, “So much effort, so much time, all wasted...” He turned towards the strange demonic being carrying the black box. “How does the egg fair? What of the white box and its egg?” It questioned the demon.
It blinked its single, massive eye at his master, "The boxes were separated when I found this one, my lord." The demon placed the box at the edges of the large rock the grand, green and gold Dragon had made his roost upon in the near empty expanse he had hid away on. “Time was becoming unstable, enough so that I found it difficult to track either box’s timelines. At this point however, I will never be able to find the last one.” The lone orange-red eye turned towards the pile of golden sand floating in the emptiness.
The sand sparkled ominously, waiting for it all to begin again. It had remained in place for the short conversation, but was now starting to be pulled by the various winds of the Void. Time was of the essence now.
With a whisper and a short huff, the sands shifted to a more distinct shape. It all clumped together in front of the large dragon to await his next actions. A calm filled the infinite emptiness, giving a strange feeling of apprehension to the demon. Not a single noise came from anywhere, this dead silence only added to the calm.
A clawed hand reached up to the sand to determine their fate. Inches from the nearest grains of the golden sands the dragon hesitated. "How many times have I sat through this now? The cloud seems so much thinner than it did at the beginning," he finishes what he had started and touches the cloud of sand. It bursts and separates into several vague shapes. The dragon's eyes looked to the demon, still holding the black box. "Make me several Hourglasses, Oikea Hetki, and be ready for the purification."
***
Kor awoke with a start. The grayish metal roof of the deck of his ship stared back at him, flickering in and out with damaged lighting. When did he find his way back to his ship? Faint echoes of footsteps narrowly beat the buzz of the faulty wiring. “Someone else is here?” the Star Captain muttered to himself as he stood up, “Did Warlic not send me back far enough?”
A quick look around proved that statement was wrong. The ship had a beating quite different from what was there only hours earlier. Faint evening light leaked through the broken windows, giving much of the gray and silvery metal an orange glow. “Is someone there?” a voice shouted from further in the back of the ship.
He instinctively reached for the ornate laser blade he had bought only a little while before the final invasion, only to find air. A quick look revealed why.
His attire had been replaced with the surprisingly anachronistic robes he wore when he met with the others in their new universe. Back in that Lore the robes had radiate a strange magical energy that helped him fight on an even playing field with that monster, but here their power seemed weak.
More footsteps came from the hallway his "visitor" sounded like he was in earlier. Whoever was in the ship did not seem used to being stealthy. Silence washed over the ship as the stranger came close to the entrance of the deck. "Show yourself!" Kor said as he approached the hallway.
The stranger hesitated for a few seconds before finally letting out a sigh and walked into the room. Neither seemed to know how to react to the other, preferring a confused silence to asking each other the questions bubbling in their minds.
Standing before Kor was a strange man. His skin was a dark shade of gray, with white hair that only contrasted his inhuman features. A pair of pale green butterfly wings fluttered nervously behind him. They both studied the other, trying to figure out why the other one was here.
The stranger was the first to make a move after overcoming the initial shock. "Is this your ship, human?" he asks looking over the large vine-like weeds that ran along the walls from the windows, "Impressive, even if it is a hunk of junk at this point.”
“It...,” Kor hesitated to answer, after all shouldn’t he be the one asking the questions? "It was. Who are you? What are you?” He pointed at the wings on the man’s back to emphasize his last question.
A curious look appeared in the stranger’s eye, “You’ve never seen a Wind Elf, human? Hmph, guess you’re one of the ones who never left their world?” He relaxed slightly as he spoke. "Well, I guess that can't always be helped. As for the first question... my name is Alearon. And you?"
Alearon watched Kor expectantly as he waited for his answer. "Kor," the Star Captain said, "My name is Kor. I've been all over the solar system, so I have no idea what you are talking about. Never once have I heard of a Wind Elf.”
Realization dawned on the Elf. “So... You’re one of them as well. Heh,” Alearon whispered in disbelief as he closed his eyes and shook his head. A faint smile, almost bitter looking, and turned towards the way he came, “I do not fully understand it myself, but you are not the only one who have appeared under such odd circumstances. Come with me and I’ll see about where you’ll end up staying and your rations. I admit not everyone has liked the surge of people in the last few days but what can we do?”
He looked around one last time and then moved towards the exit. A disappointed look told Kor he did not quite find what he was hoping for in the wreckage. The lights gave one last dying flicker and ceased to function. “I thought I had a few years more on the power cells here...,” the Star captain commented as he followed the strange Elf. The natural hum of electricity that filled the ship quieted. It was disquieting to Kor to even be near this newly dead ship, the one which had carried him so far in the last few months.
As they walked into the cargo bay, Kor noticed one thing missing that should not have moved. The black box was gone. The one thing that doomed Lore and it’s allies was now gone. Whether by it’s hatching or someone taking, it had vanished. That unnerved Kor greatly as he looked at the spot he had placed the ancient box not that long ago. He looked at the elf and asked, “Did... Did anyone else come here? I just noticed something of mine has, well, vanished.”
Alearon looked back at Kor with a puzzled frown on his face. “Hm... I don’t recall anyone going to search this place earlier today. And your ship only showed up... lets see was it two days ago? Or was it three? Either way it has not been around long enough for most people to even try to search it yet,” Alearon replied, “Or perhaps what ever brought everyone here did not bring your missing stuff with? Reality is not very stable around here anymore after all.”
Kor gave the empty spot one last glance as he headed out into the unstable world he had been thrust into.
***
Before the Dragon of Time now floated three Hourglasses filled with the golden sands of time. Their glow gave an eerie light to the emptiness. Despite the number of times he has seen, and created, such objects they always put him on edge.
The Oikea Hetki turned towards the god sitting before him, “Are you sure this is the correct path? A single mistake with gamble will mean the end of you, my Lord, can you not be more cautious?" The demon watched closely for the reaction of his master, over stepping his bound like this was quite unusual and it still had yet to fully gauge his master's temperament.
"I am as unsure of my choice as you are, fate and consequences are not my domain," the dragon chuckled. Another laugh brought the pair’s attention to a new arrival, his laughter echoed unnaturally in many different voices.
“I see you have not done your duty very well, my friend,” the entity with many voices said, several of his voices still laughing. “I have not received the all souls you have been promising me for far too long...,” an Hourglass began moving towards the manifestation of the visitor, “Perhaps this will be decent payment for your debt?”
A black, clawed hand grabbed a handle and stopped its movement to the mass of primordial energy the god had chosen to take as his temporary form. The demon drew the Hourglass, the golden sand slowly trickling down the glass. It eyed the god with distrust as it place the Hourglass back in it’s original place, “I am sorry, but this entire timeline just can not drop dead. Especially ones that are to be my master's weapons." The glare it gave to Death was enough to tell the god that the demon did not care for any potential consequences that would come about.
"I would have to agree with Oikea Hetki, Death," the dragon moved a green claw in front of the demon, "They are to serve us both. My debt to you will be repaid in full by their actions, as well as the other two Hourglasses.”
The other god jumped at the poor wording of the Keeper of Time. “Then do I not have a right to teach them to pay back your debt? The ones that came before have all failed to change much, whether that is their own or the one who gave them their knowledge and power matters not. A different teacher may serve them well enough,” once more a Hourglass floated through the nothingness to the god. The dragon frowned but did nothing, and the Oikea Hetki stood there silently looking at his master. “I am glad we came to an agreement at last...” it chuckled as it vanished with it’s prize.
“Are you sure we should have done that my lord?” Oikea Hetki looked at the god apprehensively.
The dragon turned to it’s servant, “Perhaps not, but at this point what other choices are there?” Both of the remaining Hourglasses moved closer to the green Dragon. The golden centerpiece on his chest and vanished.
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