Re: The Grand Battle S2G1! [Round Three: Water...place!]
11-01-2010, 03:28 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.
"Let me get this straight. Xadrez and the Ovoid did something, you're not sure what it was, and this is somehow bad news for everybody who isn't human. I don't see the connection." Arkal looked at Kracht skeptically.
"Of course you don't. It's rather convoluted, and even I don't know the entire story. But I'll try to start from the beginning.
"First of all, as the Observer has mentioned, there are more battles of this sort going on than just ours. I am unsure of precisely how, but there was a participant in one of them, a man by the name of Vandrel Reinhardt, who found a way to speak to combatants in other battles. I advise you to remember his name; it will be important later.
"In any case, this Reinhardt contacted Xadrez. Or, more accurately, he contacted the Ovoid and it passed the transmission on... somehow."
Arkal blinked, and opened his mouth as if to speak, but Kracht simply continued.
"No, I don't understand the precise mechanics, and they're beside the point. What matters is that Reinhardt said he was seeking to contact other combatants and find a way to escape the battles, and to strike back at the beings who forced us to fight each other for their amusement. Xadrez agreed, and sought help from the surviving combatants.
"We agreed - myself, Xadrez, the Ovoid, you, Jen, and Keleth. Unfortunately, Jen was killed by a mutated polar bear before we could determine precisely how to proceed, and the next round separated us at the start, likely because the Observer was aware of our objective and sought to interfere.
"Nonetheless, we managed to regroup, and Xadrez had even devised a plan. We were about to activate it... but then the Ovoid mysteriously stopped moving, and we were transported again.
"Worse yet, the Ovoid was critical to the plan, for reasons related to its ability to contact Reinhardt. I believe Xadrez was seeking to establish a communication node and convert it into a transportation node, but he was reluctant to reveal the specifics; he suspected the Observer might be listening in and actively sabotaging us.
"He did, however, have a backup plan. And I was the only one who could safely carry it out.
"It was a desperate plan. The first step: Break reality."
"How do you even..." Arkal began, looking befuddled.
"Are you aware of how Keleth's shapeshifting worked?" Kracht replied.
"No, not really..."
"In essence, he altered reality so that his body was different. Every shift had minor impacts on the world around him, which he barely noticed. When he made a major transformation, which he only did in desperation, the effects were much greater; this happened during the second round, which is how Xadrez came to realize this side effect existed.
"In any case, with some very precise shapeshifting by Keleth, we were able to create a dimensional rift. A location where reality was incredibly unstable, and where the boundaries between dimensions were less concrete. Then came step two: Send someone into it."
"WHAT?"
"Yes. It would be incredibly dangerous for almost any being... but the material from which I was constructed could withstand it. I entered the rift, with a device you constructed according to Xadrez' specifications, and once I was completely removed from the world you were in... I activated it."
"And then what?"
"I have no idea. I was trapped in the void, unable to see the faintest trace of the world I left. It wouldn't surprise me if the Observer considered my absence to be reason enough to send the rest of you to the next round of the battle, though I couldn't say that with certainty.
"But, I eventually escaped, after countless years. I couldn't even begin to tell you the precise number. What matters is what I saw when I finally emerged."
"This is the important part, I suppose?" Arkal asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "The part where this is terrible news for non-humans?"
"It is. I found myself in a world of advanced technology that revered its supreme ruler, known only as the Hand of Silver. There were only a few nonhuman races, only kept around for their useful abilities, and completely enslaved by the dominant human population. A little prying revealed that other nonhumans had been wiped out entirely. At first, I thought it was simply the world I had emerged in, and my primary concern was escape; that, and bringing as many slaves as I could with me. I was not heartless.
"And I succeeded. I realized that a device held in one of the Hand of Silver's facilities could be used to construct a dimensional gateway. Joining up with a small rebellion, I managed to acquire it, and then construct the device. The rebels and the slaves they freed were willing to take their chances with any world other than theirs, hoping they might find allies to help them one day return and overcome their ruler.
"The Hand of Silver's Forces attacked our base just as we completed it. Desperately fighting them off, we went through the gateway, and emerged in another world.
"But once we arrived, we were immediately surrounded by soldiers in identical uniforms to the ones we had just fought! And they, too, told us that the Hand of Silver had declared us his enemies! The allies I had fought so hard alongside were gunned down in minutes. I survived because their weapons could not generate enough heat to disable me before I escaped."
"But that's crazy! You were in another dimension entirely! You mean this Hand of Silver had an empire that spanned universes?"
"Worse than that. By the time I emerged from the rift, it spanned every universe. I made countless escape attempts, and every time I emerged in a new universe, the Hand of Silver's men were already searching for me. Fortunately, I had anticipated the risk after the first escape attempt went so poorly, and did not try to leave until I had devised a way to do so without detection. Nonetheless, it was jarring to see the same tragedy so many times."
Arkal looked at the stone man with pity. He had seen so much, and it sounded so horrifying... granted, the smith was human himself, but he didn't see why that made him so special. But he still had a question.
"And what makes you so sure that whatever Xadrez did had anything to do with this mess?"
"An excellent question. I had no idea the events were connected at all, until my travels finally took me to an especially decadent world. It soon became apparent that this was, in effect, the Hand of Silver's palace. His home universe. It was from here that he ruled all. More importantly, it was here that he had dedicated a memorial to his closest ally. A man who, though long-dead, had been crucial to his ascension. A man who he saw as a kindred spirit, even if he had also been viewed as a pawn.
"I stood before the Vandrel Reinhardt memorial, and knew that somehow, I... we... had caused everything I had seen."
***
The Ovoid stirred slightly, imperceptibly.
An outside observer would have seen nothing unusual about it. The very idea that it was suddenly aware of a message it had to deliver would have seemed absurd.
***
"So you figured out some way to go back in time, got entered in the battle again, and stopped Xadrez and the Ovoid from doing whatever it was that made the Hand of Silver the supreme ruler of every universe." Arkal looked thoughtful. "Okay, fine, I think I get it. So my question is - why did you go through time again?"
"That part isn't voluntary. You see, Xadrez has always survived to the final round, still determined to somehow achieve his plan to assault the Observer. Every time. And so I have to stop him. That is not such a great concern." Kracht paused, and appeared as though he was trying to sigh. "But, then the Observer enters me in a follow-up battle, against seven winners of seven other battles, and somehow I am always thrust back through time yet again, entered in this battle, and forced to repeat everything to prevent that terrifying future."
Arkal looked at the animate statue with a newfound sense of understanding. But he still had a question.
"So why do you feel the need to talk to me about this now? Have you ever done that before?"
"The second iteration. Several other times. But it has generally only served to produce more difficult situations."
"So why now?" Arkal asked, raising an eyebrow. "If getting me on your side causes that many problems..."
"Everything is too different this time, Arkal. What I said on the raft? That was a bluff. It's always been the same third round before this. But that isn't the only difference." He stared the blacksmith right in the eye. "Your forge. You've never reclaimed that before. Not once. The Ovoid has never been this hostile to me. And Jen? Her royal color is green."
Arkal scratched his head. "Uh, I don't really get what that means..."
"I'm green. I don't think you need the full explanation to understand why this concerns me."
Arkal shrugged. "Sort of. But still, I don't quite get why you're telling this to me now."
"I'm desperate. I need to start making changes to counter the changes that have already happened. That's why I took the Bio Wyrm. That's why I'm putting my trust in you. I'll also try Jen, but I can make no guarantees. But more than that..."
Kracht hesitated before finally speaking again.
"Arkal. I am honestly afraid that this time... this time, I will actually die."
"Let me get this straight. Xadrez and the Ovoid did something, you're not sure what it was, and this is somehow bad news for everybody who isn't human. I don't see the connection." Arkal looked at Kracht skeptically.
"Of course you don't. It's rather convoluted, and even I don't know the entire story. But I'll try to start from the beginning.
"First of all, as the Observer has mentioned, there are more battles of this sort going on than just ours. I am unsure of precisely how, but there was a participant in one of them, a man by the name of Vandrel Reinhardt, who found a way to speak to combatants in other battles. I advise you to remember his name; it will be important later.
"In any case, this Reinhardt contacted Xadrez. Or, more accurately, he contacted the Ovoid and it passed the transmission on... somehow."
Arkal blinked, and opened his mouth as if to speak, but Kracht simply continued.
"No, I don't understand the precise mechanics, and they're beside the point. What matters is that Reinhardt said he was seeking to contact other combatants and find a way to escape the battles, and to strike back at the beings who forced us to fight each other for their amusement. Xadrez agreed, and sought help from the surviving combatants.
"We agreed - myself, Xadrez, the Ovoid, you, Jen, and Keleth. Unfortunately, Jen was killed by a mutated polar bear before we could determine precisely how to proceed, and the next round separated us at the start, likely because the Observer was aware of our objective and sought to interfere.
"Nonetheless, we managed to regroup, and Xadrez had even devised a plan. We were about to activate it... but then the Ovoid mysteriously stopped moving, and we were transported again.
"Worse yet, the Ovoid was critical to the plan, for reasons related to its ability to contact Reinhardt. I believe Xadrez was seeking to establish a communication node and convert it into a transportation node, but he was reluctant to reveal the specifics; he suspected the Observer might be listening in and actively sabotaging us.
"He did, however, have a backup plan. And I was the only one who could safely carry it out.
"It was a desperate plan. The first step: Break reality."
"How do you even..." Arkal began, looking befuddled.
"Are you aware of how Keleth's shapeshifting worked?" Kracht replied.
"No, not really..."
"In essence, he altered reality so that his body was different. Every shift had minor impacts on the world around him, which he barely noticed. When he made a major transformation, which he only did in desperation, the effects were much greater; this happened during the second round, which is how Xadrez came to realize this side effect existed.
"In any case, with some very precise shapeshifting by Keleth, we were able to create a dimensional rift. A location where reality was incredibly unstable, and where the boundaries between dimensions were less concrete. Then came step two: Send someone into it."
"WHAT?"
"Yes. It would be incredibly dangerous for almost any being... but the material from which I was constructed could withstand it. I entered the rift, with a device you constructed according to Xadrez' specifications, and once I was completely removed from the world you were in... I activated it."
"And then what?"
"I have no idea. I was trapped in the void, unable to see the faintest trace of the world I left. It wouldn't surprise me if the Observer considered my absence to be reason enough to send the rest of you to the next round of the battle, though I couldn't say that with certainty.
"But, I eventually escaped, after countless years. I couldn't even begin to tell you the precise number. What matters is what I saw when I finally emerged."
"This is the important part, I suppose?" Arkal asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "The part where this is terrible news for non-humans?"
"It is. I found myself in a world of advanced technology that revered its supreme ruler, known only as the Hand of Silver. There were only a few nonhuman races, only kept around for their useful abilities, and completely enslaved by the dominant human population. A little prying revealed that other nonhumans had been wiped out entirely. At first, I thought it was simply the world I had emerged in, and my primary concern was escape; that, and bringing as many slaves as I could with me. I was not heartless.
"And I succeeded. I realized that a device held in one of the Hand of Silver's facilities could be used to construct a dimensional gateway. Joining up with a small rebellion, I managed to acquire it, and then construct the device. The rebels and the slaves they freed were willing to take their chances with any world other than theirs, hoping they might find allies to help them one day return and overcome their ruler.
"The Hand of Silver's Forces attacked our base just as we completed it. Desperately fighting them off, we went through the gateway, and emerged in another world.
"But once we arrived, we were immediately surrounded by soldiers in identical uniforms to the ones we had just fought! And they, too, told us that the Hand of Silver had declared us his enemies! The allies I had fought so hard alongside were gunned down in minutes. I survived because their weapons could not generate enough heat to disable me before I escaped."
"But that's crazy! You were in another dimension entirely! You mean this Hand of Silver had an empire that spanned universes?"
"Worse than that. By the time I emerged from the rift, it spanned every universe. I made countless escape attempts, and every time I emerged in a new universe, the Hand of Silver's men were already searching for me. Fortunately, I had anticipated the risk after the first escape attempt went so poorly, and did not try to leave until I had devised a way to do so without detection. Nonetheless, it was jarring to see the same tragedy so many times."
Arkal looked at the stone man with pity. He had seen so much, and it sounded so horrifying... granted, the smith was human himself, but he didn't see why that made him so special. But he still had a question.
"And what makes you so sure that whatever Xadrez did had anything to do with this mess?"
"An excellent question. I had no idea the events were connected at all, until my travels finally took me to an especially decadent world. It soon became apparent that this was, in effect, the Hand of Silver's palace. His home universe. It was from here that he ruled all. More importantly, it was here that he had dedicated a memorial to his closest ally. A man who, though long-dead, had been crucial to his ascension. A man who he saw as a kindred spirit, even if he had also been viewed as a pawn.
"I stood before the Vandrel Reinhardt memorial, and knew that somehow, I... we... had caused everything I had seen."
***
The Ovoid stirred slightly, imperceptibly.
An outside observer would have seen nothing unusual about it. The very idea that it was suddenly aware of a message it had to deliver would have seemed absurd.
***
"So you figured out some way to go back in time, got entered in the battle again, and stopped Xadrez and the Ovoid from doing whatever it was that made the Hand of Silver the supreme ruler of every universe." Arkal looked thoughtful. "Okay, fine, I think I get it. So my question is - why did you go through time again?"
"That part isn't voluntary. You see, Xadrez has always survived to the final round, still determined to somehow achieve his plan to assault the Observer. Every time. And so I have to stop him. That is not such a great concern." Kracht paused, and appeared as though he was trying to sigh. "But, then the Observer enters me in a follow-up battle, against seven winners of seven other battles, and somehow I am always thrust back through time yet again, entered in this battle, and forced to repeat everything to prevent that terrifying future."
Arkal looked at the animate statue with a newfound sense of understanding. But he still had a question.
"So why do you feel the need to talk to me about this now? Have you ever done that before?"
"The second iteration. Several other times. But it has generally only served to produce more difficult situations."
"So why now?" Arkal asked, raising an eyebrow. "If getting me on your side causes that many problems..."
"Everything is too different this time, Arkal. What I said on the raft? That was a bluff. It's always been the same third round before this. But that isn't the only difference." He stared the blacksmith right in the eye. "Your forge. You've never reclaimed that before. Not once. The Ovoid has never been this hostile to me. And Jen? Her royal color is green."
Arkal scratched his head. "Uh, I don't really get what that means..."
"I'm green. I don't think you need the full explanation to understand why this concerns me."
Arkal shrugged. "Sort of. But still, I don't quite get why you're telling this to me now."
"I'm desperate. I need to start making changes to counter the changes that have already happened. That's why I took the Bio Wyrm. That's why I'm putting my trust in you. I'll also try Jen, but I can make no guarantees. But more than that..."
Kracht hesitated before finally speaking again.
"Arkal. I am honestly afraid that this time... this time, I will actually die."
There's no reason for this | Or this | Death is inevitable | You can't challenge fate | The smallest change | I'm overwhelmed
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse