Re: LAST. THING. STANDING. [S!1][ROUND ONE: TELEVISION LAND]
12-13-2011, 07:47 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by The Deleter.
She had taken the boy.
Alaster’s feet pounded on the tarmac.
She had taken the boy.
Timothy’s pale face was retreating. Another spurt of speed, ignoring the griiiiiiind of protesting broken clockwork, closed the lost distance.
SHE HAD TAKEN THE BOY.
If this was a death tournament, Alaster would be happy to oblige whoever ran it.
---
In an alleyway, not far from Alaster’s current location, time and space blinked, scratched their heads, and then politely looked the other way for a bit.
With a crack of displaced air, three black-clad figures, robes billowing, blinked into existence. White porcelain armour, etched with the most powerful protective runes possible, contrasted to the darkness of the rest of the figures. Their faces were hidden in the depths of their hoods. Their mail gloves hissed with power. Also, they were floating six inches off the floor, because if there’s anything a wizard loves to do, it’s show off. Even when no-one is around to appreciate it.
They began to filter through the city with their minds, searching.
Through the magical link from the leader’s eyes, Abbadon Teus watched the proceedings and thought hard.
There were Nine Realms, everyone knew, laid on top of each other like layers of geological strata. They were the basis for magic. That was how it was. You had the Earth Realm, which was the sort of the default one and where humans came from. Then you had the Fire, Wind and Water realms. Dwarves, Elves, Hearthkin, Bandar Log, Merpeople, golems, giants – everything came from those four Realms. They were the easiest to travel between – so easy that is was a common service provided to the people. Those magics were for novices or for wizards who only took the standard course and then went home to make their family life easier or to help on the farm.
The Divine and Demonic Realms were harder to reach. Teus had been to the former once, and had to leave almost immediately. The geometry was awful. The Demonic Realm was cold and lonely and dark, but he’d journeyed there once or twice to seek advice or to subjugate a potential servant. Those magics were… harder. Anyone who mastered Divine or Demonic magic was a professional wizard at least, dedicating their lives to magic. You couldn’t just pick up a book and try and recite spells from them. You’d die, or end up a vegetable.
Life and Death. Life was a canvas of evolution and spontaneity. Teus had been there only once. And never to Death. Nothing lived in the Realm of Death, not truly. But he had mastered that branch anyway, and was one of the few wizards who had. Had to become Mage-President for Life somehow. Very few mastered those, because there were severe ethical issues that Teus had happily ignored on his way to power.
And the last one you had to be careful with. There were myths.
So what was this? What were these realms? What could they be? Teus had doubted that there was nothing beyond the realms at all, but this was… odd. Out of place. The fashions were wrong, the technology was alien and perhaps beyond them. No magic, tellingly. And their weapons were unlike anything Teus had seen before, although it was possible to maybe recreate them with time and study…
Was this place a threat to him?
He looked down at the throng of wizards below him, standing around crystal balls and maps and charts and generally being disorganised.
“Can we focus on the suit again, please?”
---
“Put me down!”
“What?"
“Put me down!” Tim’s eyes were wide. “He thinks you’ll hurt me! You HAVE to PUT ME DOWN!”
“Or what, kid? He’ll slice us up!”
“HE WON’T STOP IF YOU DON’T! HE WON’T LEAVE YOU ALONE! JUST PUT ME DOWN!”
Tim watched Freefall’s expression. Her brow was furrowed. Maybe she’d listen.
She slowed, stopped. Behind them, Alaster’s internals ground as it caught up with the two. She turned slowly and let Timothy drop from her arms, raising her hands in surrender and rapidly backing away from the wizard-in-training.
“Alaster!”
The suit slowed and halted as the boy ran to it. If it was capable of relief, it would have felt a rush of it. It kneeled, something twanging inside its neck as it did so, and scooped Timothy up.
“I though you said you couldn’t stop it.” Freefall’s voice was icy.
“He stops if he thinks I’m okay. That’s what he does.” Timothy looked back at her as he was placed on the suit’s shoulder. “He protects me.”
“Oh, so the suit isn’t a homicidal maniac! Boy, I’m sure glad I was –“
“This Will Be Logged As A Mistake,” Alaster chimed, cutting the super-heroine off. “Repeat The Offence, And You Will Not Live.”
Once again, the suit turned and limped away.
“Hey, wait! I didn’t turn up here for fun! I need your help!”
But Timothy could only call back with “Sorry” as the duo, again, left her behind.
---
Teus frowned.
“That woman,” he muttered. “What is…”
He leaned forward, speaking at the scrying glass, allowing the magical resonance to carry his words to the retrieval team.
“Spread out. Do not be seen. Assume that the woman is a high-priority threat and eliminate her if the opportunity presents itself. Keep the suit in sight.”
Wordlessly, the black-clad mages complied. That done, Teus leant back in his throne and looked around.
“Archmage Ranu!”
The floppy-hatted wizard from the meeting earlier rushed up. Teus noticed, for the first time, that the man was thin and ridiculously wrinked, as if there was a bit too much skin for the rest of the body. Odd, the details you missed in a meeting.
“Yes, lord?”
Teus regarded the lesser wizard for a moment.
“I’m releasing Archmage Yessic’s notes,” he said eventually. “I grant you permission to read them. We need as much information as possible on the construction of this suit and how to defeat it. But they must be returned at the end of this debacle. I’ll know if they aren’t. Understood?”
Ranu bowed.
“Clearly, my lord.”
Teus watched the wizard scurry away, and then turned back to the scrying glass.
“Change back to the bird creature, please. Its plight amuses me.”
The wizards complied, but not without glances at each other.
---
“Alaster?”
“Yes?”
“’m tired.”
Alaster looked around. Its damaged components rattled as it did so, but its own welfare was low on the list of priorities. If the boy needed to sleep, he would be able to. But the surroundings weren’t particularly inviting at the moment. Back alleys tended not to be. Plus, the law enforcement would soon arrive, along with the woman (it tried hard not to assign various demeaning tags to her in its memory core) and any other competitors. No, it had to keep moving.
It sheathed the vorpal broadsword. Normal scabbards couldn’t hold a vorpal weapon, but there was one material those metals couldn’t cut through. Thankfully, it was rare, even in the Realms. With its arms now free, it gently plucked Timothy from its shoulder and cradled him, as best as it could. As it did, it stepped into a deep shadow, making sure nothing gleamed or caught the light.
There was a muffled “g’night” from the boy.
“Good Night.”
Timothy’s breathing slowed. Alaster kept watch.
In the distance, sirens sounded.
She had taken the boy.
Alaster’s feet pounded on the tarmac.
She had taken the boy.
Timothy’s pale face was retreating. Another spurt of speed, ignoring the griiiiiiind of protesting broken clockwork, closed the lost distance.
SHE HAD TAKEN THE BOY.
If this was a death tournament, Alaster would be happy to oblige whoever ran it.
---
In an alleyway, not far from Alaster’s current location, time and space blinked, scratched their heads, and then politely looked the other way for a bit.
With a crack of displaced air, three black-clad figures, robes billowing, blinked into existence. White porcelain armour, etched with the most powerful protective runes possible, contrasted to the darkness of the rest of the figures. Their faces were hidden in the depths of their hoods. Their mail gloves hissed with power. Also, they were floating six inches off the floor, because if there’s anything a wizard loves to do, it’s show off. Even when no-one is around to appreciate it.
They began to filter through the city with their minds, searching.
Through the magical link from the leader’s eyes, Abbadon Teus watched the proceedings and thought hard.
There were Nine Realms, everyone knew, laid on top of each other like layers of geological strata. They were the basis for magic. That was how it was. You had the Earth Realm, which was the sort of the default one and where humans came from. Then you had the Fire, Wind and Water realms. Dwarves, Elves, Hearthkin, Bandar Log, Merpeople, golems, giants – everything came from those four Realms. They were the easiest to travel between – so easy that is was a common service provided to the people. Those magics were for novices or for wizards who only took the standard course and then went home to make their family life easier or to help on the farm.
The Divine and Demonic Realms were harder to reach. Teus had been to the former once, and had to leave almost immediately. The geometry was awful. The Demonic Realm was cold and lonely and dark, but he’d journeyed there once or twice to seek advice or to subjugate a potential servant. Those magics were… harder. Anyone who mastered Divine or Demonic magic was a professional wizard at least, dedicating their lives to magic. You couldn’t just pick up a book and try and recite spells from them. You’d die, or end up a vegetable.
Life and Death. Life was a canvas of evolution and spontaneity. Teus had been there only once. And never to Death. Nothing lived in the Realm of Death, not truly. But he had mastered that branch anyway, and was one of the few wizards who had. Had to become Mage-President for Life somehow. Very few mastered those, because there were severe ethical issues that Teus had happily ignored on his way to power.
And the last one you had to be careful with. There were myths.
So what was this? What were these realms? What could they be? Teus had doubted that there was nothing beyond the realms at all, but this was… odd. Out of place. The fashions were wrong, the technology was alien and perhaps beyond them. No magic, tellingly. And their weapons were unlike anything Teus had seen before, although it was possible to maybe recreate them with time and study…
Was this place a threat to him?
He looked down at the throng of wizards below him, standing around crystal balls and maps and charts and generally being disorganised.
“Can we focus on the suit again, please?”
---
“Put me down!”
“What?"
“Put me down!” Tim’s eyes were wide. “He thinks you’ll hurt me! You HAVE to PUT ME DOWN!”
“Or what, kid? He’ll slice us up!”
“HE WON’T STOP IF YOU DON’T! HE WON’T LEAVE YOU ALONE! JUST PUT ME DOWN!”
Tim watched Freefall’s expression. Her brow was furrowed. Maybe she’d listen.
She slowed, stopped. Behind them, Alaster’s internals ground as it caught up with the two. She turned slowly and let Timothy drop from her arms, raising her hands in surrender and rapidly backing away from the wizard-in-training.
“Alaster!”
The suit slowed and halted as the boy ran to it. If it was capable of relief, it would have felt a rush of it. It kneeled, something twanging inside its neck as it did so, and scooped Timothy up.
“I though you said you couldn’t stop it.” Freefall’s voice was icy.
“He stops if he thinks I’m okay. That’s what he does.” Timothy looked back at her as he was placed on the suit’s shoulder. “He protects me.”
“Oh, so the suit isn’t a homicidal maniac! Boy, I’m sure glad I was –“
“This Will Be Logged As A Mistake,” Alaster chimed, cutting the super-heroine off. “Repeat The Offence, And You Will Not Live.”
Once again, the suit turned and limped away.
“Hey, wait! I didn’t turn up here for fun! I need your help!”
But Timothy could only call back with “Sorry” as the duo, again, left her behind.
---
Teus frowned.
“That woman,” he muttered. “What is…”
He leaned forward, speaking at the scrying glass, allowing the magical resonance to carry his words to the retrieval team.
“Spread out. Do not be seen. Assume that the woman is a high-priority threat and eliminate her if the opportunity presents itself. Keep the suit in sight.”
Wordlessly, the black-clad mages complied. That done, Teus leant back in his throne and looked around.
“Archmage Ranu!”
The floppy-hatted wizard from the meeting earlier rushed up. Teus noticed, for the first time, that the man was thin and ridiculously wrinked, as if there was a bit too much skin for the rest of the body. Odd, the details you missed in a meeting.
“Yes, lord?”
Teus regarded the lesser wizard for a moment.
“I’m releasing Archmage Yessic’s notes,” he said eventually. “I grant you permission to read them. We need as much information as possible on the construction of this suit and how to defeat it. But they must be returned at the end of this debacle. I’ll know if they aren’t. Understood?”
Ranu bowed.
“Clearly, my lord.”
Teus watched the wizard scurry away, and then turned back to the scrying glass.
“Change back to the bird creature, please. Its plight amuses me.”
The wizards complied, but not without glances at each other.
---
“Alaster?”
“Yes?”
“’m tired.”
Alaster looked around. Its damaged components rattled as it did so, but its own welfare was low on the list of priorities. If the boy needed to sleep, he would be able to. But the surroundings weren’t particularly inviting at the moment. Back alleys tended not to be. Plus, the law enforcement would soon arrive, along with the woman (it tried hard not to assign various demeaning tags to her in its memory core) and any other competitors. No, it had to keep moving.
It sheathed the vorpal broadsword. Normal scabbards couldn’t hold a vorpal weapon, but there was one material those metals couldn’t cut through. Thankfully, it was rare, even in the Realms. With its arms now free, it gently plucked Timothy from its shoulder and cradled him, as best as it could. As it did, it stepped into a deep shadow, making sure nothing gleamed or caught the light.
There was a muffled “g’night” from the boy.
“Good Night.”
Timothy’s breathing slowed. Alaster kept watch.
In the distance, sirens sounded.