Traveler of Another Realm 2

[Anonymous]

Tyslon went with the others to the village, taking the other basket from Matai as they walked along.  When they came into the village proper, an elven man with a staff similar to Tyslon's began to follow them.  "Where have you been all afternoon?" he called out to Tyslon.  

Tyslon winced at the familiar voice before stopping and turning around to respond.  "I have been making new friends," he replied.  "Matai, Elarath, meet Adonarius.  I am his apprentice."

"Matai I know of, but Elarath I have never heard," Adonarius said, coming closer.  "This emblem on your clothing--I have seen it before, in the ancient tome of--"  It was then that his mind and his eye fell on Tyslon.  With a knowing look, he said slowly, "How many grams of star-leaf essence are in the vials right now?"

Tyslon swallowed before answering.  "There should be six, as alway--"

"--Do not lie to me, boy," Adonarius cut him off.  "I know when you are hiding something.  If I were to look in the stores we keep right now, what would I find?"

So much for secrecy.  Tyslon bit his lower lip and looked at the ground.  "Five, master."

"I see," Adonarius said.  "And what were you doing with this ingredient?  I can think of little that would interest you for which you could possibly need it."  He put his hand under Tyslon's chin and lifted the young man's head so that they were eye to eye and raised an eyebrow questioningly.  "I suggest that you answer me truthfully.  The realm of magic is a very dangerous one and not to be toyed with."

[Anonymous]

Matai walked a little behind Tyslon when the Adonarius.  She smiled slightly and nodded to him, recognizing his name from his work.  She said nothing as Adonarius scolded Tyslon, him being his master he had the right to be angry.  When Tyslon hesitated with his answer she took a step forward, manuevering her body to stand slightly between the two men, laying a hand on Adonarius' arm, lowering his hand from Tyslons chin.

Adonarius, you are a great mage, your works is widely known among this realm, you have every right to be angry with your apprentice here.  But let us take this inside where it is a bit more private.  We would not want everyone knowing of this little predicament.

She said before smiling and walking down the street and to a pub/hotel with a large sign that read "Assulin's" above the door.  She opened the door and invited the others in.

[Anonymous]

"Of course," Adonarius said, going with them to the pub.  Once they were inside, he took them to the room his order frequented when they stayed there; they had all raised soundproofing spells so that none of their meetings were eavesdropped upon.  When the door was shut, he turned to face Tyslon and said, "Stealing spell ingredients for your own youthful purposes I could understand and easily punish with a sound lashing, but the star-leaf essence is much more than a simple spell ingredient--you know that full well--and what you have done with it has amounted to meddling with the very fabric of the universe.  It is a wonder all that has resulted is that you have torn someone from another dimension!  Did you think that the order would not sense a disruption in the cosmos and begin looking for its source?  They will discover this sooner or later, whether or not it is kept secret that you are responsible."  He put a hand on each of Tyslon's shoulders and looked piercingly, with deepest grief, into the young man's eyes.  "Tyslon, they will not risk bringing another cataclysm upon the Earth before its time."

"Master?" Tyslon said, growing pale.  "Master, please don't look at me like that--I beg you, say something!" he added, but Adonarius only turned away, looking as though he were losing a son.  

His back still turned, Adonarius gathered himself and said, "I will speak for your life at the council, but that is all that I have power to do."  He faced Tyslon once more and said, his hand held out, his voice broken, "Give me your staff."  When Tyslon hesitantly did so, he muttered a few words, and the staff disintegrated in his hand to a pile of sawdust on the floor.

"No..." Tyslon said, watching the powdery substance settle.

[Anonymous]

Elarath merely watched the events that happened; he had hundreds of questions in his mind from what the elder mage had said, but his mouth uttered nothing, even when Tyslon's staff was disintegrated. Finally, one question rose above them all, and escaped his lips:

"Adonarius, sir...Did you say cataclysm? And, more so, did you say another?

[Anonymous]

Galaxyguy had been fumbling through his pack, trying to find something he could use to buy some food and drink. Many people in the bar had been glancing at him oddly. Who wouldn't, he was a tall, blue-skinned man. The door opened and he looked up, it was the three from the forest, but they were being led by another man. He stared as they went into a private room, then shrugged. "Gotta get some money.." He mutters, as he finally pulls out a small pouch. On the the leather bag is inscribed a "Z" in black. He reached in and pulled out a few sapphires. He meandered his way to the front of the bar, and asked the bartender where he could find a shop he could sell them at.

"Right next door, sir." He said, barely looking up. Galaxyguy had the feeling he was intentionally avoiding his gaze. With a sadly mumbled thanks, he steps outside and quicklt takes the few steps to the next door.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." He says, walking in and heading straight for the counter. The poor old lady cowered in fear as she looked up. "Oh, no worries, I'm only here to sell these Sapphires." He smiled. Dropping the gems on the table, he waited for her to calm down and look them over.

"Quite a find you have here, young man." Galaxyguy chuckled as she called him a young man. Judging by his estimates, he was probably much older than she. Though he decided to keep the guise of being younger, for the sake of not scaring anyone even more.  "These are very well cut, and so delicately carved." He had forgotten a few of them had been shaped into animals. The small stones were some items he had aquired while he himself had owned a small store.

"Yes, thank you, I am aware. Now, how much for them? If you don't mind, I need the money for food, and I'm getting kind of hungry..." She quickly apologized and grabbed a bag to put the gold payment in. She put the sapphires in a small case, and handed him the bag. "Thank you very much, ma'am." He says happily, smiling as he walks away.

"No, thank you, young man." She responds. Galaxyguy leaps back to the bar and orders some ale to take back to his table. He sat down with a sigh and began drinking.

[Anonymous]

Out of the kitchen came a man of about 6’3â€? with curling black hair that came down to just around his shoulders that he wore pulled back.  He held a tray in one hand, which held a large bowl of stew, bread, and a large portion of chicken.  In his other hand he held a pitcher of ale, frothing over the rim with foam.  He ducked under the bar and straightened, his green eyes scanning the crowd.  He spotted a man with oddly hued skin sitting alone at a table.  This had to be the one she was talking about.  How many blue men do you run along around here?  He approached the table with a jovial smile on his face, setting down the tray in front of the man and refilling his mug of ale.  

â€?On the house, compliments of my sister Matai.  She told me that you were here and asked me to bring you some food.

[Anonymous]

"I said both of what you heard," Adonarius replied.  "A very long time ago, long before any of us--except perhaps yourself, if you are ageless or have a longer lifespan than our people--the Earth itself was shattered when Darkness, spreading like a vile disease, claimed the hearts of millions.  This destruction was done of the Earth's own will, to destroy Darkness for good, so that it could be reborn once more into the pure state of its origin. And, in time it was recreated and renewed...free, peaceful, and beautiful. Just as it had been when it was first created. Life, too, returned with Earth's recreation, and the inhabitants enjoyed ages of peaceâ€"and ignorance of Earth's dark past.  But nothing lasts forever, and fate has seen the old Darkness reborn as surely as the Earth has been renewed. A Darkness that has once more risen up in the form of war, death, and insatiable greed, transforming a world of peace into a world of corruption and intrigue, wrought with infinite power-struggles, religious conflict, and buried secrets.  It can and will happen again if we are not careful.  Life revolves and evolves in an unavoidable cycle, and heaven forbid we should alter the course of time to bring the inevitable before its place in the caverns of fate."

[Anonymous]

Galaxyguy looks up at the man and smiles. "Why thank you, sir. Tell your sister I thank her as well, that is, if you see her before I do." He looked at the chicken hungrily. "If youi'd like to join me, good sir, you are more than welcome." Without pause after, he began devouring the chicken. Even as he bit into the meat, he was already eyeing the stew and bread.

[Anonymous]

Elarath's mouth hung open, slightly; he quickly shut it, and took in everything that the man had said. It was almost too much to bear for him.

Great evils, ressurecting worlds, and a great cataclysm...By the gods of Sun and Moon, what have I gotten myself into?

"Your words seem quite nearly impossible, but I have no doubt that you speak the truth, master mage. By your telling of it, this world would seem to be on the brink of destruction. Are there those who would seek to stop this from happening, or is this horrible fate to be ignored until no salvation can be had?"

A sudden thought struck Elarath after he said this.

If this entire world had been shattered, then how is it that he has the knowledge of its destruction? Is he an immortal? Or is there a secret to this matter? I must know more of this, in time.

[Anonymous]

Matai sat on the side of one of the bed, slightly eyeing it for a quick inspection.  It looked tidy enough, but not to her standards.  She would tell Meg that she needs to do a deep cleaning in every on of the rooms before the weeks end.  She listened to Adonarius tell his tale of Earth, and it's destruction long ago.  She closed her eyes as she listened, pain welling up in her heart as she watched the destruction through the horrified eyes of her ancient, and long since past ancestors.  The pain and suffering all had to go through was almost too much for her to handle.  

She opened her eyes, not a single sign of what she was feeling showed on her face, which she had trained to be totally emotionless.  But her eyes.  Normally the color of trees in the spring, had now changed to an aubern, almost orange hue.  They looked like they held the very fire of hell dancing in them.  Like two suns.  She stood up and walked to Adonarius, laid a hand on his shoulder softly, her hand was hot to the touch and pulsating with it's heat, nearly vibrating.  Power surged through her before she could restrain it and she began to glow slightly as she looked into his eyes.

"Adonarius, cousin.  I know that we are of the different magics of the Realm, but we must work together in this, and quickly.  The consiquences are much too great for us to wait."

She said before lifting her hand from his shoulder, leaving it feeling warm and tingling.  She turned to Elarath and chanted a few words under her breath before walking to the window, leaning on the seal and staring outside.  Her body still glowed sligthly but not as strongly as it had before.

[Anonymous]

Tyslon approached Adonarius and put a hand pleadingly on the mage's arm.  "Master, I--I never meant to cause all of this to happen," he said.  

"You have not brought about the end of the world," Adonarius replied, "only the risk of it.  It is a dangerous thing to displace even one thread of the cosmos, or even to hint at its possibility.  And whether or not you intended to cause any trouble will make no difference before the judgment of the council.  The discipline of our order is swift and certain, and you will meet it; there is no mistaking that.  But do not think that because it was made in the foolishness of youth that the gravity of your offense will be lessened in their eyes.  To them it still has the same effect or potential effect on the universe, and therefore it shall be judged in the same manner.  It matters not even if you swear a solemn oath to never do something so foolish again.  But as I said, I will speak for you.  Let us both hope that your life will be spared."

"I am afraid, Master," Tyslon said, letting Adonarius bring what little comfort could be taken at that moment from a fatherly embrace.

"You should be," Adonarius said, his voice breaking a bit.  "Oh, why did you not listen to my warnings?  Why do humans seem to have such an insatiable curiosity for the forbidden?  Could you not have waited until I was ready to give you access to such knowledge?  The price for your ambition will indeed be high, perhaps more than you can pay."

Tyslon broke down at that moment, knowing what Adonarius must have been going through at that moment, for he knew the mage so well that he could almost sense his thoughts by the way that he reacted to things.  Through his weeping, he said in a pained voice, "Forgive me for bringing disgrace upon you, Master.  Forgive me..."

"All is forgotten," Adonarius said, putting Tyslon at arm's length so he could look at him better.  He then closed his eyes and brought his left hand instinctively to his temple, as if trying to think more clearly or to concentrate on a recent thought.  His hand moved before him and cupped beneath the tiny cloud that formed above it and hovered, slowly rotating and changing in form until it looked more like a hand-sized mirror of clear, reflective glass.  

"It is time..."  said a voice from the midst of the mirror which widened and lengthened into a man-sized portal.  Adonarius gestured the portal to suspend itself to one side of Tyslon and him.  

Tyslon drew back.  "I can't..." he said desperately.

"You must," Adonarius replied, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder.  "They know now.  It was only a matter of time before the truth was discovered."  He turned Tyslon to face him.  "I will come to you soon, when I am summoned.  And if the pain is too great for you bear, turn your eyes to me then, and I will do what I can."  Never did he think that the cruel forms of punishment the humans had devised would one day be preferable to what the boy could endure at the hands of the order.  Adonarius guided Tyslon through the portal, and then the youth was gone, along with any sign of the portal.  

Adonarius then half-collapsed onto one of the other beds in the room.  He leaned over and covered his face with his hands, his former, more composed demeanor shattered.  His shoulders shook with sobbing too deep for him to even cry out.

[Anonymous]

Ksayumi hadn't had the best of times since her sudden and unexpected freedom. She had been released from being a slave and then she had begun her life as a servant, and yet again, she was freed from her services. And this had made the girl quite sulky, starved, and fearful. Now what was she to do? She had no idea what to do! Living on her own was not a task she was willing to comprehend or take up. She knew many who had lost freedom adn longed for. But she was born as a slave and knew nothing else. And she was so highly dependent on masters that she was nearly starving. Her instincts were muffled quite thoroughly. So, she was left to wander, looking for a suitable master. But she was slowly growing weaker.

The long-limbed, and long necked girl peered through a crack she created with the door. Her large, serval ears turned and flicked backwards, settling in the tawny brown hair. Her face and body was focused on human status. Her skin was light and soft, although her skin had some very light darkened spots, barley noticeable on her skin. Her tail was short and limp behind her. She bore claws on her cat like feet and hands, obviously her feet couldn't fit into shoes so they were bear. And the spots were darker on her hands and feet and along her legs nad arms and perhaps a bit more fuzzier.

Her nose twitched, her face vaguely cat like as she slipped inside. She growled slightly, although it was pathetic. There was a scratch on her cheek and she looked unkept and she felt out of place. Right now sher could be tending laundry or curled up in a quilt.. Anything was better than wandering.

So, she stepped in, a clawed hand clutched the few precious coins her previous master left her with. She was walking past Galaxyguy's table and her slight hip hit it, making her jump a foot or so in the air and dart under the nearest, unoccupied table, yellow-orange eyes peering from beneath a chair. It was just then that her small size could be told, crouched and clutching a chair, her 4 foot and a quarter self huddled. It also became noticeable that her hair was slightly staticky looking.

Oh dear. She just realized she had dropped the coins and like lightning she snapped and clawed out and clapped it over a coin and pulled it towards her, her eyes catching the glint of the coins on the ground. She snapped each to her and scooped it into her hand in a matter of seconds. When you were a servant you learned to react quickly if something in the household was slightly out of order.

[Anonymous]

Galaxyguy raised his eyebrows in amusement towards the girl under the table. He had never seen someone react in such a way to simply knocking into someting, "Hello there." He smiles, getting up and moving closer to her. He crouches down right by the bat girl, and studies her curiously. "Are you alright?"

[Anonymous]

Ksayumi hadn't expected him to kneel down beside her or even ask her if she was okay. She shyly nodded her head, large ears sifted against her tawny hair. Up this close, the faint black tear drop markings in the inside of her eyes towards her lips, but not quite. She watched him with her yellow orange eyes from beneath the table. Her hair relaxed, lying smoothly as she studied him with cat suspicioun.

"Yes, m'lord," she spoke in a kitten purring softness, her tail tucked tight against her.

The serval girl had always been told to call everyone either m'lord or m'lady and she did so. She would follow the instructions of previous mistresses and masters faithfully. But a brillant idea struck her as she slowly moved the chair and creep outwards, her slightly oddly long limbs unfolding from her as she moved to stand to her 4 foot and qaurter height. Her large ears perked upwards, eyes laying on him shyly. Maybe he could be her new master? Would he hire her? Eagerly she gazed at him. She didn't want to be on the streets anymore.

"Do you need a servant, m'lord?" She purred, reaching out a hand to help him up.

Always offer your services.

[Anonymous]

Tyslon...Is he in danger? Has he commited some sort of crime? And how is someone talking through the mirror?

Elarath gasped as he watched his companion disappear, into the mirror's portal. In an instant he was gone, off to some other plane Elarath had no knowledge of. He turned to the master mage, having both bewilderment and concern on his face simultaneously.

"Sir Adonarius, what's happened to Tyslon? Who are 'they', and how could they speak through the mirror?"

[Anonymous]

It was some time before Adonarius could speak again.  He did his best to dry his eyes and look up.  " 'They' are the high council of my order," he answered, " and as soon as they noticed a disturbance in the universe, they assembled, and have now called for the accused to answer for his offense.  He will not be able to lie to them; if he does, their magic will destroy him no matter what the verdict would have been, for the oath of truth is binding beyond even their interference when it is taken before the council.  The mirror that you saw was one of the many ways, telepathy among them, that the members of our order communicate--or transport, in certain circumstances.  We could not assemble so quickly from the many parts of the Earth without it."

He fingered the detailed carving of his staff as he continued.  "I will be called soon to speak for him.  I only pray that their questioning thus far has left his sanity intact.  For one of our order to be charged with such, the telepathic mind-probing and interrogation is often enough to nearly drive one mad."  He paused to gather himself again.  "At least I know that he will not be put to death until I have a chance to speak."  

He closed his eyes for a while, as if watching something in his mind--in truth, he was watching the high council, waiting for his time to speak to arrive.  When he looked back up, his face still bore the same pained expression of helplessness.  "All I can do is wait."

[Anonymous]

Such cruelty...Utter disregard for human life, is what that is.

Elarath went over what the mage had just said, shocked by what he'd heard. It seemed to him that the high council was completely uncaring about the suffering of others, merely for the sake of preserving order.

That is why chaos is needed, as well as order. There has to be something to counter such a cold, harsh way of thinking. Unfortunately, it's usually one or the other that has the upper hand, and then the balance is tipped...

"In my land, we have honor. We have respect for living beings, be they human or not, allies or foes. We wouldn't torture our criminals and enemies with such probing...In any case, what is the most likely result of this trial? Will his life be spared?"

[Anonymous]

It was then that Adonarius' expression changed noticeably.  His countenance did not suddenly take on one of anger, or indignation, rather it deepened in its grief at the misunderstanding.  "Do you not know," he said slowly, sorrowfully, "how much human life is at stake when one tampers with the fabric of the universe?  It is the whole of existence as this dimension knows it--every single planet on every single solar system, human life as well as the other races and peoples."

"They do not torture Tyslon, this high council of our order, but it is the very universe itself that seeks out any possibility of a catalyst to its own destruction, making sure that no underlying evil is at work in what has been done, preserving the delicate threads from which the cosmos is woven.  It is this deep searching of the soul that is an agony--to have one's spirit exposed for all to see, to be faced with the vastness of the universe all at once while still in one's living form, a fate normally reserved only for those who have already passed into the afterlife and whose souls are not bound to a body.

"Tyslon's spirit, like all the others who have faced the same interrogation, will wish to take its rightful place in the universe--will long to go to the place where it is destined when his body perishes, but since he is yet alive and present in his body, it cannot, and that is where he shall suffer, for he will have to accept that all the truth-revealing vastness, beyond the infinity and the perfect peace of what is to come, is not yet ready to take him in, and his very spirit will cry out within him, longing to go where it is ultimately destined, and trying to go there--but being forced to stay within mortal bounds until his true death where his spirit will be released.

"But there must be a truth-finding, and to be exposed to the ultimate discerner of truth is the only way to know for certain that all risk to the universe has been sought out, all potential for evil to again take final hold on the world.  The only thing to which I can compare what the experience will be is to be ravenously hungry, only inches away from a sumptuous banquet, but to be chained in a prison cell so that one's hand can only barely touch the food but not bring it to one's lips."  

He bowed his head and paused to gather the painful memory.  "When I was an apprentice, nearly three hundred years ago, I too faced such a questioning of the spirit.  It was for an offense for which I had been falsely accused, but nevertheless the truth had to be found out."  His eyes closed as his hand reached out as if what he saw in his memory were happening right then.  "I saw all that was perfect, complete, all the good that could possibly be in one place, all the happiness that awaited the freed soul."  

Then he opened his eyes, still reaching out for that from which he had been held back.  "And I strained to get to it.  I wanted to be there, far from the shackles of mortal life, but I could not.  I cried out with the agony of it, and my master's voice was what saved me from going utterly mad with the knowledge that I must wait for such a consolation.  He brought me back a little to the land of the mortal.  He took my face in his hands and looked deep into my pain-ridden eyes, reminding me where I was meant to stay for yet a while longer.  

"None of us wish this upon Tyslon--for all are old enough to have experienced it at least once in their lifetimes.  And some...some who are very weak or sickly in body have not survived, for their flesh has not been able to hold them back, and their spirit forces itself to be released, to go to its paradise.  I do not believe that Tyslon will find his eternal peace in this manner.  But if I do not speak for him, he will most certainly be put to death.  He has already been stripped of his status as apprentice--that I was forced to do myself, and what magic he has will be taken away as well, leaving him as any other human being on the planet, unable to tamper with the universe again in such powerfull ways as magic, only capable of bringing its destruction in the way in which all life is capable--slowly, by the very avarice and greed and evil which brought about the first cataclysm."

[Anonymous]

Galaxyguy looks thouroughly confused as he listens to the girl. M'lord?He thought, There's no way she could know my status in Astrolian society. He was about to ask her to call him Galaxyguy when she asked if he needed a servant. Who is this girl? He couldn't help but laugha at the offer though.

"Eh, no, I don't believe I need a servant, but thank you." He smiles warmly as he stands up with her help. "Please, join me for some dinner. My name is Galaxyguy, and you are?" he sat down at the table his food was at, and offered the seat next to him.

[Anonymous]

As he laughed at her she dipped her vaguely cat like face, oval ears flatting against her head as she pulled him to his feet. She watched him sit down and was physically surprised when he told her to sit down. That wasn't too surprising - it was the fact of where it was. Next to her? She slowly, timidly scooted herself to the seat, pawhands clapsing as she sat gazing down at the tabletop, taking note of each groove and swirl in the wood.

"I am Ksayumi, m'lord. If you wish you can call me Yumi," she spoke in that soft-spoken way.

She felt so odd, sitting in a tavern. She had never been invited to sit down next to someone such as himself. And never had she been able to order her own dinner. But it didn't look that hard... And yet, she couldn't bring herself to ask for a waiter or waitress. So, quietly, she sat there in a bit of a reclusive state, yellow-orange eyes gazing at the table. The only time she had ordered food it had not been for herself. It had been for the children she took care of.

"Do you know of anyone who would need of a servant, m'lord?" It was obvious she wasn't quite comfortable with speaking when not spoken too.

She lifted her face, just slightly, too look at him. She couldn't make it on her own.