04-22-2016, 09:46 PM
The bowl of the fountain was made of rough-hewn, white stone and over ten yards in diameter. Up from the middle grew a tree trunk of brown stained glass. The glass reached up and out until it formed branches. At the end of them grew tiny, green glass leaves. The water moved up and out, like a real tree. Small pores in the leaves let the water fall back down into the bowl, forming a curtain of water. The perfect white light in the room refracted through the water and glass filling the inside of the fountain with dancing rainbows.
A form took shape somewhere behind the fall of water. Difficult to make out at first, it soon became recognizable as a body hanging from a branch and slowly swinging back in forth. After a few moments, it reached up and snapped the rope arounds its neck.
Odin’s heavy boots kicked up a spray of water as he dropped into the fountain’s basin. Blinking slowly, he examined his surroundings. Clearly that being, Omni, knew about the world it stole Odin from. The god was at a disadvantage; he knew nothing other than the few pieces of information that being deigned to grant to him. Not knowing what powers he had left, he tried an experiment. Concentrating, he forced his body to change over the next few seconds. His nose grew long and crooked. His back became slightly bent. The blade on his spear disappeared, leaving it a walking stick, which he leaned on. The brim of his hat grew so that it covered his face. His clothes became more tattered, and his hair more scraggily. When the illusion was finished, he seemed nothing more than a feeble old man.
The old man stepped through the waterfall; his hat keeping him dry for the most part. At the wall of the basin, he paused. Then slowly, he stepped over it. Once on the far side, he took a seat on the stones. Taking off his hat, he shook it out. Replacing it, he listened to the conversations of those idling nearby.
To the west, Odin spotted six men marching in formation. They wore some kind of white, shiny armor. They kept their distance from the fountain and kept eyeing a group to the east. The men to the east were wearing leather armor covered by green cloaks. They were armed with short swords and bows. It appeared they were mirroring the men in white. Nearby, groups of people stood impatiently eyeing the fountain. It appeared they were waiting for something.
Listening to the conversations, Odin heard a word that caught his attention. Yggdrasil. Slowly, he stood and shuffled over to the group that had mentioned Yggdrasil. “Excuse me,” he said to the group as they turned toward him. “Can you tell me what realm you are in?”
One of the young men smiled at Odin and said, “Ah, you must be new.” Waving his hand, he continued, “This place here is the Nexus. It is the center of everything in the Omniverse…” He went on to explain the different realms and portals to them.
Odin smiled at the man. “Thank you for being so helpful to such an old man. But I heard you mention Yggdrasil. Where is that?”
The man laughed. “You may be old, but if you are coming from there,” he continued, “you are a prime. And if you are a prime, you are powerful. All I ask is that you consider joining Camelot in the coming weeks. As for Yggdrasil, it’s in The Tangled Green. It is huge and hard to miss. The hard part will be getting to it though. It is through miles and miles of dense jungle filled with ferocious predators. You may be a prime, but it will still be dangerous.”
Odin thanked the man again before stepping away. Once he had a little space, he decided to try the whole summoning thing with Omnilium. He concentrated on the idea of Sleipnir. His white coat. The crunch of snow beneath his hooves. The warmth of his body. It took nearly ten minutes of details, but he finally succeeded. He decided to only summon him with 4 legs, however. Hopefully after he got away from the fountain, people would be more willing to buy the old man act.
“Hello old friend,” he said, patting the horse on the flank. Sleipnir whinnied in response and stomped his foot. Odin climbed on top of him and gave him a little kicked. A few seconds later, they were charging northeast toward the portal that would lead him to The Tangled Green.
When Odin arrived at the portal, he didn’t slow down. Afraid that if he stopped to look at the amazing edifice, he would lose countless hours to his examination. So a brief instant later, he was gone.
A form took shape somewhere behind the fall of water. Difficult to make out at first, it soon became recognizable as a body hanging from a branch and slowly swinging back in forth. After a few moments, it reached up and snapped the rope arounds its neck.
Odin’s heavy boots kicked up a spray of water as he dropped into the fountain’s basin. Blinking slowly, he examined his surroundings. Clearly that being, Omni, knew about the world it stole Odin from. The god was at a disadvantage; he knew nothing other than the few pieces of information that being deigned to grant to him. Not knowing what powers he had left, he tried an experiment. Concentrating, he forced his body to change over the next few seconds. His nose grew long and crooked. His back became slightly bent. The blade on his spear disappeared, leaving it a walking stick, which he leaned on. The brim of his hat grew so that it covered his face. His clothes became more tattered, and his hair more scraggily. When the illusion was finished, he seemed nothing more than a feeble old man.
The old man stepped through the waterfall; his hat keeping him dry for the most part. At the wall of the basin, he paused. Then slowly, he stepped over it. Once on the far side, he took a seat on the stones. Taking off his hat, he shook it out. Replacing it, he listened to the conversations of those idling nearby.
To the west, Odin spotted six men marching in formation. They wore some kind of white, shiny armor. They kept their distance from the fountain and kept eyeing a group to the east. The men to the east were wearing leather armor covered by green cloaks. They were armed with short swords and bows. It appeared they were mirroring the men in white. Nearby, groups of people stood impatiently eyeing the fountain. It appeared they were waiting for something.
Listening to the conversations, Odin heard a word that caught his attention. Yggdrasil. Slowly, he stood and shuffled over to the group that had mentioned Yggdrasil. “Excuse me,” he said to the group as they turned toward him. “Can you tell me what realm you are in?”
One of the young men smiled at Odin and said, “Ah, you must be new.” Waving his hand, he continued, “This place here is the Nexus. It is the center of everything in the Omniverse…” He went on to explain the different realms and portals to them.
Odin smiled at the man. “Thank you for being so helpful to such an old man. But I heard you mention Yggdrasil. Where is that?”
The man laughed. “You may be old, but if you are coming from there,” he continued, “you are a prime. And if you are a prime, you are powerful. All I ask is that you consider joining Camelot in the coming weeks. As for Yggdrasil, it’s in The Tangled Green. It is huge and hard to miss. The hard part will be getting to it though. It is through miles and miles of dense jungle filled with ferocious predators. You may be a prime, but it will still be dangerous.”
Odin thanked the man again before stepping away. Once he had a little space, he decided to try the whole summoning thing with Omnilium. He concentrated on the idea of Sleipnir. His white coat. The crunch of snow beneath his hooves. The warmth of his body. It took nearly ten minutes of details, but he finally succeeded. He decided to only summon him with 4 legs, however. Hopefully after he got away from the fountain, people would be more willing to buy the old man act.
“Hello old friend,” he said, patting the horse on the flank. Sleipnir whinnied in response and stomped his foot. Odin climbed on top of him and gave him a little kicked. A few seconds later, they were charging northeast toward the portal that would lead him to The Tangled Green.
When Odin arrived at the portal, he didn’t slow down. Afraid that if he stopped to look at the amazing edifice, he would lose countless hours to his examination. So a brief instant later, he was gone.