07-09-2018, 11:15 PM
The scholar and the majin rode in silence for several hours, their shadows stretching tall against the sand as they rode forward. Graowr was now lounging on the back of her horse, a feat of balance that the Sage was quickly realizing the majin did not comprehend about herself, staring up at the first evening stars with a wide-eyed interest. The Sage wondered at her thoughts in passing, but was too absorbed in his own musings to press her. If she had something pressing to speak about, she certainly wouldn’t hesitate to mention it, he would let the silence have its chance for now.
The dunes presented a kind of peace that was in precious short supply here in the Omniverse. Moment to moment, rushing straight into the fray without time to consider or prepare, it was slowly but steadily sapping the Sage of his fortitude and wits. The encounter with Dupree should not have devolved that quickly, a deal could have been made, a scheme to pilfer the notes undetected if nothing else. The Sage’s hands were no cleaner than the next dealer in antiques and artifacts, but even so that had been handled tactlessly. A book to help you find yourself. the Sage thought with a rueful chuckle, Advice that I need just as much as the chapel-eyed girl it seems…
The darkness swept over then quickly, as if it had been anticipating light’s retreat, and the stars sprung to life with a radiance no Coruscant resident would ever appreciate. Graowr was still staring, and the Sage found his gaze turned equally heavenward as they travelled further, grateful for a distraction from his own self-reckoning.
“Do you think one of those is home?” Graowr asked after a while, not bothering to clarify the number of possible interpretations the statement held. Her horse nudged its way in front of the Sage’s mare, allowing the two to speak without having to turn awkwardly.
“Well as far as I am aware, the stars here in the Omniverse serve only to provide the illusion of a larger reality. That they are more simply plastered upon the ceiling far above us. A much more… impactful story of Icarus, as it were.” Graowr’s look was as nonplussed as the Sage’s own thoughts on that answer.
“That’s dumb.” She pronounced, “That’s not how stars and planets work at all. You can travel between them if you go fast enough.”
“Really?” the Sage’s own eyes were wide now, as implications sprung up like weeds, “Dupree’s notes had mentioned some theorization on a so-called ‘space verse’ that stretched between the other verses. He proposed that the gates we utilize now merely shorten the distance between physically isolated locales, and that it might be possible to gain access to otherwise inaccessible places in the process.”
“Like where?” the majin asked, sitting up now, and leaning forwards on her hands though she was still riding her horse backwards,
“The Void and the Oververse spring immediately to mind…” the Sage answered, “Though if his theory is correct it could explain the existence of the so-called pocket verses, such as… er, the realms that Nebula was said to have spawned from, for example.”
“Does that mean that Void place is a planet?” Graowr seemed skeptical at best, and without knowing Dupree’s sources the Sage felt poorly prepared to defend them. It might be best to abdicate this position for the moment.
“To me the verses had always seemed more in tow with the concept of differing planes of reality than differing planets. The Underverse in particular harkens a shift in a non-spatial design, as does the design for the banishment circle…. I wonder if Omni’s decision to…” The Sage was now wholely lost to scholarship, his voice reverting more and more to mumbling, heedless of Graowr’s disinterest, until she spoke up again some minutes later.
“Do you think that the only things out there are the Verses?” she asked, loud enough that The Sage looked up from his notepad, and a feverishly scribbled alignment of the verse-planes.
“Perhaps, though I don’t know that there is much point to the discovery beyond academic reasons. The verses provide us with everything that the hale young mind could seek. All for the sacrifice of our queit evenings? I consider the bargain well struck in our favor.” The Sage shrugged, eyes straying towards his notepad again.
“But if you could get back to your home?” Graowr retorted, bringing the subtext of the conversation out into the open at last. The Sage frowned, scribbling out a diagram with mildly excessive force.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to stay.” He said without pausing or looking up, “Though we primes have been… blessed? Cursed? Let’s just say chosen, shall we? With knowledge of our former existences, there are many people here for whom the Verses are all they have ever known. Do they not deserve an equal share of truth? I burned many bridges in my youth, I was angry, and in my spite, I closed many doors I would later regret. By the time the years granted me the befuddlement that I have come to term wisdom, my name was reviled by far too many of my peers to pursue any hope of truth.” The Sage looked up at Graowr now, and though his tone had some bite, his eyes seemed more sad than embittered.
“Here I have been given a second chance as it were, to pursue truths that were otherwise hidden and allow others a share in that truth. This world is little more than a decade old by every account given. I stand in the unique position of fulfilling an impossibility for my field, the entirety of the Omniverse’s history lies waiting to be told, without the claws of time entrenched within their stories. I can record it all.” the greed may have shown through slightly too much in the Sage’s eyes, because Graowr didn’t say anything in response, just nodding slightly to herself and turning around to reassure her horse.
The steed whined, but its unease was still quite evident. The Sage frowned, noting his own mare’s flicking ears and listless glances. The Majin twisted her head around to face him, and their eyes met, thought’s in agreement.
Something dangerous was nearby.
The dunes presented a kind of peace that was in precious short supply here in the Omniverse. Moment to moment, rushing straight into the fray without time to consider or prepare, it was slowly but steadily sapping the Sage of his fortitude and wits. The encounter with Dupree should not have devolved that quickly, a deal could have been made, a scheme to pilfer the notes undetected if nothing else. The Sage’s hands were no cleaner than the next dealer in antiques and artifacts, but even so that had been handled tactlessly. A book to help you find yourself. the Sage thought with a rueful chuckle, Advice that I need just as much as the chapel-eyed girl it seems…
The darkness swept over then quickly, as if it had been anticipating light’s retreat, and the stars sprung to life with a radiance no Coruscant resident would ever appreciate. Graowr was still staring, and the Sage found his gaze turned equally heavenward as they travelled further, grateful for a distraction from his own self-reckoning.
“Do you think one of those is home?” Graowr asked after a while, not bothering to clarify the number of possible interpretations the statement held. Her horse nudged its way in front of the Sage’s mare, allowing the two to speak without having to turn awkwardly.
“Well as far as I am aware, the stars here in the Omniverse serve only to provide the illusion of a larger reality. That they are more simply plastered upon the ceiling far above us. A much more… impactful story of Icarus, as it were.” Graowr’s look was as nonplussed as the Sage’s own thoughts on that answer.
“That’s dumb.” She pronounced, “That’s not how stars and planets work at all. You can travel between them if you go fast enough.”
“Really?” the Sage’s own eyes were wide now, as implications sprung up like weeds, “Dupree’s notes had mentioned some theorization on a so-called ‘space verse’ that stretched between the other verses. He proposed that the gates we utilize now merely shorten the distance between physically isolated locales, and that it might be possible to gain access to otherwise inaccessible places in the process.”
“Like where?” the majin asked, sitting up now, and leaning forwards on her hands though she was still riding her horse backwards,
“The Void and the Oververse spring immediately to mind…” the Sage answered, “Though if his theory is correct it could explain the existence of the so-called pocket verses, such as… er, the realms that Nebula was said to have spawned from, for example.”
“Does that mean that Void place is a planet?” Graowr seemed skeptical at best, and without knowing Dupree’s sources the Sage felt poorly prepared to defend them. It might be best to abdicate this position for the moment.
“To me the verses had always seemed more in tow with the concept of differing planes of reality than differing planets. The Underverse in particular harkens a shift in a non-spatial design, as does the design for the banishment circle…. I wonder if Omni’s decision to…” The Sage was now wholely lost to scholarship, his voice reverting more and more to mumbling, heedless of Graowr’s disinterest, until she spoke up again some minutes later.
“Do you think that the only things out there are the Verses?” she asked, loud enough that The Sage looked up from his notepad, and a feverishly scribbled alignment of the verse-planes.
“Perhaps, though I don’t know that there is much point to the discovery beyond academic reasons. The verses provide us with everything that the hale young mind could seek. All for the sacrifice of our queit evenings? I consider the bargain well struck in our favor.” The Sage shrugged, eyes straying towards his notepad again.
“But if you could get back to your home?” Graowr retorted, bringing the subtext of the conversation out into the open at last. The Sage frowned, scribbling out a diagram with mildly excessive force.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to stay.” He said without pausing or looking up, “Though we primes have been… blessed? Cursed? Let’s just say chosen, shall we? With knowledge of our former existences, there are many people here for whom the Verses are all they have ever known. Do they not deserve an equal share of truth? I burned many bridges in my youth, I was angry, and in my spite, I closed many doors I would later regret. By the time the years granted me the befuddlement that I have come to term wisdom, my name was reviled by far too many of my peers to pursue any hope of truth.” The Sage looked up at Graowr now, and though his tone had some bite, his eyes seemed more sad than embittered.
“Here I have been given a second chance as it were, to pursue truths that were otherwise hidden and allow others a share in that truth. This world is little more than a decade old by every account given. I stand in the unique position of fulfilling an impossibility for my field, the entirety of the Omniverse’s history lies waiting to be told, without the claws of time entrenched within their stories. I can record it all.” the greed may have shown through slightly too much in the Sage’s eyes, because Graowr didn’t say anything in response, just nodding slightly to herself and turning around to reassure her horse.
The steed whined, but its unease was still quite evident. The Sage frowned, noting his own mare’s flicking ears and listless glances. The Majin twisted her head around to face him, and their eyes met, thought’s in agreement.
Something dangerous was nearby.
Quote:All word/character counts courtesy of wordcounter.net
Word Count -- This Post: 1047 // Word Count (The Humble Sage): 6,866 // Quest Word Count: 13,285
Character Count -- This Post: 6011 // Character Count (The Humble Sage): 38,519
If history is to become legend, it first must be recorded.