02-22-2016, 01:37 AM
The sage sat in the upstairs room, studying the journal he had found on the dead man. He was quite certain it was a journal now, there were obvious dates. He still couldn't understand the writing, and he felt like there was something else about this book that bothered him.
He took another bite of the loaf that the boy had given him, and scribbled a note into his own book. There was one word, that appeared with surprising regularity, particularly in the last few passages. It didn't seem likely to be a name, it seemed to be following too many grammatical trends, but was appearing in too many positions in a given passage to be anything else... He scratched his head, and took a large bite.
The door burst open with a slam that left a small hole where the doorknob. The Sage looked up into the darkened face of Dasha, and swallowed the bite.
“Do you have no common sense?” she almost shouted, then quieted her voice to a more normal volume.
“You'll need to be more specific I'm afraid.” the Sage replied, closing the book with a snap. Dasha glanced at it as he put the journal away, and her brow creased a little more.
“You just figured you'd stroll into Coasta del Sol and nothing would happen? Not like its Imperially-controlled or nothing! I should turn you over to the Imps right now and collect the reward for myself!”
The Sage cocked an eye at her as she said that, “And yet you haven't. So clearly there is something I can do that is of more value to you.” he responded matter-of-factly. Dasha gave him a mirthless smile.
“No, I'm just too damn generous for my own good.” she said with a grunt. She closed the door and pulled up a chair.
“Listen pal, you aren't the first prime to come wandering through this town, and some of them have already caused me a whole verse full of headache, armored brutes crashing speeders into the streets and people brawling on the rooftops in the middle o' the night!” She sighed,
“But I've also seen primes that didn't do nothing, like a little girl who only went around making flowers and ponies.” Dasha fixed the Sage with a heavy stare.
“And the Imperial troops treat the two just the same. They stun 'em, they stick 'em on the back of a bike, and they don't never come back. I ain't sayin' that I have a problem with the Empire, they keep things in order to the point that I don't even need to hire a bouncer. But it ain't right the way they treat your kind.”
She handed him a printout of the bounty description. “They're looking for a white-clad traveler and they know you were heading towards the Vasty deep. They even have a report of what you look like.”
The Sage sat there for a moment, realizing just how little he knew about the place in which he was. He was not safe, and Yianna wouldn't come and rescue him if something went wrong this time. He was a leaf, cut off from the branch, the tree that it had known for all of its life. A leaf cast to the stormy wind.
Well Omni, or whoever you actually are, if I am to be your leaf, then you can just watch me soar away.
“So what will it cost for you to fill me in?” he asked her, rolling up the paper. The young woman fixed him with a look, “That depends a whole bunch on what you know, and what you can do.”
Back downstairs, the Sage mulled over the information, as Dasha worked once more on the taxes.
“I have two- Oh you missed the third line there in your calculations...- I have two questions.”
Dasha only grunted at him and made the adjustment, which the Sage took as her letting him continue.
“These gates are the only connections between the 'verses' and people just leave them alone?” The sage asked almost incredulously. It seemed to him that the best way to claim power in this place, particularly the verses that depended on trade for their continued survival. Dasha shook her head yet again. It was starting to get sore.
“The Empire strictly monitors the portal here in town, all the ones that go to Coruscant really... but besides that you just make too many enemies. The Empire is strong, but you start sectioning people off and you'll have just about every prime pounding down your gates... And nobody's THAT strong.” She paused for a moment and wrote another thing down.
“ 'Sides, the Emperor may claim to be the first o' the primes, but old Omni likes chaos too much to let something like that slide. 'Ours is not to question yon child-like god.' a prime once told me.” she said with a wry grin, and crossed off another box on the paper. “What's question two?”
“Why do you all speak Shallian?”
“I got no idea what that is, but my best guess, Omni did something to you primes that makes y'all understand each other, and since you primes created us secondaries it jus' kind of bled on through.”
The Sage shrugged. It didn't really matter in the end he supposed, since it wasn't something he could do anything about. He had other questions, but they would need someone with a more intimate knowledge of this Omnilium to really answer. Dasha seemed to think it was as easy as just wanting something and then having it. “Like magic.” she had said when he asked her. The Sage knew enough about magic to know there was nothing simple about it. He needed to meet other primes.
Well there was nothing he needed to wait for he supposed, he was a wanted man after all. What do you have to say to that Father? he thought wryly.
“I believe I'll be heading out of town now.” he said after some thought. Dasha nodded, clearly she hadn't expected him to stay in Coasta del Sol. That was not only dangerous, it was counter-productive to both of their goals.
“You'll want some sort of disguise, that all-white get out is not blending in.” she said without looking up.
“It was to camouflage myself in the Nexus.” the Sage said slightly defensively. I still don't know how they spotted me in that thing.
Nevertheless he Extracted the white outfit. There was unlikely to be a better time to try it. He decided that he didn't like extraction, it felt too brutal. There was no way to be delicate when doing it. You reached in and stole the very part of the object that 'made' it, tearing the thing apart from the inside. Like picking the petal of a flower by tearing it up by the roots. No, this would be something he used seldom.
He created a new outfit that was more akin to what he had worn during his days with the forest-men. It was a light tunic, reddish-brown, with some leather for minimal protection. He could no longer assume the safety of civilization. He pulled the satchel over his shoulder and summoned some empty books. This was definitely something he could come to appreciate, not having to barter and argue over every scrape of parchment and bottle of ink.
“Thank you for your hospitality.” he said as he headed for the door, “There may be a horse outside the city, by the nexus gate. It's yours if you want it. I'll make sure to send business your way when I can.”
“Just keep your end of the bargain, Prime.” she said as he left, still focusing on the taxes. Finally she'd have the quiet she needed.
The Sage stepped out into the pre-morning air. He stretched, and breathed in deeply. He hadn't slept at all that night, but his body felt strangely unfatigued. He wasn't liable to complain, there seemed little wisdom to staying in the port-city controlled by the people who were looking for him.
Alright, Omniverse, lets see what stories you've secreted away.
He took another bite of the loaf that the boy had given him, and scribbled a note into his own book. There was one word, that appeared with surprising regularity, particularly in the last few passages. It didn't seem likely to be a name, it seemed to be following too many grammatical trends, but was appearing in too many positions in a given passage to be anything else... He scratched his head, and took a large bite.
The door burst open with a slam that left a small hole where the doorknob. The Sage looked up into the darkened face of Dasha, and swallowed the bite.
“Do you have no common sense?” she almost shouted, then quieted her voice to a more normal volume.
“You'll need to be more specific I'm afraid.” the Sage replied, closing the book with a snap. Dasha glanced at it as he put the journal away, and her brow creased a little more.
“You just figured you'd stroll into Coasta del Sol and nothing would happen? Not like its Imperially-controlled or nothing! I should turn you over to the Imps right now and collect the reward for myself!”
The Sage cocked an eye at her as she said that, “And yet you haven't. So clearly there is something I can do that is of more value to you.” he responded matter-of-factly. Dasha gave him a mirthless smile.
“No, I'm just too damn generous for my own good.” she said with a grunt. She closed the door and pulled up a chair.
“Listen pal, you aren't the first prime to come wandering through this town, and some of them have already caused me a whole verse full of headache, armored brutes crashing speeders into the streets and people brawling on the rooftops in the middle o' the night!” She sighed,
“But I've also seen primes that didn't do nothing, like a little girl who only went around making flowers and ponies.” Dasha fixed the Sage with a heavy stare.
“And the Imperial troops treat the two just the same. They stun 'em, they stick 'em on the back of a bike, and they don't never come back. I ain't sayin' that I have a problem with the Empire, they keep things in order to the point that I don't even need to hire a bouncer. But it ain't right the way they treat your kind.”
She handed him a printout of the bounty description. “They're looking for a white-clad traveler and they know you were heading towards the Vasty deep. They even have a report of what you look like.”
The Sage sat there for a moment, realizing just how little he knew about the place in which he was. He was not safe, and Yianna wouldn't come and rescue him if something went wrong this time. He was a leaf, cut off from the branch, the tree that it had known for all of its life. A leaf cast to the stormy wind.
Well Omni, or whoever you actually are, if I am to be your leaf, then you can just watch me soar away.
“So what will it cost for you to fill me in?” he asked her, rolling up the paper. The young woman fixed him with a look, “That depends a whole bunch on what you know, and what you can do.”
Quote:-----------------------------------------------------------------
“I have two- Oh you missed the third line there in your calculations...- I have two questions.”
Dasha only grunted at him and made the adjustment, which the Sage took as her letting him continue.
“These gates are the only connections between the 'verses' and people just leave them alone?” The sage asked almost incredulously. It seemed to him that the best way to claim power in this place, particularly the verses that depended on trade for their continued survival. Dasha shook her head yet again. It was starting to get sore.
“The Empire strictly monitors the portal here in town, all the ones that go to Coruscant really... but besides that you just make too many enemies. The Empire is strong, but you start sectioning people off and you'll have just about every prime pounding down your gates... And nobody's THAT strong.” She paused for a moment and wrote another thing down.
“ 'Sides, the Emperor may claim to be the first o' the primes, but old Omni likes chaos too much to let something like that slide. 'Ours is not to question yon child-like god.' a prime once told me.” she said with a wry grin, and crossed off another box on the paper. “What's question two?”
“Why do you all speak Shallian?”
“I got no idea what that is, but my best guess, Omni did something to you primes that makes y'all understand each other, and since you primes created us secondaries it jus' kind of bled on through.”
The Sage shrugged. It didn't really matter in the end he supposed, since it wasn't something he could do anything about. He had other questions, but they would need someone with a more intimate knowledge of this Omnilium to really answer. Dasha seemed to think it was as easy as just wanting something and then having it. “Like magic.” she had said when he asked her. The Sage knew enough about magic to know there was nothing simple about it. He needed to meet other primes.
Well there was nothing he needed to wait for he supposed, he was a wanted man after all. What do you have to say to that Father? he thought wryly.
“I believe I'll be heading out of town now.” he said after some thought. Dasha nodded, clearly she hadn't expected him to stay in Coasta del Sol. That was not only dangerous, it was counter-productive to both of their goals.
“You'll want some sort of disguise, that all-white get out is not blending in.” she said without looking up.
“It was to camouflage myself in the Nexus.” the Sage said slightly defensively. I still don't know how they spotted me in that thing.
Nevertheless he Extracted the white outfit. There was unlikely to be a better time to try it. He decided that he didn't like extraction, it felt too brutal. There was no way to be delicate when doing it. You reached in and stole the very part of the object that 'made' it, tearing the thing apart from the inside. Like picking the petal of a flower by tearing it up by the roots. No, this would be something he used seldom.
He created a new outfit that was more akin to what he had worn during his days with the forest-men. It was a light tunic, reddish-brown, with some leather for minimal protection. He could no longer assume the safety of civilization. He pulled the satchel over his shoulder and summoned some empty books. This was definitely something he could come to appreciate, not having to barter and argue over every scrape of parchment and bottle of ink.
“Thank you for your hospitality.” he said as he headed for the door, “There may be a horse outside the city, by the nexus gate. It's yours if you want it. I'll make sure to send business your way when I can.”
“Just keep your end of the bargain, Prime.” she said as he left, still focusing on the taxes. Finally she'd have the quiet she needed.
The Sage stepped out into the pre-morning air. He stretched, and breathed in deeply. He hadn't slept at all that night, but his body felt strangely unfatigued. He wasn't liable to complain, there seemed little wisdom to staying in the port-city controlled by the people who were looking for him.
Alright, Omniverse, lets see what stories you've secreted away.
If history is to become legend, it first must be recorded.