In isolation, in darkness, a lone soul felt its lips rise at the edges; dripping with anticipation.
"What an odd name to give your other half..."
____________________________________
I awoke back in my Vessel, sitting in a chair of solid oak, with the pain having subsided. It no longer felt as though something was trying to drive its way into my skull, so that was good, at least. Looking around my dorm, it would appear as though it hadn't been terribly long since I stepped in. I opened Time's Keeper to confirm and… sure enough, it'd barely been a minute. Currently 25:37 Local Time… Wait a minute-
'Did the makeup of the Artifact change to adapt to this plane's time-stream?'
I remember how it looked in the old world, before and after the deal where it was remade into what it is now, and I remember how it looked when I entered this world… It… hadn't changed yet… Why were there only nine hour markers in it now- Oh. I see it now, Nine hour markers, and a minute/second wheel underneath it… It also looks like there's some kind of… empty pool beneath that?
'You can probably guess what that one is for, but don't attempt to read it yet. Your eyes won't be able to interpret the information quickly enough to make anything of it;' Jan'ros spoke into my mind through Time's Keeper.
So that's how it is… Now that he mentions "read it," it seems as though it's… vibrating… nigh imperceptibly…
'It's a heart, so it's only logical that a God of Time's heartbeats would-'
'Don't finish that thought, Lee;' My partner warned.
Agh, screw it! I can think myself to death all night if I wanted to, but it's not going to get me any closer to figuring out anything. In this case, it's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.
I turned to face the door of my dorm and stood up. Turning the knob and stepping through back into the hallway, the shift in atmosphere that night brought with it made it seem like an entirely different place. Wisps of Smoke and Spirit drifted in and out of vines and through walls, with three pale moons beaming a watchful gaze down to the World below. I took a deep breath, and popped the knob on Time's Keeper as I opened the door. An ephemeral chime sounded off in the late hours of the evening, and the world slowed to a stop around me as I crept from my quarters under the shadow of monochrome stasis.
__________________________________
Through corridors and hallways I snuck about, careful to not touch anything on my way through. I passed several guards on my way through the building; not surprising given the type of facility I found myself in, but I suppose internal security could afford to be lax. It was to my benefit, at the very least. In no-time, I didn't have to worry about being deft, but I figured I may as well take my time to practice it on my way. I tried paying attention to my footwork for starters, beginning small; pushing myself to actively think about it as I practiced it. Practicing… walking… again. I can't dismiss the merit of minding oneself, but of all the-.
The sentence caught on my tongue as a sensation within my skull, a flicker of thought, made itself known to me. Without thinking, I gave it my attention, and felt something click into place in the next millisecond. I turned my attention back to my footwork and noticed a few inconsistencies. Since I had enough time to dally about being in no-time, I put my mind to correcting these flaws. The placement of my feet, the part of my foot I bring down first to meet the ground with each step, how to step with the terrain for optimal movement… as I practiced it with it on my mind, everything I decided to address began to correct itself autonomously, as though the way my instincts and my nervous systems reacted to information were being… actively rewritten- no… optimized, just as I'd desired.
'Is this what Enigmatic Grasp is capable of?' I mused to myself. I didn't mean this rhetorically, but I found myself receiving a response all the same.
'It's but one of many applications,' Jan'Ros replied. 'You're wise to start with walking before you take to running.'
'You mean that-.'
'Literally, and metaphorically. You know, I understand the necessity of asking stupid questions, but you should have been able to figure that out yourself.'
'Sorry, still trying to get used to the redundancies.'
Still, this was astonishing. Something this basic, so fundamental could be improved so effortlessly by minding one's attention? Enigmatic Grasp was definitely something to keep under red tape. ...easier said than done with the Telepath, but something told me she was exceptional at keeping secrets. I could only hope I was right…
I continued traversing corridors until coming across two large oaken doors in the middle of a great hall, standing at four meters tall. To my surprise, the hall was otherwise empty; no guards were patrolling this area. Odd…
'Lee, be mindful, this wing seems to have its own security.'
'Well, let's hope we're not intruding.'
I reset the knob on Time's Keeper, resuming the Flow of Time, and I gently rapped my knuckles against the door. The reverberations echoed throughout the doors, and then the most deafening silence I'd experienced in my lives befell the Hall for the briefest of moments, before the door on the left creaked open, slowly and solemnly… as if in anticipation…
'I think… we've been expected?'
I considered my circumstances for a moment; turning around to face the windows opposite the doors, I beheld in the peak of the night, among myriad and innumerable constellations, Three Moons. Each a different color. The one hanging lowest in the sky was a rich and deep red. Normally one would see a Blood moon as a bad omen, but this felt natural. The satellite with the second greatest elevation in the horizon glowed similarly to my old world's own, but this one hadn't even the slightest taint of Pale; a pure, luminous silver gaze crested upon the landscape. I lifted my head ever so slightly higher to meet the Body at the Peak, but I froze when I met it.
Black.
As black… as my vision...
________________________________________________________
Elsewhere…
________________________________________________________
"I request your advisement and oversight, Alinear Gamma."
There were a billion cesspools I'd rather find myself in before I'd bring myself here out of anything other than desperation. The Alinears earned their namesakes… fucking Emulators, arguably even more freakish than Exceptions, dependent upon how they utilized their 'arts,' but everything about them seemed detached of anything while seemingly conforming to some disjointed pattern lying just beyond the sight of a typical person. Nonetheless, the digits failed, and the higher ups wanted results…
And so… I found myself groveling before this huskish aberration of human likeness. Fighting against my desire to waver in the presence of this… thing, I kept my neck bent low as it acknowledged my presence.
"Quite unexpected. You… seeking me out for a request?"
I heard its figure rise from its throne among 26 others. Oh gods… it meant to approach…
"Let'sssssssss," Its voice cut off… as the tip of its tongue boiled into a puddle of bubbling grease and fell to the floor, and a cancerous protrusion reformed what had just been lost to resume the paused sentiment… "hear it, shall we?"
There was an unnatural creaking and groaning coming from its mouth… Nothing I'd ever been familiar with before, but even without looking upon it, I could tell… It was forcing itself to smile, and its body was breaking and reforming under the strain of its own self-destructive Emulative-state.
"Damocles Division is active near the area, and hampering our actions. The Digits won't cut it-." I felt the words catch in my throat as its poisonous presence drew closer, and I felt my own being start to revolt against its continued existence on a microscopic scale.
"Oh, they… didn't? And… I suppose, that warrants you… to bother me… an 'aberration,' was it? With your woes and pities?"
"I-I would never s-suggest-" I felt rancid bile attempt to force its way up my throat. Fuck…
"Oh, but you thought it. As such, I'll hear you out… but you'll earn a stigmata for your arrogance."
__________________
{Transmission – Partially Redacted (Leave it to your imagination if you dare; spoiler alert, it's called Gamma for a reason.)}
__________________
"No more… of that abrasive callousness, right peon?"
My body was wholly irradiated, with a singular node of pure, self-sustaining radioactivity sitting right at the core of my abdomen. So this is my reward for seeking vengeance? Fitting. I coughed up blood, sinew and what I think was a small portion of my esophagus.
"If the numbers couldn't handle it... even with Damocles Division at the helm, they should have been battered…"
During all of this, I'd never raised my head. Even so, I'd been acutely aware of every action it'd taken since I put myself in Gamma's presence. And now, I don't know how, but I could hear a light come to his eyes, and felt a shift in his demeanor… to a sick sense of abhorrent joy.
"They've found one, have they?"
"They have, Lord Gamma…" I strained against my urge to heave my own decaying organs with my words.
"Well shit, you should have led with that, peon. Would've spared yourself a lot of pain. Since this is the case… What reason have I to turn you down?"
I chuckled weakly through an eschewed wheeze as my mind went dark and my vision went blacker than the walls around us.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
(Ground Level One – Library in the Great Hall, 3rd Floor Private Study E Wing – Sect 06)
"Wow, wonder what the hell worked you over…"
Sensation struggled against my will. I attempted to stir, but my nerves refused to send the right signals.
"I suppose that's typical of you Exceptions though. You're almost always way in over your heads when you use arrogance as a life preserver. You could have just asked for someone to show you to the way here."
I began to become aware that I was… hearing someone talk down to me, with a gentle, almost imperceptible prick being recognized somewhere around what I thought was my neck. Suddenly, I began to regain sensation.
"Looks like my assumption was correct, you looked at something you weren't supposed to for longer than was excusable. Welcome back to the land of the living, Drifter."
My eyelids flickered and my sight returned. Groaning, I slowly sat up, my entire body feeling numb and prickly aside from the point on my neck. Rolling my neck a few times and feeling a few things pop, I let out a sigh of relief as my eyes adjusted to several orbs of luminosity, acting as candle lights. I surveyed my surroundings and found the halfling Arduen standing at my side.
"I may feel like death," I managed, "but those aren't exactly a set choice of quality words."
"I'll speak as I please, Drifter," Arduen retorted spitefully, "I could have just as easily let you be caught by the guards, and then who knows how long it would have been before you came to? You may think yourself omnipotent, but don't fucking kid yourself. Deicide used to be commonplace in this plane of existence."
I think I wanted to feel astonished, but I was still in the process of waking up.
"In any case, a simple 'thank you' would suffice."
I cleared my throat.
"So, where are we, and how did I get here?"
Arduen sighed, "We're in the main Library's private study wing, and you were brought here by myself with the help of two others before the night patrol made their rounds about the Great Hall. They are in the study next to ours, but I have a few questions for you before you do. Anything. At. All. In My Library."
I cocked my head.
"Yours? You mean this doesn't belong cumulatively to-?"
"TAKE A SEAT."
I was forcefully relocated into the seat of a chair at a table on the wall opposite the study door. Blinking twice, I nodded; having my disbelief forcibly suspended from the outside.
"Point taken, what is it you want to know? If it's my purpose for being here, I'm as in the dark as you are. Honestly."
He shook his head.
"Not anything as broad as that, but what are you searching for in these hallowed halls? If you're trying to dig into the past, you better have a reason beyond the sake of opening our old wounds."
"So you had an inkling of what I came here for, but I must correct you, Arduen on the why." I spoke with a purposeful tone and infliction. "Like you said, I'm in way over my head. You could say, I came here to learn how to swim in the ocean."
Arduen blinked incredulously.
"I may be arrogant, but I'm not ignorant of my own volition or lacking in self-awareness. What I am lacking is context, plus I've always been a fan of history," My lips curled into a frown. "I may be jumping the gun asking this, but is History in this world determined by the Victors?"
Arduen's mouth opened as if to say something, but then closed again to consider another. Leering at me with an inquisitive eye for a brief moment, he cleared his throat.
"Yes and no, there's the subjective records that exist tangibly and incorporeally in this plane, and then there's a Greater Archive per Planar Sector that bleeds into objectivity but doesn't wholly factor it one over the other… all of which feed into a wholly objective Penultimate Dimensional Archive that records all information saturating creation."
I felt a smile begin to crawl upon my face, but I contained myself.
"That's... reassuring, I think."
Arduen shook his head gently.
"You really are an oddball. Why concern yourself with the perception of a history you know nothing of, Drifter?"
I looked back at him with as much incredulity as he initially viewed me with.
"Why shouldn't I? It's because I know nothing about it that I'm here at all! And for the love of fuck, MY NAME IS LEE!"
"Quiet."
My voice caught in my throat but Arduen seemed to relent.
"This is a library after all. You may be in a private study, but that doesn't justify being disruptive. I apologize, Lee."
I sighed, exasperated as I felt my voice slowly return with my head cooling down.
"Fuck, man. Does this world not know how to ask someone's name- wait, never mind… Stupid question."
"No, it's-… I have a fair idea of the reason for your outburst and if I'm correct, that's on me. We… had, a custom of that, and then-."
"Name-eaters?"
Arduen sighed, defeated.
"Some things are just… too alien to exist among a society that cannot understand their paradigm." Arduen stood up solemnly.
"I'll remember your name. Where do you want to begin, Lee?"
I stood up slowly.
"Let's start with the basics, I guess; I'd also appreciate meeting the other two who helped move me?"
"They're in Sect 05, each Private study room is referred to as a 'Sect'," Arduen explained, as he walked to a spruce board in the wall, "which, as I said earlier, is right next to this one. Something to bear in mind, should you come here of your own volition later, is that you can only enter or leave with the right knock." He rapped his knuckles against the door three times with a distinct degree of intent, with the board swinging open in response. "Otherwise, it won't acknowledge you."
I blinked twice. "Quite intricate…"
"I've been around longer than most, in spite of my heritage. These facilities you find yourself wandering were originally built around my Library." We walked fifteen paces to what felt like West, up to a Mangrove board. "As much as I want to see the spread of knowledge, I do not suffer thieves and book-burners; so the knock not only needs to be precise, but also needs to carry some declaration of intent." He closed his eyes and knocked gently in such a way that not even an iota of force behind it, three times, but the Mangrove board opened all the same as I stood just around the corner.
"Ah, our guest has come to, it seems! Rythie, stop skulking about."
Such a rich, motherly voice… almost mesmerizing, carrying a song of leaves growing and falling from trees. I don't know what it was that gave it away, but I could tell that this was not the voice of a human. I confirmed my suspicions turning the corner and looking into the room. A dryad, wreathed in green leaves and draped in vines and branches; eyes a deep brown as topsoil, and skin with the likeness of bark. She stood at 1.6 meters with short aquamarine hair tufting out from the wreathe of leaves. Arduen seemed to notice my surprise.
"This is Archatae, an Equinox Dryad; she acts as a bookkeeper and a caretaker of the shelves."
"Equinox Dryad?"
Archatae smiled and floated over to us a few centimeters off the ground. "As the name implies, it's tied to the time of year I came into existence. That amended classification also denotes certain affinities, as I influence intermediary turning points. Solstice Dryads, by contrast, influence peaks and lows. If you were to compare us, they would have an affinity for the parameters of nature while I'd have an affinity for what falls within parameters." She turned to Arduen and her smile twisted with a tinge of ire.
"Haven't I told you not to steal chances for introduction away from me, Lore-Master Arduen?"
"Archatae, you know that wasn't the agreement, and that was uncalled for. Besides, I don't find pleasure in leaving him to his own devices. I already told you how our first encounter went-."
"And whose fault do you think that is?" She snapped back. I slowly turned away and backed towards the opposite wall, until I felt an unnatural chill in the air against it.
"Well, it certainly wasn't mine!" Arduen continued, somehow oblivious to my relocation. "That aside, what does it matter who introduces whom? You're still the one presenting yourself-."
"It matters as much as any else! You restrict who can visit, you refuse to let us out, the least you can do is-."
"Cea-," But he was cut off.
"HOLD."
I could hardly believe it. Did she just-.
'That she did, Lee. It would appear that Authority over this Library has been vested three ways.'
Well that's… definitely not something you see every day. Arduen's entire being was locked in position; Archatae moaned in annoyance.
"All that's deserved is a first impression; respect is earned, not freely given. My Master you may be, but don't even pretend that I am not free." She recollected herself and uttered another declaration.
"Alleviate."
Arduen's stasis ceased.
"That was uncouthe, Archatae."
"Maybe I'm finally taking after you," She retorted. The temperature drop from the end of the wall I was on increased and spread before a voice rang out from inside the wall.
"Can you two have your moment when you're not freaking our guest out?" A seething shrill jolt of a voice, like a banshee. "Backed him into the bloody corner, you did."
Arduen and Archatae looked over to the wall I was standing against, shivering intermittently.
'Jan'ros, am I supposed to be susceptible to chills?'
'Uh, no. Which means there's something special inside the wall.'
"Finally speaking up, Rythie? Get out of the walls, it's unkind to spy on others without reason nor rhyme."
A pool of shadow seeped out from a wall panel I was right next to and trailed down the wall to the ground before taking form. With the reveal of its form, came the sickly sweet scent of decay.
"It's also unkind to make a scene in hosted company. You agitated me enough to unwittingly affect the poor kid. What kind of first impression is that, hm?"
Archatae's face went slightly red as the shadow peeled itself away to reveal the visage of a corporeal wraith; gaunt and ancient, fierce… yet there was a kindness in her gaze unbecoming of most undead.
"Arduen, you will not steal my own introduction, or I'll have to grab your tongue." Arduen, in response, seemed to recoil. My eyes opened slightly wider in astonishment.
That is honestly impressive.
The wraith, Rythie, turned to face me.
"My name, as you already know, is Rythie. I am what you could call a 'Rot-Wraith.' I serve as Page-Preserver, as well as the Mistress of Quill and Ink of these halls.I feed off actual decay, rather than the process of Decay, contrary to what my name may insinuate, so please commit that to memory as I am not terribly fond of cyclical repetition in speech. It was Archatae who found you, alerted Arduen and I who transported you to Sect 6 in my shadow." She raised her hand in greeting, outstretched to meet mine, which I eyed suspiciously before returning to meet her gaze. She responded with... a giggle? Then the room gradually returned to its original temperature.
"Afraid to welcome a Wraith? I don't blame you-."
I couldn't tell you how or why, my body reacted before I could process what I was doing. I grasped her hand.
The shock on Arduen, Archatae, and Rythie's faces were palpable… and warranted. However, I figured I may as well test something while I was in this predicament. Her constitution as a Rot-Wraith did seem to carry a degree of the element of Decay, but as she said, it seemed to feed off it, rather than enact it. I could feel… something… being seeped from me, but it was in its own way, invigorating, not exhausting
'Lee, you should let go.'
I released my hold of her hand, as the lingering vestige of a memory dissipated in my mind. I blinked three times and slowly sat down against the wall.
"Sorry about that… I think I did something I wasn't meant to." They looked at each other, then back at me aghast. I smiled, nervously and warily with a tinge of guilt. "Some first Impression I make, huh?"
She came in close with her head tilted, curiously examining me with a grin creeping across her gaunt face.
"You're an odd one, aren't you? Color me charmed, Lee."
________________________________________________
(A brief moment of dialogue inside Time's Keeper)
________________________________________________
"Was that you, Jan'Ros?"
"If you're referring to that bit of premarital handholding-."
"JAN'ROS!"
"Then yes. Chill, I'm based on you after all. That aside, I was able to confirm something about that Rot-Wraith."
"I swear, Jan'ros, if I'm here for you to make quips at something other than what's already in here, I am headed back out."
"It's pertinent to your sponsor, so I suggest you hold off on making empty threats, Lee. Just… just hear me out."
"Fine, but enough with making a fool of me for learning's sake. Run it by me from now on. We're supposed to be partners."
"That is fair, and you are correct. Firstly, Arduen isn't her primary Master, unlike Archatae."
"But she is the third one who's been vested Authority for the Library, correct?"
"Indeed. Secondly, her primary Master entrusted her to Arduen, but what's even weirder is that unlike most wraiths, she isn't tied to Aitu Xiore or --- -----."
"Were you just redacted?"
"Hmm, I suppose that's a bit too soon."
"Ok, well why is the fact that she isn't tied to Aitu Xiore significant?"
"… Not going to use Enigmatic Grasp to figure it out?"
"Well- oh."
"A Rot-Wraith without a conceptual tie to Death, even if indirect, isn't an oddity in your eyes?"
"… And if we follow this train of thought, the third thing would be…"
"What her tie is to."
"That sense of invigoration we felt is what you're basing this on?"
"Not just how and what was sensed, but the very essence of the sensation would, of course, be something you're already privy to."
"Meaning-."
"Energy, Lee. She feeds off of what feeds off death."
"Jan'Ros. Make it make sense."
"Ok, you dullard. When you get some alone time with her, Tell her 'The Middle Maiden has long languished for your woes'."
________________________________________
(Back on the outside)
________________________________________
"So what was that all about?" Arduen asked fervishly.
"A misguided compulsion, if I had to guess; I don't know what came over me."
We exited Sect 5 and entered back into the adjoining hallway. About five minutes had passed since the incident with Rythie.
"You looked as though you saw something right before you said that?"
"I couldn't say, Arduen. Really, it was a fragment of a portion of something ephemeral. I don't know what to make of it, nor how to make something of it. I fainted because I looked at a black moon for a second too long right outside your door, for Sponsor's sake."
Arduen stopped walking abruptly.
"Run that by me again, Lee."
I turned around to face him.
"I fainted because I looked at a black moon."
His face went half as gaunt as Rythie's.
"Lee, what are you talking about? How would you even see a-."
I groaned.
"Forget it. I'm supposed to be here to learn about this predicament I find myself in, not have everything I experience questioned by people who have had the luxury of living in this fantastical world their entire existences."
I continued walking, while Arduen lagged behind solemnly.
"It's not that I don't believe you, but-."
"But what, Arduen?"
His eyes wandered, everywhere but to meet my gaze. Then he snapped his fingers, and the roof above our heads opened up, allowing star and moonlight to flood the space.
"Lee, the reason I ask this is multi-fold, but when I look up, I can only see the paleness in all the moons." I looked up warily, but unlike last time, it was as he saw it. The moons were uniform in color and all pale.
I stammered over my words. "But… what the-."
"I couldn't say, maybe something was trying to send you a message? I don't know…"
"Arduen… tell me honestly, do I sound… like I'm losing my mind?"
Arduen looked at me gravely.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't joke about such things, or humor such notions. I believe you aren't lying about what you saw… and that's worrying enough."
"Then I need you to explain to me as thoroughly as possible why that is. What was your reason for asking?"
Arduen's face sank further, and his voice dropped to a murmur.
"For the same reason Daritz didn't elaborate about the Incursion."
Then they're tied somehow… a Black Moon, Gris Astara, this 'Incursion,' and a facility full of trauma. But I'm missing the how, and it's fucking infuriating! Everything's bloody red-taped.
"Is that information taboo?"
"As much as we want to talk about certain things, Lee, we can't. We can't even record information pertinent to those things. It's…"
"I think I get it; it's cognitohazardous, isn't it?"
Arduen blinked in surprise.
"You… what?"
I cocked my head slightly to one side.
"You've had to blackbox something you've become cognizant of because it was hijacking/warping/altering or otherwise detrimental to your cognition?"
A second time, he opened his mouth to speak, but surprise caught the words in his throat. Looks like I was right on the money.
"I won't press further then. As aggravating as it is to not have all the answers, I'm not interested in further tempting fate tonight; especially not if I have to jeopardize others for understanding."
Arduen sighed with relief.
"For your temperament, you are rather logical when you want to be."
"Don't go flattering me, it ruins your charm," I sneered playfully.
He chuckled.
"Like you know the first thing about it."
_____________________________________
15 minutes later, Library first floor, Primary Atrium.
_____________________________________
"Alright," Arduen said as he put down a stack of books over half a meter high on the desk I was now sitting at. "These cover the most commonly utilized languages, history for the last 250 years, and basic magick theory. This should go without saying, but please be gentle with the books."
I nodded curtly.
'Bet this would have come in handy back in school," Jan'ros quipped.
'Don't remind me of it.'
"So, you're really planning on doing this all in one go?"
"Yup, no point in taking it easy." I placed Time's Keeper on the desktop. "You, uh… you might want to take a few paces back."
"Deploying a field?"
"Something to that effect, Outside of myself, I only want to affect the materials I interact with, and since I have multiple things I will need to interact with, it's ultimately best if outside variables do not interfere with it. That… and I don't know how it would affect you, other than it likely wouldn't be great for your well-being."
Arduen nodded. "That's no issue, though I do have a request before you begin."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You see," He continued, "I've not had a chance in many, many years to watch an Exception in action. Forgive me if it's improper, but I'd like to observe you as you work."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"I mean, if you consider this 'in action,' then watch to your heart's content, but I would still advise you to do so from a distance. Call yourself as old as you like, but if you are bound to even the slightest biological function, there's a non-zero chance that interacting with the field may trip you up."
He smiled wryly, but nodded in acknowledgement. I think he was suppressing the urge to take my warning as a challenge. So childish… haha, who am I to speak of childishness…
I opened Time's keeper, and traced a one, followed by a three, and then five zeroes on the surface of the dial, and popped the knob.
'Just to confirm, Lee. That's function one, Temporal Acceleration as you designated it. The Parameters you have set are 3:00:00:000 to 1 minute. Meaning you're going to be going through 3 hours of action every sixty seconds relative to Arduen's Time. The field output by default has a radius of two and a half meters.'
'Restrict the radius of effect to one meter. That's all I'll need.'
'Parameters have been updated. Pull the knob to begin.'