Troubling Heaven

[Brilliand]

Querrot looked confused. "You want me to control the...?" he mumbled, loudly enough that everyone heard but not loudly enough to make Telemat stop talking. After Telemat finished, Aden responded, "Greetings. Delta X. Is food so important that you need to travel to another planet immediately? We don't have any on hand, but I'm sure we'll come across some soon."

 

[AAB]

Telemat shrugged. If he didn't, as they said, 'come across some soon,' he could always return to his original suggestion. "Where so you are from?" he inquired, looking around at the desolate planet, "People most other from have planets jobs. You do jobs have? Don't DeltaXians them need, we since get can we what without need it making."


Yama stayed with the Philip until the next morning. Then, gathering together a few provisions, she went out in search of the wizard. She had planned to gather news at the nearest city, which the Philip had given her directions to. She reached the city that evening and spotted two men, one with wings, standing outside it. "I greet thee," she announced boldly, "And furthermore request that ye offer to me some much-needed information. I assume that you have the ability to understand my speech. If not, simple reply unintelligibly and I shall either alter my tongue or depart in order to find one who understands. I am in search of a menace to the grander foliage of the universe; a certain wizard who seeks to make havoc wherever possible, putting my planet (among others) in danger. Wilt thou assist me in my search, or have ye no knowledge of any such being in the near vicinity?"

 

[Brilliand]

Aden scowled at the strange speech, which seemed to be getting stranger. Iban, however, took it as a computer language. "Hollowstar location source. It-ab location null now. Nil (Me-job is null)"

Jerrick scratched his head, working to decode Iban's words, but Aden didn't even try. Turning to Iban, Aden sputtered, "What? That was not this creature's language!"

Iban looked over at Aden in bemusement, and Querrot began developing a language-translation spell to clear up this mess. Jerrick decided that he had it figured already, and stepped in to act as interpreter. "Iban is from Hollowstar, which was destroyed, and he doesn't have a job. I guess you could call us superheroes - we're chasing an evil wizard. Care to join us?"

 

[AAB]

Telemat cocked his head at Iban. He'd heard a lot of languages in his travels, but not this one. He shrugged and turned to Jerrick. "Are superheroes neat," he replied, "A chasing sounds wizard fun like. To where? You are to planning walk?"


Chonsia sat down in the dirt and tried to open one of the cans with her teeth. It didn't work. "Nice reward...starvation," she muttered, putting the can back into the bag. She looked through it again, hoping for something she could open. "Canned raisins?" Chonsia exclaimed in exasparation, "one would think raisins at least would be in a box!" She found a box, but it contained dried seaweed.

Giving up on food for the time being, Chonsia pulled the food bag over her right shoulder and her luggage over her left. She started walking, hoping there was somebody on the planet with a can-opener.

 

[TheCheat1]

((I've not done this for awhile. I'm not sure this is anything valuable, but I'm tiptoeing into the swing of things.))

Of course Lazarus had no idea what the girl was saying. Neither did Nicodemus, but that was because she spoke like something was wrong with her tongue. The Helic gave off a few random clicks and signed to his friend, “What say she?”

Nicodemus ignored the birdman, saying, “Wizard? I’m not familiar with many wizards. Er, any, actually. Magic is such a protozoan thing, nobody really uses it anymore—well, nobody of any worth, that is. The real thing is science, you know.”

Lazarus tugged on Nicodemus’s sleeve and signed, “What say she, you?”

Nicodemus continued, “Where are you from? And why are you talking like that?”

Frustrated, the Helic sat down in the dirt with self-pity radiating from his face. He sighed (actually, it was a trilling of the tongue sort of sound) and watched the sun.

 

[Brilliand]

"Yes, it seems we are planning to walk. Or at least, I don't think that we have any better transportation..." Jerrick glanced over at Aden, but Aden didn't respond. "So, you want to come with us?"

 

[AAB]

"I speak as I do because I speak as I do," answered Yama, "The elves of the Froltean Forest have spoken so since the dawn of the days, and the Froltean Forest is my homeland. I am quite aware than none of any worth would attempt wizardry. Such is for the ruffians of society, and I am proud to announce that we have scoured the forest of such creatures." She looked from the speaker to the creature with wings, wondering whether they were of the same species, perhaps mates, or whether the latter was the pet of the former.

"Will I come," Telemat announced, "The lead way." He grinned and began to walk.

Chonsia continued to walk, grumbling as she went. This was the last time she'd use that company.

 

[searchingsoul]

Alania was in the networking room when a short paragraph that was scrolling up the screen caught her eye. There wasn't much, really... It just said "Wizard in the area. Not from Philipar. Possible danger. Trying to find out more." She furrowed her brown in confusion. Alania knew nothing of this matter, and as any of the rebellion, she took her unknowns seriously, rather than shrugging it off and losing interest as any new recruit did. This mystery seriously troubled her. Many questions arose in her mind, first and foremost is what side this wizard might take. Leaving, she went to the break room for some coffee-like drink.

"Anything interesting in the networking room today?" Major Jardy, the rebel leader, asked. Everybody just called Major Jardy "MJ" for short, which fit his spikey hair, baggy army pants much better.

"Just one thing stood out to me while I was there... There was a very short paragraph on a wizard. Not much was given about him, but you know how unknowns stick out. I hope he neither doesn't take a side nor joins the Keepers. You know how many were lost in that last battle with the Keepers..." Some of Alania's friends had died in that battle, and she still grieved in her own way. She never let her tears fall in front of others.

"Indeed, I do. But if we continue in this vein for too long, we'll end up depressed. Come. Shall we practice your hand to hand combat in the training room?" MJ always knew how to get her mind off of morbid thoughts.

Alania nodded. "I do need to practice... After all, I don't want my weak spot to show in combat."

 

[TheCheat1]

Nicodemus had no idea what she was talking about. Wizards, witches, demons and hobgoblins-- all of them had died far off in the past with primitive mythology. Yes, there were certain cults and practices still called by the old names, but they were rare. They were rare because they were useless. Everyone learned at university what a silly idea it was, that people could control anything through double-rainbows or wishing on stars; science, they were all taught, had and would answer all questions people could ask. It was science that brought out real civilization and advanced it. The day that magic died was the day that reason was born.

Knowing all this, therefore, he could not afterwards ever really answer why he did not walk away without another word. A certain curiosity, a spark of interest in a world long dead, quietly prompted him to ask, "All right then, why are you looking for a wizard here? What has he done wrong, exactly?"

 

[Brilliand]

Aden led the group over twelve more miles of desert sands, ignoring signs of civilization on the horizon. Jerrick kept the group cool with the Blue Stone of Hollowstar, and Querrot took one opportunity to cast a spell of stamina over the group, easing the journey. Eventually, Aden found himself heading directly toward a hill, about fourteen feet in height, and still two miles away, that stood out from the sands around it by virtue of being composed of quite solid stone. A small town was visible approximately three miles off to the right of the hill, but Aden took no notice of it, and instead headed directly toward the hill, beneath which he smelled a concentration of arcane power unequaled by any other in this hemisphere. Surely the wizard resided beneath this hill.

 

[searchingsoul]

"Excuse me sir, status report" MJ was practicing with Alania when the scout reported. MJ stopped his attack just short of Alania's neck. He walked over to a bench and dabbed at his face and neck to wipe off the sweat.

"What is it?" He asked.
"Sir, a group of travelers are headed towards where the wizard is suspected to be." The scout said.
"Very well... Alania, please go and warn them of the possible danger."
"Yes, sir!" She said, saluting.

On the way, she wondered how best to introduce herself... She shrugged it off by telling herself she'd know when she saw them. And she did. She stopped in a tree ahead of the group. Then she shot and arrow four feet in front of them, then jumped down and onto the path. "Halt!"

 

[AAB]

"What he has done wrong is irrelevent," Yama announced, "I have been sent to eradicate a threat to my homeland. All wizardry must be abolished, but we would not venture forth from our land without due cause. The council's decision is final. If one such as this has been harmful to other forests and is capable of interspace travel, he is a threat to our way of life and must be eradicated. I have been chosen to seek him out. Is it in your ability to assist me?"

Telemat followed the three people, walking. Walking...this was different. Not only different, but exhausting. How could these people do this every time they wanted to go somewhere? His flimsy shoes, built for looks not for use, were falling apart. They reached a hill, and Telemat saw it as a good resting place. With a quick, "Right be back," he disappeared and reappeared after several seconds with new shoes and a banana. "You did one want?" he asked the others, his mind apparently far from evil wizards. It returned to the matter at hand when they were halted by an armed girl. Telemat exclaimed, "The what's idea big, girl? Were we walking just this across and wasteland our ruining shoes...you did a want banana?"

 

[TheCheat1]

"Well, I--"

A deafening noise.

Nicodemus was thrown to the dirt. His head bounced on the sand and his vision flickered like a daft holoset. Searing heat pierced his skin. Lazarus was flailing.

Far off to his right was a wicked light that rivaled the sun's. Still no sound. The air shook and he saw a house fall sideways. Everyone he could see was on the ground. They were screaming. He could see it in their faces.

***
From the ground burst enough heat and sound to cause chaos from miles away. Out with the magical ambush came a figure that was only visible once the light had subsided. He emerged from the sand itself, but it did not touch him, and he dropped from the air to the hill without a sound (perhaps there was a sound, but it could not be heard by anyone).

He began to prepare his next spell. He knew that he had a limited timeframe in which to work-- before the Keepers arrived.

The ground was still shaking.

Light and heat emanated from his hands. To anyone who was clueless it looked as if he was being electrocuted. To someone privy, however, it was obvious that he was about to rearrange the landscape.

 

[Brilliand]

Aden stopped as the arrow landed at his feet. He turned to face the archer, but decided not to interrupt Telemat, whose indecipherable chatter he found amusing. Once Telemat finished, Aden had no chance to formulate a response before the wizard revealed himself.

As the shockwaves of sound and heat ripped through the group, Aden braced himself, peering forward against the chaos to see what might be following it. Querrot turned his head away, effectively protecting himself from most of the blast; nonetheless, he managed to fall on his face, still thinking clearly but slightly perturbd that he was now facedown. He immediately began preparing a spell fitting the occasion: a variant of Counterspell that could be used to turn the majority of a spell's force against its caster. Jerrick was caught relatively unawares, and toppled backwards, dazed, though he maintained enough presence of mind to cool off the party once the brunt of the blast had passed. Iban rocketed skyward, almost completely unaffected by the blast, and proceeded to lay down a barrage of fire worthy of a starfighter.

Aden's knowledge of arcane magic failed him, and he failed to identify the wizard's next spell; however, knowing the wizard's tendency to use fire, Aden proceeded to summon a living torch.

 

[searchingsoul]

Alania started to say something when the blast hit them. Caught mostly off-guard, Alania felt a hot breeze come over her, blowing her to the ground. She looked up to see the cause of the problem. This was her first time seeing the wizard, and it didn't leave a good first-impression. She felt the malevolence emanating from him and she started shivering. Still retaining some dignity and pride, she stood up and held her gun at the ready. Seeing one of the group move to attack, Alania could at least relax in the knowledge that they were not allies of the wizard.

 

[AAB]

Yama fell at the sudden earthquake, but soon jumped to her feet and notched an arrow. Then her mouth fell agape. This being was not the cowardly forest witch she had expected.

Telemat popped away from the freakish weather. Those people should have warned him about the storm. He sat on a purple planet, munching on squirming orange fruit, then it occured to him that he was gonna go fight some wizard on that planet. He popped away before the eyes of the alien fruit salesman and reappeared with the others after they had begun to fight.

"She was wizard the?" Telemat asked in confusion while he unloaded water balloons, heavily encased uranium, and peanuts. He turned to Jerrick, who was nearest, and asked, "Any will these of helpful be? Think I all they're dangerous."

The Earth rumbled. Chonsia grumbled. She saw what appeared to be a town in the distance and headed toward it.

 

[Brilliand]

Abruptly, a cloud of dust rose from the ground beneath the wizard, enveloping him and slicing his body to bits. Aden backed away in alarm as the cloud of dust shot into the sky, pouring seemingly endlessly from a massive cavern deep beneath the sands. The sandstorm expanded, gathering up the desert sands, and a human-like figure rose out of the ground into its center. Aden felt a familiar energy. "Oyarsa?" Then, "Lord Viper?!"

The face of the creature in the storm was barely recognizable as Lord Viper. Skin hung from its bones in tatters, and its muscles were nowhere to be seen. "Aden! You recognize me, I see. Do you remember my creed...? Not even death can end a contract!"

"Lord Viper! What is this? Where is your dragon? What are you now?"

"My dragon could not return with me, but I have made up for it. I have returned as both an oyarsa and a lich!"

"What is your contract?"

"Your death." Just as abruptly as a the first, a dust cloud shot up from beneath Aden's feet.

"Angel's feet!" Aden shot up into outer space, momentarily eluding the dust. Dust clouds shot up all around the planet, tearing aside cities and oceans. The dust attacked the molten core of the planet, shredding it and turning it into dust that joined the cloud. At the same time, each speck of dust sent out a wave, causing every other speck of dust to replicate itself. In a moment, the dust shot out into space, enveloping the system and forcing Aden to flee further across the galaxy.

Despite the dust, Jerrick found his interest drawn to what Querrot was doing. He's casting a Hollowstar spell, just as we discussed. I gotta see this. Hmm... Quantum Thought? Waitasecond...

In the blink of an eye, all of the dust vanished, and the center of the planet filled up with water. Lord Viper hung in space for a full second, looking rather surprised, then disintegrated.

Jerrick rushed over to Querrot. "I never imagined...!"

"I am never doing that again!"

"H-how much extra time did you give yourself?"

"Six million years!"

"Wow..."

"I didn't realize how boring it would be. I want a drink."

"Is that why most of this planet is composed of water now?"

"Uh... oops." Querrot paused. "I'm not fixing it."

"Oh well, they needed more water anyway."

Aden dropped back in from the sky, landing some yards away. "Well, I guess that settles the business with the wizard... and Lord Viper."

Jerrick turned to Aden. "Is the planet going to be alright?"

"I think so. About a third of the planet's surface was only slightly damaged damaged, and another third was only scraped to bare rock, not punched through. It's still livable, although life will be quite a bit different than it used to be. Now for my question - what happened?"

"Well, Querrot here cast a spell that - well, all Hollowstar androids, such as Iban here, are made with an ability that allows them to think just as fast as they need to - no time constraints on figuring out what to do next. Querrot cast a spell that gave him this same ability. And he has this other ability that..."

Querrot took over from there. "I can change nearby matter, very slowly, by just thinking about it. There's no real distance limitation, it just takes longer the farther away it is. So I just thought about getting rid of all the dust for a really really long time..."

"...Which took no time at all." Aden finished, shaking his head slowly. "Well, I guess you're a one-man army now."

"Oh no I'm not! I'm never doing that again. Have you ever tried just thinking for six million years straight, with no interruptions?"

Aden looked over at the hole, now a pool, where Lord Viper had first emerged. "Will Lord Viper be able to return?"

"I don't know. I just destroyed his body... I don't know what brought him back in the first place."

 

[searchingsoul]

Alania had watched and listened, astounded and speechless as one of them had attacked and another had cast the spell. Now, shocked that her home now had a new landscape as far as the eye could see, she began to get mad. Sure, they'd gotten rid of the wizard - that was one problem out of the way - but now it sounded like they were going to leave again, without doing anything to fix the damage they'd done from what seemed to be their long time nemesis! One thing was certain, she wasn't going to let the leave things as they were.

"Hold on! I am NOT going to let you leave, not with the planet as it is now! I'll follow you across the universe before I let that happen! You also have lots of explaining to do, starting with how you knew the wizard and who that other man was! I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take you back to base for questioning." She moved toward the one who had thwarted the wizard.

 

[Brilliand]

Aden, Querrot, Jerrick and Iban looked at Alania while she spoke, then Aden and Jerrick followed her with their eyes as she stalked toward Querrot. Iban appeared to lose interest, while Querrot did not need to turn his head to keep looking straight at her. After a few seconds, Jerrick turned to Aden. "Well, it's not like she could even... I mean, we could easily kill her."

Querrot looked at him. "Are you going to do it?"

Jerrick looked uncomfortable, but it was Aden who spoke next. "Well, we did really mess up her planet. Sure its Oyarsa turned out to be a revenant lich mercenary, but..." Aden looked back at Alania. "We won't be coming back to base with you, but I'm willing to answer your questions. We don't know much about the wizard - just that he cast a somewhat nasty spell on the last planet that we were on, and we came here to hunt him down. The guy with the duststorm was the reincarnation of a mercenary who was hired to stop us - apparently, to kill me specifically - a while back, after we stopped an invasion force that he was commanding at the time. I actually have a long history with him, both good and bad, since he's a mercenary who doesn't care which side he's fighting on. We killed him on the last planet that we were on, though, and I was rather surprised to find that he could return from the dead, despite all of his catchphrases to that effect... 'not even death can separate a mercenary from his contract' and the like."

Aden paused, then switched topics. "Come to think of it, now that your Oyarsa is dead, though I wonder what happened to the last one, since Lord Viper can't have been Oyarsa for very long..." Aden paused again. "Now that you have no Oyarsa, though, I should probably appoint a new one, which solves the problem of fixing your planet, since it's a simple enough matter to give a new Oyarsa the power to fix natural disasters. It's preferable that the new Oyarsa be a native, and you seem to care about the planet enough, so... Alania, I would like to appoint you Oyarsa of Ephestrandra. Are you willing?"

Querrot did a double-take. "Wait, what?"

Jerrick was more enthusiastic. "You're appointing an angelic guardian? You can do that?

 

[searchingsoul]

Alania blinked, completely caught off guard. Her, an Oyarsa? Sure, she wouldn't mind the powers, but that implied staying to clean up their mess. "What all would the job entail, again? I'm afraid Lord Viper didn't make a very good example. And would the job require me to stay the rest of my life here?" She inquired of Aden.