Reality's Plaything 5: The Infinity Annihilator

by Will Greenway

  Daena now lives as the protégé of Princess Janai T’Evagduran of Malan, who is educating and gentrifying the young girl turned first one. The youngster has already learned to alter her shape at will, and can now transport herself across vast distances through psionic teleportation. The Malanian princess’ real intentions for Daena are an ongoing issue for concern.

  See Also: ascendant, Malan, malanian, teleportation

  shields — (generic) For a force-field (c.f.) protecting an area.

  Sil’vaya — The elven name of Desiray Illkaren Felspar.

  See Also: Felspar, Desiray Illkaren

  silissian — Someone from Silissia. see Silissia.

  Skyedoom, Ziedra — Ziedra Skyedoom is an expatriate noblewoman of the eastern Silissian kingdom of Drakmourn. Daughter of General Zhentar Skyedoom, and Beldwin Skyedoom. At a young age, Ziedra was sent away from her home to seek refuge in the Sharikaarian city of Corwin. There Ziedra joined up with a band of gypsies for shelter and refuge. She later met and befriended Wren Kergatha another orphaned young girl. Wren joined the Brethren guild and with her guild earnings supported herself and Ziedra for many seasons. In the interim Ziedra began learning to dance, and over a span of seasons grew famous and prosperous on her own. She took up with royalty and she and Wren gradually grew apart. Ziedra’s prosperity was not to last, she dallied with the wrong man and was forced to escape Corwin with city guard on her heels. Again destitute, the young woman wandered from kingdom to kingdom doing odd jobs and staying ahead of the princess’ agents. She finally ended up in the port city of Ivaneth where she again met up with an older wiser Wren Kergatha who again took her under her wing.

  It shortly after this reunion that Ziedra’s destiny was to truly crystallize. Through Wren’s recent acquaintances she met Bronawyn Shadowstalker, one of the only surviving family members of the uprising that killed her father. She also discovered her father’s relationship to family Frielos, discovering she was actually the niece of Caladar Skyedoom the paramour of Aarlen Frielos. The revelations were not to end there. Wren Kergatha also discovered that Ziedra was a savant, an Ishtar Nola, a savant of magic.

  Through circumstances, Ziedra was forced to develop skills quickly simply to survive the events that her relationship with Wren got her involved in. Ziedra learned sword fighting and ended up as a magical apprentice of Aarlen Frielos.

  As an Ishtar Nola, Ziedra is a natural mage, able to learn spells simply by touching the caster during the incantation. She has an eidetic memory that allows her to memorize movements and vocal sounds with the briefest exposure. Her ability to couple memorization and the coordination of her body makes Ziedra an incredible student of any coordination reliant skill. This ability is sophisticated enough that she can build skills virtually as fast as she is exposed to the nuances. The Ishtar Nola also allows the reading of magical auras. Ziedra can read not only the properties of magic, but can discern details about the caster who created the enchantments. As a living avatar of magic Ziedra is extremely resistant to harmful magicks, and totally impervious to all forms of magical charms, paralyzation, control and domination. She can manipulate magical energies much the same way the Kel’Varan Nola manipulates forces. This control combined with her personification of magic allows Ziedra to use a magic item that would otherwise work only for a specific person. The exact limits of this last skill are unknown, but it is believed that her nature as ‘magick’s mistress’ causes all magical items to see her as their ‘true creator‘. The pantheon lord Isis possesses a similar capability and some surmise she is the tao-beta to the Ishtar Nola.

  See Also: ascendant, avatar, Corwin, Frielos, Aarlen, Isis, Ivaneth, Kergatha, Liandra {Wren} Idun-daughter, magic, Shadowstalker, Bronawyn

  slitherbelly — A long thin reptile on other worlds sometimes referred to as a snake.

  Solaris, Marna (Counsel) (Vatraena) — Marna Solaris is the spiritual mother of the Kriar race, and the oldest living Kriar in existence. While the persona of the Vatraena dates back to before the launching of homeworld, she is only in spirit that same person. Untold millions of cycles old, the Prime Mother of the Kriar has been through renewal thousands of times. While she is (in spirit) the eldest Kriar, she is, in many ways, the youngest because she has forgotten so much of her past in antiquity.

  Marna is the undisputed mistress of the Kriar warp science, and the most skilled time diver on Fabrista homeworld. She is rivaled only by military commander Tarkath Quasar Diliaysus, who uses extensive matrix enhancements to increase her powers. In addition to her time diving capabilities, Marna is able to perform n-space folding by pure force of will. This talent is the ability to cause the atomic and sub-atomic structure of matter to twist upon itself and occupy higher order dimensions. This process can be likened to taking a two-dimensional object and folding it so it occupies three dimensions. Marna can take three-dimensional matter and “fold” it so that it occupies four and even higher order spaces.

  After the adoption of Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri by house Techstar, it became a fashion among the Kriar nobility to start interacting with the humanity and skilled mages in particular. The ability of magic to overcome something Kriar science could not opened many eyes, and sparked intense interest in learning the secrets of magic. Also, humans being young and impressionable, made them excellent protégés. The Kriar being empaths, derive a great deal of satisfaction being around creatures who still experience excitement and passion. They can feel “vicariously” through their empathy, emotions and sensations that they themselves have become numb to due to hundreds of millennia of life.

  See Also: kriar, magic

  Starbinder, Dulcere Val’Saedra — Daughter of Marna Solaris by her second husband Louvros. Dulcere is a well regarded Belkirin who commanded the star vessel Tiraka. While trying to defend her ship, Dulcere fought a hand-to-hand battle with the blue eternal named Garn. She was subsequently injured and forced to make planetfall, where a mishap with her damaged command-level power matrixes caused a cliff to collapse and bury her. The avalanche forced her into stasis, which over a long period of time allowed her to heal.

  Many millennia later she was uncovered by Meridian Arcturan and Rakaar Steelsheen who used magic to control her. They later bound her to a device and used her timediving powers to cause a massive time quake (isolinear diffraction). Dulcere eventually escapes control and joins forces with Corim Vale, Beia Tarallae, Cassin Kel’Ishtauri Felspar, and Annawen Kel’Ishtauri Felspar. Together the group manages to undo the damage caused by Meridian and restore time to normal.

  As a reward for her assisting the humans, the Jyril Vasar Sa’Gairin removes the curse from Dulcere’s body. The ancient Kriar is very confused when she begins to have feelings for Corim. Eventually, they do begin to grow closer. However, their relationship is made difficult by others who also have amorous intentions for Corim.

  See Also: belkirin, kriar, magic

  Starfist, Bannor — Border guardian for the Barony of Tenax. He holds the rank of captain in the Baron’s ranger regulars. Bannor has the power of the Garmtur Shak’Nola (A savant of reality) which gives him control over the threads of probability, interaction, and creation. His senses allow him to perceive the forces, energies, and interactions of matter and energy through simple concentration. As part of his power he can recognize and memorize such patterns instantly in order to later manipulate them.

  Bannor’s control over the Garmtur is rather limited, so it often acts in undesirable and sometimes self-destructive ways. Bannor is a skilled warrior with a several years of battle experience. He uses the Jac’Daw style of two-handed fighting which is specifically tailored for axe combat. Bannor is proficient in tracking, plant, and animal identification. As a scout, he is extremely familiar with the borderlands, and has become a proficient in cartography (map making). Bannor is twenty-seven years old and engaged to Sarai T’Evagduran the 3rd princess of Malan.

  See Also: energy, Malan

  Starhawk — A class of Kriar battle ship in the Kr
iar space armada.

  See Also: kriar

  stasis — The cessation of relative time for an object or area. A stasis by definition arrests the decay of matter within its confines.

  Steelwood, Jolandrin — Renowned ranger and lady student of Loric Felspar.

  Wife of Sebenreth’Kar Felspar.

  See Also: Felspar, Loric

  stone — Measure of weight. For those concerned with Terran equivalents, a stone is equal to 20 pounds or just hair over 9 kilograms.

  Stonewood — Kingdom to the north of Ivaneth, so named for the rock-like fossilized trees that can be found through much of its territories. Stonewood is has the notorious reputation of having been the birthplace of Lady Karn Taath, the Iron Queen, otherwise known as the womb of abominations. The birthmother of the avatar Mishaka.

  See Also: avatar, Ivaneth

  subpath — A flow (like a tube) that occurs in the subether. The actual connections between weak spots in time/space.

  subspace — Another term for the sub ether.

  See Also: ether

  Surr, Daergon — Prime Kath and later notorious political leader of the Fabrista Kriar dasta. Daergon was responsible for many major events in Kriar history. His main contribution was his dissolution of the previously adhered to cultural protection “prime-directive”. His particular push was to establish the Kriar as a dominant species, in this process actively interacting with and studying other cultures in a non-damaging but socially and psychologically impactful process that is equivalent to ‘tag and release’. Kriar ships would move into a system and request access. Access not granted resulted in a ‘forced’ study that involved capture, probing, and release of a significant portion of a planets population, through the Kriar dimensional gating system. (Alien abduction anyone?) The purpose of these studies was to scan for and locate unique ideas, concepts, and lore that could further the currently stagnant Kriar body of scientific and sociological enlightenment.

  This accelerated “study” of other cultures did yield significant results but at the cost of inflicting severe culture-shock on every race the Kriar came in contact with. This plan was vehemently opposed by many of the ruling hierarchy, but those that resisted ended up meeting with mishaps, or having some other misfortune occur in their lives. It was over this matter that the reigning Kriar matriarch Marna Solaris, and her two confidants and staunch supporters Gwensullin Techstar, and Eladrazelle Delarn left the Kriar ruling council.

  The cycle of study and culture shock continued across several universes until the Kriar encountered the homeworld of the Jyril. Not believing there might be an older and more advanced race, Daergon pushed the study when Jyril warned the Kriar not to enter their territory. The push into the Jyril territory immediately resulted in combat losses where there had been none for millennia. The Jyril had craft that not only matched the power and speed of Kriar starvessels, but surpassed them in firepower. Smelling that some really significant technological secrets might be gained from the Jyril, Daergon continued to press the invasion, escalating the conflict into the first war that the Kriar had been involved in for several eons.

  The conflict did not last. The Jyril moved en masse and were quick to crush the Kriar vanguard long before it ever got within striking distance of their homeworld. It was then they decided to give the Kriar something to occupy themselves. They inflicted a race-wide “curse” on the Kriar making them not only infertile but unable to feel or experience pleasurable sensations or emotions. This was deemed an appropriate punishment for their “unfeeling” and “insensitive” invasions into the sanctity of other cultures.

  This loss was devastating to the Kriar in more than the obvious ways. It was stunning blow to the arrogant and superior attitude carried on by Daergon and his followers. Limping away from Jyril space they retreated to interuniversal void to lick their wounds, analyze the lessons learned, and try to undo the damage done to their race by the Jyril.

  The Kriar researchers were soon to discover that the Jyril curse went beyond even their eons old super science. The genetic infertility and “numbing” could not be engineered away, even when manipulating the genes at the atomic level. Somehow, inexplicably, the cells would revert. No detectible radiation or change other those wrought by the Jyril magic could be discerned.

  This set most of the leadership into a panic. The Kriar had given rise to their last generation and they as a race would have no more progeny. The only continuance the Kriar would have lay in the then living individuals. A continuance project immediately ensued, and all living Kriar went through engineering to effectively make their lives “perpetual”. A renewal procedure was scheduled for all members so that psychotic ennui would not set in from too-long lives. At the time, there were already members from the second generation of Kriar who were already involved in a “perpetual life” program so it came as no shock to the general population when this course of action was chosen as a intermediate solution to the infertility conundrum.

  The Jyril curse became a new and powerful motivation in the lives of the Kriar. The resources of an entire race were now focused on discovering a means to defeat this disastrous attack. Plans to revisit an attack on the Jyril were immediately dismissed because it was deemed that there simply was too big a gap in the capacities of the two races, and any losses experienced would be permanent and irreplaceable. It was decided that the search for lore to rectify their problem would be sought in other universes.

  As one would hope, the ruling body had learned something from its mistakes, and was careful with the initial forays seeking information that might lead to a solution. The next cultural contacts were cautious and resulted in a minimum of disruption. An thus was begun “the great seeking”. Agents of the Kriar homeworld scoured civilization after civilization looking for the choice bit of knowledge that would give them the key that would unlock the Jyril curse. With prime-directive protections back enforce the process was painfully slow and research stretched into decades, centuries, and millennia. Several hundred thousand fruitless cycles had passed when the Kriar found themselves entering a new universe. The universe of the Ring Realms. The followers of the still ruling Daergon decided that the process to discover the solution needed to be stepped up. The Kriar people were growing tired of life even with renewal. A decision was made to again abandon the prime-directive protections.

  With this new universe the Kriar soon discovered that they had their hands full. Not one but several races possessed not only the ability to resist, but the ability to inflict serious harm. There were the vicious and brutal Lokori whose immense strength and natural time-related psionic powers took many Kriar lives. There too were the Dreel and the Toroth who staged devastating invasions into Kriar outposts and even managed to get war parties in the soft belly of the Kriar homeworld.

  The Kriar defense forces trained harder, developed stronger weapons, and continued to press deeper into this new and extremely dangerous universal envelope. As they gained a toehold on the some of the richest core worlds they began constructing the gate system to allow better movement and study within the confines of Eternity.

  It was the activation of the gates and the scanning of the timestreams that were to prove fateful to the Kriar hierarchy. With their roots buried deep in the ethereal flesh of eternity, the gates were seen as a threat by the time guardians. The eternals were dispatched to order the deactivation and dismantling of the Kriar portal system. The meeting with the arrogant Daergon did not go over well, and Koass promised that any further incursion would be deemed an act of war. A line was drawn in the sand and Daergon Surr was warned not to step across it.

  Daergon and his followers dismissed the warning of the eternals. After all there were only twelve eternals. What kind of threat could such a small force pose?

  The Kriar learned to their dismay that Koass and his followers could do a lot, and thus began the war with the eternals. No quarter was asked and none was given. Ship after ship was destroyed, often being brought down by only one
of these curiously powerful creatures. Kriar were dying, and there was no hope for their replacement. Soon the Daergons realized that they needed to change their tactics. They needed a weapon to match the power of the eternals. Thus they engineered the creature Garfang, essentially a super-kriar with immense chronal, physical, and psionic power that drew upon the same sources of energy that the eternals did.

  With the future of their race at stake and smelling a possible solution to the Jyril problem, Daergon personally oversaw the Garfang project. He created a plan by which he could strike down all of the eternals in a single blow using their new secret weapon.

  Garfang was installed at Kriar way-point deep in the heart of eternal controlled space along with a battalion of the Shrike legion elite. Garfang was trained and prepared for the battle to come. Unbeknownst to Daergon, Garfang was far more self-willed than even the scientists who designed him knew. The powerful creature discovered what was planned for it after it had fulfilled its purpose. Garfang then developed plans of his own.

  Daergon’s plan proceeded. He mobilized a significant number of his forces to the way-point to create a “final strike” opportunity for the eternals, hoping it would lure them in with the intent to cripple the Kriar’s offensive capabilities. The ploy worked and the eternals’ entire force arrived to strike a single retributive blow against the Kriar contingent. Summoning their energies, Koass led the coven of eternals in a ritual to create a single devastating blast that would destroy the entire way-point, all of the ships, and the Kriar within them.