by Ian Rodgers
An old man was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, watching the proceedings with a smirk on his face. He held a lacquered white cane which complemented his fancy suit. His eyes were sharp, and I had a feeling he was not some jolly old man despite his appearance.
“That’s Holt! And Grandpa Reed! And there’s Reesh, getting yelled at again!” Dora laughed in joy as she opened her eyes to the scene. Her tears sparkled in the dim light of the chamber, but she refused to look away from the people who’d appeared before her.
“It looks like Holt’s taken over from Reed. That’s good, he was in no shape to keep running Creidor,” Dora mumbled to herself. “Where’s Uldo and Rindel, though?”
Her question was immediately answered as two figures entered from off-screen. One was a blue-haired gnome with two prosthetic legs and a missing nose. He placed a plate of food on Holt’s desk, and handed the elderly Reed a steaming mug of tea. Meanwhile, the second person was a large, bald, black skinned man, his eyes a fearsome red. A native from Val’Narash. He mutely escorted the depressed Reesh away, who judging from his expression, was sulking over the tongue-lashing he’d received.
“Rindel’s still making sure everyone has something to eat and drink. That’s good,” Dora said with a tiny smile. “And Uldo is still cleaning up the family’s messes…”
She stared at the scene for a bit longer before shaking her head. “I-I’m done. I can’t keep watching this anymore.”
She stepped away from the crystal ball, and the scene in the illusory screen turned to static. The half-orc glanced over at me after discreetly wiping away a few tears.
“Is there anyone you want to look for while the Fateseeker has this thing running?” Dora asked me.
I thought about it intensely. Did I? I’d had a chance to say ‘goodbye’ to everyone I knew back on Erafore. I hadn’t been forcefully wrenched away from all I knew like Dora had.
Then my thoughts drifted to Philia, and I felt worried about her. She was probably still fretting over my disappearance. But would I be able to locate her so easily? I didn’t have as deep of a connection with her as Dora did with her friends and family. Hells, I’d only known her for a week or so!
“No,” I eventually decided, shaking my head. “I don’t think so. There is one person, but I don’t feel like I have a strong enough connection to her to be able to find her with the Aetherial Lens. Plus, she’s a very powerful Planeswalker, so that might throw it off a bit. I’ll have to find a way to contact her some other way/”
“People able to traverse the boundaries of the Elemental Planes are indeed tricky to pin down, even with this beauty,” the Fateseeker admitted. “Still, if you’re sure you don’t want to try.”
When I bobbed up and down to signal I wasn’t interested, the grey furred minotaur nodded and began to fiddle with the console, shutting down the complicated scrying tool. The beams of light became normal once more, and when the window in the domed ceiling slid shut, cutting off the source of illumination, the whole artifact sagged a bit as it wound down.
The mist was sucked back into the water basin, and then it and the crystal ball topped plinth descended back into the floor. In seconds, everything was back to the way it had been when we’d entered.
With a grunt of effort, the Fateseeker pried herself out of the awkwardly shaped chair, and hobbled over to where Dora and I stood.
“Well, I’d say things went nicely,” she said with a kind smile sent our way.
“It did, thank you greatly,” I said, giving her the Ooze version of a bow. Really, it was just me rising up a bit and pointing the upper part downwards.
“Yeah,” Dora agreed absentmindedly.
“Do you two still wish to stay for awhile and rest? Trying to sustain yourself solely on the energy Luminoth provides won’t do the two of you much good in the long run. You’re still mortal, and need to do things the mortal way.”
I shared a look with Dora, and we both nodded at each other before turning back to the Fateseeker.
“I think we’ll take that offer,” I said. “Ever since we got out of direct contact with Luminoth’s light, our natural bodily functions have been returning. I don’t know about Dora, but I for one feel like my mind and body alike are about to crash and put me to sleep for a few days.”
“Yeah, and I’m starting to feel hungry for the first time since getting here,” Dora said, clutching her stomach as a loud roar rippled forth from her gut. She blushed sheepishly, though the Fateseeker only nodded in understanding.
“I shall have two guest rooms prepared for you. Come, follow me,” she offered, and we trailed behind her as she used a different colored glass key to open the Aetherial Lens’ door. When she opened it, this time it led to a cafeteria.
“Let’s get some food in you first. By the time you’re done, the rooms should be ready,” the Fateseeker told us.
It was a good plan, and we both agreed it would be nice to try some local cuisine. Dora just looked ready to eat a horse! This little detour had turned out to be just what we’d needed.
~(o)~
“What’s your problem?” a young man clad head to toe in black armor demanded of his unwanted traveling companion. A white bird with seven different colored wings chirped in amusement before taking to the sky. It flew a few circuits around his head, trilling all the while.
The strange seven-winged dove had a smug look in its eyes as it flew past his visor before roosting on his helmet once more.
“No seriously, what was that?” he grunted, annoyed as he tried and failed to shoo the bird away with his hands. “You let out that blast of multicolored light right on top of me! I was blinded for several seconds because of you!”
The bird chirped again, this time sounding like it was laughing at him.
“Shut it, you dumb feathered rat! It’s not my fault I ran face first into the mountain! I couldn’t see a thing after that stunt you pulled!” he argued with the magical avian.
It trilled out a song of amusement in response, and the young man’s shoulders sagged in despair. Getting mad at the damn thing was no use, and it kept following him regardless of how he tried to zigzag around. He was stuck with it, and its mocking sounds.
He hefted his silver halberd and channeled some more magic into the enchanted cape on his back. The purple cloth twisted and split, transforming into two elegant purple wings. He then lifted off of the chunk of rock he’d landed on earlier and took off into the sky.
A sigh of relief escaped the amnesiac. It felt liberating to be able to fly freely. All of his worries about who he was and why the accursed fowl was following him faded away as he dove through clouds, spun through tailwinds, and glided through calm winds.
‘Now, if only this bird would stop following me,’ he grunted in annoyance. Out of the corner of his eye, the rainbow-winged dove was following his lead, keeping pace with ease. Even if he pulled off abrupt starts, barrel rolls, and all kinds of tricks no bird could possibly pull off, the freakish avian would copy him exactly without a single flaw!
“Ugh! And would it kill you to shut up?!” he shouted at the tiny flapping demon that was currently next to his head. “That whistling is giving me a migraine!”
The seven-winged dove gave its companion an incredulous look, and the amnestic noticed that its beak was shut. The bird couldn’t be the source of the whistling! Blinking in confusion, he slowed his flight, and the painful whistling he’d been hearing for the last minute stopped being so aggravating. In fact, the sound morphed into a soft, melodious tune that was nothing at all like the voice of a bird.
Looking around in confusion in an attempt to locate the source of the noise, the memoryless halberdier floated through the sky following the tune as it drifted by on the breeze.
He didn’t know how long he spent following the music. An hour? Perhaps three or more? In the end though he found the source just as the sky began to dim and usher in twilight.
It was a series of islands, linked together with crysta
lline chains that gave off the sound of windchimes as gusts of air blew by. Each island had been hollowed out and grooves and tubes implanted onto them, a thin layer of a white metal coating the entire surface.
With every breath of wind that traveled through the realm he’d stumbled into, the islands exhaled a charming melody that took his breath away. Numbly, he drifted over to a series of stone benches that had been carved into nearby islands that followed behind the floating musical archipelago, and sat down, listening to the music.
Twilight eventually turned to night, and a huge shimmering gold moon rose over the horizon. And still he sat there, trapped in the music that continued to emanate from the islands. The strange bird had also taken a seat, perching on his helmet and likewise enthralled by the sound, and the amnesiac couldn’t muster up the effort or desire to try and make it move.
Throughout the night he sat, just listening. He felt that if he listened some more, his memories would return. And they did, to an extent. Flashes of a young, red-headed woman came to him, as did images of a green-haired, brown-skinned elf, and a bear that was wearing human clothes for some reason. Who were they? Why did he feel happy, wistful, and sad when he saw these three figures?
Only when his stomach rang out loudly in hunger, protesting a lack of nutrients in his body, did the young man stir.
“Crap… do I even have any food on me?” he wondered aloud, patting himself down. He found some pouches on his waist, one of which was a Bag of Holding and held a decent amount of trail rations and a half-full waterskin.
“Nuts and berries, huh?” he mused to himself, removing his helmet – and ignoring the indignant tweet of his head’s unwanted passenger – and popping a handful of dried and salted food into his mouth. He grimaced at the stale dry taste that invaded his mouth.
“Ugh, now I’m thirsty,” he cursed, draining the contents of the waterskin into his mouth to wash away the flavor of salted berries and dried nuts. He glared at the now empty container, as if his displeasure would refill it.
“Wonder if there’s any water around here?” he wondered aloud, unable to see much in the darkness, however his eyes did manage to locate a cluster of lights that were bobbing up and down in the air currents not too far from where he was. He got off of the bench, put his helmet back on, tried futilely to shoo off the seven-winged dove as it once more perched atop his head, and flew off towards what he hoped was some form of civilization.
The lights the amnesiac had spotted turned out to be the glow from a series of porch mounted lanterns that were attached to a ridiculous cottage. Though it looked like a simple thatch hut perched on a chunk of rock barely large enough to fit it, there were several oddities that made the armored man pause and take a second look as he flew towards it.
The chimney, for instance, was abnormally large, nearly as big as the cottage was and twice as tall, and resembled a stone tower. The material used for the roof turned out to be an assortment of feathers, and the walls of the building were made from eggshells!
“Definitely an odd place,” the nameless man muttered, but he ended up shrugging. “Ah, who cares! Hopefully the person who lives here won’t mind me asking for some water. And maybe a bed to spend the night.”
As he landed on the porch of the cottage, the seven-winged dove flew off of his head and disappeared somewhere on the roof.
“Finally, it’s gone,” the armored man sighed in relief, before knocking on the door. After a minute the door opened, revealing a man in green and yellow robes with pointed ears and long, grey hair standing at the door, an impatient expression on his face.
“What?” he asked sharply, before his eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me…” the armored amnesiac began, but was cut off when the man – no, an elf! – grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.
“You’re late!” the robed elf scolded. “Seriously, making me wait for so long! Unbelievable!”
“Uh, sir, do I know you?” the halberdier inquired. Despite his lack of memories, he was fairly certain he’d never met anyone like his elf.
“No, but you were supposed to be here days ago! First that brat Joris barges into my research, then he makes me take you on as a temporary apprentice, and then there was that Reality Scream a bit ago! Honestly, you’re a very problematic Ooze!”
“Wait, I’m not an Ooze!” the armored man shouted indignantly. The elf snorted.
“Right, and I’m not really Celbrem the Silent Storm!”
“No, really,” he protested, and he removed his helmet, revealing his very human face. There was a pause, and the elf stared at him for a minute before walking over and poking him in the eye with a finger.
“OW!”
“Hmm, not an illusion or an elaborate disguise… you really are a human!” the elf exclaimed in shock. He then winced. “Ah, your name wouldn’t happen to be ‘Jellik,’ would it?”
“Nope. Honestly, I don’t know my name. I can’t remember anything from before I woke up in this strange place,” the young man replied.
“Well… that complicates things,” the elf said slowly. “Take a seat and make yourself at home, I have a few calls to make.”
Chapter 4: Shattered and scattered
“Thank you for allowing us to spend some time resting here,” I said, doing my best to mimic a bow towards the Fateseeker and the spherical Archon who’d been our earlier escort. It was easier to do this time since I had shapeshifted into the vague form of a horse.
“And especially for letting us use your fancy thing-a-gig,” Dora added, her head bowed politely towards the pair who’d led us out of the Tower of Light.
“It was our pleasure,” the elderly minotaur woman who’d helped us said with a smile, chuckling a little at Dora’s name for the Aetherial Lens.
{As well as our duty to serve the Chosen Ones,} the Archon stated in its strange not-voice.
“Well, yes, that too, but it was still nice to meet such polite and kind young heroes,” the Fateseeker said, patting the ‘head’ of the Archon. It grumbled a bit at the action but remained still.
“We’re off, then,” I said as the half-orc clambered onto my ‘back.’
“Be careful on your way through the Field of Mirrors. They reflect and reveal more than mere superficial appearances,” the Fateseeker warned us. “Not to mention the Mirror Souls that roam that area and call it their territory. Do not get tricked by them!”
“We’ll be sure to stay safe,” I assured her, and with that, I cast the Fly spell and took off into the sky with Dora clinging to me.
As we flew away from the Tower, Dora asked me, “What’s a Mirror Soul?” and all I could answer with was a shake of my ‘head.’
“No idea. It sounds familiar, but I can’t say for sure.” I then sighed. “Ugh, if only Tara was here. She’d know what it was.”
“Tara? Who’s she? Was she one of your companions?” Dora inquired, and I nodded.
“Yup! She was a Spirit of Knowledge that lived in my head!”
“…You are just a bundle of madness and crazy talk, aren’t you?” the half-orc declared after staring at me in contemplative silence.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing!” I laughed. The Healer shook her head in disbelief. She then folded her arms and glared at the back of my ‘head.’
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that other thing you said. About you being a ‘pet.’ Explain that for me,” she said grimly. Hearing the dark tone in her voice, I wondered what exactly her deal was.
‘Maybe I’ll figure her out if I tell her a bit more about my odd life,’ I mused.
“If you insist,” I said aloud. “So, it all began in an alleyway in Sanc Aldet. More specifically, this alleyway was right behind a fancy pet shop that catered to the nobility of the Purple District. I’d been alive for… I dunno, a few days? The store’s owner found me in the alley as a newly spawned Ooze. Not even a neat or unique kind of Ooze, either, like a Swamp or Flesh or City Ooze. No, just a normal, blue, regular Ooze. Thinking he could
make a quick bit of coin, the store owner tossed me into an empty glass tank and tried to sell me as a novelty item.”
“That sounds terrible!” Dora gasped, but I shook my ‘head’ in response.
“Hardly. I wasn’t aware of anything at that point. The earliest thing I can remember is of a pair of warm hands reaching down and picking me, and an angelic voice decided she wanted me as a pet. Me! An Ooze! She had the whole store to choose from, but she picked me instead!” Even now I could feel warmth bubble up in my core at the memory of my meeting with Liliana. The bliss from that moment never faded from my mind or soul, even after all this time.
“Who was she?” Dora asked hesitantly.
“Princess Liliana Augustine Roan,” I replied, a hint of reverence in my tone as I spoke my owners name. The half-orc gasped, taken aback by my revelation.
“What?! You were selected as a pet by the princess of Varia?” Dora uttered in disbelief.
“Yup! I sure was!” I proclaimed proudly. “She named me, fed me, cared for me, and loved me!”
“That’s… I don’t know what to say to that,” the green-skinned Healer sighed.
“Yeah. People tend to react that way when I tell ‘em that,” I chuckled. “I find it amusing.”
“Bet you were glad when you discovered you were a Chosen One, huh?” Dora asked. “I mean, you didn’t have to be a ‘pet’ anymore! You could leave and do whatever you wanted with your life! You were free!”
There was a slightly hysterical tone in her voice when Dora finished her sentence, her voice cracking a bit on the last word.
“Not really,” I admitted, and I felt her stiffen on my ‘back.’ “To be honest, just like you, I didn’t really want to become a Chosen One. I wanted to stay with her, with all of them back in Varia, but I knew if I stayed around Liliana, she’d just be put in danger. Plus, I was just a newly ascended Royal Ooze. I had no idea what I was, what the extent of my powers were, or what I could even do. Sure, I’d attended the Royal Varian Mage’s Academy, but what could they teach me?”
