| The Master of the Game allowed the party some time to reflect on the situation and make their demands. Everyone was feeling very tired from all the stress of risking their lives to the Game, and even this resolution carried the promise of much more strife to come. No rest for the wicked, and no rest for the righteous either. Jaeden was the first to speak, to which the Master chuckled slightly. "You give me too much credit, young man," he shook his head in amusement, "I know not all the magic in the world, far from it. I may have come closer than most, but I was just as flawed as everyone else who practices magic. For one, I was 'one-sided', or 'half-baked', as they called the ones among us who practiced personal or world magic, but not both. I never got into world magic. A personality thing, you know. In magic, your feelings are often more important than your intelligence. Being the selfish bastard that I've always been, I only grasped personal magic." "You see, it works this way. Personal magic, all of it, draws upon your selfish instincts. One with a weak sense of self could never handle it. All our instincts are inherently self-centered. We want to be safe, we want to protect those dear to us, we want others to love and respect us, we want to understand, we want to tear our enemies apart. The animal inside us wants to be strong and quick and lead the pack. Every single desire translates into a discipline of personal magic. Take Gug-darak, or Unity. That is envy, plain and simple. It is when we wish to be someone else." "Rediscovering Unity was really my first breakthrough. The second, well, you're standing in it right now." He spread his arms to indicate the castle. "The True Way, or an incomplete version of it to be honest. Just a pale rendition of the real thing, but still something to be feared. You see, all forms of magic are parts of a greater whole. It's just that mortal minds are in general too small to contain it, just like our eyes cannot see the front and back of something at the same time. I managed to get closer to the True Way. It's like unifying all the magic you own... letting your very essence out. Your Cosmos. Your surroundings become an emanation of your will, like a lucid dream except it's entirely real. My version is incomplete because I can't really do world magic. That's why I cannot keep the Game going for more than three days at a time or more often than once in forty years, even with the massive Djed I acquired in the Valterrian." He turned to Kamalia, as if anticipating the question. "You need to master so many disciplines before you can even attempt this. Even so, the Djed drain is enormous... and the initiation ritual would kill all but one in a thousand. That ritual goes by the name of 'overgiving'." He chuckled in a slightly sinister fashion. "The True Way is what lies beyond the most severe overgiving, if you have what it takes. If you survive, you might just be able to unlock this power. I fought a fellow called Wolkirk. By all logical accounts, I should have died of overgiving. Of course, in my case, my magic just took over, but it left me with this nice present, a spark of greatness, however incomplete." The Master turned back to Jaeden. "Of course, telling everything I know about magic would take far longer than three days. At the very least, now you know how I dyed your eyes yellow and red for the Game. The rest, I will let you discover in time, on a need-to-know basis." The Master pointed a finger at Jaeden and a sharp yellow beam burst out, penetrating Jaeden's forehead and stunning him for an instant. When his head stopped ringing, the man felt like new knowledge had been added, but he couldn't precisely point out where, or what it was. It would likely come to him little by little, in sudden bursts, as the Master said. "As for you, assassin," he walked up to Sasin, "you may want to get a mark from Priskil or Ionu if protection or invisibility are your foremost concerns. I can, however, lend you a piece of my soul to help you with that. I have already given out so much of it to Unity, a little bit more isn't going to make a difference." He extended a hand, and Sasin's dagger flew into his grasp. Then, he threw the dagger at Sasin's doppelganger, the only actor still standing. It hit the figure right in the chest, and it collapsed quietly on the floor. The Master leaned over and extracted the bloody dagger. As he released the blade, it flew into Sasin's hand as if guided by a higher will, and there was a strange shine to the metal. "If the enemy comes too close, this blade - which is technically me - will let you know. I've given it a few more perks, too... but you will discover them in time, much like your companion." It was now Kamalia's turn to receive the man's full attention. The Konti was a strange one, going from despair over her unhealthy magic to desire for even more of it. "Indeed, it was not your choice. Neither did you choose to exist, but life comes with so many opportunities, does it not? And this is no exception, there is much to be gained and all to be lost. But you ask of Unity, and I will tell you. Gug-darak was completely eradicated centuries before Suvan and Alahea were first whispered of in this world. I had to research it anew, for no records remained. Dira destroyed those who practiced it, and any who were related to them. To wield this magic is to make many enemies, and not the usual passive aggressive thing the gods do when they give you a mean look and then turn to greater things on their agenda. They will actually come for you, or send their agents to slay you. Even the gods who have marked you may not want a controversial follower and could choose to retract their blessings and sever their ties to you. I practiced Unity in secret and was very good about keeping it so. No history book will mention that about me. Even Dira found out way too late." The man shrugged slightly and took on a conspiratorial tone. "The magic itself is straightforward enough. You place a piece of your own soul inside that of another, blended so well that even you can't tell where one ends and where the other begins. And they, they become you... with varying degrees of intensity, of course. At the lowest level, you just sense what they sense. At the highest, their old personality is utterly lost in yours, they only exist as your extension. You also become them a little, for Unity works both ways. Such wicked things you can do! The one problem is, once again, the initiation. It's a tough one, perhaps the toughest in all personal magic. In the experiments I ran, two out of three did not make it, and I killed the third afterwards. You will need a blade, though, a blade that can split a soul from the body without harming either, for you cannot unify without separating first. I did not make them, but I acquired one. I left my Parting Blade in the Vault on Sahova, but they had no clue it is the key to Unity. The god Ruros also had one, which I assume has been passed down to his son Uphis in Nyka. Both designs, I was told, were Isurian and as such I expect Sultros to have Parting Blades too." "You have to sever your soul with a Parting Blade and merge it with your body once more to become capable of Unity. It wasn't a walk in the park, even for me." "Your second desire is silly. If I had known of a way to keep my magic from controlling me, I'd have used it on me, don't you think?" Muffled laughter came from behind the mask. "The staves, yes, the staves. I'll tell you what, I wasn't as big on those as many wizards are, but I did collect those I absolutely did not want to see in someone else's hands, being used against me. I spread my trinkets throughout the lands to discourage thieves, but there is one staff I simply Voided for instant access." The Master gestured a flick of his hand, and a small black hole appeared near his palm, from which a long wooden staff entered this world. It was cedar, apparently, slender but with a reinforced butt for actual usefulness in battle. The tip was slightly pointed, with four carved figures of robed wizards staring off in the four directions. "Pathfinder," he said, and offered it to Kamalia. "It does little by itself, except one thing: it will help you locate my other staves. Your magic will love having a staff... too much, in fact. So I have granted you two wishes, and I shall assume that you took the Kelvic's share of the reward, as well. As for what would happen to wizards should my counterpart claim that throne... that is a question you should ask of him. Your share is depleted, I am afraid." He was giving Kamalia the rope to hang herself with. Not that he minded in the least. She had his lesson clear in front of her, and still was going for it. She truly had it coming. Finally, Stitch's turn. "You want... nothing?" For the first time, the man appeared to be somehow caught by surprise. "Do you really think that winning the Game will keep your children safe indefinitely? Do you not realize why they asked this of you? They... my other self... will be back for answers sooner than you think, and he knows no gratitude. You are being manipulated, young man, and you don't even realize that your magical potential is on par with this Konti lady. Your magical perception may even be greater. You would do well to accept a gift." "This is the fourth edition of the Game. Before you, there were forty-wao participants with seventeen casualties. I have no regrets. I killed hundreds with my own hands in my lifetime, and I regret nothing either. My one mistake was trusting myself to keep my magic under control. I have lived my life to the fullest, however, and the fitting end is for me to have a hand in slaying my divine self." He paused for a moment, staring at Stitch from behind his mask. "But you amuse me in a way, I will admit. Your wish is granted, and you will be the one who can find me when the time comes. Take this with you, but make no mention of it with anyone, especially those who walk with Sagallius the god." The Master took off his golden mask, half smiling and half grimacing, and threw it at Stitch. Instead of displaying a non-face, though, he simply vanished. His robes fell to the floor with a rustling sound. Game over. The black door in the room opened by itself, revealing corkscrew stairs going down and out of the tower. The ground began to shake, the intensity growing by the second. The walls cracked, glowing green flames peeking through the gaps. The castle, no longer maintained by the will of the one who had manifested it, was going to collapse in a matter of minutes. It was time to go. |
| XP time! Please note, I am only awarding experience to the four PCs who stuck with this thread to the end. If anyone else returns and wants their share, please PM me and I will update this. NOTE: these awards also include your recruitment threads; they are all considered to be parts of the Game. ALL
Jaeden
Kamalia
Sasin
Stitch
Notes: This is finally over! It's been a fantastic ride, but it has taught a lot about managing large groups of PCs. I have also introduced two magical opportunities, one for above average to advanced players - Unity - and one for truly "endgame" characters who have mastered a number of disciplines - the True Way. All in all, I am very happy despite the defections and casualties that forced me to take this thread in a slightly different direction. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Feel free to escape the castle (Gromhir is unconscious and will have to be dragged along) and talk among yourselves at leisure.  |
