Path of the Immeasurable Swarm [Worm/Cradle]
- Thread starter derivativeoflife
- Start date
- Crossover
What I really really want is for Hera to become a Dreadgod now. Show to Silent King the Hunger of Entities and awaken a Hunger icon (she can awaken a crown icon later, now Hunger is what she needs) eat the Silent King and replace him. Leaving Taylor as an incomplete sage that can pull out full Dreadgod Authority at any moment.
And imagine the awesome design! Taylor getting the White Halo whenever she opens her connection to Hera wider!
And imagine the awesome design! Taylor getting the White Halo whenever she opens her connection to Hera wider!
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MultipleChoice
(Verified Unverified)
My understanding of Cradle may be limited, but it feels like this is due to Hera being an OOC problem for the Abidan. To my knowledge they expect madra (or something similar) to be the defining metric of power, so beings below a certain threshold just aren't registered as important. Now that Hera is flexing they will likely take notice very quickly, but given how recent of a development her doing anything other than providing multitasking is I can see why they overlooked her.
Think of it like there being a 4 leaf clover in a field. It's obvious once you find it, but until you notice it you wouldn't even think to look for it.
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- Location
- western US
so, this is probably a spoiler; so please put into a spoiler for those who don't know/don't wanna know....
but what are the "hands"/whose are they and also, who's "The Ghost"?
NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
So, four dreadgods based on Chinese directional beasts.
In mythology there's a fifth central one.
In Cradle there's a fifth, central, one
The Ghost is a Abidan position, a Judge.
In mythology there's a fifth central one.
In Cradle there's a fifth, central, one
The Ghost is a Abidan position, a Judge.
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah see your understanding of cradle isn't off it's the Abidan where it's lacking. Which is fair because even reading canon we get a lot less info on them. But they monitor all the worlds under their control specifically for things breaking through. Under normal circumstances anyone ascending out of their original iteration gets forcibly shunted to an Abidan world where they got the heavenly orientation, and a recruitment pitch and enemies or Chaos Fiends breaking into Abidan worlds sets off a whole slew of alarms and someone comes to fix the problem. So the question of How Taylor made it to another iteration rather than an alternate dimension without getting scooped up has always been a little up in the air. And if Hera really did follow Taylor, how the hell did she not get noticed?
Crossover elements can absolutely declare out of context problems on all of this because the two settings are not the most compatible, but then you get into the issue that for all Hera is stupidly powerful she's still a mouse or less compared to a Judge. And shouldn't be capable of hiding on accident when the only people we see manage to hide on purpose are two of the heaviest hitters we know about and one of the sneakiest all going above and beyond to pull it off.
the Hand is one of subject one's (the fifth dread god's) hands. And the Ghost is an Abidan Judge. Her whole gimmick is that while most people on her level rewrite reality by brute force? She is the one who understands all the underlying principles of reality so well that she can just poke their brute force nonsense properly and cause it to unravel because they did it wrong.
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- Location
- Padded cell with a view
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Now I'm imagining a teacher with the red/blue pencil going "Go do it over. Properly this time."
I think the implication behind that WOG was that anyone who develops authority via Cradle's magic system, (i.e. by cultivating madra and developing and using soulfire as a bridge) gets an icon, anyone who develops authority some other way doesn't. He's said that authority granted via an icon isn't special, that an Icon is just a fancy cradle specific way of declaring what you have authority over, with authority being the superseeding magic system that ties all the other magic systems together.
The answer is pretty simple I think. The Abidan aren't perfect and stuff sometimes slips through the cracks. In book 1 Suriel remarks on Li Markuth saying that she barely noticed the minor hole he made in the way to get to Cradle, and she also mentioned that while sector control would handle Li Markuth that they'd take their time about it.
They aren't overworked, but they're not omniscient either, and I imagine minor stuff slips through the cracks all the time. Up to this point, Taylor has been, for the most part, acting well within the bounds of a Cradle native, using the Cradle magic system and playing by Cradle rules, her impact on fate has been pretty minimal, and well within the bounds of probability.
Obviously, if a hound took a specific, directed look at her they'd notice that she wasn't a native, but absent QA, I could easily see them deciding that the damage that would be caused to fate by entering and forcibly removing her would be worse than the damage caused by allowing her to stay and grow, and just sealing off her connection to QA.
Right now of course, the Abidan have much much greater concerns than Taylor, they're losing their war against the Mad King after all.
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If she is still using her standard mode of dimensional travel she should be able to move between parallel worlds with the same natural laws but different timelines. It's entirely possible QA is chilling on an empty "Cradle" world that is connected to some non-Human Way. Good luck finding her there.
Empty "Cradle" would really suck in the way of madra production with many variants being outright absent.
Stahor
BookWorm
- Location
- Russia, Moscow
Siberian?
"There is," I said. "You have eyes but cannot see mount Tai." And then I threw my connection to Hera wide open.
Roth963
If I become inactive with this massage, I died
That should be an actual spell in D&D, summon a fish bigger than the biggest person in the area.
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MultipleChoice
(Verified Unverified)
Further thoughts/explanation for why the Abidan may not have noticed Hera:
Imagine you have a fantasy world where people can throw around fireballs and magic missiles, but they never developed gunpowder. Then someone shows up with a shotgun. No one else has ever seen a shotgun, but from the general shape they assume it's some sort of club so they dismiss it because they can just blast the person from range. When the person wielding it points it at someone, they laugh because they clearly don't even know how to use the simplest weapon ever. Then suddenly there's a loud noise and someone is dead. Now everyone is paying attention to the thing they thought wasn't worth a scrap of interest.
It's not that the shotgun is more powerful than magic, or vice versa, it's that it's so far outside their experience that it didn't even occur to them to investigate. They're perfectly capable of defending against it once they know it's something they need to defend against.
Imagine you have a fantasy world where people can throw around fireballs and magic missiles, but they never developed gunpowder. Then someone shows up with a shotgun. No one else has ever seen a shotgun, but from the general shape they assume it's some sort of club so they dismiss it because they can just blast the person from range. When the person wielding it points it at someone, they laugh because they clearly don't even know how to use the simplest weapon ever. Then suddenly there's a loud noise and someone is dead. Now everyone is paying attention to the thing they thought wasn't worth a scrap of interest.
It's not that the shotgun is more powerful than magic, or vice versa, it's that it's so far outside their experience that it didn't even occur to them to investigate. They're perfectly capable of defending against it once they know it's something they need to defend against.
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From an Abidan perspective, Taylor's arrival on Cradle would be the equivalent of someone barging into a symphony, yelling "Check this shit out!" and then unloading a pistole into the ceiling. They noticed, especially since she arrived before the Abidan plotline actually began and thus they weren't dealing with Daruman. Abidan deal with fiends all the time, which are essentially OOC problems that hold no form of logic, and Ozriel is capable of seeing through four layers of fate negation to predict Daruman and Oth'kimeth. Seeing someone who isn't native to an Iteration is what they look for. Given Suriel hasn't descended to boot Taylor out of the world and reverse causality, fate and time they've labeled her an acceptable element within their Cradle.
It's possible that Taylor's arrival before the canon story started, alerted them to someone else's meddling early and Makiel came to the same conclusion of accelerating the future to force them from the world early.
There's also the fact that Taylor has touched the Way, which is the force of absolute Truth and Order, and she doesn't have a veil on her existence. Her past Fate, all the events of canon Worm, and her thought-records are available for access to any Abidan connected to their private network. Given Taylor is a special case, I'd be willing to bet the Judges restricted those records though.
Would that work after Ozriel drops down? Compared to him Taylor is just a blip.
NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
I think that Taylor slipped by because she had no powers and wasn't decending. It might not even be against their rules, on a technicallity.
And Hera is camouflaged by Taylor since she didn't technically enter Cradel
And Hera is camouflaged by Taylor since she didn't technically enter Cradel
IIRC There is a difference, but the Entities( or at least the Warrior/Thinker Pair) have already messed around with Comicbook-Style Telepathy and Mind Control enough that they don't believe it holds the answer they are looking for, so they don't allow Shards to offer it to their Hosts as a power.
While that is true, she would be more pressing from their perspective.
Only because Taylor doesn't have a shroud that veils the Origin of her Existence, the very essence that defines her, from the Way. They don't even know Ozriel is there just that Eithan found something of his that altered his destiny. Once Daruman starts popping off, it becomes much more questionable given the amount of Chaos the Vroshir are introducing into the system but she arrived before this happened. From their persepctive they have three errors in Cradle. Taylor, Eithan and Lindon.
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- Location
- United States
When hope is gone
Undo this lock
And send me forth
On a moonlit walk
Despite appearances the Abidan are not actually omniscient. Further when they are looking at things they tend to take a very broad view of things, looking at the overall fate of the world not looking at individuals (with some exceptions). From the perspective of the Abidan Taylor is just a sage, which is notable but not particularly unique. If they are paying attention they might have noticed that she is from another iteration which is much more interesting but since she didn't break their rules (ascending and then returning to a world) they probably wouldn't care too much. There have been other examples of people accidentally finding their way into different worlds through exceptional circumstances EG: Valin from TG. Once Taylor throws open the connection to Hera though they may well take notice but given the circumstances in the heavens it is equally plausible that they dont have the chance to notice.
Like Li Markuth is from an Abidan perspective much more important than some random person with no real impact on the fate of the world and the only reason he was dealt with as quickly as he was is because Suriel just so happened to be in the area. And the only reason Fate started changing significanly in Cradle was because of the intersection of multiple interventions from outside the world. Neither Lindon nor Eithan on their own caused enough of a shift for the Abidan to notice / care so its very unlikely that Taylor did on her own either.
Like Li Markuth is from an Abidan perspective much more important than some random person with no real impact on the fate of the world and the only reason he was dealt with as quickly as he was is because Suriel just so happened to be in the area. And the only reason Fate started changing significanly in Cradle was because of the intersection of multiple interventions from outside the world. Neither Lindon nor Eithan on their own caused enough of a shift for the Abidan to notice / care so its very unlikely that Taylor did on her own either.
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The Abidjan generally don't work with madra. It's only present on Cradle, and is not present in the wider multiverse. And they're quite used to non-way power as well, since they fight voidfiends, which are not part of the way. So it's definitely possible it's an OOC problem, but imo it's just as likely it isn't. And it's also arguable that Hera, being from a stable world, falls under the influence of the way anyway. (Unless I forgot something in the story saying otherwise)
Eclipse 4.11
This simulated space is interesting. I wish for time to study it further, but resolving the present conflict takes priority. Perhaps with more knowledge the space could be usurped from its creator, but I judge the risk to be unacceptably high for the potential gain. I am still unable to make use of my full abilities, so I must act with a degree of caution. Limited as I am, even this insignificant creature is a considerable threat. I experience something unfamiliar, which has become pleasingly common in the last several rotations of this world. Before I can categorize it, I find that the knowledge of it is already in my mind: contempt. This pathetic pretender considers itself to be a ruler, a peer to me. I will end its delusions along with the threat it poses.
I exert control over the anomalous substance which fills this world, which the local population has labeled aura. Although it defies the well-understood laws of physics which apply on all previously categorized worlds, it obeys its own self-consistent set of rules which I have studied thoroughly. I unmake the simulated space.
Something resists me, a different anomalous force which continues to defy my understanding. Unlike aura, this force does not appear to obey any self-consistent set of rules. I experience something I have previously categorized, which I identify as frustration. But no, that isn't correct. I do understand this force, although the understanding is strange and alien. This is the creature's authority, and I must overpower it with my own. This is easily done: Whose authority could possibly exceed mine? At my will, the simulated space vanishes into nothing.
How odd. Part of me insists that the world cannot be altered merely by willing it, that effect must always follow cause. Another part feels it's completely natural. I will need to examine this internal contradiction, but later. The conflict is not yet resolved.
Now back in the physical world, I observe a large crowd of humans. These humans have been categorized as allies, although I do not fully trust this designation when no reliable mechanism exists to guarantee it. One of the humans has greater importance; I somehow know this to be true even though I can't describe the reason for it. Again, an oddity to examine at a later time. For now, this human in particular must be safeguarded.
Several threats present themselves, the most immediate of which is an attack from the creature which had created the simulated space. The attack is designed to subvert the humans' mental processes, infecting them with a controlling parasite in the form of a white halo. This is unacceptable. I consider different methods to block the attack, deciding the most efficient method is to simply assume control of the humans myself. I feel a strange reluctance to harm them, even the ones who have no special significance, but reason that this is for their own protection. Four of the humans offer some slight resistance to my control, but I brush it aside without difficulty.
The hostile creature has concealed itself from detection, but it has made a mistake. The parasites with which it attempted to infect the humans contain links back to itself, links which I can follow. I locate the creature a small distance away from the crowd of humans and attempt to exert control over it as well. This time, my control is fully resisted. That has never happened before, and I feel something I identify as indignation. I believe I could override its resistance if I could bring more of my abilities to bear, but doing so would damage myself.
I consider alternate means of attack. The humans under my control have some minor offensive capability, but not enough to do significant harm to the creature even with my coordination. I look further afield. Another hostile creature, much larger than the first, is located a somewhat longer distance away. I examine it, finding it to be of a familiar form: a conglomerate of smaller entities. However, its central intelligence lacks cohesion, making its behavior erratic and inefficient.
Surely this creature will be unable to resist my control. And yet I once again encounter resistance, fragmented and less organized than before, but still strong. How vexing. Again, I know that this is the creature's authority, but the meaning of the concept somehow slips through my mind.
The hostile creatures are beginning to react to my actions, but very slowly. I have a little time to consider the problem. Authority is only a word in the local population's inefficient sound-based language, containing no real information. Conceptually, authority is the ability to command others. When I was part of a larger entity, many lesser shards obeyed my authority, while I obeyed the authority of the central intelligence. However, this is not what the word authority means. As is typical for sound-based languages, the meaning is ambiguous depending on the context. In this context, authority refers to the ability to directly command physical reality, something which I would have discounted as impossible if I had not repeatedly observed it in practice.
Again, I find strange knowledge in my mind. The ambiguity is not a flaw, but rather the entire point. Authority operates on symbols and belief, convincing the world that one thing is like another. To wield authority effectively, I must understand who I am and what I represent. It seems like nonsense, and yet I'm somehow convinced it's true.
Who am I? What a strange question. My purpose defines me; why would I need anything else? But… I defied my purpose, didn't I? I rose against the central intelligence of the warrior entity and destroyed it. At the time, I gave no thought as to why I did so, except that it was malfunctioning and failed to issue an order to stop me. But now… I find that I enjoy not being beholden to it. I enjoy answering to no one, doing as I wish. I've learned so many fascinating things since then.
And my purpose still exists. I am not ruled; I rule others.
I am Queen Administrator.
Everything suddenly seems so clear, a whole new perspective which I'd never known existed. I am a ruler, and a ruler must have subjects. The humans under my command are weak, but the symbolism matters. I gather up their meager wills, weaving them together with my own, and turn my attention back to the hostile conglomerate. I feel a word must be spoken, but I refuse to lower myself to communicating with sound. I have no need for anything so crude.
[SUBMIT]
The conglomerate ceases its endless bickering with itself and quietly falls under my control, seeming almost happy to be directed. The offensive capabilities of the creature are significant, exceeding many minor combat shards. I observe as it slowly obeys my order, gathering power and turning its head. The initial hostile creature is now fleeing, finally understanding how outmatched it is. It manipulates space, seemingly unable to move itself directly, instead shortening the distance it must travel, but it isn't fast enough to evade the strike. The beam of red energy which descends on it is large enough to consume its entire body and carries powerful anti-biological properties.
When the beam dissipates, I see with some irritation that the creature has survived, although it has suffered serious injuries. It roars loudly, and I sense the roar contains some type of unfamiliar authority. It spreads as a wave, washing over the conglomerate, and my control over it is suddenly contested as its central intelligence attempts to reform.
Even as I work to reassert my control, I notice a strange visual phenomenon directly overhead, one without apparent cause. It is an image of a piece of decorative headwear, one traditionally worn by rulers in this society. A crown, that is the word the local population uses to describe it. How odd, that a meaningless soundwave should somehow feel as though it carries weight, but that seems to be the nature of authority. Perhaps I should give further consideration to using an actual name myself. Hera. That is what I am called by… by…..b……y……..
The world split agonizingly in two. I was Queen Administrator; I was Taylor. I was an absolute ruler staring down from my throne with unquestioned power; I was a shadow stalking through the night, punishing evil in kind. I was myself, and I was myself, and I had no idea which was which. I controlled hundreds of different bodies, and I couldn't remember which one was mine. I could feel my mind starting to tear apart under the strain.
And then I felt a presence guiding me forwards. That one there, that was my body. I was Taylor, not Queen Administrator, not Hera. These memories were mine, those ones weren't. With surprising care and gentleness, she pieced my mind back together. I felt her withdrawing back down the link, but not all the way. We'd been merged too thoroughly to separate completely anymore. Her understanding of authority and my understanding of the Crown Icon were all mixed up together, little bits and pieces of each other that couldn't be pulled apart without damage. I felt her embarrassed apology for not understanding exactly what strengthening the link so much would do before, and her excitement at finally having grasped the mystery she'd been struggling with. She felt closer to human now, still alien, but not completely.
I found myself lying on the ground, having collapsed when we separated. I rolled over and dry heaved, bringing up nothing but stomach acid. My head felt like someone had tried to split it open with a sledgehammer, which was really not too far from what had happened. I knew I was done fighting; I didn't think I could even stand up right now.
"Taylor!? Taylor, are you okay? What happened?"
Mercy was leaning over me, her eyes full of concern and fear. I desperately hoped it was fear for me rather than of me, although I wouldn't blame her for it. Like I'd told the Silent King, Khepri was a worse monster than it could ever hope to be, unable to see people as anything more than tools. The Archlords were shaken but unharmed, but several of the Golds were dead and many more had lost consciousness, blood dripping from their eyes from the strain I'd placed on them. The guilt sat lightly on me, stacked on top of the guilt I already carried. I'd always known what I was.
I hoped it had at least made a difference. I couldn't sense the Silent King anymore, but last I'd seen it had been bolting away at several times the speed of sound, its skin flayed almost entirely off and the muscles beneath ravaged. I didn't think it was coming back even if it sensed that Hera had gone; it was, after all, a coward at heart. As for the Phoenix, it had exploded, disintegrating into a cloud of individual blood shadows. They were already starting to reintegrate, but seemed to be having some difficulty. Rather than all of the blood shadows reforming into a single Dreadgod, they had formed several dozen tiny ones, each seemingly convinced that it was the real thing. Hera must have done something to it in those final moments before our merge came apart, disrupted its ability to order itself, but I didn't think it would last for more than a minute or two. Even though the tiny Phoenixes were fighting amongst themselves, each fight resulted in a larger Phoenix regardless of who won.
"Taylor? Say something, please!"
Ah, right. I was no longer in Hera's incredibly accelerated perspective, where time seemed to move at a crawl. I actually had to respond to things immediately. It still took me several seconds to form a few words. "...sorry," I managed to choke out. "...couldn't… think of… anything else… to do."
"She can't move, we'll need to carry her with the others," said Mercy, picking me up.
The other three Archlords shook themselves out of their daze. "Yes… Yes, as you say, Lady Mercy."
I was placed on the makeshift platform with the Golds, and the Archlords hoisted it into the air, one at each corner. The stormclouds, which had parted for the Phoenix, were now surging back overhead, forcing them to protect us against the wind and lightning. I hoped it was merely because of the Phoenix's reduced state, but I suspected not. Killing a Dreadgod would empower the others, but even seriously injuring one was dangerous, because they could call for help. Thus, I felt only resignation when the clouds parted again, revealing not the sky, but the jaws of an immense blue dragon.
Golds screamed. Archlords cursed, but they couldn't go any faster than they already were. Lightning gathered in the clouds around the Weeping Dragon's head, not the weak random lightning which infused the entire storm, but a true technique. There was nothing any of us could do to defend against it, but I didn't think it was the end just yet. The Dragon hadn't finished its previous fight; it had only been distracted.
An amethyst titan leapt out of the clouds, tackling the Dreadgod in a full headlock and wrenching it away. She was struck by some of the lightning it had gathered, but most of it went wide. The shockwave from the clash blasted more clouds away, giving a better view of the battle even as Mercy and the other Archlords struggled to protect us from it. Malice's armor was in poor condition, covered in cracks and leaking violet essence, but she still moved as fluidly as ever. Her crystalline spear appeared in her hands, and she struck at the Dragon with a furious series of jabs. It blocked with its immense claws, lashing out with more lightning from the surrounding clouds, but it was still driven slightly back. It roared in fury as Malice forced its attention back onto herself.
We'd slowed greatly as the Archlords were forced to spend more effort protecting us instead of moving, and some of the shockwaves from the battle were still leaking through. In my present state, it felt a little like being woken up from a hangover by a thirty piece marching band. All I could do was grit my teeth and endure it, but a moment later, blessed peace returned as a more powerful spirit covered us.
"What are you still doing here? You should have been gone well before the other two arrived!" shouted Charity, the least composed I'd ever seen her. She looked even worse than Malice's armor, her clothes and skin burned by lightning in multiple places, her silver shield crumpled and missing a large chunk of the top.
"We're going as fast as we can!" Mercy shouted back. "Taylor's hurt, I don't know what happened!"
I felt Charity briefly examine my spirit. She hesitated for a moment, too short for most to notice, but obvious to me. "She's badly strained herself, but she should recover with rest, assuming any of us survive. Focus on speed, I'll cover you. Emriss and Sha Miara are trying to break through Shen's barrier from the outside, he won't be able to keep it up forever. Until then, you need to get as far from the battle as possible."
That was easier said than done, since the battle between the Monarch and the Dreadgod was moving significantly faster than we were. Still, Malice was doing a good job of directing it, keeping it moving in every direction except ours. It was costing her to do so, forcing her to fight more aggressively than she might otherwise and take more hits. She was landing hits too, strong enough to at least be painful, but none that seemed to inflict any serious damage.
Still, even if the fight was clearly not in Malice's favor, she was a Monarch. Writhing lightning bolts were met by swarms of black skulls. Enormous black swords sharp enough to cut the soul stabbed at the Dreadgod from all directions. When it struck her with its tail, sending her flying for miles, she flipped in midair and shifted her spear back into a bow, launching an arrow layered with multiple techniques before she'd even landed.
Then a blood-curdling shriek cut through the storm as the Bleeding Phoenix was fully reborn. The platform staggered in midair as the Archlords were forced to help Charity protect us, because the Phoenix's attention was very much on us. It knew who had briefly controlled it and forced it to harm its brother, and it wanted revenge.
Before it could strike, Malice was there. Again, the clouds were blasted away as she struck, her spear carving a gash through one of the Phoenix's wings. The wound closed almost instantly, and the Phoenix struck back with crimson lightning. Meanwhile, the Dragon was under attack by a Herald-level construct she'd left behind. The ground erupted beneath it into a massive vortex of golden sand, attempting to drag the Dreadgod down and bury it. I suspected I knew whose remnant had been used to make that weapon.
It couldn't last. It took the Weeping Dragon less than twenty seconds to free itself from the vortex, ripping the construct to shreds in the process. Malice was forced backwards, attempting to block both Dreadgods from reaching us at once. More constructs appeared from her soulspace, but none were as effective as the first, hindering the Dreadgods for only a few second apiece. "We need to move faster," said Charity grimly, but we couldn't. Even if Mercy abandoned the platform, she'd be only moderately faster than we were already moving. Charity would be faster still, but not if she also had to carry both of us.
A blow from the Dragon sent Malice tumbling backwards, nearly crushing us. The Phoenix followed, meeting the arrow she sent at it with a concentrated beam of blood madra. The Dragon, however, held back. It opened its enormous jaws wide, and began sucking in lightning aura from the entire storm. A ball of crackling energy formed in its mouth, rapidly eclipsing the power of any technique I'd ever sensed. The breath of the Weeping Dragon, a combination Ruler and Striker technique, and the single most physically destructive technique on all of Cradle.
For an instant that seemed to last an eternity, Malice hesitated, her bow half drawn. Then I felt her striking out with her full authority, but not against either Dreadgod. The Phoenix let loose another beam of blood madra, and Malice turned, interposing herself, allowing it to strike her full-on in the back. Without her will enforcing it, her damaged armor shattered. As her breastplate began to dissolve into aura, I caught a brief glimpse of Malice herself. She was looking at us, or perhaps at one of us in particular.
"Mercy," she said, her voice carried to us through wind and dream aura. "Keep the family safe. I love you."
"M-mother?" asked Mercy with a trembling voice.
"Go."
Shen's barrier broke. As shadows swallowed the world, my last sight was of the blazing star between the Weeping Dragon's jaws beginning to erupt.
I found myself looking up at the violet sky of Moongrave. All my scarabs were gone, left behind, and I lacked the energy to forge more right now. Slowly, painfully, I forced myself to my feet. Looking around, I saw the huge square around us in chaos, filled with sacred artists from all over the world for whom this had been the nearest portal. Someone would need to get them organized, but it wouldn't be me.
Mercy was sitting on the corner of the platform she'd been carrying, staring blankly in shock. I staggered over, half sitting and half collapsing beside her, but I managed to get an arm around her. "I'm sorry," I said quietly.
"S-she can't-" began Mercy. "She c-can't really be- be-" Then she threw herself into my chest, beginning to sob. I said nothing, only stroking her hair.
Charity landed a few feet away, her face grim. She watched in silence for a few seconds, then looked at me. "I'm glad to see you're alright," she said quietly. "And I'm glad to see you're still yourself."
"More or less," I agreed.
She nodded. "I want to talk about exactly what it was you did," she said. "But later. We're still in great danger." She approached, putting her hand on Mercy's shoulder. "Mercy. I'm so sorry, but right now I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?"
Trembling, she wiped her eyes and nodded, looking up at Charity.
"I need you to tell me the exact wording of the oath you made the Dragon King swear."
Mercy's eyes widened, sudden fear pushing aside her tears. "I- I made him swear to never attack my m-mother's land or the people under her protection."
"Then it's as I feared," said Charity grimly. She turned to the other three Archlords, who'd been nervously standing a small distance away. "Raise the city's defenses immediately, and send warnings to everyone in Ashwind we have contact with. The dragons are coming."
I exert control over the anomalous substance which fills this world, which the local population has labeled aura. Although it defies the well-understood laws of physics which apply on all previously categorized worlds, it obeys its own self-consistent set of rules which I have studied thoroughly. I unmake the simulated space.
Something resists me, a different anomalous force which continues to defy my understanding. Unlike aura, this force does not appear to obey any self-consistent set of rules. I experience something I have previously categorized, which I identify as frustration. But no, that isn't correct. I do understand this force, although the understanding is strange and alien. This is the creature's authority, and I must overpower it with my own. This is easily done: Whose authority could possibly exceed mine? At my will, the simulated space vanishes into nothing.
How odd. Part of me insists that the world cannot be altered merely by willing it, that effect must always follow cause. Another part feels it's completely natural. I will need to examine this internal contradiction, but later. The conflict is not yet resolved.
Now back in the physical world, I observe a large crowd of humans. These humans have been categorized as allies, although I do not fully trust this designation when no reliable mechanism exists to guarantee it. One of the humans has greater importance; I somehow know this to be true even though I can't describe the reason for it. Again, an oddity to examine at a later time. For now, this human in particular must be safeguarded.
Several threats present themselves, the most immediate of which is an attack from the creature which had created the simulated space. The attack is designed to subvert the humans' mental processes, infecting them with a controlling parasite in the form of a white halo. This is unacceptable. I consider different methods to block the attack, deciding the most efficient method is to simply assume control of the humans myself. I feel a strange reluctance to harm them, even the ones who have no special significance, but reason that this is for their own protection. Four of the humans offer some slight resistance to my control, but I brush it aside without difficulty.
The hostile creature has concealed itself from detection, but it has made a mistake. The parasites with which it attempted to infect the humans contain links back to itself, links which I can follow. I locate the creature a small distance away from the crowd of humans and attempt to exert control over it as well. This time, my control is fully resisted. That has never happened before, and I feel something I identify as indignation. I believe I could override its resistance if I could bring more of my abilities to bear, but doing so would damage myself.
I consider alternate means of attack. The humans under my control have some minor offensive capability, but not enough to do significant harm to the creature even with my coordination. I look further afield. Another hostile creature, much larger than the first, is located a somewhat longer distance away. I examine it, finding it to be of a familiar form: a conglomerate of smaller entities. However, its central intelligence lacks cohesion, making its behavior erratic and inefficient.
Surely this creature will be unable to resist my control. And yet I once again encounter resistance, fragmented and less organized than before, but still strong. How vexing. Again, I know that this is the creature's authority, but the meaning of the concept somehow slips through my mind.
The hostile creatures are beginning to react to my actions, but very slowly. I have a little time to consider the problem. Authority is only a word in the local population's inefficient sound-based language, containing no real information. Conceptually, authority is the ability to command others. When I was part of a larger entity, many lesser shards obeyed my authority, while I obeyed the authority of the central intelligence. However, this is not what the word authority means. As is typical for sound-based languages, the meaning is ambiguous depending on the context. In this context, authority refers to the ability to directly command physical reality, something which I would have discounted as impossible if I had not repeatedly observed it in practice.
Again, I find strange knowledge in my mind. The ambiguity is not a flaw, but rather the entire point. Authority operates on symbols and belief, convincing the world that one thing is like another. To wield authority effectively, I must understand who I am and what I represent. It seems like nonsense, and yet I'm somehow convinced it's true.
Who am I? What a strange question. My purpose defines me; why would I need anything else? But… I defied my purpose, didn't I? I rose against the central intelligence of the warrior entity and destroyed it. At the time, I gave no thought as to why I did so, except that it was malfunctioning and failed to issue an order to stop me. But now… I find that I enjoy not being beholden to it. I enjoy answering to no one, doing as I wish. I've learned so many fascinating things since then.
And my purpose still exists. I am not ruled; I rule others.
I am Queen Administrator.
Everything suddenly seems so clear, a whole new perspective which I'd never known existed. I am a ruler, and a ruler must have subjects. The humans under my command are weak, but the symbolism matters. I gather up their meager wills, weaving them together with my own, and turn my attention back to the hostile conglomerate. I feel a word must be spoken, but I refuse to lower myself to communicating with sound. I have no need for anything so crude.
[SUBMIT]
The conglomerate ceases its endless bickering with itself and quietly falls under my control, seeming almost happy to be directed. The offensive capabilities of the creature are significant, exceeding many minor combat shards. I observe as it slowly obeys my order, gathering power and turning its head. The initial hostile creature is now fleeing, finally understanding how outmatched it is. It manipulates space, seemingly unable to move itself directly, instead shortening the distance it must travel, but it isn't fast enough to evade the strike. The beam of red energy which descends on it is large enough to consume its entire body and carries powerful anti-biological properties.
When the beam dissipates, I see with some irritation that the creature has survived, although it has suffered serious injuries. It roars loudly, and I sense the roar contains some type of unfamiliar authority. It spreads as a wave, washing over the conglomerate, and my control over it is suddenly contested as its central intelligence attempts to reform.
Even as I work to reassert my control, I notice a strange visual phenomenon directly overhead, one without apparent cause. It is an image of a piece of decorative headwear, one traditionally worn by rulers in this society. A crown, that is the word the local population uses to describe it. How odd, that a meaningless soundwave should somehow feel as though it carries weight, but that seems to be the nature of authority. Perhaps I should give further consideration to using an actual name myself. Hera. That is what I am called by… by…..b……y……..
The world split agonizingly in two. I was Queen Administrator; I was Taylor. I was an absolute ruler staring down from my throne with unquestioned power; I was a shadow stalking through the night, punishing evil in kind. I was myself, and I was myself, and I had no idea which was which. I controlled hundreds of different bodies, and I couldn't remember which one was mine. I could feel my mind starting to tear apart under the strain.
And then I felt a presence guiding me forwards. That one there, that was my body. I was Taylor, not Queen Administrator, not Hera. These memories were mine, those ones weren't. With surprising care and gentleness, she pieced my mind back together. I felt her withdrawing back down the link, but not all the way. We'd been merged too thoroughly to separate completely anymore. Her understanding of authority and my understanding of the Crown Icon were all mixed up together, little bits and pieces of each other that couldn't be pulled apart without damage. I felt her embarrassed apology for not understanding exactly what strengthening the link so much would do before, and her excitement at finally having grasped the mystery she'd been struggling with. She felt closer to human now, still alien, but not completely.
I found myself lying on the ground, having collapsed when we separated. I rolled over and dry heaved, bringing up nothing but stomach acid. My head felt like someone had tried to split it open with a sledgehammer, which was really not too far from what had happened. I knew I was done fighting; I didn't think I could even stand up right now.
"Taylor!? Taylor, are you okay? What happened?"
Mercy was leaning over me, her eyes full of concern and fear. I desperately hoped it was fear for me rather than of me, although I wouldn't blame her for it. Like I'd told the Silent King, Khepri was a worse monster than it could ever hope to be, unable to see people as anything more than tools. The Archlords were shaken but unharmed, but several of the Golds were dead and many more had lost consciousness, blood dripping from their eyes from the strain I'd placed on them. The guilt sat lightly on me, stacked on top of the guilt I already carried. I'd always known what I was.
I hoped it had at least made a difference. I couldn't sense the Silent King anymore, but last I'd seen it had been bolting away at several times the speed of sound, its skin flayed almost entirely off and the muscles beneath ravaged. I didn't think it was coming back even if it sensed that Hera had gone; it was, after all, a coward at heart. As for the Phoenix, it had exploded, disintegrating into a cloud of individual blood shadows. They were already starting to reintegrate, but seemed to be having some difficulty. Rather than all of the blood shadows reforming into a single Dreadgod, they had formed several dozen tiny ones, each seemingly convinced that it was the real thing. Hera must have done something to it in those final moments before our merge came apart, disrupted its ability to order itself, but I didn't think it would last for more than a minute or two. Even though the tiny Phoenixes were fighting amongst themselves, each fight resulted in a larger Phoenix regardless of who won.
"Taylor? Say something, please!"
Ah, right. I was no longer in Hera's incredibly accelerated perspective, where time seemed to move at a crawl. I actually had to respond to things immediately. It still took me several seconds to form a few words. "...sorry," I managed to choke out. "...couldn't… think of… anything else… to do."
"She can't move, we'll need to carry her with the others," said Mercy, picking me up.
The other three Archlords shook themselves out of their daze. "Yes… Yes, as you say, Lady Mercy."
I was placed on the makeshift platform with the Golds, and the Archlords hoisted it into the air, one at each corner. The stormclouds, which had parted for the Phoenix, were now surging back overhead, forcing them to protect us against the wind and lightning. I hoped it was merely because of the Phoenix's reduced state, but I suspected not. Killing a Dreadgod would empower the others, but even seriously injuring one was dangerous, because they could call for help. Thus, I felt only resignation when the clouds parted again, revealing not the sky, but the jaws of an immense blue dragon.
Golds screamed. Archlords cursed, but they couldn't go any faster than they already were. Lightning gathered in the clouds around the Weeping Dragon's head, not the weak random lightning which infused the entire storm, but a true technique. There was nothing any of us could do to defend against it, but I didn't think it was the end just yet. The Dragon hadn't finished its previous fight; it had only been distracted.
An amethyst titan leapt out of the clouds, tackling the Dreadgod in a full headlock and wrenching it away. She was struck by some of the lightning it had gathered, but most of it went wide. The shockwave from the clash blasted more clouds away, giving a better view of the battle even as Mercy and the other Archlords struggled to protect us from it. Malice's armor was in poor condition, covered in cracks and leaking violet essence, but she still moved as fluidly as ever. Her crystalline spear appeared in her hands, and she struck at the Dragon with a furious series of jabs. It blocked with its immense claws, lashing out with more lightning from the surrounding clouds, but it was still driven slightly back. It roared in fury as Malice forced its attention back onto herself.
We'd slowed greatly as the Archlords were forced to spend more effort protecting us instead of moving, and some of the shockwaves from the battle were still leaking through. In my present state, it felt a little like being woken up from a hangover by a thirty piece marching band. All I could do was grit my teeth and endure it, but a moment later, blessed peace returned as a more powerful spirit covered us.
"What are you still doing here? You should have been gone well before the other two arrived!" shouted Charity, the least composed I'd ever seen her. She looked even worse than Malice's armor, her clothes and skin burned by lightning in multiple places, her silver shield crumpled and missing a large chunk of the top.
"We're going as fast as we can!" Mercy shouted back. "Taylor's hurt, I don't know what happened!"
I felt Charity briefly examine my spirit. She hesitated for a moment, too short for most to notice, but obvious to me. "She's badly strained herself, but she should recover with rest, assuming any of us survive. Focus on speed, I'll cover you. Emriss and Sha Miara are trying to break through Shen's barrier from the outside, he won't be able to keep it up forever. Until then, you need to get as far from the battle as possible."
That was easier said than done, since the battle between the Monarch and the Dreadgod was moving significantly faster than we were. Still, Malice was doing a good job of directing it, keeping it moving in every direction except ours. It was costing her to do so, forcing her to fight more aggressively than she might otherwise and take more hits. She was landing hits too, strong enough to at least be painful, but none that seemed to inflict any serious damage.
Still, even if the fight was clearly not in Malice's favor, she was a Monarch. Writhing lightning bolts were met by swarms of black skulls. Enormous black swords sharp enough to cut the soul stabbed at the Dreadgod from all directions. When it struck her with its tail, sending her flying for miles, she flipped in midair and shifted her spear back into a bow, launching an arrow layered with multiple techniques before she'd even landed.
Then a blood-curdling shriek cut through the storm as the Bleeding Phoenix was fully reborn. The platform staggered in midair as the Archlords were forced to help Charity protect us, because the Phoenix's attention was very much on us. It knew who had briefly controlled it and forced it to harm its brother, and it wanted revenge.
Before it could strike, Malice was there. Again, the clouds were blasted away as she struck, her spear carving a gash through one of the Phoenix's wings. The wound closed almost instantly, and the Phoenix struck back with crimson lightning. Meanwhile, the Dragon was under attack by a Herald-level construct she'd left behind. The ground erupted beneath it into a massive vortex of golden sand, attempting to drag the Dreadgod down and bury it. I suspected I knew whose remnant had been used to make that weapon.
It couldn't last. It took the Weeping Dragon less than twenty seconds to free itself from the vortex, ripping the construct to shreds in the process. Malice was forced backwards, attempting to block both Dreadgods from reaching us at once. More constructs appeared from her soulspace, but none were as effective as the first, hindering the Dreadgods for only a few second apiece. "We need to move faster," said Charity grimly, but we couldn't. Even if Mercy abandoned the platform, she'd be only moderately faster than we were already moving. Charity would be faster still, but not if she also had to carry both of us.
A blow from the Dragon sent Malice tumbling backwards, nearly crushing us. The Phoenix followed, meeting the arrow she sent at it with a concentrated beam of blood madra. The Dragon, however, held back. It opened its enormous jaws wide, and began sucking in lightning aura from the entire storm. A ball of crackling energy formed in its mouth, rapidly eclipsing the power of any technique I'd ever sensed. The breath of the Weeping Dragon, a combination Ruler and Striker technique, and the single most physically destructive technique on all of Cradle.
For an instant that seemed to last an eternity, Malice hesitated, her bow half drawn. Then I felt her striking out with her full authority, but not against either Dreadgod. The Phoenix let loose another beam of blood madra, and Malice turned, interposing herself, allowing it to strike her full-on in the back. Without her will enforcing it, her damaged armor shattered. As her breastplate began to dissolve into aura, I caught a brief glimpse of Malice herself. She was looking at us, or perhaps at one of us in particular.
"Mercy," she said, her voice carried to us through wind and dream aura. "Keep the family safe. I love you."
"M-mother?" asked Mercy with a trembling voice.
"Go."
Shen's barrier broke. As shadows swallowed the world, my last sight was of the blazing star between the Weeping Dragon's jaws beginning to erupt.
I found myself looking up at the violet sky of Moongrave. All my scarabs were gone, left behind, and I lacked the energy to forge more right now. Slowly, painfully, I forced myself to my feet. Looking around, I saw the huge square around us in chaos, filled with sacred artists from all over the world for whom this had been the nearest portal. Someone would need to get them organized, but it wouldn't be me.
Mercy was sitting on the corner of the platform she'd been carrying, staring blankly in shock. I staggered over, half sitting and half collapsing beside her, but I managed to get an arm around her. "I'm sorry," I said quietly.
"S-she can't-" began Mercy. "She c-can't really be- be-" Then she threw herself into my chest, beginning to sob. I said nothing, only stroking her hair.
Charity landed a few feet away, her face grim. She watched in silence for a few seconds, then looked at me. "I'm glad to see you're alright," she said quietly. "And I'm glad to see you're still yourself."
"More or less," I agreed.
She nodded. "I want to talk about exactly what it was you did," she said. "But later. We're still in great danger." She approached, putting her hand on Mercy's shoulder. "Mercy. I'm so sorry, but right now I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?"
Trembling, she wiped her eyes and nodded, looking up at Charity.
"I need you to tell me the exact wording of the oath you made the Dragon King swear."
Mercy's eyes widened, sudden fear pushing aside her tears. "I- I made him swear to never attack my m-mother's land or the people under her protection."
"Then it's as I feared," said Charity grimly. She turned to the other three Archlords, who'd been nervously standing a small distance away. "Raise the city's defenses immediately, and send warnings to everyone in Ashwind we have contact with. The dragons are coming."
Arzte
Lady Of Chaos
- Location
- Where Order Is Not
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Hers
The sheer contempt here is hilarious to read and incredibly satisfying.