Part 4 - A history unraveled cont.
"Firstly I really must congratulate you. For such a well known story in your world, you were all too eager to accept the aid of the seven. The seven is mysterious and its motives remain elusive even to my eyes, but I do not believe it wishes to see you fail completely. However your actions have sealed your fate prematurely. We will accomplish that which we have set out to do, but you will not be able to completely fulfill your role it seems. Regardless of what you do with your life, all is already as it will and has always been destined to be. It is most unfortunate, however we mustn't dwell on such things."
As the world formed around me so too did the voice's body. A beautiful young girl, not much older than myself appeared in front of me and frowned. She looked me over and gave a single disapproving shake of the head before sighing and continuing on with her speech.
"My name is Solara. I was once a knight of the twenty two. If you would like to, you may refer to me as Por or Solara. Either is fine. Now, your first lesson. I assume you're not completely ignorant of this world's lore as you've lived here the majority of your life, however there are other worlds out there. This world in which we are now in is going to be called Por. It does have a proper name and spot in the planes of existence, however that would be much too complicated for the first lesson. So for now, it will be called Por. I am Por, and Por is me; however we have not always been as one."
A small seaside town had constructed itself. It was primitive, the tools were nothing grand nor were the buildings anything to stare at in awe. But there were sights to be seen. There were men and women, children and animals, but there were also giants which stood nearly five times taller than the rest of the villagers. The giants were carrying whole trees, massive stones and stacks of fishing boats as the villagers trailed behind with all of their gear for the occasions.
"As I have said, I was once a member of the twenty two. I was an orphan, though nothing like you. I was able to jump between the many planes of existence from the time I was born. My mother died during childbirth and as we were still connected, her soul took mine with her when she passed. However, since it was not actually my time to die I was cut loose from the soul of my mother and then fell back down the way I had came. Somewhere in that period of time, I too was visited by the seven. And at that time I was given my power so that I might always remember what I had been through. Shortly after the returning of my soul to my body I did my first jump which landed me in the plane in which the manifestation of Forms resides. Forms is the furthest plane from the plane of the living in which you reside."
As she continued her speech and our walk around town, I saw men and women working in tandem with beings only heard of in myth. They weaved together magic and caused explosions, built entire houses and raked in hundreds of fish from the sea in mere seconds. All were smiling, all was prosperous, none were hungry or alone save for one. A child of three or four sat in between two houses with tears dried on her sand coated face. Out of instinct I reached out my hand to her in an attempt to wipe it all away and then she lifted her head. Her eyes met mine and she spoke.
"Forms was nurturing and caring. In the realm of Forms, there is nothing. Besides the plane of creation, it is the next closest thing one could get to experiencing what life was like for The Mother in the beginning. Forms had no phsyical form, as is the nature of The Mother's creation. In order for one diety to exist, they must give to the life they wish to create that which they represent. When The Mother sent out forms from herself, she began to exist and Forms ceased to. I was never told a proper name for Forms, but he nurtured me until I was old enough to walk. To exist outside of the realm of the living, is to exist without the need of sustenance. As is why should you choose to stay here for eternity you shall never die regardless of what it is you do."
The girl disappeared and the small town began to crumble and was replaced by a great city. A massive castle stood at the back, and thousands of people crowded the streets making merry and going about their daily business. There were far more lonely and orphaned children in these parts, but with all that went on being good it was hard to take notice if you weren't expressly trying to. Solara appeared back in front of me and began walking towards the castle. Her body which had been covered in raggedy cloth now changed to an outfit of leather boots and a white cloak that nearly blinded me as it materialized.
"I was not always such a good little girl. After I left forms I traveled around the world of the living for many years trying to find my father but to no avail. He had disappeared to where I still do not know. He lives, but his presence escapes me. Perhaps it is a curse of my power? Anyways. After I gave up looking for him, I attempted to look for the one who had raised me. I jumped between planes of existence in my hunt to refind Forms. I had no control over where I appeared or even when sometimes. Moving between planes of existence is very dangerous you see. I had no power, no knowledge, nothing and nobody to guide me. All I had was myself... and what I could pick off of the deities' whose planes I visited. And now because of those actions long past I fear to ever set foot outside of this realm. I've stolen from every higher power in an attempt to grow stronger and find Forms or my father. Immortal beings are very good at holding grudges. Soul didn't so much care, Intelligence was happy to enlighten me to a few key things, Life nearly killed me before I could even take a single thing and Magic... well, magic nearly isn't a problem anymore."
We moved through the city until we were at the steps of the castle. A large crowd had gathered and twenty two people kneeled on the steps. An elderly looking man with a massive sword and beautiful crown stood at the top and stared down to them all. He smiled at the one on the furthest left and then looked to me. He nodded his head and then made his way down the line of people, tapping each one on both shoulders.
"On this day you see now, I and twenty one others including the first daughter of Sen Dyrian were knighted and sent off on the first royal expedition. Only a few of us knew each others, to the rest we were all complete strangers. Some seemed only in it for a good laugh or to journey with a princess. But when it came down to it we were all tested and true warriors. I with my many stolen trinkets and artifacts was one of the weakest of the group, however I could have very well taken out an entire army had the duty called for it. I believe I still could... not to get sidetracked. As I was saying, we journeyed far and wide searching for relics to bury with the king as he moved closer to his time. We fought and killed many a mighty beast and fleed from many more. We were a ragtag bunch and most couldn't keep their wits about them in the face of a single giant much less work together to take down a small flock of dragons. It was a sad time indeed, but we managed to keep all twenty two of ourselves alive until the very end of our journey. Of course, no good story is complete without a bout of betrayal. And at the end of our journey we had our fair share at the hands of the seven."
Many new scenes hastily constructed themselves as her story went on and then flew past me. Then one much larger scene came to be. Eighteen of the twenty two stood around me and one other, while three stood across from us; weapons drawn, armor donned and ready to fight. Blood had already been spilled. One man who seemed to be nothing more than a beggar laid on the ground between our two groups. His cloth clothes were soaked in blood and it had began to pool beneath him.
"The Seven has been helpful in the past, but I believe it finds even more joy in chaos. And it seems that he always chooses right. Long ago at the founding of the kingdom of Sen Dyrian, the seven found a nobody knight and struck up a deal with him. He would become a great warrior, but some day he would be called upon to complete a certain task. And should he refuse the gift which he had been given would become a curse and consume him and all those around him. The Seven never leaves any job undone. As far as I know, only three of us survived. There was me, the princess, and one other whose power was the same as mine. We managed to escape to the plane of creation right as the knight fell and the gift he had been given consumed all of the others. This is a tale without a happy ending. Though we did manage to get away, the princess did not make the trip back to her kingdom and fell only halfway there. In my shame I ventured deep into the woods of Lar Lar Wren and stumbled upon a certain old man."
The battlefield dissolved and from the ground sprouted the massive wood I had recently become familiar with. From where we stood, a clearing opened itself and a single tree sprouted. A small pond formed, and between the tree and the pond appeared a table with several cards on it. An empty chair stood within arm's reach, and across from where me and Por stood sat an old man. The old man looked up to the both of us and smiled softly.
"And then that certain old man become my guide."
The old man motioned for us to sit.
"A good guide," he began, "always begins by asking what he can do for his guests. You are still naive Solara. A final lesson for you before I begin back from the beginning of the boy's first lesson."
Solara took a seat across from the man and stared him down.
"And what exactly is there still to teach me? I am part of the Por now. You've simply looked at it for thousands of years. There's still many things you don't even know that I do and I'm nowhere near as dusty as you are."
The man laughed. "Yes, yes that is true. However, it does not matter. I believed I could leave the boy in your hands, but you have already damned him so now it doesn't matter who teaches him the things he needs to know. So if you would please go off and do whatever it is that you do out there all day, I will take care of this."
Solara growled and then rose from her seat.
"Listen kid." She grabbed me by my throat and leaned in close, staring into my eyes for a few seconds. "Sorry for getting you all screwed over like that. I guess there was a way I could have prevented it now that I think about it... I guess... I guess I'm really not cut out for being a guide." She released her grip and then looked over at the elderly man. "But this doesn't mean I give up. I've still got at least twenty years in me once time starts to catch up. I'm going to go back and make things right."
The old man nodded, and then Solara's cloak glowed brightly before imploding in on itself and disappearing.
"Now then," he turned back towards me, "I'm so very sorry you had to sit through that. But since that's all taken care of, what do you say we continue with where we left off before it got so off topic and personal?"
