Author's Note: So, here we go. This is a joint work between the formidable OhFonverse and myself, and is going to be presented in installments. We have the beginning of a somewhat strange cross-over of universes - World of Warcraft and Tales of the Abyss. The lore for both is, of course, going to be extremely tortured. Please, soldier through it with us and we'll do our best to make something enjoyable regardless.
On that note, if you've never played WoW before - or, to be even more specific, if you've never raided in WoW before - I'm afraid that a lot of this may be lost. Still, give it a go - you may find that you like it.
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Prologue: All of it the Same
Eternity.
The barest fraction of a second, a sliver of time stretched and held until it became Forever. Or, perhaps it was every moment that had ever existed, laid out before him like a field of Nothing that was Everything. In the end, it didn't really matter. All of it was the same, here.
He had no idea how long he had been here (How...long?), floating in the expanse of endless, unchanging blackness. He suspected that it was at least as long as the time that he hadn't been here (When I...hadn't...), and would be exactly as long as everything that came after. All of it was the same, here.
Was it punishment, or was it some sort of release? (All of it was the same...) Had he honestly been in any sort of position to judge, he would have leaned toward punishment. True, Nothing was likely far better than he deserved, or at the very least far better than any alternative. He had done momentous things - he had killed and used and tortured, he had loved and hated and had done the very best that he thought he could; he had changed the functioning of an entire world. Such things were never left without a reckoning (When I hadn't been...). Nothing was a gift, an acknowledgment that he had done what he could. But what to call the retention of the tiniest drop of sentience, stretched so thin that it trembled on the verge of oblivion and yet never allowed to dissolve? Punishment, of course. An acknowledgment that he had truly done all that he could. It would be with him Forever (How long since...). So, he drifted, if one could call it that, in his Nothing that was Everything. Time passed, or it didn't – all of it was the same, here.
And then Eternity changed.
It was difficult for him to tell, at first. He was so very thin, and he no longer had any frame of reference for...anything. He tried his best to focus, to bring himself together. Ages passed, or perhaps they didn't (All of it the same...), and eventually he understood what had changed. There was...a Color. There, on the edges of Eternity, was the fainest hint of blue. He wasn't sure if the Color had been waiting for him to pay attention to it or if it was simple coincidence, but as soon as he registered it's presence, the Color expanded, filling Everything, enveloping him.
For a moment, he was almost disappointed (All of it the very same..), but then he understood that the Color was the World. The blue filled him, and sent images tearing throughout his mind – the endless canopy of the sky, the inscrutable depths of the oceans, the warmth of her cerulean eyes as she gazed at him in admiration. It was exquisite torture, and he would undoubtedly have wept if that would have had any meaning. Before any of it had time to develop coherence, though, there was a Voice.
VANDESDELCA MUSTO FENDE.
Van's consciousness froze. He was totally unprepared for anything like this. Had someone actually...spoken? Unable to do much else, he waited. The Voice came again, shattering the World.
VANDESDELCA MUSTO FENDE. HEED ME.
The Color around Van changed somewhat. He had no way to describe it, but he suddenly felt as if he were being actively examined, as if the blue that enveloped him was seeping into his being (What is...Eyes?...).
YES, VANDESDELCA. MY EYE IS UPON YOU. I KNOW YOU. I KNOW ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE. I KNOW ALL THAT YOU YEARNED TO DO. I KNOW ALL THAT YOU FAILED TO ACCOMPLISH.
The Color changed again, deepening and pressing in closer to everything that was Van, once again filling his mind – the sickly hue of oxygen-deprived lips, the deep violet of a necrotic wound, her clouded cerulean eyes glaring down at him in endless admonition. Van tried to push away, to send his sentience out into the expanse of Nothing once more, but the Color kept him firmly in it's grasp.
I KNOW YOU, VANDESDELCA. TELL ME, ONE WHO WOULD...SEIZE GLORY...
Was that...amusement he had heard? The Color changed once more, deepening further into purple, piercing into Van's mind with an urgency that obliterated all other thought. Porphyry, the color of royalty, of birth rite, of supplication; her blank cerulean eyes starting up at him in adoration, reflecting himself.
...WHAT IS IT THAT YOUR SOUL THIRSTS FOR?
Suddenly, the Color retreated. Everything returned to endless black Nothing, and Van floated, if one could call it that. Time passed (or perhaps it didn't), and Eternity unfolded with all of it's majesty – before, behind, surrounding Van was Forever (All of it the same, here...), implacable and unchanging.
And then Vandesdelca Musto Fende answered the question.
All around him, Eternity exploded. Amidst the fire and raging collapse, Van could make out the sound of laughter, reverberating endlessly.
At the end of it all, much to his surprise, came cold.