So, to answer a few questions, firstly, I had a hard time updating the old chapter which is why chapter 9 was not available the first time around. Now we are in chapter 10 and everything is in order.
Second, I am French. In the French version the "Watchers" are called "Guardians". Nothing to do with the Guardians of the Galaxy of course.
Now for the story.
-0-
WELCOME TO ALNUS (part 02)
After the residents of Coda were put under study at a testing facility, Amiek turned all of his attention back to Tuka and led her and Colt to a special room and perform some tests on the Elf while the Count watched…. Until Tuka has to undress for some specific analysis.
The Count then left the room to wait. One of the Crystal Women had been put to his service in the meantime and she had shown the Count the composition of the city, the main infrastructure, its use and the possibilities that would be implemented when the villagers awoke. Which in the end amounted to Amiek's earlier proposal to let a Crystal Woman take care of the Count.
Meanwhile, Tuka was doing her utmost to keep calm and not panic at all of the strange things the Celestial was doing on her. The orders implanted in her brain to "always trust" the Celestials were enough, but barely enough.
Nudity was not a real problem. In her village everyone had seen everyone naked at least once. It was not that the High Elves had loose morals, just lived together for centuries, sooner or later certain "incidents" would happen. People surprised while bathing in the river was the most common incident. It happened at least 2 or 3 times in a 10 year period so after 100 years….
Moreover, despite being a young girl according to the estimates of her people, Tuka was 165 years old. It had been decades since she had passed the stage of "the poor, shy and scared young girl". Being seen naked no longer embarrassed her too much…. In front of the other inhabitants of her village.
But before the Apostle of his new god…. A male moreover. She didn't know how to react…. In the beginning.
Very quickly these considerations disappeared when Amiek began to use all kinds of things on the Elf, absolutely painless of course, but completely disconcerting.
The first devices passed over the surface of her body, emitting strange noises and pretty colored light. But then the Apostle had started using "tools" that seemed to go INTO her body, yet she couldn't smell anything and there was no blood.
This was normal since in reality the tool although visible to the eyes of the Elf was slightly out of phase with the dimensional plane where she was, it probed certain metaphysical aspects of her person and no longer her simple biology.
When the test was over, Amiek allowed Tuka to get dressed and studied the data collected. All the analyzes were taking place in his mind at near instantaneous speed, performing billions of simulations per second.
After a few minutes, he approached Tuka.
"After the next analysis [the procedures will come to their conclusion/the analyzes will be finished/it will be finished]. "
"Th…. Thank you" said the Elf sincerely, who, although physically unharmed, was mentally exhausted.
It was then that Amiek raised a hand in front of her eyes and seemed to shoot a white light. Tuka felt like she was somewhere else, in a big white. She didn't know what to say or what to do, she was just scared. She tries to walk. She tried to call someone but there was no sound in that empty space.
Then the great white began to color. Landscapes were appearing, houses…. People.
Of course, Tuka immediately recognized her village. In fact, she was in front of her own house. However…. She didn't recognize the people around her. Yet she knew by heart every inhabitant of her village, but not these. Looking at them better, some faces still seemed familiar but…. Younger.
She tried to talk to them but no one answered. She tries to take a woman by the arm but her hand goes through her.
This is where Tuka really started to panic. Was she dead? Was she a ghost?
A man then came out of his house. Despite his youth, Tuka immediately recognized her father…. Carrying a baby in his arms.
As soon as he got out of the house, Hodor lifted the baby on top of him and said:
"Dear neighbors and friends. It is my pleasure to introduce my daughter to you, who joined us in this world last night. We named her Tuka. Welcome her."
And the villagers greeted the birth of the little girl by singing the traditional birth song. Tuka was speechless but while the villagers sang…. The world seemed to fracture, everything disappeared, replaced by a new place.
Now she was standing in front of a sort of black chasm, which seemed to hang in the air, but surrounded by a circle of metal. Then people, Elves apparently came out of the chasm.
"Apparently" of the Elves because they wore strange clothes, as if woven in metals and adorned with precious stones. Green, blue, red, purple metals etc…. All kinds of color that metals are not supposed to have.
She didn't know, but Tuka was seeing the ancient Elves walk through the Gate and walk on Falmart for the first time. The most amazing…. Was that she knew. She didn't know how, no one had ever told her about this event before and no one was explaining it to her now. Yet the truth appeared in her mind as if it had always been there.
Again everything seemed to fracture to make way for another landscape. A particularly strange landscape. The sky was bright yellow and the sun red, yet despite this strange light, Tuka saw everything, but differently, as if she had other eyes.
It was then that she realized that her own body had changed. She was much smaller, curled up on her legs that seemed twice as long as the rest of her body. Her skin had changed too, it was now purple and her hands had only three fingers which were much longer and much bigger.
Yet despite this transformation, she was not afraid. Everything was natural and she was not alone. About ten other similar creatures were with her.
Her tribe.
But in that moment, the creatures were watching with their big dark eyes a giant in orange armor reaching out to them and grabbing them with infinite care not to break them.
Instinct of the creatures should have ordered them to flee, but they did not know that their minds were under the mental domination of the giant who ordered them to remain calm and don't resist. Then the giant led the little creatures to a strange place that was very reminiscent of the room where Tuka had undressed in front of Amiek. Then the giant began to do strange things to the creatures, using instruments emitting strange lights and noises…. Like Amiek had done with Tuka earlier.
It was then that everything seemed to accelerate. The giants carried out tests, experiments, modifications. Tuka saw things she couldn't understand and yet she understood. After a while, the little creatures had changed dramatically. They had become…. Elves. The giants released those who became "the Elves", who would soon be called "the firstborn" and then disappeared into the heavens.
From there everything accelerated again but in the opposite direction. Tuka saw the firstborns grow powerful, develop extraordinary gifts that were not magic, such as the ability to fly, to move objects at a distance, to master fire and ice, to be as strong as Apostles.
But above all, it was their intelligence that had increased tremendously. In less than two centuries, they built a city of metal, the first city, and build a civilization beyond anything Tuka could have imagined.
But this situation was not perfect. The first born had enemies. Other creatures the giants had changed as well. Beings of all shapes and sizes, called "the people of a thousand faces" and later "Deviants".
Wars turned forests into desert, leveled mountains, poisoned the earth itself.
Finally, the "Deviants" managed to push back the first born into the first city. The war was lost and the firstborn saw no more than an escape into the heavens beyond the heavens to escape their destruction.
It was then that a phenomenon appeared in the middle of their first and last city.
The Gate.
The firstborn began to explore the other world, but they were pressed for time. They organized a mass evacuation, they were only a few thousand because their reproduction rate was very low unlike the deviants whose number seemed to double with each generation.
About half of them had entered the new world and then…. The Gate closed, inexplicably. All the precautions taken to keep it stable could not prevent it from disappearing. The sequel was a black hole. Everything was gone, leaving only black.
Tuka was in the middle of pitch black…. Then she saw the Firstborns built a new city on Falmart, but they had changed. They no longer wore their metal clothes, they no longer had their strange powers, the city they had built was of wood and stone and not of metal and glass. They remained admirable, but they had lost much of their greatness. They were no longer the demigods they had been.
Then it was the appearance of the Dark Elves and the fall of the great Elven kingdoms. The Elves ceased to live in the cities and went to live in the forests.
Tuka was now back in the morning when she first encountered the Flame Dragon. She could see herself trying in vain to help her village, seeing her childhood friend, Yuno, die and then her father…. Then came the Apostle of the Celestials.
It was at this point that Amiek discontinued the proceedings. There was no need to continue. Now a conversation with the Eternal was called for.
The experience had left Tuka… .. Completely invigorated. She was bursting with strength and energy like never before. She felt the strength to push back an entire army on her own.
Amiek just watched the Elf, then said something.
"How do you feel?"
He didn't need the flawed answer Tuka would give. He knew perfectly well in what physical and mental state she was, but he [felt the need/felt a duty to/wanted] to ask.
"I feel stronger than ever. I feel like I could kill the Flame Dragon with my bare hands if I ever see him again…. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?"
"I opened up the genetic memory implanted in you and reactivated the dormant genes in your DNA. Then through forced cell division I accelerated the [set of mutations/natural adaptation process/change] in your body. It will take a few weeks for the effects to be [fully developed/accomplished/finalized]. This will give you time to get used to it."
"What does all this mean?"
"I made you the eternal you were meant to be."
"I saw…. Images. Places, people…. That was my people's past, wasn't it?"
"Yes. By activating the genetic memory all the events experienced by your ancestors flowed into your [encephalon/brain/mind]"
"At one point everything was dark".
"Yes. Information deleted. Those who have changed your people have made sure to keep it secret. This is [unprecedented/impressive/there are no references in Celestial collective memory]".
Amiek was puzzled. No referenced race has the technology to perform such an act, except the guardians, but they never interfere. They observe only. Even the Progenitors are not enough advanced. Yet this act had been accomplished. The changes that the unknown beings had made to the people of Tuka were easy to correct. Too easy. Those who had done that probably wanted to be able to undo their own work when needed.
Tuka for her part liked this feeling of power…. But that was NOT what she really wanted.
Finally, she ventured to ask the question that was really close to her heart.
"And…. My people?"
"Specify your question."
"I have…. I saw the giant…. The Celestial raised the dead. You…. You said that I…. And so my people, we were "Eternals". You said that…. That we don't have the right to die. Then…. Is it…. Will the Celestials resurrect my people too? My village? I beg you tell me yes. It's the only thing I really want." Tuka said, stammering in emotion and tears.
Amiek…. WANTED to say "yes". He wanted to appease the young girl. He wanted to stop her tears. For a very short but real moment, he lost his self-control and felt pure mammal emotion. Compassion.
"Maybe… maybe. There are…. Possibilities".
Clinging to this meager hope, Tuka bowed down to her god's apostle.
"What possibility? What do I have to do?"
"That…. [Will be assessed later/Not depending on you/you can't do anything]".
"What do you mean?"
"The resurrection of your people depends on what decision Host Celestial makes. They alone will assess the situation and they alone will make the decision."
"Yet the people of Coda have been resuscitated."
"They are not Eternals. Their [structural integrity/existence/life] or their [disintegration/non-existence/death] is insignificant. Homo immortalis are different."
"When… when will they make a decision? Can I…. Can I talk to them?"
"The decision will be made when [additional data has been gathered/the situation has been fully understood and analyzed/I will know more]. You can also talk to them through me."
Hearing this response, Tuka proceeded to make a plea that would have made a rock cry if the rocks had ears. Even Amiek was having trouble controlling his tear glands. His understanding of humanity increased, and the more he understood, the more he felt.
How difficult it was to be a man. It was so much easier to be a Celestial. Either way, Tuka's plea would have little, if any, impact on the Celestials' final decision. The young Elf spoke of pity, worship, made promises of gratitude and eternal obedience, whatever she could think of.
But by the very fact of being an Eternal, she was ALREADY the servant of the Celestials and had been since birth, even though she didn't know it. The Celestials didn't care about his obedience or his gratitude anyway, let alone her plea for pity. Tuka's speech would be analyzed but probably wouldn't change anything. The decision depended on other factors.
When the Elf was finished she asked a question again.
"When will they make a decision? A few days? A few weeks?"
"Impossible to determine. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in 1000 years."
"Can I do something to encourage them?"
"No. You can only [accept the current situation until a decision is made/wait/to ben patient]."
"I… I see".
Tuka was disappointed but at the same time full of hope. Before she wasn't sure, but now there was a real chance that her people would be resurrected.
"And…. And now what's going on?"
"Special quarters will be assigned to you. I'll let you know if I need any further testing."
"Is there anything else I can do?"
"Yes, is there something you can do?"
"What?" Tuka asked with a burst of hope.
"You can get dressed, if you wish".
The silence became so loud that Tuka could have heard an insect walking on a wall…. If this immaculate room had allowed the presence of an insect.
-O-
A few people had been separated from the rest of the villagers to stay near Amiek and in an apartment adjacent to where Amiek and Count Colt now resided, apprentice magician Lelei La Lalena was dreaming.
She was dreaming…. To prince charming.
In her conscious and awake state, Lelei had no interest in romance, but in her subconscious, she remained a human being and a young girl going through puberty. Her love for science did not alter the chemistry of her hormones, nor her genetically programmed instincts seeking to find the perfect partner for…. The perpetuation of her genes.
Instinctively, all women want the perfect companion. Beautiful, in good health and wealth, but also reliable and able to protect or help her. With that in mind, a man of power is ideal, but he had to be young too. Apart from the most powerful man in a country and who is young, in Falmart's company is usually a prince (the king is more powerful certainly, but he is generally older too).
So she was dreaming of Prince Charming and was at the scene where he hugged her and brought his lips to her, whispering sweet words.
"Snort Snort!"
Feeling then a wet and rough movement on her face, Lelei plunged her gaze into that of the prince whose face was fading to be replaced by…. The face of her pig who was licking Lelei's cheek like a little dog.
Calmly, Lelei picked up the pig and put him on the ground before wiping her face and finally examining her immediate surroundings.
There were all kinds of weird things in this room and she didn't understand their function. On the other hand, Lelei saw that there was a window and, after noticing that it was not made of glass but in some kind of hot material (she could not have known that it was in fact the synthetic version of an ultra-resistant, self-cleaning substance produced by a cave animal living on a world visited by the Celestials during a previous universal cycle) she went outside to observe. Seen from below the buildings were impressive, but now she had a better view of the city…. And she couldn't see the end of it.
Even if there had been someone to talk to, she would have been speechless. This vision…. Was this the kingdom of the gods? She quickly decided not. This place was not created for gods but for mortal beings…. But who was the architect? The Celestial probably. But why this gigantic place seemed so…. Empty?
As impressive as the view was, everything was silence. Anybody. Not even a bird. Nothing. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She was confused. Too many questions assaulted her mind at the same time and none had the beginnings of an answer.
Normally, Lelei would have loved to explore this place, but for now, finding someone and determining her current situation was a top priority. As she explored the place, followed by her little pig who relied on her to determine what would happen next. He had nothing else to do but follow her right now anyway.
The young apprentice-sorceress wandered for a few minutes, the rooms contained all kinds of strange things but which for the moment did not hold her attention. Something else frightening was that, apart from his pig, there was not the slightest noise.
The doors were weird too. It seemed to be made of metal…. But when Lelei approached, they would disappear before reappearing once she had passed. As if the doors were smart.
Finally, Lelei found a door that did not disappear. It was exactly like the others, however, when the young girl wanted to cross it…. She had just bumped into it. The first time she had simply walked her way but after a few minutes she had to realize that this door was the only way out of this place, no matter where it led.
But how do you open it?
There were no visible locks or handles. She couldn't move or push it and when she wanted to use her magic…. She hadn't answered. As if she didn't have any magical strength at all. Yet she still felt this energy in her body but it seemed trapped inside her.
Maybe something she had seen in one of the rooms there could help her?
"Let's start with what I know".
Lelei returned to a room that had caught her attention earlier: a library. It contained all kinds of books whose titles were unknown to her and which seemed to have been written yesterday.
Grimorium Verum.
The Book of Dormammu.
The Book of the Vishanti.
The Dark One.
Skelos iron bound book.
Ironbound book of Blind Vathelos.
The tome of Zhered-Na.
Khonshu's will.
These were just a few of a hundred titles, and she was feeling strange impressions. A small voice inside, but which seemed to scream silently, told her not to touch some of them. She experimented with bringing her hand closer to the Darkhold in particular, but the closer her hand came the more it seemed to try to escape the book. Like a magnet repels another magnet.
Lelei quickly realized that what she was experiencing was not just a personal impression. There was a force at work.
His hand continued to run along the books, with varying effects. When she passed by the "Book of Kell", she felt like she had been bitten. There was no physical injury, but the apprentice mage could see that the flow of mana in her hand had experienced a discontinuity that was now slowly receding.
Lelei continued to examine the bookcase, more carefully this time, when her was suddenly pulled forward. Her hand had been drawn to one of the books and she had grabbed it, as if with a life of her own.
As she regained control of her balance, as she had almost fallen under the force of the book's pull, Lelei read the title.
"The Tome of Oshtur".
The young magician was about to open the book to start reading it when she heard a noise coming from the door she had been unable to open previously.
Closing the barely open book, she immediately returned to see who had entered.
When she arrived, she found that no one had entered but the door had disappeared. She could go out now. The path to follow now was not difficult as she was in a hallway that led to another door. She stepped forward bravely, followed by her pig.
She still held the book in her hand.
During this time, Amiek had personally [observed/watched/taken note of] all of Lelei's reactions and the results obtained by the Haarek test (named after the Celestial Haarek the mystic who had developed this test) .
But as Lelei was unknowingly on her way to the control room where Amiek interacted directly with the city's artificial intelligence, the Celestial observed her third test subject.
-O-
Rory was also waking up.
Now that the effects of the psychic energy field wore off, Emroy's Apostle was naturally awakening after completing the digestion of the meal earlier.
The first thing she saw was that she was in a bed. The second thing was that she was naked, well and that's what bothered her the most ... Grassac was naked next to her in bed, sleeping.
Apparently, those who had settled them here were mistaken about the relationship between her and her servant. She would take all the time to explain their mistake to them when she found them, with her halberd if necessary.
Maybe even without actually being necessary.
Luckily for Grassac she wasn't angry with him. She understood that the young man had nothing to do with it. Fortunately, their clothes were placed next to them. They were clean, like new.
Rory, dressed calmly, while Grassac continued to sleep.
"He sleeps like a baby. This is very cute. I'm almost ashamed of what I'm going to do. Almost…. But that's too tempting" she thought with a terrifying smile.
The supernatural strength and endurance of an Apostle does not lie only in his muscles or his bones. This concept applies to every part of their body…. Including their vocal cords.
"STAND UP THERE !" Rory yelled in Grassac's ear.
The volume was roughly equivalent to the explosion of a stick of dynamite stuck to the ear. Needless to say, this is not a pleasant wake-up call.
" EH ! WHAT ? Grassac cried reflexively as he woke up with a start. However, he quickly came to his senses when he saw the one who, for some time now, had been controlling his life.
"I…. Mistress Rory? Where are we ? What is this place ? What's going on ?" He asked, observing the strange environment he found himself in.
"Aside from being in a bedroom and waking up naked in that big bed, I don't know where we are. I remember having the best meal of my life and then I woke up here next to you. Then I got dressed and then I woke you up. Now get dressed. We have to find the other so-called Apostle and get answers."
It was then that Grassac realized what Rory had said. They had been naked…. Together in the same bed? He would have liked to ask for explanations but his instinct for self-preservation ordered him to be silent. He just dressed quickly.
"Alright, follow me now. Rory Mercury ordered.
" Please wait. A [Mechadroid / personal service unit / crystal woman] will come and get you ".
Grassac and Rory turned their heads, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.
Finding nothing Rory expressed his opinion.
"WHO IS HERE ? SHOW YOURSELF!"
The only response was a sound that came from an adjacent room.
"DRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG DRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG"
Rory ran towards the noise, halberd in hand to find herself in front of a door…. Without handle. She heard the noise again.
"DRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG DRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG"
Unable to open the door, Rory tried to kick it down. Without success. It was not metal but a form of hyper-interlocking graphene layer. Emroy's Apostle could have gone on hitting it for years without getting a scratch.
"DRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG DRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG"
"RAAAHHHH BUT ARE YOU GOING TO OPEN?!"
Immediately, the door disappeared, revealing one of the crystal women from earlier. She was orange in color, apart from her white face.
"Hello mistress, just ask the door to open for it to open "
"Who are you?"
"I am the unit of service assigned to you. You and your husband can consider me your servant as long as you stay in the city".
"My husband? You mean … THIS ISN'T MY HUSBAND! THIS IS MY SERVANT!".
"So I suggest you release him from your service. I will be much more efficient than him."
"Uh…. It may be true, but it just doesn't work that way."
"Am I to understand that my services are not required?"
"Uh…. For now I would like you to answer my questions and lead me to the other Apostle."
"The other Apostle? Oh, the Celestial Amiek you mean? Yes of course. He's waiting for you."
"Good, but first I'd like to know where I am and what happened to me."
"You are on the 12th floor of the central tower which we call the "Neo-Alnus administrative center". After you have finished your meal earlier, the artificial intelligence that governs the city has put you to sleep for analysis and identification. Once these analyzes were completed you were taken here. This place is your new home for as long as you stay in Alnus. If you wish to be relocated, you will have to talk to the prime designer, that is to say our creator, Amiek."
These answers raised other questions, but they could wait. Other questions were more urgent.
"What happened to the villagers of Coda?"
"They have been analyzed like you and are waking up in room similar to this one on the outskirts of town. Units like me are taking care of them. No harm has been done to them and my fellows provide for all their needs. I can assure you of their well-being and safety."
Rory couldn't determine if the creature in front of her was lying or not, but something scared her.
She felt no life in the crystal woman.
She hadn't noticed it earlier during the banquet as she hadn't paid attention to it, preferring to taste the dishes, but now she could see that the entity in front of her was emitting nothing of what makes "life." No heat, no emission of that thing that all living things, even plants, emit. In fact…. She felt like she was arguing with a talking rock.
It was a new and scary concept. Can something live without being alive? Can it die if it don't live? If she decided to "kill" the creature, where would her soul go? What "taste" had the soul of such a being?
….
….
Did this thing have a soul?
On the other hand, Rory was starting to relax, it was nice to talk to someone understandable even though the Crystal Woman looked strange. The other so-called Apostle was not easy to understand and it was infuriating.
Of course Rory could not have known that, paradoxically, although the Celestials find it difficult to understand humans because of their simplicity, they know how to create robots that can fully understand them.
A sort of paradox that the Celestials were well aware of. The lower you are the more difficult it is to understand what is above you. The higher you are, the harder it is to see what is below.
The mechadroid in front of Rory fully understood what the Apostle meant and she could respond accordingly.
"I think it would be best if I took you to primo designer Amiek. He will answer your questions better than I will."
"I doubt. However, you called him "primo designer". What does it mean?"
"It means he's our creator. This city, and everything in it, including myself, was created by his will. "
"Ah, that's what you called your god then."
"The Celestials are not what you call "gods"."
Rory had heard this a few times before and although she enjoyed that answer, it was getting boring to repeat. The truth should be clearly explained to her once and for all. Fortunately, these beings did not appear to be followers of deception.
"Very well. Where's Amiek, the Apostle?"
"In the center of the tower, at the end of the hall about thirty yards from here."
Rory would have almost dropped her halberd as the answer to her question was so simple. She thought the guy was far from here in some throne room, when he was pretty much right next to it.
"Take me to him." Ordered the Apostle. A moment later, she was following the Crystal Woman with Grassac who was doing his best not to worry too much.
Meanwhile, in the center of the tower, Lelei was chatting with Amiek while Count Colt and Tuka waited patiently as the Celestial had asked them earlier.
"So if I understand correctly this Haarek the Mystic test is to determine my affinity for magic?" Lelei asked.
"Yes. The [esoteric nature/mystical potential/magical affinity] of the books is heightened and the subject will choose the one that suits him. Amiek replied.
"But why was I locked up? Why didn't you let me know about the test?"
"Although these are copies, some of these books lead to very dangerous mystical entities. The test should therefore be carried out [under strict control/with specific conditions/in a secure environment]."
"What if I had been drawn to a 'dangerous' book?"
"A material-to-energy converter would have been activated and all the contents of your home would have been converted back into energy and then assimilated into the capacitors of the building. [Your body would have been atomized/disintegrated/You would be dead]."
Lelei was not afraid since the danger had passed but she was still upset.
"You used me as a guinea pig and you would have killed me."
"[The scans indicated that/my observations inferred that/I was sure] you would pass the test. If you had failed, the city machines would have collected your psychic structure and recreated [a carbon-based protein structure/clone/perfect reproduction] of your physical shell and proceed with the transfer."
Lelei…. Was not sure if she understood as the implications were so colossal.
"You mean…. That if I die…. Will I be resurrected?"
"Yes."
"I am then…. Immortal?"
"As long as you represent a subject to be studied, your survival will be guaranteed, your body recreated and your mind transferred as needed."
"Why? What do you hope to learn from me?"
"The objective was to determine [the structure of your arcane bonds/the nature of your mystical potential/your style of magic]. This is what the Haarek test is all about. "
Lelei was happy with this answer even though she was unhappy.
"And now? What is happening?"
"You came to learn. You can start with the content of this book as it relates to you. I will also provide you with access to our [databases/historical and technological information/knowledge]".
It was then that Rory entered the room, preceding Grassac and the Crystal Woman who had been leading them.
The hostility of the Apostle was almost visible to the naked eye. Everyone could see that Rory was furious…. Except Amiek who saw no difference. It would have been like asking a human to tell the difference between a happy ant and a furious ant.
Rory was about to scream but her god's words came back to her.
"Try to seduce him to get information from him."
With that idea just popping up in her head, Rory snapped back her intention of grabbing Amiek by the neck and grinned.
One would have thought that the skin of her lips was going to crack because the smile was made against her will. The smile on her face looked more like a crack in a rock about to burst. Normally, Rory wouldn't have been so aggressive, but the reinforced presence of her god within her made it harder to control her emotions. Only a millennium of serving Emroy allowed her, somehow, to control herself.
However, it's not easy to seduce someone when you want to dismember him like an insect and reduce their pieces to mush.
Before she could choose one of the two possibilities, the Celestial offered a third.
"The new citizens of Alnus should all [come out of trance/emerge from artificial coma/wake up] now. Please follow me for the explanations."
"The explanations about what?" Rory asked.
"All."
"I do not understand."
"This is normal since you have not yet received the explanations".
"I'm starting to have a headache…."
"Conversations with him often provoke that. I advise you to get used to it", the Count explained, finally speaking, to Rory.
Meanwhile, the city's mechadroids and artificial intelligence had finished processing the new citizens. Everything was listed in databases. Genetic code, life expectancy, psychic potential, as well as more trivial data such as name, first name, age, blood type etc…. Along with information that humans cannot understand.
The subjects had now been placed in an artificial environment suited to their need and since the psychic energy field that kept them under anesthesia had been deactivated, they were beginning to wake up.
For most of them, it was a shock. Couples would wake up in comfortable beds worthy of the nobility in apartments of around 200 square meters. Those with children were terrified at first that they weren't there, but were reassured moments later to see that they were sleeping in another room nearby.
Fortunately, when they woke up, a mechadroid was there to explain the situation to them.
"So, if I understand correctly, this place belongs to me and my husband?"
"Yes, unless you want to move. It will be possible to change places of residence later if you wish".
"And you, are you our maid?" Asked Melissa's husband who was coming back from the next room holding his son in his arms.
"Yes. I will obey all your orders as long as they don't break the laws of the city, master."
"Where are the other villagers?"
"In apartments similar to this one. They are waking up and being informed by other service units."
"Service unit?"
"This is who we are. It means that we were manufactured to serve."
"Manufactured? Like an object?" Melissa asked who wasn't sure she understood.
"Yes".
"But then ... does that mean you're not half-human?"
"I'm not human at all. I am a creation of synthesis made from microcrystals with flexible bond. I have the power to think and act, to understand and imitate living beings, but I am not alive".
"Magic of the gods…" whispered Melissa's husband.
"No. Celestial technology."
"Eh."
"Magic of the Celestials, if you prefer."
Neither Melissa nor her husband wanted to know more just yet. They had another question.
"Are we free to leave this place?"
"Sure. Besides, in an hour there will be a meeting with the other inhabitants during which many things will be explained. Do you need help while you wait?" The green-colored crystal woman asked.
"Where are our clothes?"
"Next to it, but you can wear something else if you want."
"Something else?"
"I will show you."
The mechadroid then showed Melissa a somewhat odd part of the room. It looked like a human-sized glass tube with a sliding door allowing entry inside. The Crystal Woman rested her right hand's fingers on Melissa's forehead and her left hand on the transparent wall of the tube. Immediately all kinds of clothing contained in Melissa's mind began to scroll on the crystal wall. Everything Melissa had seen or imagined in her life. Noble clothes she could never buy, clothes she had sewn herself in the past or others worn by her neighbors that she found pretty.
"Choose what you want to wear."
Melissa was surprised of course, but after all she had seen, she understood that it was better to have confidence. As for her clothes, she had considered dressing like a jeweled queen, as all women dreamed of, but she was afraid she would look ridiculous. So she opted for clothes similar to the ones she used to wear.
"Go inside and don't move please, mistress."
Once inside the tube, Melissa felt a warm current of air swirling around her body and little by little dots began to appear, forming the clothes Melissa had wanted.
With particle synthesis technology unknown to the inhabitants of Falmart, Melissa could simply believe it was magic once again. It was then the turn of her husband and then her son.
"You are ready to go to the meeting now."
All over the building the other villagers were waking up and similar scenes were happening again (because in fact all the villagers of Coda were assigned to the first floor of the same building, it would have been foolish to distribute the population of a village in a city the size of a capital).
All had been taken to the "meeting" in a gigantic hemicycle-shaped hall, each family was accompanied by a crystal "maid".
"Reminds me of the Empire Senate", Colt thought.
To Lelei it reminded her of Rondel's large presentation room where aspirants presented their theses to become Archmage. However, the young magician doubted that anyone would throw rotten fruit and vegetables at anyone if the words were mocked.
Whatever their impressions were, they disappeared when the face of "Celestial" Amiek appeared on a flat screen in the back of the room while "The Apostle" Amiek sat next to Colt, Rory, Grassac, Tuka, Lelei and her pig in front of the giant screen.
Apart from them, all the villagers began to pray before the divine apparition.
After a few moments, the Crystal Maids put an end to this waste of time and told the inhabitants to focus and listen carefully to what the Celestial had to say. Of course, it had to be explained that it was just images, a "painting that moves and speaks" and that it would not go out of the frame to come and hurt them.
The light in the room dimmed and the picture appeared. The Celestial Amiek's face appeared and the "movie" began. Amiek had thought well of appearing in his human form to be better understood, but on reflection, humans would be more receptive to a message coming directly from their "god".
The images first showed "the great origin" when "all was one and one was the whole" which broke apart and became aware. He did not have a name since there was no one to name him. His loneliness was complete, for nothing existed outside "him".
This situation ends up becoming untenable. He then decided to experience the only thing he could: his own end.
He destroyed himself, but from his ashes another took his place. A new consciousness was born, the first firmament.
He was alone too, but he already knew what the end was and he wanted…. Something else. So he created other conscious beings, smaller, more…. limited. They were called "the aspirants" because they aspired to preserve the established order. They were giants in black and white armor, very much like Amiek.
But some of these "aspirants" were…. Became…. Different. A difference that was manifested simply by the fact that they were colorful.
These colorful Aspirants rebelled. While the aspirants wanted to keep the great whole intact and venerate their creator, the colorful wanted change, renewal, so they took the name "Celestials".
A rebellion broke out within the great infinity. The Aspirants created a machine capable of destroying the Celestials while the Celestials created the most fabulous of all weapons. A weapon so powerful it would only work once and never be recreated. An explosive of such power, that it fractured infinity itself, shattering all that is in all that could be. Transforming a stable universe into a multiverse where all possibilities took shape.
Amiek left out a number of things that the Celestials themselves weren't sure they understood, such as the nature of the entities "the one above all" or "the fulcrum" to name a few. After all, some aspects of the "great whole" remained mysteries, even to the Celestials.
The aspirants who survived fled beyond all, alongside the consciousness of the first firmament, leaving the Celestials alone with the multiverse they had created. So they began to change it, bringing life to planets, creating new races, exploring endless new possibilities.
But although they won the war against their fello, the Celestials were not without enemies. An infinite number of possibilities had left the possibility ... of an enemy. The Aspirants were the likes of the Celestials but not their opposite. Their opposite was…. The horde.
The horde was inevitably drawn to the creations of the Celestials, like a butterfly to the flame, but instead of burning themselves into it, the horde devoured the flame. The people of Falmart saw hordes of monstrous insects darken the skies and devour worlds.
Apart from these enemies there were also all kinds of imitators. Highly evolved races that tried somehow to imitate Celestials like the Mkraan or, more recently, the Progenitors. They were simply very advanced extraterrestrial peoples, having survived long enough to discover immortality, mastery of cosmic energy, dimensional travel and all kinds of science beyond human science…. But much inferior to the science of the Celestials, much older and evolved.
The Celestials were in no way offended by these imitators. They had their own role to play in the great cosmic tapestry. However, sometimes some would try to fight the Celestials to take their place. These had all been destroyed. Then the universe, would die, before being reborn, giving way to a new universe. Currently the cosmos was in its 8th incarnation.
Amiek tried to keep it simple. No need to tell these humans about conceptual entities that embody existence, such as Death and Eternity, Infinity and Nether, Entropy and Epiphany.
Now that the origins of existence had been explained (as far as it can be explained to humans) the second part of the "movie" began.
The great cosmic truths gave way to things easier to understand for the new citizens of Alnus, namely the formation of stars, planets, the appearance of life from the first chemical reactions in the ocean to the metaphysical rise of the most evolved species.
They see the smartest of them, the most evolved, traveling between the stars. They bring their hard-earned knowledge to young races out of kindness and generosity.
In their naivety and arrogance, they make a terrible mistake.
One of these peoples uses this knowledge to make weapons. They fight, declare war on other worlds. And an anti-material weapon apocalypse descends on several innocent worlds before these people are finally destroyed.
Thus perished Prosilicus.
Those who wanted to be benefactors of Cosmos understand the responsibility that comes with power to act, and it is a burden they swear never to carry again. They do not consider the greater good they have brought to so many other, wiser worlds. Now they will just watch. Those who know them will now call them "the Watchers".
But even for more civilized peoples, war remains a universal constant. Although examples abound, Amiek believes it is best to show the Falmartians what is going on around their home planet.
On one world, the Deviants have destroyed the Eternals, except one who will become one of their gods. These deviants have evolved so much that their various appearances have ended up giving them the gift of metamorphosis. They call themselves "the Skrulls".
With victory finally won over the Eternals of their home planet, the Skrulls begin the conquest of space. They pacify themselves for a time, doing what the Watchers had done long before them, they share their knowledge with the weaker peoples they meet and integrate them into their community.
For Kly'bn, the god of the Skrulls loves all beings.
But alas, this beautiful momentum is destroyed once again by barbarism when the Krees having discovered the Skrull technology turn against them and decide to fight them. A galactic-scale war destroyed hundreds of worlds.
The film then shows Earth, the home planet of the humans of Falmart.
First, the physical formation of the planet from solar gases into a compact mass, and then the formation of a primitive biosphere from these energies. The biosphere became aware of itself forming the first deity on earth.
The Demiurge.
Much like the original entity of the universe, the Demiurge eventually found his situation untenable and committed suicide by basing his energies in the Earth, giving birth to the first gods. Gaea, Oshtur…. Chthon, Set…. And many others.
Each of them indulging in their natures, but one of them, Set, found that by absorbing the energy of his fellows, he would become more powerful. He devoured Hyppus the horse god.
Others began to imitate him, starting a cannibal war among the ancient gods. Gaea, the mother of the earth understood that the old gods had become corrupt and decided to stop them. She conceived a child with the remnants of the Demiurge's energy. Atum who would become the Demogorge, the devourer of gods.
The Demogorge devoured most of the ancient gods. A few managed to escape him, like Set and Chthon, or left the planet like Oshtur, then Atum retreated into the heart of the sun. The residual energies created new gods.
Gaea guided the evolution of life on the planet, plants, animals. It was not always peaceful. From his place of exile, Set created the race of snake men, threatening the work of Gaea. The Empire of Snake Men, based on witchcraft and alchemy, flourished but collapsed with the advent of the dinosaurs.
Absorbing the energy of the dinosaurs, Set returned to Earth for a time before being forced to flee again after a long fight with Atum called for help by Gaea.
Then came the first Celestial Host on Earth. Gaea guided the first primates, the ancestors of mankind, to them.
Set also guided the Snake Men to the Celestials, hoping they would get more gifts. With their genome contaminated with magic, the Celestials deemed the Snake Men unworthy and rejected them as their manipulations created three new races on Earth. The Eternals, the Deviants, and those whose descendants would one day be called "the Humans," then they set off again to the stars as Set and the snake-men swore vengeance on the ancestors of mankind.
The Eternals and the Deviants quickly clashed. The Deviants, spawning much faster. They would have easily conquered the world if they weren't so preoccupied with fighting each other. They confined themselves to their island of Lemuria while the Eternals built Olympia.
Subsequently, a major civil war breaks out between the Eternals. The faction led by Uranos is defeated and exiled to space where it comes into contact with the Kree race. Impressed by the potential of the Eternals, the supreme intelligence that rules the Kree decides to conduct experiments on humans on earth. Thus is born the race of the inhumans.
During this time on earth, humans fought the Snake Men and, largely under the leadership of King Kull, pushed them to the brink of extinction during the Thurian era.
Then the Celestials returned to observe the results of their experiments. For reasons Amiek does not wish to explain, one of them, the one known as "Tiamut the Communicator" attacked Arishem the Judge. The fight between the rebel and the other Celestials engulfed Lemuria, knocked down mountains, shaped continents. Finally, Tiamut was defeated. He could not be killed, because a Celestial cannot be permanently destroyed, even by his fellows. It can, however, be silenced. Tiamut was imprisoned in the bowels of the Earth, prisoner of his armor.
The battle was so fierce that it brought about what was later called "the great cataclysm." A tidal wave like the world had never known, and never would know again, struck much of the land, engulfing Lemuria, Atlantis, and Kalumesh, ending the Thurian era.
Then began the Hyborian era and the advent of new Kingdoms and new cults. The empire of Acheron and Stygia who worshiped Set but also other kingdoms like Nemedia, Ophir, Khitai, Shem, Argos, Zamora and lands that remained wild like the Pictes kingdoms and, to a lesser extent, Cimmeria. With these new kingdoms other gods appeared. Mithra, Ishtar, Bel, Derketo, Nergal…. Crom.
But the most illustrious of the kingdoms of this world was Aquilonia, whose supremacy was undisputed in the dreaming West. It was in this country that came Conan, the Cimmerian, black hair, dark eyes, sword in hand, a thief, a looter, a killer, with fits of melancholy just as disproportionate as his joys, to tread his sandals thrones constellated with jewels of the Earth.
Unknowingly becomed the champion of humanity, the barbarian put an end to the threat of the snake men forever and purged the world of many wizards, ancient gods, monsters almost as old as the planet.
Conan became King, then Emperor of the greatest Empire in the world before retreating to the distant islands beyond the great ocean.
Centuries passed and then the great Picte invasion led by Gorm, the first king of the Picts for millennia, overwhelmed the Hyborian kingdoms. Gorm was killed by Hialmar, leader of the Aesirs fighting alongside the Nemediens.
Then another cataclysm, in the form of a series of earthquakes, ended the Hyborian era. From the ashes were born new kingdoms and new peoples. The Egyptians, the Etruscans, the Greeks….
Then the third Celestial host came to Earth. The new pantheons led by the kings gods, Zeus, Vishnu and Odin sent a delegation. After an attempt at a fight as short as it was futile, the gods agreed, under duress from the Celestials, to no longer interfere in the affairs of mankind.
While respecting the deal, Odin and Gaia will make preparations for the return of the Celestials in the future. Gaia continues to guide the evolution of life, as Odin sets out to create the most fabulous weapon he could. An armor capable of accommodating all life forms and its power within itself and calls it "the destroyer".
At that precise moment, the film stepped back. Amiek wanted to show them an event that he had been able to determine by cross-checking the information obtained on the specimens collected during the opening of the Gate on the Dyson sphere and the collective memory of the inhabitants of Coda, examine and registered when the machines of the city were doing tests on them the last few days.
The film returned at the time of the Picte invasion. In a small kingdom called Koth, located in eastern Aquilonia, appeared…. The Gate.
Having no hope of victory against the Pictes. Besieged and starving, the inhabitants of Koth's capital, Khorshemish, believed that the appearance of the Gate was a salvation brought by their god (Mithra in this case) to enable them to flee to new lands, far from the Pictes.
Most of the population evacuated, taking what they could with them.
Although saved from the barbarian Pictes, this world was not so welcoming to the Kothian refugees. Humans faced other perils, but they survived and prospered. Then came the Apostles. Although he existed, Mithras had not followed the Kothians into their exile. His religion would soon have been replaced by those of the gods of Falmart. Lunaryur, Elf god of music was the first.
The film then returned to Earth and once again showed the evolution of the planet and its peoples. The progress of civilizations. The Greeks descended from the Kothians form a gigantic Empire under the command of Alexander the Great, then the Empire splits up.
Some time before that, the genes implanted in humans by the Celestials so long ago began to manifest in a more lasting way. En Sabah Nur, later known under the name "Apocalypse" borned. The first of the second generation of mutants, he will be the first to gain the attention of the Celestials. The creature discovers an ancient knowledge and sets out to build a ship in the form of a Sphynx. Once the ship built, the Celestials will offer him a deal. The ability to keep the ship and access to some of their technology in exchange for a price that is still undetermined but possibly very high later. The Celestial's plan is simple, to get Apocalypse to use their technology and its own "survival of the fittest" ideology to bring about war and change that will accelerate the evolution of mankind.
Technical progress is advancing. Gunpowder, the typewriter, the steam engine, electricity, atom fission and 1000 other inventions that will create all kinds of situations triggering the action of the gene creating in the 20th century the emergence of the mutant race and all kinds of powerful though technically "non-mutant" individuals.
The film continued with the arrival of the fourth Host. The Celestials had returned to judge humanity and determine whether it was worthy to survive or not.
Having spent millennia preparing for this confrontation, the god-king Odin charged the life energy of all Asgardians, including his own, inside the Destroyer, and armed with his mystical sword, hurled the magic armor at the assault of the Celestials. Although he managed to wound some of them, the destroyer was unable to defeat the entire host, who reduced the creature to a pool of molten metal as the Asgardian gods perished.
The fight is not over yet. A thunder god named Thor seizes the fallen Odin sword and manages to plant it in the body of Arishem the Judge, who collapsed. The victory, if you can call it that, however, is too short-lived to be of importance. Arishem gets up, removes the sword from his body and after watching it for a few moments, he melts it in his hands like the Destroyer.
Gaia then reveals herself and shows the Celestials the potential achieved by humanity through 12 humans who have naturally reached the divinity stage.
The Celestials agree on the success of their experiments and Gaia's work. They leave, taking with them the new gods, determined to return when humanity reaches a new threshold of evolution.
This threshold which will be reached a few years later by Franklyn Richards who, thanks to his powers, equaling those of the Celestials themselves, will create another universe.
The Celestials will then send "Ashema the Listener" to bring Franklyn to them. Through the child, Ashema will gain access to all the souls he created in this other universe, experiencing life in a way she never imagined.
The sequel to the film showed that the universe created by Franklyn Richard was not the only one. There were an infinity of others, an infinity of Falmart, an infinity…. Of all.
The film ended at that moment and the light returned to the room, leaving everyone to their own thoughts.
For the majority of the Coda people, although the "show" they had just witnessed was fantastic, it did not change much for them. The Celestials were simply the star gods, creators and protectors of mankind. Their goal was to one day transform all men into gods. This is what they understood.
Colt, having had a similar revelation before, was hardly impressed. There was nothing very new.
Tuka had also had a similar experience when Amiek had unlocked the memories in her mind. She was still meditating on this subject, although now she had gotten some new information.
Lelei was absolutely fascinated by it all. She found it hard to believe that she had just learned of the very origins of all who existed before Saderan Empire, before gods themselves. Details. She wanted details. But there was a mor eurgent question. At one point, the moving images had shown a woman, presented as a goddess of knowledge. Her name had been mentioned.
Oshtur, first of the three eternal Vishanti.
Lelei was looking at the book she had picked up earlier. "The Book of Oshtur". Amiek had explained that Haarek's test determined the magical abilities of the person being tested and the result of that test was that she now held "the Book of Oshtur" in her hands.
Could it be that…?
As for Rory, she was…. Difficult to describe. The smile on the Apostle's face, which reached almost up to her ears, was most grim. Her body was completely rigid, like a giant doll. Her eyes were wide open. Considering the paleness of her face, she looked like a clown from a horror movie.
These things were of course unknown to Grassac but he was still afraid to see his "mistress" in this state. He had already seen what maniacal joy she took in committing serial massacres of bandits. This time she looked even more ecstatic…. Yet she hadn't killed anyone, for the moment. It hinted that maybe she was going to do something he didn't even want to see.
He hesitated a lot before speaking to her.
"Mis…. Mistress?"
Rory turned her head towards him, slowly, no muscle in her neck seemed to move, her face didn't change.
"Yes? What is it?"
"You…. Are you ok?"
"It was the best show I have seen."
"Sh…. Show?"
"Yes, the show. I saw the original great war. The first of all. I have seen wars all over all the worlds. I have seen weapons, which even I could never have imagined, bring unheard-of devastation and destroy suns. I never would have believed that all of this was not only possible, but also, has been around for a long time."
"Mistress Rory, uh…. And now?"
"Rory? Oh no. I am Emroy. My little Rory is…. Unavailable, but she didn't miss a second of the show."
Grassac immediately threw himself on his knees before his god and was silent, deeming it wiser not to say anything.
"Oh no. You don't need to bow down. Stand up. I never liked to see a man on his knees. Except when they were my enemies of course."
The young man stood up but was unable to look into his god's eyes. Such human eyes. On the other hand, he found the strength to speak.
"And…. And now? What is happening? What do I have to do?"
"Wait and see."
-0-
Through the eyes of Emroy/Rory Mercury, the Falmart's gods had also seen the film. Their reactions were mixed.
"Deception and imposture", Zufmuut said simply.
"It was just pictures, illusions." Adds Deldort.
"Yet other gods, other goddesses. This "Hela" they talked about at one point…. I wonder what she looks like under her mask. A goddess of death? I know we could be ... compatible. Hardy added, running her tongue over her lips. An old reflex from the days of her Elven life that she had retained.
The god of vengeance, Palapon, had another opinion.
"Are you still not that naive?! The deception is obvious. I had my doubts at first but when they talked about these other "gods" who are still in physical shape, I knew it was all a fraud. Only poor ignorant mortals can believe this. Other gods on other worlds, ok, maybe, I guess it a possibility. Let's admit. But if they can die as we have been shown, they are very pitiful gods. Not even Apostles. At best I am willing to believe in powerful magicians who have discovered the secret of eternal youth…. Suppose they really exist, but gods? We are in a good position to know what a god is and you will agree with me that we have nothing in common with these impostors."
"I'm not so sure it's all wrong. Already there is the Gate that appeared on the world that we have seen, the "earth" I believe. At least that we can confirm, it was you at the time that opened it, right Palapon?"
The god of vengeance did not answer. Hardy had a way of being right that was always nasty.
"The sounds were real anyway. You might not have noticed because it's not your area, but there were sounds I had never heard." Lunaryur declared.
Ral was of a different opinion. "I'm not as categorical as you are. Lots of things we saw…. Seems possible to me. Unimaginable but after all possible."
"I agree with my sister", Elange added.
"As always", Palapon sighed contemptuously.
"Why when Emroy isn't around do you feel the need to talk like him?" Mirittia asked.
"Because when Emroy is there he says the right things…. Most of the time. I don't need to add to what he says."
At times Zufmuut remembered that old feeling called "headache". They couldn't physically feel it anymore but in those moments his memory remembered.
"So what do we do then? Any ideas? A REALISTIC idea?"
"I'm a little tired of hearing you ask the same question over and over again. You're supposed to be our "chief" aren't you? I'd like to see you come up with your own ideas sometime to others instead of asking us", Duncan said.
Indeed. Zufmuut was in a way the "chief" of the gods in the sense that he had been the first god after Wareharun and since the goddess of the forests had no quality, nor desire, to guide her fellows, she willingly let him take on this role.
"You won't do anything at all".
That was Wareharun's response. Falmart's first deity rarely spoke. The affairs of the mortals did not concern her directly. She was content to cultivate life on the planet. It was the role that had always been assigned to her.
This is why, when she spoke, the other deities paid special attention to their Elder.
"Sorry? At a time of our greatest peril…. Would you like us to do nothing?" Flare asked, surprised.
Flare and Wareharun were often called upon to "work" together. Nature needs sun and rain.
"For now yes. I have to…. Check a few things."
This answer piqued the curiosity of all the gods here present but it was Duncan who asked the question.
"What exactly do you have in mind?""
"It's a secret. Like I said, there are a few things I need to check. Until then, you should continue to observe, but do nothing. Above all, do not attack."
Before anyone could ask any more questions or object, the Forest Goddess vanished, leaving the meeting.
"She said not to attack but…. This may not be possible." Ral remarked.
In her own way, Ral was generally right too, as was Hardy. Which prompted a question from Deldort.
"Why?"
"Is that Emroy, god of WAR and MADNESS who is actually in the city where the entity lives?"
Ral's question triggered a similar reaction from the different gods, a primitive reflex, a similar thought pattern, an emotional reaction from their mortal age:
"OH MY GOD!" They all thought at the same time.
Only Hardy was completely indifferent to all of this. Maybe something interesting would even happen.
-0-
Here is. Well then since now the story of Conan is officially part of the Marvel Timeline, I preferred to make the Falmartians the descendants of the Kothians rather than the Romans as we usually do in these Fanfics. That is all for this time. See you next time.