Doyle Wolfgang.
***
“I wonder when I’ll get my Doppelganger,” I thought aloud. And it wasn’t the first time since we landed in these quiet woods that such a thought came to mind. Although quiet was a relative term. As a result of a chunk of the Mortal Plane being pulled into the sky, there were no sounds of animals breaking the stillness of the night. Only a cacophony of voices that ranged from shrill or serene to brutish and scholarly. And, of course, my dumb comments.
“What will I look for, in my new subordinates?” I wondered next. And it was a good question. from what I’ve observed, the Captains were focused on forming parties- companies of over three hundred troops, which meant in time, I would too.
My party consisted of Zeff and Olga back in the day, among several others. But that was a lost cause now. I was a bit too old to go searching for young blood, and it was difficult to teach old dogs new tricks. Not to mention the others. But regardless, I would remain undeterred.
More so, I'd keep dreaming.
“I wonder what my training will be like.”
“Hell.” Came a deep, brooding voice cutting through the crowd.
I turned towards it to see Toril pushing his way through to me with the rest of the Captains in tow, their eager faces and glistening eyes shouted louder than their boisterous greetings, putting me in quite an awkward position as I rose with my hands clasped before my chest.
“No need. No need.” Toril gently pulled my hand down before the crowd made their way around him. “Your training hasn’t started yet. You’re on vacation. Enjoy it! It's rare.”
“That’s a little hard.” I chuckled dismally, dismayed by the strange amiability of the otherwise placid paladin and the absurdity of the strength behind his playful shove. “My mind can’t help but wonder about what’s in store for me.”
“Well, you’re one of us now.” Toril carelessly shrugged. “Ask away.”
“So…” I stuttered, unsure of where to even begin. “We’re a legion of explorers? And… you’re aiming to form parties? I guess my question is, what exactly does a Captain do?”
“Yes and yes, for the first two,” Jaimess explained with a short sigh. “As for the last question, the short answer is, whatever you chose.”
“We have specialties.” Toril explicated. “Mine is combat. War. His is diplomacy,” he then jerked his thumb at Jaimess, who quickly stepped in to clarify.
“I oversee diplomacy.” He glared at Toril sternly. “I intend to find individuals suited to the more... demanding aspects of the job.”
“Sure, sure.” Ed calmed him with raised palms before saying, “My focus is on the industry, including alchemy and enchanting. Me, and everyone under my command, including two more back in Maru, will focus on making toys for the legionaries and little else. However, We'll be just as capable as any other Legion.”
"Most." Toril snickered.
“As a result of my class, I’ve decided to oversee rescue and recovery operations on the battlefield. Plus witchcraft, I suppose.” Lucia meekly stated before gesturing to her master. “And Lady Roheisa has chosen to operate as a nomad, overseeing civil affairs.”
“That’s surprising.” I recoiled in place.“I’m good at relating to people.” The volcanic princess shrugged, seemingly uncaring of the conversation as a whole.
“Well, I look forward to seeing your work.” I awkwardly sighed, then turned away from her still composure to look upon the rest of the Captains. “And what of you all?”
“I create!” Elsgril crudely spat. “Blades. Shields. Fortresses. Strongholds. Roads an' bridges. I’ll create anything fer anyone! But mostly fer me an' mine! Hidden deep away from the thieving scum.” He gave a final sneer at the closest band of goblins and many of the other dwarves concurred with growls and low cheers, save Bazzric, who loudly declared his wish to make one stronghold so that he could create vehicles of mass destruction freely.
The Goliaths, on the other hand, were intent on mixing their traditional nomadic raiding ways with the knowledge and technology given to them by Amun to form a new breed of nomadic tribes. The Amazonian Warriors wanted a wide range of historians, architects, and anthropologists and they were all too excited to train them into fighting shape. And of course, many of the others simply wished for artisans, courtesans, and other skillful types to live in their lands.
“And what of your classes?” I couldn’t help but ask once my curiosity took a turn. “Did anyone get anything special?”
“Oh yeah!” Toril snickered as he glanced at Jaimess, yet it was Mary who stepped forward first.
“I formed a new druidic sphere!” She beamed. And beamed further when she continued. “The World Sphere!”
The implications nearly brought me to my knees. “Unbelievable,” I muttered.
“I’m a Master Fighter, Scaled Battle Mage,” Winston said after her, driving the air further away from my lungs. Yet he pointed to the trio of monks. “And they’ve all received Master Classes as well.”
“The Merciful Way,” Rua Nun said.
Then Peter. “The Omni-Elemental Way.
Followed by Veil of Shadows. “The Way of Twilight.”
“W- how?” I muttered, fully knowing the answer.
“I am a Twilight Hunter.” Curious Twig declared as she stepped in, followed by the other rangers, Rebbecca, Smeal, and Toni.
“Plasma Stalker.”
“Settler.”
“Bog Warden.”
“The rogues are somewhere.” Zarzok chortled knowingly. “But the Weasel is a… well, a Phantom Weasel, the masked one is a Blizzard Shinobi, and the rich boy is a Grenadier. I, of course, am an Executioner.” He splayed his clawed fingers across his chest as he bowed, then rose to point an accusing finger at the male vampire.
“And Elijah here has some truly special paths open to him. Though, I don’t want to spoil the surprise. And.” He condescendingly shrugged. “He may not even take them.”
“Oh no, I will!” Elijah stepped forward quickly. “The choice is obvious to me now. But, it’s like you say.” He paused to face me and expose his sharp fangs in a knowing grin. “Let’s not spoil the surprise.”
“Yeah.” Toril stepped in, snorting, then stood by my side to look up to the Moon and whisper. “We’re all Prestige Warlocks too. Prime Noctis Legionaries. Although, Amun has yet to finalize the path, so we’re stuck at step zed.”
“I-” I stammered, unable to find the words to respond to such a mind-breaking reveal. However… “I suppose that makes sense.”
“Yeah. You should speak with Amun when he’s done. There may be a new path open to you now."
“You think so-”
A sudden weight in the air pushed the words from my lungs, yet somehow pulled my widened eyes above. Even before my eyes landed on the object of nearly everyone’s mind, I recognized the pressure for what it was immediately.
It was unlike the overbearing, unrelenting pull of gravity, but a benevolent mist that lingered in the air. It was Amun’s divine energy spreading from the brilliance of the moon, which now seemed much closer and far more voluminous than ever before.
It swelled with each passing moment, pouring a gentle blue-white light into the darkness that charmed the creatures of the night into a harmonic symphony. The hooting of owls merged with the howls of wolves, and a strange harmonic clicking percussed along nicely throughout it all to create a song of longing, one that beckoned my soul to a home I never knew. As their song met its crescendo, so too did the luminosity of the moon. It grew and grew in brightness until it was almost as if dawn had come early. Yet, I refused to shield my eyes. I looked upon its glory without shame or hesitation until looking upon it became impossible.
The light disappeared in a flash, leaving a sight never before seen to my eyes and a vista all too familiar to my mind.
My eyes- still craned to my zenith- gazed upon a crescent bay filled with the deepest of blue waters. And within that bay, in a region almost twice as fat and long as my thumb, sat the assumedly infinite expanse of the Bodhi Tree.
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How ridiculous it seemed, to think it to be such an endless expanse when I could look to the south and see a cloud-covered disk hiding the light of a curiously bright bulb. From that bulb- the sun- I could see the hazy cloud of rock gas spreading outwards until the surface itself turned to a band of red. And somewhere among that mass was a shining coin that represented the vastest city in the Mortal Plane. The Metallic Metropolis of Vagua.
I could also see the Steam Line. Across the bay and far to the south across Polaris, it appeared as an almost impenetrable cloud wall. Yet, like the wall of white to the north, like Youtera on the far side of the sun, and Betrarth across the World Sea to the east, the moon was above it all.
We were standing in an entirely new world, I realized upon removing my eyes from the Mortal Plane- an act I never thought possible. The skies were as black and bland as the realm in which we were born, yet the land was alien to us all. More desolate than any badland could ever be. Quieter than the Shadow Realm. Drier than both the Elemental Planes of Fire and Air combined. It was a land of building-sized stone outcroppings, chasms of perpetual darkness, and veins of opalescent or sometimes pale, blue-white metal atop a silver-dusted surface. An eerily spectacular, yet benevolently welcoming place. An expanse that felt as serene as it seemed deadly.
Just like its creator.
This was Mani. My new home.
“I increased the radius and altitude. So, it’s the same size in the night sky.”
While his words created a surge in the vast crowd, they sparked an epiphany to form in my mind. Even in this airless realm, we could breathe. And more, we could speak. Yet no one seemed to notice. Even Olga, who I realized stood beside me, surged towards Amun with the hunger for answers burning in her eyes. And Amun took it stoically by turning on his heels.
Though his pace was slow, he somehow outpaced the mob- which now included me- on his way to a curious mound with a cliff face that hung over the land like a gaping maw. Because of the gathering of Captains before me, I couldn’t quite see what or where he was leading us. I could only make note of the steady decline in our path and begin to panic once it turned near and eventually past ninety degrees.
With my slowing pace, many goblins, deep gnomes, humans, and other creatures overtook me. Yet, when I stepped over the edge to view our destination, I quickly saw there was more than enough room for thrice our numbers.
“Oho!” I bellowed, wide-eyed in disbelief as I tapped the floating stone below my foot to ensure its security. “Zeff has to see this!”
There was nothing that the platform was attached to. Or so it seemed until I skirted the entryway to see the other… citizens, entering through the same type of arcane portal seen at the Bodhi Tree. Only, nothing stood behind it, save a curb of stone and a thick branch holding it aloft above an endless sea of midnight-blue clouds. Both the platform and the black, glowing grains of the divine tree seemed to be the only objects of material for leagues. But out there in the distance, I saw land.
Not a horizon, but shards or platforms or solid chunks of the Mortal Plane adorned with buildings and structures that shouldn’t have been able to stand. Many of them towered higher than cathedrals or wider than sports arenas, yet stood on a post just wide enough to fit a door. Others were inverted entirely, with interior courtyards suspended above main roads and avenues.
Vast though they were, the conglomeration of bodies served as the only landmasses within the realm. Or that section of it at least. The swirling sea of dark blue clouds extending into the infinite distance would serve as real estate for the worlds Amun advertised to the Captains, I was sure. Yet, the skies above us contained an entirely different prospect.
Above the sleeping tempest was a skyscape that contained more stars than I ever thought possible to exist in one sky. They came in a full range of colors and sizes, from white bodies so bright they left streaks in my vision after looking away to tiny red dots nearly indistinguishable from the gaseous clouds they sat within. And at the center of it all, was the object of my affection.
It appeared as it did from the surface of the Mortal Plane. The moon- Mani, dominated the zenith with its glory and splendor, bathing the floating land below in its gentle light in a way that was just… “Beautiful.”
Mary said it before I could. Yet, it was but one variation of many outbursts from the crowd of thousands.
“Thank you.” Amun bowed, though I couldn’t see him from my position within the crowd. “And welcome my divine realm, a region of deep space hosting many worlds, Eotrom.”
“Eotrom, huh?” I muttered to myself. “Rolls of the tongue quite nicely.”
“The full name is Eotromenia.”
“Eotromenia.” I somewhat struggled to repeat.
“By living under my wing- in my Empire of Empires, you are now Eomen. And though this is not your birthplace, Eotrom is your home.” Amun continued, rising above the crowd. “Eotrom and thus the Legio Noctis is, above all, a meritocracy. A society in which you are free to live your lives as you see fit. You can become a merchant, an inventor, join the Legions, or do nothing if you care not for social status, prowess, or wealth. You are free to do anything you wish. But take care to remember.” He raised his finger. “Actions have consequences. You are free to rob and steal, for example, but so too are your victims free to seek retribution as they see fit. To that end, the only taboo is to unjustly take another’s freedom. Do so, and I will come for you.
“You citizens may live anywhere in this world before you, Bithisarea, and may travel as you please between this realm and the realms of the Material Plane that we have explored.” He threw his arm out to the sea of clouds spread out before us and a veritable mob of the new citizens followed, uncaring of the words to come. “Although it is without solid ground, this world, the first of many, is considered the mainland of my legion. Should you raise your social standing or become an Imperator- a Legion Commander- you will gain the right to weave a world of your own like mine. A planetary star, of sorts, orbited by the worlds of your subordinates.”
Pausing, Amun reached his left hand to the moon above and torqued his wrist in a clockwise direction, and the moon followed by shifting slowly through the sky, at first, then faster and faster, transitioning through the phases as it fell towards the east until it was but a crescent shape lingering above the clouds. And it stayed. For seconds, and then on to nearly a minute, the moon hugged the eastern skies, brightening slowly from blue to white to gold until suddenly, it budged once again. And, as quickly as it set, the moon ascended across the sky, perpetually eclipsing the light of a radiant sun rising in tandem behind it.
“As you can see.” Amun lowered his hand and turned to face us. “There is no day here. Only night. Only Moonlight and Twilight. That moon is the same as the one outside. Mani. My home. While frankly speaking, the vast majority of you are unwelcome there, the officers and the exalted will join me for a tour. Thank you for your time. And thank you for having faith in me. It will be rewarded.”
With a bow, the citizens, the sea of clouds, and the sea of stars disappeared from my view entirely. As did the moon, I first thought, and then thought we’d been transported to the exterior before I looked out to see a banded and ringed eye staring back at me.
It was colossal. Veins of arcane lightning flashed into light and faded out of existence quietly within clouds of blues, greens, whites, and purples. It was… Bithisarea, a world of a much more difficult pronunciation than that of Eotrom or Mani, but a world that was no less vast than either the realm, the moon, or the Mortal Plane when viewed from above.
Aside from the land with strange buildings, there was another placed just above it, frosted and covered in ice unlike the plateau sitting behind the mainland- a small patch of dirt and water that I recognized instantly as the Cove; or what became of it.
“Honestly.” Amun sputtered out a sudden raspberry, pulling our eyes to drow-devil, flicking his eyes back and forth. “It’s too much to explain. Here. Or ask your Doppelgangers. Now follow me. We’ll begin the tour.”
A silver mirror appeared before my eyes just as he turned to float away, replacing the swaying grass around my feet with the dusty surface of Mani in an instant. I was left in place for a while, wondering what happened, but eventually, I followed the now-thinned herd down another vertically inclined road while perusing the surprisingly accessible grimoire-like map before me. Through it, I was able to track my position as we traversed the massive structure and bent my head around the fact that we were walking down a sheer wall to enter the various levels of the moon. More so, I read about the fascinating features of the realm as a whole.
The ‘sun,’ for instance, was a layered ball of adamantine, mithral, and other metals heated past their melting point. It was explained to be done for the industry rather than for heat or light, however, and thus was always behind Mani when viewed from Bithisarea. Mani itself was layered like an onion, with eleven sub-realms that loomed above the nondescript core, accessed by the same vertical road on which we traveled. Though it was dozens of meters wide and kilometers longer, the road seemed as tiny as a vein in a leaf in comparison to the trees I gazed upon within the wondrous interior of the first level.
The widening of the luminescent cave signaled our arrival, opening the space around us to reveal an expansive wall of water to our backs and a vibrant forest to our front, beset by a gleaming city of floating pale stones in the center. Like our home, it was called Eotrom and thus labeled as the realm's capital city. Yet, it wasn’t our destination. We continued to the second level. The Silverstream Forest. A dreamy, almost ethereal expanse of multi-colored plants spread below a ceiling of silver waters, filled with creatures that could have only been described as divine.
One animal in particular was the reason behind our pit stop. Just before entering the next tunnel, we halted to step onto carriages led by beautiful elks with snow-white coats, velveted silver horns, and eyes of the most mysterious pale blue. Under a quickened pace, we raced through the Duskwoods on the third level, relegating me to focus to the best of my ability on my senses and view as much of the purple, amber, and blue flowers blooming within the perpetual dusk as possible. But alas, the most I retained were the strange, almost noxious mixes of spices congesting the air and the tiny motes of light that seemed to blink in and out of existence along the cavernous ceiling.
The fourth level was our assumed destination. Like the first, it was a vast city of pale stones sandwiched between dissimilar expanses of rapidly changing biomes. Yet, we continued onward to observe the floating studies and formless universities on the fifth floor. And past that too, to view the recreation facilities, where parties would be held in the future for all the Legions, Amun was sure to tell us. But my eyes were focused on the expansive amphitheater featuring silver screens or illusions of the many encounters seen throughout the Captains’ last six months of training. Of course, a huge outdoor bar could be seen in the distance as well. And beyond that sat a curious pink-lit alcove that beckoned many of the young men as much as the bar did the dwarves and Toril. The Pink Crater, Amun teased them, where the brothels were soon to be.
Still, though, we continued to the seventh level to be met with the training room, Amun’s monastery, and several hot springs, shrines, camping sites, and hiking trails stretching on for as far as the curved horizon allowed. The eighth room, however, was an undeveloped land bathed in twilight much like the surface above, and nondescript as to what it would become. But the ninth room was Amun’s true domain. And after realizing we were to enter it, I found myself eager to see how he lived.
It was much more ascetic than I ever expected, yet grandiose all the same. Like the floors above, expansive forests, tundras, swamps, and other environments stretched along the ambiguous surfaces that could both be called floors and ceilings, but with forges, workshops, labs, observatories, and everything besides a house or home on the squat platforms, conical rocks, or hollowed boulders floating between them.
The only thing that could have even resembled a home was a comparatively tiny platform that housed a bench and a pillow, shaded from the moonlight and dusk by a squat, winding tree. Yet, Amun looked upon the place as if it were perfection before he turned his beaming eyes to us. “Let’s eat!”