“Today I found myself in a forest that seemed like it went on forever. It brought back repressed memories from when I was a wee’ ol’ lad, of when I was a simple squire, whose only job was to find a burial site for my Knight. I decided on the thickest forest I could find at the time because my Knight had green armor. Eventually, on my very first adventure, I finally made my way through the first layer of brush and trees. Here I found the perfect place for my Knight to be buried. It was an oasis in the forest, but sadly there was a horrendous monster guarding. When I first approached the monster I made a very manly sound that could have even penetrated the deep brush. But still, I kept my stand with a stick in hand as the monster leaped toward me at a speed which I couldn’t keep up with my eyes. Speaking of eyes, the monsters’ were bright red, seeming to thirst for my blood especially with its two buck teeth protruding from its mouth. As I finally slew the horrid monster its coat was soaked red from both our blood and afterward became a lovely arm bracelet that I still wear to this day.”
-Excerpt from Lancelot’s Diary
A large object hit the ground with a sizable thumping sound. Jason jolted awake, his vision swimming. Large thumps rocked the ground almost as if a large animal was having a party. Correction, a large animal was having a party...specifically his...for breakfast.
The animal in question was a manticore, a winged lion with the tail of a scorpion. It was about 8 feet tall when standing on all fours with magenta eyes and a scar over one as if it had been in some battle before, possibly a territory dispute. And it was also absolutely decimating the party of groggy, sleepless adventurers. Lancelot was stumbling around waving his sword as if he were drunk, Olivia had taken to hiding under a rock, and Melody was… oh, she was under the rock too. Cetiri was the only one of them up on his feet and attacking the overlarge monster.
“What the…” Jason trailed off, his sleep-deprived brain still trying to make sense of what he was witnessing.
A piece of bark the size of his head narrowly missed him, reminding him of the need to find shelter. He quickly scrambled and crouched behind the rock Oliva and Melody were currently occupying.
Once he had gotten a chance to catch his breath he peeked out from behind the boulder.
Cetiri was fast, really fast, and slippery as a snake. The manticore couldn’t get a grip on him, but likewise, Cetiri couldn’t seem to do any damage to it. Cetiri jumped over the back of the manticore trying to strike at the underbelly of the beast. Suddenly, the manticore changed tactics and tried to crush Cetiri under its large paws. Right before the paw connected, however, Cetiri suddenly had a sword in his hands, blocking the blow with its broadside.
“What manner of sorcery was that?” Lancelot sputtered, spitting loam out of his mouth. He had finally gotten to his feet only to have his sword suddenly yanked, by some magical force, out of his hands pulling him face-first into the ground.
“Not sorcery,” Cetiri grunted, using the flat of the blade to throw the massive paw off of him. “Gravitractors!”
Lancelot just looked even more bewildered before being forced to roll out of the way to avoid the large mass of the particularly angry manticore.
Jason looked around noticing that in his sleep deprivation he had managed to be off in his earlier calculations of the party. There was one member not accounted for: Gryphon.
“Guys? Where’s Gryphon?!” Jason shouted breathlessly.
Both Olivia and Melody looked confused before it registered that they hadn’t seen their guide at all since waking up.
However, their confusion was interrupted as the manticore discovered the rock they were hiding behind and took the opportunity to casually throw the boulder away. The group quickly scattered.
“Why don't you help me... fight this thing... instead of running away!” Cetiri shouted breathlessly, currently on the manticore’s back
“Are you crazy?!?!” screeched Olivia, “That thing just threw a freaking boulder!!
The manticore spun around, throwing Cetiri off, and simultaneously whacking Lancelot, who had just managed to stand up, with its scorpion tail before unfolding his wings and powerfully thrusting himself into the air.
The displaced air from the wings was powerful enough to knock everyone over who wasn’t already sprawled on their backs.
As it reached its peak height, it suddenly dove straight towards the ground. The resulting impact shook the surrounding area, causing even the nearby trees to shudder. Jason started coughing, finding it rather hard to breathe dirt. Once the dust settled the adventurers looked at the new crater in the ground, shock evident on their faces.
“You all are absolutely terrible at this” Gryphon said brushing himself off in the otherwise empty crater “It’s clear to me that you all need to learn one last thing before we set out if you want to survive.”
…
The crew sat down, after taking a bit of a breather and working off their adrenaline in various ways. Gryphon had also left for a bit, for some reason or another and they were starting to get bored of waiting. The party broke the silence by making small talk until Olivia asked a decent question.
“So what is Camelot like, Lance?”
“Ah, Camelot, tis a most wonderful place. Everything is beautifully shining and the knights there are most chivalrous. King Arthur himself is a mighty knight and the feasts they have every Pentecost are filled with the most delicious food. It is truly a banquet for a king, so much food in fact that all of us knights, 150 in total, can hardly finish.”
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The group, listening to what Lancelot had to say, were surprised to hear their stomachs rumbling.
“We haven’t even had breakfast yet” Jason mentioned.
Suddenly they heard a rush of wind as a massive falcon flew through the air before barrel rolling and transforming into none other than Gryphon, who landed in a dramatic pose.
Lancelot, still rather unaccustomed to seeing animals randomly turn into people gave a small shout before realizing who it was.
Showoff. Thought Jason enviously.
“Now, before we get started,” Gryphon said, setting a bag down on the ground, “who wants breakfast?”
…
After eating, the group felt considerably less on edge and more willing to listen. Gryphon sat down, cross-legged. “This morning was a test, which you all failed miserably, except for Cetiri.” He said, nodding in Cetiri’s direction. “You all have absolutely no fighting skill, and the only other one who does have any fighting skill apparently hasn’t learned the value of being a light sleeper.” He looked pointedly at Lancelot.
“You couldn’t have just asked?” Said Jason, irritated.
Gryphon grimaced, “Many others would have either lied about their skill or been too modest. I needed to see for myself.”
Jason scowled but accepted Gryphons’ answer.
Gryphon continued, “Now, there’s one thing I haven’t told you about the Interverse.” He looked around as if enjoying the sunny day before continuing. “The Interverse is full of power, it permeates the air and all the creatures that abide in it. Especially in the core universes.”
“Core universes?” Olivia frowned, puzzled.
“There are several layers to the Interverse. The main layer consists of Science fiction, Fairy Tale, and Fantasy universes. Since the creation, however, Fantasy and Sci-fi have blended. I can only assume this is from the blurring of the line between the two in recent culture. Every other universe exists, linked to their specific genre. The farther away you get, the less timing conventions resemble the core universes and the less power permeating.”
“So the time changes between our worlds and the core universes match the time change between the base world and the core universes?” Melody inquired.
“That is more or less correct. Your universes are more specific than general meaning they are farther from the core.”
“I see.” Said Cetiri, pondering this.
“Now, to tell you the part you need to know before we go further. As I said, the Interverse, especially the core universes, are permeated with power, creative power if you will. Now to travelers of the Interverse such as you and I, we are unused to this power that the flora and fauna here thrive in. We soak in this power like a sponge, eventually storing it to the point where the power needs to manifest itself in some manner else you are overcome with power and become a portal wraith.”
“A portal wraith?” Asked Lancelot, puzzled.
“A most dreadful creature, pray that we don’t meet any on our journey.”
Olivia shuddered.
“These outlets that I’ve mentioned, depend upon the person. It’s akin to gaining supernatural abilities.”
“So you’re saying that the power builds up so much that we… gain superpowers?” Asked Jason, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be mad at Gryphon and trying not to show his excitement.
“In a way, yes. For instance, the very first outlet for me was a surprise. Now I was one of the first people to enter the Interverse so I didn’t have a guide like you all do. So you can only imagine how it felt to wake up one day and find myself turned into a bat. My manifested power is the power now known as grafting. I can turn into any animal that I come in contact with, However, if it happens to be too small, such as a mouse, I turn into a larger version of the animal.”
“So you’re a shapeshifter?” Olivia asked, intrigued.
“Sort of, as I said I can only turn into animals, people and objects are off the table.”
“hmmm” muttered Cetiri, lost in thought.
“Along this journey, you all should manifest abilities. In order to keep track of these abilities, the Interverse has something for you. Look behind you.”
The party turned around to find a small leather bag lying behind each of them.
“Grab it. This is a spatial bag. it may look small but it holds a small pocket dimension that will allow you to store around 9 cubic feet worth of anything in it.”
They grabbed their respective bags, curious.
“Inside the bags, you will find a book of sorts, take it out.”
They did as they were told, each bringing out an unmarked, leather-bound book.
“Now, before I explain what this is, we need to complete a tether to the book, this won't hurt a bit. Repeat after me.”
‘Inside this book, I do hold
my story yet untold
bind my soul so that it may keep
with me even while I sleep
If I die, my story close
to tell my life as I dose’
They all held their books and repeated the words, in unison. Once they did they were each lifted into the air by an unnatural force. Orange light, magical in nature, surrounded each of them as one by one, a glowing orange tether connected between them and their respective books. Suddenly all of that disappeared and they were dumped unceremoniously on the ground.
“This, my friends, is your piece of the story. These books, now bound to you will be your way of tracking your powers as they manifest and will help you train them. They will also keep a written account of your journeys here in the Interverse. Finally, you can also use the book to write down important things you need to remember.”
“Could I use it as a diary?” Lancelot asked.
“Sure? Anyway, in order to see your powers flip to the very back of your book.”
They each flipped to the back to reveal an image that looked rather like a faded tree.
"This is your power tree, it will grow while your powers grow, revealing more undiscovered facets of them. Once you start to manifest the tree will become unfaded."
“It’s like a video game,” mused Olivia.
“I don’t see a tree in the back of mine,” stated Jason, confused.
“Odd, I’m sure it will show up when you start to manifest,” said Gryphon thoughtfully. “Now, when you don’t want to carry the book you can simply just think about putting it away and it will disappear. It is bound to your soul so you can’t lose it.”
They tried this and found that the book simply faded away as if it was never there in the first place.
“And to bring it back do the same, simply will it back.”
After they had done this he said “Good, now that you all know what you have, it’s time to get moving. We have about a week of travel.”
“A week?” Olivia exclaimed. “What are we traveling a week for?”
“Why my dear, to find a barkeep of course.”