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The Jagged Man
3. We might have a Problem

3. We might have a Problem

…” Calm down Moon, it isn’t what you wanted but you did succeed in a way.” the soft timbered man spoke.

‘Succeed?!, this not a success…. This is not the man I was after, this … is a failure, THIS is a waste of Thousands of years!” The angry man screamed and pointed at the old vagrant laying before them. “This will not work, He has no sense of history or background, he has none of the cultural references or SENSE OF HISTORY, that the other man would have had! He has no idea about anything the OTHER would at least have a grasp on coming from the region he had on Earth! “He paused taking in several breaths as he tried to regain a measure of control. “This, “he points to the vagrant. “Is a waste of resources and time. This will do nothing I need him to do and set me back millenniums.” Moon paced back and forth, shaking with rage. He looks to Thread, the woman he was arguing with. “That is why I should stop the process now. He will have nothing to offer and I can at least salvage some resources.”

Thread looks at Moon, piercing eyes regard him coldly. One a pale blue so light its almost silver, and one jade green and speckled with gold. Her voice soft as a wind and cutting as hoarfrost. “You cannot, regardless of what you intended,” she looks at the vagrant,” you severed his thread from his world, and now it is anchored to ours. The Ritual must be completed, or the Heavens will require payment.” She Turns back to Moon, shaking her head slightly. “Remember, I also invested resources, I also had a hand in this, I do not want to face the kind of Tribulation the heavens would require. Neither of us would survive.” She sighs and once again looks to the ragged man lying before them. Moon wants to say something, anything to refute her words but knows it’s the truth. He knows this, his anger at what has happened clouding his mind. With a visible effort, Moon calms himself and tries to think rationally.

Essence, Looks to both Moon and Thread. He could not help them in their decision. He looked to the slowly dwindling essence and knew the ritual would not stay stable for much longer. He urged them to hurry up with a hand gesture. Regardless of their choice he would not be harmed. He was the required 3rd for the ritual, Taking the mantle of ESSENCE, His only duty was to watch and make sure there was a balance. Something had to be given for that which was taken. They had taken the old man from his world, removed him early, from whatever destiny he had, weather great or small. They brought him here and attached his fate to a new world. Now his old world demanded balance. Payment for what was taken, and what had to be done to rewrite the fates of all who would interact with him if he was still there. The resources and energies gathered would cover some of it. However, the ritual needed to be completed or ended, before they were used up, or that would bring a tribulation of its own. “We have a little over an incense sticks time left, make your decision. Otherwise, the wrath of the Heavens will be upon you.” Moon sighed deeply. He knew that this had to be completed before the time ended. Even though his heart was unwilling, he could do nothing but comply. Then a thought hit him, and a small smile crept upon his face. “Fine, but ill not be giving this old vagrant any benefits.” Looking at the wretch of a man before him he could not help to still have animosity towards the person who ruined his careful and costly plans. As MOON, the Mantle he took for the ritual of summoning. He could decide how much, or how little the power of the ritual changed the summoned. The moon had several faces after all, from full to shadowed. Depending on how much of the moons light so to speak, he allowed to shine on the wretch the more powerful his potential would be. There were some things he could not stop from being given. For instance, the old man would be given a new body, normally it would be a body from one of the people of the world that shared the same name, in whole or part. This was not always true as some names were not common, or the name was not used in the world. The energy would also change the body, mind, and cultivation base. Sometimes making it stronger and unlocking higher potential. Sometimes giving the new summoned some sort of ability or process, to make up for the lack of the new hosts poor ability or potential. There were hundreds of other little things the energy would change or tweak depending on which phase of the moon he chose to light the way.

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Still there would be some changes and that would waste his resources and delay his attempt to summon another champion even longer. If there were only a way to get back his resources, then the time would be minimal.

Thread turned her gaze to Moon, looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes. She had also used a few precious resources in the process of calling the new hero, and while it was a waste it would not stop her from her own plans. It was just a slight inconvenience; it would not take her long to recoup her losses and try another path. As the Mantle of Thread, it was her duty to cut and sew the fabric of both the old world and the new one. To make the change over and process as smooth and seamless as possible. The better she preformed her duties the less energy was used by the Heavens to make the repairs and changes needed to allow a summoning in the first place. The less energy used for this, the more was used to help the new summoned adapt and grow in his new world. She did her job very well. Sewing and weaving the strands of his remaining potential in the old world to a close, so the heavens could make the needed changes to the many people that his lost potential would have affected, and setting them on a slightly new path so as to still have their own potentials continue as was needed.

As Thread finished her work, she frowned slightly at the small amount of energy that she had used. This old man had very little impact on the world left. So little impact in fact, she wondered at how he would have spent the remainder of his life. She could tell he would have lived another 10 or so years, but the cost of energy seemed to low, as if he would live but not affect anyone but a small handful of people. Which while possible was not very likely. Even walking to the market would cause countless small interactions that had potential to effect people in sometimes, very profound ways. Still, it did seem to be the case. As she finished up the last of her sewing and mending, she nodded to herself for a well-done job. Once the last stich was in place, she paused to examine her work. Then she frowned. The flow of energy should have slowed into the old world, some would trickle over to make her changes and offset the Heavens need to change the old world. Mending any rips or tears she could not see. The energy however did not diminish, instead it started to grow, drawing more energy from the ritual and resources used to power the summoning. She quietly spoke to Moon as a small vibration and low far-off rumble could be felt and heard. “We might have a problem; the energy is increasing and the draw on our resources is getting larger. “