The form our ride takes is a bit of a surprise to me but about three minutes after we were told by Kismarc that we needed to wait for our ride a magnificent and large carpet appears in the skies above us. When I see it begin to descend I also notice that there is a lot more to Kosmos than there appears to be if you only focus on what is on the ground.
Many of the buildings that constitute Kosmos are actually hovering in midair hundreds of feet above the city. There is a lot of aerial traffic, much of which takes the form of flying carpets just like the one Kismarc has somehow called for us.
The carpet comes to a stop on the floor in front of the lot of us. Kismarc tells me to get on it first, doing so by gesturing, and I laugh as I do so. I am followed by Insoucia, who seems determined to be a protective bodyguard. Delphi and Heartening follow us, and Kismarc is the last of us to get on the carpet. As soon as he is still the carpet subtly vibrates underneath us and then lifts into the air.
As we sail into the sky I think about Kismarc’s earlier remarks. He mentioned Etherscape, and it’s clear that he doesn’t yet know that Etherscape has a new emperor. The second he learns that he may start asking questions if he learns the name of the emperor so I elect to act.
One skill I have practiced over the last few days is my telepathy. I have learned that I can be quite precise with it, and I can use it to do things like gauging the loyalty people have towards me, and even rewrite memories. I do this to Kismarc and Insoucia with a momentary flash of intention, rewriting their memories of a single word: “Ignacio”. I also quietly change a few of my features, shapeshifting using nanokinesis and adjusting just a few things like my hair and eye color.
I reach into the minds of both figures and replace the word “Ignacio” with the word “Lopez”, so when they hear of the new emperor they have no reason to find the coincidence of us both being named “Ignacio” suspicious or curious. At the same time I telepathically inform both Heartening and Delphi of this to ensure that there is no confusion.
I glance at the carpet and I can see it radiating subtle amounts of magic. This is interesting, if a bit expected, and I assume the magic must be what allows for the carpet to fly in the first place. The carpet rises into the air slowly, and gradually begins to speed up as it orients itself in the direction of a cluster of hovering buildings.
“We’re heading towards the grand temple.” Kismarc tells us, before pointing his staff in the direction of a massive building hovering in the middle of the cluster of different structures that we are darting towards.
“A huge temple like that? Is it dedicated to an ascendant?” I ask, curiosity seeping into my voice. Kismarc’s eyes widen when he hears that question.
“You already know about ascendants? Delphi told me that you were, effectively, a few days old. To think that she’d warn you about ascendants this quickly…” Kismarc remarks, a bit of genuine surprise seeping into his voice.
“As for that temple it’s… it has got a long history.” Kismarc explains as we dart towards it. I feel a chilly breeze impact me as we sail closer and closer to the collection of buildings which includes the temple.
“Since you already know about ascendants, do you happen to know about cosmic gods and their favored races?” Kismarc asks, curious to see the depths of my knowledge. I silently nod, which doesn’t surprise him, but he is surprised when I begin to speak.
“Yes, I do. Cosmic gods are divine ascendants empowered by knowledge of the words spoken by the creator of the multiverse in the early ages of existence, primal names for various common concepts. Some cosmic gods invest some of their deific energy in a species, sometimes even creating a species from nothing but their energies. The worship members of that race give their creator, or their patron as circumstances may dictate, will provide more power than worship from other species would, though most cosmic gods who create a favored race do so for other reasons.” I remark, summarizing some of what I’ve learned about cosmic gods over the last few days. Kismarc nods brightly at me.
“That’s exactly right! An unfathomably long time ago, during the last days of the first age of the multiverse a cosmic goddess created the first Sorothustrans and invested part of her domains into them. She bestowed the first members of my species with immortality and potent magic.” Kismarc tells me, as we dexterously zip among midair traffic.
“The goddess was named Sorothustra. She was a greater divinity, one of the more potent types of cosmic deities. She mastered both the domain of life and of magic, and was a stalwart and steadfast guardian of both. We named the planet in her honor, and to the multiverse, we as its inhabitants became the Sorothustrans.” Kismarc says, regaling my companions and I with tales of the ancient past.
“The event that heralded the end of the first age of the multiverse was a cosmic war. A primordial being, a ‘Legendary Dragon’, beings as powerful as any ascendant that are larger than entire universes, decided that it was going to conquer every other dragon. In order to attain the power to do so it signed a pact with the Dark Lord, the mighty and mysterious ruler of the multiverse-spanning Overhell to gain the power to subjugate her peers and lesser kin alike. This would turn out to be a mistake.” Kismarc tells me, frowning as he thinks about this ancient event.
“The other dragons, legendary, ascendant, and non-ascendant alike, waged war against her, Echidna, when they discovered what she had done. And they had allies. Ascendants of every type, even rebellious archdemons, joined forces with legendary dragons and their descendants in order to wage war against Echidna and the Dark Lord. The war was costly and resulted in the deaths of thousands of universes and ascendants, particularly archdemons and cosmic gods. When it came to an end Echidna was cast down, defeated at the apex of the final battle by the combined efforts of two legendary dragons and the very first dragon lord, an ancient being of fire who was almost as old as they were. However, during the final campaign in the war Sorothustra was struck down.” Kismarc reveals, tears appearing in his eyes as he recalls the history he was taught.
“During Sorothustra’s final moments she poured all of the magic she possessed into her creations. The magic that flows through the veins of every Sorothustran is a vestige, an atom-sized relic of Sorothustra’s magic. The temple we are visiting was once her temple. In many ways it still is. We use it for a number of purposes now, but when we walk into it it is akin to coming home the day that you learned that your parents have passed. It’s… somber.” Kismarc states, his eyes narrowing as he thinks about what all he has just said.
I fall silent for a moment as the whole group allows what Kismarc has just revealed to wash over us. What he has just said serves as a powerful reminder that we are players in a great game with very real consequences. Even ascendants can die, and no one is invincible, not even mythical beasts like “Echidna” who was grand enough to be vaguely remembered on Earth as a mother of monsters and the wife of a great evil, can be felled.
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We reach the temple, itself situated on a giant block of a material a bit like concrete, while we are all still stuck in thought. The carpet lands a small distance away from the temple and as soon as it does we get off of it. Within seconds of Heartening Glimmer getting off of the carpet the thing vibrates and then gets up off of the ground and flies away. Kismarc begins to stride towards the temple and we follow him.
I notice his body language suggest an improvement in his demeanor as we draw closer and closer to the temple. At the same time I am a bit surprised when I sense his voice reach into my mind.
“Lopez, would you like to participate in a deception with me?” Kismarc asks as we move closer and closer to the temple. I glance at him and inform him that I’d be interested so long as I have details in advance. He subtly nods and I hear his voice in my mind.
“I would like for you to pose as my son. That would make you a Sorothustran, and the child of an elder, both of which would afford you considerable social power and the ability to more freely access resources in Sorothustra and beyond. I know a great deal about the omega lords, do you happen to have the powers necessary for that?” Kismarc asks. I smirk and I nod at the man, who smiles but doesn’t audibly speak.
“Interesting… Have you already copied the powers you’ve seen me wield?” He asks, and this time I do mentally speak.
“I have seen you planeswalk. I can do that. I’m assuming your other powers are the result of equipment, which my power-copying ability doesn’t seem to work on.” I reply, freely displaying the ease with which I can speak telepathically. We reach the outer edge of a gigantic temple, which is on a slightly higher elevation than the rest of the concrete-like island.
The temple is a huge building and when we step past massive pillars I feel spatial magic activate next to and around me as my allies and I step past a subtle barrier and enter a pocket dimension. When we step past the subtle barrier that protects the temple from the outside world new figures appear within the temple, all of the people who were inside of the massive building suddenly becoming more visible.
At the same time a cooper-skinned shirtless figure appears next to Kismarc and smiles at the man before warmly hugging him. Kismarc lets out a bright laugh when he sees the man.
“Bahlakasi, I missed you, you brute.” Kismarc says, loudly. The man, Bahlakasi, laughs in response to Kismarc’s words.
“Kismarc, you mad man! I told you that city is… It’s a lot.” Bahlakasi says, and I watch his eyes momentarily widen. They flicker in my direction, and I smile when I notice his grin broaden. I don’t doubt that Kismarc has just told him the truth regarding my true nature and also the curious deception that we will be performing. Kismarc releases Bahlakasi from his hug and the man goes and extends his hand.
“Ah, Lopez… The long lost child of Kismarc.” He says, disbelief audible in the man’s voice. I step forward and shake his hand, grinning all the while.
“I’m Bahlakasi, Kismarc’s familiar.” The figure reveals. This revelation explains things. “Familiars” are mystical servants of Sorothustrans, entities which serve a Sorothustran in a range of capacities and are often prized by Sorothustrans as part of their own game of social politics and status. Bahlakasi tilts his head and pretends to notice the rest of my retinue for the first time.
“Ah you do take after your old man. So young and you already have an unusual party.” The figure remarks, causing me to audibly laugh. He then turns and begins to guide us into the actual temple.
“I do apologize. young Lopez, but I will need to borrow your father soon.” Bahlakasi remarks, to which I nod and I feel the man smile as his body language shifts subtly.
We step through a set of huge doors and into a gigantic room just inside of the temple. The room, at a glance, seems mostly empty other than a gigantic statue of a stunning woman on the other side of the room. A number of people, who I assume are Sorothustrans and their allies and friends, are kneeling and even praying in front of it.
At first the statue seems to be the only one in the room but when I blink I realize that the room is actually decorated with other massive statues, each of which is a strange, blurry mess. Something is cloaking the contents of the room and shrouding them in illusory magic!
Kismarc and Bahlakasi stride to the central statue and both kneel in front of it. I accompany them and my remaining companions follow me, and I mimic the actions of the Sorothustrans and their allies, and when I do I feel the effects of whatever magic is cloaking the other statues loosen its attempted grip over me. When I glance at the other statues they are no longer blurry and I can study and appreciate them in their full glory.
I get up and smile, and even when Kismarc excuses himself and his familiar I am distracted by the sight of the massive statues. My companions, other than Heartening, move quickly and stay behind me while I study the statues. The things are enormous, each taller than ten feet tall at the very shortest, and they are masterfully made statues of what I almost immediately realize are ascendants.
Some of the statues depict human, elf, or even orc-like beings, while others are smaller-than-life statues of enormous dragons and horned demons. Each statue has a plaque in front of it that summarizes the real-life inspiration for it.
The bigger statues are all colorless and I have to study multiple plaques before I realize the common thread linking each of the colorless statues: they are of fallen ascendants who fought against Echidna and the Dark Lord and perished! The colorful statues are of still living ascendants, only some of whom fought in the clash against Echidna, and all of whom are allied with Sorothustra in some way.
“It’s like a living index of who works with Sorothustra…” I remark, and I am surprised when Delphi lightly laughs at my observation.
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I step past a door guarded by a full group of armed etherscapians, men and women alike. The room I enter is small, and I am accompanied by Sif and Velvet, both of whom carry food-covered trays. The food on one of the trays is synthetic and the food on the other tray is not.
Multiple ethermancers nod at us and a few even salute me as I walk past them and towards the edge of the small room. The figure seated at the edge of the room looks listless and lost, but even so she is an incredibly, almost hypnotically beautiful woman. Mynassa sighs quietly and doesn’t move until I am standing on the other side of her cell.
When I reach the other side of the cell I lightly tap on the bars and this makes her turn in my direction. The moment she sees me I watch life return to her face and body and I am astounded when I see color itself return to her as she begins to smile and moves towards the other side of the bars. Flowers even sprout on the walls beside her and the floor behind her, her lifeforce beginning to radiate outward and infusing her surroundings with her powerful energies.
“Ignacio!” She says, joyfully. Sif and Velvet both stiffen when they see her dart towards me but don’t say anything.
“I was wondering if you’d ever come see me.” Mynassa says, vestiges of the anxiety she felt seeping into her voice. Tears fill her eyes, and I feel the remarkable purity and potency of her emotions. It reminds me of one of the things Sif told me about ascendants: some of them are powerfully moved by things like their domains in the cases of cosmic gods or their elements in the cases of dragon lords, and as Mynassa tries to blink away tears appearing in her eyes I can see why even benevolent ascendants scare some people.
“Have you come to accept my proposal?” She exclaims, and I freeze when I hear this. It takes me a bit to recover enough to ask her a pertinent question.
“You… want to marry me?” I ask, and this causes her to turn and look at Sif in annoyance.
“You didn’t tell him?!” She asks, and I feel, as much as I see, Sif sigh in annoyance.
“Oh great Mynassa, your claims regarding your holdings are difficult for us to substantiate. Your home universe is far enough away from here that we are only just reaching it, even after you blessed some of our scouts with a portion of your speed.” Sif remarks, which makes Mynassa’s eyes narrow in irritation. Mynassa takes a beat to collect herself, but she does nod at me before she speaks.
“Yes, Ignacio. I want to marry you. I can feel the connection between our souls, and I know you can too. I also know enough about Etherscape and its culture to know that such a move is not without precedent here.” She says, smiling at me, but Sif immediately counters her.
“My liege, she’s only somewhat correct. It’s true that there is plenty of precedent for influential people to meet the emperor or empress and immediately propose marriage, but not for an ASCENDANT to do so.” Sif says, loudly.
“Even the most minor ascendant, which Mynassa is NOT assuming her claims about her domains and her influence over them are true, is still a wildly powerful being and we need time to both vet her claims regarding her holdings, as well as discuss this matter with the ascendants who signed the anti-aggression pact.” Sif says, clearly not enthused by the prospect of me marrying Mynassa.
She does raise a good point, but I have to wonder about the likelihood of Mynassa lying about any of this given that Mynassa is here, willingly, and suffering the humiliation of being held prisoner. Still among Sif’s many well-reasoned objections she raised a particularly good point about the opinions of the signers of the pact… Me marrying an ascendant would establish a powerful precedent by which ascendants could begin to gain influence in Etherscape.