The Father is the head of the Althaen Pantheon, his title both what he is to multiple of the other gods in the Althaen Pantheon and how he acts. He portrays himself as the stern but caring father figure. His main domains are Order, Law, Justice and Leadership. He is not however a patron of any of the nations in the civilized world, even though he is one of the most powerful deities in this world. He has few laws outside of how to govern and stewardship but Abyssal and Infernal powers are strictly forbidden. He is one of few Althaen deities that are liked outside of the humans in the Althaen nations.
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Me-but-not-me
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My host has done perhaps the dumbest thing I have seen him do. Not because of what it is that he did in snuffing out the lives of so many but in how he did it. He didn’t even try to set up the thematics needed to pass it off for the culture of the observers. A little power spent on some flash and awe and this never would have happened.
The bigger question is why the only semi-sentient forces of the fabric of reality would do this?
Once we are out of earshot of Adrian, the me of this timeline speaks up and says, “so, care to let me in on how you managed to travel through time and get around the paradox. That and what is your plan in all this?”
“Time travel is easy, just another direction of movement and a near infinite void between the two multiverses. As for how to not suffer the rebound from the paradox, it wasn’t by my power that we came to be here” I answer.
“Then you are acting on the opportunities that this allows for” my double comments with a nod as ‘she’ no doubt comes to many of the same conclusions that I did during the travel backwards.
“How did you manage to get our host to cannibalize himself? How did you manage to get them to meet here in this world?”
“The loss of memory left the instincts, and the instincts of a void dragon are already cannibalistic. The how doesn’t really matter though does it?”
“No, it doesn’t and as we fuse I’d have all the information you do.”
“Everything for completion, to finally be whole” we both state before nodding and grasping hands.
A moment later the raw essence of my double flows into me as I am the greater between the two of us. With this Adrian might reach the pinnacle of the magic I grant him rather than only being another step. A smile forms on my projection as all the power spent in my scheme is more than just replenished.
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Adrian
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Once I begin meditating to go through the memories absorbed from my past self, I find myself unable to stop or slow down. I am forced to relive the entire life I had forgotten, from start up to the point where my past self met me. Sure, it was at an accelerated rate but I had to suffer through all the stupid nonsense decisions that I had apparently done in the past.
Not only that but there was also how I had to watch every single thing I did, even what I’ve done late at night that should never be brought to the knowledge of my mother. Or my girls for that matter, I’m sure they would never let me hear the end of it.
Then just as I think it is finally over, it starts anew. But the memories are different than the ones before it, as if they had been sitting around in my mind for a while rather than less than a day. Memories of things that could not have happened with how I was pulled into Althrá rather than the Althaen invading. Those memories never reach an end, they come to a grinding halt suddenly as that me was going to fight my kin but I can’t remember how that fight ended. . .
The entire time, I watch, think and observe. So many of my actions and morals make no sense to my current mindset, yet they also resonate with something in the back of my mind that makes me somewhat disgusted with some of the actions that I have taken since I have woken up in the village. At least the morals do not have anything against me bedding K this time.
I also come to understand what I did wrong with my Ravnos Magic. I didn’t mask it by making it seem like normal magic or prevent them from noticing it as something beyond what they would normally consider within the bounds of what is real.
When I finally open my eyes the woman that is the embodiment of my Ravnos magic is nowhere in sight but both the dragon and human are still there.
“Figure it out yet?” the human asks.
“You never were what you presented yourself to be” I answer.
“We are and also are not” the dragon says.
“So, who are the two of you and what is it that you want?” I ask ignoring the cryptic bullshit.
“Reality has a will and we are embodiments of it, we're just borrowing some parts of your psyche for this.”
“And we have a deal to offer you” the human says.
“Which is?” I ask skeptically.
“We would rather not our world be consumed and destroyed by demons.”
“I’m not going to go and fight off the hordes of the Abyss for you.”
“Who said anything about fighting off the endless hordes?”
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“Couldn’t you just smite them and be done with it?”
“Everyone and everything has rules by which they are governed. Just as those like us enforce the rules you have to keep, there are those that enforce rules upon us.”
“Who could dictate to reality what the rules are?”
“Several things but that isn’t important. Rather than erase you, we gave you time to process what you lost. In return we want you to destroy the growing connection to the Abyss.”
“Anything else? It seems like a bad idea to do something when there is no reward for finishing it as you have already been paid in full.”
The dragon laughs before saying, “yes, especially one that you were paid before agreeing to do the work. There is also how there could be another reward in order when it is finished. Perhaps information or directions to your home plane?”
I frown, I certainly want to return back to Earth. All the luxuries of technology that are nonexistent in this world, I want them. However, I do not want to leave behind what I do like of this world. Most of my girls would cause problems if they just walked down the street. Which would cause an issue if they arrived on Earth through Ravnos Magic. I’ll need a solution to that, but I have so much to do in Althrá first. I need my elven twins back. Then there is how I still haven’t finished destroying those who attacked the Bloodclaw. . .
“I won’t be doing it anytime soon” I state and the human nods.
The dragon however says, “that is not a problem nor was it expected. Only that you close the rifts before you leave this world.”
“Why do you want this so much?”
“Simple, the plane does not want to be eaten by the Abyss.”
“I want to know just what I’ll be paid.”
“What do you want?”
I pause for a moment to think before answering, “I want information on how to do a partial planar conjunction through mana, and how to selectively teleport a large number of people across the gap between planes.”
“And what would you be doing with that knowledge?”
“Returning to my home and bringing those I care with me.”
“Our counterparts on your home plane won’t like that.”
“So? If it is done through mana I can’t be punished for it.”
The dragon laughs and then the two of them nod.
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My eyes open and I find myself in a dead waste as far as the eye can see, wood that would crumble at the slightest touch and bones in much the same condition. The only thing that breaks from this is K as she is checking me for any injuries. The air stinks of rot and death, but I barely notice it as I focus on my K.
“Sorry, I did something stupid but I’ll be alright” I manage to say even though my body is sore.
I feel her lift me up into a hug, the worry on her face falling to relief. My tail wraps around her as I hold her for a moment before the two of us get up.
“Remind me never to do something so stupid again.”
“Why? What happened to you?”
“I broke a rule I didn’t remember.”
“What rule?”
“What I did, did not seem possible to the observers.”
K doesn’t seem to quite understand what I said but she doesn’t need to understand. That and with a more detailed explanation she probably would. I glance at the sky and see it is the afternoon.
“How long was I out?” I ask as it was still dark when I collapsed.
“Most of a day. Are you sure you are alright?”
“Yes, besides we need to get back to the others. I need to have a talk with both you and Ria.”
“Is it going to include why you were eying the elves?” she asks seemingly innocent.
“Perhaps more than one talk then.”
K nods but next moment, she pulls my head down to her level and says “what is going on in your head. Tell me, why has your scent shifting so often?”
“I guess I’ll explain what has been going on with me as we walk back.”
“Good now can you go back to looking like you normally do since we aren’t going to fly back?”
I nod and return to human form while ignoring how K eyes my physical form. Rather than bring up the subject and tease her I say, “I am very quickly recovering my memories.”
“There has to be more to it than that.”
“Some but not all of it makes sense, remembering events that are impossible to occur now. I have conflicting memories of how one of my friends died. Memories of a people invading my world to get away from the demons that are invading this one.”
“Tell me about it.”
I smile, and say “knowledge of the future is a bad idea, but I can. . .”
“You were sleeping with those two elves weren’t you, and that fox?”
“Well yes, but you were first and also were the one that brought them to our bed.”
She somehow seems pleased by that sentence, even if she was also confused. “Isn’t that the reason why you are so interested in the elves too? Even after one of them treated you so poorly?”
“Yes, but to be honest Talia was a bitch to me for a bit before accepting me. She is overly protective of her sister and had trust issues.”
“Then why. . .”
“They were very affectionate after accepting me. That and they are both very beautiful, but enough on that. How about I tell you about something other than the other women that I was with.”
“But what could possibly be more interesting or important?”
I roll my eyes before tossing her a can of soda from Void Cache. To which she caught with a smile before accepting it as a bribe saying, “fine, tell me the other things about them then.”
“Oh, so you’re not going to let the topic go, are you?”
“No.”
“Fine, I’ll start with Ria since I know more about the current her than I do of Lysan and Talia. She is a two tailed kitsune that specializes in Divination and some. . ."
“What?”
“A type of magic used for detection and acquiring answers. Both times I’ve met her she was a slave, this time before she was fully broken. I don’t know what her two tails are exactly but I am fairly certain they are fire and time; the last time it was fire and light while the third tail was space.”
“How’d she get her third tail?”
“Uh, well. . .”
“Makes sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“You got an advancement in your racial class when you claimed me right?”
I nod and she continues, “Did you think that was only one way?”
“I never thought about it.”
“Well so long as the male is of a compatible race that isn’t weaker and haven’t fully matured, we get a smaller amount every time. . .”
I feel conflicted for a moment, I like how it incentivizes her to let me enjoy her more but also how my mother would call it degrading to women causes a disgust to form from the morals she instilled in me.