Game Epic of Stories

[Maharg67]

Zero [19][105]

 

Life? If even a Divine tried to create life using divine magical painting, what would the results be?

 

There is life, death, undeath, unlifen, living-death and 'dead-life' to choose from.

 

What is dead-life? What could the dead-living be?

[Maharg67]

Three 7.1[10][106]

Lucky Eddie's quest, to save Jadekia and Shaekia, was no longer viable; anyway it had been no more than an attempt to create a diversion from the truth that the Eternal Champion needed no such help. Such elaborate tricks were necessary because powerful, subtle, complicated dark mentalities were constantly at work in subversive ways; limited paranoia was just common sense.

Through the True Eternius, linking many True Eternals in a secondary fashion through a central mentality, he had gained disturbing news of vast, sudden, shifts in reality in the Painted Realm of Realms. Kayriel had been generally less effected than Magariel, which had been a quite accurate copy of the real Tamriel, but any such changes were sharply focused in a few areas. The capital city, and its territories, were not touched except for the city itself developing, changing, to create a set of domes and slope fronted ring-walls. Heavy cannon emplacements, and even turrets, faced outwards.

Necrotropolis, the horror city that was in Magariel, was also in an isolated area of Kayriel. The coordinates of both were exact as if the bizarre city existed in more place than one. The living-dead no longer needed to create a bridgehead into Kayriel, or Magariel, from where ever they were coming from. The name 'Necroriel' was becoming more commonly used for the supercontinent of living-death, if it was all filled with living-death.

Refugees, military forces, and others had been abandoning areas since the living-death incursions had begun into Kayriel. Then the strange UmbTek humans had come and gone, along with their humake servants and strange technologies. They had mad very little impact in the longer term except for stories that one group had escaped from their masters, who they hated, and had met with the Kayriellan Empress herself.

"The moon of Masser, and submoon of Secunda, are the same above all such realms as Magariel and Kayriel." The Eternal Seeker was speaking to a some Bladers and locals of different peoples. "I can not tell you where I have gained my information from."

The Eternal One stood there, almost as if he had always been there, but was not holding glowing paintbrushes this time. He spoke. "The changes were necessary, were already made, fate flowing as it does to a necessary non ending. The twisting of things need to be both twisted more and untwisted. Painting, repainting, some paint stripping, some layering and watering down, what more does one want or need?"

The Eternal Seeker turned and smiled. "As always I am glad to be with you."

The Eternal One nodded. "Yes, as always, I am glad to be with you also though ever driven by currents of existence, non existence and maybe existence. Orbis is active, has come, is coming, is to come!"

Lucky Eddie nodded. "Do the Bladers know, along with the others of them?"

The Eternal One turned to the nearest Blader. "Sweetest clones, you together are the Eternal Many, the Eternal Mass, also known as the Eternimass."

[Maharg67]

Three 7.2[11][107]

The Blader nodded solemnly. "We are very good, of course! This only makes us better."

The Eternal One nodded back, in the same fashion. "Of course! There is a pair of elderly courtiers, once in the Imperial Court of Tamriel but now in the Imperial Court of Magariel. They are more than they seem."

The Blader nodded. "Yes, True Eternals of some kind, who are very kind and who know just how to treat network-clones like us Eternimass and Baurus. We have not named them and they have not named themselves to us."

The Eternal Seeker smiled. "They are both aspects of the Eternal Healer ever seeking to heal the CloneEmperor as you, Eternimass, have been doing in your own way. The Eternal Healer has also been assisting you, Eternimass. We ask Eternimass to start sending very small parcel-canisters, and special message-capsules, between yourselves. Baurus is of the Eternimass now. You were diverted, transformed, for special reasons and by the combined efforts of many True Eternals and yet others inexplicable or best kept unnamed for now."

The Eternal One smiled. "They know, sweetest brother, that others intervened and were such as the Divinities of the real Mundus, the Orbis and the Lords-Ladies of the Light."

Yes, the real Mundus containing the real Nirn containing the real Tamriel. There the moons were 'normal' as Mundus could ever get and there were two moons along with two semimoons. The undead were very few in number, the unlifen the same and the living-dead non existent. There were no 'dead-living' though plenty enough of the restless dead in some places. The Septim Empire thrived under the rule of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. Soulstones, and soulstone magics (narcane and necromancy), were banned through out the Empire and in some other places. Generally speaking, arcane magic was strong there, elemental magic only a thing of the wildfolk, and divine magic of the Divine Orders was only moderate in strength. There were the Thirteen Divinities that included the Nine Grand Divines but not the Subdivines, Semidivines and Demidivines. There were also the mediate and lesser divinitors. The Daedra were the Thirty-Three Grand Daedra and many mediate plus lesser daedra. Grand Daedra were Twenty Daedric Princes, Ten Daedric Dukes along with one Queen, one King and deeply mysterious Daedradia said to be of exotic nature even by daedric standards. There were other deities but they commonly had obscure links with either the Divines, the Grand Daedra or both. It was said that the Divines (Aedra) were a mirror reflection of the Daedra, and visa-versa, but many considered this to be a simplistic view.

 

Around them stretched a Dragonthroneroom complete with an unused Dragonthrone. The skeletal remains, of the last Emperor, were still in the Dragonthrone where he had been killed by his daughter, who then became Empress. Why she had done so was a puzzle to most but her father had been a greedy, ruthless, tyrant who had treacherously dabbled in the arts of darkest magic. Why the Empress had failed to take the Dragonthrone was explained by the sudden troubles with the living-dead and the UmbTek humans.

 

The Grand Imperial Palace, of the People, was scattered with dead bodies and other evidence of savage fighting. The large expeditionary group had been looting what they could, with the official permission of the Empress, and was gaining much of value; that was weapons, tools, books, maps, magical devices and much else but mostly supplies from magical preservation chambers.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Three 7.3[12][108]

Kayriellan steam technologies had shifted to become forms of steammagic or sparkmagic with the common use of both of these together. Airships, steamships, trains, cranes, lorries, big legged mech-walkers, biplanes and much more were the technological backbone of not just the Commonwealth Empire but nations across Kayriel. In the palace were found many good examples of these and they were going to be used.

 

It was pathos to see the destruction, the abandonment, of such a fine appearing structure and yet the palace had become a place of dark secrets, of many other crimes against people including torture, rape, dungeon imprisonment and murder under the rule of the last Emperor.

 

It was then that a small, child like, creature ran out into the room and halted with a surprise on his small, chubby muscular, face. It was a neobaby, being a child that never grew up physically but who otherwise changed mind-body-spirit wise. It looked panicky, went to run, and then the filthy figure was shimmering softly. Seconds later the small one was clean, in clean new clothes, was happily peacefully chewing on a bit of fruit and was in the Eternal One's arms.

 

The Eternal One pointed to the Dragonthrone. "That is not a True Dragonthrone. As I had begun to suspect, it is a dark thing of gruesome design and intentions. The Emperor was its prisoner, its puppet, and was little more than a mindless flesh puppet when the real Empress mercy killed it. The Empress, that most Kayriellans assume is the real one, is a living-dead fake. The real Empress is to be found here, in this palace, and is not in a great condition. Follow me and bring a large group with many resources. We will need to get through powerful restraints such as walls, doors and magical energy barriers."

 

The was made up of the True Eternals, Bladers and locals. It found a secret door that led to a chamber full of trick-traps and then another secret door that led to a tunnel that led into a dangerous maze of tunnels. Deadly dark magical golems attacked and were destroyed. Another secret, heavily armored and warded door, was opened.

 

The Empress was sitting on the real Dragonthrone, was a smelly mess kept alive by the Dragonthrone and a loose group of odd people. There were beggars, some neobabies who were 'pet-companions' of the Empress, a couple of elite Imperial Bodyguards, a steammage, some animals and a few others. There was hunger, sickness, and other troubles but morale was surprisingly high.

 

The newcomers began, at once, to assist those in the chamber. The Eternal One, and Eternal Seeker. focused on the Empress for she was worse than the others, was dying. They soon discovered that she had been 'supporting' the others secretly with her own life energies, through the Dragonthrone, and had thus worsened her own condition.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Orbis [2][109]

 

Orbis, the Orbis, slipped across the real Mundus but in many time-places at once. Yes, the Magically Painted Realm of Realms had at first misled the Great Enemy, as it really was, and had even thwarted it. Then the Great Enemy began to threaten those false-real realms until changes began, as instigated by a very exotic union of very exotic entities who agendas were not always straight forward in mortal terms.

 

On Nirn Orbis searched for, and found, some magical paintings and the magical painting items to go with them. None were powerful, deep, enough to be create a dangerous pathway between the real Mundus and the false-real Mundus that was transforming. Transforming but why and who, what, was behind the changes?

 

Orbis skirted across three supercontinents, on Nirn, that were almost identical to Tamriel but only in general geographical terms. After that came other realms, many thought long gone but which remained such as Aldermis. At last came Tamriel and it was investigated just as carefully.

 

Yet Orbis was still in the Lunar Labyrinth of the Moon (Luna) the OldEarth (Terra).

 

Orbis was entering the Painted Realm of Realms and began to have its own unintional influences on that unstable, transforming, quasireality.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Three 8.1[13][110]

The MadEmperor was free and he gave up any title of Emperor. He contacted the CloneEmperor and informed him, who was now of full True Dragonblood, that he would be happy to support the CloneEmperor as adviser-servitor. Caula Voria, who did not need to change her name for the CloneEmpress was now Caula Glorin, Glorin being a special imperial name not always directly inherited but coming with the status of Emperor or Empress in Magariel.

The ShadowEmperor was gone, was stung somehow, had been suddenly hurled out of the WhiteGoldTower so as never to be able to return to it or to any part of the Grand United Imperial City.

Uriel Voria, taking the name of his beloved wife, was astounded by the great changes that had taken place to the False Tamriel and not just once. As he paced through hallways of the Inner WhiteGoldTower, along with an entourage of people including ImperialBlade bodyguards, he noted Grand Aldmer, and Common Aldmer, artifacts. These were found in cleverly, artistically, made wall alcoves. Most were with out magical qualities, especially those of the Common Aldmer, and those that had were of the more basic kind.

He found 'it' in an alcove, on a fancy pedestal, with no identifying language or symbols. The note, that had appeared on his personal library-study desk, had seemingly just appeared out of nowhere. It had a triangular pattern of circles, each with a number in it, going from one to 13. Below the pattern were some simple looking sums of numbers. Uriel, and Caula, Voria had worked on the problem together for she was a brilliant mathematician by Imperial standards. He had found a solution, and to his hurt pride, she had proven it to be a both a mistake and a failure to detect a 'mathematical booby-trap'. She had written out the answer that got around the trap.

There was a golden metallic pyramid, most likely of some exotic gold alloy beyond the Empire's ability to create, and a triangular formation of 13 buttons. The one at the top was golden. The three in the center were silvery. The nine at the bottom were copperish.

 

He tapped out a sequence with the gems. With a soft humming noise, the bare section of wall opposite the alcove slid back and then to one side, to reveal a hallway filled with strange darkness that kept out the light. Uriel Voria, formerly the MadEmperor, spoke. "That is a trick! In there waits death for any foolish enough to go into there."

 

The entourage stepped just a little back from the tunnel.

[Maharg67]

Three 8.2[14][111]

Uriel tapped out another sequence and the door slid back into place but then the alcove, in front of him, slid backwards and then to one side. Revealed now was another hallway but this one brightly lit by glowglobes. It looked much safer, and more welcoming, than the first tunnel had.

Uriel sighed. "That is also a death trap. The Grand Aldmer liked to work with ones, threes, nines and thirteens when it came to their more specialized, elite, workings. Yet they did not tend to do so straight forwardly when keeping secrets, and who would think them foolish for that."

Uriel counted the number of glowglobes in the lit hallway and it was nine. Then he waited until the alcove door slid back into place, once more concealing the hallway tunnel.

After that he made his way further along the main hallway and counted until he had come to nine alcoves, each with an artifact. The aimed for artifact was a basic silvery metallic figure and had a vertical row of numbers from one to thirteen, the the one being the topmost. Uriel went to press the 'nine'.

Caula Voria cried out as she ran along the hallway, followed by her entourage. "Do not press the 'nine'." She came to a fast breathing halt. "I went through the puzzle again and then I noted something." She turned the note around where one could see the pyramid, and numbers, all reversed or were matters that simple? "Look at the numbers in the pyramid."

He smiled. "They are not reversed, my beloved wife. I am glad you changed your mind."

Caula Voria blushed. "The ShadowGod threatened much and promised much but it seems that I have changed too much and love, honesty and such rubbish have addled my poor mind. Press '13'."

 

He did and the alcove section slid back and to one side. Exposed was a wall that was bare expect for a triangle formation of one to 13. Caula Voria stepped forward, quickly before anybody could stop her, and tapped out 'one to 13'. She would have died if Uriel had not risked his own life; he leapt forward and pulled both of them out of the way of a block falling down from the ceiling of the alcove.

 

Uriel sighed. "As you suspected, in risking your life to save mine, that the ShadowGod never did trust you but there is an answer, anyway."

 

He turned and walked across the hallway to a blank section of wall. There he tapped 13 times, then nine times, and last of all once. The wall rumbled softly backwards and then to one side. There was a well lit hallway, with bright glowglobes on the ceiling, but it was littered with long dead skeletal remains of Grand Aldmer. Some lay on top of others.

 

Uriel Voria frowned. "They were trying to escape, trying to get out, but obviously they did not make it. We will have this way sealed, and guarded, while we prepare a proper expeditionary group to go into this place."

Edited August 13, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Zero [20][112]

Earthriel Terran aircraft raided the GameLordic fortified outposts, the supersonic jets and hubcopters being protected by energy deflector-reflector-fields. With out them the Gameforcers would have easily zapped the aircraft out of the sky. As it was the Gameforcers' arrogance, over confidence, had many of their own machines being blasted out of the skies with adapted weapons that now could often penetrate their own DR-fields. This included Terran use of energy weapons such as pulselasers and pulseblasters.

 

The GameLords were leaving, taking their Gameforcers and other followers with them but leaving local traitors behind. Except that such as UmbTek had escaped anyway, or were escaping.

 

Magariel, and Kayriel, were becoming more like each other in magical technological terms. Across Magariel began to appear sparkmagic in its own right or to be working with steammagic. The first cartridge using guns appeared in Magariel, in the United Empire.

 

Necrotropolis emerged to exist also in an isolated part of Earthriel to show the symbols of the ShadowGod and the ShadowEmperor but also the ShadowEmpress. The same Necrotropolis was expanding across alternate 'Riel Supercontinents' of the Painted Realm of Realms. Was there more than Kayriel, Magariel, Earthriel, Necroriel and Terrariel for it to place 'bridgeheads on'?

[Maharg67]

Three 9.1[15][113]

The TC3x13A5 was transforming from within even as it hurled through a zone of confliction where magically painted reality fought to exist against pressures of 'real reality', that is the real Mundus and the real Multiverse (universality of universes). As it transformed even the True Eternals, and demigods, placed themselves in special protection chambers for their own greater safety.

They were heading for a place that only existed as a twisted reflection of the Painted Realm of Realms and which only existed because they existed. As yet it had no name or greater stability but it began to gain both for as the TC3x13A5 got closer to it, it began to have a subtle powerful influence upon it.

It was going to turn out that Humphree would have a special role to play in that other existing non existing realm that not even the True Eternals had foreseen. Yet they were well open to being surprised and thus were rarely surprised.

[Maharg67]

Note: the TC3x13A5, and those in it, do not reappear in Story Three. They do so at the Start of Story Four which is dedicated to their adventures.

 

PS: The 'Poll' weeps for it is ignored, oh misery oh misery; why are people so cruel when caring would take just a few seconds of ticking the 'Poll'.