EPIC OF FATES: STORY OF STORIES

[Maharg67]

0027: Of Lucky Eddie and the Whirla of Fate #27

 

The three distorted mages, if one could call them such, darted back and forth, whirled crazily and made strange noises that ranged from gruesome to bizarrely beautiful. The motions were those of entities trying to express violent emotions, and other forces, driving through their bodies, as if they could do so by their very motions. Then, almost as one, they turned and faced the great horizontal wheel. Yet even then they were not still but jerked about, sometimes jumping lightly up into the air, their hands and eyes twitching wildly at times.

 

The middle one lifted his staff in the ear and cried out, in Ancient Aldmeri, his words almost lost in the sheer expanse of the vast domechamber. The tone of the voice was a distorted mess of rage, terror, pleading and other intense feelings. “Let us play the game. Let us play this Fatewheel of Random Chance. Oh Gods and Goddesses of Fate, and let us be free of this curse.”

 

The great Fatewheel began to spin, a massive as it was, at first slowly but quickly picking up speed until it was a blur of motion. It made no sound at all and then it was slowing, become less of a blur. It halted and above the very hub a range of symbols appeared.

 

With a sparkling shimmer all three of the distorted figures vanished.

 

Lucky Eddie frowned. “Well that taught us nothing much. I 'sense' that it is too dangerous to use that Fatewheel of Random Chance. I do not wish to end up as those poor entities have done.”

 

She looked thoughtful. “If only the others, I was with, had believed such a thing. I was not alone when I first came into this domechamber. The other five chose to activate the great Fatewheel and then they vanished. Very soon after that I was attacked and left encased in Preserving Jadei.”

 

=- If she speaks the truth, then anything could have happened to her companions.

 

Lucky Eddie frowned at her. “Do you speak the whole truth?”

 

“No, Little Brother, for I was too fearful to oppose SansenAshae, our big brother, who pushed all of us into doing such absurdness.” AshelAshae responded coldly, for an Aldmer. “Except that I only pretended and only spoke a false sequence of words. It would have been better if I had shown more courage. Yet my brother, our brother, is not only forceful but has much charisma, or at least he was very forceful and had much charisma. The Whirla of Fate attracts bad people and, too often, causes good people to turn bad or so I have come to believe. Yet nobody seems to know much about it except that it is some great, incredibly old artifact of amazing ability to alter reality. My whole city was created, was populated, was kept secret to find out more about the Whirla of Fate and to gain the artifact itself, if possible.”

 

Then it came to Lucky Eddie what had really happened, knowledge seemingly coming from nowhere. “It was the Fatewheel of Random Chance that punished you by preserving you in the Jadei. I do not know how I know this but it is the truth. Perhaps it is because I am a fategame-player and am linked even with this Fatewheel of Random Chance somehow.”

 

“Punished me for pretending to activate the Fatewheel with false words.” She looked bitter for a moment but then became calm again. “What has happened can not be redone. We will leave this barren place and go on seeking answers, Little Brother.”

 

Lucky Eddie nodded and the vazgen-atoma vanished, with a sparkling shimmer, and they went with it

Edited August 18, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Terminal%20Pix%201/TERMINAL-IT-Workit-00084.jpg

KEEPING IT SIMPLE DESPITE MY CHAOTIC CREATIVE NATURE

HAVE REDONE, IMPROVED THE VERY FIRST CHAPTER IF ANYBODY IS INTERESTED IN TAKING A LOOK AT IT.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0028: Of Lucky Eddie and the Whirla of Fate #28

 

They appeared in another great chamber, this one of the Aldmer Cavecity of LevaValkiRuna, and both of them were in for a surprise. There were many Aldmer active in the great cavern, with its buildings carved out of three great walls, with its rocky canals carved out of the floor, along with many other features. Yet they seemed fairly primitive and amongst them were differently dressed Ayleid, humans, orcs, lizardfolk, catfolk and even civilized looking goblins. There were also Raymar walking openly amongst the other people and this seemed to most astonish AshelAshae.

 

The vazgen-atoma had appeared in phantom form, more than invisible, and at first they observed that the cavern was multiple purpose, a busy metropolis zone, full of much activity. There was an area where an 'outdoors' market thrived. There was much activity based in the rock wall buildings, by the flow of people going in and out of them. There were odd, squat ponies that drew along two wheeled carts and small four wheeled wagons. There were, in one distant corner, chicken coops and other signs of food production. There were, in another direction, workshops and workyards.

 

One could soon note that there were clerks, priests, soldiers, laborers and many other kinds of working classifications there. Most of the goblins seemed to be soldiers but some were also laborers and even clerks.

 

There were many splashes of bright color but much more of dull color. There was very much to take into account.

 

Lucky Eddie frowned. “They have many soldiers amongst them. I 'sense' tension amongst them but not with each other.”

 

“I agree! It is incredible how those Aldmer have become adjusted to living with other peoples. The Aldmer that I grew up with, with the exception of my faction, saw other peoples as inferior. My faction has always seen others as different but equal, each people being unique in its own way. My faction considered the treatment of the Raymar to be abhorrent and were the only faction to force changes so that they were much better treated than they had been.” She gave him a curious look. “That does not explain how easily I have come to feel close to you. Something is happening here that I do not understand.”

 

The tall Aldmer woman came striding towards them, in the hooded robe of some kind of priestess, and holding a long wooden staff with much ornamentation and a series of copper rings and caps at each end. Then she was facing the vazgen-atoma as soldiers gathered behind her, some holding a kind of quasimagical gun like a crossbow with out the bow and with a circular pattern of eight small barrels. Others had quasimagical swords and other weapons, some of them identical to the ones that Lucky Eddie could gain for fategamecredit.

 

The woman spoke. “Intruders, show yourselves, and explain why you have not come openly amongst us but by stealth. I can see you.”

 

Lucky Eddie shook his head. “Clever of her to say so for though she can 'see' us we would be but a blurry set of images to her. She has the Third Eye. I suggest that we decloak the vazgen-atoma and go say hello to what might be a descendent of your people.”

 

She frowned. “Yes, yes, but I have never much liked the priestesses or priests of our people. Especially when our particular Aldmer people began to worship the madness of the Great Divine, except for my own faction who went on following another path.”

Edited August 19, 2012 by Maharg67

[grannywils]

Marharg67, thank you for your stories. They are always fun and enjoyable to read. I have so much admiration for those who have the imagination to create whole worlds and characters the way that you do.

 

Thank you.

[Maharg67]

Thank you for your positive feedback, grannywils.

 

0029: Of Lucky Eddie and the Whirla of Fate #29

 

The tall woman smiled when she saw the vazgen-atoma become visible and then looked relieved as if she feared something far worse might appear.

 

=- You have gained 1.000fgc plus a bonus of 1,000fgc for unstated reasons. You have gained four fategame-points plus a bonus of one fategame-point. You still have the spinling and the followers. Do you plan to do anything with them? How you use your fategame resources has an impact on your rewards and, yes, punishments.

 

LE Activate the four hulknoids, and one simulicant, into the special chamber of the vazgen-atoma. Is there anything useful they can do there?

 

=- The hulknoids could be sentries and be prepared to assist you or the simulicant. I suggest you put the simulicant in charge as she is far more intelligent than the hulknoids. They will take her orders with out question if you specify it is to be so. She can find something useful to do. I will supervise her and also direct her, when I need to do so.

 

LE Please do so! Thanks!

 

=- How wonderfully polite you are, sweetie. It shall be done!

 

The two of them got out of the transformed Aldmer machine and approached the woman. She gave both of them a warm half smile, which was true warmth for an Aldmer. Then she spoke. “I, but not only I, have had visions of your coming. Welcome to FreeCity of LevaValkiRuna. We have kept out the ancient horrors, and other threats, for thousands of years and we have allowed others to take sanctuary here, to become citizens, or to dwell in the WildCity as independent factions allied to FreeCity. You, Aldmer, are from the very distant past by your appearance, body language and the emblems that you show. You, young man, are far more difficult to read but you smell odd and you have fategame-rings. I expect you are still new to the Fategame, are still in the Proving Stage, for you have not gained your fategame-bracelets yet. That only comes with the First Initiate Stage. How I know these thing is linked to something I need to show you.”

 

Her name was OpamBia, that is her common name as known to the general public, and she was Priestess of the GodGoddess. The faith of the Balances of the Way, of the GodGoddess, had converted most of the people of FreeCity and a large minority in WildCity. One did not worship the GodGoddess but one did have faith and kept faith with mind, body and spirit, that is with free actions and focused aware thinking. Feelings were important but were not to be in charge, alone, of one's actions.

 

Lucky Eddie was not sure that he believed in anything, at least not any faith. His parents had sold him and if that could happen, what was the point of faith?

 

She took them to a large chamber with a basic arrangement of display shelves and cases. It was what was in them that surprised Lucky Eddie greatly. There were items from his own world such as a can of CocaCola, an electric moped, a couple of paperback novels and even some musical DVDs. Or at least they looked as if they could be from his world but from its past. By the look of the items they came from about the 1980s and 1990s while his world was in the 2040s.

 

The big leather bound tome was on a big old wooden display shelf, slanted to better show the book cover. The title read, in glorious golden lettering, in Ancient Aldmeri Language, the following: BOOK OF TRANSLATED PARTS OF THE DAMAGED TOME; FATEGAME-PLAYERS' MANUAL. Underneath that was; AS DONE BY THE CIRCLE OF LEARNED SAGELORDS.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0030: Of Lucky Eddie and the Whirla of Fate #30

 

The book was aged and fragile. He had to wear gloves as he carefully opened up the book and examined it, page by page. Yes it was a translation of what appeared to be a damaged book of some kind. There were drawings of the original book and the language in it. The language was Esperanto, the old fashioned Internationalist Language of his own home world.

 

Lucky Eddie was not aware he could do it until he did it! That is he transduplicated the book and created two rejuvenated copies of it but it came with a bonus copy of the same book. So it was that he took one and gave the other two to the city, they now being in brand new condition. It had taken a fategame-point to carry out the transduplication so he was not so keen on doing too many of them.

 

Yet it was not just the original book that he was meant to find but a WhirlaKeys, the globe artifact sitting inside an armored glass encasement. This was something that he would not even dare to try to transduplicate or do any other foolish trickery with. As he studied the artifact, he could 'sense' how it emanated power and, more so, the promise of even greater power. It could easily lure the unwise, the cunning, the brilliant, the powerful, into doing very foolish things with the artifact. Except that Lucky Eddie found he had no interest in doing such.

 

OpamBia, the priestess, opened the case for him. “It would be a gift to us for you to take this WhirlaKey from this place. It was given over to us for safe keeping a very long time ago by a dying fategame-player. It has given us many troubles since then, tempting not only outsiders but some of our own people. Some of those stories have ended in tragedy and it is we priestesses who too often have to clean up the mess. Take the copy of the book. The dying fategame-player stated that he would return but not when. He told us to turn over the WhirlaKey to a fategame-player that seemed 'right' to do so with. His name was Graham Maharg.”

 

“The Father of Antigravity!” Lucky Eddie sounded surprised. “That is if he is the same man. A super genius emerged on our world, seemingly from nowhere, and gave us a series of important scientific breakthroughs in theory that led to a series of important new technologies such as wire-teleportation, antigravity boosters, regenerative vat treatments and... the creation of living weapons like myself. His name was Graham Maharg. He vanished as suddenly, as mysteriously, as he had appeared after he amassed a large fortune. He was the first true multitrillionaire of my world, had more wealth than many nations that each had many millions of people.”

 

The priestess indicated the Terran (Earth) objects. “He left those behind because, according to him, his TARDIS, his Time Alternates and Relative Dimensions Intrinsic to Space, was getting a little too crowded. He said they we might be interested in studying them, might learn something from them. He said he originally came from the world that they came from, a world that suffered from a terrible disaster. Our specialists did study the items and gained some knowledge from them. Yet it was this book over here that was truly disturbing to us. It was in a large box full of items and we found it only after he had died, had vanished away. I do not know if he wanted to be around when we discovered if it was in the box or he did not care if we did or not.”

 

The book was in a heavily locked and armored display case. It was in English and on the front, along with a gloriously dramatic picture of a dragon, were the following words: ADVENTURES OF TAMRIEL: GAMING MANUAL FOR A DICE AND FIGURES ROLE PLAYING GAME BY THE AJAX GAMING CORPORATION. Beneath that were some names and one of them was 'Graham Maharg'.

 

The Aldmer priestess smiled. “You may take what you like from this chamber. All we ask of you is that you speak with us first. I feel that we would have much to say to each other, much to learn from each other. FreeCity needs your assistance but we could also assist you in many ways.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Terminal%20Pix%201/TERMINAL-IT-Workit-new003.jpg

KEEPING IT SIMPLE DESPITE MY CHAOTIC CREATIVE NATURE

HAVE REDONE, IMPROVED THE VERY FIRST CHAPTER IF ANYBODY IS INTERESTED IN TAKING A LOOK AT IT.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0031: Of Lucky Eddie, and the Whirla of Fate #31

 

Lucky Eddie gave a brief account of his life, the events leading him to being there. When he mentioned his actual age, that is seven and a half years, the priestess smiled at him even more so. He wondered what it was about his age that older people reacted so oddly to: he continued himself to be quite adult and mature.

 

AshelAshae told her own story, much of which Lucky Eddie had not heard. There had been growing tension between her large faction, the biggest in the cavecity of LevaValkiRuna, and the other three major factions. The smaller factions had mostly sided with that of AshelAshae's people because they got a better deal with them. All of the others had begun to worship the Great Divine, turning against Aldmeri traditions and old faiths, being taken in by promises of power, wealth and luxuries but most of all, knowledge of the secrets of creation.

 

The priestess turned to Lucky Eddie. “The group you met were Followers of the Great Divine.” She turned to AshelAshae. “Many of the Aldmer, that you knew, had become the same.” She looked to both of them. “Now the influence of the Great Divine is spreading through this part of LevaValkiRuna. Yet nobody seems to know clearly what it is. What is well known is that the Great Divine, what ever it actually is, is after the Whirla of Fate. It is sending its followers to find it no matter what danger such a search puts them in.”

 

They brought the vazgen-atoma into the chamber and loaded everything from the chamber into it by taking it through an outer hatch into the airlock chamber and then into the bigger inside than out chamber. It was largely bare but very large. It had basic utilities in one corner area along with some furniture, fittings and decorations. They were a mixture of influences from AshelAshae's life and Lucky Eddie's life.

 

AbaLee was the simulicant, really named Aba001 but given a personal name by Lucky Eddie. She was shapeformed as a young woman, attractive and slimly muscular. There were four big, broad shouldered hulknoids of immense physical strength and endurance that were surprisingly fast and agile despite their appearances. They were soon named SamSpade, SameHeart, SameDiamond and SamClub, the four liking their names as AbaLee liked hers.

 

Lucky Eddie wanted to zip around on the electric moped but there was work to do. He had gone from his 'Proving Stage' into his First Initiate Stage. Around each of his wrist appeared a fategame-bracelet with some subtle appearing but important physical features. From then on he was to automatically earn 0.01 fategamecredit per second, that is one fategame-credit every 100 seconds. That was along with other fategame-credit that he earned in bursts of thousands. Every 10,000 seconds he earned a fategame-point automatically.

 

He materialized a fair sized amount of concentrated healing serum for the people of FreeCity. They had been attacked by daedra serving Killogic Dagon, by fanatical followers of the Great Divine, by raiders from WildCity and by threats that they could not identify clearly. The healing serum was much needed and most welcome.

 

The two Aldmer women spent some private time speaking with one another. Lucky Eddie checked over the big-little chamber, as he called it, with its main features in one corner. It was lit through out and had much potential. There was also a comforting radiance about the place, a slow healing influence, that surprised and amazed him. Thus he came to a decision.

 

The Aldmer women returned to him and when he made his proposal to the priestess she hugged him strongly to herself. Embarrassed, he hugged her back and wondered why she seemed sad.

[Maharg67]

0032: Of Lucky Eddie, and the Whirla of Fate #32

 

Another surprise that came to Lucky Eddie, about the big-little chamber, was that time passed twice as quickly inside the chamber as it did outside. That meant those who need to heal would do so in relatively quicker time. Work projects could also be carried out in quicker time.

 

They brought onto the ship over a hundred people. Fifty of them were vulnerable, were very sick or very young or very old or otherwise needed sanctuary. FreeCity was running out of resources. The other fifty freefolk were semiskilled workers, scholars, skilled artisans, healers, carers, relatives of the first fifty and others who were needed. Many resources were brought in for the projects.

 

Lucky Eddie knew he had to leave soon. He had a WhirlaKey now and it was drawing him, in a fashion almost impossible to explain even to himself, towards another destination. He supposed that it would be in the mountain, either in the cavecity or close to it. Perhaps he would end up meeting with the first group that he had encountered.

 

He began to make preparations for departure.

 

AshelAshae looked troubled as she spoke. “Lucky Eddie, I have to remain here to reveal to my people here much of Aldmer culture, history and knowledge that they have lost. I feel bad to abandon you like this but I have my honorary duty to keep to my people. About the vazgen-atoma?”

 

“It is yours! I must go alone, anyway. I can teleport more easy that way. There are things here that I wish I could take with me.” He looked around. “But I am not sure how.”

 

=- Fategame-bracelets! You can take and store, in a special way, much more now including all the items that Graham Maharg left to FreeCity and other items such as books.

 

He found that he was troubled with emotions at the very idea of leaving AshelAshae. He made a whole lot of items vanish and then materialized a mixture of equipment and supplies. Everything that he did helped in that it hopefully shifted the balance of positive versus negative outcomes for the future of FreeCity.

 

She was still his 'older sister' and the priestess asked him to return as soon as he could for his sake, not the sake of FreeCity and those in it. Lucky Eddie was puzzled by this request, he had never been wanted by anybody but by the Academy in general and some people in the Academy. His parents had sold him, had never come looking for him, as far as he knew. It was an odd feeling to be earnestly asked to return and for his own sake.

 

He ended up taking the hulknoids and the simulicant with him, realizing that he would need them in E-storage while those he left behind had plenty of people to help them do things. That was because he never knew when he might need their assistance. While they were in E-storage, the entities were also in super virtual reality realms training, relaxing and doing other things to meet needs and wants. He left some work with the simulicant to do for him.

 

Dressed in a general disguise of a Tamrielic human, with a good deal of equipment and supplies both on him and in special storage, with other resources to call upon, Lucky Eddie prepared to depart.

 

There was a celebration of a small feast, some entertainments provided by local dancers and musicians, a quick tour of part of FreeCity and some small, precious gifts given over to him. He examined them in turn and found himself to be very pleased. Lucky Eddie was embarrassed by being hugged, and kissed, a few times. Then he departed, vanishing with a sparkling shimmer.

[Maharg67]

0033: Of Lucky Eddie, and the Whirla of Fate #33

 

Lucky Eddie was in the Imperial City of the Empire. He appeared in a large basement of a fairly simple house in the harbor area of the metropolis where it faced the Ring Sea that surrounded the Imperial City Island and the Imperial City itself. He was not surprised, somehow, when he found that the house already belonged to him, along with the property it was on and what was inside it. There was a basic mixture of moderately expensive fittings, furniture and decorations.

 

Cyrodiil had a large population, by Imperial standards. Most of it was in theory of the Imperials but, in practice, was more of the commoners who were known as Cyrodilins. The Imperials had long become an elites minority of the major human race of Cyrodiil while most were commoners, or Cyrodilins. The Imperials dominated the Imperial City where all but the lowest levels of working folks were Imperials; the others were mostly Cyrodilins but there were other human races and other species.

 

The basement was large and was still basically fitted, furnished and set out as an alchemist laboratory and artisan workshop. It had also been a placing of experimenting with magic of varied kinds. There were some discarded items such as damaged books, some tools and some basic weapons. He materialized some useful items from food rations to blankets, parchment sheets and a few other. He went over the house with a lighter search the first time.

 

In the light of a single small lamp he ate a meal and drank both water and very warm cofii. Already he found he was missing the company of his 'Older Sister'.

 

=- The house has only basic furniture, fittings and decorations but it has been abandoned for some months though my sensors indicate some folks have been sheltering here illegally.

 

Lucky Eddie had come to realize that he really did not think too heavily about the deeper meanings of life, about the complexities of his life but now he found himself doing so. He was trying to patch together the experiences of his life on his home world, the experiences in this other world and all of the knowledge that he had gained. He was not doing a very good job of it, was getting some what confused.

 

A mouse scampered across the floor and vanished into a small hole at the base of a wall.

 

=- This area of the Imperial City is where Cyrodilins, orcs, lizardfolk and catfolk dwell but also visitors and others who have failed to gain accommodation in the finer parts of the city because they are not Imperials.

 

The Imperial Government was based firmly in the Imperial City as were the Imperial Grand Guilds, the Imperial Templedom of Divinity and other powerful Imperial institutions controlled and run by Imperials. The trouble was that the Imperials were increasingly more isolated from the rest of the Empire and suffering from growing corruption, inefficiency, elitism and other problems. Emperor Uriel Septum VII had been fighting hard against such internal threats to the Empire, had brought in some quite effective reforms through imperial edicts that could not be ignored, but the problems kept getting worse.

 

One of the damaged books was titled A GUIDE TO THE IMPERIAL CITY. It was a little out of date by Imperial standards, that is over twenty years old, but it appeared to be a good indicator of what was going on in the city. As he studied the book he wondered, yet again, why he had been brought to the Imperial City and why it was that a house was waiting for him the way it was. Would this sort of thing be always happening to him as a fategame-player?

 

=- Most likely, sweetie, most likely!

Edited August 20, 2012 by Maharg67