EverEpic

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 4.1[8]

Lunch was had with his family, except for his older sister who went to the local town of Hopeville, that the estate bordered the far edges of. Samson had given mother $500 in cash and Salisha did not bother to ask questions. Sasha, the older sister, would pay off some family debts at various shops and other places.

$500 was a good deal of money, though not a fortune, with the average wage being around $150 a week and the basic wage being $50 a week. Many things were fairly cheap but too many things were expensive to buy for most people. The TriImperial Economy was not in a bad way but neither was it doing well, generally. It was doing okay in the Hopelands.

With cats, dogs and other animals around him, Samson tended to his gardens. The estate grew much of its own food but it was typical Estatefolk stuff. He was doing some experiments with growing other kinds of plants for food, medicines and other reasons. He also played with the animals, fussed over them and checked over some who were sick.

Samson healed a black short haired cat of arthritis and fixed the partial blindness of a small poodle dog. Many of the unwanted local animals ended up living with him, under his care. He did some odd jobs and cleaning.

As it grew darker he could better see the three moons in the sky being the big red one named Sapphirena, the middle white one named Luna, and the small green one named Emeralda. The big one really did have a sapphire red colour to it at times as the small one had an emerald greenness to it. Before the Breaking there had only been one moon, being Luna.

Dinner was a quiet affair with Samson getting the others to try some of his more exotic berries. The others were reluctant, at first, to try non traditional foods but enjoyed the berries with cream. They had mostly Estatefolk traditional stuff including buttered sourbread buns, roasted chicken and other including bowls of dried fruits in thin fruit juice.

Father, his name being Samuel, did not return home in time for dinner but that was quite typical.

After dinner they played a family type card game that also involved the rolling of dice and the use of plastic $coins. The women spoke of local gossip, from the estates and the city along with other areas.

It was after that when Samson quietly passed out $300, that is $50 for the private spending of his mother, two sisters, auntie and two first cousins. They were happy with him, of course, and he got hugged and kissed.

He was standing out in a semi-enclosed balcony, looking out at the sky, when his mother came and stood beside him. The stars had changed, in the skies, when the Breaking took place. It was said by astronomers that there were more of them, and other objects in the sky, after the Breaking took place.

She smiled at him but he knew that she was concerned about something. Then she spoke. “I can just glimpse the rings on your fingers just as I can sometimes glimpse other shapeforms when I look at you. I do not know what the rings are or signify but there are legends of such.”

Edited May 15, 2013 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 4.2(9)

 

Samson shrugged. What is important is that I can help the family and family estate along with myself and others. What legends?

 

Salisha paused, noticeably, before answering. "There is a legend of the Fatelords, who first came to the world after the Breaking. They like to meddle in mortal affairs, those greater immortals, but in a particular manner as with the Fategame. Their intervention led to the rise of the TripleEmpire and the lesser immortals who rule the TripleEmpire as the TriDynasties."

 

"Very good that you know such things, mother, except you are not really my mother and I doubt that she would know of such. Most Estatefolk are not keen in knowing much outside of our own limited world." He noted her knee length silken dress. "Your dress is very lovely but not quite correct for Estatefolk noblewomen to wear. This is a test of some kind!"

 

Salisha smiled, shimmered, and was not Salisha any more. The redhead was beautiful, hard, with sharp green eyes and a leathery outfit that was tight and immodest. There was something about her that was quite familiar.

 

She smiled. "You do not know me and yet you are so much involved with my existence. I am Rhonda Rhodes made real. I have flowed out of your pages and I have become real. I am here to serve you. You find me attractive, I know it; I would be your lover companion, if you would want me."

 

Yes! Samson smiled. "Of course! He had the Estatefolk sense of practicality in such matters. I take it you have special abilities as the fictional character has along with some others."

 

Rhonda smiled back. "Yes! You lack ego for an Estatefolk man!"

 

He shrugged. "The events of my eleventh year took much of that away but not all. I did not create you and you are not my fictional character of Rhonda Rhodes but I need you. If you are anything like my character, you know a great deal about the TripleEmpire and its workings, you have connections, you have special resources."

 

Rhonda stood in her tight black leathers and shook her head. "Not as many as your fictional character but I am working hard on the matter, along with others. You are of the Fategame, you earn Fatecredit with every passing second and you can convert that Fatecredit into resources for my use. I recommend that you do so."

 

Other: "I agree. You have gained a bonus of Fatecredit 10,000. Each Fatecredit becomes one TriImperial Dollar. I suggest that you give over $10,000 to Rhonda Rhodes for she will be able to work wonders with those monies."

 

Samson: "Make it $20,000! Will it go to her as cash or into a bank account? I suggest half each. I will tell her. There will be more to come along with other resources."

 

Other: "No need for I am communicating with her. You can both communicate telepathically through myself. This can be done in future but not all the time and not constantly so please use this option with care. It takes energy and effort from yourself; it can also take Fatecredit if you use the communications too often."

Edited May 15, 2013 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 4.3(10)

Rhonda smiled, took his hand and found a nice niche to have privacy in. They made love but were soon joined by a couple of cats who sat around grooming or sleeping.

They did some fight practice, yoga and other exercises. He was very good but she was better; she was not too hard on him but he was humbled a little. Yet he learned, improved, very quickly.

They also played three games of FateLaraza at low level for the game could be played at three levels of intensity. The 'Other' was the referee and had the cards moved for 'her'. Rhonda won all three of the games but Samson improved swiftly along the way. The last session was a tough one. Samson did not question why he was being pressed to play FateLaraza because he 'sensed' it was important that he do so and improve his ability with it.

They stood together on a small area of battlements, mostly hidden from others, and conversed with each other.

They looked out over a large area of estate, that was actually only a small part of the total estate. There were semiwilderness gardens that were used to grow a wide variety of stuff, sturdy cottages with their own small walled yards, other buildings and even a temple complex long ago walled off from the rest of the estate.

Rhonda shook her head in wonder. "Amazing to think that this estate is over 1,000 years old."

"Over 1,400 years old. There was a castle here that was largely destroyed and then mostly replaced with the fortified mansion. Part of that castle makes up the mansion." Samson frowned. "I love this mansion, these lands, but there is a darkness here that needs to be dealt with, that needs to be cleansed. I do not know how I know this but I have certainty when it comes to this issue. Too long has the Foremale Family failed to confront the truth of its past."

Rhonda smiled. "The last few centuries seem to have been quiet."

He turned to her. "Only on the surface. Please be careful while on this estate and in this mansion."

At that the young woman nodded. "Of course, sweetie, of course!"

When Rhonda Rhodes departed she did so with some small, but valuable artworks that he had done or owned privately. She would sell them and use the earnings to serve him and to get herself some income. She vanished with amazing speed, grace and agility.

Edited May 16, 2013 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 5.1(11)

He woke up after a dreamless sleep, a gift when it came to him for he had nightmares on many nights. He was only glad that he did not seem to need as much sleep as most humans did but he found himself drawn to doing a fair amount of different kinds of meditation.

He had ended up giving over some of the vouchers, and the TriImperial Postal Cheque, to Rhonda Rhodes along with what he had already given over to her. He had strong confidence in her ability to do far more with such resources than he could.

Mother brought breakfast to him but, pale faced, she also brought terrible news. Father had been murdered in an amazingly brutal fashion, his body literally torn apart. He had been found in a long abandoned, half wrecked minor temple by some archaeological students from the Hopeville University. Both of the students were being treated for shock but the Sheriff's people, and other locals, were also disturbed though the area had known other such incidents. For monsters sometimes came down from the Jagged Mountains, slipping passed The Bladeguardia to do so.

It was a mystery that Samuel Foremale had been found there, of all places, and that he had been killed in the middle of the night or so the Sheriff's forensic people calculated. The nature of the death, or its unnatural form, was also a great mystery. There had been no reports of incidents closer to the Jagged Mountains, which normally happened if a rogue creature was coming from there.

As for the temple, it was from the Dark Troubles following the Breaking and before the rise of the TripleEmpire. It was a very nasty cult that had built the temple and had worshipped in it, using human and nonhuman sacrifices to please their demonic lords. The locals had put them to death by burning and had smashed the temple by holy magic or so said the legend story of that place and its history. That was back when the region was known as the Darklands instead of the Hopelands, the renaming taking place as the TriImperial Legions swept into the area. They had been supported by other TriImperial Forces.

His mother sat on a chair and spoke with concern showing in her voice. “The Hopeville Sheriff's Office will want to talk with you about this. This is good because it will clear your name. You can not get out of the mansion, let alone the estate, thanks to the emblem buried inside your chest, so how could you kill anybody out in the wilds.”

Aaahhh, yes, the Burning Stone. After the emblem had been buried in his chest, a painful process, they had shown him what would happen if he tried to go against it. After feeling like he was burning alive for some minutes, they dragged him back into the 'non burning zone'. He still had some desire to hurt badly those who had decided to do that to him.

Samson sighed. “Mother, I have not turned into a monster since I was found becoming a human again in that temple. The Burning Stone stops that from happening, or so the mage told me that put it into my body with apparently some pleasure for himself. One day I will discover his identity and learn why he made sure that I suffered as I did.”

“What if the 'mage' is a very powerful man who wanted you to suffer for personal reasons?” Salisha responded. “The Foremale Family is powerful, influential, wealthy but nothing compared to the Grand Estate Families of the Hopelands.”

Edited May 16, 2013 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 5.2(12)

“I figured that it must have been somebody powerful, influential and wealth of our folks. Even with all of his disguises with a black hooded robe, a mask and strange shoes, the body language and poorly disguised voice gave him away.” Samson suddenly laughed sourly. “The shoes actually gave him away as being Duncan Rammington. Only a fool like Duncan Rammington would wear shoes to such an event of a kind only he likes to wear in this whole area. I recognised his voice.”

His mother frowned softly. “The Rammingtons lost some influence, thanks to the Five Falcons Scandal, but they still have a good deal of sway in the Hopelands, especially amongst the Estatefolk. They will be pushing the idea that you had to have something to do with the death of your father because of the estrangement between you two.”

Samson responded dryly. “We never became estranged, mother. As you well know he was not my biological father. He was never faithful to you but the hypocritical fool had his fragile ego hurt when he found out that my biological father was another man.”

Salisha showed puzzlement on her face and in her voice. “How did you know about your father?”

Samson shrugged. “I 'sensed' the truth and his attitude supported the idea. I do not know how he discovered the truth.”

“It is not the whole truth for you had two biological fathers and Samuel was one of them. That is why you looked like each other to a great extent.” She rose to her feet. “I have much to do. Is there anything else that you want?”

“I want access to more areas of the mansion but most of all to the main library to do some studies there. For the sake of my future, for the family, I need to learn more.” He shrugged. “I would like to do some artworks of graceful, attractive, nudes that sell very well.”

She smiled. “I will send up one of the housemaids. They all seem willing to do such things for you, my son, perhaps too willing. Still, if you were to impregnate one of them you would gain status in the eyes of many Estatefolk men.”

Samson snorted with derision. “I will have a child only if I can love and care for it as its true legal father. Those Estatefolk men can go to hell!”

Salisha smiled some more. “Very good! Do not be like your father, Samuel, or other men like him.”

Edited May 16, 2013 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 6.1(13)

The murder scene was a bloody horror that even hardened locals had found hard to face. Sheriff Adam Sinclain stood in blue civil fatigues, that is military fatigues dyed blue, and wrote something in his thick, slightly dented and dirty, hand-journal. His police helmet was a blue painted soldier's helmet but such were only worn in some cases. He was armed with both a heavy revolver-pistol and a big knife, both at his thick belt.

Sinclain was tall and muscular, a skilled fighter, a good detective who had experienced a good deal of violence. Yet he found himself unnerved in that ancient, monstrous temple despite electric lamps being placed around the area along with armed Sheriff's Deputies. Forensics had come and gone, only to return to do some more checking. This time they were seeking the 'paranormal' and were being assisted by a mage who wore items to disguise her identity.

The mage spoke with a disguised voice, using mysterious means to do so. “This was no mutant, from the Jagged Mountains, but something very nasty summoned from another plane of existence. It is demonic, that is clear, but with the amazing range of demonic entities that exist, that is not much help.”

A greasy faced, bearded man spoke, in an expensive silken casual suit. He was Duncan Rammington and he wore a pair of strange black shoes of an exotic design that was quite disconcerting. His voice sounded aggressively arrogant and condescending. Duncan Rammington was not a much liked man and had a great many enemies even by Estatefolk standards. “So you can link this with that monster, Samson Foremale.”

The mage paused before responding. “For the fifth time, no I can do no such thing. I was one of three mages that investigated the temple massacre and Samson Foremale himself. Samson Foremale has no link with this murder as far as I can find with my specialised abilities.”

Duncan snorted. “That is enough evidence to have Samson Foremale put into an asylum or even executed.”

Rammington's statements were not only legally false, they seemed to be quite removed from any reality.

Sinclain spoke quietly but his voice carried anyway. “Rammington, if you are not gone in the next couple of seconds I am going to charge you with hindering a crime investigation and have you publicly dragged off to the Sheriff's Office in Hopeville.”

Duncan Rammington scowled at both the mage, and the sheriff, then stormed off as if he was innocent and being unfairly harassed.

The tall man grimaced. “He gets more insane with each passing day.”

The mage shook her hooded head. “Duncan Rammington is willingly possessed. I will need to call the CrystalMages to a gathering to investigate him. The strange shoes he wears are encrusted with dark demonic symbols and patterns and yet I have never seen them on shoes before. Most strange! I had heard of the shoes but this is the first time I have met that man and got to actually be closer to him and his footwear. It was not a pleasant experience.”

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 6.2(14)

One of the worst traits of the Estatefolk, especially the Estate Families, was an obsession with secrecy. Add to this the, too often, dark history of the Estatefolk and it became difficult for anybody to know that dark threats existed let alone deal with them.

The CrystalMages, faithful to GodGoddess and the HolyLight, had been trying to fight the cults, and other dark supernaturalism, hidden amongst the Estates. They had been attempting to do so for centuries including before the TripleEmpire was even known of in the Hopelands, then known as the Darklands.

The sheriff responded. “Possession, willing or not, is not the responsibility of the Sheriff's Network but I will assist you as much as I can.”

The mage used gloved hands to take some softly glowing crystals out of a robe pocket and then she carefully sprinkled them over the murder scene. They dropped amongst the blood and gore left behind now that the actual body had been removed. As she did, the CrystalMage spoke a beautifully elegant string of words that asked for the HolyLight to bring clarity to what had taken place there.

The mage stepped back, as did the sheriff, as images formed briefly in the air. They were stark, clear at times and blurred at others, being accompanied by the horrific sounds of a terrible murder. A great red coloured demonic creature tore apart Samuel Foremale with ruthless efficiently, great hard claws and teeth ripping into him with terrible speed. The man must have been dead in a short time, his screaming in terror and agony being quickly cut off. Then the images were gone, along with the sounds.

The mage sounded a little tired for such work took precious energy. “That was a middle-high level demon type known as a razorbuz or, in plural, razorbi. They are often used by higher demonic kind to punish lesser demons or mortals who have tried to cheat them. With mortals the normal reason for such is the mortal's cheating on a blood contract. That does not automatically mean Samuel Foremale was killed for breaking a blood contract.”

Sheriff Adam Sinclain looked thoughtful and after a noticeable pause he spoke. “He was just the sort of man who was so over confident of his cleverness, and luck, that he would undertake a blood contract and then cheat on it. Most likely he would be thoughtless and so null void the contract. Question is, why would any higher demonic entity bother to form a blood contract with such a fool?”

The mage responded. “The one big factor, that I am drawn to, is his son, Samson Foremale, who supposedly killed over 300 people in just over two hours.”

The sheriff nodded. “Inside the ancient temple! I was just a senior deputy back then but I was part of the investigation team that first went into the site along with TriGuards and a few others. It was just like this scene but a lot worse.”

“I know, sheriff, for I was there also and what I 'sensed' was far more horrific than anything the standard senses could pick up.” The mage replied with a heavy voice. “The use of those crystals was costly, in more than one way, but very worth the expenditure.”

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 6.3(15)

Sinclain shuddered softly. “I do not like dealing with the demonic. Muties are bad enough and those abomibeasts but at least they are mortal, in their twisted way.”

“Oh, those poor creatures only struggle to survive under harsh conditions.” The mage turned and looked into the dark depths of the temple. “I need to do a careful search of this place but I do not want a lot of people blundering around to mess up clues. Anyway this temple is dangerous in more than one way.”

The sheriff nodded. “I will see what I can do, Patty.”

“Somehow I am not surprised that you should have picked up on my identity.” The mage responded quietly. “You Sinclains have always had a fairly strong streak of the mage in you.”

The sheriff nodded. “There is also the fact that you forgot to change your own shoes into your mage boots and I know those ones quite well.”

The mage sighed. “Aaahhh, yes, I was in a hurry to get here. I must take more care from now on.”

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 7.1(16)

The rest of that day Samson meditated in the walled garden with the company of cats, dogs, birds and other animals. Cats, and small dogs, took turns sleeping in his lap and often there was at least one bird perched on a shoulder.

As he sat meditating, at first Samson experienced only normal meditational states of calmness and letting go. Buddhism was surprisingly strong in parts of the Hopelands, at least the Estatelands part of them, and he had learned meditation from both monks and nuns. A Buddhist priest would sometimes come and visit him as would a priestess of the TripleDivine Faith of the TripleEmpire, based in the grand TriTemple in TriImperiarna.

Then he found himself calmly reviewing recent events in a quiet fashion just placidly going over matters.

There had been the horrific, amazingly vivid dream.

Then he had woken to find one Fatering on each middle finger of each hand. Except nobody else had even glimpsed them except for Rhonda Rhodes.

The 'Other' had begun to speak to him in his own mind, advising him at times.

He had learned about the Fatecredit that he gained per second.

He had gained the grey envelope of important items, nearly all of them being of standard nature of that world.

One of his fictional characters, Rhonda Rhodes, had appeared to him physically but the person was not really Rhonda Rhodes. This 'materialised' Rhonda Rhodes had begun to assist him in important ways after he passed some valuable resources to her.

Once again he realised he was taking strange events with odd calmness and he wondered why but then again just accepted it once more.

He considered the fact that many powerful factions were eager to take over the Foremale Estate.

Samson remembered, vaguely, the great massacre of over 300 people in the temple. They had found him, a naked eleven year old covered with blood and gore, sleeping curled up on a stone platform. Blood was found under his fingernails, toenails, and in his mouth. Upon waking he vomited up human blood and flesh along with bits of human bone.

He returned to just meditating and as he did he found himself floating 'outside' of himself, above the estate grounds and in doing so he was above the strange temple that was long abandoned, long isolated from the rest of the estate by high walls. It came to him that the temple was a dark place of darker histories, a landmark that made him most uncomfortable. It was not the place where he had killed many folks but it was linked to it somehow though he did not know how it was.

Then he returned to normal sitting meditation.

Edited June 16, 2013 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 8,1(17)

Rhonda Rhodes sat in a small coffee cafe in Hopeville, where she could see anybody approaching her, and with a black briefcase on the booth table before her. She was dressed attractively, a little sexy but far from over the top. She was in the city and not in the Estates so folk there tended to be more modest in their ways, at least on the surface.

The cafe was very old with hard wooden booths, odd patterns carved into the plastered walls and exotic wall tapestries. The Hopelands had many coffee plantations and coffee was very popular along with being heavily entrenched into the culture.

A young bustling waitress brought her coffee and got tipped 50c for doing so. Rhonda bought also some butter-biscuits of a kind favoured through out the Hopelands. The trick was to dip them quickly into the coffee, which she did.

Being very attractive, Rhonda drew a good deal of attention, but she did not respond greatly to it, not even flirting lightly with any of the men or women. She had a task to carry out and did not want anything, or anybody, getting in the way.

None were near enough to see her clearly or what was happening in the booth.

The skinny middle aged man sat down in the booth opposite of her in his middle class clerical outfit of bowler hat and suit, all of it being black. He smiled at her with cool eyes and pale skin. Then he placed his own briefcase on the table, it looked identical to hers.

They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.

Then he stood up, taking her briefcase with him, and was soon gone. She slipped his briefcase over to herself, opened it easily as others would not have been able to do, and looked inside. It seemed to be empty but, oddly enough, she smiled as if pleased by what was there. Then she closed and relocked the briefcase.

After that Rhonda finished the strong delicious coffee and the butter-biscuits. There was still much more to do but she had time enough to relax for just a short while.