War Without End (Council on Gralus pt.2, even longer)

[Kaiser Gaelen III]

Atos was already setting as the council convened once more. The hall was full of tired, haggard delegates and leaders; many had had very little if any sleep for the last 24 hours. Impatience, suspense and weariness weighed heavy in the air, and the Kaiser had quite respectable bags under his eyes.

In the corner of the hall, the Prophet still sat in meditation. It was hard to even notice he was there, and nobody was sure if he'd left the room at any point.

"Welcome again, everyone, " the Kaiser began. "Much has happened since yesterday's council. I'll start by going over the reports quickly.

Based on what has been told me, I can tell that all parts of our operations are proceeding more or less smoothly. Although the Arx-Piscator has not yet been pointed out to me, a representative of the Piscatores has promised the full support of the force. A detachment off the Panopticon Corps has been placed under the Blue Sun section at the MoMA. They have not reported any anomalies yet, however, Gralus is not a small place, and they have a great deal of area to sweep left. Yardistan and Kildare have come forth with what has been asked of them, too, and in Straylight, the evacuation of Blavatsky is well underway.

It also turns out that we have a great deal of aerial capacity to throw into the fray if we need. The IRS Ayreon, the Nelagan Hope, and the Erasmus plus four older model skyships have been offered up. The choice of what to do with them is complicated by problems of our internal stability... and by a revelation that you should all have been briefed about separately the Nelagan stargate.

The gate is connected to Quetzecoatopolis is astral Sypyr, Gralus. We were very recently succesful at sending in an unmanned probe through. Detailed information will be at the end of the report, but for the sake of brevity: We did not see much, but we did see that it is true that Gralus has been overrun. There were humans enslaved to some sort of a magical foe - not reflections, though, but living, walking shadows. It appears Gralan history knows these creatures too, and in fact they are an ally of the Reflections, under a leader known as Atropos. It seems likely we can also expect to see the third ally then, the Echoes.

The Shadows, based on what we know, can be fought with the simple modulation of light and darkness. They prosper in the twilight and where shadows are cast, but bright light shone upon them will damage them, and complete darkness will destroy them altogether. The solution to defending our base of operations and any vehicles we might send out against an attack by them, then, seems to consist of making sure we can produce complete darkness in any section as necessary. In other words, we need light switches, we need to break every indicator light and such thing that might sustain the shadows, and... I'm sure you get the drift and that the Duke of Straylight can take care of the practical arrangements.

The Echoes, which you'll be briefed on, are a more difficult matter. I welcome suggestions on how to deal with them other than having a lot of psychiatrists and counsellors on board.

Not only was the Nelagan stargate able to send a probe through, but it will be possible to open it properly, once, and send airships through. According to the reports of its size and structure, it won't be able to accommodate something as big and heavy as Blavatsky. We do know almost for certain, however, that the Nelagan hope will not be joining us but will be sent through the gate as soon as the Nelagans consider themselves finished with information gathering."


----------------------------------------


"If that didn't quite sink in yet, let me repeat it. We can get to Gralus. Or, rather, the Nelagans can get to Gralus. Perhaps we might be able to send one of the Monty Criscoan dirigibles through with the Nelagan hope." The Kaiser's head sank. "But that is it. Maybe it is somehow appropriate that the Nelagans head on to meet danger head-on, while we Shirithians stay on our home turf guarding against an enemy that we might never even come to meet. There is every indication that the enemy is of incredible power, and large as the Nelagan gate is, it won't be possible to send a base through it that will have the resources to truly help the people of Gralus in their plight.

It should have been implicit in the foundation of this council, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask this out loud to me sure nobody missed their chance. If anyone here knows a way for our base and strike force to enter Gralus, I command you to come out with it."

A voice was immediately heard: "Your Niftiness, I'm afraid --"

"Erol? Is that you?" The Duke of Brookshire interrupted him, speaking up with astonishment.

The man speaking looked thoroughly bland. The Kaiser was struck with the feeling he'd seen this person around the palace and in fact everywhere he went many times over the years, but couldn't quite remember what he was all about. A lower bureaucrat? No, what would one be doing in this council? An advisor to some Duke? All of the Duchal courts should have been familiar to him...

"It is me, sir."

"Well... Your Niftiness, here is the one you asked for. The Arx-Piscator. Not that I had anything to do with getting him here. I do have Piscatores in my court at the highest level, I guess that's how he got in this council without me knowing. But I am happy that you are here, Erol. Everyone, meet Erol Yastreb Ly'Piscator."

The heir of Yastreb did not wait for applause or even for anyone to adjust to the revelation. "Your niftiness, I'm afraid that fortune was thinking of more than just ground troops when she directed Andreas to mention the two of us - the Angel-Guardian and me - in his message to you."

"Please, go on."

"Kaiser Alexander III commanded the Piscatores to steward over a collection of old Technomagi writings thousands of years ago. We were to never reveal the content of these archives to anyone. I might be damning us all by bringing out what I am going to bring out, unless, Your Niftiness, you could be convinced to rescind your order..."

"If the Technomagi had had someone to tell them the secrets of the universe they wouldn't have had to figure it out for themselves. I do not believe the mere knowledge that you have can be dangerous for us to have."

"I was afraid you would say that. Hear, then, what we call the revelations of Ansar of So-Sara, technomage priest and naturalist who exhaustively studied the nature of the real.

The first revelation is that it is that Balgurd's pull is felt not only by the souls of us all, but in fact everything that exists. Every object, every particle and field and all the things our physicists consider the most fundamental, would fall all the way to the depths of the abyss if it were not for the sustaining power of the Web of Life. A wicked city, full of uncaring, godless people could be more than just hellish to live in: A place evil enough could in fact slip through to Balgurd, taking with it not just every man and woman within, but every building and a large chunk of the surrounding countryside. We don't know of anywhere that this has happened, but there have been signs..."

Someone reacted: "So, uh, how is the rest of the universe around Micras still around?"

"There are two reasons that we know of. One is that the Fish of Balgurd are not interested in places where there are no living things to corrupt or torture, and so the pull of Balgurd is weak outside of our planet. The other one is that the Web of Life connects more than just the creatures on this planet, but in fact permeates the universe, connecting the fate of beings whose nature we can only dream of, and thereby having enough influence on all matter to keep it bound to our plane.

The second revelation is that with proper meditation, it is possible to perceive the Web of Life with one's own eyes... or, astral sight, rather - one's ability to see crude physical existence has little to do with the ability to peer into the heart of truth. Furthermore, if you can perceive the Web of Life, you can manipulate it. However, you need the right forces to work on it. Forces of friendship and nurture will strengthen the connections between souls, whereas enmity and aggression will weaken them. Few forces are able to consistently cut connections in the Web. But we do know of one that will work: Vengeance. The cycle of revenge can turn the closest affinity between friends into a vendetta.

The third revelation is that the Web of Life heals any crude manipulations wrought upon it, if not without scars. Cutting a connection grown out of a friendship might make two people suddenly feel uneasy around each other, but if it wasn't an accident in the first place that they became close, they will usually come to forge their friendship anew. A soul on the Path of Enlightenment will tend towards renewing the connections it has made; a soul walking its way towards the Descendi will only get to its destination more swiftly."

---

There was a brief pause, as if the speaker was assuming this was enough information for everyone, before the Kaiser spoke up. "I don't understand how this gets us into Gralus."

"It is in fact quite simple. Our knowledge agrees with Gralan lore that there is a multitude of Hells and they are all connected. Not just that, but there is a way for a mortal intruder to travel between the Hells, should he have the right knowledge. So, all we need to do is get there somehow, navigate through to the right place when we're in there, and get out before the Daemonic hordes overwhelm us. And that is something we can do. We can go to Gralus, and we can bring with us a whole city if we need to.

The three people we need for these tasks are here today, by invitation from Andreas the Wise who was almost certainly not aware that they would be just the ones needed to implement this plan. Blasphemous as it is, I can't help but feel the Gods themselves had a hand in the crafting of his message.

We need me, to carry the ship through the infinite realms of Hell to its intended destination. The knowledge of travel in the Hells is not learned easily and without sacrifice, nor is it ever safe to have it for the rest of your life once you have learned it. I don't believe we have the years it will take to teach the skill to someone else for this occasion. At the same time, my Piscatores will be there, defending the ship for the few dozen seconds we will be spending outside of our rightful planes of existence.

We need the Angel-Guardian - a creature of boundless piety and love, in order to make sure we only have to spend that few dozen seconds in the Hells, instead of staying there for hours and perhaps falling victim to the Hordes. The Angel-Guardian will have the ability to reach out to Gralus and, given his piety, form connections in the Web of Life with the people therein with swiftness. His influence, in the absence of other threads in the Web, will make reality reform itself, with him and everything around him appearing in Gralus. There will be hangers-on when we enter Gralus, but the Hells are infinite in size, and even the Daemons won't know where we will be travelling through, so in all likelihood they will be just Daemon Fish that my men will be able to deal with.

Finally, we need the rightful wielder of the Sword of Vengeance, to commit the act of blasphemy that will get us in Balgurd without having our souls corrupted by the Daemon Fish in the first place. The secrets of Ansar's meditation are known to me, and I can teach them to you. Seeing the Web of Life, you will be able to disrupt it. Cut enough connections around the ship, and it will fall into Balgurd in its entirety. You will consign us all to the Hells by doing that, but maybe not for eternity."

There were a few moments of silence again, and the Kaiser spoke: "And just how safe is this whole plan of yours, and how likely do you think it will succeed?"

"It is not much safer than going against the Daemonic hordes all by yourself, and all we know about whether it will succeed is the word of long dead sages."

"But there is a chance it will work?"

"Your Niftiness, I only spoke out because you commanded, and your word is the law. I do not --"

"Is there a chance it could work?"

"Yes, it is consistent with everything we know of our universe. It could work."

"I need a moment to think."

---

The hall was quiet for several minutes. Then, the Kaiser rose up, and lifted his sight to the Prophet, who was still meditating in the corner - not even a muscle on his face had twitched throughout all of this. For one long, sighing moment he looked at the prophet in his unfocused, yet somehow still piercingly sharp eyes. Then he spoke.

"The code of good that I live by tells me to be good to my fellow people. I might be a subject of Shireroth among others, but I am also a citizen of the world. A world where a Gralan as a mortal is worth more than a thousand empty prayers and acts of piety that amount to little benefit.

I am the Kaiser. I rule by the laws of the land, given by my predecessors for all of Shireroth to live together by. I am of the name of Gaelen and the blood of Raynor. The spirit that united Shireroth still flows in my veins.

I am Ly'Technomaezj. A thousand ancestors speak one word to me, scream it, repeating in unison: Defy, defy, defy! To help your fellow mortal, defy! To destroy the enemy, defy! To be worthy of your name, defy! To cast aside the veil of reality, defy!

I must dissent. My decision has been made; if I live to see sundown tonight, I will go ahead with this profane plan. I will bring a city with me and travel through the hells to help my fellow mortals. Anyone that I need for implementing the plan who does not want to help me, I will command to."

The Kaiser drawed his sword, raised it high and... slowly brought it down again, grabbed it by the blade, walked up to the Prophet, kneeled in front of him and offered up the hilt.

"Therefore, I submit my life to the Gods. I already know where my soul will go, so I only do this for the other ones of us, the living. If the future you see this design bring forth is one of suffering, kill me now, and it will be avoided. If not, I will do my duty as Kaiser and help this world.

The choice is yours."

[Icebreaker]

I DIDN'T REALLY MAKE IT PAST THE FIRST WORD, BECAUSE I ALWAYS THOUGHT "ATOS" WAS A TREMENDOUSLY DUMB NAME.

[Brrapa Lu'Eraro]

The prophet looked up from his meditations, at the Kaiser before him, sword outstretched. Standing, the prophet of the Gods, voice of the Transcendi to men, took the sword of Vengeance and looked upon it.

Vengeance has power,
Great power for destruction,
Power to slay and maim,
To bring about the end.

I see a great hand,
Crushing the stars,
Blackening the moon,
Extinguishing the sun.

I see a world,
As it has been always.
Life continuing,
Every changing.

Both could be our future,
A time to come.
Both are possible,
Distinct realities.

Success in what you plan:
Both worlds could be.
Failure in what you plan:
Darkness and destruction.

Failure to act as you say:
Darkness and death.
Only one option there,
You have little choice.

In one, you will be lost,
All will be lost.
In the other, you could be lost,
Or all could be won.

Yet, the risk.
Another fork.
If you succeed.
All could still die.

Not by deamon,
Or shadow.
Not echos
or reflections.

You could succeed,
Drive back this ancient evil,
Victorious return,
Home as heroes.

Millions will call your name,
Your subjects and allies,
Friends and comrades,
Saved, to live free.

Millions will call your names,
Your victims and slaves.
Destruction and death.
The End Times.

Do what you must Kaiser,
Do what you must.
Should you succeed,
Look then to your soul.

Be sure lord of men,
That you Gaelen,
Become not the deamons,
You will slay.

Finishing, the Prophet, Brrapa Lu'Erarro sheathed the Sword of Vengeance in the Kaiser's scabbard. Drawing his own sword he cut his left hand open, then sheathed his sword as blood dripped onto the stone floor of the keep. Extending both hands he grabbed hold of the Kaiser's and lifted him to his feet. Released, the Kaiser looked down at his hands, turning them palm up. He looked first to his left, covered in the prophets blood, crimson red and dripping. He looked then to his right, where he found an orange blossom, perfect and lightly scented, a thing of life and beauty.

When you return.
Look to your soul.
Don't suffer the fate,
Of the Descendi.

With that the old man left the room. Silent. None followed him.

[Leo Fenrir]

"Well your Niftiness, I admit I fail to extract much in the sense of understanding from this speech of yours but I feel that I can help, or at least offer my input on the topic of the Echos. Now - this is all merely speculation so if deviate then please excuse me.

I'll begin with the nature of these creatures. The only information that I could get my hands on stated : 'Echoes can echo back words, sentences, thoughts and sounds. They prey on their victims by echoing back things that will either divide them from their friends, or make them feel useless. They have no known weakness.' Now I have a problem with something that has no weakness, simply because everything has its weakness. These things seem to demonstrate both physical and psychic properties without any physical manifestation. This leads me to the conclusion that they don't have a physical manifestation. Now I understand that this seems slightly circular in my logic but this is actually a good thing. Because without a physical form it means that these beings can only be a manifestation of some field or force. Inherent in their nature, fields must have a source, which in this case we can assume would be Atropos. Forces on the other hand manifest as properties of particle, though not necessarily being a particle themselves.

Moving on to their effect. The consistent reflection of a physically produced sound is not the issue that interests me because a pair of earplugs would suffice. What confuses me is the mentally reflected sounds, or phrases. For this to occur the Echoes must be able to read, and induce electrical impulses in the brain which seems to point to some root of its nature being magnetism, or at least the part of it that interacts directly with the brain.

It is this that lead me to my conclusion that maybe if we were able to produce a magnetically dampening field or induce one that is significant enough to overpower the Echoes that their effect on the human brain could be neutralized.

This is of course all a mindless venture into the imagination your Nifftiness but I hope maybe something to consider. If you wish, I could have the researchers over at the Liberty center do some work on the matter."

[Aurangzeb Khan]

"Majesty, my scientists have already begun developing a fail-safe device, based on the sterling theoretical work of Lucard Wrend, which they assure me can be utilised as a last resort. I am afraid that there is a price to be paid. The young Lady Allot, harbours a vital element without which the device cannot be properly operated. This element needs to be isolated and extracted from her body mass. They inform me that the process of rendering down is not a pretty one.

As Steward I therefore request an Imperial Rescript donating the body of Lady Isabelle Allot, Countess Araxion, for research purposes to MoMA in the name of the security of the realm."

[Allot]

((OOC: NOT happening. Is that even legal?!))

[Aurangzeb Khan]

((OOC: NOT happening. Is that even legal?!))

(OOC: I don't expect it to happen, exactly. It should make an interesting subplot though.)

[Allot]

((OOC: Agreed. How clever of you...[foreshadow]Too clever...[/foreshadow]))

[AngelGuardian93]

Duke Greg Russell and the Angel Guardian, nicknamed Aggy by his friends, once again found themselves sitting down for another conference. Like the others, they had gotten little sleep too, but only Greg showed any signs of it. Aggy simply looked like he always did. They had retired to the Yardistani Ducal Residence at Shirekeep, but discussed the events of the last conference in great detail, late into the night.

~Last night~

“The Prophet showed up!” Greg said, exasperated and exhausted. He sat down on an expensive, black leather couch with Yardistan's coat-of-arms stitched into it. They were in the study of the mansion, which had wooden book shelves all across the walls. A single window broke the bookcases, and a faint light from the city outside shined in, blurred by the rainstorm outside.

Leaning forward, he sighed and ran his fingers through his long, black hair. “It's NEVER good when he shows up.” he said, throwing his arms up in a gesture of annoyance. Aggy had decided to close his eyes, cross his arms and lean against the opposite wall, his wings folded around him like a cloak. “Pay the madman no mind. He always shows up when there's trouble.” He opened his eyes. “Always speaking in rhyme and riddle, always telling us that maybe something bad might happen, always incredulous when we doubt. Then he crawls into a corner and acts like he's meditating.” Greg's eyes narrows. “Well, if he's not meditating, what's he doing?” Aggy smirked. “This time? Maybe he really was. At a previous council a century ago, he had simply fallen asleep. He told us it was a 'deep meditation', but we knew.” Greg laughed. “No way!” Aggy nodded and lifted his right hand to rub his own head. “Totally. We laughed too, but then he said we'd all go to Balgurd for laughing at the gods. Very funny.”

Greg chuckled again and reached over to the coffee table, and took a sip of his over-priced brand coffee. His expression grew serious again though. “But seriously, what does his presence mean?” Aggy furrowed his brows and grimaced, turning his head to look towards the window. A car drove by, flashing a bright light for a second. “It means this is serious. Other than that? Nothing. He IS mad. Never sure if what he's seeing is divine or mundane, fate and prophecy or tiding of what MIGHT happen. He hasn't given a straight answer since Raynor was kaiser.

Greg took another sip and set the coffee cup back down on its coaster. “Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better. You may not have respect for him, but I do take what he says seriously.” Aggy scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Trust me, I do respect him, you just have to take what he says with a grain of salt. And at any rate, he's not the one I'm worried about.” Greg's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. “What do you mean? Certainly you're not talking about Erik?” Aggy shook his head again. “No, not Erik. Mundane rebellions can wait when whole civilizations disappear, and he's mature enough to know that.” Aggy unfolded his hands and walked over to the window, placing his hand on the wall just to the right of the window. He stared out into the rain, his face suddenly looking much more moody.

“It's Gaelen I'm worried about.”

Greg's eyes went wide, his body leaning back slightly in shock. “What do you mean by that? Gaelen's a good man. His family has served the Imperial Republic with honor for generations.” Aggy shook his head. “That's not what I mean. I know he's a good man, but I'm worried that he's sending us all to our doom. I have an unseen sense for these things. Think of it as a 'spidey-sense', and it's tingling right now. I just know something bad is going to happen.

Greg stood up, even more worried now. “What do you mean?” Aggy turned away from the window to look at Greg. “His exact quote was, 'I will require sacrifice from you.' When he said that, I had a vision.”

Greg shook his head. “What did you see?”

Aggy shook his head, and turned his head to look back at the outside world. “I saw myself, fighting myself. We looked the same, but the other me looked wrong. I watched the whole thing from above, like I was floating in the air. After a pitched battle, one of us died.” Aggy looked back at his young ward. “It was a warning. I'm going to die at Gralus.”

Greg's eyes went wide again. “No.. no.. that's not true... you're wrong!” He stumbled back down onto the couch, his eyes starting to water. “You don't know that for sure, it might be the other you that dies!” Aggy grimaced and looked down. “It's possible...” Greg shook his head, holding it with both hands touching his forehead. “No way it's you, the gods won't let it happen.” Aggy shook his head again and looked up. “The gods don't have much of a say in it, this time. Even they are not all-powerful.” He removed his hand from the wall and stood up straight. He walked over to Greg, and knelt in front of him. “But no matter what happens, you are strong enough to walk alone. I have taught you well, and you have learned well. You will overcome the curse of your ancestors, and keep Yardistan safe. You'll even manage to keep that crazy sister of yours in line.” Greg managed a small smirk, but continued to look down. “Is that another vision?” Aggy shook his head, and with his left hand raised Greg's head, so that he was looking Aggy in the eye.

“No... it's faith.”

They had gone their separate ways for the night after that, but Greg didn't sleep well. He didn't know what to think of Aggy's revelation, or whether it was true or not. He tried not to think about it.

“We need the Angel-Guardian - a creature of boundless piety and love, in order to make sure we only have to spend that few dozen seconds in the Hells, instead of staying there for hours and perhaps falling victim to the Hordes. The Angel-Guardian will have the ability to reach out to Gralus and, given his piety, form connections in the Web of Life with the people therein with swiftness. His influence, in the absence of other threads in the Web, will make reality reform itself, with him and everything around him appearing in Gralus. There will be hangers-on when we enter Gralus, but the Hells are infinite in size, and even the Daemons won't know where we will be traveling through, so in all likelihood they will be just Daemon Fish that my men will be able to deal with.”


Aggy's eyebrows furrowed, and he slipped into his characteristic pose. When Erol paused for a second, Aggy spoke up. “Your Niftiness, I don't think you quite understand what your asking us to do. Yes, 'the Web of Life heals any crude manipulations wrought upon it', but it's not that simple, and Mr. Erol is over-simplifying the matter. We will be in Balgurd, a place where no connections exist at all. I can do as you ask; it won't be a problem for me. But I'm not human, nor am I -no offense- as weak as a human. The rest of you are ~very~ human. In the absence of no connections at all to anything, you'll all begin to go mad. It's a very small time, but your spiritual senses will be in a complete state of deprivation. It will be extremely disorienting. Do you understand at all? Do you? And even when we are free of Balgurd, when you begin to reform your connections, you will always carry the scars of it. Like a broken bone, it'll heal, but it won't be as strong ever again. Think HARD about this. A spiritual scar for all time...”

The Angel Guardian looked around the room, wondering if he had made any sense at all to them.

[Andreas the Wise]

"I must protest," Willow said, rising from her seat. All eyes were drawn to the Kildarian delegation. The chair next to Willow sat empty - Cla'Udi had failed to reappear at the council today. But Willow seemed to have been undeterred by his absence.

"I must protest, your niftiness," she repeated. "To allow this ... experiment to go ahead with knowledge of its presently provided conclusions would not only be an act of unforgiveable sacrilege, but an act of such insurmountable human arrogance that its equal has never been met in all of history, and would lose you forever the respect of a good portion of the population. As presented, this ... 'narrativity' experiment claims that only 'reality' as defined by humans without any 'magic' (as it is commonly, though not necessarily technically, defined) is 'real', and would relegate my kind, as well as a thousand other species and the gods themselves to the status of second rate lifeforms! To say that we, the gods, and anything else that doesn't fit a certain limited human conception of 'reality' is less real, and to consider the construction of something that would forcibly purge only those things deemed 'unreal' ..."
She paused for breath, and the Khan took this moment to interject.
"It hardly only purges those deemed 'unreal'," he began, "It also kills pretty well everything else in the blast radius too ..."
"And you consider the destruction of every living thing an acceptable price for your own survival?" Willow interrupted, shooting the Khan a glance that would have had her booked for mass murder, if looks could kill. She turned back to the Kaiser. "Whether or not it kills everything else too, to consider developing a weapon designed to remove this conception of the 'unreal' from existence, with no possibility of survival - think what that says to all citizens of your fair realm who might not be considered strictly 'real'. I am no Melangian, but even I can remember the one other time humans had the sheer arrogance to consider such a thing. The micrograss plague, which nearly caused the extinction of Microns and Elves, and yet did not harm humans, is not something history forgets lightly. Imagine what would have happened if no Microns had survived, there had been no Control of Destiny team, and our world had fallen to the Imperials or to the Nightcrash long ago ..."

She paused again for breath, but this time nobody interrupted, and she continued. "Besides, my Kaiser, I believe you will find any completed bomb far less effective than envisaged. For a start, I would think there is considerable doubt about whether magic is as 'unreal' as is claimed."
This revelation brought cries of surprise and outrage, not least from the Khan, who protested, "Well if you're so sure it won't work, why are you protesting it?"
"To even consider it, as I said, on its presently provided conclusions, sends an unnaceptable message to so many of our citizens, not to mention our allies in Gralus, who are even now risking their lives to keep us safe," Willow replied imperiously. "I would question those conclusions, however, on the grounds of modern magical scholarship, which has studied the fundamental nature of magic across the worlds in far more depth than the ISI or MoMA have ever dared, and they suggested that not only is magic a fundamental part of matter, like gravity; but that many things we normally consider real should, properly speaking, be counted as different types of magic. I will not bore you with the details; but I would trust the opinion of those who have studied and known magic intimately, far more than I would trust narrow minded human scientists who have never even set foot in an Academy."

OOC: @ Ardy - You weren't planning to use it, but IC, someone had to speak up for the magical guy (and point out that a narrativity bomb would never be recognised in SCOWL). Don't take it personally.

@Leo - Echoes really haven't been made clear yet, whether in the war or my head. Hopefully they will become clear sometime during the war. However, my suspicions would be that their powers would be more related to psychic connections and time dilation (echoes of the past etc); and something dampening that would be of more effect than magnets. Top points on picking up that they don't have a physical manifestation, though

[Leo Fenrir]

"I fear that I too must object, but this time with what you have said Lady Willow. Please understand, first of all, that neither I nor the ISI have ever had the goal of demoting mages and magic users to, as you have put it, second class citizens. I have perused this brief compendium on the nature of magic and I must say I find myself enlightened. One line most of all caught my attention. 'But music is magic. Maths is magic. Science is magic.' At first I admit I was slightly taken aback by such statement but was reminded of an example where a mathematician, a biologist and an economist were asked to describe a sheep. Keeping this in mind I though so why can magic not be science? The description it gives seems quite logical. But consider this : neither is true. I put forward to you that both magic and science simply two different approaches to explaining reality.

The nature of magic, as described by this study, seems to be an amalgamation of particles, forces, and fields. I wish to point out now that Lucard's study on Narativity merely concluded that in reality as the value of ℵ decreased the more dimensions, particles, fields, and forces could exist. Think of it as a glass of water. When one pours sugar in water it will only dissolve a specific amount. Now- heat this water up and suddenly much more can be dissolved. It is not a perfect metaphor but I believe it should suffice. So what I am trying to say is that the study doesn't conclude that magic is 'not real' any more then the sugar this is not dissolved in a cold glass of water is not sugar, but that it simply can't exist in a world that refuses the existence of the Thaum or inherent magical ability.

So please do not take offense from any claims made by the ISI or myself, as I had pointed out that it was simply theoretical ramblings. Also please do not presume to say that I do not appreciate the extent of risk that my fellow Micrans are putting themselves in to protect us. Despite everything I have said, Micras is like a boiling pot of water, to continue my previous metaphor, and these creatures present an all too real threat to all of our safety. This is why I support the creation of such a device, tough of course through different means then the good Khan here presents. If the time loop should fail then I ask you what chance of our nation, which is significantly less learned in the arts of the mystical, has to combat these things with magic? Very little is the answer. So we must fight with any means possible to protect what hold dearest, even if that comes with some sacrifice."

And with that Leo sat down.

OOC : Sorry if I jumped the gun then Andreas. I'll let you do your work.

[Gman Russell]

"I think that mages and magic users should, though." Greg said. He frowned and crossed his arms. "Magic destroyed the Khaz Modanians. Magic is destroying Gralus. Magic almost destroyed County MASS. I agree with The Prophet, magic is evil, period.

[Erik Mortis]

"Here here!" Cried out the Count of Monty Crisco in agreement.

[Harvey Steffke]

Konstan Ifrostik of Nelaga stood and addressed the council.

"Your Niftiness, honorable dukes, barons, and other dignitaries. I am afraid that Nelagan patience for these proceedings have run out. While you debate the goodness of magic and of insane plans to pass through Balgurd itself, the plight of the people of Gralus weighs heavily upon myself and those I represent. I do not claim to know what Shireroth thinks of their nation, but to a Nelagan, who fought beside the people of Gralus and spilled blood with them as brothers as they fought selflessly for our freedom and ways of life, then every second we spend wasting our time with philosophy is a sacrilege to their spirit, kindness, and virtue. They have given us a clear-cut message that something is happening beyond their ability to mitigate. Are they still alive? Are they safe? Do they have any hopes? Or are they out of supplies, out of options, and being cut down as we speak? I do not know their fates, but I do know this: so long as Nelaga has an ounce of strength in her, we shall not abandon our allies in their times of need.

Therefore, if the will of the Kaiser is not to join the strike team aboard the Nelagan Hope and to seek a far darker road, I have nothing further to offer to this assembly. I had hoped to work together as two nations with a common goal in this matter, but Shireroth's notorious assertions of independence seem to be cropping up again, and I have little time to oppose. It is my fear that you send us alone to our doom, though perhaps death will be a cleaner finale of our lives than the madness of the Demon Fish.

I am to inform you that the Nelagan President, who has returned to Nova Kajar, has already approved the Raven Corps and the Nelagan Hope to travel through the portal recently constructed in Nelaga and pass into the shadows of Gralus. We shall take the best men and women we have, armed with the best weapons and technology we have available, along with as much source knowledge we can find. I hope that it will be enough. I shall also hope and pray to see you emerge unscathed from the other side of your twisted path and to reinforce us within Gralus, but I do not hold strong hope of that day occurring.

We shall depart in three days.

Live or die, succeed or fail, the world shall know that we stood between a great evil and the people of Micras, and that we went and fought and died under our own free will for the protection of all. That is the Raven Corps mission. That is Control of Destiny.

My retainer, another member of the Nelagan Raven Corps, shall stay at this council to keep Nelaga informed of the proceedings on the off chance you have a matter that interests or concerns us, or require our aide. But, barring that, I take my leave of you all. May truth's virtue show you the way."

And he left the room.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

"Perhaps we should destroy the gate from this side after they have gone through", the Khan whispered malevolently under his breath as the Nelagan departed.

[Andreas the Wise]

Willow stood after Leo had sat, and addressed him. "I was largely protesting the potential creation of something designed to annihalate what is seen as 'unreal'; criticism of the ISI was purely that their theoretical ramblings seemed to be based on a biased human understanding of the world. If there was no intention to suggest that my people and the gods are "less real" than your own, then if the Kaiser intends to continue down this course of action, he needs to be sure than any hint of it that leaves this room makes it absolutely clear that such a device is not intended to suggest second-rate-ness, and cannot be used on some sacreligious or genocidal purge." She sat down again.

One of the Elwynnese aids, on Leo's other side, whispered in his ear, "Well, that's dryads for you. They're even more sentimental about wood cutters coming anywhere near the Forests of Halluci; though there they have the authority to stick you full of arrows first."

[Erik Mortis]

*As the Nelagan representative left the room, the Count of Monty Crisco says to no one in particular*

I wonder if he realizes that the Prophet gave the go ahead for the Kaiser's plan to go into Gralus and rescue them... Oh well, I guess melodrama is national sport for them or something...

*The Yardistani aid sitting next to him shrugged*

*Continuing loudly*

So, shall we get on with getting ourselves sent to hell? Gaelen, though I'm still rebelling against you, Monty Crisco stands ready to depart on this dangerous, likely suicidal, rather blasphemous and awesomely spectacular plan you have.