Fulcrum

[Renita_Serafim]

<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Chapter 1 of 2The Splintered Third</strong></span>Below the cold night sky and atop the rooftops of Maj'Dul, the sound of fisticuffs could be heard as two elven women remained locked in combat. It was two days after the 5th Night of the Faithful that had been held in Freeport.The first combatant was Atzila Kol'Olmin, a diminutive High Elven woman of pale complexion. Her flowing waist-length hair is the colour of pearls and her narrow slit-like eyes are a vivid shade of teal. She had substituted her traditional indigo attire for a yellow equivilent, still a faux-regal outfit that appeared to be made from expensive velvet. Her form on the battlefield was actually a high density mental projection being sustained from a place of pure thought that was known as the Lucid Realm, a place where Atzila had gone in search of Enlightenment. Her body of flesh and blood remained in a self induced coma, an ocean away. She spoke in a soft and silken drawl.The other combatant was the Phage, an eldritch being that wore the visage of a fallen acquaintance of Atzila's who had been known as the Peppermint Thespian. The Phage appeared to be a petite Koada'Dal woman clad in a black longcoat with two grey leather belts stitched either side of her shoulders below the collar, her stature similar to Atzila's own. She had a cream complexion and silken waist-length hair that was a light shade of azure, eyes of a bright jade hue. On her head was a white rose hairpin. She spoke in a posh, upper-class accent that contrasted with her casual, albeit still theatrical mode of speech.At that present time, the Phage was known as the currently bewedded Renita. However, she was also the consciousness behind the two previous vessels to wear that name. The Thespian had been blessed with a Seal of Eternity by Atzila which had shielded her from the brunt of the Phage's force. Whilst it had not saved the Thespian's life, the Seal had created a backlash that served to shatter the Phage from within and fragmented her into four disparate vessels that shared her psyche, now a hive mind, greatly deminished in strength. The act of speaking any of the Phage's names will empower her further, so through one vessel or another, the Phage has sought to spread it's legend in order to provide the force of recollection needed to regain the strength that she has lost. She was on her third take with the Renita role and the particular manner of soulbonding ritual that she had undertaken with her token partner had damaged her primary vessel in a way that she had not anticipated. While the Phage had no soul to speak of, the veil surrounding each of her vessels served to create the illusion of one, enough to suffice for a soulbond. However, the soulbond in question had splintered the veil and caused it to undergo a process of degeneration that could not be prevented. For this reason, the Phage was eager to replace her persona with a whole one as soon as possible. As Atzila had a legend that was equivilent to the Thespian's in strength, the Phage reasoned that she was a suitable choice of prey.As Atzila blocked a blow from the Phage with a fluid circular motion from her right hand, both combatants lept backward by a couple of feet. The Phage gasped as she grasped her forehead, her face cracking along the middle with a crimson glow."If I may be so bold, might I ask why you have not brought your second vessel here from the Tower of the Moon? You would surely fare better with two bodies, rather than simply the shattered one that you are using now?", Atzila asked as she caught her breath, assuming a combat stance as she moved her arms in a counter-clockwise position, watching the Phage's movements with the utmost care."It's busy," the Phage answered with a smirk, focusing her energies to mend the crack across her face, "I need a Plan B if I fail to claim your identity here today, after all. Trust me, it'll be a <em>scream</em>, but if I told you any more, it'd spoil the show!"Atzila raised an eyebrow by a fraction, musing out loud as she hoped to glean more intelligence from the Phage by appealing to her ego, "I see. Since your third body has only a day or two left at best, I would guess that your ''Plan B'' entails disposing of it before the inevitable explosion of eldritch energies can expose your true nature to the world at large. At such short notice, the most expedient way of excusing your third self's absence would be suicide, but then you would need to find bystanders to attest to your faux-despair. You currently lack the power to perform mental manipulation on sufficient people to reach that goal, meaning that you will need to find another eldritch being to do it on your behalf. There is only one who lacks the senses to percieve how profoundly <em>wrong</em> you are, only one who will even consider doing business with you. The Jester, oh-so-accidental shade of the Unselved One and Peddler in Pasts, Presents and Futures."The Phage gave a mocking round of applause once she finished mending her face, praising Atzila's deductive skills, "Very good! Right on all counts!""Furthermore, I would speculate that in the wake of the corporeal destruction of your third fragment, you will use your second in order to stage a quest for revenge, correct?", Atzila inquired."Right again!", the Phage applauded."Except...", Atzila continued, "....your plan is going to hit a snag when you enlist the Jester to help create the illusion of heartbreak. Your ''family'' is immune to the effect of temporal manipulation by eldritch beings such as the Jester and yourself.""Why's that?", the Phage cupped the side of her ear as she leaned forward in a theatrical manner, widening both eyes as she listened for Atzila's response."Your daughter," Atzila explained, "She hails from Sanctuary, which you built from stolen blueprints, blueprints that I created for the Thespian prior to her death at your hands. <em>I</em> am immune to temporal manipulation like the manner of mental suggestion that you intend to have the Jester use, due to my immense willpower and unique spiritual state, meaning that anyone directly connected to me is also immune. I would say that having been born in a place which would not even exist without me is sufficient connection to bestow temporal immunity on anyone whom she is directly associated with. Therefore, the only citizens of Kelethin who will be affected by the Jester's illusion will be those with no direct association with your ''family'' whatsoever."The Phage nodded twice, confirming Atzila's assertions, "Right again! Those bystanders will have to suffice. But tell me, since you seem to be so very intuitive, why would I have sent that daughter of mine back here into the past if she was going to be such a liability?""That's simple...", Atzila replied, waiting for the Phage to spill more of her plans, "Despite what others in the know may believe, all of your vessels share a singular consciousness. So the divergent version of your third body would have the same mind, the exact same mind, as the version here in this timeline. Meaning that you were aware of your daughter's travel back through time, before you even saw her born. In other words, you had no choice but to send her back in time so as to preserve the established flow of events in the timelines. If you had failed to do so, the paradox would have generated more than enough quantum flux to cause even further damage to your hive being than you already have from my Seal of Eternity, damage that you are not yet able to sustain without losing your ability to manifest in corporeal existance at all.""Alas, everything you say is true," the Phage responded, nodding twice more."I would also guess that this was the reason for the Void's increased level of power in the other timeline. In this timeline, they are not even close to being able to wage the sort of invasion that I witnessed with my projection over in that timeline. I would therefore speculate that you were the one to provide the Void with that strength, bolstering their numbers with chronoshades made in their image. If you cannibalized the divergent version of your second body in that timeline, I would imagine that you would recieve just enough power to pull that off. From there, the fame you received in your third vessel from acting as Sanctuary's architect would have given you enough power to see the orchestration through to it's conclusion. It must have been difficult to distract the real Nihilanix while your false Nihilanix led the invasion force with the stolen Soulfire, but all in all, it's within your power to accomplish. The only reason why you have not done so here is because you need this timeline intact in order to remain able to target me and my identity", Atzila said as she thought out aloud again, waiting to hear the Phage's response."Wow, you <em>are</em> good...", the Phage commented with a look of genuine surprise upon her face, "Not a single detail wrong. That's...impressive."Atzila sighed with relief, satisfied in the knowledge that she had deduced everything correctly so far. The Phage was far too egotistical to lie when there was no strategic advantage behind it, so Atzila could be completely certain that if the Phage said that she was right, she was indeed correct."And while the Void are certainly a threat here, the invasion that your daughter speaks of is simply not going to occur, since you do not intend to start it here", Atzila added."Yeah, that's right," the Phage replied in a matter-of-fact manner, "I'd kill her and be rid of the inconvinience, but that would blow my cover."Atzila frowned faintly. The Phage was literally evil incarnate, so Atzila could hardly expect better from an anthropomorphic personification thereof, but that did not stop the entity's sadistic nature from offending her."But enough talk, let's finish this...", the Phage continued as she resumed combat position.Atzila knew that she could not keep the Phage talking forever, but if she was fortunate, this would be over quickly. After all, the Phage's third body was on the brink of collapse.The Phage lunged toward Atzila with the force of an oncoming train. With a swift circular motion, Atzila blocked the Phage's fist with her right hand, focusing a blast of chi lightning into the creature's stomach with her left. The Phage recoiled, stumbling backward as eldritch cracks began to spill crimson energy from across her body. With a burst of crimson, her hairpin came loose, falling to the ground with a loud clatter."No, no, not now!", the Phage panicked, grasping at her forehead again, desperately focusing it's energy to seal the cracks. With her free hand, she pointed at Atzila."I'll be back! And next time, you won't stand a ghost of a chance!", the Phage proclaimed before turning to retreat, leaping across rooftops as quickly as she could manage.Snatching the white rose hairpin from the ground and stashing it in her pocket for inspection later, Atzila chased after the Phage in swift pursuit, yet lost sight of her opponent after she had leapt down into an allyway. After a minute, Atzila heard the signature sound of a Call of Kelethin spell in the near distance and realized that the Phage had gotten away.</p><p>--Having returned to her private laboratory there in Maj'Dul, Atzila took the hairpin from her coat pocket and placed it on her desk. Before Atzila could begin to look at it, however, she sensed the Phage's aura from all around her and realized that the entity's hive consciousness was closing in on the region of the Lucid Realm that she was projecting herself from.Ceasing the projection and allowing it to fade from corporeal existance, Atzila's awareness returned to the vivid skies and plains of the Lucid Realm where she was clothed in indigo attire once more, the place glowing with piercing light that was incomprehensible to mortal eyes. On either side of the bridgeway that she was stood upon were swirling clouds of mist that were known as Scrying Mists which show visions from elsewhere, always truthful without fail. Yet all around this particular bridge were growths of crimson in the form of branches composed of pure shadow that had sprouted ominously below the Scrying Mists, a sure sign that the Phage was nearby.</p><p>--</p>

[Renita_Serafim]

<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Chapter 2 of 2The False One</strong></span>Atzila walked along the bridge framed by crimson branches with the utmost caution, keeping an eye out for the Phage in the distance. As she came closer, the Scrying Mists displayed images of the Phage in her third body doing business with a black cloaked figure whom Atzila recognized as the Jester. Beneath his hood, only a fanged maw could be seen on his otherwise blank and featureless face.The vision was of the Greater Faydark in the early hours of the morning before most were even awake. The visions echoed with a relay of the sound from the places in question. The Jester's voice was polite, deep and sepulcral as he spoke with the Phage. It seemed as though the Jester was willing to do as the Phage asked with nothing in exchange, other than the promise of discord in the future. Then again, the Jester was barely even a shade of the Unselved One, a being with whom deals were invariably a foolish idea. With the Unselved One, there was <em>always</em> a price and a terrible one at that.As time seemed to flow differently in the Lucid Realm as compared to outside of it, the events of days or even weeks could flow by in mere moments when there was nothing of interest to the viewer in the Scrying Mists at any given time. However, the time flow in visions was always exact. If something took a minute to transpire, it would be shown as a minute in the Mists.As the Mists began to show the Jester working his magic on certain citizens of Kelethin, all bystanders with no connection to the Phage's ''family'' as Atzila had predicted, Atzila heard laughter from just up ahead on the bridgeway. The Phage walked closer as she came into view. This was the Phage's core consciousness, what lay within each of the three fragments to wear the name of Renita thus far."Good to see you again!", the Phage beamed with a mocking welcome."Quite", Atzila responded wryly.The Mists now showed the Phage's third body sneaking out of the Faydark during the quiet of early morning while no one would notice her departure. From there, the vessel traveled to the Obelisk of Ahkzul where it stood over the whirlpool with the Void's core of darkness at it's heart, the perfect stage for the Phage's bewedded persona to take it's own life. In the context of the Phage's show, the persona would simply cease to be as it was erased from existance by the annihilative effect of the Void's core.Atzila cast her gaze to the visions on her left, watching as the Phage's vessel leapt into oblivion. Atzila knew that once this was done, the essence of the Phage's third quarter of being would return to the Eldritch Realms to regain it's strength. Only the veil itself and it's outer shell would be destroyed upon entry into the Void's core. Everything that existed outside of Norrath's scientific laws would remain, untouched by the Void's magic. Within moments, the shattered vessel was gone and the Phage cackled maniacally as she watched the body perish.Laughter which ceased abrutly after less than a microsecond when the Jester appeared in the vortex, hovering above the Void's core with an inactive golem made in the image of the Phage's third body in his left hand and a glowing ethereal thread in his right hand. In the blink of an eye, the Jester had arrived at the Obelisk of Akzhul and woven the thread into the golem."Is that thread what I think it is?", Atzila inquired, looking toward the Phage out of the corner of her eye as she watched the Scrying Mists."That's...That's the soulbond connection!", the Phage blurted out with the utmost shock, confirming Atzila's suspicion, "He's woven it into that knock-off's veil like you'd connect nerve endings to an organ graft!""And all so fast that your formally bewedded would never have a chance to notice the break in connection after it severed from your third body, let alone the switch in where the spiritual signals were coming from", Atzila observed, having now figured out what the Jester's plan was.The area began to glow with a faint crimson aura as the Phage's quite palpable fury began to fill the bridgeway, yet not obscuring the Scrying Mists to the extent that it would not be possible to see events transpire further. If not for Atzila's immense willpower and unique spiritual state, she would be affected by the Phage's anger, instead of being fortunately immune from it's effects as the case was."That two-faced lowlife opportunist! How dare he!", the Phage screamed furiously, trembling with rage as her aura permeated the region.As the Phage voiced her anger toward the Jester, Atzila noticed how the Scrying Mists on the right hand side of the bridgeway were showing the Phage's second vessel adopting the alter ego of the Butcher Viperidae and commiting the first murders in her reign of terror under that name. It seemed, however, that the Phage was too distracted to give any sort of narration those the visions on the right.On the left, the images switched to Kelethin where the Jester could be seen depositing the now-activated golem at the entrance, hours after Viperidae's debut."Damnit! That isn't how it's supposed to go! Now no one is going to take the word of those bystanders seriously! They're all going to believe that cut priced knock-off is my third aspect!", the Phage screached at the Mists, turning away from Atzila as she watched the visions."I would surmise that the Jester had this in mind from the moment that you approached him in order to do business. It would appear that he is more cunning than either of us could have suspected", Atzila commented as she studied the Mists on the left."Conniving is more like it!", the Phage retorted, "Now for as long as that imitation remains intact, any time someone refers to my third aspect, the Jester will soak up the force of recollection that should have been mine! He's a bloody parasite!"On the right hand side of the bridgeway, Atzila saw that the Phage as Viperidae had issued a bounty of sorts on three notable Norrathian citizens. One of the names was a rather obvious choice, the other two seemed like names inserted to obscure the clues hinting at Viperidae's identity as the person formally known under the name of Blight the Butcher until such a time as the Phage was ready to unmask her second vessel and reveal herself.On the left of the bridgeway, an all too sudden Void invasion had begun over in Kelethin that resulted in an explosion at the Aerie Kolmas district and the apparent death of one of the people specified by Viperidae's bounty. As for the golem made in the image of the Phage's third aspect as the bewedded Renita, it had failed to find a means of ending the Void attack by any other means than self-sacrifice. Atzila figured that self-sacrifice was not part of the Jester's plan, yet it seemed that the simulated persona was simply acting too fast for the Jester to reprogram. By the time that the Jester would have been able to act, the golem was already destroyed without trace.Atzila had her own theories regarding the Void attack, since it could not have been the Phage's handiwork and therefore not equivilent to the Void seiges in the timeline which the Phage's daughter hailed from. On the other hand, the Jester had lost a source of considerable power in the form of the golem, meaning that it was unlikely that the Jester was the one behind the attack, since he would have known better than to risk the golem by orchestrating such an attack. However, Atzila could not arrive at any concrete conclusion as of yet.The Phage stared at the Mists to her left in abject horror, aghast at the acts that would now be erroneously attributed to her third vessel."That was pathetic! I could have held back that invasion force, even with my shattered third body and without even using my eldritch magic! How can people be taken in by this?!", the Phage balked, almost entirely distracted from her objective of stealing Atzila's identity at this point."People rarely pay even close to the amount of attention to others that they pay unto themselves", Atzila comment with a hint of melancholy."It's like the Jester's making fun of me! And don't you dare say that he's living up to his name!", the Phage barked at Atzila, pointing at her as she trembled with rage still."I would not even dream of it", Atzila shrugged as she replied, not at all sarcastically."The Jester will suffer like no one has ever suffered in all of creation and all of history. I shall redefine the very meaning of pain in order to give him agony that has never even been concieved of prior to this moment in time and before I am through, he will rue his very existance and beg to be destroyed. And only then, only when he pleads for oblivion, only then shall I administer the killing stroke and end his existance", the Phage calmy declared, now in a state of tranquil fury as she finally ceased her trembling.As the Phage made her decree, Atzila watched the Mists on the right as they showed a crowd of adventurers converging on the Sunken City in Freeport where Viperidae's base was located, an abandoned manor that the Phage had appropriated. In the basement, the Phage as Viperidae was speaking with the Jester in her makeshift throne room. At this point, the Phage had sufficient composure back in order to conceal her true fury from the Jester as they spoke, the merest hint of her anger visible as she spoke in the throne room.The Jester had come to claim on Viperidae's bounty for the seemingly deceased target and also to offer Viperidae a position as his newest Envoy, a representative invested with a portion of his power. While the Jester's abilities were limited outside of deals made with others, Envoys were able to use their power freely, meaning that the Jester found Envoys to be greatly worthwhile. The Phage as Viperidae disputed the Jester's claim that he had been responsible for the Void attack on Kelethin and therefore argued that he was not elligable for a reward from her.Atzila cast a sideways glance toward the Phage as she posed a question ot the entity, "I assume that you are merely leading him to believe that there is a chance of you changing your mind and accepting his offer in the near future in order to keep him too distracted to notice your vengeance coming, correct? Keep your enemies closest and all that?""Right as usual!", the Phage answered with a smirk, nodding twice.Atzila placed a hand on her hip as she pondered the visions of Viperidae and the Jester, pausing for a moment before making further inqueries, "And is it just me or does the Jester seem to be under the mistaken impression that your vessels have consciousness of their own that is distinct from each other? As apposed to being merely shells for a singular mind like the case actually is? He seemed to think that you as the second aspect was going to be taken in my that golem like everyone else.""Yeah, you're right, he does seem to think that the vessels are distinct entities", the Phage responded as she cast a disdainful look at the vision of the Jester.After the Jester had cloaked his presence in the manor, adventurers began to enter the building. The first to penetrate the throne room was a ratongan woman who succeeded in pulling the mask from the Viperidae vessel's face and exposing her identity."I assume that the second vessel is being retired after this? I mean, I cannot see how you can fight your way out of that crowd without resorting to eldritch magic, which would give away what you truely are", Atzila queried as she tilted her head at the visions on the right."Well, yeah, I don't have any further use for that aspect anymore", the Phage responded with a casual shrug.As adventurers flocked into the throne room, Atzila and the Phage noticed how one of the people present was the presumed dead target of Viperidae's bounty. From the crowd, both the Phage's formerly bewedded and her daughter emerged, questioning Viperidae and her motives. Both the wife and daughter continued to believe that the golem had been the third of the Phage's aspects, despite the Phage as Viperidae's words to the contrary. The Phage as Viperidae shouted up at the Jester, whose invisible presence permeated the room, questioning his mistaken and unfounded belief that the person listed by the bounty had been dead when she was very much alive. The Jester's voice echoed across the room, confirming Viperidae's words regarding the golem, which the Phage's wife and daughter still did not believe."What?! They believe that stupid golem over Viperidae?!", the Phage spoke in disbelief as she watched the Mists on the right."Well, you <em>are</em> the villain here", Atzila explained, "Even though you <em>are</em> telling the truth about that golem, for all those two know, you could be simply lying in order to cause further pain. As for the Jester finally confessing to his actions, he hardly seems the reputable sort himself, so they aren't necessarily going to believe him either when he supports your claims."The Phage sighed before replying, "In that case, before I bring about the end of all things, everyone who has been taken in by the Jester's deception must die first. All trace of his crime must be purged from reality, so that not even the memory remains. Only then shall my victory retain it's true glory. First, <em>you</em> will fall in order to make me whole again, then those who the Jester has decieved, followed by all of time and space!"In the throne room, adventurers began to question Viperidae's claim to the title of "monster" and dispute the extent to which her killing spree would be remembered.Atzila noticed the Phage wince as people continued to doubt the extent of her evil. Suddenly, the building was set ablaze by a conjuror and the Viperidae vessel's outer shell began to melt. The Phage as Viperidae uttered a sentance in an ancient elven dialect that Atzila recognized as translating into ''I give my agreement''.<em>"Oh no..."</em>, Atzila thought to herself, realizing that with the Viperidae vessel having just become the Jester's newest envoy, the Phage was about to recieve an exponential power increase."Gotcha!", the Phage proclaimed as an array of black tendrils sprouted from the back of her spine at lightning speed and hurtled toward Atzila. Countering the Phage's oncoming attack, Atzila created a cyclone of chi winds around herself in order to block the tendrils before they could penetrate her spirit. Atzila knew that if the Phage was able to penetrate using one of her tendrils, it would mean immediate death and the loss of her very identity."Not quite...", Atzila smiled sweetly as she replied in a sing-song tone, the Phage's tendrils dispersing into vapour upon impact with the chi cyclone."Curses! Foiled again!", the Phage shouted in frustration.Back in the throne room, the Phage as Viperidae masked her status as the Jester's newest Envoy and allowed herself to be captured, executed by the Freeportian authorities soon after. Using the Jester's power, the Phage was able to preserve the Viperidae vessel's corporeal being in such a way that she could leave behind the shell of her being in Freeport after it's physical death and survive in order to regenerate a new shell from the safety of Limbo without compromising the vessel's veil in the process."So...not retiring that form after all?", Atzila asked as the Phage recoiled from the loss of it's tendrils."Not while people refute my evil, no!", the Phage responded, surging with newfound power.Atzila studied the Phage's etheral composition with her chi senses as she kept the entity talking, unsure that she had the chi reserves to defend herself against the Phage indefinately, now that she was empowered with the Jester's strength."Also, I take it that you took the Jester up on that offer solely in order to preserve your second body, poise yourself ready to strike at him when the time is right and to attain the power necessary to fight against me and prevail, correct?""As intuitive as ever, I see!", the Phage answered as she grew a new set of tendrils from her spine."So...you had best hope that the Jester does not feel his borrowed energy leading here to where your true nature is here on display and where you have been boasting about how you are going to slay him in view of the Scrying Mists that can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you said so", Atzila responded, reasoning that this may well be enough to discourage the Phage from hounding her further whilst in the Lucid Realm."Drat! You're right!", the Phage exclaimed, eyes widening as she withdrew her tendrils almost as soon as they had been grown.With one last point of a finger toward Atzila, the Phage bid her a threatening farewell, "Next time, you will fall and your identity shall be mine! I'll be back, mark my words!""And I shall be waiting", Atzila responded calmly.The Phage flickered out of view with a puff of crimson smoke as she returned to the Eldritch Realms. Once she was alone once more, Atzila breathed a sigh of relief. If all went as Atzila suspected, the Phage would not emerge from her battle with the Jester as powerful as she entered it.</p><p>--It had taken some time, but the Phage as Viperidae had finally managed to catch the Jester off-guard. During that time, she had sent her fourth and final vessel into Norrath in order to gather additional energy and to continue her hunt for Atzila.Once the Phage had the Jester in her snare, he was plunged into layer upon layer of simulated reality, an array of illusory realms. In the end, the Jester was stripped even his own perception, losing his very sense of being to the Phage's mirages.As the Jester's being was withered away to a mere speck, the Phage did indeed succeed in making him beg for death, a request that she obliged as she snuffed out what remained of his mind. All that remained was the core essence of the Jester, berift of a psyche, which the Phage assimilated into herself. The process had cost the Phage all of the strength that she had gained since her defeat of the Thespian and she no longer had the power to hold either her second or fourth body in corporeal existance any longer, yet on the plains of the Eldritch Realms, the essence absorbed from the Jester had enabled her to glue the four fragments of her being back into a singular whole. At least, for the time being.In time, simply the act of the Phage's former wife holding onto her surname prefix and speaking it in recollection of the Phage's third persona was enough for her to unknowingly ensure that the Phage's lost power was soon restored. Before long, the Phage would be able to manifest on Norrath and do battle with Atzila once more. And after that, the Phage intended to bring about an Ages End of her own, one that would aim to destroy all that lived.</p>