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Focusing One's Talent

First Session

• Overheard in Mwyrdrysi immediately following the anomaly: “...Find the general. His Mark will crack the door...”
• Overheard in a ruined section of Mwyrdrysi near the site where the slime/destruction general approached the mahogany door, "...trying to get to the gates. Cut them off and capture their leader." in the voice of the Huntress/Champion of Wind, but harsher.
• Overheard in Mwyrdrysi between the outer walls and the gallery of ages, "...He's Mastered it! If you consume him, you'll be destroyed. The way to defeat him is to..."
• Overheard in Mwyrdrysi after Mao stole the Mark of Destruction and was destroyed, "...broke him. Everything about him. His heart, his mind, his body, his soul. And his story. He was not made to be the Standard-Bearer, not originally. But History is /mine/ to write..."

Third Session

• Overheard in Mwyr Aeld outside the train to Nakatan before departure: "...the cars are full!" "But sir, we still have a hundred more prisoners." "There's no room!" "Fine, fine. Men! Get the guns. The others will remain here permanently." in Agikaani. You hear a lot of voices, then gunfire, then screams, then more gunfire. Then, in Agikaani, "Are the tunnels finished?" "From Vellem to Nakatan, sir, stopping in Ffandr. Not to Mwyrdrysi, not yet, sir."
• Overheard in Mwyr Aeld on train to Nakatan: "...anymore." "None?" "None. All wiped out. Bred out of existence--they bred into them death. They died out within two generations. A necromancer could raise an unthinkable army there." "So who lives in Nakatan now?" "Vultures."
• Overheard at the train station in Nakatan: A gruff, grating voice said, "...Who captured the dragon?" "Sir Khaglam, Lord Krystnys." "How did he manage it?" "The dragon was disoriented after it appeared. Sir Khaglam had a siege engine cripple its leg, then ambushed it with his dragonsteel axe." "You are ready to awaken it at noon?" "Yes, sir." and then it fades.

Fourth Session

• Overheard in Mepang, just after Khalif the fortune-teller slipped away into time: Unknown: "...Do you think he knows that part of him is left behind?" Khalif: "No, that's part of the curse." Unknown: "And where did he pick that up?" Khalif: "From a broken heart..."

Fifth Session

• Overheard in Srisia, "...It's the complement to the Jewel. With this, we can make this Empire safe from the bugs, from your brothers. A few simple lies, and we get 7 powerful truths. Your Majesty, I know it galls you, but we must make sacrifices..." That's someone advising Emperor Maraddon about the Stone of Seven Truths.

Sixth Session

• Overheard in a warehouse in Srisia, while performing a ritual to gain time-sight: "...Their hearts beat still, though the bodies have long since decayed. Find their hearts, you fools, and find their powers..."
• Overheard in Kleozont's tower on Kael'ras, likely in reference to the scroll of chaos, uttered by a familiar voice, perhaps Kleozont in life, "...this will give you the power to change minor things at will, major things with effort, and ultimately, if you are shrewd, all of reality will be your plaything..."

Seventh Session

• Overheard on dragonback: "...Olsena, you don't understand. I /do/ care for you, but this is for the cause..." From the deep past.
• Overheard on dragonback: "...His mother had to give up two azures," aberrations, "but they did give birth to a proper wild talent eventually. These Vesturians aren't pure stock, you see, but they do have strong talents when they come about. You'll be happy with this boy, Giorgina." From the Age of Empires.

Eighth Session

• Overheard at a Gigian inn on Palhur in the Age of Stone: "...We're meeting with the Firfovs, father? Why?" "Because, my girl," a man with a thick Vesturian accent says, "They are family. Distant family, but family..."

Ninth Session

• Overheard while sneaking past a Limazari patrol: Mao, you hear the whispers, "...Your arms are so thin," a woman's voice, "but they're not bony. They're gentle. I like that..."
• Overheard in Belinda Sage's lab: Mao hears, "...What did it look like?" female voice, male response, "A golden cloud, devouring itself." The female laughs...

Tenth Session

• Overheard while flying over a large Ma-e city: "...Moments after I was born." "You were aware when you were born?" "I was aware before I was born. It was a simple matter to change the story so that I lived through it." "And now what?" "Now? Now I see how long I last..."
• Overheard while flying over Taggarus: "...Well, cousin, we've reached an awkward moment. Your move." "Don't call me your cousin." "Well, the relationship is complicated. It's a good as word as any." "It's offensive. And my move is the same as always." "So predictable, cousin. Of course, you Chronurians always /are/..."

Eleventh Session

• Overheard in the Berellian-occupied Night Wood:
  • "...she cannot hear us. It is unusual. And powerful. The Ruiner's Champion could not break it..."
  • "...Master, I come from the Court of the Filthmonger with interesting news." "Cleanse yourself first. You still stink of his court..."
  • "...Master, I have seen the nightmares of the Arrow Hail Captain," a new voice, this one, "And she also fears the coming break. She fears failing, deep in her cold heart..."
    • The Arrow Hail Captain is Aresedhel's Hand
  • Warg and Gabe: "...Gabriel, I stand in my sigil room, calling you." Gabe: "Warg? Is that yoo?" "Aye, Loather, it is me." "Why are ye botherin' me? I'm busy." "I seek to make an alliance. I suspect great opportunity lies in store for us." "Feck off..."
  • "...your mother, she does not listen, boy." "I have noticed. What do you want of me?" "Opportunity awaits us." "Why should I trust you?..."
  • "...The new goddess, Master, she has taken root on the other world." "Intersting. How did you find this out?" "I was looking into the nightmares of a child on that world..."
  • "...Have you pierced his dreams?" Warg: "No, little one, he is very powerful. He invokes the Names of the Divine to protect himself. But this alone is proof that he is the one responsible. A watcher..."
  • The next voice is definitely Stephen Nimbus, "...he's found the siring demon. He's found the Thorn Mage. He's ensnared my siblings. He's ensnared that pesky Paladin, and the Gift Finder. And a few others at that. He's trapping the most dangerous and swaying the most potent. He's pulling in so many. An ashurite, that remarkable blacksmith, the Zealot of the Amethyst Mantle, the Centipede, the Bringer of Misfortune. Too many to count. I'll have to free what I can..."
  • The next voice is Belinda, "...you don't want anything to be too close to what already exists?" Genfyllid responds, in a dull voice, "No. It must be entirely new." Belinda, "And FDM are not suitable? They would benefit from a patronage..."
  • The next voice is Mao's, but it's nothing he ever said, "...Hazunam, you bastard. You tricked me, and the professor. The demon was yours..."
  • The next voice is Ikara's, "...Think he's ready for a real heist?" A mysterious voice, "Our ashurite? I think he's /too/ good." Ikara, "You mean--?" She makes a slicing sound. The other man, "Perhaps." Ikara, "But he's..." Her distress is evident, but the whisper stops.
  • "...It is happening now. She is assaulting the Monastery." The voice is unfamiliar. The next is Warg again, "Then be ready. We do not know where we will land, but this is what they believe will break time." "Yes, Master..."
  • Warg says to his pack, My children. The heat oppresses us. The fires are starting again. This forest will return, in Ages to come, but now, now we must flee. My children, there is good hunting elsewhere. Follow me. Raise the call! And they raise their muzzles to howl... Then fade before it goes off.
  • Another image appears, of Lyson, walking through this part of the woods. He is walking with a young woman none of you recognize. They are speaking quietly, "...yes, there are flames that can burn time itself, General. I can show you. But it will require much from you." "...Well, Centipede, I am ready. This Age has nothing left for me. Show me..."
  • And that image fades. The next shows a man Genfyllid knows. His name is Orion Volkv, and he is also walking with Lyson. "...The smith is the dangerous one. He will forge the blades that will destroy me. If we kill him, his absence will inspire a woman who once loved him. She will forge weapons even more powerful. So instead, we must cripple him. In the castle of the Warlenz family, I have hidden a Gifted Ring..." Orion listens and nods. The image fades.
    • According to Quothar, the Warlenz are "servant to the Centipede, and their castle is the center of his power." They are "disciples of the Centipede."
  • In the next, Orion is walking with a portly mage that Mao vaguely recognizes as the mage Hazunam. Orion is saying, "...You must enchant a mirror to connect the MacBoon castle to the Warlenz castle." "Of course. And I will be given opportunity to stop the Ceremonialist?" "Yes, yes. Lyson says he will be involved with the Champion. When time breaks, we will gather the missing Gifts and Relics, and they will give us the power to handle them..."
  • They fade, and in the next, Llun, you see a man you vaguely recognize. He is walking with Orion, too. He is a lawman from the port city where you took up thievery. You don't recall his name, but you know he worked against your band of thieves often enough. Orion is saying to him, "...Lyson has been throwing me from Age to Age. It's very disconcerting. The languages alone are confusing. Have you the information I sent you?" The man nods, "Yes. Why is this ashurite of interest to you?" "Because, he is legendary. In the future, they will know him as the one who mastered Contradiction..."
  • They fade, and in the next one, you see a watcher meeting with Lyson. Thurqus. The Rogue. His copper skin is mottled with black spots, and he has that jerky, slightly mad countenance. "...Centipede, I cannot find her. They erased her ever so thoroughly." Lyson, "Yesss, itk isss unfortkunatke. Butk perhapss you will have more luckt aftker everythingk is brokten." Thurqus, "Yes, yes. Did you speak to the siring demon? We need him. If we can't get him, we can't control the demon cat. If we can't control the demon cat, it's all pointless. Not even a God's Name will command something born of no god. If we can't get him, we must destroy her maker. My cousin keeps preventing that. He saves her, I erase her. He saves her, I erase her. I just want my Orelsa back..." They fade.
  • The bluish tinge turns purple. Mao, you realize, you have one chance. You can rewind to any scene or set of whispers and explore them. You can choose to get the howl that you missed, or pick another 'recording.'

Twelveth Session:

• Overheard in the Mausoleum of the Godless, Jesumain, Leaves
  • "...The first time I faced them," the whispers of Stephen Nimbus echo in Mao's ears, "I nearly died. They made my blood freeze up. They are the antithesis of the Divine..."
  • "...child. So I did what I had to. I set myself aflame." in an unfamiliar voice. "It invoked the Age, of course, and allowed me to wrap the Divine's power about me..."
  • "...a castle made of stones from every era within the arc. Yes, significant stones..." the voice is dry, ancient.
  • "...When time loses meaning, so does space, you see. It must be flexible..." same voice.

Thirteenth Session:

• Overheard in the interior of Fanguuer, Beasts
  • (incomprehensible clicking and hissing)
  • a discernable voice, "...Get them into the mindscape, and to immobilize them. The cat is immune to the Names, so we must find another way to bind her. We must make her subject to the Divine..." The voice is unfamiliar.
  • the thunk sound of arrows or spears or something hitting wood. You hear a snapping sound, like a twig breaking.
  • heavy breathing, as if someone exhausted from running.
  • Then, "...I haven't got a way to fix him, sir. I can run some tests, but nothing I can do will unbreak his back..." Belinda.
  • A chorus of growls and barks, and hideous meowing, then, the clicking hissing language of pterodians, "If he will not let the boy die, he must carry that burden. The Sacrifice has been obstructed. We are in for a hard winter." the walls around you fade away.
  • You're on a vast savanna. A behemoth, big as a city, is stalking the plains as a dozen pterodians fly above it, seeking to strike it with their meager spears. No sounds but the sound of the hunt. They swoop in, strike, and the beast growls, but it is not significantly hurt. The pterodians swoop in and begin hacking it with small axes.
  • The scene shifts, and it's a human in a big, intricate mask speaking with Lyson. "So if I drag them all into the mindscape--" Lyson cuts him off, "Yess. I will do the resstk." The masked man nods, "And you will reach back and prevent my death?" Lyson nods, "Yess. You will be revived. No life in thisss masssk."
  • The scene shifts, and you're in a cave. It's shallow and well lit, and there are cages all over it. In them are animals of all sorts, including many cats that look like Skia. Belinda, dressed in skins, is mixing something in a rudimentary pot over a fire. A shadow falls over her, and she looks up to see a pterodian walk in. He's huge, heavily scarred, and angry. "You talked to my brother." He accuses. She responds calmly, "Yes. He was concerned for the child." She says this matter-of-factly. She clearly wasn't. The pterodian says, "I should slay you now." She scoffs, "You do that, and who will give you the serums that keep you strong, fast, and sharp, Cakrijen?" He scowls, which is dark on a reptillian face. "Do not help him." She shrugs, "I couldn't if I wanted to."
  • The scene fades, and then you're in a desert. A large army has gathered. They fly the standards of Mwyr Aeld. An old ruin is what they've surrounded, and it has lights in it and forces camped near to it. The Aeldians are laying low, watching, waiting for a signal, when suddenly, an alarm goes up. Arrows start falling. People start dying. Chaos erupts all around. Dark robed cultists of Filth and white clad archers who serve Winter pour out of the desert haze and attack. Arrows fall all around. And Genfyllid, you recognize your people fighting well. You see Servitors of Filth and Winter clash with each other as well. The scene fades.
  • You're all in the midst of another pterodian village. A female pterodian (which is hard to discern) has a sharp stone knife in hand. She's just pulled it red hot from a fire. She lifts up her child and pries open his mouth. She reaches in, pulls out the tongue, and slashes it with the knife. He's clearly about to scream in pain when the vision fades.
  • You're back with the masked mage. This time, he's talking with a crowe. She says to him, "I am convinced my sister is enslaved by the little monster, not the other way around. I need a weapon to use against it." The masked mage says, "And what can I give you? I work only in cantri--" He's cut off as she grabs him by the throat, "I want you to rip her mind out." It's one of Allasa's sisters.
  • The scene fades, and you are in the desert again. A watcher is... well, watching, from afar. He's watching a battle around a monastery. He looks up, and there's Stephen Nimbus, floating above and before him in an aura of light. Nimbus says, "So we start here, do we?" Thurqus says, "No better place. The pieces are all set. I've put everything in motion." Nimbus says, "Why the ashurite? Intriguing end for him, but now that's washed away." Thurqus says, "A Knot is just another kind of Bridge." Nimbus laughs, "One to control it, one to embody it, one to defend it, and one just in case it needs to be cut?" Thurqus smiles, "Something like that." The vision fades.
• Fourteenth Session
  • In my voice, "...hear me, Agikaan! Hear me! We will not let them keep us down any longer. I have here the last secret of our nation, and with it, we shall rise up and be greater even than the gods!"
  • the voice of someone unfamiliar, "...I count thirteen thousand," this is in the Chronurain tongue, "Thirteen thousand alternate timelines so far. We can probably block most of them, but when this thing folds back in on itself..." He trails off, and another says, "War. Massive, intertimeline war. By Prophet and Divine, we are, in the vernacular, fucked, my friend."
• Fifteenth Session
  • In the Shadowlands, "...No one has noticed, nor will they. It, as they say, takes one to know one, and any who is one will not speak up and reveal themselves..."
  • In the tower of shadows, while fighting a Neron during one of Fane Crow's tests: "...She will die when I am ready. She has already found her own essence in the Hells, and I have mine here. She will create what I need, and I need break no laws. My dear cousin, be not afraid. I have seen all. I know what I am doing..." The same dry, rasping voice as before.
  • "...And what is my reward?" The voice is soft, seductive, and you hear the dry, raspy voice say, "Invincibility. He will be unable to affect you, for you will be his antithesis..."
• Sixteenth Session
  • Near the Frustrated Groan, on Ranic Limazar in the Age of Storms
    • "...Get out, and I will sparre you," a hard, quiet voice says. The response is like a slug slithering over your ear drums, .:Bear my children, and I will spare yours:.
    • It's the slimy voice from before, Mao, but less filled with power. ":You're playing all sides, bugman. I don't like it. I don't trust you.:" The response is a familiar voice, "Tkrusstk me or notk. I don'tk ctare. I bring you your only chancsse." (held momentarily)
    • You see a scene flicker before you. A woman in a heavy cloak stands in the dark wood. Her cloak is violet, but stained with mud. She's meeting a man in a red cloak. The woman says in accented and ancient Vesturian, "I went when you told me. I saw nothing. They are on to me." The man in red, in thick, natural Vesturian replies, "It is so. I felt it. We have no time at all. This will have never happened." And then it fades. (held momentarily)
    • The arthropodal noise picks up more, and you see a disgusting figure sitting in a pool of green filth. He's huge, bloated, pale green. He looks like nothing you've ever seen. It's the Champion of Filth, Urugal. He is speaking to a large centipede, which makes no reply. ":Centipede, I know you hear me. I know you plan to betray me. I have discerned the means and countered it. Return to my fold, and I will spare you.:" And then the vision flickers away. (held momentarily)
    • Stephen Nimbus saying, "You were born of chemicals. Show me how to alter this one, and I will tell you how to destroy the Centipede, Champion. Show me how to alter this to my needs, and I will show you how to use him." And Urugal's voice replies, ":This substance is forbidden. I could be destroyed for even talking to you. Go away, mad man, or I will fill your lungs with roaches.:"
      • Immediately, this repeats, but instead of that, Urugal says, ":It is strange chance you should ask. I do not trust you. This is no coincidence.:"
      • And then, immediately, it repeats, this time with, Urugal saying, ":Ahh, yes. I have seen this before. There are ways to mask the process, but you will need infernal access. Come to my sanctum, let us speak.:" And then it fades.
    • As you continue further, you see a river of black mud, stinking of filth, pollution, tar, and shit. It steams, and something huge causes the surface to ripple. You hear Urugal say, from behind you, ":Lord of Myre and Murk, your humble servant returns. I have seen the Mirror of Worlds, and I have seen its breaking. In it, you live. You are real. In it, there are thousands of me, and thousands of you. And one has come to show me the way to open it. You shall manifest here, I swear this. The time has come. You, Great One, shall be a True Divine.:" The river ripples and a tentacle gently lashes out, toward you, through you--it's just an image, and wraps around Urugal, whose image is behind you. It's a loving caress, and then it vanishes.
    • The river itself is not even there anymore, and you move forward, coming eventually to a huge, black-oozed pine tree. It has what appears to be a face within the muck. You realize that this ooze monster is the same creature from the river. No words are spoken. It remains there a moment. And then, you hear... sexual noises in the distance. They move toward climax, and then... a horrid groan fills the air, pure, raw frustration. You may hold onto the groan, or go back to one of the visions and explore them further.
  • In Belle Point, in a bar, just after Llunethan unraveled the echo of John Wilder
    • "...What d'ye want o' me?" the accent is a thick Wohl accent (Australian). The response, Thurqus, says, "You are the Arbiter's Manifest. I will hold you against him. I will not have him interfering..."
    • The Gift Finder responds, "He don't give a wallaby's tucker for me, mate." Thurqus, "So you think, so you think. But I have... sources. You are the Gift Finder. The Gifts, they are... they are special. /You/ are special." If you wish to go forward more, roll WIL again. If you wish to go backward, roll WIL again.
    • The conversation seems to skip, Mao, and you hear Thurqus say, "...The Gift Finder is bound by four Names. He was surprisingly resistant. Are you two happy? I have done all you asked. Now, give her to me!" A young man's voice, "Not yet, watcher. You've not completed the whole list. Stephen still lives." More Wil rolls to move more, Mao.

Seventeenth Session:

• In the Age of Waves, at Styrandaur
  • "...should I help you? How will I benefit?" "You will getk the chancse tko ktill your nemessiss." "I don't have one..." "Ah, butk you do..."
  • "...He ktilled you, in hiss other passtk. If you do nokt ssttritke, he will ktill you in thiss one..."
  • "...Why not kill him? Why give up the Ring?" a female voice asks. Lyson says, "He'ss usseful alive, asss a bargaining tchip. And more. I have hopesss. If the Ring ctontkrolss him, I ctan ctontkrol him..."

Eighteenth Session:

• In the Age of Waves, near the Palace of Thorn
  • Lafaek's voice, "...so he's a what?" Thurqus's voice, "A great talent. Descended of Divine Blood." Lafaek, "And how do you kill one of those?" Thurqus, "Every one is different, but I can tell you where to find the information." Lafaek, "How did you find /me/? WHat the fuck /are/ you?"
  • "sources," Thurqus says. Lafaek responds, "Does that answer the first question or the second?" Thurqus, "Neither. Do you want the information?" Lafaek sighs, "Fuck it. Your price is right. Where do I find the information?" Thurqus, "In the Age of Flames, in a village on the Shattered Plains. Ask a man there named Argus." Lafaek, "Age of Fl--what the fuck?"
  • "What are you doing here, sir?" the stranger asks. "Getting more blood," Nimbus replies. "Why, sir?" the stranger asks, "Because I need to stock up before time breaks again..."
  • "...breaks again," Nimbus is saying. "Before it what? How?" a stranger asks. "'When?' is the better question," Nimbus responds.
  • "All right," the stranger asks, exasperated, "When?" "I don't know," Nimbus responds, "But it will be a much, much bigger breaking. Whole continents will change Epochs. Do you know what happens to a flying continent when it's in the wrong Epoch? Or a normal one getting sent to Waves?" He laughs maniacally.

Nineteenth Session:

• Outside time, with Telesmaer Kosobak, Keeper and Witness of the Mouth of Chaos, and Princess Kufash (they were not real, or were they):
  • The Keeper considers, then looks into space a moment. The girl stops petting, and she speaks in an unearthly voice,
  • _The Champion of Winter has amassed much power in her underwater domain, surrounded herself with walls of ice. It will take more than flame and wave to break through to her, and more even to defeat her. She grows in strength as her minions do.
  • _The Centipede leads his followers to an endgame dark and dreadful, and he cares nothing if they live or die, for he will gain power either way.
  • _The family Avett is at the heart of this all. One must find a way to neutralize the powers of three of them in order to stop them from reseting the clock.
  • _The key to the Rogue's downfall lies with the Smith. Bolster him, and you bolster the chances that the Rogue will fall.
  • _The Champion of Flames is already dead. He poses no threat. Kill him again if you will.
  • _The Champion of Darkness is protected by powers beyond you and yours, but his life is a commodity to them. It can be bought, for the right price, to the right persons.
  • And the Champion of Leaves is the same as the Champion of Flames. She died, with Flames, Hours, Waves, Stone, and Beasts, in the assault the Champion of Thorn lead on the Monastery, the assault that began the Rivening of Time. Her past self is irrelevant. Dispose of it or not. It matters little.
• In the company of the Veil:
  • A cackling voice, "...and that's why you don't degenerate time and space. Watchers come and steal your playthings!..." It's the Keeper. The real one.

Between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Sessions:

• In the tower:
  • "...never had one." The voice is male. "So we'll have to build it. There's no point in not trying."

Twentyfirst Session:

• On Taggarus from Winds, in Leaves, the jungle island of Atanaxus, deep in the jungle:
  • "...your voice, it's beautiful. Will you sing for me?" Nimbus asks someone. A woman replies, "Oh, what song do you like to hear?" her accent is strange, probably Ansulymic.
  • "...Do you know 'The Two Lives of Sam Jacobs'?" "Of course," she says. She begins to sing. It fades.
  • Her singing started with 'There once was a man...' then faded.
  • As you continue, you hear the same female saying, "...Oh, Stephen, not so rough." He responds, "This isn't what you think it is." And she whimpers, then chokes. He shouts, angrily, "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SCREAM!" And it fades.
  • The next one is another woman. This pattern will repeat for about five sets of two whispers each: Nimbus seduces a woman by asking her to sing that song, then he kills her trying to make her scream. None of them scream until the fifth one, and after it he says, "NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"
  • Then the next one is different. The next one, Nimbus is saying, "...now, little girl, if you sing this song, I will give you this shiny ring." She says, "But I don't know the words." Nimbus says, with fading patience, "I will TEACH you--quit crying. Damnation." And it stops, and then there's three repetitions in a row until you hear get past it--three iterations of the same instance. He begins to teach her the words.
  • The gist of the song is that a man is given a second chance at life after a near death experience. In each verse, it describes how he went back to everywhere he'd ever been and tried to right his own wrongs. The song ends with his being buried in the same coffin as his mother.
  • When he finishes teaching it to her, she starts to sing it.
  • And then halfway through the song, Nimbus says, "I know you're listening."
  • A conversation followed, in which Nimbus asked for Mao's help. Mao refused, so Nimbus used temporal meddling to destroy him. Mao used this experience to Master the Mark of Obsidian Obelisk and survive the process.

Twentysecond Session:

• On Rys, the gray moon:
  • "...All we have to do is break into her palace and place the bottle there. Simple mission," the woman says. "She's known to be very cruel to those who cross her." "We're putting something in, not taking something out." "She will hunt us down!" a nervous voice says, a male. "Be calm," the answer is female. "Be patient. If we are careful, she will never know..."
  • "...I think there's a way in here." Allill, the acrobat of the Sathers. Nimbus responds, "Good, good. You can get up there?" "Oh, yes," she says. He responds, "Then I think we will gather the others. This plan will work out well, I think..."
  • "...So do you think she will serve?" Thurqus asks. "Oh yes," an unfamiliar voice answers. Male, but light. A female voice adds, "We chose her specifically. She's his type. She will get what we need." Thurqus says, "A drop of his blood?" The male says, "Foolish. Do not speak it aloud." There's a sharp crack, then Thurqus sobs...
  • "...So cold here." A man spoke. A woman, "Of course it is." She has no emotion. The man huffs, "Right, right. So you called me here. What can I do for you?" She answers, "I need to know how to Master this." A sword is drawn. "A difficult proposition, Champion." "I know. So I came to you." "To what do you want it Mastered?" "Frigidity." A noise, and you realize the man is nodding. "Find a life that is eternal, and a cold colder than anything can be." "Of course. But where?" "The Paragon that was driven away." "But where?" "You know where." A moment, then, the man says, "--Wha---" and you hear him die...
  • "...Where are you headed?" Nimbus asks. Lyson, "Do not put my soldiers to sleep, Nimbus. If you want privacy, ask for it." Nimbus, "They'll be fine." Lyson, "I do not care. I need them." Nimbus, "Yes, that's one of your flaws. You're walking toward doom. I can protect you, Centipede. You won't kill me. I won't kill you. It's a good deal..." "...Centipede," Nimbus says, "You won't kill me. I won't kill you. It's a good deal." Lyson, "I don't make deals." Nimbus, "Sometimes you do." Lyson, "I learned not to. You are treacherous. Begone, or I will put a 'pede in your hair." Nimbus, "Very well. Go talk to that foul creature and give him your aid. It will make no matter. The Laird is coming for him, and the Smith for you. You. Are. Fucked." Lyson, "So be it..."
  • "...Father, mother won't listen," Gnasher is saying. Traa' says, "I know. I have tried to break the enchantment. If I cannot, none can." Gnasher, "So what do we do?" Traa', "Wait and see..."
  • "...we are going hunting tomorrow," the male with Thurqus. Thurqus, "Oh?" The female, "Don't get your hopes up. You know what will happen if you do..." Thurqus, "Yes, yes." Pathetically. The male says, "Bring us the falcons." Thurqus, "Yes, yes." He shuffles off. The female says, "Another listener, brother." "Yes, sister." "Give him what he wants. It will get rid of him." "Do you have something to say, Ceremonialist?" Mao, from the present, "You must be the Avett twins. Did you set this up for me?" The female, "Yes. On both counts." "Then you have my thanks. I hope you weren't looking for a drop of my blood, that other time." "No. Our brother's. You missed the athak's voice that we set up so carefully." "Yes, to my shame. I will seek a lesser one. Unless you can tell me where to find one." The girl starts laughing. The male gets irritated, "Stop that!" "I can't help it! He's eating it up!" "Oh, my, are the time gods toying with me again?" The female says, "We've hidden the crown and gavel where you will /never/ find them." Tauntingly. "You've wasted your time. You'll never defeat us." "Defeat you? I thought I was supposed to make you the masters of the paradox. You or whoever else is pulling my strings that day." The male says, "No. Your role is a minor one. You are rather insiginifcant." "Did you find some replacement for me, then? Perhaps, what was it, Hazuman? Hamuzan? My school chum?" The male says, "Ah, Thurqus. You've brought the birds." Thurqus says, "Yes, yes." And then you hear the falcon's cry.

Twentyfourth Session:

• While flying into battle with the North Winds: Master, where will you be? The Prophetess asks. The sword will come to me just before the battle. I will not unveil it for such a petty exercise. I will remain hidden, here in these ranks.