Chapter 174: 174
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"Dr. Odd is on Alpha Minoris. I don't have the time to explain everything and still keep my deadline schedules. If you call off the firing squad and follow me to the house, I'll give you an explanation as I work or I can call your favorite angel in the whole wide world to give you an intimate breakdown with all your subordinates watching," Orison said with a saintly smile.
Face going white as a sheet before taking on a faint blush, Jacques said, "N-no. You're bluffing!"
Orison smiled even more radiantly and said, "Sammy, sweetheart, the apple of Edom in my eye, could you give us a whiff or those heavenly hand rolled cigars you make? Your buddy, Jacques, seems to have forgotten the savory scent of your affections."
A husky woman's voice echoed in Orison's spiritual seat, "Mo than happy to, sugar, but don't be playin round with yo faith juice like dat. It'll bite you in yo a** one day."
A puff of sweet herb laced cigar smoke rolled under Jacques' nose, sending him into a sneezing fit. Looking like a child wrongfully punished, he followed Orison into the lake house after releasing Planar Response back to their duty stations. As they walked in the door, the young mage started things off by pouring about three shots worth of Ice and Fire into the potted plant that sat between the dining and living room. All the while, he ignored LeStrange's complaint.
While Orison doled out 'medicine' to the teens, Gan and LeStrange with a great deal less camaraderie than he had originally intended, he spun a story of surface truths to placate Jacques. "Dr. Odd was forced to cross the divide early... The three of you who don't know the whole story, this planet is called Beta Prime and there is another planet from a higher dimension called Alpha Minoris that it is merging with. When the process is done, the new merged planet will finish popping up to the higher dimension or sink back fully into this one.
"No matter which way it goes, it's bad for somebody. If it rises, a lot of things will disappear to make room for things that are more real and the remaining people from this side will become mostly just normal people with a few minor quirks. If it sinks, then this reality will get into a resource tug of war with the higher reality and the outcome isn't as stacked in the higher reality's favor as it would usually be. That equals a lot of death and collateral damage."
Jacques said, "The reason why his artifact came to me even though my mentor isn't dead?"
Orison said, "It's worthless up there. Well, not entirely but close enough... Gan, you and my stingy mentor can finish off what's left of the bottle at whim."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Gan said with an irritable look on his face as he saw Jacques grab the bottle and fit as much into his glass as he could.
"Alright, Rio. I have a list of things for you to do. After strutting around for Esme to your heart's content, I've authorized you to sign yourself out of school. You don't have to come home as soon as you finish but if you want to be as much in the loop as you can be, I'd suggest you come back as soon as you can," Orison added wryly.
Rio slurred agreement before calling up transportation.
Garret said, "Am I staying again today?"
Orison shrugged. "I could use an extra pair of hands but it's not in the realm of 'need'."
As a barrage of invisible echoes continued to merge with him, like they had since the first set, Orison continued surface truth explaining. "Dr Odd left the artifact and I was allowed to use it. There was an understanding between me and basically everyone that I wouldn't take credit for other's discoveries but I was told to help a few people make their discoveries earlier. So, I'd appreciate it if you would help me clear a few minor red flags that might stop me from doing that."
Still frowning at the snoring Northlander on the kitchen floor, "The artifact won't allow itself to be used for selfish reasons but that doesn't mean it couldn't be used with good AND selfish reasons... I need a daily report from you for ALL the things you're going to do that day and if you deviate, I'll have you put under protective custody until I can get Aurora to read your truth."
Orison said, "I don't care that you're an acting Triumvir. I won't hesitate to pull supernatural rank on you if you keep me from handling personal business I don't feel like sharing... Keeper of oaths and seer of all things within your domain, by the stone that possesses your blessing and power, I swear to commit no crime or take what rightfully belongs to someone else with the knowledge of that future I have seen."
The artifact hidden underneath Jacques shirt glowed a peaceful blue for a moment and Orison added, "That's my compromise. As long as you don't block my activities, I won't get in your way or cause you anymore problems than you'd already be dealing with."
It took a great deal more skirting around the dangerous full truth to convince LeStrange and the young mage knew full well that he'd be under watchful eyes moving forward but he didn't care. "It's going to be nonstop hectic for the next couple of weeks til the turn of the month. I'd like your three diamond passes."
Jacques snorted. "I'm sure you would."
"I already gave you almost a third of a bottle of Ice and Fire. What more do you want from me!? Damn cheapskate!" Orison asked with an aggrieved face.
Seeing a way to get some revenge, Jacques leered and said, "You're the one wanting something. Make an offer."
Narrowing his eyes, Orison said, "Stop eyeballing the last shot in the small bottle. With as much Ice and Fire as you've drank in the last few years, it wouldn't do anything for you except make you a little numb for a couple of minutes... On top of not telling anyone how much supplement you just wasted for personal pleasure and how you offered me nothing for it, I won't uninvite you to my party tomorrow."
Refusing to back down too much and still angle, Jacques said, "That earns you one 'unloaded' diamond pass. What about the rest you asked for?"
Orison sneered. "Just 'load' it and the other two with the merits you've conveniently forgotten to pay out to my account. And before you decide to go down that road, I've knowledge of the future training you plan on giving me and how much you got for those materials. I dare you to lie to me about it with that medallion hanging around your neck."
A sore loser, LeStrange revved up to defend his position when Orison added, "The 'barely' part of 'barely not extortion' and 'barely not theft' is so paper thin it's a form of shame in itself. Since I've already received your overpriced training, I'll concede that half but if I had known how you would treat me, I assure you, I would have never trusted you with my merits. UTF right wing extremists are more charitable than you."
While the sound of three notifications ringing out on the young mage's touchscreen, Jacques said angrily, "Since you've received all the training, get ready to prove it. I've scheduled your defense of B-class privileges two weeks from now."
Orison gave a saintly smile. "Oh, so the earliest you could make it... If you can MAKE IT to the party with that chip off your shoulder, I won't slip you mixto made with bottom shelf mezcal."
Wide eyed, Jacques looked at Orison like he was the devil. "You wouldn't dare!"
The young mage sighed. "Bury the hatchet with me, mentor. A student and his teacher should be like father and son, not bickering merchants. I am thankful for... all you would have done, miserly inclinations aside."
Snorting impressively, Jacques said, "I'm bringing my wife, mistress and my two children."
Orison slowly shook his head and muttered, "Shameless." More decisively, he added, "Fine. They can take turns running one of the games for the children's side of the party in the training room."
Looking over to the potted plant that had wilted and slumped into the form of a three foot green alien, LeStrange said, "Since you know about shifty, there's no need for her to stay here anymore... I have to admit. That is the kindest and most generous way I've ever seen anyone call her out."
Orison looked at the slumbering, childlike little green wo'man' and said a little emotionally, "Four of Seven's a saint. One of the best of us. Now, Five of Seven pretending to be a toilet in the main bathroom... Get them out of here before I smash them."
Ignoring the awkward exit of Jacques and the two alien doppelgangers along with Garret's look of subtle dawning horror, Orison set up things with the water park. After checking schedules, he abused the authority holding three diamond passes at once granted to requisition El, Em and his two other Planar Response friends as 'under cover' guest security. Having Stag and Gan cooperate, he personally allotted the nine gold and most of the eighty-one silver tickets through requests to the ones receiving the gold.
Garret was glad he stayed. Even though Orison seemed to have an endless litany of magical 'arts and crafts' to do, it meant that he got to be a part of other preparations. He was scared and excited in equal measure. Stomping that excitement down, he told Orison, with no hesitation, that he wanted to be a climber and he only wanted to make sure that Babs and his mom were left with some small advantages before he left.
Around Five, the young mage went to check on Stag. "You still feeling groggy?"
Stag swiveled his head to look at Orison with worry. The two new stubs that were growing in had detached and laid in his hands. There was no point in healing them back on because the velvet that should have nourished them to maturity had necrotized. Just to make sure it wasn't the reason he expected it to be, the young mage exercised spirit sight.
Orison smiled reassuringly and told the green haired man, "I hope this doesn't confuse you too much but remember how I explained about us being in the low dimensions and how there were many realities within it?"
"In between all the other concerns of my life, I've thought about it frequently," Stag said.
The young mage nodded. "Well some time travel foolery happened, will have happened... You know what I mean. The point is, what happens in the low dimensions doesn't affect the mid dimensions. In the hypothetical future, if someone were to ascend to them but the rest of us went back to a previous point in time, it would be as if they just vanished.
"For those who weren't aware of what was supposed to be, it would be like they never were a part of whatever happened from that point further. Anything they used or took with them would most likely be gone too. That's where things take weird turn for you."
"Let me rip the band-aid off. Your ancestors aren't some mythical beings. They were a few stalks of spiritually awakened feather grass. They were soaked in various essences from the violent mating ritual between a primordial existence and a powerful Aspect of Nature archetype. Pleased with their accidental creation, they blessed your ancestors' existence and treated you as children. I suppose the argument could be made but I'll leave that to you.
"When I fed you the core essence of Herne, it was a good thing except that you weren't quite strong enough to claim it. In exchange for sparing you from possession, I helped Herne to ascend. Due to some wording of our agreement, it limited what he could take from you when he left but because time was messed with, he can take more. Don't worry, he's about to regret his greed real soon.
"What you need to know is what you want to base your future path off of. Your choices boil down to the blessings of those powerful beings, your grass deer fey heritage or a unique personal path of your own making. There's no right or wrong choice. You've had well over a year to figure out what comes from where when it comes to your advantages and disadvantages."
After a bit of discussion, Stag had his goal. He would go to Eo Pan at one point during the evening and hijack a part of the ritual taking place to consolidate what he wanted at the cost of other things. The beautiful part, from the Nunnos man's perspective, was how much would be paid by Herne for keeping a siphoning connection open.
"The last new moon before spring. That's a powerful time to 'get rid' of things you don't want in your life. How does what you're wanting me to do translate into that kind of working?" Stag asked.
Orison said, "With how close we are to the southern pole, there is another ritual being held at another place a specific distance away that is having a last new moon before winter thing, where they entreat their higher power to not take away the things precious to them and keep them safe for the coming of spring. New moon turns to first light on the other side and I think you get the rest."
Stag said, "Any tips for blending with the crowd? Crashing someone else's ritual is usually a huge offense."
"This is a spiritual ritual and it's open to people who aren't coming with bad intentions. You aren't. You're coming to be given aid in a mostly spiritual problem that's in alignment with what they're doing. Just be honest, kind and as free with your affections as you're comfortable with," the young mage said, mostly succeeding in trying to suppress internal embarrassment over details.
The green haired man chuckled. "I've never had problems with the generosity of my affections."
Orison rolled his eyes and said, "Wrap up the generosity around one or two in the morning. You need to get some rest because I'll want your help with preparation for the party. And out of my current group, you're the only one with enough experience to really be of help. Since you're a decently accomplished herbalist in your own right, use whatever you want in the kitchen. I've added your fingerprint to the biometric locked cupboard."
The young mage hung back with Gan when everyone else went at Six in the evening. "You're probably wondering why I've been keeping a distance from you. It probably doesn't help that I really haven't been letting you in on much either. There's nothing wrong. I just have to make sure a certain thing happens a certain way for best effect."
Looking nostalgic, maybe even a little sad, Gan said, "It'll be what it'll be... Do I still have a place in your home?"
Orison felt the question had a lot more weight than it did before. Future knowledge showed him possibilities based off of things that shouldn't happen but that didn't mean that the seed of those possibilities weren't already planted. He didn't want to take a recording of a deathbed confession from a future that no longer existed too seriously considering the circumstances they occurred in but he couldn't shake it completely either.
He replied, "You will always have a place in my home and by my side. What's mine is yours. Even if you became an impossible to redeem monster bent on destroying me and everything I love, you'll still have a place in my home. It'll just be an urn on the mantle.
"I'll try my best to accept any lover you have as my family because I hope you'll do the same. Any children you ha... er, adopt or whatever, I'd take care of as my own because I know you'd do it for me if you needed to. Blame it on my pettiness and need not to be outdone in areas I take pride in. But after everything you've done and I know you would do for me, there's not a whole lot I wouldn't do for you... Take a seat because what I have to say next, I'll only say once."
Chuckling nervously, Gan asked, "Should I be worried about what you're going to say?"
Orison said, "Not half as much as I am to say it."
Once they were both sat down and and true to Northlander style, with a liberal coating of inebriation for both, added, "I don't want you waylaid and messed up with worry by what you'll know soon. Things will turn out completely different this time and it might not matter but I know. So, here's the awkward conversation you didn't know you were promised.
"There's a couple of girls out there in Greater Reality I really like. And if I ever meet them again, I'll want to try for more than just 'like'. Maybe I'll never meet them or maybe I'll meet someone else but I will be faithful to the one I want to be faithful to me. I'm not quite there yet but I will want the wife and kids thing one day. That's the Al part of me I want to honor it. It's a part of myself I couldn't deny anyway."
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"Dr. Odd is on Alpha Minoris. I don't have the time to explain everything and still keep my deadline schedules. If you call off the firing squad and follow me to the house, I'll give you an explanation as I work or I can call your favorite angel in the whole wide world to give you an intimate breakdown with all your subordinates watching," Orison said with a saintly smile.
Face going white as a sheet before taking on a faint blush, Jacques said, "N-no. You're bluffing!"
Orison smiled even more radiantly and said, "Sammy, sweetheart, the apple of Edom in my eye, could you give us a whiff or those heavenly hand rolled cigars you make? Your buddy, Jacques, seems to have forgotten the savory scent of your affections."
A husky woman's voice echoed in Orison's spiritual seat, "Mo than happy to, sugar, but don't be playin round with yo faith juice like dat. It'll bite you in yo a** one day."
A puff of sweet herb laced cigar smoke rolled under Jacques' nose, sending him into a sneezing fit. Looking like a child wrongfully punished, he followed Orison into the lake house after releasing Planar Response back to their duty stations. As they walked in the door, the young mage started things off by pouring about three shots worth of Ice and Fire into the potted plant that sat between the dining and living room. All the while, he ignored LeStrange's complaint.
While Orison doled out 'medicine' to the teens, Gan and LeStrange with a great deal less camaraderie than he had originally intended, he spun a story of surface truths to placate Jacques. "Dr. Odd was forced to cross the divide early... The three of you who don't know the whole story, this planet is called Beta Prime and there is another planet from a higher dimension called Alpha Minoris that it is merging with. When the process is done, the new merged planet will finish popping up to the higher dimension or sink back fully into this one.
"No matter which way it goes, it's bad for somebody. If it rises, a lot of things will disappear to make room for things that are more real and the remaining people from this side will become mostly just normal people with a few minor quirks. If it sinks, then this reality will get into a resource tug of war with the higher reality and the outcome isn't as stacked in the higher reality's favor as it would usually be. That equals a lot of death and collateral damage."
Jacques said, "The reason why his artifact came to me even though my mentor isn't dead?"
Orison said, "It's worthless up there. Well, not entirely but close enough... Gan, you and my stingy mentor can finish off what's left of the bottle at whim."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Gan said with an irritable look on his face as he saw Jacques grab the bottle and fit as much into his glass as he could.
"Alright, Rio. I have a list of things for you to do. After strutting around for Esme to your heart's content, I've authorized you to sign yourself out of school. You don't have to come home as soon as you finish but if you want to be as much in the loop as you can be, I'd suggest you come back as soon as you can," Orison added wryly.
Rio slurred agreement before calling up transportation.
Garret said, "Am I staying again today?"
Orison shrugged. "I could use an extra pair of hands but it's not in the realm of 'need'."
As a barrage of invisible echoes continued to merge with him, like they had since the first set, Orison continued surface truth explaining. "Dr Odd left the artifact and I was allowed to use it. There was an understanding between me and basically everyone that I wouldn't take credit for other's discoveries but I was told to help a few people make their discoveries earlier. So, I'd appreciate it if you would help me clear a few minor red flags that might stop me from doing that."
Still frowning at the snoring Northlander on the kitchen floor, "The artifact won't allow itself to be used for selfish reasons but that doesn't mean it couldn't be used with good AND selfish reasons... I need a daily report from you for ALL the things you're going to do that day and if you deviate, I'll have you put under protective custody until I can get Aurora to read your truth."
Orison said, "I don't care that you're an acting Triumvir. I won't hesitate to pull supernatural rank on you if you keep me from handling personal business I don't feel like sharing... Keeper of oaths and seer of all things within your domain, by the stone that possesses your blessing and power, I swear to commit no crime or take what rightfully belongs to someone else with the knowledge of that future I have seen."
The artifact hidden underneath Jacques shirt glowed a peaceful blue for a moment and Orison added, "That's my compromise. As long as you don't block my activities, I won't get in your way or cause you anymore problems than you'd already be dealing with."
It took a great deal more skirting around the dangerous full truth to convince LeStrange and the young mage knew full well that he'd be under watchful eyes moving forward but he didn't care. "It's going to be nonstop hectic for the next couple of weeks til the turn of the month. I'd like your three diamond passes."
Jacques snorted. "I'm sure you would."
"I already gave you almost a third of a bottle of Ice and Fire. What more do you want from me!? Damn cheapskate!" Orison asked with an aggrieved face.
Seeing a way to get some revenge, Jacques leered and said, "You're the one wanting something. Make an offer."
Narrowing his eyes, Orison said, "Stop eyeballing the last shot in the small bottle. With as much Ice and Fire as you've drank in the last few years, it wouldn't do anything for you except make you a little numb for a couple of minutes... On top of not telling anyone how much supplement you just wasted for personal pleasure and how you offered me nothing for it, I won't uninvite you to my party tomorrow."
Refusing to back down too much and still angle, Jacques said, "That earns you one 'unloaded' diamond pass. What about the rest you asked for?"
Orison sneered. "Just 'load' it and the other two with the merits you've conveniently forgotten to pay out to my account. And before you decide to go down that road, I've knowledge of the future training you plan on giving me and how much you got for those materials. I dare you to lie to me about it with that medallion hanging around your neck."
A sore loser, LeStrange revved up to defend his position when Orison added, "The 'barely' part of 'barely not extortion' and 'barely not theft' is so paper thin it's a form of shame in itself. Since I've already received your overpriced training, I'll concede that half but if I had known how you would treat me, I assure you, I would have never trusted you with my merits. UTF right wing extremists are more charitable than you."
While the sound of three notifications ringing out on the young mage's touchscreen, Jacques said angrily, "Since you've received all the training, get ready to prove it. I've scheduled your defense of B-class privileges two weeks from now."
Orison gave a saintly smile. "Oh, so the earliest you could make it... If you can MAKE IT to the party with that chip off your shoulder, I won't slip you mixto made with bottom shelf mezcal."
Wide eyed, Jacques looked at Orison like he was the devil. "You wouldn't dare!"
The young mage sighed. "Bury the hatchet with me, mentor. A student and his teacher should be like father and son, not bickering merchants. I am thankful for... all you would have done, miserly inclinations aside."
Snorting impressively, Jacques said, "I'm bringing my wife, mistress and my two children."
Orison slowly shook his head and muttered, "Shameless." More decisively, he added, "Fine. They can take turns running one of the games for the children's side of the party in the training room."
Looking over to the potted plant that had wilted and slumped into the form of a three foot green alien, LeStrange said, "Since you know about shifty, there's no need for her to stay here anymore... I have to admit. That is the kindest and most generous way I've ever seen anyone call her out."
Orison looked at the slumbering, childlike little green wo'man' and said a little emotionally, "Four of Seven's a saint. One of the best of us. Now, Five of Seven pretending to be a toilet in the main bathroom... Get them out of here before I smash them."
Ignoring the awkward exit of Jacques and the two alien doppelgangers along with Garret's look of subtle dawning horror, Orison set up things with the water park. After checking schedules, he abused the authority holding three diamond passes at once granted to requisition El, Em and his two other Planar Response friends as 'under cover' guest security. Having Stag and Gan cooperate, he personally allotted the nine gold and most of the eighty-one silver tickets through requests to the ones receiving the gold.
Garret was glad he stayed. Even though Orison seemed to have an endless litany of magical 'arts and crafts' to do, it meant that he got to be a part of other preparations. He was scared and excited in equal measure. Stomping that excitement down, he told Orison, with no hesitation, that he wanted to be a climber and he only wanted to make sure that Babs and his mom were left with some small advantages before he left.
Around Five, the young mage went to check on Stag. "You still feeling groggy?"
Stag swiveled his head to look at Orison with worry. The two new stubs that were growing in had detached and laid in his hands. There was no point in healing them back on because the velvet that should have nourished them to maturity had necrotized. Just to make sure it wasn't the reason he expected it to be, the young mage exercised spirit sight.
Orison smiled reassuringly and told the green haired man, "I hope this doesn't confuse you too much but remember how I explained about us being in the low dimensions and how there were many realities within it?"
"In between all the other concerns of my life, I've thought about it frequently," Stag said.
The young mage nodded. "Well some time travel foolery happened, will have happened... You know what I mean. The point is, what happens in the low dimensions doesn't affect the mid dimensions. In the hypothetical future, if someone were to ascend to them but the rest of us went back to a previous point in time, it would be as if they just vanished.
"For those who weren't aware of what was supposed to be, it would be like they never were a part of whatever happened from that point further. Anything they used or took with them would most likely be gone too. That's where things take weird turn for you."
"Let me rip the band-aid off. Your ancestors aren't some mythical beings. They were a few stalks of spiritually awakened feather grass. They were soaked in various essences from the violent mating ritual between a primordial existence and a powerful Aspect of Nature archetype. Pleased with their accidental creation, they blessed your ancestors' existence and treated you as children. I suppose the argument could be made but I'll leave that to you.
"When I fed you the core essence of Herne, it was a good thing except that you weren't quite strong enough to claim it. In exchange for sparing you from possession, I helped Herne to ascend. Due to some wording of our agreement, it limited what he could take from you when he left but because time was messed with, he can take more. Don't worry, he's about to regret his greed real soon.
"What you need to know is what you want to base your future path off of. Your choices boil down to the blessings of those powerful beings, your grass deer fey heritage or a unique personal path of your own making. There's no right or wrong choice. You've had well over a year to figure out what comes from where when it comes to your advantages and disadvantages."
After a bit of discussion, Stag had his goal. He would go to Eo Pan at one point during the evening and hijack a part of the ritual taking place to consolidate what he wanted at the cost of other things. The beautiful part, from the Nunnos man's perspective, was how much would be paid by Herne for keeping a siphoning connection open.
"The last new moon before spring. That's a powerful time to 'get rid' of things you don't want in your life. How does what you're wanting me to do translate into that kind of working?" Stag asked.
Orison said, "With how close we are to the southern pole, there is another ritual being held at another place a specific distance away that is having a last new moon before winter thing, where they entreat their higher power to not take away the things precious to them and keep them safe for the coming of spring. New moon turns to first light on the other side and I think you get the rest."
Stag said, "Any tips for blending with the crowd? Crashing someone else's ritual is usually a huge offense."
"This is a spiritual ritual and it's open to people who aren't coming with bad intentions. You aren't. You're coming to be given aid in a mostly spiritual problem that's in alignment with what they're doing. Just be honest, kind and as free with your affections as you're comfortable with," the young mage said, mostly succeeding in trying to suppress internal embarrassment over details.
The green haired man chuckled. "I've never had problems with the generosity of my affections."
Orison rolled his eyes and said, "Wrap up the generosity around one or two in the morning. You need to get some rest because I'll want your help with preparation for the party. And out of my current group, you're the only one with enough experience to really be of help. Since you're a decently accomplished herbalist in your own right, use whatever you want in the kitchen. I've added your fingerprint to the biometric locked cupboard."
The young mage hung back with Gan when everyone else went at Six in the evening. "You're probably wondering why I've been keeping a distance from you. It probably doesn't help that I really haven't been letting you in on much either. There's nothing wrong. I just have to make sure a certain thing happens a certain way for best effect."
Looking nostalgic, maybe even a little sad, Gan said, "It'll be what it'll be... Do I still have a place in your home?"
Orison felt the question had a lot more weight than it did before. Future knowledge showed him possibilities based off of things that shouldn't happen but that didn't mean that the seed of those possibilities weren't already planted. He didn't want to take a recording of a deathbed confession from a future that no longer existed too seriously considering the circumstances they occurred in but he couldn't shake it completely either.
He replied, "You will always have a place in my home and by my side. What's mine is yours. Even if you became an impossible to redeem monster bent on destroying me and everything I love, you'll still have a place in my home. It'll just be an urn on the mantle.
"I'll try my best to accept any lover you have as my family because I hope you'll do the same. Any children you ha... er, adopt or whatever, I'd take care of as my own because I know you'd do it for me if you needed to. Blame it on my pettiness and need not to be outdone in areas I take pride in. But after everything you've done and I know you would do for me, there's not a whole lot I wouldn't do for you... Take a seat because what I have to say next, I'll only say once."
Chuckling nervously, Gan asked, "Should I be worried about what you're going to say?"
Orison said, "Not half as much as I am to say it."
Once they were both sat down and and true to Northlander style, with a liberal coating of inebriation for both, added, "I don't want you waylaid and messed up with worry by what you'll know soon. Things will turn out completely different this time and it might not matter but I know. So, here's the awkward conversation you didn't know you were promised.
"There's a couple of girls out there in Greater Reality I really like. And if I ever meet them again, I'll want to try for more than just 'like'. Maybe I'll never meet them or maybe I'll meet someone else but I will be faithful to the one I want to be faithful to me. I'm not quite there yet but I will want the wife and kids thing one day. That's the Al part of me I want to honor it. It's a part of myself I couldn't deny anyway."
"Dr. Odd is on Alpha Minoris. I don't have the time to explain everything and still keep my deadline schedules. If you call off the firing squad and follow me to the house, I'll give you an explanation as I work or I can call your favorite angel in the whole wide world to give you an intimate breakdown with all your subordinates watching," Orison said with a saintly smile. Face going white as a sheet before taking on a faint blush, Jacques said, "N-no. You're bluffing!" Orison smiled even more radiantly and said, "Sammy, sweetheart, the apple of Edom in my eye, could you give us a whiff or those heavenly hand rolled cigars you make? Your buddy, Jacques, seems to have forgotten the savory scent of your affections." A husky woman's voice echoed in Orison's spiritual seat, "Mo than happy to, sugar, but don't be playin round with yo faith juice like dat. It'll bite you in yo a** one day." A puff of sweet herb laced cigar smoke rolled under Jacques' nose, sending him into a sneezing fit. Looking like a child wrongfully punished, he followed Orison into the lake house after releasing Planar Response back to their duty stations. As they walked in the door, the young mage started things off by pouring about three shots worth of Ice and Fire into the potted plant that sat between the dining and living room. All the while, he ignored LeStrange's complaint. While Orison doled out 'medicine' to the teens, Gan and LeStrange with a great deal less camaraderie than he had originally intended, he spun a story of surface truths to placate Jacques. "Dr. Odd was forced to cross the divide early... The three of you who don't know the whole story, this planet is called Beta Prime and there is another planet from a higher dimension called Alpha Minoris that it is merging with. When the process is done, the new merged planet will finish popping up to the higher dimension or sink back fully into this one. "No matter which way it goes, it's bad for somebody. If it rises, a lot of things will disappear to make room for things that are more real and the remaining people from this side will become mostly just normal people with a few minor quirks. If it sinks, then this reality will get into a resource tug of war with the higher reality and the outcome isn't as stacked in the higher reality's favor as it would usually be. That equals a lot of death and collateral damage." Jacques said, "The reason why his artifact came to me even though my mentor isn't dead?" Orison said, "It's worthless up there. Well, not entirely but close enough... Gan, you and my stingy mentor can finish off what's left of the bottle at whim." "Don't have to tell me twice," Gan said with an irritable look on his face as he saw Jacques grab the bottle and fit as much into his glass as he could. "Alright, Rio. I have a list of things for you to do. After strutting around for Esme to your heart's content, I've authorized you to sign yourself out of school. You don't have to come home as soon as you finish but if you want to be as much in the loop as you can be, I'd suggest you come back as soon as you can," Orison added wryly. Rio slurred agreement before calling up transportation. Garret said, "Am I staying again today?" Orison shrugged. "I could use an extra pair of hands but it's not in the realm of 'need'." As a barrage of invisible echoes continued to merge with him, like they had since the first set, Orison continued surface truth explaining. "Dr Odd left the artifact and I was allowed to use it. There was an understanding between me and basically everyone that I wouldn't take credit for other's discoveries but I was told to help a few people make their discoveries earlier. So, I'd appreciate it if you would help me clear a few minor red flags that might stop me from doing that." Still frowning at the snoring Northlander on the kitchen floor, "The artifact won't allow itself to be used for selfish reasons but that doesn't mean it couldn't be used with good AND selfish reasons... I need a daily report from you for ALL the things you're going to do that day and if you deviate, I'll have you put under protective custody until I can get Aurora to read your truth." Orison said, "I don't care that you're an acting Triumvir. I won't hesitate to pull supernatural rank on you if you keep me from handling personal business I don't feel like sharing... Keeper of oaths and seer of all things within your domain, by the stone that possesses your blessing and power, I swear to commit no crime or take what rightfully belongs to someone else with the knowledge of that future I have seen." The artifact hidden underneath Jacques shirt glowed a peaceful blue for a moment and Orison added, "That's my compromise. As long as you don't block my activities, I won't get in your way or cause you anymore problems than you'd already be dealing with." It took a great deal more skirting around the dangerous full truth to convince LeStrange and the young mage knew full well that he'd be under watchful eyes moving forward but he didn't care. "It's going to be nonstop hectic for the next couple of weeks til the turn of the month. I'd like your three diamond passes." Jacques snorted. "I'm sure you would." "I already gave you almost a third of a bottle of Ice and Fire. What more do you want from me!? Damn cheapskate!" Orison asked with an aggrieved face. Seeing a way to get some revenge, Jacques leered and said, "You're the one wanting something. Make an offer." Narrowing his eyes, Orison said, "Stop eyeballing the last shot in the small bottle. With as much Ice and Fire as you've drank in the last few years, it wouldn't do anything for you except make you a little numb for a couple of minutes... On top of not telling anyone how much supplement you just wasted for personal pleasure and how you offered me nothing for it, I won't uninvite you to my party tomorrow." Refusing to back down too much and still angle, Jacques said, "That earns you one 'unloaded' diamond pass. What about the rest you asked for?" Orison sneered. "Just 'load' it and the other two with the merits you've conveniently forgotten to pay out to my account. And before you decide to go down that road, I've knowledge of the future training you plan on giving me and how much you got for those materials. I dare you to lie to me about it with that medallion hanging around your neck." A sore loser, LeStrange revved up to defend his position when Orison added, "The 'barely' part of 'barely not extortion' and 'barely not theft' is so paper thin it's a form of shame in itself. Since I've already received your overpriced training, I'll concede that half but if I had known how you would treat me, I assure you, I would have never trusted you with my merits. UTF right wing extremists are more charitable than you." While the sound of three notifications ringing out on the young mage's touchscreen, Jacques said angrily, "Since you've received all the training, get ready to prove it. I've scheduled your defense of B-class privileges two weeks from now." Orison gave a saintly smile. "Oh, so the earliest you could make it... If you can MAKE IT to the party with that chip off your shoulder, I won't slip you mixto made with bottom shelf mezcal." Wide eyed, Jacques looked at Orison like he was the devil. "You wouldn't dare!" The young mage sighed. "Bury the hatchet with me, mentor. A student and his teacher should be like father and son, not bickering merchants. I am thankful for... all you would have done, miserly inclinations aside." Snorting impressively, Jacques said, "I'm bringing my wife, mistress and my two children." Orison slowly shook his head and muttered, "Shameless." More decisively, he added, "Fine. They can take turns running one of the games for the children's side of the party in the training room." Looking over to the potted plant that had wilted and slumped into the form of a three foot green alien, LeStrange said, "Since you know about shifty, there's no need for her to stay here anymore... I have to admit. That is the kindest and most generous way I've ever seen anyone call her out." Orison looked at the slumbering, childlike little green wo'man' and said a little emotionally, "Four of Seven's a saint. One of the best of us. Now, Five of Seven pretending to be a toilet in the main bathroom... Get them out of here before I smash them." Ignoring the awkward exit of Jacques and the two alien doppelgangers along with Garret's look of subtle dawning horror, Orison set up things with the water park. After checking schedules, he abused the authority holding three diamond passes at once granted to requisition El, Em and his two other Planar Response friends as 'under cover' guest security. Having Stag and Gan cooperate, he personally allotted the nine gold and most of the eighty-one silver tickets through requests to the ones receiving the gold. Garret was glad he stayed. Even though Orison seemed to have an endless litany of magical 'arts and crafts' to do, it meant that he got to be a part of other preparations. He was scared and excited in equal measure. Stomping that excitement down, he told Orison, with no hesitation, that he wanted to be a climber and he only wanted to make sure that Babs and his mom were left with some small advantages before he left. Around Five, the young mage went to check on Stag. "You still feeling groggy?" Stag swiveled his head to look at Orison with worry. The two new stubs that were growing in had detached and laid in his hands. There was no point in healing them back on because the velvet that should have nourished them to maturity had necrotized. Just to make sure it wasn't the reason he expected it to be, the young mage exercised spirit sight. Orison smiled reassuringly and told the green haired man, "I hope this doesn't confuse you too much but remember how I explained about us being in the low dimensions and how there were many realities within it?" "In between all the other concerns of my life, I've thought about it frequently," Stag said. The young mage nodded. "Well some time travel foolery happened, will have happened... You know what I mean. The point is, what happens in the low dimensions doesn't affect the mid dimensions. In the hypothetical future, if someone were to ascend to them but the rest of us went back to a previous point in time, it would be as if they just vanished. "For those who weren't aware of what was supposed to be, it would be like they never were a part of whatever happened from that point further. Anything they used or took with them would most likely be gone too. That's where things take weird turn for you." "Let me rip the band-aid off. Your ancestors aren't some mythical beings. They were a few stalks of spiritually awakened feather grass. They were soaked in various essences from the violent mating ritual between a primordial existence and a powerful Aspect of Nature archetype. Pleased with their accidental creation, they blessed your ancestors' existence and treated you as children. I suppose the argument could be made but I'll leave that to you. "When I fed you the core essence of Herne, it was a good thing except that you weren't quite strong enough to claim it. In exchange for sparing you from possession, I helped Herne to ascend. Due to some wording of our agreement, it limited what he could take from you when he left but because time was messed with, he can take more. Don't worry, he's about to regret his greed real soon. "What you need to know is what you want to base your future path off of. Your choices boil down to the blessings of those powerful beings, your grass deer fey heritage or a unique personal path of your own making. There's no right or wrong choice. You've had well over a year to figure out what comes from where when it comes to your advantages and disadvantages." After a bit of discussion, Stag had his goal. He would go to Eo Pan at one point during the evening and hijack a part of the ritual taking place to consolidate what he wanted at the cost of other things. The beautiful part, from the Nunnos man's perspective, was how much would be paid by Herne for keeping a siphoning connection open. "The last new moon before spring. That's a powerful time to 'get rid' of things you don't want in your life. How does what you're wanting me to do translate into that kind of working?" Stag asked. Orison said, "With how close we are to the southern pole, there is another ritual being held at another place a specific distance away that is having a last new moon before winter thing, where they entreat their higher power to not take away the things precious to them and keep them safe for the coming of spring. New moon turns to first light on the other side and I think you get the rest." Stag said, "Any tips for blending with the crowd? Crashing someone else's ritual is usually a huge offense." "This is a spiritual ritual and it's open to people who aren't coming with bad intentions. You aren't. You're coming to be given aid in a mostly spiritual problem that's in alignment with what they're doing. Just be honest, kind and as free with your affections as you're comfortable with," the young mage said, mostly succeeding in trying to suppress internal embarrassment over details. The green haired man chuckled. "I've never had problems with the generosity of my affections." Orison rolled his eyes and said, "Wrap up the generosity around one or two in the morning. You need to get some rest because I'll want your help with preparation for the party. And out of my current group, you're the only one with enough experience to really be of help. Since you're a decently accomplished herbalist in your own right, use whatever you want in the kitchen. I've added your fingerprint to the biometric locked cupboard." The young mage hung back with Gan when everyone else went at Six in the evening. "You're probably wondering why I've been keeping a distance from you. It probably doesn't help that I really haven't been letting you in on much either. There's nothing wrong. I just have to make sure a certain thing happens a certain way for best effect." Looking nostalgic, maybe even a little sad, Gan said, "It'll be what it'll be... Do I still have a place in your home?" Orison felt the question had a lot more weight than it did before. Future knowledge showed him possibilities based off of things that shouldn't happen but that didn't mean that the seed of those possibilities weren't already planted. He didn't want to take a recording of a deathbed confession from a future that no longer existed too seriously considering the circumstances they occurred in but he couldn't shake it completely either. He replied, "You will always have a place in my home and by my side. What's mine is yours. Even if you became an impossible to redeem monster bent on destroying me and everything I love, you'll still have a place in my home. It'll just be an urn on the mantle. "I'll try my best to accept any lover you have as my family because I hope you'll do the same. Any children you ha... er, adopt or whatever, I'd take care of as my own because I know you'd do it for me if you needed to. Blame it on my pettiness and need not to be outdone in areas I take pride in. But after everything you've done and I know you would do for me, there's not a whole lot I wouldn't do for you... Take a seat because what I have to say next, I'll only say once." Chuckling nervously, Gan asked, "Should I be worried about what you're going to say?" Orison said, "Not half as much as I am to say it." Once they were both sat down and and true to Northlander style, with a liberal coating of inebriation for both, added, "I don't want you waylaid and messed up with worry by what you'll know soon. Things will turn out completely different this time and it might not matter but I know. So, here's the awkward conversation you didn't know you were promised. "There's a couple of girls out there in Greater Reality I really like. And if I ever meet them again, I'll want to try for more than just 'like'. Maybe I'll never meet them or maybe I'll meet someone else but I will be faithful to the one I want to be faithful to me. I'm not quite there yet but I will want the wife and kids thing one day. That's the Al part of me I want to honor it. It's a part of myself I couldn't deny anyway."
