From: Fri 7:50 Subject: [Dagger] [Porc] Regrets of the Chosen OneTo: "Dagger List" Jimbo writing again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Watching as the mindless gibberings drove Mea to the edge of madness, I put my head down and scrubbed it on the dirt. In my quest to bring Soverian order to Tamriel I had brought more chaos. Pulling my power, a revelation hit my mind. To restore this, I would have to send Kali back to Sovere. She is too powerful to exist in a universe such as Tamriel's. "My Goddess," I pleaded, "please return to Sovere! This matter is my own to deal with! I have brought the blight of my 'order' on these people and must stop this matter myself!" She turned to me with a look that was impossible to read. "Chosen, have you not learned that you and I are one and the same? We are now one mind split between two bodies. Whatever problems that you possess are mine as well, as is the same for any problems I experience. If I leave Tamriel now, I would leave part of myself to be destroyed." A mask of anger twisted my usually smiling features. "Fine then! I shall make it as though this never occurred!" Holding tightly to Krystalas' hand, I called up the power innate in my body. "Dixialis in nos tempora diras que nu!" I spoke, the archaic sidhe words of magic rolling out of me like water over ledge. I shimmered once, then disappeared from view. My form phasing in and out of the continuum, I felt faint, now lacking physical stimuli. I faultered for a moment and was almost lost in the sea of time. I forced my mind to concentrate back to that fateful day when I killed my first Tamrillian. I exploded into being just in front of myself, holding the Tamislane dagger, ready to drive its enchanted blade into the back of a peasent who had refused to talk to me. (Contrary to popular belief, one can make contact with oneself in the past.) I brought Scorcher down on his wrist and stopped my former self from ruining his life. My past self looked at me and fear filled his eyes. "Astral doppleganger!" He drew his blades and dropped into a fighting position. It was like looking into a mirror, save that the past self was wearing my armor from Sovere, its adamantite shining. The armor, of the usual intricate Sidhe design, would prove to be his only advantage. Spinning, I attacked quickly, meaning only to incapacitate my past self. Instead, my sword bit deep into his shoulder. The Jemalas of the past went down. Lying on the ground, he looked up spitefully at me, then spun and drove the his Tamislane dagger into his chest, causing one of his hearts to explode. I grabbed the peasent girl he (I?) was going to kill and ran from the body. The past Tamislane blew up, a contingency spell placed earlier to avoid capture. I set the girl down and she ran off. I looked at my hand as it phased in and out of reality. I closed my eyes and summoned power from Kali, shielding myself from the effects of time even further. After a moment, the ripple in time passed. I dropped my temporal shield. I took my former self's place. Due to the timelessness of my body and the speed at which time passes for Sidhe, I was soon sitting on a ship, Mea's ship, I believe, reading a rumor sheet I had picked up in Wayrest. Something about a Lady Raven was mentioned. Smiling at the memory that only I have of the failed conquest, I penned a letter to this Lady Raven to join the tour, pending Mea and Zarth's approval of course. Feeling somehow lost without my apprentice at my side, I opened the portal to Sovere and called forth Krystalas, gifting her with the memories I held and charging her to never tell anyone of the deeds they never knew. Sitting in my private state room (Mea was so generous in that matter), I looked at the map Morgiah had given me. It was worthless now, but I was looking more at the flowing script at the bottom of the letter. Thoughts of Morgiah ran through my mind, the foremost being, "Bitch. I gave her the gift of being a Sidhe and she turned on me. But I have Catris and an apprentice to teach. Morgiah is still stuck in her own little world of lies and deceit." I vowed to myself to never again make the mistakes I had made in the alternate time realm. Just as Lady Raven had told me, Tamriel, though chaotic, is still unique. To take that away by forcing Soverian order onto its one-of-a-kind chaos would be a crime, against both her people and the multiverse. My stomach rumbling, I went off to find Mea to find out when dinner was, Krystalas close in tow. ~Lord Jemalas Tamislane, Master Dweomerkeeper, Ruler of Kalisis, High Lord of Thornwood jrdavis@penn.com ICQ- 16848203