The world within the core of Heimdal is so very different than the one outside of it. It is a world of steel corridors, of hard angles and enclosed spaces.
In some ways, it feels like the cave that I followed the woman into a little while ago. The closeness of the walls and ceiling feel so limiting; I can hardly stretch my wings without my pinions brushing against the edges of the corridors. Everything is laid out in a geometric pattern; so unlike the natural dispersion of Heimdal. I can predict what on corridor will look like from seeing the previous ones.
The halls are filled with dust and debris; I seldom see one that does not look damaged. Glass litters the floor in some places; fallen support beams in others. From the corridors branch of small rooms whose purpose I do not know.
It feels alien. Yet at the same time, oddly familiar.
Lord Aliester told me of this place. He told me it was once used to travel between the stars by a race that resembled humans, known as the Cygnans. They spent years within the core, seeking a princess of their world who was lost, before finding her on Lord Aliester's homeworld. They attacked, and were stopped by a two brave women whose names went unrecorded. Lord Aliester chose the ruins of this ship to serve as the Core of Heimdal for it was one of the few things large enough to do so.
<span style="color:blue;">As I walk down corridor, I see something odd through one of the side doorways. Neither metal nor glass, it seems so very out of place. I stop and pick up, its surface coated with dust and yielding to my touch. It feels somewhat like a leaf, the way it shifts and changes under my fingers. Under the dust, its surface is smooth.
Paper. That is what this is. I recall it dimly from what Lord Aliester told me as he created me, amidst the flurry of understanding bestowed upon me. I run the paper between my fingers, marveling at the feel of it. Turning it over, I see something… odd on it: other people, representations of them imprinted on the paper.
It takes a moment for the proper word to come to my mind: it is a picture. There are two people on it. A woman with green hair, wearing some sort of darkened material over her eyes, stands next to… a man? I cannot tell. She stands next to someone with red hair wearing similar garb.
I wonder who they are? Perhaps some of the people who dwelt in the Core, before Lord Aliester claimed it? I wonder what they did? What function did they serve here? Lord Aliester has told me little of the Core. What did these two do here? Were they friends?
I wonder if I will ever have a friend? All I have here in Heimdal are Rei and Lord Aliester. Lord Aliester, I love and revere with all my heart. But he is not my friend, he stands too high above, I am only an angel before his divinity. He has more important things to worry about than I. I would have it no other way, harmony across existence is far more important than I am.
Rei… I do not know. I want to know her, to learn about her. When Lord Aliester allows, I shall. I want to speak with her, I want to try to understand why she resists, and help her see the truth. When Lord Aliester allows it, I shall. I wonder what I will do afterwards, though?
Putting the picture away, I continue to follow Rei, She is not very difficult to pursue, I can feel her presence within the Core no matter where she goes. Her footsteps are easy to follow, as well, and sometimes she speaks to herself. Lord Aliester has assured her safety while here, and she feels no fear. </span>
As I walk down a corridor, I hear her speak again, though her words are too faint to make out. Suddenly, I feel Lord Aliester's presence ahead, and I hear his voice reply!
Following that feeling, I find the woman and Lord Aliester in a roughly circular room. Lord Aliester float a handspan above the floor, his blue cloak resting over his shoulders and obscuring much of his body. The woman watches him, seeming ill at ease.
Why would she feel that way? Lord Aliester means her no harm.
"That shall be remedied when the time is right," Lord Aliester says to her, "Then Heimdal shall thrive with life of all kinds. Fish shall swim the sea, beasts shall roam the land, and birds will take wing to the skies."
I look forward to it, when Heimdal shall truly thrive.
"When I was looking around, I saw someone, or something else." The woman asks, "I think it had wings, and it fled from me when I tried to follow it. What was it?"
Lord Aliester nods, then says, "I see. I am not surprised that she followed you, nor am I surprised that she ran. I shall have to introduce you later..."
"Yeah, okay," the woman replies, sounding uneasy. Did I frighten her when she saw me?
"You've mentioned the time being right a few times now," the woman asks, "What will happen 'when the time is right?'"
"Do you wish to see, Rei?" Aliester asks, "Shall I show you?"
"Yes, please," The woman, Rei, replies.
Lord Aliester gives her a small, lop-sided grin, then gently drops to the ground from His previous postion in midair. Slowly walking toward the center of the room, He raises a hand.
The room begins to darken, it become hard to see Lord Aliester and the woman he called Rei. But I hear His voice Say, "Come. I have no desire to shout across the room."
Rei does so quietly, as near total darkness engulfs the chamber; I can hardly pick her out from the darkness. Then light begins to shine from above. I look upward to see numerous points of light shining on the ceiling, forming patterns.
"Tell me what you see, Rei," Lord Aliester requests, now just a voice in the darkness. I stay near the doorway, listening.
"Stars," she answers.
That is what they truly look like? I study them a little more closely. They twinkle and shine quietly, their simple beauty bringing a smile to my lips.
"Precisely." Lord Aliester says, "Now tell me, what are stars?"
"Spheres of hydrogen gas," replies Rei, "undergoing a constant process of fusion due to the immense amount of pressure that they extert upon their cores due to their own mass."
This Lord Aliester has told me. He told me everything about them, about their purpose and their reason for being. The Stars are more than what Rei said, more than simple lights in the sky. They are the source of Creation. From them came the chaotic miasma from which all existence was formed. From them came the Creator's power.
Stars exist in all planes, a remnant of the original beginning of the Universe. They give their light and their power to the worlds that exist near them, they lend their power to form the astral energies from which magic is derived. However, the power of the stars themselves is very different. It was the power that gave rise to everything.
They are connected, the Stars. From that connection arises a lattice of energy unlike anything that mortals or immortals can use. That power is the power of creation.
Lord Aliester draws that it. With that power, he created me, and Heimdal. With it, he shall ascend to unify existence, and end the hate and violence that pervades everywhere.
I listen as he explains all this to Rei, changing the starscape He had created to demonstrate this. She remains quiet, no doubt listening. I wish I could see her, and witness whether or not she has been convinced.
My Herald, comes the voice of Lord Aliester within my thoughts.
Yes, My Lord? I answer.
Depart for now, He commands,
It is best that Rei not see you until she is ready to accept what I have told her, and what I plan. Depart for now. Soon, once she has come to realize the truth of my words, I will allow you to speak with her.
I shall leave, Lord Aliester, I reply, as I turn and begin to walk down the hall,
I hope that she accepts your words soon.
As do I, My Herald, He answers,
as do I
<p>
Rum, White Magic, an' Cabbits. That's th' life fer me.
</p>
Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=unclepervy@rpgww60462>Uncle] at: 1/14/03 7:15:34 pm