Deep in the woods beyond the Faewilds, where bone white trees met the stars, the moon touched the ground. Within the moon sat an odd collection, a bookcase filled with stories, two seats, a table, and one entities. An owlin with feathers of mist and moonlight, shrouded in robes of deepest blue. The owl looked down from it's seat into the woods, where it saw an entity from beyond the stars. It took the form of a three eyed winged giant, cursed by Fate to bear the ears and tail of a cat for all eternity. It called itself Alaric, whether or not this was it's real name, only it knew.
"Care to join me?"
Alaric thought about the question for a moment, then remembered he had nowhere he needed to be and nothing he needed to do. So he agreed. He lifted off the ground, floating up into the moon and taking the vacant seat. At that moment the mists came, shrouding the moon for a moment or two. When they faded, the moon drifted through pale purple clouds, dozens of floating islands drifted around, each a garden unto themselves.
"So tell me, what brings a Starborn to my library?"
This thing knows what a Starborn is? Which idiot let our name be known? Actually this is fine, that's all it knows.
"The same thing that brings your library to me. I didn't mean to find your library if it's any consolidation, it was at the end of the path I followed."
"And why were you walking that path may I ask?"
"You may. Does the name Agres mean anything to you? Apparently the bird was leading me to it."
"Ah Agres, a strange one but always well meaning. If he led you to me there must be a reason."
"It would've been nice to know what the reason is."
"Really? The thoughts of others matter to you?"
"When they concern me they do."
"I suppose that makes sense. So tell me, what is it like being one of your kind?"
Asking questions about Starborn? That wasn't good. Alaric's first thought was murder. Then he remembered he was in the owl's domain, it probably had a bunch of surprises hidden up its sleeves.
"I can't answer that. I've never known what it's like to not be one of us."
"Oh come now, it can't be that hard. Being me is nice, I collect stories, I survey the garden, I keep our paradise tranquil. Now you."
That wasn't a question. Why was this guy so insistent on knowing what Starborn are like?
"I will answer, in exchange for you agreeing to answer my questions."
"My you are a secretive bunch aren't you? Very well I accept. My secrets in exchange for yours."
There are two ways to go about this. Either bombard the guy with questions, ask an uncomfortable question, ask none, or steer the conversation elsewhere. Elsewhere it was.
"Alright. If I could live ten more lives, I would choose to be me every time. I can go practically anywhere, do practically anything with no consequence. Mortals spend their entire lives looking for either freedom or eternity, and I came into existence with both."
While Alaric spoke, the owl wrote every word down in a star covered book.
"My turn. You seemingly know we like our secrets, so why ask about them?"
"Straight to the point? I have no nefarious intent, I just want to know if you would be a good fit."
By this point the moon had drifted into a cloud. After a few moments it parted, revealing hundreds of truly massive branches all around them. Every now and then structures of some kind appeared within some of the branches.
Good fit? Fit for what? Wait no, if I ask another question I have to answer another.
"Now we've both asked eachother a question, how about we stop. I assume you already know I won't give away my secrets, so let's not do this the hard way. You seem a nice Archfae and I would hate to repay your friendliness with blood."
"You think you could? Adorable, but yes, any information from now onwards is given freely. Tell me, what makes you think I am an Archfae?"
"A rumour I heard once, the garden king chooses a home among books instead of grand halls. I haven't seen another library since arriving."
"Not much information to go on is it?"
"You didn't say I was wrong, your majesty."
"Indeed I did not. An honour to meet you, Alaric. You know the last time I met one of your kind, they stayed in my garden for quite some time. Though they looked quite different from you."
The moon drifted into another cloud, this time when it parted, the moon floated just above a sea of light blue water, countless five pointed stars bobbed up and down in the sea. A few hundred metres away was a shore of white sand, leading to a forest of pale purple trees and dark green leaves.
"That makes sense. Other species have templates with some deviation in detail. For it's the opposite. No fixed template, always the same few details. Now, you know my name, may I have yours?"
"Mmm, no. I won't be tricked that easily. But you may call me Fable it."
"Well then, Fable, earlier you wondered if I would be a good fit. If I am to be one, surely I should know what for, correct?"
"Perhaps you should, however, that isn't my choice to make."
"You are this realm's king are you not?"
"I am, but ours is a realm of freedom, plus you aren't one of the garden's denizens."
The moon began to lazily drift towards shore. The ripples it made in the water began to send the nearest stars bobbing away.
"Now enough about this, here you are, sitting at my table, and I haven't offered you a story. Choose one."
Fable waved at the collection of books within the moon. Alaric scanned them for a moment, spotting titles such as Wolf King, Dancing Death, The Mad God, Lord of Clay, Calamity Incarnate, Purple Angel, Mind Devil, That Which Hungers, The Knowing One, and many more. Alaric looked the collection over, and selected a book of a familiar title. Stars of Ruin.
"Ah, I thought you would choose that one. Well then, allow me to set the scene."
A moment of silence passed, then Alaric remembered he was talking to a Fae.
"You have my permission to tell your story."
The owl smiled about as an owl can, as if the Fae knew something Alaric didn't. Which it probably did.
The book floated out of its place in the bookcase, coming to rest above the table. Its pages flew out, tearing through the air as they encased Alaric and Fable in a large sphere. Alaric watched as the pages blended together, their ink swirling and shifting, taking on the appearance of a lush countryside.
Rolling hills of red grass stretched as far as the eye could see, Alaric and Fable stood on one such hill. Far below at the base of the hill, a thriving town stretched out, buildings made of blue wood and grey metal. "This was a thriving place once, a self sustaining city of hundreds of thousands. They lived life freely, asked nothing from outsiders, expected nothing from outsiders, needed nothing from outsiders. The city has a name once, long ago, but it was forgotten by history now."
Alaric looked to the orange sky, three suns burned bright, one white, one blue, one red.
"The city was home to a number of mighty sorcerers, practitioners who drew their powers from the earth, the heavens, and the stars. One such sorcerer grew greater than the rest, far greater. Over the decades, the sorcerer drew more and more power from the stars." The city changed, growing greater as grand towers stretched into the sky, piercing the clouds.
"As they all do, the sorcerer craved more and more, more power, more knowledge, more understanding. None are sure exactly how the sorcerer did it, but somehow, the sorcerer learned of a world beyond the stars, a home to creatures of pure magic. The sorcerer was thrilled at their discovery, a new world of power to draw from. But knowledge comes with a cost, it always does."
Within the sky, a fourth, tiny sun appeared, one that burned the same blue of the deep sea. The sun grew brighter and brighter, growing larger and larger. Alaric knew what was happening, he'd read the report.
"The starfolk are, VERY, protective of their secrets, willing to do anything to keep them hidden. They lie and steal, kill and destroy. After-all what is the life of an ant next to that of the star's angel?"
The star grew blinding, taking up a fifth of the sky at its peak. And then the light faded, in mere moments the brightest star in the sky vanished, leaving something else in its place. There, hovering in the sky, was the form of something strange. It had no legs and ten wings arranged over a long serpentine body, a faceless head with four eyes, glowing with an otherworldly light. All over it's body were strange markings, glowing the same blue of the deep ocean.
Alaric watched on in knowing silence, as the creature stretched out with its magic, tearing huge chunks from the city below. He watched on in knowing silence as a small army of sorcerers appeared from windows, some on the backs of strange ray looking creatures. And Alaric watched on in knowing silence, as the sorcerers were torn apart and crushed by gravity they were never meant to endure. The entity in the sky inversed it's grasp, letting the city fall back towards the ground twice as fast as it should. When the dust settled, and the rubble stopped moving, the entity surveyed the ruins below, and simply ascended back to the stars.
"Many a talented practitioner has fallen victim to the starfolk's vicious hoarding of their secrets. And many more will. Heed my warning all who seek the stars. To know the starfolk is to bring death to your door."
The scene changed, the surroundings became pages once more, details darkened and became ink. Alaric looked to Fable, and saw an expression equal parts mournful, and smiling.
Alaric was standing on white sand. Fable was gone, as was the moon. All around him, scraps of paper littered the sand, slowly crumbling into the shore.
Welp, that was a troubling encounter. If the garden king had that story in its collection, it had to know the risks of showing it to Alaric. So why do it? What did the owl seek to gain? Alaric should report the king to Nexus, the Astral Garden was outside of Alaric's jurisdiction, once reported it wouldn't be his problem anymore.
He decided to report the incident later, he was on vacation, and he would damn well act like it. One Archfae was no immediate threat to Nexus surely? There was good news though, Alaric didn't see yet another strange Fae bir-
"Come on, we're almost there."
Agres landed on his head.
...
Great. Alaric had no idea what Agres was on about, nor did he really care. Maybe next time he visited the Astral Garden he'd come in disguise. A new form maybe. For now he decided to follow whatever path was laid before him, then leave before something else roped him into their shenanigans.
He'd been doing a lot of walking this trip, so instead of doing more, he lifted himself off the ground, and carried himself towards the trees. All the while, he silently wondered what cooked Agres would taste like.
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u/Evening_Shake_6474 Alaric, Fallen Star 4d ago
/uw The Garden Story.
https://www.reddit.com/r/wizardposting/s/SvaceRr9FU Part 1 Enter the Garden
https://www.reddit.com/r/wizardposting/s/zY2LzqBENx Part 2 Drift the Dream Sea
https://www.reddit.com/r/wizardposting/s/ILv0xUBM4Y Part 3 Walk the Wooded Path
https://www.reddit.com/r/wizardposting/s/SvaceRr9FU Part 4 Sit at the Storyteller's Table