As they enter the realm of the Lady of the Wood, John visibly relaxes. There's something incredibly comforting here, a feeling of being home. Which makes zero sense. He had never been anywhere outside of his home town in Kansas.
He smiles warmly at the appearance of Tavi, especially since it seems to be a friend of Babey, who is rather excited when it shows up.
Then they step into the glade where the Lady is, and his eyes and thoughts are immediately drawn to her. It's obvious to anybody observing him that at the moment he sees her, nothing else seems to matter.
As she takes his hand, and kisses it's back, his mind reels and races. There's something hauntingly familiar about her, but he has no idea what that could be.
"Welcome to my Court." She says, her gentle voice somehow echoing throughout the forest. She strides toward you with an almost unnatural grace. She takes John's hand and holds it up to kiss the back of his hand.
"Welcome, honored Elf King! I haven't seen you in a few thousand years, where have you been?"
"E-e-elf King?? I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm John Smith. From Abilene, Kansas. Definitely not from wherever we have ended up. Though, I appreciate the warm greeting."
"E-e-elf King?? I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm John Smith. From Abilene, Kansas. Definitely not from wherever we have ended up. Though, I appreciate the warm greeting."
The Lady arcs an eyebrow at John's pronouncement.
"I'm sorry? You are Liriiestil, favored by the Lantern King himself, why do you..." She leans in close to John and gently puts her hands onto his cheeks.
Useing her thumbs to gently tug at the skin around his eyes, making them wider, she looks deep into his pupils.
After a moment a look of shock crosses her face and she releases John.
"You poor boy..." She says, shaking her head in distress.
"E-e-elf King?? I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm John Smith. From Abilene, Kansas. Definitely not from wherever we have ended up. Though, I appreciate the warm greeting."
The Lady arcs an eyebrow at John's pronouncement.
"I'm sorry? You are Liriiestil, favored by the Lantern King himself, why do you..." She leans in close to John and gently puts her hands onto his cheeks.
Useing her thumbs to gently tug at the skin around his eyes, making them wider, she looks deep into his pupils.
After a moment a look of shock crosses her face and she releases John.
"You poor boy..." She says, shaking her head in distress.
Zaidel stares in disbelief at Joh..Liriiestil's face.
Wow! He's really a fey. A fey Lord by the sound of it!
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Alyssa takes this moment to interject.
"Your Grace," she begins, "what is wrong? You see, quite a few strange things have happened to us recently. If you could shed any clarity onto his...our, situation, it would be greatly appreciated." She gives the most warm and apologetic smile she can muster.
I really really hope that that wasn't too callous, I mean, theyre having a moment, and I just interrupted because I need answers! Well, I need answers! They're important! But I shouldn't have interrupted. Should've waited. Besides, what if she has no answers? No one else has; why should this random Lady have them? Doesnt matter if she knows John; some of us are real important, and some are some cosmic joke? Gods, what an idiot, Alyssa, what an idiot.
She fidgets frantically as the thoughts and doubts creep in.
John shakes his head, as if trying to clear away confused cobwebs. "L-liriiestil? Favored of the Lantern King? I have no idea who that is. I believe you have me confused for somebody else."
It's at that moment that the quill which has been in John's breast pocket, floats up and out. It transforms into a staff and whacks the confused young man on the head. "Listen to what she is saying!! You're clearly the descendant that was the recipient of my wish from the Lantern King!!" It says aloud.
John sits down on the ground, hard. "This is crazy." He says in a small voice.
"One of my sisters would say that sanity is what you make of it. Then again, she's a mad scientist, so I'd take her words with a grain of salt."
Kei pauses for a moment, then adds "Now that I think about it, she's probably responsible for me being here."
As the group stepped into the portal, he followed after them. His skill, and experience with fading into the background around him having been sharpened to such an extent, that he needed no cover or darkness to hide. Nor did magic and un-humaniod senses have any extra capability of spotting him compared to human eyes or ears. Although sneaking into an entire court of Fey and Elves without ever being found... well, he had done similar feats before after all.
Regardless, it seemed that there was at least some information to be gleaned from this visit. Whilst John Smith denied it, the Lady of the Woods seemed to recognize him, naming him as Liriiestil, an elven king who was favoured by the Lantern King himself... and then realising something about what was going on after the denial...
It was quite curious really, hence why he stayed within the edges of the clearing, waiting to see what else might be revealed about this group... whilst recalling what he could about this Lantern King.
The Lantern King has no permanent abode. He wanders freely through the fields and forests of the First World, bending reality and changing lives wherever he goes. His sense of humor is vast, both in its breadth and its potential for harm. The Lantern King is believed by some mortals to be the progenitor of the will-o'-wisps, but the fey lord derisively laughs off such claims.
"Tell me your tales travelers and I will help you the best I can." The Fey Queen says as she sits back. A giant, pearl white flower blooms instantly behind her and she settles onto it like it were a throne.
"I fear for what may have happened to you but I don't want to jump to conclusions." She informs.
"Well...most of us remember living on a planet called Earth, and most of us also remember almost dying. Then...we were just here, like magic."
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The Vulture King smiles, remembering times long-past. He then begins to speak, "I was, long ago, a god. Not a terribly mighty one. I had little power at all. But I did have followers. And what followers they were, strong and hardy, fiercely devoted to one another. They built temples in my name, erected great monoliths carved with my image. But that time ended. My altars are long broken, my priests are long dead. My memory was forgotten, and I was no more. But something changed and I awoke in this world, with physical form and magical power and a spark of divine might. It is a good fate to have."
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Alyssa half jumps when the Lady settles in to talk. "Yes, well, you see....." she stops herself, thinking of Kei.
He's a part of this too, so we should include him in the discussion. Besides, he's a teenager, he can handle it.... but then again, is it really good for the boy to be thinking that he's dead? All the time? No, probably not, no. Think, Alyssa, think.
Alyssa looks pointedly to Kei, then says to the Lady "Perhaps....some of us could go see to another situation? We found some hydra eggs, after the mother died. I would see them taken care of until they hatch. Is there somewhere we can lay them down, keep them warm, for the night at least? It would be greatly appreciated."
Alyssa half jumps when the Lady settles in to talk. "Yes, well, you see....." she stops herself, thinking of Kei.
Alyssa looks pointedly to Kei, then says to the Lady "Perhaps....some of us could go see to another situation? We found some hydra eggs, after the mother died. I would see them taken care of until they hatch. Is there somewhere we can lay them down, keep them warm, for the night at least? It would be greatly appreciated."
"If you wish I can take the eggs and see that they hatch and have a good life." The Lady offers.
Her aura is laced with worry and the Elven and Fey lords and ladies seem to feel it, their movements slower and almost sleepy and their revelry not quite as intense.
To the rest of the party she says; "I don't want to jump to conclusions but I believe you may have been prisoners in this 'Earth' and if ...John is any indication I believe you may have been brainwashed after a fashion as well."
As Kamii's telepathic communication faded Oni'Tyran shook his head to clear the Demon's irritating presence from his mind. For a Demon Kamii had a strangely human soul and the Ogre didn't like it one bit, unnatural through and through that boy.
"Well, looks like Kamii wants this group hard, he offers both a better reward for success and a bitter threat for failure. He must have learned something new about the group, time to hustle!"
Oni'Tyran says to a much smaller Ogre standing next to him holding the Ogre Mage's banner. It is the same Ogre Oni'Tyran had criticized for avoiding eating troll flesh. The Mage had taken the boy under his wing so he could be properly trained... or at least provide an easy, nearby snack when he was hungry.
"Steg!" He commands the boy. "Wake up all the sleeping grunts and those stupid giants."
Steg stands at attention at once, his oversized chain shirt clinking loudly and sounding like all the coins from a child's piggy bank being thrown done the stairs simultaneously.
"Sir, yes Sir!" Steg declares before rushing off.
The Ogre Mage drums his fingers against the flat side of his greatsword, thinking.
Something doesn't feel right. Best get this over with quickly.
As Steg returns leading three score stinky, overly tattooed brutes in chain mail and wielding clumsy yet vicious weapons, Oni'Tyran looks about.
"Where are the Giants?" He demands.
"They are using the loo, I think, better that way, we don't want to be marching with them when they have gas."
Oni'Tyran roles his eyes as the lads form up to march.
"What a giant pain in the ass." He sneers.
Joseph's heart nearly jumps out of his body as the mentioning of their past live's having simply been facades. Lies to keep their powers that had "awakened" here from arising. If this was the case, did they all used to be villains? Why lock up hero's?
"Miss lady of the woods, you've been very helpful so far and I owe you a debt that I could never repay for your assistance. But I must ask one thing, if your able, can you tell Alyssa and I what it is we're capable of? I have my suspicions of myself, but..." Joseph glances again at his burnt pant leg and thinks back to the black smoke not phasing him as it dropped the brawny Zaidel. "They aren't the kind a person should go about testing."
The Lady closes her eyes for a long moment, when she opens them her eyes glow with green light.
To Joseph she says. "I believe you are immortal Joseph, not just in the longevity sense, but in the sense that absolutely nothing can kill you."
John was unable to truly process what was going on or being said. At least not at first. It took him some considerable time to really wrap his head around everything.
Finally, he asks "What do you mean, imprisoned and brainwashed? Who would do such a thing, and why? Before today, I was literally the most boring person on the planet. I'm a nobody."
"I apologize miss Queen lady, but I quite clearly remember my childhood, growing up with my father and mother (even if my father was something of a cliche'd pervert who married his secretary) and spending time with my brother and sisters. Are you saying none of that was real?"
Zaidel ponders what the Lady suggests.
I don't think my experience falls into Joh..Liriiestil's catergory. Sure, my live was mundane, but I did many things to spice it up: reading, playing video games and RPGs, and the like. And sure middle school and high school sucked, but that's everyone..right?
Bage chuckles at the theory. That can't be true. A few decades of memories? And a prison for what? There's no way all of my life was made up...my rather average...completely plain...oh, God. She's right isn't she?
"Oh, God. I'm stuck in a horrible version of the twilight zone," Bage says, mind racing with this new possibility.
"I don't *think* she's saying our lives and memories were fake." He honestly wasn't sure if he would be all that upset if his life was somehow fake. While he loved his family dearly and they him, it was a rather mundane, extremely boring existence.
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Alyssa swears silently in her head as the Lady continues.
Nope, we're telling the boy he's dead. And his life, and all his memories, are a lie. Well, that's probably for the best. Not like we could have held it from him forever.
Though at least the eggs will be taken care of.
She waits, then says "Can you explain this theory? What evidence do you have to back it up?"
Her teacher training is clearly kicking in right now.
"Prisoners on Earth? A strange idea. I had no form there, barely even an entity. That was the best time I can remember though. You say we were brainwashed, that none of our memories are true, merely manufactured to keep us sedated. As Alyssa says, what is your proof? That centuries of human growth that I saw and influenced were lies?"
Zaidel peers around the party, seeing if he will offered any fey wine or fairy cakes.
The Lady of the Wood holds up one hand to forestall the barrage of questions, important though they are.
"If I am right everything you experienced was completely real, it simply occurred within a pocket universe in the Apogee Society's old rehabilitation center, specifically cell block 42: Earth."
The Lady stands and walks to one of the root-tables, picking up a goblet of wine.
"I am unclear about how Apogee protocols worked exactly but the brainwashing I am speaking of is that when they imprisoned you they bound your consciousness in mechanical constructs of meat and bone, devoid of magic, and all you remember is your life in the cell block."
The Lady is radiating empathy and concern as she sips the wine to wet her throat, and she waves a hand inviting the group to the tables to refresh themselves as well.
"I don't know everything or exactly how it works but at the end of your rehabilitation you should have had your normal minds restored and your time on Earth relegated to contextually appropriate memories. Alas, the Society fell long ago."
"Any idea why we would have been imprisoned? Were we villains? Dissidents? Rebels? What your describing sounds like a pretty harsh punishment." John asks, concern mixed with a lot of excitement. If this is true, it sounds like at some point he might have lived a fairly wild and crazy life. Maybe there was hope for him after all, in this apparent new one.
Complete invulnerability eh? Well... That fire still hurt, so it's not a thing I'll be having any fun with like these other guys. Poor Alyssa though, nothing on her." Joseph thinks. "God... Imprisoned on earth..." He hangs his head. "Man... I feel really stupid for throwing a fit about wanting to go back now. Sorry guys."
When Liriiestill makes his remark on what they where in a past life Joseph perks up again. "No way, one of us got worried about the unborn baby of a creature that attacked us. If we where villains then we where team rocket level at most."
The Apogee Society was an ancient, multiverse spanning utopian nation founded by a Seer of amazing prowess, who acknowledged that all societies where inescapably prone to corruption and abuse and so built a society not on the perfect ideals of some philosophy but by simply always self correcting and trying to make things better.
Aided by the Seer's perfectly accurate visions the Society grew over millennia to become a near utopia, their technology and magical knowledge far surpassing anything that had come before or since.
The Society acknowledged it wasn't perfect, and it wasn't, but so successful was it that the Gods themselves began to look on it with fear and jealousy. Worship of the Gods was fading in many places where the Gods once ruled for every citizen had all their needs and wants met, and their life spans were one hundred times longer in most cases due to the Society's immense medical knowledge.
Finally came the day when the Seer announced she had found a way to solve every problem ever and turn the entire Omniverse into an eternal paradise. But first she had to work through all her own personal flaws, so that with the great power came no corruption. She vanished soon after.
Once convinced that the Seer was off mediating in some dimension the Dark Gods of the Omniverse combine their power to create a great Seal, trapping her in her meditations forever and preventing her return. Then, as the Gods of Good stood by, the Dark Gods launched their endless armies against Kor'Ma'Gar, the demiplane capital city of the Society.
What followed was a brutal war where Heroes and Villains alike forged epic destines and were likewise cut down. It is a tale too long to ever tell but in the end the Society lost and was obliterate almost completely from history.
To this day the Gods of weal refer to the incident as their "Great Sin." For they stood by and did nothing as one of the most beautiful and wondrous nations in history was destroyed.
John can't help but chuckle, a little. "Which could just mean the rehabilitation worked, no? We *used* to be villains, but thanks to our time spent on 'Earth', we're now better people, kind people."
"Any idea why we would have been imprisoned? Were we villains? Dissidents? Rebels? What your describing sounds like a pretty harsh punishment." John asks.
"Some prisoners were beings of great evil, others were people in protective custody because there was a threat against them so great only the security of the Rock could keep them safe. Still others were beings with wild powers they couldn't control, and asked to go to the Rock to be rehabilitated and learn to use their powers correctly."
She drains the rest of her goblet and picks up a bowl of berries.
"Honestly I don't know most of your stories, though Bage was likely imprisoned for causing great destruction, seeing as he is a Saiyan."
The Lady shrugs.
John can't help but chuckle, a little. "Which could just mean the rehabilitation worked, no? We *used* to be villains, but thanks to our time spent on 'Earth', we're now better people, kind people."
"That is likely the case." The Lady says as she sits back down.
"Though I know you Liriiestil, and you have never had a mean bone in your body. Likely your imprisonment had something to do with your connection to the Lantern King, whose trouble making had long put him on the Society's s+*~ list. Though at this point I am just guessing."
"Alright, so we know a little of our past, though not that much, and not really why. Any ideas how we got here? If the Society fell ages ago, but their rehab center did not, what does our 'death' and subsequent rebirth mean? Also, it sounds like not all of us were native to this world, whichever or wherever it might be, so how come we all ended up here? Who can we seek out that might have more answers?" Despite his earlier outburst, John seems to be taking this all in stride now. Perhaps he's numb to the all the crazy being told, or maybe he's just tired of a life of such incredible banality that he's excited for this new life.
"Alright, so we know a little of our past, though not that much, and not really why. Any ideas how we got here? If the Society fell ages ago, but their rehab center did not, what does our 'death' and subsequent rebirth mean? Also, it sounds like not all of us were native to this world, whichever or wherever it might be, so how come we all ended up here? Who can we seek out that might have more answers?" Despite his earlier outburst, John seems to be taking this all in stride now. Perhaps he's numb to the all the crazy being told, or maybe he's just tired of a life of such incredible banality that he's excited for this new life.
The Lady's eyes still glow with sorcerous green light even as she stains her lips by eating wine colored berries.
"I have been using divination while we talk and I believe what happened is that a Demon named Kamii was using a vast ritual to penetrate the Rock's old wards and retrieve one of the cell block Keys, when his spell was hijacked by a much greater power and retrieved you prisoners as well as a cell block Key."
Th Lady tilts her head in concentration.
"Your deaths were likely the automated system trying to protect your identities as you were improperly disconnected from the system. You're stuck in your Earth identities but at least the system protected your psyches from shattering and fragmenting."
Suddenly, as the Lady searches for your answers, her green glowing eyes suddenly explode in brilliant arcane blue light.
She screams as arcane energy tears through her and blue lighting dances across the green dragon scales of her dress.
"I see her..." She whispers as she collapses.
Elven and Fey lords rush to her side as another approaches you and asks you to leave quickly by the way you came.
"EEEEEP! She's hurt!" Tavi and Babey say simultaneous.
"So saiyans exist here?" Bage mutters at the revelation. So...does that mean I was a planet wiper like Vegeta and Nappa, then?
Bage freezes as the lady suddenly screams out. "What's happening?"
John listens intently as the Lady explains their connection with Kamii "Looks like we made the right choice not giving him the key after all" and of the fail safe system that protected them.
Suddenly, the she cries out, and he moves instinctively to her side, to try and determine what went wrong. If any try and get in his way or stop him, he snarls at them inhumanly.
John shoves aside an Elven Lord who moved to block him, the Elf tumbles into the dirt with his sword half drawn.
Upon reaching the Lady he sees this is no medical condition but something stranger.
After a moment the raging blue magics fade away and the Lady climbs to her feet.
"Excuse me." She says to her guests.
"I got caught on the tail end of that Demon's ritual, it's energy still storming."
"Stop!" She commands the Elven Lord John shoved and who is now approaching, blade drawn. The Elf freezes in place, not a magical effect but simply a response to the Lady's command.
The Lady shakes her head, sending glimmering star dust showering from her hair.
"It was Merlin." She says once she starts focusing on what happened.
"He has desperate need of you!"
"Merlin... let me guess, Wizard, long beard and blue robes. Probably serves a chosen king and is supposedly the most powerful in the land?"
"Merlin?" Zaidel questions. "You mean Merlin Merlin? Merlin? Like Merlin The Magican? Merlin of King Arthur Merlin? That Merlin? Merlin?"
"Honestly Zaidel, at this point I'm assuming near every creature and character I've seen in a work of fiction exists somewhere. It's just easier that way."
"Then I'm warning you right now, Joey", warned Zaidel, "you may witness a ton of fanboying from me, because it looks like we got a literal 'call to adventure' from Merlin 'the fricking' Magician!"
If there was one thing his parents would say was a guilty pleasure, or a waste of time, it was John's love of Arthurian legends and Merlin in particular. He had read all the stories, watched all the movies, and generally sorta obsessed over 'wizard'.
So, when Joseph makes the comment about the freakin Disney version, John corrects him. "That's literally one version, and a cartoony one at that. It's most likely Merlin was a druid of some sort, with sorcerous powers as well."
"I know not of who this Merlin might be, but we may as well go to him."
"Merlin?" Zaidel questions. "You mean Merlin Merlin? Merlin? Like Merlin The Magican? Merlin of King Arthur Merlin? That Merlin? Merlin?"
"There is only one Merlin, though he has lived many lives." The Lady confirms and seems to slump a bit in the aftermath of her magical trauma, her inner blue glow softer and her hair seeming more lank.
"Honestly Zaidel, at this point I'm assuming near every creature and character I've seen in a work of fiction exists somewhere. It's just easier that way."
The Lady gives a soft, sad smile.
"Likely true. The magical energy of the Earth inmates needs a place to go in their magic dead existence and so it expresses itself as dreams and imaginings, which can often tap into your real memories of the world. Expressed through art mankind in Earth often remembers real beings and events through a somewhat twisted mirror."
She sits down where she stands and once again a giant flower blooms to catch and seat her.
"The truth though, Joseph, is that you are far more a work of fiction than I am."
She looks to the Vulture King.
"That magical bleed off from the prisoners had to go somewhere too, likely you formed as a God as a result of the worship of some very powerful beings trapped in the form of dirty rough scrabble humans."
"I do not know who this Merlin is either, but he appears to be an important figure in western television. If I am understanding correctly, he is some sort of stage magician, and likely a good one if based on Zaidel's reaction." summarizes Kei, with a nod and a grin like he is proud of himself.
"So if that Kamui guy wanted the key, then should we give it to you?" asks Kei of the Lady as she reaches into his pocket.
"I do not know who this Merlin is either, but he appears to be an important figure in western television. If I am understanding correctly, he is some sort of stage magician, and likely a good one if based on Zaidel's reaction." summarizes Kei, with a nod and a grin like he is proud of himself.
Zaidel facepalms under an ached expression. "Well, Kei, it looks like you'll meet him soon enough."
"So if that Kamui guy wanted the key, then should we give it to you?" asks Kei of the Lady as she reaches into his pocket.
"There are no locks or doors in the forest, so I have no interest in a Key." She says with her hand in his pocket.
She looks down. "Also, sorry, I'm rather impulsive sometimes, it's a Fey's prerogative."
John sighs. "No Kei, just no." Is all he says in reply to the Japanese man's comments.