The Star 40

Not everything went as planned. Such an outcome wasn't surprising when success hinged on powerful warped magic. Trying to piece together events was fairly much impossible. The only thing he knew for sure was that Pete and the girls were alright. He was not.

Stripped of every bit of foreign, unclaimed essence, all that remained was the ocean star and its hidden spiritual realm within his space. Memories that should have been returned in full were absent. Outside of functional knowledge and understanding he remembered his three companions vaguely and nothing before.

He was tempted to rage righteous hell at the supposed void cradle spirit but his intuition was feeding him a depressed acceptance. He was missing a lot but he was messed up a lot. His missing things were something he had a shadowed understanding of gifting to someone. The impression of connection to that someone was deep but didn't understand why it was blocked from him.

Whatever was going on, he sacrificed a lot just to free himself of some kind of guilt and responsibility. Considering the missing spiritual procreative power, he either had or was owed some heavy accounting. But, the where, why and to/from whom were all missing.

To make matters worse, he was asked by a nexus rift guardian which way he wanted to go and said 'Can you take me high-uh~!?', still in a very inebriated and chaotic mental state. Why he was at a nexus point was pretty easy to figure out, at least. He was a tier five. Tier fives were drawn to a nexus point upon first awakening their domain.

Eyes widening, Orison sat up from the circle of burned grass he was in and muttered, "The fifth garden sprite!... That was my sprite... I mean, made from me! Everybody forgot about the fifth garden sprite... Poor kid!... Why can I remember that but nothing else!? Well, I'm glad I can but still...

"Oh, I hope that my other spiritual kid, who I can't remember other than knowing I have one, finds out about their sibling. They'd want to know they're... a.... little... brother/sister/space meatball, whatever."

A deep voice slightly chilled by suppressed rage said, "It doesn't matter. Just remember this. Until someone can prove to you otherwise, you owe nothing to anyone. The only one who hasn't screwed you in some way is Jammers. Don't ask questions about it. Just record that sh*t on the deepest level and hold it there."

Orison looked up at the buff man who was also 'in the buff'. Amber eyes locked with him in an abstract unfriendliness that spoke of deep agitation at others. As the young mage's gaze lowered to the boar in the man's hand, he noticed vivid woad, bluish green, tattoos that whorled around the 'familiar' stranger's shoulders and hips. He looked dangerous, felt dangerous and yet, Orison didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable at the man's presence.

"Does that include you?" the young mage asked in as friendly and light a tone as he could.

The man gave him a slightly feral smile. "In another life? I had to be batting a few thousand career total. To be honest, it was your avatar I was banging. And, someone was 'wearing' me as part of a bargain but yeah. Couldn't tell you more than that if I wanted to."

Absorbing the shock of that roughly delivered tidbit, along with a few shadowed memories attached, the young mage asked, "Can you tell me a name? 'Killed a Boar With Bare Hands' might impress but..."

The man sighed and lost control of a couple poorly suppressed chuckles. "You take all the fun out of being p*ssed... Either Dustin or Deacon works for me. You can call me Daddy if you're looking to rile me up. But, I'm guessing that ship sailed the moment you grew your boys back..."

Feral smile back on, he added, "Don't take this the wrong way... You're a lot more honest about what you want when you're a girl. A lot more demanding too. But hey, I'm not complaining."

Feeling out of depth, Orison said, "Look, I don't know what happened between us in the past but other than feeling like I can trust you..."

Putting on some fake cheeriness, Dustin replied, "Another life's another life. Broke through my own dark night of the soul. So, I know how things could be even if you didn't have to ditch your memories.

"I wanted to be here... with you. That doesn't mean you owe me anything. I'm not big on thinking and talking about it. I'm a doer. You want to do something about it, let me know."

While Dustin dragged the boar off a bit of ways to dress it, the young mage packed away distracting thoughts and ran through his ability testing exercises. With great relief, he discovered that his spirit realm items were still with him, just chained up there. The conjured expressions weren't quite as powerful feeling, either.

In utter disbelief, Orison realized that the rich and heavy outside magic was locked away from being drawn. Casting from self required all his law 'know how' and nearly a hundred times the cost. The reality they were in was incomparably 'solid'. With conjured book and weapon focus, he could cast up to journeyman level for a mere fifty or so times the cost. Sadly, the weapon focus would only do circle ritual magic and the book could only hold conjuration type stuff. The grimoire would let him stretch the prowess out some but his output was 'newly minted' journeyman mage for all intents and purposes.

Self sorted for the moment, he went to check on Dustin's progress. "Field dressing with sharp rocks looks like a pain in the a**. Want some help?"

Looking up to see a sleek black body suit and short sleeved, hooded over robe, the militant man said, "Yeah. And if you can whip me up something better than the Tarzan costume I thought I was going to have to slap together for us, that would be a load off too."

Orison obliged. It might have seemed like a waste to nearly exhaust what magic he did have available for something as simple as a pleasant meal and some decent clothes but there were a lot of factors involved. Dustin was tired. The young mage felt exhausted, himself. Getting some basic comfort factors solved easily would leave more time for recovery of mental health.

As he guided nourishment to begin filling his pattern in with organic material from their new environment, a trick to beating outsider oppression, the young mage had a few epiphanies. "Let's get the awkward conversation out the way. You might not like talking but I just so happen to love the sound of my own voice boring others to tears."

The militant man snorted. "Go for it. But, fair warning, You've probably got about a half of a minute before my mind starts wandering to other things. Scouting out the area, for instance."

The young mage grimaced but nodded. "I'm not speaking to you as much as I'm speaking to the being that brought you here... I appreciate the effort to make things easier for me. But, I prefer full, ugly truth over a pretty lie... most of the time. Don't make me disbelieve this illusion and hurt us both."

Shaking off surprise, Dustin grew sad and said, "We could have enjoyed it for awhile, couldn't we?"

Orison nodded. "I know you didn't lie to me. I actually remember Deacon and Winter when I want to... Yes, I think we could have... Will you be alright without this virtual space housing your soul?"

The mercenary man sighed. "As soon as you break free of Satyra's mirror world enchantment, we'll be separated by a barrier I might never cross. Making it to tier five was the extent of my potential... I've never considered myself a sentimental person but my time as Deacon, possessed by an person that no longer exists or not, it was the happiest time of my life.

"This was supposed to be the compromise. We get to have an adventure together instead of facing the dreariness of a long, boring crossing through the Greater Void to separate destinations. Damn it!...

Red eyed, he added, "It might have just been some play pretend for you but Reese was MY girl! It was supposed to be my turn to have you to myself. I could tolerate all the other sh*t that came before and would come after because I would have this time with you...

"It didn't matter that it was a dream. What 'good times' doesn't feel like a dream under the crush of the endless nightmare 'The Climb' is?... Didn't I do enough to earn that chance?... Just a chance..."

In a moment of compassion and remorse over a lost opportunity a demon/angel throne thwarted, 'Reese' embraced the man and comforted him. For as long as it took the entity holding the dream to give Orison a way out without causing damage, the young mage gave their all to honoring the past and the sacrifices Dustin had made. It wasn't enough. It never would be. But, it was better than nothing.

***

Orison woke up in a dog pile of people. Careful not to hurt them in his bid for freedom from the cocoon-like recess, he repositioned Tia and the Amy look-alike cambion into more comfortable positions around Pete. He was still confused about what happened in the aspect/archetype path reality but he could see that his goals had been accomplished.

Looking around, he could see that he was in a cotton fluffy landscape dyed in astral colors. "From one cradle to another, huh? Except, I know this kind of cradle. This is an outer god's birthing shell. Some kind of fluff creature has turned it into its home."

A lyrical, tenor voiced man said, "This is Dizzy's home. They picked you up along the way."

Orison turned to see an older Troy decked out in classic 'bard' finery. "You're the kid that baseball batted me with an arm cast before, right? How did you end up making friends with an only semi-crazy outsider? Those beings are kind of rare outside of the ones that make close ties to outer planar realms."

Troy laughed. "Can't really call me much of a kid anymore when I'm nearing thirty."

The young mage nodded in acknowledgment. "Yeah but if you weren't saving up for a few low dimension shadow reincarnations, you'd look like a fresh faced teen... Speaking of which, I have a message for you and a hitchhiker who wants to speak some elder language gibberish with your fluffy buddy."

He released the astral and veil essence orb bundle from his inner space. It zipped into the fluff and disappeared from physical and spiritual view.

"Your friend Dizzy will have some spiritual tags on places to send those shadows of yours... I feel like I had a long and funny story to share with you but I forgot the details... Anyway, the most important ones are for a place called Amoril, for this 'not really that real' 'Earth' and a dystopian Earth called Beta Prime."

Looking somewhat skeptical, the ex-college quarterback bard said, "What's their importance? If I'm expected to take your word for it, I'd hope you could tell me that much."

The young mage nodded with a friendly smile. "For once, I don't have to disappoint. Amoril's Corvinus will eventually grant you understandings of some soul and inorganic life concepts. Beta Prime's Adam will grant familiarity with the pinnacle of human potential and teach you how to feel 'law' long before Corvinus could. Last but not least, the barely real enough to exist Earth's Dimitri will grant you access to a void maze."

Thoughtful, Troy asked, "Any alts or other possibilities you can shed light on?"

The young mage shrugged. "If you're willing to donate to the 'save a cambion' fun... er, fund, You could create an abyss fate tainted shadow for a place I call the 'Dying World'. It's a little 1920's to 80's retro place being slotted for demolishing by the 'Cosmic Horror Construction Company'.

With a light smirk, the man asked, "What would that net me?"

"The incubus/succubus 'How to Be Popular and Make Friends' workshop. The redemption from heavy karma lecture is included as a freebie," Orison said with his own smirk.

Still feeling a little dubious in the trust department, Troy said, "Those sound like some pretty sweet rewards. Why am I getting them?"

"A question I wish I'd asked a time or two. With no gas or grass, I definitely wasn't up to the third option hitchhiker payment of appreciation." Orison said.

With a weary expression, he added, "Until the color fades a little on this whole mix and shuffle business, I'm going to be feeling a little blue... If you need a better reason, Dizzy likes you and MY hitchhiker needed some way to win them over enough to open a dialogue."

Troy nodded and said, "Well, we're in for a long trip. There's plenty of time to get acquainted. Maybe I don't need the demon seduction course to make you change your mind?"

The young mage chuckled mirthlessly. "I deal in deeper emotions. With how little time we actually will have after our non-people friends finish their meet and greet, you're better off having the cambion benefit from your company... You know, assuming They're up for it... I know they're all girl dolled up at the moment but They've got a stronger touch of that old s*xy demon magic than the average cambion."

To illustrate his unwillingness to make a new friend he'd only have to say goodbye to, Orison found a nice piece of less mobile fluff and went into deep trance to sort things out. After a false start when Pete was roaming around, looking for better answers that weren't available, the young mage prepped his soul and mind for another memory condensing/unsealing.

Before Dizzy had moved too far away from the trajectory of Satyra's group, Orison sent a message through the fluffy outsider. He didn't know why but suspected that the powerful woman might know the fates of his spiritual children and asked her to give either that she met or might know his love and hope for their bright futures. A day later, he and his crew, minus the cambion that had decided to stay on with Troy, were deposited at an advantageous nexus to keep from being pulled to one upon entering a new Greater Reality.

As the three walked through what looked like a ball of convoluted tree root paths to a specific rift, they passed a frizzy redheaded girl and her blue tattooed, strong looking Delver boyfriend. The man looked like he wanted to say something to Orison but his girlfriend placed a light but restraining hand on his arm. Wondering if it was because he had stared too much, the young mage apologized for his rudeness which was accepted fairly quickly before the girl quickened their pace.

"Someone you know?" Pete asked offhandedly.

Orison shrugged, "Seemed familiar but who knows. If they knew me but didn't want to talk, I shouldn't push the issue."

Pete nodded as Tia asked about where they were going. The young mage did his best to explain but Tia was only a fake, a pseudo, tier five. She barely had a grasp of her power, much less how to use it to understand existence around her.

As they drew closer to the rift, Orison saw a sliver of the rainbow colored distortion the veil cradle had told him about. Positioning himself 'just so', he walked directly through it as they entered the rift, drawing on his entanglement power to the best of his ability. Seven different versions of events unfolded.

Under the red spectrum, he passed through the rift with Pete. In the purple, he diverted to the side and into the secret underworld rift with Tia. In the orange, he turned around and ran back to Lily and Jaden, hugging them both fiercely.

The indigo spectrum revealed him jumping off the platform and into the chaos below for purposes unknown to any, save for the outsider within. Yellow saw him calling out to Duran and being pulled into that man's violent path of adversity while blue had him sacrificing his very self to open a path for the Daily family and Roy to leave the void maze.

Green, however, was where the bulk of his spiritual consciousness focused. Reaching into himself, he pulled out the seven 'wheat berries' of the strongest stalk growing in his scroll's little material plane devoted to it. Eating one, he sent another to each of his spectrum copies. Then, before Greater Reality responded to the anomaly, Troy showed up in his very first Daniel form to whisk him away to Osomo.

"This is going to be terrible for both of us," the man disguised as a plain but competent looking guardsman said.

Orison sighed. "Your Song of Stars needs to have more perspective than material paths can teach. Not in a hundred lifetimes would there be enough experience. And, I have to both save and condemn the Nunnos. It's what Druid asked me to do in exchange for his help... I think I'll call myself Herne after an old Earth legend and really lose myself into the role."