Ghosts from the Past

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Ghosts from the Past

Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The shock of the renewed glow to my ring kept me awake long into the night. I had sat upon the hearth mulling over what it could possibly mean, and wouldn't you know it, Ozymandias was conspicuously absent. At length, Myr came into the room, his cold nose pushing at my scarred hand. "Aye Myr, 't willnae dae tae sit 'ere wonderin'."

I rose and he accompanied me to my suites above. As I sat down upon the bed, my gaze wandered to the sky lights, and the stars twinkling above me, and I could not help but wonder if somehow, Uly continued on, in another time and place.

Wishful thinking?

I fell asleep with my lifemate on my thoughts.....and dreams often come from such thoughts.
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

Images began to form in her subconscious mind, and floated to the surface......the pending war with Ghrial came first....

Work had plagued her all day... with Ghrial's coming, the plans and studies had been endless..... and night fell like a midnight cover across the Sidhe lands.... black, moonless, nothingness.... The chill that had blanketed Nitesong with the advance of Ghrial's forces had prompted the Heiress tae lay a fire, how ever, even the normally cheery crackle of the flames did little tae liten her spirit.

At last, relaxing alone before the fire, her head drooping from weariness, a sudden *snap* of the comforting psychic connection with Uly brought her bolt upright.

The now familiar portal opens, the charred figure of the eagle drops to the ground before her.

(w) Ozy..... ?

She listened to what the once golden bird bespoke to her, Alais' silvery eyes filled with shimmering tears as she very quietly whispered, “Uly” Pain wracking the whispered name as she unconsciously touched the now bare finger where the moonsilver ring had once been worn. She had given it to Ulysses before he had left, as a reminder that he had something to come back to.

As she stared into the fire, listening to Ozy, her thoughts drifted outward.... where was he? When was he? His recorded voice rang of loneliness..... Goddess......

Ozy's voice replaces that of' Uly's, she regarded the' strange creation.... unlike any she had ever encountered... before Uly.... there was so much from Uly's world that frightened her.... something he'd called *technology*... and at first, Ozy had been one of those things... but now... now Ozy was all that she had o' Uly... and mayhap the' Exotic's wouldst indeed search out and attempt tae destroy that only remaining link. She could not let that happen.

“Ozy..... 'ere ye mayst indeed rest an' repair howeffer best ye mayst. I cannae be ascertes 'ow best tae 'elp ye... fer I dinnae understand ye.... howeffer, th' Exotics shall nae haff ye... nae as long as I mayst stand in their way.”

“Ye belief 'e'll survive Ozy? Yer talk o' giffin' 'im back th' *raw data*” I did not understand exactly what that meant And hope was evident in her voice as she regards the eagle.

“I fear Ozy, I dae nae know yer powers... though 't matters nae... I'd offer ye sanctuary were ye completely powerless. Bu’ ye must needs knen Ozy... war is aboot tae descend 'pon Nitesong, an' mayhap ye'll be nae safe 'ere either.”

She quietly regards the messenger, and the cold loneliness of being without Uly. Goddess, she'd come to be comforted by that link....and now it was cold.... and very lonely without it.

“Ozy? Where was Uly whence ye left 'im?”
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The image fades and a new one replaces it.

In the night I suddenly sensed the psychic conduit to Uly had just snapped shut. Then seconds later a glittering portal of gold appears...flickering...unstable. Ozymandias flew through, but did not hover...the mind link to him dim, but present. He drops to the ground, standing weakly...his golden form scorched and pitted. Ozymanias' thoughts are frail but comprehensible, and enter my mind.

“Lady Alais, I stand before you in my direst hour with a message from he whom you knew as Ulysses Graham, perhaps the last I shall ever convey.” The voice of Ulysses floats weakly through my thoughts.

“Ozymandias tells me I know you...perhaps that I care for you. Since you are receiving this message mayhap he has not malfunctioned. He claims the Exotics have changed me, and I have never known him to lie. He claims as well that they will remove him from my existence with the next overlay, thus I record this message.”

“Two nights past I looked upon you in a place I had never been before. Ozy had urged me there, and the ring hanging at my neck beckoned me into the portal. You are familiar to me, I can feel it, but in my mind there is nothing. Upon my return Ozymandias played back records, and it is difficult to doubt their authenticity or the feelings they stirred in me...but there is nothing in my mind.”

“I know this is possible. The overlays are the shift of reality by combining a preponderence of alternate worlds sharing common aspects. Those aspects become reality. In this current reality I have never known you, but three anomalies remain. One, Ozymandias has an overwhelming amount of data regarding my travels I do not recall. Perhaps his own dimensional travels have defended him against the overlay effect. Two, I cannot deny that the place and the people of two nights ago stirred feelings I cannot explain. Three, this ring I hold in my hand should not be here. It exudes your presence--and the sensation that you and I are linked.”

“Most likely, I no longer remember Ozymandias or Rhydin by the time you receive this. Only the ring remains to draw me back to that strange place. Ozy will have fled, hopefully surviving the dimensional flux in order to aid me should I follow the impulse I receive every time I touch this silver circle. It seems I shall be more and less than I ever was. I do not know what these final hops will do to me, but since much is already lost I must console myself in fate. The Exotics could not have overlooked Ozymandias--therefore it must be part of the plan.”

At your disadvantage,
Loyal Commander Ulysses Graham

Uly's voice, rings of loneliness and trepidation, fades.
Ozymanias' thoughts once more echo in my mind

>I would ask two things of you, Lady Alais 'd Nitesong Sidhe. First, I must rest, or I will cease to function. I cannot hop again without time to self-repair. The Exotics may yet seek to terminate my life and I would ask sanctuary of you. Second, your magics are beyond the Exotics. The ring you bestowed upon Uly is now his only hope to rediscover his past. When they removed me from his existence the Exotics also removed the years we were bonded...the years he suffered--his bitterness and his remorse. He is no longer even the man who left this final recording. I can give him back raw data, but I cannot remake him the good man you have known him to be. I perceive the Exotics pragmatic rather than evil, but believe they commit great evil to achieve the greater good. Though I know these things are naught but pain for you, I ask your help in saving what is left of the Ulysses we have both held feelings for. In return, I will answer or do whatever you will of me within my power. What say you, Lady Alais 'd Nitesong Sidhe?<
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The eagle hesitates...clearly considering his words carefully before they reach out to your mind::

>For your hospitality, I thank you. I will heal quickly. As for the rest...<

Again he pauses, were he human I would assume great turmoil within

>Ulysses will not survive. Not as we have known him. Outwardly, the manifestation will not be greatly changed, but inwardly...I can only restore to him what my memory contains. These are recordings of our history, our lives together. I can return to him every event and thought I've ever recorded, but he will not feel them ever again. He will know you by your face and past actions, but he will not know you or any other who has been removed from his reality, including myself<

The golden creature stops abruptly...its eyes blinking rapidly, its wings twitching, uncomfortable with its own words.

>I left him as we were returning from a hop. His path took him back to the Harmony system, while mine was to flee here. That reality was the one the Exotics have sought--the one they've been building toward. On that world Ulysses has not claimed the life of one sun but the life of a thousand. He is the destroyer of galaxies, and he is fiercely loyal to the Exotics.<

He pauses, seemingly observing your reaction before continuing.

>There, the original experiment did not deviate. As the young Uly warped the doomsday weapon through the corona of the Harmony sun to the heart of our enemy's sun his ship and nervous system did not melt away. Ulysses, weapon and ship became one being of energy as our Ulysses would do over eleven years later without the weapon. Now it is part of him. Where our Uly fought the destruction of innocent life and cursed himself as a murderer, this new Ulysses may accept it as a natural law of the universe. He knew this as the portal opened to bring us back...that is when he recorded his final message.<

Again, Ozymandias pauses...but the mindlink strengthens, conveying the resolution within his thoughts.

>Uly has been used and misused many times, Lady Alais. He has always held misguided loyalties to those who would do him harm. It is in his nature to trust, trust more and then to forgive and still trust. The properties of the moonsilver ring you bestowed upon him will draw him back to Rhydin, for thus far it has been immune to the overlays. He must not leave here. I have the power to loop any portal he might attempt to use, always bringing him back to the starting point. I have the power to put a great deal of our Uly's history back in his mind. But I have not the power to win him back, for I am an android--and as such I lack the credibility of being human. He may attack us, go mad, kill himself...I know not. I am deeply troubled, for in the end Ulysses may never come to know himself again. But he must not go back.<

Once more the golden one pauses.

>As to my powers, I believe you would call one of my prowess a spy. I am perhaps the most sophisticated recorder to ever exist and I travel at will and almost undetected anywhere within a given reality--and with some difficulty to alternate realities. I can allow you to see, hear, smell and touch through my senses, and I promise you they extend far beyond the range of human ability. These small abilities I gladly offer in exchange for your aid.<
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The memories flicker and shift to Uly’s first trip to Nitesong, soon after his return, and absence of memories.

Uly an' Alais shimmered into substance, Uly got his first look at the Sidhe.

“We are 'ome Uly”.... I swept my right arm across the vista before him.

The main street upon which they stood disappeared into the distance and disappeared into the Devastated Lands behind them, and progressed toward the center of the city. On all sides, great Rouwan trees rose in towering columns, their unique ivory bark and foliage shimmering softly in the light.

I whispered, “ come.... 't is a fine eve, an' fittin' that ye shouldst see yer first sunset from mine own Rouwan.” I greeted several Sidhe residents as we continued toward my home... pausing before the towering main tree, I pointed to the end of the road, where the mountains rose sharply from the landscape:: There luv is where our Priest Sect lives... th' Druids worship th' Goddess there... an' that land is sacrosanct.... our High Priestess Legendazna is currently away... en route tae meet wi' Tegwen an' confront Ghrial.”

I paused to look up at him. “Uly... I dae so 'ope ye'll stay fer a time 'ere wi' us...”. and then whispered, “wi' me. Yer strength o' will an' moral support be a salve fer mine soul.” I blushed suddenly at my temerity and then proceeded up into the tree.

Huge ivory leaves draping around us formed translucent walls, rain proof and invisible to those below them. Walking toward the farthest branch, I faced the west... and the sun slowly dipping into the horizon behind the Druid's mountain.

I reached out to take his hand... staring into the sunset:: “'ome Uly... this be mine 'ome. This be th' refuge fer Ozy as well.”
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The images blur momentarily.

His eyes were active from the moment we materialized, following the sweep of my arm across the landscape. A slight narrowing of his eyes his only reaction to my claim we are home.

His gaze turns behind us and lingers on the Devastated Lands until my voice pulls him back from dark thoughts of his own. A sardonic smile on his lips as we went to share a sunset.

He nods and mm-hmms and uh-huhs in all of the appropriate places--but clearly he was absorbing every sight, every sensation, and his eyes glitter of distant fires as he looks up into the far reaching branches of the massive tree.

He nearly stumbles, halting an involuntary step toward the high mountains, looking back, hoping I hadn’t noticed his attraction toward the towering peaks, I raised my eyes to his then.

My silvery gaze, his name on my lips, my words all impacting this stranger, ...he stood lacking an easy response.

I flushed at his gaze and my own words, and darted into the Rouwan, and he waited until I was well into my tree before kneeling briefly upon the ground, placing his palms flat to the soft earth. A golden aura rose up through his ring bearing hand, traversing across and down through the right, into the earth. His quiet whisper barely heard, “so alive.”

He rose quickly, deftly ascending into the white draperies of Rouwan leaves, following the faint sound of my movement, and he found me on the farthest branch. He gently took my hand, and watched the Druid's mountain as the unknown star sinks behind it while the last rays of light fall into shadow, he struggled to keep past and present separate.

In a halting whisper he attempted to put voice to his thoughts. “Alais, I do not know how to be part of this.” His arm arcs across vista. “Your home. I have touched the earth and I hear the voice from that grand mountain. They are full of life itself, while I am the very hand of that parcel you call the Devastated Lands. You have asked me if I would snuff out your sun, but I have not answered--for there is a point when one star becomes the same as another, a time when the poignancy of a fine wine is lost in the intoxication of the cask. How can I share this land you call home, knowing the line between sharing and taking is all too fine?”

He stood silent a moment, listening, before reaching up to my face, to turn my eyes from the shadows. “A billion billion living creatures course through my soul. I am as full of life as this land, but it is stolen life. Would you risk watching me desecrate all for the mere company of this cosmic thief?” His words were pleading, almost irrational.

He paused, grief and concern strong in his countenance--disconcertingly identical to the Ulysses I've known. Then very quietly he whispered, “I will stay. I will stay as long as you'll have me.” He raised his hand and surveyed the moonsilver ring. “This land calls me, and it is more than these energies you've woven about me”.

“You should know you've saved countless lives.” There was a cold fire glowing in his palms. “I do not believe I am a Loyal Commander anymore.” A bemused expression crosses his face. “I wonder what then?”

He was still holding my hand, he turned me easily in his arms--my back to the gentle rhythm of his breath--enfolding me as we watch the shadows play below the dimming glow of sunlight.
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

There is a blink in the memory, and Uly shudders as he claims to be the hand of the Devastated Lands..... my eyes darting up to meet his as he talks about destroying my own sun... my fingers convulsively tightening my grip on his hand.

As his touch upon my face forced me to look upon him.... his query sent a chill rippling down my spine.

“Ye query whether I woulds't risk watchin' ye desecrate all this fer th' mere company o' a cosmic thief....nay.... I wouldst nae risk all that ist mine 'ome fer such as ye describe.”.....::my words were a soft statement:: “howeffer Uly... I wouldst indeed walk thru Chaos 'tself fer ye...”. My gaze locked upon his own. “Yer nae cosmic thief.... an' though Ozy tells me ye be nae th' man I didst once know an' care deeply fer... I know 'e ist still 'ere.” I reached up with my free hand... splayin' my fingers over where his heart would be. “I care nae if ye be Loyal Commander, Uly.... 't is nae th' Commander whom I dae care fer.... 't is ye.... Uly Graham fer whom I dae wish tae risk what ist mine tae risk.”

He turned me in his arms, and we watch as shadows lengthen as the star slowly sets the evening sky in hues of richest lavenders and reds, streaked with the quickly fading golds of a cloudless sunset, a soft sigh escapes her. His presence both frightening and comforting.... she felt a wholeness she had not realized she ever lacked...... but what of this man.... the one she knew as Uly was gone... according to Ozy.... mayhap forever.... this new Uly.... alternately familiar, and totally unrecognizable except for the physical manifestation..... could she bring back the humanity that was her beloved Uly... from before this last manipulation by the Exotics?

I dropped my head to the side, resting slightly against his arm, silver sable hair rippling around her, she stood there gazing at the fading horizon as the darkest shadows of night crept across the Sidhe lands.... we'd deal with what ever the' Exotics had in store.... aye.... and survive.
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

We had remained thusly for long moments before sleep had come, and as dawn approached Nitesong... I lay awake... silvery eyes fixed on a point clearly not inside my Rouwan. Using the telepathic link to Ozy,

<< Ozy?.... wilst th' Exotics come seekin' Uly?>>

I stood staring from my workplace high in th' Rouwan, my mind linked with Ozy who was confirming her worst fears.

>Ozy, if th' Exotics utilize nae a likeness o' ye.... 'ow shall we know whence 't arrives? An' more importantly still... 'ow shall we know 'ow tae deal wi' 't?<

>Ozy.... I fear this Uly< my thoughts trailing off slowly.... having been pondering what so troubled me of late.

Ozy did not respond.

> jus' 'ow powerful ist this incarnation Ozy? I mean... yer comment 'boot th' damage caused betwixt this Uly an' a replica..... <

I did not give a full explanation as to why I fear Uly.. hoping the android would overlook the errant thought::

Somehow I had to keep the Exotics from finding him and pulling him back to the awful destruction they were engaged in... somehow there had to be a way to bring back the man I’d known and cared for.

I rose from my pallet... there were affairs of the land to be dealt with.... the chill morning air sent shivers down my spine as I dressed for the day::

“Mornin' meetin' wi' Xenograg...” soft sigh:: “Ah shall haff an 'orrible 'eadache by day's end.... strategies.... tactics.... plans.... 't is nae right an' proper... nae 'atall! I am nae warrior!” Pain flashed thru my thoughts...”indeed... Ah am nae leader either.....”..
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

While I about my affairs of state he maneuvered silently upward to the very top of my Rouwan, the branches and leaves seemed to accommodate and approve of this quiet journey. A place and time to think had been his objective in going here, but now he was committed to so much more. Reaching the crest, he basked in the warmth of the late morning sun.::

“Magnificent.” He breathed.

Scanning the horizons he once more let his gaze dally upon the splendid peaks and the Devastated Lands, sensing and appreciating their juxtaposition. He knelt upon the Rouwan, resting both palms on its broad ivory leaves...letting the energies course up the moonsilver ringed left hand across his breast and down to the right back into the earth where they rightfully belonged.

He felt that this land is not at peace.

He wrapped himself in bent light, and shed the trappings of mortality to rise into the bright skies--unseen to all relying on the visible spectrum::

“I must speak to that golden one at length in time.” He observed as he noted the figures in the sky.

Slowly turning and spreading he blanketed the whole of Nitesong, ritually attuning himself in a way he’d done hundreds of times before. The channels would differ this time in the most important factor. This was a sharing, not a taking. No imbalance would result; no star would dim and die forever.

“This land shall know my mind and heart.
Perhaps mind and heart can be as taught.”

Separating slowly, he spiraled downward to a point on the road at the edge of the Devastated Lands once more becoming man. Kneeling at the edge of the sad soil, he sent twin beams of golden light from his palms into the boundary, bringing forth a tiny sprout. In a moment there is a stalk, a sable bud and finally a silver bloom.

“You are a beginning. Once your bloom graced a world under a white-golden star now both gone and irreplacable. Here begin anew.” He told the new life.

He rose and walked toward the Sidhe. He sensed all that had gone before to shape this land, the massive energies expended in efforts to destroy and nurture, is for naught.

“How does one measure?” He turned inward, contemplating change.

A butterfly drifted by from nowhere and he begin to understand.

“I will share my thoughts this evening, perhaps some path will become clear.”

He wandered the Sidhe. Touching, smelling, hearing and seeing what he had shared.
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

Later that day, I came down from my solitude, still wrapped in my thoughts.... the voice of Uly startles me from my reverie.

“ aye luv..... Ah dinnae thrive 'pon th' burden's o' leadership. Ah was neffer intended tae be a leader..... 't was fer mine mother, Alaisia that this mantle was fer. I haff nae 'ad th' trainin', nor th' breedin' tae be such a leader as Nitesong now requires.

I dropped onto a chaise, a soft groan of pure pleasure escaped me as his warm, strong hands ease the knots from muscles that have spent the day studying the maps and logistics of the military leader, Xenograg. “Luv..... ye haff a gift in those 'ands o' yers...”.

I listened to the timbre of his voice.... stress had no option but to flee.

“Ah Uly... th' darkness that comes effer nearer tae Nitesong be a power like as nae tae snuff oot what little remains o' mine 'ome. Ghrial seeks dominion o'er mine people... an' mine servitude tae 'is foul gods as a Priestess. Th' Lich-lord o' Thuria alsae seeks th' death o' th' Wise Woman, Tegwen. Should 'e succeed in takin' Nitesong, there is a possibility that 'e could move ontae Xenograg's 'ome world, an' mayhap intae Barsi. Nitesong is a key that cannae fall.... A shiver ran up my spine at the thought, I always hated to discuss the Lich.

“Uly, Mayhap ye haff come tae Nitesong tae late tae heal luv.... an' now I haff one request tae make o' ye luv. My gaze meeting his own in the flickering firelite. ”Promise me that should Ghrial come near tae succeedin' in claimin' me fer one o' 'is necromantic priestess'... ye'll nae stop Xeno, nor Devon from daein' that which they haff promised me they wouldst dae fer mineself?”
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The images shift again and anger still roiled at the knowledge that Shakira had claimed such atrocity... and suspicion ran deep that von Strakenberg was somehow involved....the Death Knight had threatened tae join up with Ghrial, and Shakira was also known to be pondering what she might gain with such an alliance.

“Goddess.... please let there be nae truth tae Shakira's claims..” I was beseeching the Goddess as I looked up into the night sky from the branch of' my Rouwan. “Ceridwen... am Ah tae blame fer this travesty? Once Xenograg 'ad controllin' aid o'er th' Daemoness wi' th' cord....an' now that ist gone.... an' Shakira grows effer more bold. 't ist nae rite that Athlstan suffers such horror.”

Hanging my head.... pondering what the next steps should be.
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

Ozy's image flowed into Shakira's.

Ozy’s answers broke through the images of the self recrimination, >If the Exotics create a duplicate similar to myself and choose to send it here, only the signature of a flux portal opening will warn us. I will detect this. However, it would be Ulysses who would have to pinpoint the energy trail after such a creature departed the rift. I am increasingly aware that his mastery of various forms of energy far exceed my own.<

The android exercises one of his all too familiar pauses that I was growing accustomed to experiencing.

>Should Ulysses battle an overlay double in this land, on this planet or for that matter in this solar system they would surely drain the local star. Our current Ulysses now contains the overlay of what I surmise to be the most powerful incarnation--balanced against the weakest, our original Ulysses. A combination of overlays lying between those two extremes should equal him in raw power. Drawing from equal reserves, the logical move would be to drain the immediate sources of energy--for example: the nearest star and all gravimetric forces maintaining the balance of the planetary system. Secondary sources would surely include all lower life forms in the system. Tertiary sources being...the higher life forms.<

I sensed the android realized his language was riddled with foreign terms, but he lacked the ability to express the concepts in "human" terms.

>Since we might safely assume our Ulysses would not drain this system, his options would be to flee or execute a suicide attack--blasting himself and his opponent into the dimensional flux. However, I predict this scenario will not come to pass. I have sensed our current Ulysses is growing in power and I am coming to a nearer understanding of his essence.<

The eagle shifted uneasily, mentally and physically.

>I have attempted to explain that he is an amalgamate. Within his being are the three things placed by the Exotics. One, the original human being Ulysses Graham--the son of the Harmony System's greatest general and an engineered consort paired with him by the Exotics. Two, an artificially intelligent nerve-wire starship bonded with Ulysses in the delivery of the doomsday device. Three, the device itself which was warped through the corona of the Harmony System's star into the heart of the Zolarian star. This is mitigated somewhat by the overlay effect with our original Ulysses--the failed experiment--but the multiple overlays were apparently performed to adjust for this. He has the abilities of a human, the abilities of an AI computer system and the abilities of a weapon capable of channeling the energies of an entire star system including billions of life forms on the inhabited planets. Thus the powers of generating starfire blades, healing wounds, inducing pleasure and operating on multiple sensory levels--these are an inkling of what he must be capable of. It would seem only the discipline of his Exotic training and the humanity of Ulysses Graham restrain him from ascending to what many would characterize as godhood.<

He sensed my apprehension during the conversation, but Ozymandias presses on.

>In my own way, I fear him as well. He is nurturing his power even here--channeling the life-force of this land, experimenting with techniques of focusing energies without damaging the source of the energies. Thus, if a double should arrive--and he has had time to prepare--I believe our current Ulysses may tap the life-force of this world to defeat an opposer without even alerting anyone of this world save those attuned to the flow of such forces. In addition to this, he already channels the energies of the dozens of stars, the forces of the dozens of planetary systems and the life flow of hundreds of billions of living creatures--all drained to cold, dead, inert matter in the name of the Exotics. I have yet to pinpoint how he channels the energies, but with further examination I am certain I can deduce his exact nature.<

I then sensed a strange weariness in the eagle's thoughts as he fell silent once more.
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The images shift to late afternoon, and after a missive had arrived providing news of Ghrial, and I stood staring out into the darkening Sidhe sky, my mind link with Ozy providing painful clarifications... albeit then I did no understand all of what he was saying.

>Ozy.... I haff brought 'im 'ere as th' shadows o' war encroach aboot us.... such selfishness.... < There was recrimination echoing in my thoughts.

>His healin' may nae come tae pass then Ozy..... an' whilst I dinnae understand much o' what ye say.... I know only that I fear 'im less an' less. Thou' mayhap from what ye say, 't would be wiser tae fear more.... I simply cannae.<

I closed my eyes, leaning hard against one of the branches:: >Ozy.... 'ow didst Uly come tae send ye 'ome 'ere? Hath 'e taken retribution against ye fer yer 'elp in keepin' 'im 'ere?< I had noted the unusual weariness in Ozy's thoughts.
Lady Alais d' Arma Graham d' Nitesong Sidhe
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The image changed again, shifting to a return home to the Sidhe via the portal she'd seen used so many times, but it was a sensation she had not expected. Indeed, even Uly's periodic silences, marked by this trip had added to the unusual effects.

As they arrived at the Rouwan, my thoughts were as scattered as the fallen leaves autumn usually brought although this season, Ghrial's winter still covered the land... there had been no spring nor summer... and so autumn was but a continuation of the bitter cold that presaged his advance.

“Uly? On th' morrow, Ah must needs send a missive tae Xenograg. I wouldst be appreciative should ye read 't b'fore I dae send Arrriahh wi' 't. My silver eyes plainly showing that I was worried how he'd take the missive as I offered the rolled parchment to him.

General Xenograg,
This missive ist twofold in nature. Firstly, that I haff taken tae 'eart a man most dear tae me. He ist th' one ye know as Novus Rex. Tae me 'e ist Uly. I shall 'ope that ye shall accept Uly as part o' th' Sidhe, for as mine consort, 'e ist verra important in th' pendin' darkness o' Ghrial. Howeffer, yer appointment as mine delegate tae th' Council o' Elders, in th' event o' mine demise still stands. Only a Sorcerer born mayst fill in as mine replacement an' voice there. Uly hath powers o' 'is own.... but 't remains that 'e ist nae a Sorcerer himself.
I remind ye Xenograg o' yer promise tae nae let Ghrial succeed in 'is quest tae enslave mine mortal soul. Uly hath been appraised o' this promise, an' I haff requested that 'e *understand* should such an event occur. Should ye deem mine life forfeit tae ensure Ghrial's failure in that regard, Uly will nae seek retribution wi' ye.
Secondly, in th' presence o' Ulysses is a golden eagle. Ozymandias may prove most useful as a source of intelligence tae be gathered from th' sky. I know ye haff th' ability tae fly from yer Ostego Cloak, howeffer, mayhap Ozy could aid wi' less obvious results? Whom wouldst suspect an eagle soarin' in th' sky?

I am effer indebted tae ye,

Lady Alais 'd Nitesong Sidhe
Alais wathu-Darelir
Heiress of Nitesong

I quietly regarded him, and the play of emotions across his features.
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Post by Alais d Nitesong »

The images shift to just Uly,

Since speaking of Ghrial and Xenograg and Devon, and your request of non-intervention should you fall, I've taken to silences. Not constant, not frequent, yet interspersed with our time together at the Rouwan, the arena and walking in the Sidhe. Sometimes you sense the tension--wondering if my emotional struggle with unfelt memories or perhaps remorse for long-dead worlds have driven me once more to melancholy. I do nothing to divert your thoughts from these guesses, keeping my own council, struggling with decision. The environ of bitter words, constant threats and truths half-told have weighed heavily on me, though I've chosen to turn my commentary inward--hoping for wisdom among chaos. How to speak what you stir in me, the precious comfort you bring to me and my unbidden anger toward the forces assailing you? Better, I think, to not speak. To hold, and give solace in silence rather than contribute anxiety. And yet silence is a tension in and of itself. Holding you enfolded in my comforting arms--during what little sleep you allow yourself day or night--I arrive at a decision. My half-truths can only harm in the end, so I must cast them away.

His words where whispered, as though I must have been sleeping in his arms, but I cannot see myself in this image…

“This is my world Alais. The world of all Ulysses. That which the Odyssey Project sought, but did not find. Before, only my highest incarnation had touched this place of golden light in his waking hours. Only Ulysses the Starkiller had come to know where the life-force of a galaxy could reside. Now part of that is me and I am this place. All things touch this place which binds. When I have killed, the presence in the world we shared is severed from this place and henceforth I direct it's presence here to remanifest in our shared world as I desire. Your Ulysses touched this place many times, most recently at the hands of the AL who murdered his body. He suspected, as you know, and thus accepted the Odyssey assignment. Now he and I are one. What the Exotics, Ozymandias and many Ulysses do not yet understand is by the defining event of severing the Zolarian star system all Ulysses Graham's are destined to be one across time, space and probability. I am in the process of adjusting to this consciousness--this is my healing. Your Ulysses was in danger of losing self-direction in this world, of becoming only life-force. I, this Ulysses, am already only life-force. I still have much to learn, but am far more than a mere channeler. I am a portal to this place, where nigh-infinite life energies mingle. My body, holding yours now, is a rent in the fabric between these worlds--a projection cast upon our shared world. Thus I do not bleed red blood, but the golden light of life itself. And thus I was greatly angered at Ozymandias' restriction on my power to shed that projection. I am not a man Alais. You know this. I am not human. You know this as well. But I am of humanity, I am not an unfeeling force of the universe. That is the path you have helped turn me from, where I might have abandoned or destroyed those things I now learn to love. For though I am life, I am not love--and I now sense the latter an equal and necessity to the former.”

These were the thoughts that were felt more than heard and my world is a turning inward where you feel at peace and tranquil with the indescribable force of being which cannot be threatened because it cannot be changed--for a moment in time my fears were gone and I simply was. I awoke from the sweet dreams, in the warmth of Uly’s arms, feeling trusted--and sensing somehow a part of us is now intertwined outside of ourselves forever. Looking up, I was not surprised at this new turn of events--for his eyes were closed and the mindlink confirms...he was sleeping.
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