Owlcatober (late) Day 24, Reflections, featuring a follow-on to the Inevitable Excess' special ending.
[Ao3 Link]
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Planar travel was something that Elaina was still getting used to, even with help from Targona and Lariel in navigating the Maelstrom. This part of it was floating islands above primordial existence, dreams of lofty castles and haunted towers separated by dark passages and icy flights. Filled with creatures both seemingly mundane and too strange to describe as anything but aberrations.
Still, even by that standard, what Iomedae had told them should have been impossible. How could Elaina be calling on Iomedae’s divine powers from two different planes? Especially since when she had felt it, Elaina had been in the goddess’ very presence as the Inheritor took counsel on the aftermath of the Mendevian Crusades. Yet, the call had come from a distant corner in the Maelstrom or perhaps a pocket plane with in it. They had found the site where it had happened at the start of this particular dark passage, a tumult dragon left slain on the hunt, and that had given them a magical trail to follow in turn. Unfortunately, it also meant dealing with other dangers.
At least they did not have far to go as they finished a glide from one island to the next of this passage. Elaina landed first, Lariel and Targona to her left while Arueshalae and a rather quiet Hand to her right. Another tiled hall was filled with corpses. Hellish-looking (but not actually infernal) hounds, and two more of those oversized armor turtles that spat fire. Whatever this place was, it had some weird things, weird enough that flaming the fools turning the lights on and off was sounding more and more tempting.
Not that it mattered anymore as they finally caught up to their quarry. Standing at the end of this hall by a whirlwind’s pedestal were two women, one clad in mithril plate harness with a golden longsword, both exactly like the ones Elaina wore and carried. The other was a tall woman with an architect’s sextant in hand, a modest red dress with a belt of reagents and a spell book.
Areelu Vorlesh. And… herself?
Elaina frowned, and so did her reflection with Areelu.
They were the nearly same: the same light brown hair combed back and kept in place with a circlet, the same plate armor, the same weapon (a second Radiance? How?), the same grey eyes. Even Lynet back during Razmir’s Dance of Masks had to use makeup and magic to pull off such a perfect resemblance that fooled Razmir’s agent in the lookalike contest.
However, there was one difference that was immediately apparent. One that Elaina thought she would never see again without temporary illusion magic or looking at Sosiel’s drawings of the march on Drezen. There was no angelic halo, there were no angelic wings. This was Elaina without her mythic power, before her transformation into an angel. Or… transformed back into her mortal self?
Arueshalae broke the budding silence first. “How?!”
“Suffice it to say,” Areelu(?) said, “Axis meddled when it should have stayed away. And we are done being the playthings of gods.”
“Hold on,” the other paladin(?) said and Elaina could not help but tilt her head at how strange the woman’s voice sounded. “They may not be here to hurt us.”
“That depends on your motives,” Lariel warned as he took a step forward, a wary edge in his voice. “We came at the Lady of Valor’s behest, as she heard her paladin’s call in this twisted place. A strange thing, when her paladin was at her side in Heaven at the time. Her gaze is upon our quest: do not speak falsely.”
“I have nothing to hide from her. But, Iomedae didn’t sense anything from Axis?” the other Elaina asked, and Elaina herself was still processing what was going on. Why did the other her’s voice sound so- right, Elaina’s own voice was heard in her own head. Here, she was hearing it without that.
“Evidently not,” Elaina said as she needed to say something, and put a hand out to urge everyone to calm down. “But first, we should identify ourselves. I am Knight-Commander Elaina. To whom do I speak?”
“Not Areelu Vorlesh. Her,” ‘Areelu’ hesitated in choosing her description, “Her copy, if you would.”
“A parallel plane?” Arueshalae asked, tilting her head.
“Of a sorts,” not-Areelu nodded. “Valmallos had yet another imbecilic idea about restricting magic, and for once he paid the price for grasping too hard.”
Elaina tilted her head, looking to Targona. The tabellia angel frowned, like she was thinking, hammer still in hand and ready to use. “I have heard of trouble in Axis concurrent to us storming Threshold, but it has been kept quiet and no inquiries are answered. So, what did a Primordial Inevitable do?”
“It’s a very long story, and I think it would be better if we sat down for it,” not-Elaina answered, gesturing to the pedestal that would lift them into the air to a passage at the ceiling. “We have a return portal nearby that we were trying to get to when we ran into a dragon. If you are willing, you could come with us.”
“You would invite them so easily?” not-Areelu demanded. “We are trying to get away from these schemes!”
“If they were here to destroy us, they would have done it already. Neither of us have the excess mythic power anymore, and that’s before we consider this is two against five. They want to understand what is going on. I think they deserve to know. Besides, now that they know this means others will find us too. We may as well deal with it now. We can’t run forever.”
Elaina nodded to the others, sheathing Radiance and their weapons all lowered. Then she turned to her attention to her counterpart. “Will you swear that you would give us safe passage and hospitality, then?”
The other Elaina chuckled, sheathing her (copy of?) Radiance. “I would swear by the Inheritor, whether I am one of her paladins or not.”
A bit of warmth returned to the Hand’s voice. “Given she answered your prayers against these monsters, she will give you the chance.”
“Perhaps. Nonetheless, you have my word that this is no trap, and that we will do our part as hosts. Now, shall we?”
Elaina could not help but shake how strange it felt, but she did not understand enough. At the very least, they both seemed to want to know what they were dealing with. And, in the case of her alternate self, seemed to understand her main self would want answers. Though, did she want to know the answers?
Yes she did. And by the time she was done, she was in full agreement with her Excess’ (for lack of a better name) summation of the whole matter.
Next time, Valmallos needed to get a bigger battery.
And maybe don’t give it sentience. Why was that even necessary?
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So this is what Zacharius looked like when he was alive!
I like the secret ending of inevitable excess. The commander would probably lose his lich powers along with his mythic powers, but that's ok, and now both him and Zacharius were among the living. I hope Areelu would teleport him away to another plane too <3
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