Recording #002 | June Log

[the_archive]

WHO | Jon and OTA.
WHAT | DITL mostly, with a few starts in the comments. Feel free to run into Jon anywhere mentioned. He's flexing his Knowing, so if you're interested in dropping some knowledge, that'd be lovely.
WHERE | The Castle, Thorne, the Library, the Dungeon
WHEN | Post-Festival through the rest of June

Realizing that his connection to the Eye is whole again rather soured the end of the Festival for Jon. He spent a day behind the curtains in his room, enduring a headache, but now that's settled down to a mute throb, he's walking off the rest of it while he wrestles with himself.

It's not a surprise, this reconnection. Ambrose told him the respite would only be for a few days. And it's not explicitly unwanted. There are a lot of questions to which he needs answers, and he knows he can seek out those answers, but not without some cost. He knows he'll do it, since the information isn't only for himself. He has to work up the courage.

And he hasn't read a statement in over two weeks now, which is... troublesome. Despite taking full advantage of the dining hall daily (okay, nearly daily), he's aware of a constant vague hunger.

So the walking is as much distraction as exploration. He's going to wear out his sandals pacing the corridors of the castle and the aisles of the library, walking out into the town. He mostly confines his town visits to mid-day, when folk are often too busy to waylay an "honoured guest."

Comments

WILDCARD

[abraxasnpcs]

Ambrose is in his study working away at a rather complicated-looking spell written on a long scroll. There are several books and papers and tarot cards scattered about (he knows where he's put everything, and that's organized enough for him), but the deck used to summon the newcomers and the book he was reading from when they were summoned are nowhere to be found.

The door is unlocked because it's late and almost time for bed, and because no one in Thorne would dare to bother him without knocking anyway.

"Tomorrow," he says when he hears footsteps coming closer, "Whatever it is, leave it 'til tomorrow. I'm getting a good night's sleep for once."

July 4

[the_archive]

No one from Thorne, at any rate.

Once Jon decided on this course, there was little to it. It took very little effort to take directions to this room, and be told when it would be occupied and might be open. Almost effortless. He doesn't make the mistake of assuming his actual goal will be easy.

Which is why he doesn't introduce himself, or apologize for his presence. The first words he says to Ambrose's back are weighted, laden with the presence of the Ceaseless Watcher, a sudden pressure in the room. The feeling of being seen, of being exposed, of all your secrets laid out to be picked clean. His voice tolls like a bell.

"Tell me the reason we all have been brought here. The true, full reason. Spare no detail."

The pressure that accompanies his question is not from Jon Sims, but comes through him like the ocean through a keyhole - a fierce beam of influence. If unimpeded, it won't allow for evasion, for incompletion, for obfuscation, or for anything but a clear, full answer of the spirit of the Archivist's question. A Statement.

[abraxasnpcs]

He's not sure who he expected - one of his apprentices, perhaps - but it wasn't one of them. He knows damn well that they've been poking around and he hasn't cared to put a stop to it, especially because there aren't any particularly unflattering accounts of Thorne in the Royal Thornean library. The last thing he anticipated was for a newcomer (and an honored guest, no less) to come and interrogate him like this.

He can almost respect it beneath a layer of disdain, but what frightens him is the fact that whatever Jon has done seems to be working. Not to the extent that the Archivist is used to as Ambrose still has some modicum of control over what he's saying and what he really wants to hold back, but it is working nonetheless.

"Have we not treated you well? Have we not granted you all the luxuries the palace has to offer? Ungrateful. I've set my life on the line for the lot of you," he says through clenched teeth, "You're here for our world, your world, and all worlds. The Singularity is what holds us all together and yet it isn't inherently good, not like those fools in the Commune would lead you to believe. It needs to be studied, and we need to direct its energies. Tame it, if you will, to preserve us all. The Commune would leave it to its own devices and let it devour us. The Cities to East and their reckless leader would destroy it outright and turn all worlds to dust. We've been at this stalemate for centuries now, but you and yours could turn the tides.

Only you outsiders can truly harness its power. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? You can approach the Singularity, touch it, soak it in. Gods, I'd give anything to be in your place, but if I set so much as a toe over the line it would end me. We are its hosts, and yet you are its favored."

He sneers, his long nails digging into the wood of the table as he tries, in vain, to hold his tongue.

"We tried this once before, many thousands of years ago, and the results were a disaster. But I've refined the spell and am not as careless as my predecessor, who refused to imprison or eliminate his mistakes. I admit I was overly cautious in my initial judgements and have been willing to listen to reason and release some of the prisoners.

You, on the other hand, seem to be a rare slip-up in the other direction. I was looking for a Gertrude, anyway, but thought you'd do well enough. My mistake. Even the High Mage must be humbled every now and then."

[the_archive]

Jon doesn't hide that Ambrose has scored a hit - his face tightens and both hands clench into fists. But it doesn't distract him. Doesn't reach his eyes, still wide and focused, hard as glass, the pupils as deep as the well Ambrose brought him through. He's begun this, and there's no stopping.

And don't think he missed that 'eliminate.'

"What, exactly, distinguishes those of us you wanted from the 'mistakes?'"

[abraxasnpcs]

"Oh, that was a deep cut, wasn't it? I'd say I apologize, but I don't," he says, managing a smile in between his forced words, "The ones we wanted are those we believe will - willingly or otherwise - be able to aid us in harnessing the Singularity and thus in saving all of our worlds."

"The prisoners are those who are likely to threaten our goal. Some through malice, some through good but incorrect intentions. There is no singular reason for any of you, it all varies from person to person. If you could see my book, you'd know, but its creator (flawed as he was) was savvy enough to hide it from prying eyes."

Indeed, the book's location and its contents seem to be a well-kept secret, and Ambrose is more than relieved to find that whatever else he might feel compelled to talk about, he can keep his mouth shut about that.

[the_archive]

Can he? Jon takes his eyes off Ambrose long enough to look around the room, but his pupils seem to remain fixed on him all the same. Or maybe that's only an impression - whatever watches through Jon does not take its gaze off the wizard. Did Ambrose know what he was bringing into his world when he summoned the Archivist? Gertrude would have been the safer choice.

"Why now? If the last attempt was millennia ago, why does action need to be taken now?"

[abraxasnpcs]

"Because this world is dying now and if it goes, yours and everyone else's goes with it," he says, "We've tried everything else in the meantime, but time is running out and the other nations are almost powerful enough to ensure our end. And this little stunt of yours may have endangered us further still. If that was your goal, I hope you're happy."

[the_archive]

Jon doesn't know how much more time he has here, or how long he can continue to Ask. This is the strongest he's felt since arriving here, but strength and energy are not the same, and this is effort. The only other time it was so hard was the instance with Peter Lucas, his will against another's.

"Why the secrecy with us? When you've paraded the fact that we're here?" The other authorities in the world, after all, must have known what it would mean if Thorne was bringing in strange otherworldly guests again, after so long. And the festival ensured that was no secret.

[abraxasnpcs]

"Because you're on probation. Our King and Queen are still uncertain and at this point I don't blame them, given how foolishly some of you have behaved. I don't think they believed I could actually manage the summoning spell and when I returned with our first batch of guests they were...frightened, to say the least. Of what it could mean, and of what you could do."

Now that he's regained his composure somewhat, he sees an opportunity to put an end to this. Perhaps he should have put this one in the cells to begin with. A shame; this power of his could have been useful. He mutters an incantation and, with a wave of his hand, Jon's powers will begin to fade away bit by bit until he's as powerless as the rest of the prisoners.

"I stuck my neck out for you all, and they've started to believe in your potential to do good for this world. Let's hope you haven't ruined that for the rest of them, though you've certainly done so for yourself."

[the_archive]

Jon wouldn't have been nearly so suspicious if he had been tossed straight into a cell. He knows what he is. He narrows his eyes at Ambrose over the incantation, and exhales sharply when he feels the Eye's pressure start to lesson on his nerves.

"The book," he hurries to say. "Tell me where it is."

[abraxasnpcs]

"No," he says, and he seems to take a great deal of satisfaction in his ability to say that before he hollers out the door, "Guards! Apprehend this man at once! Bring him to the dungeons, we'll deal with his official sentencing later."