Lore:Trial by Fire/Prologue

"Should great people meet, they inevitably change the world - it’s their nature. So, to change the universe one need only bring more great people. And, should those great people be in a short supply...well, why not make more?"

―Katanas DeValle, conversing with the Overlord, Xuvanti Aiden

Courtyard of the Planar Gate, Nether Plane, 2145

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There is something to be said about a Planeswalker who doesn’t know how to get around dimensions. It’s a bit of a fundamental aspect that defines the station, lends weight to the title. Of course, it’s also quite amusing to observe one try; you just can’t pay for this kind of entertainment.

In the boy’s defense, he didn’t ask for this, and he certainly would have every right to be angry with me. I’ve effectively told him he could meet a god by snapping his fingers and ‘walking’ down the hall. He’s not even old enough to fully understand the gift, blessing and curse that it is, and yet...

I still feel I made the best choice. No, the right choice.

Walking over to him, I shake my head, amused. “I’m sure I left that manual sitting around somewhere, if it helps?”

The young boy, barely in his early teens, scowls at me, but I notice the slight twitch of his lips, as though he wants to smile. After what he’s been through, having stood on death’s door not hours before...I’m quite impressed by his ability to cope. I’ll have to watch him carefully, nurture this ability without pushing him into compartmentalizing.

“I’m still trying to understand the whole ‘fields of fire’ thing this place has going on, and you expect me to figure out how to move between dimensions in an afternoon? Do you always put people to such high standards? Seriously, you could have just used a raise spell...”

I laugh, walking over to him and ruffling his hair, which looks like a puffy brown bush sitting atop his head. His scowl deepens and he shakes my hand off, ‘fixing’ his hair back into its original state of disarray. This causes me to laugh harder; though, mindful of his flush of embarrassment, I settle for a simple amused grin.

“Would you be having nearly as much fun as you are now, visiting entirely different Planes of existence, learning about what’s beyond the gates...and not going back home, Rubedo, of the esteemed Alaberti family?”

That got the expected reaction, though, and as he glances up at me I feel a pang of guilt as, reflected in his eyes is the unmistakable look of fear. He looks at me as though, with this knowledge, I would do something so cruel as to return him to such a loveless estate. It pains me more to realize that I must keep him thinking that way, for a time, lest I let one with such potential slip between my fingers.

“How...how did you know that?” he asks, his voice meek now, but there’s an edge to it, the trust and respect now guarded behind an iron gate of suspicion.

I sigh, rubbing the back of my head. It is a good question, actually – he’d managed to avoid disclosing his name, either by changing the subject or countering with a separate query. Respecting his right to some degree of privacy, I went along with it. It didn’t hurt that I didn’t really need to know his name – one of the benefits of working with Xuvanti. Nothing was secret from him on the Nether Plane, which he ruled as Overlord.

“Do you remember the man you saw before passing out, after you helped me?” He nods slowly. “Well, as he told you when you woke up, he’s the lord of these ‘fields of fire’ you’re so fond of. Think of him as you would the leader of any nation – he has a...wide ranging intelligence network. When people come to his Plane, it’s his prerogative to know everything about them and why they’re there, often before they do.”

I’ve been waiting for this very moment since I brought him here – so far, I’ve managed to convince a few Planeswalkers to keep eye on what I was working towards, but to train one from the start, to teach the integral parts of our trade, such an opportunity! It would be my luck for it to escape my grasp at the critical juncture.

And yet...this youth has such potential, and that I would be the one to lead him towards a greater destiny...such fortune! “Regardless, I have a deal for you, one that involves you not going home, if you accept. But!” I hold up my hand, interrupting him before he can get too excited, “You’re going to have to listen to story of mine, to help you better understand everything that, regardless of your choice, you’ve become a part of.”

He’s quiet for several moments, stuck between finding deception in my statement or simply taking me at face value, before looking up at me with an expression of such seriousness that I could see him become infamous for it; I can’t help but inwardly smile. “Alright, I’ll listen. Just don’t make it some fairytale or anything – I’m too old for that kind of stuff.”

It’s hard to take him seriously, making such a childish statement, but between his seriousness and his surreal orange eyes, each of which lending him a certain maturity beyond his years...I can’t help but feel like this boy will be special one day, and I intend to see him achieve his destiny, no matter what.

“Just to let you know, I’m quite the storyteller,” I warn him, thumbing my nose proudly, which manages to draw a laugh from him. “Hey, hey! It’s true!” At his still disbelieving expression, I roll my eyes, waving it off. “Some people have no respect...I’m going to tell you a story I’ve only told one other, and it starts from just before I, too, became a Planeswalker. Since this would make you the second person to hear it, I expect you to pay rapt attention.”

He nods, and I take a deep breath, shaking out my shoulders a bit. “It all began on that day, three years ago-”

“Hey, wait a minute, I think I have heard this story before!” he interjects.

I glare, and he holds his hands up in mock surrender. Sighing in vexation, I clear my throat and start over, shooting him a pointed glance to keep him from interrupting me again. “Now, as I was saying. It all started on that day, three years ago...”

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