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00:00:00.000 Speaker 1 Imagicum.
00:00:46.400 Speaker 1 Chapter Three: Liquid Reality.
00:00:52.480 Speaker 1 Shale slid along the outside of the cabin, using the wall to brace himself. He was
00:00:57.900 Speaker 1 losing his balance, shaking uncontrollably. It didn't matter what was inside. What
00:01:03.560 Speaker 1 was outside was already killing him. He couldn't be killed twice. However,
00:01:10.100 Speaker 1 given the power at play here, perhaps that was not a safe assumption. Still, he slid
00:01:16.120 Speaker 1 toward the front door. Despite his bravado, the first thing he saw did little to
00:01:21.220 Speaker 1 encourage another step. Another body on the wood floor of the cabin. A woman from
00:01:27.240 Speaker 1 the look of it, dressed in mage's robes as well. Had the other party beaten him
00:01:33.100 Speaker 1 here after all? Were those their bodies outside? No,
00:01:39.180 Speaker 1 the other expedition didn't have children. Whatever that was, it was a
00:01:44.820 Speaker 1 separate, much older crime. This body was fresh. A stream of blood
00:01:50.740 Speaker 1 ran from her stump of an arm. He couldn't see the severed hand from where he leaned
00:01:55.320 Speaker 1 against the outside of the doorway. A case had been turned over next to her. Yarn
00:02:00.980 Speaker 1 and sewing implements were spilled out onto the ground. The case was painted with a
00:02:05.960 Speaker 1 symbol he recognized, the Guild of Enchanting, more specifically, the
00:02:11.760 Speaker 1 Craft of Weaving. A weaver. A weaver had beaten
00:02:17.820 Speaker 1 him here? Arts and crafts magic? No,
00:02:24.520 Speaker 1 that wasn't possible. Shale was a third brand, a suppressor. He
00:02:30.320 Speaker 1 could not have been beaten by, by this seamstress. He crept
00:02:36.400 Speaker 1 closer to the door, trying and likely failing to remain concealed for as long as
00:02:41.980 Speaker 1 possible. Perhaps the weaver had gotten here first, but it hadn't done her a lot of
00:02:47.800 Speaker 1 good. Well, that was what happened when you sent a seamstress to do a suppressor's
00:02:53.640 Speaker 1 job. He poked his head around the corner. It was a one-room cabin.
00:02:59.780 Speaker 1 The fireplace crackled with fresh logs on the fire. Whoever had killed her hadn't
00:03:05.040 Speaker 1 been in a hurry to drag her out to the pile with the others. Shale took a deep
00:03:09.880 Speaker 1 breath. He stepped through the threshold and nothing happened.
00:03:16.580 Speaker 1 It was just a cabin. Someone coughed nearby. He spun around to face
00:03:22.560 Speaker 1 the sound, heart pounding, eyes darting. Shale's eyes fell on the
00:03:28.260 Speaker 1 most unlikely sight. He'd expected to find a living god,
00:03:34.360 Speaker 1 and instead he found a scrawny, dazed-looking man twenty years his
00:03:40.320 Speaker 1 senior. The man watched Shale through half-lidded eyes, a dull,
00:03:45.720 Speaker 1 pacified smile on his face. The look of a drunkard, with not many
00:03:51.440 Speaker 1 drinks between him and the grave at that.
00:03:55.700 Speaker 1 Visitors. More visitors. Shale
00:04:01.720 Speaker 1 looked around, prepared for an ambush, but there was simply nowhere for anyone to
00:04:06.480 Speaker 1 hide. This really was just a simple cabin with a stupefied man inside.
00:04:13.160 Speaker 1 The man was sitting up in his bed, cradling something small to his chest. Shale
00:04:18.440 Speaker 1 walked cautiously to stand over him. Upon closer inspection, he could easily kill
00:04:24.240 Speaker 1 this person. He didn't even need to use magic. Even the weaver probably could have
00:04:29.440 Speaker 1 managed that task, which gave him some pause. Who are you?
00:04:36.280 Speaker 1 The man returned a wild, toothy smile. I have been a thousand
00:04:42.280 Speaker 1 people. Most recently, I was a king, a tyrant.
00:04:48.940 Speaker 1 My armies ruled with an iron fist, until the stick men toppled my
00:04:54.460 Speaker 1 empire. He smiled again and shook his head slowly. This
00:05:00.340 Speaker 1 smile was much warmer, as if the toppling of his make-believe empire were all part
00:05:05.800 Speaker 1 of some game, and though he'd lost the round, he was a good sport about it.
00:05:11.740 Speaker 1 Shale looked at the crazed man's nightstand. Ants covered a half-eaten biscuit
00:05:16.820 Speaker 1 there. Some of them had been scattered and crushed beneath a twig. Nothing about
00:05:22.220 Speaker 1 this made any sense. Had he come all this way to chat with a lunatic?
00:05:29.160 Speaker 1 Were they deceived somehow? Shale had been so quick to expend the lives of
00:05:35.100 Speaker 1 his guild members. Even the unguilded were still people. Their lives were worth
00:05:40.640 Speaker 1 something after all. But it wasn't just him. In the two weeks that Shale and his
00:05:45.980 Speaker 1 party had traveled to the Source Anomaly, the vessels had four years to deliberate.
00:05:51.680 Speaker 1 Such was the power of their magic. Even their vast wisdom had been foiled by this,
00:05:58.040 Speaker 1 this... Who are you? Then the man revealed what
00:06:03.952 Speaker 1 he'd been clutching, a vial of shimmering white liquid, almost like the
00:06:09.872 Speaker 1 color of a soul as seen from the Aether. No,
00:06:15.152 Speaker 1 exactly like the color of a soul. Shale stared into the vial and felt as
00:06:21.072 Speaker 1 if he were falling. It was like looking through a hole in reality. When he moved his
00:06:26.892 Speaker 1 head, the colors seemed to shift along with him. It was impossible. If
00:06:32.472 Speaker 1 impossible could be made liquid, this was it. The man started to
00:06:38.292 Speaker 1 uncork the vial, and Shale knew if that happened, he was a dead man, just another
00:06:44.072 Speaker 1 body on the floor, just another body for the pile. On instinct, he stepped into his
00:06:50.072 Speaker 1 second self. It was a huge mistake. The anomaly was so bright, so close,
00:06:56.092 Speaker 1 it nearly tore his soul apart. Still, he lashed out with one arm like a child
00:07:00.992 Speaker 1 swinging in a tantrum. Then he cast his mind back into his first self before he
00:07:05.292 Speaker 1 could be destroyed. Shale gasped. The pain of frostbite had been nothing
00:07:10.932 Speaker 1 compared to this. This was soul burn unlike anything he'd felt before. It
00:07:16.932 Speaker 1 was the pain he caused when he used his magic. It was the very method by which his
00:07:21.932 Speaker 1 magic worked. He fought to stay conscious, to stay standing. Ow,
00:07:28.172 Speaker 1 you hurt me. Shale fell to his knees. Everything burned,
00:07:34.512 Speaker 1 and yet there was no source of the pain. Through watering eyes, he saw the man sit
00:07:39.712 Speaker 1 up in bed, the look of stupor gone from his face. Apparently, his blow had only
00:07:45.372 Speaker 1 succeeded in angering the man. Another mage. Then he
00:07:51.272 Speaker 1 calmed a little and cast the bed covers off him, still holding that vial of liquid
00:07:56.712 Speaker 1 impossible in his other hand. Good, good. That's good. You're
00:08:02.652 Speaker 1 worth a hundred of those other worthless people. Shale began to rise. He wished he'd
00:08:08.672 Speaker 1 had a weapon, a physical weapon. He'd grown so used to always being armed that
00:08:14.632 Speaker 1 he hadn't needed one. It had become a mark of pride to walk unarmed, a show of force
00:08:20.532 Speaker 1 even. The mage so powerful he did not need to be armed.
00:08:25.872 Speaker 1 Conceit beyond reason, and now it was going to kill him.
00:08:31.672 Speaker 1 May the vessels forgive his foolishness. Hopefully when River saw those bodies, she
00:08:37.512 Speaker 1 would do the wise thing and run. Perhaps he could close the distance,
00:08:43.372 Speaker 1 though. Shale managed to get a foot under him. The soul burn wracked his nerves, and
00:08:49.572 Speaker 1 either combat was completely out of the question. The man held up a single finger
00:08:55.532 Speaker 1 for him to pause. Hold on a second. Was he, was he
00:09:01.352 Speaker 1 asking for a timeout from a fight to the death? How do you do
00:09:07.252 Speaker 1 this again? He scratched his chin with the other hand and actually turned
00:09:13.132 Speaker 1 away from Shale for a moment to think. Shale surged forward with everything he had.
00:09:19.092 Speaker 1 It was now or never. It was now or... Oh, yes. The man spun his pointed
00:09:25.012 Speaker 1 finger around in a little circle. The firelight dimmed noticeably for a moment,
00:09:30.912 Speaker 1 then sputtered back to life. Shale's feet stopped moving at the ankle, but the rest
00:09:36.232 Speaker 1 of his body did not. Instead of colliding with the scrawny man, his body above the
00:09:41.212 Speaker 1 ankle swung like a hinge at the floor. He had just enough time to let out a pitiful
00:09:46.412 Speaker 1 scream before his head bounced violently off the floor. The wind was completely
00:09:51.772 Speaker 1 knocked out of him. It seemed impossible that he should still be conscious. One of
00:09:56.952 Speaker 1 his eyes swirled to look down at his ankles. Two hoops of bright white hard light
00:10:02.812 Speaker 1 held his ankles in place. That's a light binding. This man was a
00:10:08.792 Speaker 1 light mage. Well, obviously. His brain was definitely coming apart.
00:10:15.412 Speaker 1 He was a binder, the only martial discipline of the Guild of Light. Normally, a
00:10:21.171 Speaker 1 fight like this wasn't even a fight at all. The binder would wrap him in some hard
00:10:25.592 Speaker 1 light, maybe get in a good laugh or two. Then Shale would step into his second self
00:10:31.152 Speaker 1 and beat the snot out of the other mage's soul. But with the anomaly so close,
00:10:37.452 Speaker 1 that was not an option. So instead, he lay on the floor, wondering when
00:10:43.432 Speaker 1 he would finally lose consciousness. Don't go dying on me yet. You'll
00:10:49.392 Speaker 1 miss the fun. Shale turned his head to look up at the lunatic. The
00:10:55.252 Speaker 1 man pulled the cork from his vial and, and something very strange
00:11:00.952 Speaker 1 happened. A crack shot out of the vial and through reality, a tear in
00:11:06.872 Speaker 1 the world. Through that crack, Shale could see another place, a
00:11:12.552 Speaker 1 bizarre, colorful world floating in the middle of deep darkness. The crazed
00:11:18.552 Speaker 1 man picked a few things up off the floor, sewing implements from the dead woman's
00:11:23.412 Speaker 1 kit and he held up her severed hand and laughed, then
00:11:29.032 Speaker 1 casually tossed it into the tear in the world. There was a fizzing sound, then a
00:11:34.032 Speaker 1 little pop as it disappeared. Then Shale started to move,
00:11:39.652 Speaker 1 dragged by the hard light bindings around his ankles. No, no, no, no, no,
00:11:45.552 Speaker 1 no. He knew where he was going, but he couldn't fathom it, wanted anything except
00:11:51.592 Speaker 1 this. He'd rather die. He'd rather... See you soon. And
00:11:57.472 Speaker 1 as soon as Shale got close to the tear, he could feel the crackle of its raw power
00:12:03.192 Speaker 1 even on this side of the Aether. This was the source of everything. He was
00:12:09.060 Speaker 1 sure of it. It was the power of a god, but it was being used like a
00:12:15.120 Speaker 1 toy. He felt it tearing his second self out of his body, felt the
00:12:20.700 Speaker 1 fraying of the tether that bound his soul to his body. Then there was a fizzing
00:12:26.400 Speaker 1 sound followed by a little pop as the person who used to be Shale
00:12:31.940 Speaker 1 disappeared.
00:12:36.680 Speaker 1 Chapter Four: The Threaded.
00:12:41.120 Speaker 1 Threadmother looked down at the newcomer with a mix of pity and excitement. She knew
00:12:46.660 Speaker 1 she shouldn't be excited that someone else joined them, but it was very nice to have
00:12:52.380 Speaker 1 a fresh face. You could only spend so many lifetimes with the same people, no matter
00:12:57.780 Speaker 1 how often they were mixed up and erased. With a newcomer here, there was
00:13:03.440 Speaker 1 also the potential for something else. No. No, she didn't dare think it.
00:13:09.880 Speaker 1 This was her lot. Even imagining escape was too painful. Living in the
00:13:15.700 Speaker 1 moment had served her well. Living in false hope, that was a pain she could no
00:13:21.580 Speaker 1 longer bear. She still wasn't certain whether the relative stubbornness of
00:13:27.420 Speaker 1 her own memory across each lifetime was a blessing or a curse. The
00:13:33.160 Speaker 1 newcomer didn't have any eyes yet, so she slid across the room and began
00:13:38.720 Speaker 1 rifling through pockets sewn into that side of her home. The Blues were kind
00:13:44.540 Speaker 1 enough to donate every odd and end they found. Threadmother wasn't a Blue.
00:13:50.420 Speaker 1 She made a point of that by sewing every color of yarn into her body. But she did
00:13:55.660 Speaker 1 favor the Blues, though she'd never say that publicly. She found what she was
00:14:01.260 Speaker 1 looking for and then slid her amorphous body back to the newcomer. Just a
00:14:06.940 Speaker 1 sad little lump of red core yarn with no arms, no legs, no
00:14:12.760 Speaker 1 eyes, and no mouth. She was very careful with his core yarn.
00:14:18.680 Speaker 1 Fortunately, the children who'd found the newcomer had not touched him. They'd run
00:14:23.640 Speaker 1 home to their parents, and those threaded had come straight to her. Apparently, he
00:14:28.440 Speaker 1 had fallen from the sky. He was luckier still that he'd fallen into the Blue
00:14:34.040 Speaker 1 neighborhood of Chandelier. Though Threadmother did work for any threaded, she hated
00:14:39.720 Speaker 1 to think what might have happened to this poor soul if he'd fallen somewhere else.
00:14:44.500 Speaker 1 Or worse, missed the Chandelier entirely. Threadmother used a metal
00:14:50.020 Speaker 1 crochet hook nearly half her height to wrap the newcomer's core yarn in something
00:14:55.320 Speaker 1 more sturdy. A simple blue body with no arms or legs, scaffolding for whatever
00:15:01.260 Speaker 1 he wanted next. That was not something she should decide for him. But eyes and a
00:15:07.040 Speaker 1 mouth, that she could do. She affixed two black buttons to the front of
00:15:13.020 Speaker 1 the yarn bundle. One was a little smaller than the other, but hopefully he wouldn't
00:15:17.620 Speaker 1 mind. It was better than not being able to see, after all. Finally, she
00:15:23.080 Speaker 1 carefully threaded some of his blue body yarn through a small, colorful dried
00:15:28.160 Speaker 1 noodle. The newcomer used his new mouth immediately. He
00:15:33.920 Speaker 1 screamed, and screamed, and screamed.
00:15:40.440 Speaker 1 Threadmother waited quite a while for him to stop screaming. When he didn't, she
00:15:45.960 Speaker 1 pulled a pair of scissors out of her amorphous yarn body and snipped the blue yarn
00:15:51.260 Speaker 1 running through his noodle mouth. The sound stopped immediately. "Now, if you
00:15:57.220 Speaker 1 can stop screaming, I will give you your mouth back." The black button eyes
00:16:02.860 Speaker 1 glinted up at her. "Do you think you can manage that?" The little log of
00:16:08.660 Speaker 1 yarn wiggled up and down slightly. If he couldn't handle a mouth, she certainly
00:16:13.580 Speaker 1 wasn't giving him arms and legs. Imagine having to chase this person around her
00:16:18.340 Speaker 1 house with a pair of scissors. Threadmother slid the noodle back on his face and
00:16:24.180 Speaker 1 tied a knot where she'd cut the yarn. A scar to remind him. Scars were useful
00:16:30.180 Speaker 1 things like that. "Who? Where?
00:16:35.980 Speaker 1 Who?" "Hello. Threadmother, the Chandelier,
00:16:42.440 Speaker 1 and Threadmother." "What?" "Now, that's a much
00:16:48.460 Speaker 1 more complicated question to answer." "Are you making fun of me?"
00:16:54.140 Speaker 1 "Yes, but to be fair, you're making it rather easy." "Your
00:16:59.940 Speaker 1 name is Threadmother?" "Yes, as I said. Now,
00:17:05.800 Speaker 1 what's your name?" "I'm... My name is Shale.
00:17:12.720 Speaker 1 I'm a mage of the Guild of Self." He seemed very
00:17:18.300 Speaker 1 uncertain about that. Threadmother wanted desperately to ask him a thousand
00:17:23.560 Speaker 1 questions before his memories started to fade. She wanted to follow those threads
00:17:28.820 Speaker 1 back to the outside world, perhaps piece together what it was like, who she
00:17:34.440 Speaker 1 was, who she used to be anyway. She might not be able to escape the
00:17:40.080 Speaker 1 Imagicerum, but perhaps she could remember. Remember what it was like to be
00:17:45.780 Speaker 1 real. That would be enough. "Shale, can I ask you
00:17:51.800 Speaker 1 a few questions?" "Okay." Before she could ask, though,
00:17:58.160 Speaker 1 there was a fizzing sound, then a deep, resounding boom.
00:18:04.600 Speaker 1 Threadmother parted the yarn of her wall to look outside. Something was falling from
00:18:10.520 Speaker 1 a shimmering crack in the sky. An enormous severed hand.
00:18:16.520 Speaker 1 With pallid gray flesh and serrated yellowing fingernails, it leveled a home as it
00:18:22.520 Speaker 1 landed. It lay there for a moment, then rose into the air on gigantic
00:18:27.820 Speaker 1 fingertips, towering above the surrounding homes. Threaded ran screaming from the
00:18:33.720 Speaker 1 wreckage. A moment after that, it began pulling homes and
00:18:39.200 Speaker 1 people apart. Oh no. Shale rolled
00:18:44.960 Speaker 1 around on the floor, trying in vain to see. What? What's happening?
00:18:51.660 Speaker 1 Another ending. I don't understand. Then she
00:18:57.700 Speaker 1 let the parted wall close and turned around to face the newcomer, suddenly filled
00:19:03.560 Speaker 1 with a feeling of deep, sinking sadness. She hated this part.
00:19:10.120 Speaker 1 This person's memories were so fresh. And now that
00:19:15.540 Speaker 1 opportunity was wasted. You've come at the worst
00:19:20.880 Speaker 1 possible time. The Master is ready to play.
00:19:27.980 Speaker 1 What does that mean? But Shale asked no more
00:19:33.520 Speaker 1 questions, because the screams provided an answer.