Mixed Family (SFW, SI, Slash) - A Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness 2e Crossover Story.

Repentant_Dragos · Apr 20, 2022

Prologue - Awakened Blossoms

List of Game Lines listed in the Crossover: Werewolf the Forsaken Second Edition, Mage the Awakening Second Edition, Princess: The Hopeful (Homebrew). Other Gamelines are also given minor mentions.

My twin and I were always weird.

When Dad turned the lights off after telling us a bedtime story, we saw that our eyes glinted like wolves' in the night. We were three then, but we knew enough to see that this was weird.

What was even weirder was that the story our father told us was not just supposed to be fiction, but part of a tabletop game whose second edition had not been released yet. And yet, the tale which he recounted in such solemn tones, and which he bequeathed to us as a future 'duty, was identical to the backstory of the Uratha; the faction of Werewolves known as 'The Forsaken' from the New World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness.

"The world was once whole, a Pangaea where people crossed the border between spirit and flesh. Then Father Wolf and Mother Luna, the Spirits of Hunting and The Moon, fell in love and created The People, the unified tribes of Werewolves. Then Father Wolf grew old and weak and our ancestors had to replace him, and so they went for his throat, tearing it out and killing him so we can take his duty," another three years later, Mom summarized what Dad had said as she sat us down after school when we told her about the shadowy shapes behind every wall, the strange noises near the boiler room, and the pale and sickly green lights close to the sky.

"Luna then cursed us with a tendency for madness and a vulnerability to silver in response to her consort's death," Mom said, her tone less soft and soothing but easier to understand. "On the plus side, she did allow us to have children with Humans and other Werewolves..."

"So we are in Second Edition after all -" my brother took the second Mom took to muse to whisper to me, only for Mom to hear and ask:

"What edition? This is not a game," she said in a clipped tone as her eyes narrowed in rebuke.

I nodded quickly and gently pushed the back of my brother's head so he'd nod as well; there'd be time to find out more as we grew up...

------

"Another fight?" Dad said as he looked at my bruised face and my twin's swollen fist. "Let me guess; you allowed someone to see your eyes when the lights were out? Or did you see something which 'doesn't exist'?"

He was smiling when using that last term.

"A group of kids were bullying another kid and said kid almost jumped off the roof," my brother responded in a cool tone that let the implications hang in the air. "We beat up the bullies after talking the kid out of it."

As Dad's face twisted in disbelief and he opened his mouth to ask if we were indeed telling the truth, I pulled out my new smartphone and showed him the recordings I made. Even now, I knew that they bulged out in rare surprise.

"Daniel," he said to me, "you and Leon shouldn't draw attention to yourselves. But you did the right thing. I'll have the Pack look into it, make sure Depression spirits don't form around the area."

He sighed loudly, his shoulders slumping in an Un-Werewolf-like way. "That said, it's time to bring you into The Academy; if you two insist on tackling your duties early, then you should be trained in such - Add that to the fact that the world is more than our kind, the Spirits, and Mortals..."

-------

'The Academy' was an institution for Wolf-Blooded kids. What are Wolf-Blooded, one may ask? Humans who are touched by Luna, the Spirit of the Moon, with a special connection to the Spirit World (aka what we call the Hisil). Many of them have descent from Werewolves or were badly affected by seeing one or had 'exchanged bodily fluids' with one, sometimes through the stereotypical 'bite'. Many of them also turn into Werewolves eventually, but not all, but unlike in the Old World of Darkness, even those who don't turn into Werewolves are treated with respect because, well, they can still defend themselves.

Thanks to an agreement with the local Mage Consilium, Changeling Freehold, and Demon Agency, we also had a number of Proximi, Fae-Touched (Mortals who can see Changelings and Faerie Magic), and Demon-blooded (Note that in this world, 'God' is actually the God-Machine, Angels operate on Occult Cybernetics, and Demons are fallen Cyber-Angels who can also sire offpring with some Demon Powers).

Complicating the picture was that there were True Mages, Changelings, and yes, a Demon or two in the school as well, although the teachers made clear that any attempt to create a 'pecking order' among the students or bully them for having weaker powers would be cracked down on with extreme prejudice.

Needless to say, our good looks and charm (I had the brightest golden eyes while Leon's were soulful black) made us the talk of the town; Leon was cool, aloof in the the way which drew girls and boys to him, while I was happy, bubbly, and enthusiastic and knew when looking adorable would get me and whoever I was hanging out with out of trouble.

Oh, right, we were aware that we liked both guys and gals as we were growing up.

But if we were weird, we were weird in a way that made us special. And we were weirder than what we might eventually become or what might happen to us in this world… no, these Chronicles of Darkness...

-------

"Daniel, time to wake up!"

My mother's voice snapped me awake from my dreams of the past. As my eyes opened wide, I swiftly moved to change from my PJs to the shirt, jacket, pants, and footwear that made up my 'school clothes' before going downstairs for breakfast.

Originally David Garcia Martinez from Lalin's Curse, a Webcomic by Isaky on Webtoons, now used for Daniel Palaiologos with her consent.

"You're almost late," Leon said as he was wolfing down (there's a pun to be made there involving our ancestry, but now wasn't the time to say it) his meal of pancakes, sausages, and bacon, occasionally snatching pieces of the latter from my plate.

"Stop that!" I said in turn as I rushed to the table, took a seat, and began gorging myself on what meat and pancakes remained, as well as the last third of a ham-and-cheese omelet which I washed down with a still-full glass of orange juice.

Custom Art by Jitobeans I paid for. Now Leon.

"Seriously, though," Leon said to me with a sigh, "This is our sixteenth birthday - Can't you take this seriously? More importantly, Summer is over; we're going back to class and we need to prove we haven't been slacking!"

"It's only been a few minutes, Leon!" I protested, "We're not even late for school - If anything, we might come early!"

Was it weird that I actually liked School, particularly as the School I am in was special?

"Brush your teeth, boys!" Mom said as we got up to leave, "And use mouthwash! And make sure not to forget your bags!"

Knowing full well that Mom was a Werewolf who specialized in using Human and Spirit laws to bring their quarry low even before closing in with her claws only made us more prompt.

Either way, we made sure to be thorough with our oral hygiene lest we get a reputation for bad breath in addition to weird eyes which saw the impossible. After that, it was time to go to The Academy; it wasn't that far so I and Leon could just walk.

-------

"Daniel," Leon whispered as we walked to The Academy, "We need to talk. About being reincarnates."

The breeeze was blowing hard, almost howling even though it was summer; the sound of cars zooming near the sidewalk drowned out my brother's whisper further. Nevertheless, I told him, "Do we have to, our in the open?"

"It's been sixteen years!" Leon dropped the whisper. "Sixteen years since we were reborn here, and we still don't know why! And what's worse, we're likely to spend the rest of our lives as Werewolves or stay Wolf-blooded forever, and that last part is not a good scenario even though it's miles better than being a Kinfolk in the Old World of Darkness!"

"I didn't know you didn't want to be that -" I said just before Leon pulled me back from the road as the 'Walk' sign was still turned off.

"Do you want to be Isekai'd again?! At least it's quicker than the Pandemic, though..." Leon then continued as we waited for the signal to cross the road, "But yes, I do not want to be a Werewolf or keep being a Wolf-Blooded. I want to be a -"

Reality lurched, and Leon vanished before my eyes as my surroundings disappeared, shifting into motes of light amidst a sky that blazed with cloudless lightning and blue-white fire, where clouds made of those same motes of light mixed with imperial purple aurorae which shone amidst a howling, heavy wind.

And ahead of me, I saw a watchtower of golden moving parts, with Angels - Supernal Angels, I knew now, not the Occult Machine Cyber-Magical 'Angels' of the God-Machine - flitting about its upper heights, inviting me to the tower, the only refuge against the fire, lightning, thunder, and wind outside.

I rushed to them; what else can I do, even though I knew too that one does not get gratification without a price? I signed my name on the Watchtower, though with what, I did not know. My tongue burnt with a speech that was not the First Tongue of those blessed by Luna, this speech was of a metaphysical truth that cried out to be said, not merely the Spirits' language.

This was not natural, even for the World of Darkness; not the Awakening itself, which proceeded according to the template provided by the books I read in my previous life, but the fact that it was being handed over to me - Something which should be impossible without complications, something which even the God-Machine has not demonstrated itself capable of doing.

Oh, my God! What if the Awakening grows wrong? What if I become someone who cannot use their Magic right?

"Do not be afraid. You were sent here for a purpose."

The words burnt with metaphyiscal truth, and I swooned, overwhelmed by transcendent thoughts...

------

I opened my eyes, although I did not remember closing them. And we were at the gates of The Academy.

The sun was glinting brightly on the red glazed tiles of the roofs and windows, causing the dew to glimmer like thousands of clear gems. As we stepped through the gates and into the gardens, dozens of flowers bloomed like a carpet of color, with gold roses with silvery edges sticking out amongst the reds and blues and purples and whites.

"Are these even possible?" Leon said while I sniffed the air, looking for any unusual resonances and finding a few, but not hostile ones. As it is, the place seemed less stuffy and boring than it seemed to be, and more… Blessed.

"You can look it up, but we have other things to worry about," I told him as I pulled him into the school building; normally he was the one pulling me. "By the way, are you whole?"

Leon smiled back and said, "I'm alright. And yes, I am 'whole'. Of course, we just lost all traces of our Wolf-Blooded heritage except our glinting eyes, and we have some explaining to the faculty and our parents to do, but…"

"This ain't normal and this ain't the bad kind of abnormal either," I continued as we entered a relatively deserted alcove. "I think that we just crossed over with that Homebrew involving Magical Girls and Boys."

"Princess?" Leon smiled briefly before pursing his lips and trying to look 'cool' again. "Nah, that can't be."

Footsteps - Unfamiliar ones - Could be heard coming towards us, as he said, "But it is. But it is, Daniel and Leon Palaiologos... Or should I say, Daniel and Leon Cook?"

We whirled at the person who just butted in, only to recognize -

Art Commissioned by me, now Ken

"Ken!" I shouted eagerly, "Nice to meet you in real life, even if it is in 'another', well..." my voice lowered to a whisper, "World."

"Yep," Ken said before shifting to a more formal tone. "But you'd know me as Ken Illustrious Ikari now instead of the more mundane Ken Aizawa..."

He then gave a smirk which in Anime, meant he knew more than he let on, "And we have much to talk about after class."

I knew enough narrative convention to know that a quest awaited and that we might finally get answers...

Repentant_Dragos · May 13, 2022

Chapter One: Setting up the Groundwork

"You two know what the God-Machine is, right?" Ken said to us when classes were done.

We both nodded as we met in a small rose garden laced with lines of spellwork that Leon and I could now perceive were effective at blocking out eavesdropping mundane and magical; it was worth the rent from the Gardening Club. Ken paid in a Blu-Ray disc which judging from the label and artwork, contained an Anime movie not released outside of Japan yet.

"Neither of us actually had a copy of Demon the Descent while we're alive," I said to Ken, "but we know the gist: It's an 'Occult AI' which uses technology so advanced that it is as powerful as Magic or Magic so organized that it's almost indistinguishable from technology."

Ken nodded in a slow and measured way to confirm what we just said, then continued, "The God-Machine is like that, yes, but far more powerful, with only one weakness: It needs an 'occult matrix' centered around Capital-I Infrastructure in order to implement changes in reality. And by that, it can do almost anything but it needs to set up that Infrastructure I mentioned to do it… And some of that can go faulty or be hijacked by a Demon Agency."

He then smirked lightly as he said, "Guess what happened and how our souls got reincarnated into this world, as well as how all three of us now have the Supernatural 'Splat/Template' we wanted just as we wished for it."

It hit us like the usual 'Isekai Truck'.

"Don't tell me that a Demon Agency is behind this!" Leon shouted first.

"Are they asking for anything in return?" I asked next.

Ken gave his answer, "Make the Chronicles of Darkness a better place. We have full freedom of action."

"And you trust them without corroborating data?" Leon said. "These are people who can literally make what they say look true to all senses, including supernatural ones! As in -"

Ken interrupted, "As in they can deceive all supernatural powers which can ferret out the truth. I know this. However, every action they've taken for the past three years has only supported what they say; they really are interested in overturning the conventions of the Chronicles of Darkness and making it a better place."

He then followed up with, "They're behind The Academy, btw."

I knew that Ken was telling the truth about his claim or at least thought that he was. Demons might be able to deceive all truth-ferreting powers, but Ken wasn't one; he was a Prince/Noble/Magical Boy and I used to read him just fine, back in our previous lives, without powers.

"Ken," Leon said, "Do Princesses and Princes get a boost in power in this world? Mages are the most powerful template in the 'Chronicles of Darkness' and people keep harping about that back in my old world. I need to make sure that they, and you if you have such grand ambitions, can keep up with us."

Ouch. For a brief moment, I looked at Ken expecting him to be annoyed, but the other boy smiled and said, "Yes. We got buffed to miniature Exalted levels."

"Hot," I said before shutting up my mouth. "I mean, I didn't say that you're hot - I mean, you are hot, but…"

Leon was chuckling now, while Ken stayed quiet for several seconds, trying to suppress a blush; was he flustered?

As for me, I always knew that Leon, Ken, and I shared the same 'inclinations', but I never thought of Ken that way until now. To be honest, I was glad that this came out this early and any potential romantic complications or misunderstandings were nipped in the bud.

I heard Ken clear his throat; he had more to say?

"So, any leads as to how to make the Chronicles of Darkness a better place?" Leon asked. "The Academy already helps clean up local malign supernatural phenomena in the neighborhood."

"Not all of them," Ken said. "There are plenty of things in the shadows which Mages think of as irrelevant and not mysterious enough to warrant investigation, which is a shame as Mages are very good investigators."

"We know," I said, "We both just Awakened as Mages." I then turned to my brother and asked, "By the way, what 'Path' did you awaken to? Is it -"

Leon interrupted, "I have Fate and Time as my primary powers and invested what I had left in Death. You?"

I suck in my breath. "Nice. I got Prime, Forces, Matter--"

"Wizard Classic!" Leon interrupted. "Prime to manipulate the magical energy-- even magical truth!-- and Forces and Matter to turn it into whatever you want."

"Acanthus and Obrimos, then," Ken said. "Decent. As for my own powers…"

Ken glowed brightly, and for a few brief moments, his body was covered with a coat of bright orange-white flames which slowly peeled away to reveal combat boots, tan military fatigues, a desert brown flak jacket, and a combat helmet.

My magical senses flashed, registering this transformed 'form' as a different person from the boy who had just stood before us. As I focused my 'Mage Sight' on him, I felt, rather than saw, great heat and pressure which almost overwhelmed even me. And looking at Leon, I noticed him trying to put on a calm, passive expression, even as he slightly trembled in panic.

So this was what the boost to Princess powers entailed; in the Chronicles of Darkness, the creators of the homebrew had taken a stand against writing Princesses, or anyone, as just as powerful as Mages. But in this version of the Chronicles, this timeline or splinter universe, whoever was behind all this didn't actually care about 'balance' or lack of it between major supernatural templates/races.

"Perfect," I grinned. "It seems we have a decent chance at bettering the world after all."

Then someone knocked on the door of the rose garden; it was the Gardening Club's head, Amelia Thoreau.

Originally Kudelia Aina Bernstein from Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, now Amelia Thoreau.

As we opened the door, she said, "Extracurricular activities are over. Also, you lot are wanted in the Principal's Office."

She looked at us two, frowning before she said in a slight chill tone, "Your parents are there too; let's just say they're distressed about you two no longer being 'cute fluffs'."

Oh, right, we're no longer Wolf-Blooded and that had implications. I also did not miss the subtext that Amelia actually preferred us as Wolf-Blooded.

Nevertheless, before I can speak, Leon got up and said in a formal tone, cold as well, "Tell them we'll arrive soon."

And with that, he went out the door, only picking up the pace once we followed him through the corridors, shuddering in anger as he walked, his hands in his pockets like an emo edgelord (no one tells him I said that, okay!).

------

"So it is true," Dad said as he looked us over. "Luna's blessings are gone for the most part."

"An utterly random Awakening," Mom was making small biting motions as she said that. "What are the odds." She then sighed and said, "I suppose I can't blame you two if you did want this, but you do realize that this complicates our position in the local Pack immensely, right? I am what passes as a 'Face' among Werewolves, but even I am not sure I can get you 'dual citizenship' in whatever local Mages are organized as and -"

"I can," Dad interrupted. "I'm the Loremaster and I know that there are precedents." He then looked at the Principal, a heavily-built, well-muscled black man who observed the proceedings with a perpetual growl, "You're our Pack Leader and the highest member of the Iron Masters Tribe here. The Academy is the greatest precedent of them all. If anyone can help us resolve this situation, it's you."

The Principal looked at the three of us and said, "I'll do better than that. From now on, you three have a special status; you work for The Academy now. I'll contact the local Mage Consilium to allow you two and your companion to attend their meetings and make use of some of their Cabals' facilities. As for the Pack… You're still in it and now that you have powers, you're going to participate in the Sacred Hunt. Got it?"

What was the Sacred Hunt? Well, each of the Five Tribes of Forsaken Werewolves chooses a special type of 'Prey' to hunt (but not necessarily kill). The other Tribes hunt down monsters such as Spirits, Other Werewolves, Alien Gods (or shards of them), and those possessed by Spirits.

My Tribe, the Iron Masters, select Humans to Hunt (but again, not necessarily kill!). This is less bad than it sounds, as the Tribe selects Humans who are actively wrecking the boundaries between the Material and Spirit Worlds by creating Spirits of Murder by murdering people, polluting the land with a factory that violates environmental safety rules, and also people who consort with 'Dark Powers' which are anathema to Humanity as a whole anyway.

And finally, the Iron Masters' Sacred Hunt covered every other Non-Werewolf, Non-Spirit, Non-Alien God, Supernatural beings.

"We would be glad to," I said, imitating Leon's usual formal tone.

"Sure," Leon said in rare nonchalance. "I'm just glad things didn't get worse."

"Now go back home with your parents," The Principal waves his large hand dismissively, "I and your friend," he indicated to a De-Transformed Ken, "Have more things to discuss."

Leon nodded, resuming his usual formality, while I waved bye, even as inwardly, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach as I thought of even more potential drama at home…

------

At home, Mom's first words as she served dinner were, "You're too young. You are too young to participate in a flipping' Sacred Hunt."

Dad looked at her, his expression… strange, before he said, "Honey, we started even younger -"

"That proves my point," Mom made jabbing motions at the air with her fork - The alloy didn't include enough silver to burn her skin. "They're sixteen, prone to getting into danger, and they're not able to change into a Werewolf form which would at least allow them to shrug off bullets and automatically heal wounds!"

"They can launch fireballs, though," Dad said. "Isn't that right, kids?"

"Yep!" I said enthusiastically. "Well, I can. Leon, however, can -"

"I can bless people with luck so extreme a speeding truck would miss them in a crowded street," Leon said in as solemn a tone as he can manage. "I can curse them to get hit by that same truck inside their own house. And I can slow down or speed up time."

"Still. Squishy." Mom was now stabbing at the meat before us as though it was alive. "One hit and you'd go down. And I know enough that you can't cast your powers willy-nilly or around mundane witnesses."

This was true. What kept Mages in the Chronicles of Darkness from dominating the setting is Paradox, which basically inserted pieces of literal anti-reality into the world should you cast too strong a spell and flub it up, and Paradox is aggravated by disbelievers being around to witness one's Magic. As for Disbelief, there is literally a force that erases memories of Magic from the minds of normal witnesses when it does not drive them insane first.

Factor in the Exarchs, ancient Mages who entered the Supernal Realms (Reality's other cornerstone aside from the God-Machine) and now seek to hoard control of Reality from every other Mage in existence (and who are as powerful as the God-Machine and made a flipping deal with it), and suddenly becoming Mages was not as much an improvement over being Werewolves or Wolf-Blooded as we thought.

'Not as much isn't the same as 'Not at all, though!

"Well, nothing much we can do about it," Dad said. "What the Pack Leader says, goes."

"I also managed to wheedle out a 'leak' of the place the Sacred Hunt is going to attack," Mom was gnashing her teeth. "It's not just a Wound," Capital-W Wounds are places where the Spirit World broke through to the Mundane World through acts of depravity and violence, by the way, "But it's also a Tainted Place with those creatures called Darkspawn. So our kids will be tackling two different forms of interdimensional shenanigans at the same time with whoever goes with them."

What was a Tainted Place and what are Darkspawn? Well, in Princess the Hopeful, Tainted Places are where cruel and malicious acts cause the Darkness to seep through and curse a place so that it is easier to commit sins there, to hurt and harm and not give a dang about it. These are different from Wounds in that they don't necessarily need big acts of cruelty to manifest; you just need to do many small acts such as, say, spread lies and slander about the 'School Paragon', in one place and watch it slowly make people more callous about evil-er actions.

As for Darkspawn, they are people who die inside a Tainted Place after committing so many crimes that the Darkness mutated them or gave them powers before their lives ended. The 'Dark World' then transforms their corrupted bodies into new, monstrous life forms, such as large, slimy centipede-like beasts who nevertheless used to be human, or grotesque balls of fat who slide under beds and snatch children.

And if we're to fight them as well as the usual Spirits of Violence/Alcoholism/Bloodshed, we are going to hope that Ken's 'boost' ought to be enough to tip the scales in our favor…

Repentant_Dragos · Jun 18, 2022

Chapter Two: Ramifications and Explorations (of Awakening)

I didn't truly understand before what the writers of Mage were trying to get across when they used 'Asleep' and 'Awake' as descriptions for life before and after, well, Awakening. But now I do. For Awakening is more about seeing the Supernatural, seeing Magic, and seeing the energies which permeated our world. No, it's about having one's senses opened wide, like a shell that has been pulled apart to reveal the matured being underneath, and coming out of a cocoon after reaching the next stage of our growth.

Awakening as a Mage is being able to see the colors not just of magic, but of the foundations of our world, and for me, that meant being able to see literal physical forces, ultraviolet and infrared and everything in between, to see sound as sight and vice versa, to track down radio waves and satellite networks with my brain alone. I can also literally register the composition of any form of matter by touch and smell and sight, as well as see various spells as faint glowing light, glowing webbing, and layers of color that identified what portions of reality they are influencing.

Like me, Leon was learning to appreciate the inexorable flow of time and yet realize that it was, itself, an illusion. The Eddies of fate and death would be oblivious to the other students as they gossiped and dawdled around the main building after a successful day of classes to meet with The Principal, who was going to drive us to the forward base for the Sacred Hunt later tonight in his car (Mom and Dad were there too, so it wasn't dubious).

"So…" my brother asked me, "Did you get your Dedicated Tool yet?"

What was a Dedicated Tool, one may ask? Well, in Mage the Awakening, some materials, and types of objects resonate with a specific 'Supernal Realm' and the Magical 'Path' associated with it. For example, gold, steel, and double-edged swords resonate with the Obrimos path (my own) while the Acanthus path (my brother's) resonated with silver, reflective materials, rapiers, and bows. Oh, and crystals.

Now, the pedant who has read the book several times over would say, 'Those are Path Tools! Dedicated Tools are the specific instruments that resonate with your Nimbus/Aura to make your spells even more powerful!

Well, I say that a Path Tool can be a Dedicated tool, and so the difference means squat. End of story -

"Daniel, stop spacing out!" Leon hissed at me as he pulled me into where our parents sat in the backseat of the car, "Anyway, I got a silver ring with a crystal on it; what about you?"

I held up a golden ring on my finger, before saying, "I arranged this with Dad beforehand, by the way."

-------

The trip was uneventful, and we arrived at the forward base; a small drive-thru cinema that was close to the abandoned mall where the Wound (which doubled as a Tainted Place) was situated. There were two other cars besides ours'; a small orange car with a glossy coat and a larger pale blue one with chipped paint. As we got out of the Principal's car, the orange car opened and its driver hopped out; it was Ken.

"Do your parents know you're driving on your own?" Mom asked Ken, looking at him with a mild glare, which I suspected wouldn't be there if I hadn't told her I really liked him and his blue eyes and sharp features.

Ken nodded dutifully and said, "I told them I needed to get used to my learner's permit." As the other car opened to reveal my parents' 'co-workers' (both in mundane and supernatural lives), he continued, "You guys have enough Werewolves to fill every Auspice, right?"

The Principal said, "Yes; let me introduce you…"

And it was then that I spaced out to remind myself what Auspices were. Basically, each Werewolf, in addition to their transformations, has a 'sub-type' corresponding to a phase of the Moon which dictates their role in the pack. For example, Mom is an Edoloth, or Half-moon, meaning that she is the 'face' of the group and tasked with diplomacy (both the honest and lying types), building social connections, and covering up property damage.

She is also prepared to sacrifice almost anyone to accomplish a Sacred Hunt's goals.

Dad, meanwhile, is a Cahalith, or Gibbous Moon; a storyteller and loremaster, and seer who is tasked with keeping morale up while also having prophetic dreams, prophetic dreams which Leon might probably mess up with his ability to affect Fate and Time.

Elise, one of my parents' co-workers, is an Irraka, or New Moon - She stalks the target to inflict maximum damage so that the others can get the killing blow. Basically, a stealth assassin who constantly thinks of how to kill everyone around her… Including me right now, it seems. Brr.

Simon, another kid around our age, is an Itheaur, a Crescent Moon. We've talked to him before and he says that being one isn't fun, given that a Crescent Moon can always see Spirits and their intentions and they are always watching him. On the plus side, he can establish dominance over said Spirits and trap them in items and mess with Spirits in general.

And the Principal is a Rahu; basically the physically strongest, most enduring, and tactically adept of all Auspices. He's the one you call when you need to cut the Gordian Knot with overwhelming force. Even we fear him.

The Principal's growl woke me up from my reverie as he said, "Boy, do not make me regret bringing you. You've absorbed the introductions, right?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, yes I have."

And I realized that it was actually true; that I had taken information from the introductions and mixed it with my musings. So I picked up the courage to say my next words, "What's the plan; what specific thing are we hunting?"

The Principal said, "You're still part of the Iron Masters, Boy; you know that we hunt the most dangerous prey - People. Sapient beings who consciously make the worst possible choices for others, the Spirit World, and now them. As it is, the hunt is in three stages; the first is to clear out the malign Spirits and Darkspawn which infest the mall. The second is to remove the 'Taint' of the Tainted Place; Mr. Ikari will help with that. And the third and last phase, which you two will help with, is to take care of the one responsible for sucking out the light and hope from the place and allowing 'Taint' to set in and a wound to open."

He then looked at us as the fading sunset glinted from his eyes and the shadows made him look bigger than he already was. He then said in a sharp, somewhat thick tone that brooked no opposition, "One of Mr. Ikari's kind caused this; a 'Twilight Prince' serving the 'Queen of Tears'. You two will prove your loyalty to the Pack and Tribe by helping us hunt him down before he sucks out more hope and light from similar buildings. And by 'hunt him down', I do not necessarily mean kill, but I am more than open to such a solution."

We looked around and saw that everyone's faces, including our parents', were firmly set; they had all agreed that the death of this 'Twilight Prince' was a desirable outcome.

I grit my teeth and thought: This is why we didn't want to become Werewolves. But apparently, becoming Mages instead has not freed us of the 'obligation' to kill.

Then I heard my brother take a deep breath and say, "It's best if we just scare the 'Prince of Tears' to within an inch of his life. Fear will serve our interests more than Blood; I predict this and my father will back me up - Right, Dad?"

Dad looked at us and said, "I do; I've seen it in my dreams that frightening the enemy would be more fortunate for us - At the very least, it allows for multiple Sacred Hunts to be conducted in the future."

The Principal growled, and so did Elise. But it was the former who said as he began to shift into a humanoid wolf form, "Very well; we will strive to frighten him if we could. But if killing him would have earned this city a better future, on your heads be it."

And so it was done; have we made the right choice?

Repentant_Dragos · Sep 27, 2022

Chapter Three: The Hunt

We were ambushed as soon as we entered the mall's lower ground floor. As a small army of Darkspawn and malign Spirits came at us from all sides as we stepped off the broken escalators leading downwards.

"Fate reweaves itself as Time bares its secrets," Leon said as he gestured towards Elise, skillfully reweaving the threads of probability to guarantee her a sure hit as she clawed at a Cradlesnatcher (Darkspawn made up of fat and folds of loose skin descended from people who kidnap children to influence or silence their parents), drawing a mix of blood and fat and disgusting slime from the wound.

As Ken, in his Transformed form, began mowing down a throng of Corpse-eaters (Cannibalistic Darkspawn with a craving for human flesh) with a magically-conjured assault rifle which spat out bolts of fire instead of bullets, I lifted my right hand and the finger with the golden ring on it, then instead of saying something poetic, I just said, "Burn!"

And the fires Ken already set while shooting at the Darkspawn burst for one moment, utterly consuming their bodies before fading to nothingness, thus sparing the very flammable wood and paint of the mall's floor from further damage.

Mom, Dad, and Simon were facing down a particularly strong Spirit of Alcoholism which had materialized into a glowing cloud of clear liquor, beating it into submission with claws and furred fists. As for the Principal, he was smashing through a half-dozen Spirits of Violence, his exhortations and that of other members of the pack overriding any supernatural inducement to cowardice.

This was not to say that the Tainted Place did not send an unnatural chill down our spines; we were just more resolute thanks to the Werewolves in the pack using their Capital-G Gifts to keep our fury bubbling hot enough to fuel our resolve but not so hot we'd suddenly be reckless.

"To the center of the Wound!" shouted the Principal, gesturing for Ken to follow him, "Show us what you can do!"

As we pressed on, I swiftly pointed my ring finger at another Cradlesnatcher, snapping a few syllables in High Speech (Special Mage Language) which caused its personal gravity to reverse (Forces 2, baby!), and rendering it helpless, pinned to the ceiling, where Elise in her partial wolf form could leap up to tear out its throat.

"These monsters taste like shit!" she said as I reversed the spell, causing the now-dying Darkspawn to fall down and take more damage as it bled out.

"Yes," Simon took the time to talk, "Spirits taste better."

Stronger Darkspawn and manifested Spirits awaited us closer to the Tainted Place's center, an old department store that had been drained of hope well before the mall was rendered 'condemned'. There, we ought to find a 'Dark Door' which leads to a 'Nightscape', a small-e echo of the atrocities which led to the place being tainted in the first place.

Not that we planned to enter; that was Ken's job.

"Good luck, boy," the Principal said to Ken as he fast-walked into the 'Dark Door', leaving us behind. Then as the Magical Boy vanished, he then looked at us, sniffed the air, and spoke, "Our quarry is here. Change of plans; if he dies, he dies. If he lives, he lives - But prophecy or no prophecy, it's best to take the hunt to its logical conclusion."

Why that son of a -

"As if you mutts, a fortune teller, and a seller of party tricks can take me," a voice echoed out from the shadows, followed by the whirr of... Skateboard wheels?

And looking at us, no, looking down on us from the escalator we just descended from, was a young man of about our age on a skateboard, wearing a black-and-blue suit-and-long coat of shimmering silk. His left shoulder and the tips and soles of his boots were armored with a silvery-steel material, and his right hand grasped a dark blue scythe with a glittering sapphire edge whose handle was smaller than what was allowed normally.

Noah from Elsword; imagine that he has a matching Skateboard.

He then announced his identity, introducing himself in a cold tone as grave as a whole row of mausoleums, "My name is Langa Nikiforov; yes, it's a fake one - Like heck I'm revealing my real identity to people from the Rebellious Provinces."

The Principal snarled and said, "Your 'Corpse-Queen' never ruled us. The only one who is rebellious is you!"

Simon, our Itheaur teammate, then gestured for the Spirit of a nearby chandelier to cause its earthly vessel to fall on top of where LN (I am not referring to him by the Anime references he used!) currently was, only for the boy on the skateboard to wheel himself down the worn down rubber which covered sections of the escalator railing, then do one of those fancy somersaults which flung him up to the air... Where he stayed, flying literal circles around us and occasionally rolling sideways on the walls.

This was highly irregular, as in the version of Princess we knew, Flight was a power reserved for the Princesses on our side (aka those who didn't serve the Queen of Tears) who had an emotional connection to the ideals of freedom and laughter Alhambra and the Princes/Princesses of Tears were definitely not about.

Then I looked directly at his skateboard and saw that the magic wasn't that of the air and wind or even gravity, but rather floated on the shadows and darkness as though those were material things - Which was not a power Princesses and Princes had in any version that we knew and must have come with the boost in power they received from the alterations to this setting!

"Fancy Tricks," my Mom said next, the bile in her voice making it sound like she was almost spitting. Then she, still in a half-wolf form, drew a semi-automatic pistol and fired one, two, three shots at LN, who merely dodged, ducked, and even somersaulted over the bullets.

Elise then shook my shoulders and shouted, "That brat's skating on shadows! We need light -"

"Levinbolt, Multiple, Draining," LN said before a rain of shimmering violet bolts fell all around us, and the Principal grabbed me and Leon in a rough 'hug' and bore us down to the ground for our own safety, even as Mom and Dad put up a destroyed shelf as a barricade against the shower of energy, which continued on for far longer than the original game rules and mechanics ruled it should.

"This is but the smallest measure of the power granted to me by the desire to protect Alhambra, the last true remnant of The Kingdom," the enemy Magical Boy said as the shower faded, and the Principal faced him, his already half-lupine features transforming to a full-on Wolfman, with fangs and claws, strength several times the average man, and quick, almost effortless regeneration from wounds not inflicted by silver.

Gauru (not to be confused with the Garou from Old World of Darkness), the war form any Werewolf can access, which can only be controlled for a short period of time until they lost themselves in Primal Rage (capital). As my parents and every Werewolf in the abandoned chamber followed suit, their clothes seamlessly transforming along with their skin into glossy, shimmering fur, I realized that shit just got real.

"We have to help," Leon whispered to me, even as the Pack leaped to surround LN, who matched them in speed and strength, his scythe spinning in circles and spirals as he matched the Principal blew for blow, then batted aside an attempt by Elise to backstab him, the edges of his cape cutting through her fur and causing the wounds it caused to burn just like silver did (there was a canonical Princess power which can cause one's attacks to take on the properties of silver or cold iron or some special Capital-B Bane of a supernatural if they 'used up' a piece of silver beforehand, so it seemed that LN was expecting us).

This revelation enraged the Werewolves almost beyond reason, and now it was the turn of our enemy to grow alarmed, skating downward through the small-d darkness and shadows, zig-zagging, rolling, ducking very low, and even leaping up from his skateboard to land on it later on. His strength was in agility and the ability to not get hit, and should one of the Pack get even one blow in -

Then he dashed straight towards where we were still watching behind the barricade, moving so fast we weren't able to chant, gesture, or even think up the mental images and exercises which made casting spells so easy.

"Spell-Shattering Palm!" he shouted as he threw his scythe high up to slam his palms against mine and Leon's chests - Wasn't Spell-Shattering Palm from Exalted, and not the latest edition at that?

The protective spells we've already woven onto our bodies were dispelled, the Clash of Wills (gamer jargon; it's self-explanatory here) not being much of a contest between his uncanonically-boosted powers and our Supernal Magic.

Mom and Dad were the first to de-transform back to 'merely' being humanoid wolves; the rest of the Pack did so as well, instinctively trying to shake obvious rage from their heads - They had been about to hit their time limit, I thought through the pain from my chest being bruised and my ribs being almost broken.

The next thing I saw as I forced my eyes to focus, using Forces to clear my mundane sight, was a scythe blade pressed to my throat even as LN pointed a gun of his own at Leon.

Then he said, "To serve the Queen of Tears and save Alhambra, I will do anything... So do not take another step or I will kill these two mongrels..."

Repentant_Dragos · Oct 17, 2022

Chapter Four: Rescue

As our parents and the rest of the pack growled at LN, Leon faced the barrel of the kid's gun head-on even as Mom growled, "What are your terms for our packmates? Let you go?"

The Prince of Tears had the gall to tut at us., "I can extract more than that for the lives of two Magelings. The Queen of Tears wishes to sustain Alhambra's existence in the realms of The Darkness, and -"

I tuned out the politics while my mother handled negotiations and tried to dredge up what I knew of Princess lore and what LN was talking about. Basically, Alhambra was the last remnant of The Kingdom, a federation of Kings and Queens who were more akin to spiritual guides and embodiments of ideals than actual monarchs. Their realm had covered much of the world in an era before recorded history before being reduced.

The Kingdom was a place of happiness and bliss, compassion and kindness, which nevertheless stood firm against The Darkness, a force of decay and rot that embodied the murkier aspects of the human heart. However, the Kings and Queens grew dogmatic and arrogant before falling into discord about who was right and proper. This allowed The Darkness to destroy all but the city of Alhambra, where the local Queen had projected a barrier that allowed it to survive. What was left had become the Dark World, a realm of rot and corruption anathema to Humanity.

Still, the barrier needed Hope to sustain it. This resulted in Alhambra stealing Hope from the 'Rebellious Provinces', their term for our world. Which they believed had been left to fall into savagery as recorded history began. How this works with the Mages' tales about Atlantis as The Awakened City is a question to ask Ken or his patrons.

I got ripped back into reality when the Principal barked at the Prince of Tears, "No! Your Queen and her agents will not be allowed to even come close to The Academy. It is forbidden."

LN replied with a sigh. "Then I'll just have the deaths of two fellow children on my conscience-" He didn't get any further as Ken interrupted with two words.

"Lightning Sparks."

The Prince of Tears was lit up by electricity arcing through his body, forcing him to let go of his gun and scythe as he fell to his knees.

Lightning Sparks was a technique belonging to the lost Queen of Cups. A monarch whose powers were linked to self-discovery, personal journey and development. The invocation had become completely inaccessible as she had long since become the Queen of Tears due to the corruption of her ideals.

So how did he have it?

I stood up to stare at the scene while Ken walked forwards, looking very dashing in the military fatigues of his Transformed Form. He lifted LN up by the scruff of his neck. "You're lucky I stopped you before you could make the greatest mistake of your life."He tossed the Prince of Tears to the ground. "You're not worth slaying yet. But be warned, we can hunt you again and again until you learn your lesson. Now go, and don't come back."

LN gathered up his scythe and pistol, as got on his skateboard to leave. To everyone's surprise, he didn't say any last harsh words, verbal barbs, or even public vows of revenge, Still, he resisted the urge to flee so fast that he'd come off as a coward. Instead keeping a calm, steady pace, while he tried to look cool even as he left for an unused side entrance to our right.

Ken gallantly walked to me, keeping an even pace that made even his footsteps sound rhythmic. He offered me his hand, which I bashfully took as he raised me up.

I couldn't resist hugging the other boy as I was lifted to my feet with his help, my head rested on his shoulders as we held each other close.

Mom gave a low growl that I instinctively sensed was directed at Ken. We pulled back from each other with a yelp of embarrassment at our public display of affection.

I looked at Mom andI gave her puppy dog eyes, which might wolf cub eyes in our family. "I'm sorry."

My mother sighed as she transformed back to full human form. "Make sure to keep safe. Both of you." She went over and hugged me for a long moment with a sigh on her lips. "My boy is growing up…" That moment was cut off as she walked over to Ken. "You took care of my son. This gives you a provisional right to date him. But be warned, hurt him in any way and I will tear out your throat. Magical Boy powers or no."

Ken nodded courteously, replying in a calm and even tone. "And I give you every right to watch over me as I woo him."

I blushed red at that, before the Principal interrupted, taking Mom's lead in shifting back even as his expression was still hardened in frustration, "The Taint is gone and the Wound is closed. Let's go back home."

And with that, the hunt ended.

------

Breakfast the next day involved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, more eggs, and bacon, which I and Leon gorged on heavily. Dad insisted on getting milk instead of apple juice, as we were still growing boys.

My brother was the first to speak, "We frightened him off, but I didn't expect Princesses, or rather, Princes, to be so strong. By the way, I think Mom is less hostile to your Prince now, so why not ask him for a date?"

Mom looked at us with a half-glare as she and Dad washed the dishes."Only. Him. Only. Ken. If Daniel dates someone else, he's grounded, even if he can throw fireballs."

I retorted. "Like my heart belongs to anyone but Ken."

"So, Leon," Dad said, "Any plans for a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

Leon made direct eye contact with Dad, then Mom, before saying, "Langa Nikiforov. The boy who pointed a gun at me. I'm planning to mess with his heart as payback."

As all three of us realized that Leon was serious, Mom huffed, then puffed, before sighing and saying, "If I wasn't an Elodoth, I would not approve of this. But I have to offer my help because my duty to my pack involves building and using connections,." She smiled a little before saying, "Plus the fact that you were daring enough to bring this up while I'm around. That was brave."

Dad muttered under his breath, "He'll succeed, by the way. I saw it in a dream last night."

"Nice!" I couldn't help but exclaim, "Let's bring up seducing him when we meet with Ken."

Dad interrupted that before I could go further, "About that; you boys are to meet with the Principal later today. He's introducing both of you to the people who will mentor you as Mages. Now finish your food so you two can go to the Academy."

------

We met up with Ken after classes had let out and went to the Principal's Office. Despite us letting LN live during the hunt, The Principal had a smile on his face while he sat on the chair and looked at us. He gestured to the side, introducing us to his guest. The woman looked to be in her twenties with long, lustrous black tresses, limpid blue eyes, small diamond earrings, and a grey and black dress that marked her as one of the Academy's teachers even if we didn't interact much.

Her name came to me, Erisse Carpenter. She was the one who taught the Proximi, the people who had partial access to limited versions of Mage spells in exchange for an inborn weakness. They could Awaken as True Mages just like the Mortals could and the few other True Mages we had done already. She was definitely a member of the Free Council from what we knew, one of the most open-minded and innovative of the five Orders of Magi who made up mainstream Magi society.

"Daniel, Leon," Erisse greeted us with a smile. "I'm happy to hear that you two have Awakened to the truths of the Supernal. This means private classes with little old me of course, but it also gives you a place in the local Mage Consilium. That's where The Pentacle, the five Magi orders who want Humanity to become Mages or at least Supernatural and ascend to something more, gathers in order to discuss matters of importance."

Erisse gave us a sly wink as she continued. "Then again, Daniel and Leon Cook, we've always known you were likely to Awaken to become Magi. Most reincarnates from your world do."

We froze, then looked at both her and the Principal. The teacher smiled. "What? You forget that while Werewolves are great at Spirit-related matters, we Mages can see what others can't, including interdimensional connections. Let's just say that even before the God-Machine's occult Infrastructure started to break, a certain Demon Agency has been 'Isekai-ing' people from your world for at least a century or so.."

The Principal interjected, "Despite Erisse downplaying our powers, we Uratha, the Forsaken, the 'playable' Werewolf faction, can more easily detect Multiversal Reincarnates than other people bar some groups of Hunters. We've known that your souls are from another world since you were born."

He paused to let that sink in before continuing "The Academy couldn't have existed without the help of a Demon Agency hijacking portions of the God-Machine, which in turn they could not have done without Reincarnates like you two. Because of that, we have a fighting chance. A fighting chance to fix these Chronicles of Darkness…."

Repentant_Dragos · Nov 9, 2022

Interlude One: Ken

Note: Shout out to bronxterror from QuestionableQuesting for helping me make this chapter as respectful to the transgender community as possible!

As Daniel and Leon talked with Erisse about their joining the Free Council (without leaving the Iron Masters), I took my leave of the Principal's Office and walked towards the parking lot, where my car waited; I had a trip to the local Changeling Freehold. Now, what exactly are Changelings, one may ask?

I'm not as good as my new boyfriend in internal exposition (I think that's what he's doing when he spaces out?), but I am good enough to keep two trains of thought up while heading for my car. After all, who knows when my private thoughts need to be copied from my head and set down in a journal in order to guide future generations of 'Reincarnates'?

Now, on the subject of Changelings; they are basically humans who had been kidnapped by the True Fae and taken to 'Arcadia' (which is not the same Arcadia some Mages go to), where they are then abused and tortured and used as playthings by the Fae, changing their bodies and souls to a hybrid of Human and Faerie.

How come these abductions aren't discovered? Because the True Fae replace their kidnapees with a 'Fetch', a duplicate made of magically-infused twigs, string, and a piece of the abductee's shadow which transforms into a clone of the kidnapped person with a duplicate of their memories. This means that a Changeling cannot just get back their former life, especially as their Fetches are not always unsympathetic replacements; some even lack a personality flaw that their 'original' had (although others lack one of the original's positive personality traits instead).

As I entered my car and drove to the Freehold's site - A large mixed-use building with numerous small shops and restaurants on its south front and ground floors and apartments on its upper levels and a roof garden sustained by the co-operative which owned the commercial building. I thought wistfully: I'm coming home.

------

In my past life, I had a typical family; a mother, a father, and a sister. In this world, however, I have two mothers. I was found as a baby, abandoned near a dumpster. My mothers, already Changelings, said that my birth parent was a teenage girl who gave me up for adoption after I was born. She then ended up in a building that was being drained of its ambient hope by the Queen of Tears' followers, who drained her of hope again and left her to die.

My mothers found her as well and paid for her hospital bills; not that she was ever likely to wake up, even with all the magic I can access now - Some things are just beyond recovery.

That isn't the entire story. But if someone is recording my thoughts for future generations, well, let's just say that there are some things I wouldn't reveal yet; some suspense is to be kept.

My mothers' business was a small Italian Restaurant, one which produced some of the best Pizzas in our home: Infinity City, a city built where the Olympic National Park should be standing in my native world. I was eating one of their best Margherita Pizzas even as my first mother, Catalina Moretti, asked me about how I was doing and about my now-boyfriend, Daniel.

"You've talked about how he and his brother were your best friends in your past life; they and… One other person."

I nodded, remembering them. They were a biological female who was as comfortable with a male image as a female one, who switched between both not out of sexual desire but rather as an affirmation of identity.

What was their name again? Their new name; not their birth name? Or were they one of the people who merely altered or modified their birth name?

A flash of memory as I remembered them: Alex. But why was their face unclear?

Another flash: They themselves erased my memory, but they were definitely reborn in this universe.

I trusted them. I still do. If they did that to me, it must have been with my agreement. As my second mother, Eleonora Brizzi-Moretti, entered the dining room, she brushed aside her long dark hair, revealing her leaf-shaped ears (usually concealed through Changeling Magic), she smiled and said, "You're one blessed with true friends; would you prefer to live with them forever, or will you continue your Quest?"

Still sitting down on the upholstered wooden chair, I finished a slice of pizza before continuing, "I must take the Queen of Tears' place. Changeling Magic is the best way to do that without falling into the trap of following one of the other 'Twilight Queens'. And by 'Queens', I mean 'Spiritual Guides', not actual monarchs although it's easy to confuse the two."

Catalina - First Mom - looked at me, her somewhat chubby face and heavy build emphasizing her frown and the sad, doe-like eyes that made her feelings plain.

"Mom," I told her, "I love you, but I love the world too - We have a chance to make things better, the chance to make things right. If the King of Cups and its Invocation is restored, and power can be drawn from it, it'd be a step towards…"

Freeing humanity from the maze of mortal slavery and supernatural predation. Breaking the monopolies of power both mundane and magical. Something the Old World of Darkness kept harping on about while mixing their content with hypocrisy, a hatred for modern technology and civilization, and misanthropy.

A hand on each of my shoulders; it was both of my mothers. I broke down into tears as I saw how their faces were downcast with worry, their eyes unconsciously looking this way and that, seeking a way to help.

"It's so heavy," I blurted out through my sobs, "A cause worth fighting for, but no guarantee of winning. Maybe winning isn't even an option, maybe I'll be fighting forever. But I want this better future - For myself, for Daniel and Leon, for Alex…"

Eleonora - Second Mom - said gravely, "Your quest will take you beyond this world, to the center of the Freehold where there is a gate to The Hedge which separates our world and Arcadia. It took us a lot of favors to get the leader of the Freehold to allow you and maybe your friends to open said gate. Even then, all we gave up will be returned to us if you quit now; no consequences beyond not being able to do so again for a year and a day."

I chuckled wryly. For a year and a day; Arcadia had made it so that Changelings were creatures of narrative, bound by roles and tropes and the rules of fairy tales and other genres of story. Problem is, in real life; stories never truly end.

It took a few more minutes to get my tears (The Queen of Tears must be enjoying the irony) out of my system before I gave my final answer and said, "Daniel and Leon need to learn how to use their magic better. Each of us is a peer to a True Fae, assuming that I got my lore from before my rebirth correctly. We can tackle their force with equal force of our own, and their trickery with our own intelligence. But once they are done learning how to use their Magic more effectively, we're going to the Hedge and maybe even Arcadia to get the power needed to become the new King of Cups and redeem Alhambra."

My eyes glinted with reflected light from the setting sun and in a tone that I firmed up with teenage determination, I said, "And once Alhambra is redeemed, once these Chronicles of Darkness are rewritten, I will come back to my old world with my powers and my skills. I will remind the people there that they matter, that they deserve more than what they've got."

Second Mom looked at me, her dark eyes meeting my blue ones, before saying, "Be careful. Even without falling to a Twilight Queen themselves, you might still fall to their creeds. Remember; you yourself said even the Queen of Tears wasn't evil in the beginning - Her turn began from a better place, to protect her own family and nation."

I nodded in acknowledgment and said, "That's where Changeling Oaths come in; the most powerful ones can be modified into a failsafe which will kill me if I ever become a villain."

Finishing my pizza, cleaning my mouth with a napkin with an overdramatic flourish as though I had drunk blood, I looked at my shocked mothers before saying, "Now, let's go to the Freehold's own King, shall we? Summer is ending and so is his allotted time of rule, but we definitely have the time to see him."

Daniel and Leon, Alex, don't worry; all will be well.

Repentant_Dragos · Nov 16, 2022

Chapter Five: Born of Two Worlds

"To be a Mage is to have seen the Supernal Realms, the underlying truth behind Reality, the meta-concepts which in turn form the higher 'Root' which is the foundation of this world," the Magus giving us a tour around the Mage Consilium's prime meeting spot. "You may know this already, have seen it for yourselves when you Awakened, but it is important to stress this: We Mages have seen metaphysical truth for ourselves. Other supernaturals have their own perspectives and otherworlds and those are not entirely invalid, but they are parts of a much greater whole."

Right now, all I could think of was, I know this already from the game books, and This guy looks like Wodime from FGO.

Originally Kirstachia Wodime from Fate/Grand Order.

Of course, the name he gave was 'Prometheus', and he had introduced himself further as a 'Magister of the Silver Ladder's American Convocation', marking him as of very high rank in the Order of the Silver Ladder, which in turn was the most elitist of the five Pentacle Orders, yet at the same time, voted to allow the fifth Order, the Free Council, to join the 'Diamond' (the previous conglomeration of Orders) in order to form a united front against the Seers.

As he led us and Erisse toward the Consilium's meeting hall, 'Prometheus' said, "Note by the way that the existence of a world in which the 'Chronicles of Darkness' are fictional and most of our deepest secrets are well-known does irk many members of my Order and others who claim that it undermines the entire philosophy of Magic. So make sure to be tactful when bringing up your Reincarnations from that universe."

He then smiled warmly at us and spoke as we reached the large oaken door which led to the meeting hall, "After you've been introduced to the various high-ranking Mages of the Consilium, I'll also give you a refresher on the Silver Ladder's philosophies so that you can compare them with the Free Council's; who knows, maybe I can debunk some myths and misperceptions…"

-------

The meeting hall was, in fact, a covert convention center hidden within the depths of a five-star hotel, a convention center that legally existed and was paid for but was never used by those unaware of the Supernatural. It had a stage, a podium, seats, and well, all that boring stuff. Oh, and a buffet close to the side, which is great as I'm hungry.

Honestly, maybe I should skip the internal description of how we were introduced before the assembled Magi of Infinity City; it was a chore anyway.

Yes, someone can make a meeting between Magi who can shoot fireballs boring, okay?

-------

~~Brodime~~ Prometheus' lecture, with Erisse accompanying him, was much more entertaining and worthy of record, with Prometheus creating a whiteboard made up of pure, congealed Mana (Tass, which is also a term used in the other Mage, Mage the Ascension) while Erisse just took out a mundane erasable marker and began writing on it.

"All right," Prometheus said in a warmer, softer tone which nevertheless echoed through the small room which had been reserved for the four of us beforehand, "Let us begin; how much do you know of the Silver Ladder from your previous incarnations?"

His eyes and posture were relaxed, in a way that made him look more like a dork than a properly elegant and refined man even as he held a cane with a top of pure electrum and used it as a pointer.

I raised my hand like the dutiful schoolboy I am (of course it was difficult not to cringe internally, I probably looked too eager and ridiculous in that respect) and said, "Well, to summarize, the Silver Ladder are descended from the alleged Priest-Kings of Atlantis, the ancient civilization of Awakened that most Magi claim their heritage from, and believe that Mages should lead Humanity but all Humans should be Mages and that the difference between them and the Seers of the Throne, their enemy, is that they want the entire Human race to be 'uplifted'... Under their leadership."

Prometheus chuckled at that and said, "Well...you aren't wrong, but the phrasing you've decided to use...It draws a clear line between 'us' and 'them'. Making the other side appear to be little more than megalomaniacs, barely removed from the Seers."

The congealed Mana which made up the whiteboard began forming letters that assumed a matte-black color, letters which spelled out: The Elemental Precepts of the Silver Ladder.

"Diamond; the Awakened are one Nation," Prometheus spoke as he twirled his cane theatrically, catching the glimmer of the electric lights above, "Diamond is earth, purified and strengthened under the crucibles of fire, hardship, and time. A natural transformative process that forms the foundation of our philosophies - that Mages have a common bond, descending from the Awakened Civilization of Atlantis. They are then further united by the struggle of exaltation, guiding mankind beyond divinity."

Erisse then wrote down on the whiteboard, Drawback: The Silver Ladder believe themselves to be above all mundane laws, which is dangerous when people who hunt 'Witches' are more powerful here than they are in other versions of the setting and have technology which is equal to Magic. Or in other words, Hunters are very strong in this 'continuity'.

Prometheus nodded gravely, acknowledging the point before smiling and taking a step back, "This is valid and true, but we have more to gain than we have to lose. Dual citizenship to both mundane and magical nations is always an option, of course... Not that I have ever had to worry about such things before. Now, for the second tenet."

He cleared his throat and said, "Thunder: Imperium is the Birthright of all Humanity. No God or Metaphysical Personification of any given Concept has the right to control Human Destiny and there is no Original Sin, no deserving of the punishment levied by a Fallen World. That phrase I emphasized is in the sourcebook you've read in your previous lives, by the way, 'Mage the Awakening Second Edition', right?"

We cringed at that, considering how before we got reincarnated into the Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness 2e, we did believe in some form of 'Original Sin' as it made sense to us, more so than the restrictions on who we can love.

After all, before I and Leon died the first time, we saw enough of our own world to know that Humans are not innately good and that it is as naive as a belief in any God to believe that Humans have an innate goodness that will cause them to help each other when every 'impediment' to doing so is destroyed.

This is only my personal opinion; I am not going to preach to you guys - Find your own path.

Prometheus' eyes glinted as he looked at me and Leon and said, "Point is, all Humanity has the right to Awaken and become Mages and the Silver Ladder shapes society so that more people can Awaken, become Mages, and then Ascend, retaking Reality from the Seers and the Exarchs and breaking this cycle of futility, death, and despair."

Then he gave an exaggerated sigh as he wiped his brow with the head of his cane - How impractical! - and admitted, "Note that this effort is undermined by the fact that no one knows what exactly causes people to Awaken as Mages; some people say that the 'Oracles', allegedly Atlantean Mages who defied the Exarchs and their minions, the Seers of the Throne in order to retain a presence in the Supernal Realms and keep part of Reality free, created the Watchtowers which act as a mechanism for Mages to Awaken. Of course, as a member of the Silver Ladder, I do not disbelieve in this dogma as the 'Supernal' portion of Reality is literally malleable and subject to multiple entities who can literally rewrite reality so that their intended changes were already part of the universe since their origins…"

Erisse interrupted by raising her hand and saying, "Uh-huh. Enough with the suspiciously specific denial and allow me to write down the Free Council's compatible yet competing tenet."

And she wrote down on the whiteboard: Humanity is Magical.

"By Humanity," Erisse said sternly, "I mean mundane Humanity; unawakened Humanity, in groups and as a species. Human culture, science, technology, and art already reflect the Supernal Realms, corresponding to new symbols which they themselves create in 'Supernal Reality'. Note that like the Silver Ladder, we seek to make all Humanity worthy of Ascension, but we do so not by teaching or 'leading' individual humans or groups of them but by destroying the Capital-L Lies which crush the Human soul so that all Humans, everywhere, can Awaken simultaneously in a revolution!"

Prometheus blinked and said, lightly tapping the whiteboard with his cane, "And that is not actually in opposition to our own beliefs; most of us just disdain Sleeper, aka mundane human, culture, science, and technology and that holds us back." He then made red writing appear on the whiteboard, Blood: The Sleepers Follow.

His tone turned firmer, more serious, "If Diamond is Earth and Thunder is energized Air, Blood is living Water. Sleepers are wounded by The Lie, which keeps them from becoming Mages themselves. Until we create a Utopia where everyone becomes a Mage, the Silver Ladder must lead Humanity."

He then stood aside to let Elise write the next countervailing creed of the Free Council on the whiteboard with her marker: Democracy fosters the Trurh.

"Yes, you can be skeptical," Erisse spoke as she waved her right index finger in a tut-tutting way, "But one must remember that the people using lies to get an advantage in democratic politics are those who believe in Hierarchy, and Hierarchy innately dilutes the power of the Supernal World, power shown by Humanity acting in groups, even if the Hierarchy is led by Mages. Thus, we preserve the potency of Supernal Truth by making group decisions, taking on collective responsibility, and electing temporary leaders based on current needs."

Prometheus cleared his throat and said, "Which nevertheless leaves room for cooperation as said temporary leaders are often experienced Mages."

Then with a flourish of his right hand and a twirl of his staff, the entire top section of the whiteboard turned into floating liquid mana which floated up and congealed into the glowing, blue-white words: Star: The Silver Ladder is the Path to Victory.

"The Ladder is made up of the stages of enlightenment, and all Humans have the right to select which rung they want to be on, even if it's not at the top. Despite the Free Council railing against Hierarchy, freedom means the right to choose not to be on top. Of course, this also means that the Awakened, or Mages, have the obligation to uplift Humans towards Awakening, which leads us to…"

He glanced at a faux-offended Erisse, who wrote on the bottom of the board, Destroy the Followers of the Lie.

Erisse then intoned in a solemn tone which sounded like a gothic mausoleum, "The Lie represents the hostile forces keeping Humanity from Awakening, and which forces the artificial divide between Mage and mundane Human by existing. The Seers of the Throne, our enemies, want to keep said divide existent because they are literally motivated by wealth, power, and pleasure. Note that due to the Silver Ladder being arrogant like the Seers and even making occasional common cause with them 'to save the Awakened as a people, some among us see the Silver Ladder as 'Followers of the Lie' too."

Prometheus then spoke, "Which I assume is a notion I've disabused you two of. So, I presume that you two will at least consider being part of the Silver Ladder?"

"Not me," Leon was blunt and unhesitating, "I've already chosen."

Then he turned to me and saw, in my eyes, that I was not going to share his choice.

"Daniel, please no. Don't get taken in," he implored, even as I turned to Prometheus and said:

"I will seriously consider it, yes."

I am not afraid of thinking differently from my brother. As explained by Prometheus, the Silver Ladder's creed didn't sound that bad anymore and they were one of the five Orders of Magi non-villainous PCs can choose to belong to for a reason…

Repentant_Dragos · Dec 8, 2022

Chapter Six: Quarrel(s)

We went back home, not even bothering to try and meet up with Ken again. It probably didn't help that Leon continued to be sullen, refusing to look me in the eye after I said that I was going to give the Order of the Silver Ladder the benefit of the doubt and refusing to budge.

"You can't do this… You can't do this…" he muttered it over and over again on the drive back home - graciously handled by the Principal - and I felt more than a little irritated by the whiny way he drew the words out each time he repeated them.

By the time we were one step past the door and back home, Leon wasted no time in running up to our parents to throw me under the bus, "The meeting with the Mages only went half-well; Daniel got taken in by the sub-faction of Mages who are most biased against other forms of supernatural creatures."

With politeness out the window I didn't bother to hide the glare I sent his way before shooting back, "The lack of nuance in that view aside, shouldn't you focus on your oh-so-clever-plan to seduce the person who almost killed us both?"

Leon whirled at me and threw his hands up with an exasperated yell, acting as if he was the one being wronged. "Argh! You can be so aggravating! Don't you remember how you ranted and raved against the Silver Ladder when we thought they were fictional?!"

I froze at that. Was Leon assuming our parents already knew we reincarnated from another universe?

"So you guys know that we knew all along now," Mom observed cooly. "To be honest, we weren't sure that we'd love you two when you were born, knowing that your spirits were booted here from another world where we were the stuff of fiction."

She then smiled and said, "We're glad we - I and your father - gave you a chance."

Dad then interjected and said, "I never actually doubted. Prophetic dreams give me an edge with these sorts of phenomena."

Mom's smile grew wider as she turned towards Dad and said, "Dear, you really need to stop sounding like you know everything beforehand.."

We both chuckled at that, and I saw my brother forget about his irritation for a moment, before sighing and saying to me, "Please don't screw yourself over, Daniel."

Then he paused and said, "But if you really must, just know I'll be behind you, to catch you when you fall."

Then with a faint smile, his first since our quarrel began, he went off to the upstairs bathroom to shower…

-------

When we met up with Ken after classes, things weren't looking so good. That time of needing the safety net Leon offered was closing in... But the silver lining -thin as it was- was that for once it wasn't my fault.

"Are. You. Serious." Leon's tone was practically arctic in its bite as he stared down Ken. Suffice it to say his opinion of my boyfriend's intentions was negative to put it lightly. "Do you have a death wish? Because you're going to get yourself killed and drag the both of us down with you while you're at it!"

I gave Ken a glance, who had told us up front without much hesitation that he wanted to go to flippin' Arcadia of all places... You might be thinking 'Oh that doesn't sound THAT Bad', but what you haven't figured out was that my adorable dumbass of a boyfriend basically said he wanted to go into that dimension - Not the Supernal Realm one mind you but the one that was basically the neighborhood where back alley stabbings are basically the go-to for recreation. And as if THAT wasn't bad enough? He wanted to extort - not cajole or bargain - literally extort a boon from the True Fae to take away the Queen of Tears's position and redeem her Kingdom by making him the 'King of Cups'. ~~He's taking the do crimes part of being gay/bi a bit too hard.~~

Now, why was this a bad, no good, absolutely terrible idea? Well from leafing through the pages of Changeling the Lost (not to be confused with Changeling the Dreaming, try and keep up, folks) What I remembered about the True Fae was that they're pretty much Cthulhu Lite that are railroaded into existing on pure narrative of the grim persuasion... And if you think THAT'S bad, wait until you hear how they make little Fae! Because the kids they pretty much lure into the fairy vans with promises of candy and adventure? Well assuming they get stupidly powerful and removed November from their Calendar to become absolutely nuts, the changelings born from the intense torture of said kids graduate to become True Fae and continue this whacked-out cycle of terror ad nauseam.

Now that's bad enough already... but wait, there's more! For the low low price of absolute insanity, the True Fae can operate out of multiple bodies - there are their Actors who are basically their meat world Mazdas and essentially ambulatory dicks for the dickheads to torture people into becoming more True Fae, their Titles aka their True Names which is basically their phenomenal cosmic power... And let's not forget their domains - the literal supervillain lairs where they literally control the rules and they are Old Testament God. Complete with the smiting. Oh dear lord, the smiting...

Now I love Ken dearly, he's my perfect sunshine adorable boy who can do no wrong. But for what's probably the first time in my life I feel the need to break out the disciplinary spray bottle for this misbehavior. In this metaphor, the spray bottle is my fist, applied to the top of his head and vigorously ground against it until he retracts said stupidity he made us hear. But as much as I would like to beat some actual sense into the dumbass... Well. Love helps motivate and restrain one's anger. All I could do is just pinch the bridge of my nose, let out a long suffering sigh, and asked the damning question. "When do we have to go?"

My boyfriend shuffled in place, looking away with an expression of such guilt and embarrassment that the part of me that wanted to hug him and tell him it'll all be okay kicked my anger right in the ass and off a cliff. Biting his lip for a moment as he rubbed the back of his head, Ken's smile was that of someone desperately trying to go 'it wasn't me' despite all evidence to the contrary. "Eeeh... Give or take a week." It was then my affection found out too late that my anger and tied a rope around its leg and pulled it down the cliff too.

If Leon's fists could curl any tighter to make fist-squared they probably would have... Pretty sure it isn't healthy for someone to look that red either. "Daniel."

I blinked when he called my name instead of Ken's. "Yeah?"

"Daniel." Leon spoke my name again with barely restrained fury, he was less grinding his teeth at this point and more sandblasting them against each other. "I really suggest you hold me back unless you want your absolute dumbass of a boyfriend to meet my fist at terminal velocity ... And I swear to FUCK I will paint the damn walls with him."

I nodded, wove my hands in gestures, and muttered some High Speech (Mages' Magic 'Atlantean' Language), and the air around my twin solidified into a cage.

"I didn't mean use your Magic, geez!" Leon protested as he pounded the walls of hardened air. "But fine - How do we win?"

Ken smiled and looked at me, then Leon, before saying, "The Time Arcana cannot normally be used to summon our future selves, only travel to the past as the present is set. However, if we move what counts as 'the present' to the future, via using 'Story Magic' a time skip, we can get around that limitation on a technicality."

His grin widened as he continued, "And 'Story Magic' is what True Fae and Changelings run on, and my mothers have been trading favors to get enough of it…"

------

When I and Leon met Erisse and Prometheus once more, the latter asked, "Umm, don't Temporal Irises exist?"

From the Mage the Awakening 2e Rulebook: An Iris is basically a portal that leads to another universe, dimension, or very rarely, another timeline entirely (Temporal Irises). Formed either spontaneously or in response to some epic event, Non-Temporal Irises could also be artificially made by Master-level spells. Oh, and in Salamanca, Spain, portals that seem to be Temporal Irises do exist and people regularly dive there to get magical and mundane information but cannot bring living beings back.

Erisse quickly looked at Prometheus before saying, "Prommy, I think that what that Ken boy is planning will be epic enough to create one… Or lead to the utter unwinding of this timeline." Then she sighed and said, "Then again, considering who you look like, you might not have scruples towards that."

Prometheus gave her a pointed look, almost a glare, then said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, "I am not endangering the progress I did make in this life, thank you very much."

Then he turned to us and said, "Remind Ken about the existence of Temporal Irises - A phenomenon no doubt related to Reincarnates like him and you two. If Changeling and Awakened Magic working together can do that, it is a worthy line of inquiry. In fact, to prevent such an experiment from undoing this timeline as Erisse fears, I personally offer my help."

And so it was confirmed; I had made the right decision to consider the Silver Ladder as the Mage Order I'll be joining…

Author's Note: If Daniel's monologue was slightly different near the middle of the chapter, that's because I got a pre-reader to look at it but he didn't have time to read all of the chapter draft.

Repentant_Dragos · Jan 5, 2023

Chapter Seven: The Mangled Margrave

Exactly one week later, and after we made sure not to talk to our parents about what exactly we were doing, our little party, with Prometheus and Erisse in tow, was in the mixed-use building that the local Changeling Freehold lived in.

We were being guided to the basement by the current Summer King, a tall and heavily-built South Asian man who, behind the illusionary mask all Changelings wore, had been transformed by his captivity among the True Fae into an ogre-like being who resembled one of his people's mythology's 'Asuras'.

Fun fact about Changelings; to throw off the True Fae's scent and prevent themselves from becoming True Fae, they intentionally share power between four different 'Seasonal Courts' that alternate rule over the local Freehold every, well, season. And as it's summer, the Summer King was the one ruling -

A low growl was the sign that our host had reached the basement door, which despite having no access to sunlight, was covered in faintly luminous blue-green brambles whose thorns were as large as an adult man's index finger.

"The Hedge Gate," the Summer King said as he looked at us. "You three, Magister Prometheus, and Miss Carpenter better be careful behind it; we do not want to be blamed for any more missing person cases, you hear me?"

Prometheus spoke in his clear, honeyed tone, "Loud and clear, o glorious Summer King."

The Changeling grunted, muttered a few words under his breath, then took out a literal key from his workman's belt and put it in a lock that only seemed to appear just now. Then he said gruffly as the doors opened on their own, "Enter."

We walked into the brightly-lit landscape beyond, and our feet found themselves stepping on a cobblestone trail that led through a forest of thorny trees and vines, each thorn sharp enough to cut even our Awakened souls. This was The Hedge, the dimension that lay between Earth and Changeling the Lost's Arcadia, and it shone bright with powers strange even to a Mage like me.

As we walked on, Erisse took out a small orb of finely-cut quartz and muttered a few words in High Speech, and I felt my body and soul blanketed with a tingle of exhilaration that slowly bubbled into a feeling of invincibility like I can take on the world -

Ken lifted up a hand to interrupt Erisse, saying, "You'll have to cast the spell a second time for my Magical Boy form; my two 'modes' count as two different people for the purposes of receiving spells or being scried on."

"I knew that!" Erisse protested with a pout, before looking toward Leon and asking, "Why don't you try it for your brother's boyfriend? You need to learn how to cast a warding gesture, anyway."

Leon nodded and lifted his silver ring as Ken transformed into the dashing modern soldier whose gear and kit looked as good as his face. As we kept on walking the road toward our destination, my brother cast not just the protective ward on Ken's Magical Boy form, but also a spell of serendipity to see if our path to Ken's destination was the correct one.

Soon, we reached a fork in the road, a fork which led to a well-traveled, paved path and another to a trail overgrown with… Wait, was the grass made of chrome?

"My spell of serendipity says to 'go this way'," Leon spoke, before continuing, "Isn't that right, Ken?"

Ken nodded solemnly and said, "Yes; the Charlatan - I mean, the Mangled Margrave, should be that way."

"Then it's time to meet our contact," Prometheus said before remarking, "You know, the Fae here are very similar to -"

Then he blocked an arrow with his cane.

"Ambush!" Erisse shouted as various humanoid creatures, either Changelings that had adapted to life in The Hedge too well or Hobgoblins, creatures native to this land that were sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile -

Leon yanked me backward as a javelin barely missed my throat, "Stop expositing and fight already!"

I nodded and passing my ring hand over my eyes, I cast a spell that allowed me to see the potential and kinetic forces of the arrows, javelins, and darts being thrown at us, before shouting, "There are only a dozen of them hidden throughout the thorns!"

Prometheus was already casting a spell in High Speech as fast as the human mouth can speak, and glowing hexagonal barriers of light blinked into existence all around us, providing cover where there hadn't been any. He then said, "They are trying to lure us into the thorns; my deepest apologies for being obvious!"

A glowing ball of fire had appeared on Ken's right palm, its red-orange glow resembling that of the sun. He then asked me as he ducked behind one of Prometheus' glowing shields, "Which side of the road has the most foes?"

I pointed toward the side closest to the paved road, and my boyfriend pitched his fireball in that direction with the skill of an Olympic athlete, lighting up the area in an explosion that caused the thorny trees to scream as though they were sapient, which they might be - The Hedge was that strange, after all.

The scurrying of small figures away from the scene showed that the enemy had left the scene, and not without more than a few casualties.

"They've routed," Ken said, "Let's move on."

Leon mused as his ring hand's fingers wove a spell of divination, "Nothing is coincidence in The Hedge. This was a test, one which we passed."

We then walked through the chrome-grassed trail, finding our steps shadowed by little plastic-winged birds with a single glinting camera eye for a beakless head, whose chrome legs and mechanical talons would have struck most ordinary people as 'eerie'. As the trail wound on, its twists and turns giving me time to think as I walked, I opened my mouth to speak to 'Prometheus' and say the fateful words:

"I've decided; I want to join the Order of the Silver Ladder."

Leon glared at me and said, "You just had to say that now, didn't you? Just because your prospective mentor looks like a fictional character from another franchise doesn't mean that -"

Prometheus raised a hand and said, "But the other franchise isn't -"

I grasped what he was trying to say, but before he could finish, we reached our destination.

"The lair of The Mangled Margrave," Ken said as he gestured at the mansion/cathedral/museum of tall chrome pillars, perfectly ordered sheets of unknown polymers, silken carbon-fiber streamers, and gears, gears everywhere behind walls of clear fiberglass. "A former True Fae reduced to a 'Charlatan' by finding the God-Machine and being treated by it the same way it treated its Changelings."

Footsteps could be heard, a clear metallic tapping on the stainless steel floors, as a figure walked towards us, a tall but crooked humanoid, his skin made up of copper and brass, even as his crystalline eyes glistened with shallow mirth. He was wearing a pinstriped suit of maroon and black, with a necktie of silver with moving patterns shaped like gears and cogs.

His smile was wide but almost robotic as this 'Charlatan', the Margrave, walked over to us and said, "Greetings, greetings! Welcome to my humble mysterium; no relation with the Mysterium, aka the out-of-focus branch of the Pentacle Orders! Travelers, I know what you wish to bargain for, and I must say, your band of true companions has brought me a more than adequate payment!"

He gestured us into the building's lobby, where various mechanical automatons - Which I double-checked to make sure were actual constructs and not Changelings twisted into inhuman forms - served us tea, honey, and bread around the table, saying, "Eat, eat! This is not the kind of Faerie Food that will bind you forever into my service - That's for if you truly wish for an extended stay!"

The Mangled Margrave then continued, "I know your overly complicated plan to Talecraft your way into being capable of summoning your future selves, and I must assure you that the idea for that most curious gambit comes from the right place; the True Fae you seek, The Maker of Crowns, is too powerful for the three of you as you are now, but not too powerful for your future selves… Or the Silver Ladder's Magister of the American Convocation as he is right now."

His eyes glittered and his skin turned chrome, while his suit turned blue and silvery-white as he faced 'Prometheus', ready to reveal a truth I had already guessed but held back from even putting into coherent thoughts.

The 'Charlatan' chuckled as he said, "My dear Nasuverse Magus, why go through with this plan revolving around Temporal Irises and changing the definition of the 'present' or bringing these children's future selves to this era? Are you afraid of compromising Humanity's future like you had done once for your section of the Multiverse, Kirchstaria Wodime?"

Leon and Ken's eyes opened wide in surprise, then wider when they saw that mine had not. I shrugged and said, "You two act like this is impossible. Isn't that a bit arbitrary?"

Repentant_Dragos · Jan 24, 2023

Chapter Eight: Crossover

Erisse obviously knew already; she was friends with Prometheus/Wodime for a reason. As for myself, I started to guess it sometime after our first meeting, probably when he and Erisse offered to help with our quest, and it was confirmed during our trip here. Either way, I had fun watching Leon's face grow red with mixed anger and worry before my brother exclaimed:

"Fate/Grand Order is fictional in this world as well as ours' - This Crypter knows what he did just as well as we do!"

Before I had a chance to monologue and exposit in my head about what exactly was a 'Crypter', Leon pulled on the collar of my jacket and dragged my face to just a few inches away from his own before he howled out, "Daniel, he nearly destroyed his own timeline and gambled with the future of Humanity just because 'Proper Human History' wasn't going his way! Just because he found an organization whose official goals are for the Awakening and subsequent uplifting of Humanity to work with does not mean that he is satisfied with this timeline's history and won't repeat his mistakes!"

Prometheus/Wodime cleared his throat, looked at Leon, and said, "You do realize that I'm here, right? If you really wanted to act on your suspicions, you wouldn't have publicly ranted about them where I can hear, so it is clear you want to make a point towards your brother so as to warn him of the consequences of associating with someone who courts the level of danger I do."

Leon glared at him and said, "Take care of my brother when mentoring him. If I hear that you hurt him in any way, I will make what you suffered in your original universe seem like a bed of roses in comparison."

Then something occurred to me, "Wait, Zelretch isn't a troll, despite his common fandom characterization - Why would he have transported your soul to this universe?"

My new mentor had the nerve to grin and say, his eyes looking away guiltily as he whistled a tune before saying, "...He didn't. In fact, he loudly objected to my soul going anywhere before Razi convinced him it was in the best interests of both our worlds. Porthos Fitz-Empress from the Old World of Darkness helped in the diplomacy as well…"

Welp, the stakes just got higher, maybe even too high for someone like me who hasn't had the chance to train and grow stronger yet. So as Leon let go of my jacket collar, I turned to Wodime (no longer calling him Prometheus unless he orders me to) and repeated the Mangled Margrave's question.

"Why did you go along with Ken's plan to bring our future selves or some form of them from a 'Temporal Iris' or some sort of mix between Changeling and Mage powers?" I already had a guess; was it accurate?

Wodime looked at us and said, "I wasn't. Nor am I here to solve your problems for you, despite what I said earlier. I can provide what help I can, but you three - Daniel, Leon, and Ken - have to learn not just to pull your own weight, but also how to take on enemies stronger than you in raw capability and win, just like the Master of Chaldea won against me back in my section of the Multiverse."

Ken looked at me and said, "Daniel, do not get flattered that we three all got compared to Ritsuka - Wait, Mr. Wodime, is the Master of Chaldea a male or female, and have you played Fate Grand Order as you got reincarnated into a world where it is fictional?"

In response, Wodime showed his smartphone and turned on the FGO app (the smartphone worked in The Hedge because my new mentor had ranks in Prime, Forces, Space, Spirit, and a whole bunch of other Arcana/Spheres that made him only somewhat less powerful than when he fought the Master of Chaldea/Rituska Fujimaru).

Apparently, he was playing the Master of Chaldea as a male, had named him RitsukaMaster, and had gotten to the part where his former self was killed (not by Ritsuka, but by one of his own friends and compatriots who betrayed him) and because he was playing in the North American Server, had gone no further unless he had an account in the Japanese Server too.

Then he looked at Leon and grinned a little, saying, "You didn't get past when I defeated the Master of Chaldea and his friends in Atlantis - Not the one in this universe, the one which may actually just be an invention by Magi reassuring themselves that no, the world was not always ruled by the Exarchs/Supernatural Concepts of Tyranny - but the cooler one with Mechanical Zeus and Super-Magitech, haven't you?"

My brother scowled and said, "No, I didn't, but you were pretty smug in that fight, so…"

The Mangled Margrave cleared his throat and said, "So, now that you three have been tasked to take on the Maker of Crowns with your own power, and not borrow from others' own, at least not without payment… What is your plan? What would you seek to buy from me to give yourselves a fighting chance?"

"I…" my mind had hit a wall, and from their expressions, Leon and Ken looked stuck in a rut as well, unable to think of an idea or a plan, although I did have a vague idea for a cloak of invisibility or some other way of sneaking into a True Fae's domain for the purposes of stealing from them.

Then I had a very basic idea. I pulled out my own smartphone and spoke, "And as FGO is actually a recording of things that happened in another universe, I can transfer my FGO account to you as, unlike the other True Fae, you seem to be acquainted with Human technology and its principles, including what is needed to use a smartphone."

The Mangled Margrave's face lit up with small glittering lights at that, which I knew were a sign of agreement. His next words as he grinned widely, showing copper teeth, were, "Perfect, perfect! This will do nicely! Now, which of my many marvels and wonders do you ask for?"

I nodded and asked, "I want a cloak of invisibility that can deceive even the 'Maker of Crowns'... As well as all the knowledge you have of that True Fae's capabilities."

The copper teeth turned into electrum - white gold - as our host's grin continued and he said, "Very well, once the smartphone is handed over and my FGO journey has begun in earnest, I will tell you all I know and give you the Cloak of the Fire-Thief; a relic that would fit your stated wish."

I nodded, then began deleting and transferring everything my smartphone had except for basic apps, the Microsoft Play Store, and my FGO game. The Mangled Margrave was nonplussed as he took the gadget and began playing, and we all waited for him to make progress with the game itself; he also alternated between that and watching cutscenes.

Leon whispered to me, "I cast a spell on myself to see what our host is doing; he's altering time so that what are hours for us here are only seconds outside of his lair. This means we can afford to wait."

Some hours of waiting later, the Mangled Margrave gave a loud whoop, before whirling around and saying to us, "Good news, my lovely folk! I am prepared to keep my end of the bargain - Not that I was capable of not doing so, anyway, as you so faithfully kept yours'. Now listen closely, as you have not read the relevant books during your former lives…"

------

Here's what the Mangled Margrave explained to us:

A True Fae is not a physical being, but rather a conceptual one made of a True Name and a Title (or multiple Titles, all Capital-T). The number of Titles a True Fae has indicates how much power they have; a True Fae with zero Titles and only a True Name is almost nothing, and a True Fae with five Titles is an incredibly powerful being even by the standards of its own kind, Godlike in its own domain.

Each Title manifests as either an Actor (a body, usually humanoid, used for direct action), a Prop (a magical object that is nigh-invulnerable to a specific weakness), a Realm (a miniature world within this other Arcadia, think a sapient location), and a Wisp (a swarm of minions; confusingly, the magical energies Princes/Princesses' use for their powers are also called Wisps).

The Maker of Crowns had two Actors, the King and the Goldsmith, a Realm, and two Props, an Anvil and a Hammer which churned out Conceptual Crowns; magical items which allowed one to magically usurp anyone who called themselves a King or Queen regardless of whether they were actually one or had any real power. That was what Ken needed to usurp the Queen of Tears and become the King of Cups, Cups being what Tears were before it became morally dubious.

Not just that, but the Maker of Crowns, like all True Fae and Changelings, was weak to Cold Iron, aka iron unworked by machinery and heat… As well as had the unique frailties of being weak to the common substances of fire and blood, as well as professions of attraction and romantic affection between people of the same gender (aka me and Ken), tears from a person thrown into desperate circumstances, and something which roused my suspicion a little later on… Parallel Universe Reincarnates (aka me, Leon, Ken, and Wodime himself).

We were also told the Maker of Crowns' True Name, which even if it was unpronounceable to Human ears, can still damage a True Fae if someone knew it and used a substitute name, image, or symbol which was close enough to represent the True Name.

As for the strengths of the Maker of Crowns, well, it's almost omnipotent in its realm, and anyone caught in their realm has to spend precious willpower to resist any arbitrary attempt to alter their shape, minds, and nature… Or just blink them away from existence; that was why the Invisibility Cloak I asked for was important.

But, this struck me as odd; nowhere did the Mangled Margrave mention that the Maker of Crowns kept Changelings as slaves…

Repentant_Dragos · Jan 28, 2023

Chapter Nine: Point of View Shift (Leon and Ken take the lead)

Author's Note: After talking with one of my readers, I've decided that I should include Leon and Ken in the 'Main PoV' Chapters instead of just Interludes, in order to prevent the story from being too centered around Daniel and above all to show that the latter is not infallible, nor is his perspective the only valid one.

Greetings, this is Leon Palaiologos, Daniel's twin brother. If you're wondering why I (and with my reluctant permission, Ken) are the main point of view right now, it's basically because The Hedge and Arcadia, our destinations, are places of narrative… And we used that to hijack the position of 'narrator', from him.

Don't get us wrong, we both cherish Daniel, but it was clear that the latter was getting a mite smug at being correct all the time and the arrogance from being factually correct is one hell of a drug. One that makes one reject the arrogant guy's factual correctness. As for why a position of 'narrator' exists?

We're not blind; most 'Self-Insert Iskeai' stories involve the protagonists having perfect memory of the franchise/canon/fandom they got inserted into even when they got reincarnated as babies (sometimes their memories return gradually, but stay perfect once they are regained except for one or two moments when it was convenient for the story, and even then they are too good to pass as normal human memory).

Conclusion: We received a few mental enhancements from the Demon Agency that used modified God-Machine parts to whisk our souls to this place and who are probably in correspondence with Zelretch, the Archmaster Razi from this setting, and that guy from Old World of Darkness (Porthos, that really ugly nerd). These enhancements, in turn, give us better memories and almost perfect recall of information; 'quality of life upgrades' that most Reincarnates take for granted… But not us.

One does not play with different major templates of Supernatural Beings, each with its own unique sets of mechanics, magical abilities, and extradimensional shenanigans, and not expect unintended consequences. Thankfully, I am on their side… If they are telling the truth about their claimed goals.

Now, where were we? Ah, yes; we were out of the Mangled Margrave's Lair, and good riddance, too; Charlatans can only be trusted when their reason for losing their Fae nature is falling in love with a Human and trying to understand Humans as a result. And the Mangled Margave is not that sort of Charlatan.

Ken had improved my mood (which had been sour toward him) when just before we went to the local Freehold, he went to me in private, apologized, and above all, offered information on the Mangled Margrave that Daniel could not be trusted with (yet).

First up, the Mangled Margrave did keep Changelings as slaves; merely three, but three was too many to merit any trust. Second, those three Changelings were in Ken's mothers' freehold and were the ones who told Ken about him in the first place. And Third, Ken clarified that in Changeling the Lost Second Edition, it was retconned that only some True Fae, the craziest and most depraved, were interested in abducting Humans to turn into Changelings that eventually become True Fae should they get powerful and crazy enough.

The fact that Ken was willing to risk his goals by bringing up the prospect that we were going to steal from an innocent target (as innocent as a True Fae can be) warmed my heart to the point where I can consider him a potential brother-in-law for the rest of our lives. That didn't change the fact that we both saw that Daniel, my brother, was getting puffed up with pride about being right every single time there was an argument between us three and that meant that even if he continued being correct, he was going to be insufferable.

So as the Mangled Margrave confirmed our suspicions, I asked Erisse if she'd teach me how to prepare a contingency just in case everything went wrong. Note, I said teach - Mr. Wodime was right that we can't rely on other people to do everything for us!

What was said contingency? Well, remember how my Magic focused on Fate, Time, and a little Death? That means that with enough aptitude in the Time Arcana/Sphere, I can literally rewind time up to one or two hours ago safely and do even more if I risk Paradox and letting in pieces of Anti-Reality which can screw me and those I care about more.

A difference between me and my brother (and obviously Ken) is that I am open to that possibility if it means saving them, which is alarming as the Queen of Tears became the Queen of Tears (instead of the Queen of Cups) because she was willing to do immoral acts for the safety of her people. But a corresponding similarity is that we are willing to countenance immoral acts only if we've looked for a moral solution first; hard decisions must be made for those who've looked hard enough for other solutions first.

"We've reached the end of the Equinox Road to Arcadia," Ken interrupted my internal exposition, internal exposition that clearly had a purpose; the ones behind our self-insertion clearly wanted someone to read this internal narration - A Capital-M Mystery I plan to pursue if I don't get obsessed with something else first.

"I said, we've reached the end of the Equinox Road to Arcadia," Ken spoke a second time even as Daniel blinked at me, realizing that I had blanked out as he sometimes did.

My twin nodded in acknowledgment, accepting the change of point of view, then we gazed out at Arcadia, the homeland of the True Fae…

-------

I, Ken Illustrious Ikari, have arrived at the moment of action - Here is where I win a Crown, the Crown which will allow me to grant the Queen of Tears the peace she deserves, turn me into the King of Cups, and redeem the City of Alhambra so that it no longer siphons hope from the world.

I owe it to my mothers and my birth mother. I owe it to myself, too. And so as Daniel handed me the Cloak of the Fire Thief, a large sheet of silken cloth that shimmered like a light peach sunset, I said to my boyfriend, "I'm glad that you're doing this with me."

Then as we, Prometheus/Wodime, and Erisse looked over Arcadia's landscape (currently rolling hills and grass with nary a tree), I kissed Daniel full on the mouth, knowing that it could be our last time. And as he kissed me back while Leon and the others looked away, he said, "I'm happy too. Also, I noticed that the cloak is big enough for only three teenagers; it seems that the Mangled Margave is with Wo - Prometheus on this."

I looked at my boyfriend's chosen mentor, the Reincarnate from FGO, and bowed deeply, before saying as the three of us vanished under the cloak, "Thank you. For everything."

Then it was off to the realm of the Maker of Crowns.

Arcadia was a place where even time was subject to narrative convenience, so it only took long enough for us to feel a little tired before we reached The Halls of Coronation, a vast maze of arched tunnels, well-lit by bright torches which gave off little to no heat, with locked side doors which I instinctively knew contained 'Conceptual Crowns' that can transfer mundane and supernatural beings' powers to the wearer as long as the target called themselves a King or Queen (thankfully, Princes and Princesses are exempted).

My eyes flickered from blue to orange as I used my own extrasensory abilities to try and find out where the Crown I sought was through the now-transparent cloak. Reflected Light, I thought to myself as I invoked the Charm (Princesses/Princes call their specific powers 'Charms' like Exalted from that other White Wolf game line does), allowing me to see supernatural phenomena as Mages can.

The Crown I sought was deeper inside the Halls, near the center of the Labyrinth where the Conceptual Crowns were forged by The Smith as The King, the primary Actor used by the Maker of Crowns, moved on. There, I would find out if the Maker had Changelings in his 'forced employment'.

"Leon," Daniel said, "I don't see anyone alive except the Halls themselves and two beings who are merely the 'Actors' the True Fae uses as its 'extensions'. Wait, four beings, including the capital-p Props, used to forge the Concept Crowns."

I dropped the bombshell as we entered the forge room, where the heavy bronze-skinned, brass-haired figure wearing an apron made of draconic leather was crafting the latest in a pile of bright golden crowns, "There was always a chance that the Maker of Crowns isn't actually in the 'abducting humans' business; I had to make sure before abandoning the quest for a Conceptual Crown, though, because the Mangled Margrave has ways of betraying us without having to lie."

My boyfriend caught on, "If the Maker had abducted Changelings, the plan could have continued on as intended. But now that it does not seem as though anyone has been kidnapped yet, we're not going through with the plan, right?"

I nodded and said, "Definitely not. And we will have words with the Mangled Margrave -"

The King, a figure of stainless steel and gold who wore clothes of platinum cloth and had a spiked crown of white stone and onyx gems as he sat on his tall basalt throne, turned at us with glowing eyes, even as the Cloak of the Fire Thief suddenly shattered into motes of light.

"Leon, now!" I shouted.

With an uttered word and gesture, Leon rewound time back to the last hour, only for us to find ourselves still in the corridors of the Maker of Crown's living labyrinth.

We felt it, the Realm radiating the Fae within's feelings at us. Thoughts of outrage, amusement, then intense, obsessive interest. It planned to keep us captive, then 'acquire' more people for the further expansion of its forges.

And at the back of my head, I could hear the Mangled Margrave laughing as the Maker of Crowns was woken up to the delights of 'involving' itself with the Mortal world…

Repentant_Dragos · Feb 21, 2023

Chapter Ten: The Bite of Failure and a Sudden Rescue (Leon and Ken's PoV)

It's me, Leon Palaiologos; the point of view has shifted again, it seems.

The Time Travel/Reset Magic I and Ken set our hopes on had failed us, and if not for the fact that our very existence was a capital-b Bane to the Maker of Crowns, we'd have died or worse.

As it is, we were in Arcadia, inside a True Fae's body that was also its home, and we had to will ourselves not to die, as the Maker of Crowns was constantly using the reality-warping powers it had in Arcadia to, well, try and get rid of us.

My brother, Daniel, had launched a counterattack, weaving a spell strengthened by speaking aloud the True Name of the Maker of Crowns, striking it with winds made up of pure Mana itself. His quick thinking bought time for me to chant a spell that slowed down my personal time so that I can have more room to gather my thoughts.

We had a decent chance to win due to the Mangled Margrave (damn him) stacking the deck in our favor by revealing the enemy's True Name and the fact that our own nature as Multiversal Reincarnates was personally anathema to him. Question was, can we do so?

<Miscreants, sent by the Purveyor of Discovery, now the Mangled Margrave, you have piqued my desires; lit a fire in me.> The True Fae's thoughts were projected directly into their minds, even as Ken shouted the Maker of Crowns' True Name once more, throwing a fireball at one of the walls and blowing it apart, only for the stonework to begin melding itself.

A True Fae cannot be defeated easily, not by damaging only one of its Titles, aka the Realm it used to forge new 'Conceptual Crowns'. We're going to have to -

"Charge!" my brother said, "Seek out The King and The Smith, the Hammer, and the Forge! Then the Maker of Crowns will perish!"

I couldn't help but 'tch' at Daniel's presumption, even as I instinctively followed; his suggestions were based on good advice, after all.

<My domain is my self!> the Maker of Crowns' words echoed in our minds as we felt ourselves grow heavier, each step slower; this was not an illusion - The True Fae controlled our surroundings as though it were his personal dreamscape. We swam through an invisible sea, our vision growing blurry as we spent valuable willpower to try and prevent the effect from warping our bodies.

"Daniel!" Ken shouted as his hazy arm grabbed my brother; this was enough to count as a gesture of affection between two members of the same sex - One of the Maker of Crown's Capital-B Banes. The two then drew each other into a kiss, which caused the labyrinth to shake as the True Fae's very being was damaged.

Running into the central forge, the three of us cast spells once more, with Daniel shouting, "Burn!" once more to cause the flames of the forge to leap onto The Smith, causing him to run around howling incoherently as the fire he had used melted his metallic skin.

I wove webs of gestures with my hands, mimicking the performers and magicians I saw as I shouted, "Fate and Time are as clay molded by my fingers; coincidence becomes reality!"

A feeling of icy cold sliced through the back of my head, followed up by a sense of nausea as everything seemed… Wrong somehow. I had tested my magical strength one too many times; tempted fate and thrown aside wisdom.

Or to put it less poetically, I had invoked Paradox, which in this world was from the Anti-Reality called the Abyss. This was a very bad thing because it means that my Magic is going to be tainted if I don't contain it within my soul; this paradoxically (no, I am not going to quip) damages my body with wounds Magic cannot heal.

I made my decision; I decided to release the localized Paradox onto the surrounding area, hoping against hope the corrupted spell would harm the True Fae more than it'd hurt anyone else.

Daniel looked at me in shock - I wondered why until I saw that he and Ken had been frozen in place, their personal time paused as The King and The Smith laughed in unison.

<What a price to pay for hubris!> their collective voice echoed in my head. <Now we truly will have a menagerie of captives!>

As I faced my own shock, I felt tears well up in my eyes and drip down to the ground; another Bane of this monster. I allowed them to flow, and with each drop, I sobbed causing the floor below to smoke. I cried and cried, the narrative nature of Arcadia itself boosting the flow of tears until The King gestured, and I was unable to stop my tear ducts from drying up of their own volition.

<Boy,> the True Fae's avatar, its Actor, spoke as its eyes looked at me with undisguised malice, <You can keep your 'Awakened' nature even in this place; I won't warp you into a Changeling if you but bow down to me and pledge your eternal service in the endless struggles of Arcadia.>

My brother and his boyfriend were not mentioned in his proposal; that made it a non-starter. I shook my head, and it was not him who answered, but a very familiar voice from out of nowhere.

"It seems you three truly need me," echoed the voice of one 'Langa Nikiforov', Prince of Tears and Dark Magical Boy extraordinaire.

Six portals of darkness opened all around us, and from five of them, a Ghost Princess held back from their 'Template's' cycle of reincarnation floated through. 'Langa Nikiforov' skated through the sixth, tapping Ken and Daniel with a Spell-Shattering Palm to break them out of the time freeze I mistakenly put them in.

"For the Glory of the City of Alhambra!" he shouted, as the five Ghost Princesses charged The King and The Smith, drawing spectral weapons that nevertheless shone with The Light, the force which empowered Magical Girls/Boys.

I looked him in the eyes as I walked toward him, saying, "You came in the nick of time; let me guess, you wanted to stop Ken from usurping your Queen, right?"

"The Queen of Tears will brook no successor who cannot bear the burdens she has placed on herself, the misery and suffering she has visited on the Rebellious Provinces to protect the last true remnant of the Kingdom, Alhambra," Langa explained to us, "Those who would claim her throne, her status as guide, judge, and ruler must be made of sterner stuff than what you showed."

He then looked at Ken and said, "But your idea was sound, your plan, beautiful. I should know, as I helped you think of it."

A whisper blew in our ears; I remembered a name.

"Alex," I uttered as the sounds of battle receded into the background. "You're Alex."

------

I remember now. I, Ken illustrious Ikari, remembered the trip to Bangor, Maine, to meet another 'Reincarnate' under the shadow of the maple leaves. Alex had been reincarnated as an orphan, an innocent left behind just like I was, and adopted by an orphanage ran as a front for Alhambra's 'enclave' in the city.

If this plan is to succeed, you must forget that I am a friend, Alex had told me. We must treat each other as enemies, and should you meet Dan-dan and Lenny, they must do so as well. You cannot be allowed to remember until it is time and the Conceptual Crown is within reach. Open your mind to my mind-wiping Charm; trust me to help keep this a secret.

It seemed that Alex, now in their 'Langa Nikiforov' form, had kept their word.

"The Maker of Crowns will have to be destroyed; Titles and True Name both," Alex was saying, their voice interrupting my musings. "They cannot be allowed to prey on normal humans; thankfully, the Queen of Tears isn't all hypocrisy in saying that we do what is needed even when it makes people morally uncomfortable."

I sighed and said, "But this True Fae wouldn't be a threat if not for my actions; I bear the responsibility for making him a danger."

Alex's reply was curt, "Then destroy him and take the Conceptual Crown. That's the plan, right?"

Nodding at that, I gathered my power, concentrating Wisps - What we call the gathered energy of the Light - as The King and The Smith blasted two Ghost Princesses back into their portals before looking at where I was, their eyes opened with shock as I was wreathed in a pure white fire that, with a whisper, expanded outwards, gaining the power to harm the Maker of Crowns as I uttered its True Name one more time.

I Am Become Light, I thought to myself, That's the name of this Charm, and the boost Princes and Princesses got in this world has made this much more powerful than the homebrew's creators back on Earth intended.

As The King and The Smith and the Hammer and Anvil they carried burned along with the Maker of Crowns' living realm, I ignored my increasing exhaustion to pick up a platinum crown with purple gems; the embodiment of the Queen of Tears' royalty.

The remaining Ghost Princesses howled at me; they clearly were not aware of Alex's and my plan. Too late; I put the crown on, and my world forever changed.

Repentant_Dragos · Mar 14, 2023

Chapter Eleven: Alhambra

I'm back! And by that, this is Daniel again, monologuing in my head about what the heck is going on now.

After Ken put on the Conceptual Crown we fought so hard to get for him, he was engulfed in a gigantic column of golden light, and I could see the otherwise-invisible rivers of metaphysical energies that flowed to join the gleaming pillar.

"Alhambra is quaking," Alex said as they walked over to us while Leon, now joined by a miraculously-arrived Prometheus/Wodime and Erisse, was engaged in a standoff with the Ghost Princesses who were moaning about how Alex had betrayed them and the Queen of Tears, soon to lose her position.

But Alex seemed nonplussed as they continued, "Soon, the Queen's burden, the burden of sin she took on to protect her people, will be taken away from her, and she can die in peace. It was her belief that there was no alternative, a belief she clung to because she would have been fully corrupted if she found out that there might have been one and she merely didn't see or try it. And indeed… There wasn't one - I speak from the past tense for a reason."

I caught on and said, "So there is one now, a solution she cannot use but Ken can?"

Alex smiled and said, "Yes, oh so very much yes. But now, we must go to Alhambra itself to see it at work."

And with a gesture, they opened up a gate of purple shadows, then gestured all of us in, including Prometheus/Wodime and Erisse.

As the last wreckage of the Maker of Crowns' domain fell apart in white fire, I walked to what would hopefully be the last leg of our adventure - Even I have had enough trouble for one day.

-------

Alhambra, the last remnant of The Kingdom, was a city of paper walls, narrow streets, and lamps lit with stolen hope, of streets where the smallest instance of darkness was feared. Protected yet choked by the Queen of Tears in her determination to protect her people, sending agents to Earth's cities to create and sustain 'enclaves' dedicated to sucking up light and hope to send back to the lamps keeping Alhambra lit in the very midst of the Dark World - A realm filled with the corruption of Humanity turned into the blackest magic.

And now Ken was taking over.

We had directly emerged from the portal to the Grand Palace of the Queen of Tears, where flashes of purple and golden light can be seen from the Throne Room as the Queen cried out in anger and grief, shouting, "You believe you can take on this burden?! Protect my people better than I have for the past millennia?! I can't believe it! I refuse to believe it!"

Ken's voice was calm, confident, and reassuring as he said, "All burdens must come to an end, including yours'. What you did may have been necessary in the past, but now, you can rest - There's a reason I am taking the crown, so you can sleep."

A tearful howl sounded, one that shook the city's columns to the core, "My people cannot leave this city, cannot leave the Dark World, not when the Rebellious Provinces hate us and everywhere else is even less safe - Tell me how?!"

Ken was unshaken by this outburst; similar ones had wrenched away dedicated followers of other Queens/Spiritual Guides into defecting to her allegiance, but he, who was already in the process of usurping her power, plus had a plan, only continued to reassure the Queen, continuing to be calm, "There was no other place for Alhambra to be other than the Dark World for millennia, but now, a new one has been prepared over years and decades, one where those who hate it cannot reach easily and where the Darkness' hold is loose."

We entered the Throne Room then, finding the Queen of Tears in full dark purple armor, wearing a heavy crown of silver and amethyst, and her smooth white cheeks stained by black tears (hence her name) once more. Her hair was long and flowing, reflecting the bright light of the lamps that flanked the chamber.

Even there, however, narrow windows opened outward to the dark depths englobing Alhambra, barely kept out by the city's lights and stolen hope.

And before the Queen could say anything more, the view from the windows changed for the first time since recorded human history.

Where once there was pure darkness there were now stars uncountable. Where the earth below had been in danger of falling apart because of the capital-d Darkness eating away at it, there was now firmer ground that glistened with the light of the stars and the Sun - Our Sun.

The Queen of Tears was shocked, her tears slowing down as her mouth gaped wide. She was tempted to ask what had just happened, but I knew that even now, she was of superhuman intelligence and capability and was able to deduce it.

"An asteroid. Not one in the Asteroid Belt, but one close to Earth and orbiting it just like the Moon. Magic keeps gravity here the same as on Earth; the air likewise. But how? Not even 'Supernal Magic'," she glanced at me and the other Mages in the room, can 'connect' to objects outside Earth orbit, especially not something so obscure as this celestial body…"

Ken answered warmly, "Supernal Magic cannot do it alone, but when combined with Princess Magic, the power of the Light, as well as the Embeds and Exploits of the Demons, the Gifts of Werewolves, and other forms of supernatural power, its limitations are overcome. Such a combination has only been possible in the last few decades, but during those decades, a new way was forming - Now, you can rest."

"I…" the Queen of Tears wavered between rejection and hope, but one look at the stars and she said, "King of Cups, I yield Alhambra to you. At long last, the heavy crown is no longer mine."

And she collapsed, falling apart into motes of light.

The Ghost Princesses who had earlier condemned us now circled around Ken, who glowed brighter, sparks of electricity flashing all around him like an aura. Their expressions were wrathful, then resigned, but then, they were joyful.

Alhambra was no longer in the Dark World. It was now lit by the sun and the stars. The people within no longer had to send people to Earth to steal light and hope. At long last, their nightmare was over.

I looked at my boyfriend with my 'Mage Sight', not recognizing the energies now scintillating from him. Despite him not having access to 'Supernal Magic', as the King of Cups, he dwarfed me in power just as an ocean dwarfed an island - But he still loved me, just as I still loved him.

"Ken," I said as I realized a sharp, sad, truth, "Is this goodbye? After all, you're going to be busy ruling - No, guiding - Alhambra and casting aside the habits of the past that you're not going to have much time for the Academy -"

Alex coughed as they said, "Ahem. Why do you think I chose this complicated plan involving messing around with Ken's memories as my way of saving Alhambra, if not to have time and space for a few side plans that allowed me to give him time to enjoy his childhood?"

They smiled, "And by that, I'm serving as his Regent in Alhambra as I think I'm unwelcome in your Academy anyway. Guess you'll just have to delay your plans to seduce me, right, Leon?"

Leon chuckled at that, walked over to Alex, and took their hands in his own before saying, "If you grant me a pass to enter Alhambra whenever I want, I can help you with your work. Now that I know who you really are, I'm not letting you go - As I love you."

"Kiss me, then," Alex dared him to, and Leon did so, smooching them full in the face as I turned away because, well, he was my brother and who wants to see close relatives kissing?

Prometheus/Wodime cleared his throat behind me, then said, "So, when are we going back home? I would like to bring you and your brother back home before your parents hunt me down and flay my hide for putting you in danger. Not that I don't want to explore the wonders of Alhambra now that there's been a regime change, but that would be irresponsible of me, right?"

Erisse, meanwhile, said, "I don't have as good a sense of meta-narrative as an actual Changeling, but I can literally feel this story arc coming to an end and a new set of destinies waiting to be born. Alex, can you open a portal back to Ken's house?"

"Sure," Alex said, "But let me hand Leon his pass first."

They then handed Leon one of those fancy metal Imperial Chinese passes with a fancy tassel passing through a ring and said, "This allows you to access New Alhambra from any dimly lit but not totally dark place. Use it well."

"I love you," my brother said again in an uncharacteristically sweet tone as he kissed them again. And as a new portal opened to dump us back to the building where Ken lived, I was finally ready to eat, have a warm shower, then maybe sleep over with Ken now that Alex will serve as his regent and allow us time to bond.

We'll probably hug each other when we have nightmares over this; it was inevitable that this would affect our dreams…

Repentant_Dragos · Jul 24, 2023

Interlude Two: Our Dear Crossover Character

Note: Avoid this Chapter if you do not know what Fate/Grand Order and the Nasuverse are.

There is a saying: Be careful what you wish for.

The Clock Tower's Magi, on average, are less powerful than the Magi of the Pentacle Orders and their enemies, the Seers of the Throne - Awakened Magi in the Chronicles of Darkness can cast the equivalent of True Magic in their sleep, playing with timelines in ways that CHALDEA can never conceive of, as the rules of the 'Nasuverse' did not permit it.

More importantly, they can resurrect the dead if they are good enough; move souls around between universes - No, sections of one big Multiverse - and then resurrect them, and the most important part of the sales pitch I was given when I was reincarnated was that they were actually invested in the fate of Humanity and many of them want the best possible future for it.

It was only later that I found out that it was only because not only was there no Counter Force protecting Humanity, but the grand majority of Supernatural Forces were hostile to it in some form; there's no grand destiny for Humanity unlike in the Nasuverse, flawed as it was.

And now I am stuck in the Chronicles of Darkness, as 'Prometheus' instead of Kirschtachia Wodime, trapped by my own hubris and the deception of others.

I am more powerful than I ever was as an ordinary Magus in my universe. I have the potential to be even more powerful, enough to exceed the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower from my own universe, by pursuing the Awakened, Supernal Magic that exists in the Chronicles of Darkness world. But the price is to be part of a society where even the 'good guys' engage in active immorality and boast about it because 'we are at war'.

In the Nasuverse, the truth is already revealed; Magecraft is dying and it is a race to reach 'The Root' before Science reveals all mysteries then brings Mankind into a golden future several centuries from now. My crime was to be impatient to end all Human suffering and blame Humanity's current nature for it, prompting me to turn all Humans into Gods through Alternate Timeline shenanigans.

For this, I was punished by being forced to see the answer to this question: What if more people thought like I did?

I am currently in my home in Infinity City, one of the lightest spots in the Chronicles of Darkness. In my Sanctum - The Awakened equivalent to a Magus' Workshop - I sat beside the sunlit window, reading a book on a Victorian chair with carved flower patterns on the wood around its velvet upholstery. But not even the comforts of home can distract me from how I am stuck in a society where the restraints on one's conduct are such that casually killing each other, in relative openness, is winked and nodded at and casual manipulation of Nonmagi - Sleepers in their parlance - to the point where their politics, their lives, and their relationships can be preyed on without consequences, all in the name of Mass Awakening (both accomplishing and preventing it), is encouraged.

I want to go home; my real home in the Nasuverse, in the Clock Tower, where assassination attempts were at least clean and the methods did not involve forces anathema to Humanity or casually involving masses of civilians.

But if I leave this universe behind, if I give up on it and Humanity a second time, I will be repeating the crime that ended in my death, the sin that made my reincarnation into this living hell possible.

Do you want to know what I am talking about? Play Fate Grand Order, which is a work of fiction here, and let me tell you that the people in this world, these Chronicles of Darkness, have suffered and inflicted more pain than the people in the Nasuverse, where people like Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magus Killer who himself planned to use Magic to ensure a utopia, were supposed to be a rarity, not depressingly common as it is in this universe.

A knock at the door and I casually open it with telekinesis; the safeguards against using Magic casually are much lighter here than in my home universe.

As I anticipated, it was Erisse who entered, bringing with her Daniel, my new apprentice. His choice to join the Order of the Silver Ladder was due to my explaining their ideals and debunking their stereotypes about them, and I am grateful to have someone to share my burden with, even if it was with someone reincarnated from a world where both the Chronicles of Darkness and the Nasuverse were works of fiction subject to heated debate by so-called fans who flamed each other for the most nonsensical of reasons.

Never mind the would-be critics who pointed out plot holes both real and fake and used them to say that the story/lore/characters as a whole were bad. Whether they were correct did not matter - What mattered was that with all due respect to Daniel, he might still see me as a fictional character and not a person and I didn't know what to feel about that -

"Well, I'll be dropping off DanDan here," Erisse was saying now. "Don't get too lost in your thoughts now like he does sometimes."

"Don't worry, I won't," I said back. "I forgot both of us have 'Insert Privileges' for a moment there."

I then waved goodbye and then gently gestured Daniel to come inside before closing the door to my home, a concrete townhouse with a roof of red brick that through careful application of Space and Spirit Magic, was much larger inside than it was outside.

As I sat back in my chair and gestured to Daniel to sit on a smaller one on the other side of a round red rug and a small glass table, I asked him, "A question before we get to improving your prowess in Prime and Forces - How old do you see yourself as? You were an adult, no older than 30 when you died from the pandemic in the 'Real World', but your physical body is that of a teenager; just slightly younger than the Master of CHALDEA when he took me on."

Daniel answered, "Hmm… I actually don't know. All I know is that I don't date anyone younger than my mental age or older than my physical age; too many legal and ethical problems that way. Why, do you want to treat me as an adult?"

I was honest when I said, "I do. Daniel Palaiologos, born to descendants of the actual Palaiologos Family in this universe instead of just impostors, you might just save this world; no, you and your group might have the potential to save multiple worlds, though none of them would be the Nasuverse, as it is pre-saved; Humanity there will eventually ascend beyond Magecraft, Science, and True Magic, something I failed to appreciate in my previous life."

Some bitterness attached itself to my voice as I said to Daniel, "If you know the differences between the Chronicles of Darkness and the Nasuverse beyond a surface look, you should know by now that I am stuck in a hell of my own making. So as an Insert whose group has built on the achievements of multiple Reincarnates to accomplish a permanent shift in the status quo so early, I want to talk to you as an adult to another adult - Help me return home in exchange for me enabling you to be as powerful as you can be."

My apprentice's features shifted a little, looking at me directly, lacking the energy and enthusiasm that had driven him before. He wasn't eager, but why?

He gave his answer as he said, "As your apprentice, I'll prepare some tea and sandwiches - Direct me to the pantry. But for now, I'll be blunt; bringing you back to your section of the Multiverse will require me to be the Hieromagus, a Mage more powerful than even the hundreds who had reached Archmastery. Now let's discuss the path to that over tea, shall we?"

------

Tea, sandwiches, and a few slices of strawberry shortcake had been prepared, and I, Kirschtachia Wodime, was busily discussing with Daniel Palaiologos, my new apprentice, the cosmological differences between our sections of the Multiverse.

"In the Chronicles of Darkness," Daniel said, "Archmastery is a level where you can casually do what Goetia in Fate/Grand Order needed the death of all Humanity to accomplish - The creation of a new Multiverse. There are hundreds of Magi with that level of power who are not able to use it due to the fear they may accidentally rewrite this universe and erase something they care about or because they can negate each others' changes in a twisted version of Mutually Assured Destruction."

His eyes glinted with the reflected light from the window, where the sun had risen to its late morning, as he continued, "Kirsch, not only is the Hieromagus supposed to be even more powerful than that, where he, she, or they, can casually unmake concepts and reduce them to mere theories, but the concept is from the First Edition of Mage the Awakening, meaning that there may be no Heiromagus, not even as a hypothetical."

Why was that sort of power needed? I already knew, so I answered.

"In the Nasuverse, Humanity produces the Counter Force, aka Alaya, which protects the Human Order, aka its existence in the past, present, and future," I remembered not just my lessons, but my research on Kinoko Nasu himself and my reading of his works. "Humanity is predestined to reach the stars, become beings that transcend both Magic and Science and create the 'Age of Will', where they become like this universe's Archmasters, but less prone to infighting and negating each others' actions."

Daniel chuckled and spoke, "So, basically, like your plan to turn Humanity into miniature Gods, only it would have happened naturally, without you hurrying it. Honestly, the greatest villains in the Nasuverse - The ones who are Magi - seem to do what they do because they want to save Humanity while screwing over people. Quite unlike the villains in the Chronicles of Darkness, many of whom have contempt for Humanity and want to enjoy being depraved assholes."

He sighed and added, his tone that of the adult he mentally was, "And by that, your actions in your home world were villainous, but you don't deserve to be stuck here because of that. The problem is, due to your being reincarnated into the Chronicles, and using Magic from there, the Counter Force might reject you - It won't count you as Human or part of the Human Order unless convinced otherwise or brute-forced."

I nodded and said, "And it's going to be harder than the 'Ordeal Call' facing CHALDEA in the current story arc in Fate/Grand Order; the one translated from the Japanese server."

Daniel gave his own nod and spoke, "Yes, Kirschtacia Wodime, very much harder. So yes, I need to be the Hieromagus, if such a being can exist, to bring you back to the Nasuverse, much less clear up the legal and social ruckus that you having been dead for real will cause."

Then he grinned and continued, "Your turn to suspect me of something now, considering how if I become the Heiromagus, there will be no way to keep me accountable, right?"

Shaking my head, I answered, "Actually, no on both counts; I already have a way to make sure you uphold your end of the bargain even if you attain near-omnipotence."

And the young man knew I was speaking the truth; he knew me well enough to know that I was famous for only sticking to plans that I believed were possible to accomplish. It's just that, just like my earlier plan of making Humanity divine, I believed it was perfectly possible to bring down Daniel Palaiologos even if he attained the power of the Heiromagus.

After all, just because the Nasuverse shared space with the Chronicles of Darkness and the Old World of Darkness didn't mean that all three sections of the Multiverse had a monopoly on knowledge and power.

And just to remind him of that, I dropped a metaphorical bombshell, "Calvin and Hobbes, the famous comic strip? It's real. Bill Watterson himself met the reincarnation of Calvin in this universe when that Reincarnate became Governor of Ohio…"

Mixed Family (SFW, SI, Slash) - A Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness 2e Crossover Story.

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