I told Aeterna everything that had happened, to which he reacted with a face of stone.
"I see," was all he said at first. Then he sat there in thought for a great deal of time. "Traveler," he addressed. "Those people you first met are in fact the old order of nobles of this kingdom, as you suspect, however, I am not mistreating them in any way, they get the same thing as everyone else, nothing. I don't give my people anything, I teach them things so that they can do it without me. They simply refuse to learn, so their homes and their whole section of town has fallen into disrepair. They think I hate them, but forget that I still defend their end of town against any and all threats."
As he finished speaking, a woman walked out of the crowd and over to Aeterna. She was beautiful. She had long, silky hair the color of charcoal, her skin was whiter than Aeterna's, like ashes. Her eyes however, were the same as his. Her dress seemed to be made of smoke, with wisps rolling off and fading away.
"Lady Hestia," one of the townsfolk said, and then all of them kneeled.
She turned to look at them and smiled warmly. She appeared to be close in age to Aeterna, but her eyes held more knowledge than would've been possible for someone that age.
"Aeterna," she said gently, turning back to him. "You can't please everyone at once. The nobles reveled in the poverty of the common folk. And though it is my dream to have both parties live in peace, I understand that that is an unrealistic dream."
Her voice was very calming. It made me feel warm inside. I don't know how to explain it any other way.
"I know that," he said. "I'm more concerned about those in the cloaks." He held his chain. "Are they hired by the nobles? Or the nobles themselves? Or someone completely different? The probability of that is fairly low, however I should keep it in mind nonetheless."
At this point he was talking to himself. He kept muttering about probabilities while Hestia turned and looked at me.
"Where did you come from young man?" She asked. "From one of the kingdoms? Or from some far off land?"
"From another world," I stated bluntly.
This time, even Aeterna reacted. It was a face of surprise with eyebrows raised.
"I beg your pardon?" One of the townsfolk asked.
"Another world," I repeated. "Surely you all know of the Rift?"
They all shook their heads.
"I see," I said with a sigh. "We'll I can't very well leave you with that." I lifted my hand and the ground formed a seat. I sat down and began explaining the Rift.
"The first thing you need to understand is that this world is not the only one. Beyond the boundaries of this reality, there lies an endless white expanse called the Rift. Wherein all other realities are housed. An endless number of alternate realities. Some of them are very different from this one. Others are not so different. I have heard some say that the Rift is one of the biggest contradictions in all creation as it is where everything exists, and yet within it, there is nothing that exists.
"They say that the Rift has always been there, but that there is an original dimension - an original reality - that all others stem from. Think of it as a tree, it starts out as just one, a root and a sprig. But as it grows, more and more offshoots - branches - spring into being. These realities are not too different from the original world, but they are different, and the smallest thing can change the outcome of that reality altogether. It is for this reason that there are so many branches and we call a cluster of related universes a multiverse, represented by the tree.
"But then one day, the tree - original multiverse - drops a seed, or seeds. The original tree continues to grow, and now, so do all of the others. And you have a forest of multiverses. This is the Rift. A coalition of multiverses. Every last one of them."
The people hung on my words.
"Unfortunately, not many people are aware of such a thing existing," I finished.
"Fascinating," Aeterna said. I was surprised about he was just accepting it. "I wonder if there is a caretaker of this forest you speak of."
"I don't think there is a forest," I said. "I just used it as an analogy."
He wasn't listening.
"Even if there was, such a forest hardly needs a caretaker."
"There will always be those who try to corrupt others, and it is for that reason that I am sure that there is a caretaker," he told me. "Even if it's God Himself."
-
Three months. That's how long I was in the Kingdom of the Eternal Flame. I learned much about their kingdom, and I taught them much about the Rift and the nature of other realities. Not once did we have an issue with the cloaks.
"Time is relative," I explained to the people. "What you experience as a year, another world may experience as but a moment, or perhaps an eon. If the denizen of a world with a slower flow of time were to move to a world with a faster flow, then he would experience the time of that world as if it were his own, however he will age at the rate of his own. Meaning he would live significantly longer in the second world's terms."
Many of them looked slightly confused.
I smiled and chuckled. "Maybe that's a little much."
"What about the order of authority in the Rift?" Aeterna asked. "Surely there are others like you who are strong enough to move from one world to another? Surely that became a problem of territory?"
"I don't know about that," I admitted. "There have been five Ages of the Rift. The first Age - the Age of Origin - was when the Rift first became populated with other realities. The Second Age - the Age of Struggle - is when the first Great Riftal War took place. The Third Age - the Age of Authority - is when the Thirteen Inter-Dimensional Capitals were established. At the same time Lord Rust established Sonatum as an independent city. The Fourth Age - the Age of Supremacy - is when the Second Great Riftal War erupted. I fought in that war. It was atrocious. After the Second War, Sonatum stood atop the rubble and Lord Rust established it as the High Capital. All other Capitals answer to Sonatum and its king, Lord Rust. Thus, he was dubbed King of the Rift. The Fifth Age is the age we are in now. It hasn't been named yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was named after the current tension among the Thirteen Capitals. Here soon, we may have a Third Great Riftal War."
Aeterna stroked his chin. "Yes, that is all interesting information, however it didn't completely answer my question."
I sighed. "Yes. There is an order of authority," I began. "At the lowest part of the overall Riftal Authority we have the Thirteen Kings. They rule over the thirteen Capitals. Next we have the Tribunal, they actually carry quite a bit of authority but next to some of the others in such a list, they are insignificant. Above them is the Thirteen Inter-Dimensional Lords, each ruling over a district controlled by a Capital. Above them is the Aspects, though no one really knows much about them. After them is the Caelian Council, the members of which are determined almost exclusively by power. After them is Lord Rust, King of the Rift. And finally the Top Seven. So named because they are literally the seven most powerful known individuals in the Rift."
"Who is the group made up of?" Aeterna asked.
"To be completely honest, I'm not sure," I admitted. "I don't think Lord Rust is on it. Maybe one of the Caeli is in it but I'm not very close with them."
"What religion does the rest of the Rift follow?" Hestia asked.
"There really isn't a set religion across the whole Rift," I explained. "The Thirteen Capitals are mostly Protestant though."
"Why do you think that is?" She asked me.
Her tone was off. It felt like she was fishing for something. I didn't care for it.
"Very few people in this Rift are born with a power of any real consequence," I told her. "Sure, while the unfaithful may be given a power in order for them to protect the little guy, the most powerful people are Christians who know and understand and accept that there is a being so far beyond their own comprehension, and they strive to deepen their connection with that being."
"Is that how you became immortal?" A little boy asked from the crowd.
I smiled. "Yes. My immortality was a gift from God. I received it on the same day I received my Calling."
"So a majority of the most powerful people are also devoted Christians?" Aeterna confirmed.
"Yes."
"I wonder why."
"Quite simple," I told him. "One's power, especially if it is gifted directly from God later in life rather than when you born, grows in tandem with your connection to God. Your faith, if unwavering, means that your power is unyielding. However, the reverse is also true. The moment your faith is shaken, you power loses its edge. And the main cause of wavering faith is imminent death or life-threatening situations. Those incredibly strong people usually have come to terms with the fact that if it is their time, there is nothing they can do about it."
"Fascinating," Aeterna muttered. "You've been with us three months and I still have so many questions."
I stood up. "Indeed, but that is to be expected. There is much to learn about the Rift, and it is almost impossible to learn all of it, especially for someone who has not grown up inside of it, and doubly in three months."
I started to walk away, I had patrols to do.
Over the course of the past three months, I had been teaching anyone who was willing to learn alongside Aeterna and Hestia about the Rift, but I had also been searching for the brown cloaks that had attacked me when I first arrived here. I couldn't help but feel like they were the reason I was here.
"It is kind of your fault we don't have any information about them," Silky said. She was still invisible, but her voice came from off to my left somewhere.
"How is that?" I asked.
"You crushed the throats of those two from three months ago," she recalled. "You could've used them for information."
My eye twitched. I had already considered this. And I hated people putting my failures in front of my face like this, when I already knew about them.
"I already know that," I said to her, a warning undertone in my voice.
"Of course you do," was her only reply, then she was silent for a few minutes. "Where do you think we'll find my family?"
I looked up at the sky, it was clear and beautiful. "I don't know," I admitted. "Do you not remember anything about your home? Smells, how many neighbors you had, whether you lived in a kingdom, a state, or completely removed from all of those things. Anything at all will help."
"We lived far away from other people," she said. "Dad said it was so we wouldn't bring anyone any harm. I didn't know what that meant for a really long time."
I nodded. "Right, and then that thing happened with your brother, right?"
"Yeah."
Her brother had randomly gone berserk one day and burned an entire field just by standing in it. He then proceeded to eat the ashes before his father finally subdued him.
"I wish I could name your condition," I told her apologetically.
"Dad called it the Fate of Death," she told me.
I raised an eyebrow. We all had a fate of death, though, so that wasn't really a special name.
"Fate of Death?" I echoed curiously.
"No, I'm sorry, Fate of the Dead," she corrected herself.
I nodded. A much more interesting name. However abstract.
"I wonder why he called it that," I thought aloud.
"Not sure, but my brother was never the same again. He eventually disappeared."
"Now that is an absolutely fascinating tale, miss," a new voice complimented. "I believe I may have some information on the subject."
I whirled around to see a figure in a mask and brown cloak standing right behind me. The mask was similar to a Noh mask. Hideous and slightly terrifying.
"Hello again, Lord Scribe," she greeted. "I'm thrilled to finally meet you properly."