THE REAL LJ IDOL FRIENDS AND RIVALS -- WEEK 2.0 -- "Follow Me"
BECOMING THE MASK
It has been said that The Lady Fate is the most powerful entity in Her world, but even She has limitations; this is particularly true when it comes to Her influence over “Outlanders” - Those beings which come from beyond Her world. By definition such creatures are not shackled to the destiny of any world... and thus Fate's influence over them is minimal at best. The two most notable Outlanders are the beings known as “The Dark Enemy” and “The Archmage”: the first one claims to be the living embodiment of Primal Chaos, while the latter is an implacable hunter who has sworn to kill the former for all the destruction it has caused on multiple worlds. As such, shortly after his arrival in this world The Archmage rapidly became the friend and ally of Fate, and She came to rely on his assistance fighting The Dark Enemy and its minions.
It should be noted that there are some mortals native to this world that have found ways of escaping Fate's influence, usually by allying themselves with an Outlander or by permanently leaving this world to become Outlanders themselves. In general such individuals do so because they seek “True Freedom”; they wish to become sole masters of their destinies and consider Fate's influence to be a shackle they cannot bear willingly. However, there was at least one case where a mortal acquired such freedom only to willingly relinquish it once more...
The Lady Fate stood alone in Her Place of Power and surveyed the world, frantically trying to determine what She should do next. It had been six months since The Archmage left Her world, swearing that he would eventually return with assistance to help fight The Dark Enemy... but The Enemy had taken full advantage of The Archmage's absence to advance its plans of conquest and destruction. For all Her power She could not affect The Enemy directly because it was an Outlander... but now many of The Enemy's minions had mystically bound themselves to it, gaining some measure of resistance to Fate's influence in the process. She could no longer directly see what The Enemy's immediate plans were, much less prepare to defend against them--
When Fate heard the quiet cough come from behind Her, She experienced an almost completely unfamiliar emotion: Surprise. She was alone. In Her Place of Power. Nothing should should have been able to enter without Her knowledge... yet something had.
She turned around to find a grey-robed figure passively standing across the chamber from Her; it wore a mask which displayed a face completely devoid of emotion. She prepared herself for combat as She stared at the figure; She sensed that it was an Outlander, yet there was something oddly familiar about it, as if She had once known this person. But whoever this was, it didn't appear to be The Archmage. She spoke with all three of Her voices: “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
A flat, emotionless voice came from behind the mask: “Please be calm, I mean You no harm. I came here to offer You my services. As for who I am...” The figure slowly reached up and removed the mask he was wearing... and the moment Fate saw the man's true face, She remembered him again.
“You... I know you.” The man was a particularly gifted wizard native to Her world. His homeland had been overrun by minions of The Dark Enemy, and his entire family had been killed in the chaos and mayhem that had followed. He had spent several years studying Outlanders, and eventually learned how to simulate their nature... and thus hide himself from Fate's sight and influence. “Your name is--”
“-- irrelevant!” the man snapped angrily... then he spoke more calmly. “I have no home, no family, no friends. Everything important from my past, everyone I loved... is gone.” He snorted. “You know that better than anyone else.”
“Yes... I do.” She looked back on all the pain that this man had experienced, and despite Her nature She could not help but feel sympathy for him. “Please believe Me, I tried to stop The Enemy--”
“I know that.” He looked directly into Fate's eyes. “I don't blame You. I blame that... that THING!” He spat the last word out with unrestrained fury. “You call it The Dark Enemy... but that barely begins to describe the fiend's nature!” He sighed heavily. “I'll admit that I hid from You - from everyone - for a time while I nursed my anger and hatred, and I even considered leaving this world behind... but after I sensed that The Archmage had abandoned You, I decided that I couldn't sit idly by anymore--”
“The Archmage hasn't abandoned Me!” She countered. “He swore he'll return with help, and I believe him. However, I do not know how long he will be away... and in the meantime, I can use all the help I can get.” Fate smiled at Her unexpected guest. “Come, let's discuss your options and see how you can best help Me...”
Their conversation was quite lengthy, as Fate tried to determine the man's strengths and limitations. Though this wizard was intelligent and displayed great cunning and resourcefulness, his skill in the mystic arts did not even begin to approach the level of power that The Archmage possessed, so he could not simply replace Fate's missing ally. On the other hand, another idea soon formed in Fate's mind... though She worried that the man would find Her proposal too repugnant to perform willingly.
“To put it simply, I need more information about The Enemy's plans if I am to have any hope of defending against them,” Fate explained. “The nature of The Enemy and its minions make it impossible for Me to collect that information directly... and similarly, in the past they have been able to detect all My mortal agents that had bound themselves to My service. But you...” Fate chuckled. “You're not mystically bound to Me... and the fact that you've deliberately severed yourself from My influence should convince them that you have nothing to do with Me. That should allow you to get close to them... close enough to learn their plans.”
The gray-robed wizard frowned. “Are you proposing that... I go work for The Enemy? To be Your spy among its minions?” When Fate nodded, the man looked thunderstruck... but he pondered the matter for some time before replying. “I don't think I could ever be comfortable, much less convincing, in such a role. But allow me to make a counter-proposal: Instead of just working for The Enemy, I can present myself as willing to work for anyone and everyone... if the price is right.” The wizard chuckled. “It would enable me to travel, act as Your messenger as well as Your spy... and who knows? The Enemy and its minions might even hire me to spy for them on occasion... giving me the opportunity to pass along whatever misinformation You think appropriate...”
Fate considered the matter briefly... and smiled. “I accept your suggestion--”
“-- and hopefully You'll accept my price for this work!” Fate was surprised (again) by the man interrupting Her... but he smiled at Her warmly. “Don't worry, my request should be relatively easy for You to fulfill. The proposed work is dangerous, which means my life expectancy won't be especially good... and since I have no family, the only thing that I shall leave behind after my death will be my reputation.” The man solemnly stared into Fate's eyes. “Swear to me that after I die, the truth about me will become public knowledge; that despite whatever ugly work I may need to do on this job, I will be remembered as someone who fought for what was right and just.”
Fate paused... and declared with all three of Her voices: “I swear that your name will live on long after your death as someone who fought against The Dark Enemy and its minions.” The man smiled with satisfaction, never realizing that technically Fate had not sworn to fulfill his precise request. Still, one final matter remained. Fate spoke again: “So... now that you have agreed to act as My eyes and ears... what would you like to be called?”
The man displayed a wry smile. “Call me Xerin.” He reached for his expressionless mask and raised it to his face. “Xerin, The Friendless. Xerin, The Unknowable. Xerin, The Stranger...” He affixed the mask to his head... and his voice became totally devoid of emotion once more. “Xerin... The Grey.”
This post is an entry in THE REAL LIVEJOURNAL IDOL'S "FRIENDS AND RIVALS" Mini-season. It is a distant prologue to my previous week's post, which can be found here. However, it should be possible to appreciate this post without reading last week's piece.