Original Fantasy Thing: Prologue
I had an idea for an original Fantasy story, and had to type it out. If I ever finish this, I guess it would be novel-sized. I could always put it on Kickstarter and see if it could make me money even after I posted the whole thing online. For now, it's LJ exclusive.
Prologue
In retrospect, I may have lost sight of my original goals after I took over the world.
It was all so clear in the beginning. I grew up in the Sovereign Dimension we named Tarahb Jya. (Strangely, this name was not universally accepted by other Dimensions. Many called us "Forunsa," and one even dubbed us "Nulland." I learned that this renaming is not an unusual practice, but I have never understood the reasoning behind it.) It's a Dimension devoid of natural Magic, so science and dead metals are the source of most physical power. It is also a young Dimension, so our peoples never united under a single government. In ages past we were ruled by monarchs and a nobility, which I understand has some romantic appeal in Dimensions where such people no longer hold any real power. Certainly, as unfair as history paints those times, they were better than what I grew up under.
Currently, my Dimension is ruled by squabbling military dictators. That many of them grew up as poor as myself did not in any way reflect in their policies.
Then again, perhaps it did.
I grew up alone and destitute, on the streets of a city where I lived off the bounty of other people's waste. Really, there's no need to go into details; my childhood was every story about an urchin ever told, except worse and with all the horrible smells that such stories typically leave out. The only thing remarkable about it was how I got out.
To summarize, I found a magic scroll that took me to a land with wizards and princesses and dragons.
My own Sovereign Dimension was not ignorant to its place in the multiverse. Science provided the tools to see into other Dimensions, and their emissaries even visited after they discovered us in turn. Most were "enlightened" societies, and were suitably horrified at my world, even though I saw the local security forces using non-electrified clubs to chase away the homeless from around the royal palace when extra-dimensional ambassadors were visiting. Some of the emissaries hid their disgust, others outright declared an intent to wage a holy war to save our peoples. This never materialized. My own dictator issued propaganda claiming that the other Dimensions feared our Ripfire Bombs. (I was able to verify this after I conquered my adopted Dimension.) Instead, they exploited less confrontational means.
They seeded my Dimension with transport scrolls. Each roll of paper contained enough magic to transport one person to another preselected Dimension.
I remember when I finally found one. The paper was thick, thicker than the clothes I had scrounged. The ink was pink, and flowed in a feminine style that looked frighteningly alien. I didn't know how to read at the time, but that was okay, as the language was magical. I understood the meaning just as much as I understood the graphics pasted on outdoor walls in my neighborhood. (Those mostly read, "Don't piss on this wall, you filthy vagrant!" Although, I may not be translating the exact words properly.) It was a simple note, inviting whoever reads it to come live in the Magical Dimension of Seflora. There were instructions for activating the teleportation spell, including sketched pictures.
It was a dream come true. My chance at happiness, and a good life.
Is it any wonder that I didn't hesitate to strangle the scroll's previous owner to death?
The only real trick to the scroll's powers is that the spell took a long time to properly execute. It was against the law to possess one of the scrolls, or to try to possess one, or to be found near one, or to give signs of thinking about being near one at some unspecified point in the future. The standard penalty was execution without a trial. Highly motivated, I successfully found a hidden spot where I wouldn't be disturbed for at least ten hours, and successfully activated the spell in my scroll. I was immediately transported to a rustic village in a land of natural beauty. The people there expected dimensional refugees to pop in, and freely gave me food, clothes, and a bit of money.
Operating by what I assumed were still the basic rules of survival, I accepted these gifts, stole additional gifts, and left town quickly and secretly. Even after I figured out the new status quo, I didn't feel comfortable in this new brand of human civilization. The dragon kingdoms, though, were much more agreeable. You could get yourself killed in the dragon kingdoms for something other than violent crime. It was the dragons who taught me reading, writing, and mathematics. They also taught me that not everything in Seflora is perfect, that monsters lurked at the edges of civilization. (And when I say "monsters," I mean magical beasts of an indiscriminately hostile nature. The usual kind of monsters, people like me, did not seem to be naturally occurring in Seflora, even after I conquered it.)
When I sought the more intelligent monsters out, they taught me magic, and it was this skill that led to my employment by the Princess of Seflora herself. (No, not a Queen, a Princess. After I took the job as her conjurer, I looked up the history behind her office, and discovered that abolishment of the King and Queen titles was part of the political deal that put all Seflora under a single monarchy. Even knowing this, it always bothered me. It was far too 'fairytale,' and fairytales had been quite uncommon in my home Dimension.)
From there, it's become well known how I grew powerful, deposed and imprisoned the Princess, and came to rule Seflora for a decade. It's even more well known how a summoned trio of teenagers from a backwards dimension called Earth, deposed me in turn, and sent me to a dimension where every moment is infinite, and all reality is pain.
It was only after all of this that the most important events of my life actually occurred. I’m told that they would make a good story.
END Prologue
Prologue
In retrospect, I may have lost sight of my original goals after I took over the world.
It was all so clear in the beginning. I grew up in the Sovereign Dimension we named Tarahb Jya. (Strangely, this name was not universally accepted by other Dimensions. Many called us "Forunsa," and one even dubbed us "Nulland." I learned that this renaming is not an unusual practice, but I have never understood the reasoning behind it.) It's a Dimension devoid of natural Magic, so science and dead metals are the source of most physical power. It is also a young Dimension, so our peoples never united under a single government. In ages past we were ruled by monarchs and a nobility, which I understand has some romantic appeal in Dimensions where such people no longer hold any real power. Certainly, as unfair as history paints those times, they were better than what I grew up under.
Currently, my Dimension is ruled by squabbling military dictators. That many of them grew up as poor as myself did not in any way reflect in their policies.
Then again, perhaps it did.
I grew up alone and destitute, on the streets of a city where I lived off the bounty of other people's waste. Really, there's no need to go into details; my childhood was every story about an urchin ever told, except worse and with all the horrible smells that such stories typically leave out. The only thing remarkable about it was how I got out.
To summarize, I found a magic scroll that took me to a land with wizards and princesses and dragons.
My own Sovereign Dimension was not ignorant to its place in the multiverse. Science provided the tools to see into other Dimensions, and their emissaries even visited after they discovered us in turn. Most were "enlightened" societies, and were suitably horrified at my world, even though I saw the local security forces using non-electrified clubs to chase away the homeless from around the royal palace when extra-dimensional ambassadors were visiting. Some of the emissaries hid their disgust, others outright declared an intent to wage a holy war to save our peoples. This never materialized. My own dictator issued propaganda claiming that the other Dimensions feared our Ripfire Bombs. (I was able to verify this after I conquered my adopted Dimension.) Instead, they exploited less confrontational means.
They seeded my Dimension with transport scrolls. Each roll of paper contained enough magic to transport one person to another preselected Dimension.
I remember when I finally found one. The paper was thick, thicker than the clothes I had scrounged. The ink was pink, and flowed in a feminine style that looked frighteningly alien. I didn't know how to read at the time, but that was okay, as the language was magical. I understood the meaning just as much as I understood the graphics pasted on outdoor walls in my neighborhood. (Those mostly read, "Don't piss on this wall, you filthy vagrant!" Although, I may not be translating the exact words properly.) It was a simple note, inviting whoever reads it to come live in the Magical Dimension of Seflora. There were instructions for activating the teleportation spell, including sketched pictures.
It was a dream come true. My chance at happiness, and a good life.
Is it any wonder that I didn't hesitate to strangle the scroll's previous owner to death?
The only real trick to the scroll's powers is that the spell took a long time to properly execute. It was against the law to possess one of the scrolls, or to try to possess one, or to be found near one, or to give signs of thinking about being near one at some unspecified point in the future. The standard penalty was execution without a trial. Highly motivated, I successfully found a hidden spot where I wouldn't be disturbed for at least ten hours, and successfully activated the spell in my scroll. I was immediately transported to a rustic village in a land of natural beauty. The people there expected dimensional refugees to pop in, and freely gave me food, clothes, and a bit of money.
Operating by what I assumed were still the basic rules of survival, I accepted these gifts, stole additional gifts, and left town quickly and secretly. Even after I figured out the new status quo, I didn't feel comfortable in this new brand of human civilization. The dragon kingdoms, though, were much more agreeable. You could get yourself killed in the dragon kingdoms for something other than violent crime. It was the dragons who taught me reading, writing, and mathematics. They also taught me that not everything in Seflora is perfect, that monsters lurked at the edges of civilization. (And when I say "monsters," I mean magical beasts of an indiscriminately hostile nature. The usual kind of monsters, people like me, did not seem to be naturally occurring in Seflora, even after I conquered it.)
When I sought the more intelligent monsters out, they taught me magic, and it was this skill that led to my employment by the Princess of Seflora herself. (No, not a Queen, a Princess. After I took the job as her conjurer, I looked up the history behind her office, and discovered that abolishment of the King and Queen titles was part of the political deal that put all Seflora under a single monarchy. Even knowing this, it always bothered me. It was far too 'fairytale,' and fairytales had been quite uncommon in my home Dimension.)
From there, it's become well known how I grew powerful, deposed and imprisoned the Princess, and came to rule Seflora for a decade. It's even more well known how a summoned trio of teenagers from a backwards dimension called Earth, deposed me in turn, and sent me to a dimension where every moment is infinite, and all reality is pain.
It was only after all of this that the most important events of my life actually occurred. I’m told that they would make a good story.
END Prologue