story Part One - The existential dread of the White Box Building

[TiffanyKorta]

The woman’s eye opened and as she unfolded from her pose she allowed herself a slight smile.

 

“It seems for now whoever set all this into motions haven’t found us yet. But time is probably short so we should get this going.”

 

As she walked towards the little group she took time to reattach her rapier to her belt.

 

“Let’s start with a simple introduction. I am Fiona daughter of Clarissa and a Prince of Amber.” she paused for a moment and sighted. “I guess we’ll start with the basics…”

 

She put her hand together and pulled them apart causing an image of a sphere made up of dots, each dot a tiny spinning Earths.

 

“The multiverse consists of two nodes…” she spun and zoomed the globe until it showed a chaotic scene of floating island and demonic looking humanoids “...one is the Courts of Chaos, the other…” she spun the sphere in the other direction and zoomed again until it showed a glittering art deco city glowing like it’s namesake in the setting sunlight. “The ripples between these two opposites create everything in between the multiverse.”

 

She clapped her hands together dissipating the image and worked towards the fridge.

 

“You were raised on a ration Earth so you obviously need more proof, that I am what I claim. Normally I would take you all to Amber so you can walk the pattern, but time is short you’ll need to clear up the mess our opponents cause. Before you ask why it is because you are the sons and daughter of Amber and as such have the power to mould shadow.”

 

She opened the fridge with some gusto showing the fridge was completely empty, she closed it again and opened it to show a bottle of rather expensive wine with a suitable glass

 

“It is a simple trick but you can find whatever you want in a suitably liminal space…”

 

She then looks for your reaction,, whilst sipping on her wine.

[Sir Lazeabout]

"Er... okay," Jane says. "That's cool, that's cool, only, uhm..."

 

She takes a deep breath.

 

"WHAT THE FRILLY HECK WAS THAT THING BACK THERE?!" she bellows. "Also, where are we?! Also, why did we get here by stepping through a mirror?! Also, what do you want with us?! Also..."

 

Alas, she finds that she's run out of breath before she's run out of alsos. She spends a moment hyperventilating, in the hopes that if she can just get enough oxygen into her brain, things will magically start to make sense.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Sir Lazeabout (see edit history)

[Whisper]

Miss Suicide-Plan - or Jane, as she named herself later - retrieving an energy drink from the fridge only barely registered; Martin was too occupied with his own drink - and the fact that they stepped through a mirror into an... alternate earth. The second woman's pick of beverage - Jolt Cola - did tickle something in Martin's conscious, though, and he looked at the distinctive bottle, his brows lowering. He might have missed Jane's energy drink while retrieving his own beverage - but both ? AND the lager now being opened by Tim. Martin's brows had lowered into a full frown by now and his gaze wandered back to the meditating woman, causing him to miss Telly's retrieval of an iced coffee.

Recalling Miss Wizard - Wizardess ? She-wizard ? - exact wording <imagine what you wish to find in there>, Martin slowly nodded to himself and turned his attention back to the fridge in time to see a cup of hot tea being taken from it. Nodding once more to himself, Martin glanced back at the seated woman, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he took a mental note to listen very carefully to the exact wording that woman was going to use.

 

<<...>>

 

Listening carefully was exactly what Martin did as Fiona explained.

 

Dualism. Polar opposite formed by the Court of Chaos and... Amber, presumably - - which, in turn, would be the representation or embodiment of Order. Reality - existence - as the manifestation of Order and Chaos clashing and mingling.

Understanding the concept wasn't difficult for Martin; he'd read a small library worth of fantasy literature, from slim novellas to monstrous cycles spanning 10k+ pages, and dualism was common and understandable enough. Accepting the concept as 'real' - well, that was something different.

 

He was about to ask about 'walking the pattern' since the expression stood out, sounding 'Important' and didn't make the same kind of sense as the rest of Fiona's explanation. However, Jane surged ahead and even if she stumbled at her third 'also' and petered out, Swiss politeness kept him from interjecting. He remained silent, waiting for Fiona's reply, and instead decided to test one of the... Amberite's claims. 

A suitably liminal space, she said. A fridge is, apparently, suitably liminal - at least, for drinks... Is that probable possibility ? Like... the possibility that I've got a bag of pistachios in my pocket ? Not too improbable and certainly has been true in the past so it could be true now... so if I reach into it... Putting his hand into his pocket, Martin half-expected to find nothing but some lint and a some cough drop wrapping and half-expected to find exactly that, a bag of pistachios.

[Anthr4xus]

Rachel turned away from the broken and empty window to watch the woman with narrowed eyes, looking and listening for the con.  A recruitment angle, obviously.  Probably for patsies in a bigger con.  Maybe some kind of fake flash mob thing?  Weird to go with this pseudo-religious angle on a random crowd pull like this, although their production values were really top notch, and she knew that spectacle was usually enough to catch most marks.  The drink trick was a good followup.  Hit them with something big and unbelievable, then something soft and subtle.  Get everyone back on their heels, then hit 'em when they panic with the hook.  

 

The impulsive Jane was already hitting a panic attack, and looking around Rachel saw several of the other prospective marks showing signs of nearing a breaking point.  Ignoring Jane's outburst, Rachel stepped closer to this Fiona to be able to get a better read on her face.  "So, we are all supposedly children of this Amber, so we have superpowers and a destiny to fight this Court of Chaos.  Let me guess, we just need to give you some money or work for you for a while to unleash our true potential, but we can't ask too many questions or outside research, or we won't be able to complete the training or whatever, right?  You've got the flashiest show I've seen, but this ain't my first rodeo and I don't buy it for a second."

[Thot]

Akhtar Mubarak, Cultured Diplomat

All the events around them still made little sense, and could very well be explained by hallucinogenic gases or something like that. yet, Akhtar was so inclined as believe otherwise, even though he had nothing to back up his gut feeling, other than the skeleton of an explanation by Fiona. She was a Princess. A Court. A King. Power struggles... All of that, Akhtar could relate to. In a centerless spinning universe, there were still some constants, apparently.

 

One of the other Travelers seemed to panic - Jane, and another one vocally rejected the explanation. She hadn't introduced herself before, the Diplomat idly noted...

 

Habits kicked in, and he instantly tried to deflate the situation and smooth everyone's temper "Lady Fiona, it is very kind of you to look after us and educate us. I am sure we are all very thankful for your consideration, even though we obviously still very much need time and evidence to properly grasp the situation, as I am sure you had already inferred." and as he said that he tightened his grasp on his hot tea, a physical reminder that he had made something impossible happened by his own will, disbelief it or not. How much else was there to learn to wrap their head around this situation they had been thrown into...

 

 

[jabberwock]

Fiona's word echoed within Telly's ears, though he still wasn't in quite the right frame of mind to grasp them fully.  It was too wide, too vast a concept, that his entire life was, well... not quite a lie but not quite real either.  The Sons and Daughters of Amber?  The power to mold the world around him?

 

He refocused.  Smaller, easier to handle ideas.  He tossed his empty coffee jar into a nearby recycling container (which funnily enough was empty but surrounded by trash) and approached the refrigerator again.  He concentrated and opened it, finding it empty.  Then he concentrated and opened it again, finding it full of fruit.  He did this several times more, ascertaining each time that his mind had somehow conjured something new into the confines of the fridge.  Finally, he stepped away, sipping on the ice cold contents of his slurpee while his mind readjusted to their situation.

 

It didn't seem to be a trick.  He wasn't verbalizing his wishes, but somehow they manifested within the fridge.  Hell, he had visualized grapes the size of oranges and somehow that had appeared.  If it was science, it was too advanced to differentiate from magic.

 

And according to Fiona, it wasn't magic powered by the fridge, it was something within him that powered the change.  That was a mental hurdle that took some time to get over.  He paused a moment, then expanded awareness.  If he could manifest changes within the fridge, what about something bigger?  Could he manifest changes in the room?  In the world?  Is this what Fiona meant by the ripples created by-

 

His brain short circuited for a second.  He needed to bring his thoughts back to more basic concepts.  He opened the fridge once more to verify it was empty.  Without closing the door, he imagined it filled with chocolate chip cookies.

[matt_s]

If Tim could wrap his head around the tax code, he told his doubtful self, he could wrap his head around this. His thoughts raced - this was still a world with rules, Tim reasoned, just new and strange ones, and by reason and perseverance he would expurgate all the bizarre mysticism from it. For to surrender to superstition and helplessness was the greatest shame and would bring a man down from the pedestal of Civilization to the aimless depths of the animal world. Existence was governed by logic, regulations, and laws and it was up to Tim to divine them.

 

Tim reached into the fridge and pulled out an avocado, swiss, and turkey sandwich on Italian white bread and began to eat.

 

You mention this "Amber" place or thing several times, so it must be of some import be it a heritage, nation, or plane. If you are some suzerain of Amber, it would seem we are your de facto subjects, and I think it would behoove you to acquaint us more with the nature of this realm. I can accept that we can weave "Shadow" as you call it, but for there to be Shadow there must be Light, and I do not see what entity casts it.

 

Tim paused for a second, a disturbing realization crossing his face -

And you say that we can retrieve whatever we will from this "liminal space" of yours if we so envision it. Being a fridge, naturally we have imagined food and drink, but what about other things, even implements of violence?

[TiffanyKorta]

“We already have the détente with the Court, no this Hell-maiden is working for a third party. For some reason someone wants you dead!” she was fairly matter of fact with what still, for some, sounded like pure fantasy

 

“It seems like I could do anything, tell you your darkest secret or biggest wish and you’d still think it was some fancy cold reading.” she held up a finger to stop any potential protest

 

“I ask you to try one thing for me, if you’re still not convinced I will out you back somewhere safe. Though mark my words if it’s not the Hell-maiden then it will be someone else, and all the while innocents will die!”

 

She paused again to allow the words to sink in before continuing.

 

“Normally you’d have time to train in the art of magic or the blade, but someone is looking for you even now. So we must resort to a cheap trick to have you able to face the Hell-maiden, if you wish. A Lord or Lady is unique, but even we cast shadows on the various world around us. Cast you mind out to look for another version of you, briefly you will experience there life right now before gaining a portion of there skills for a brief time.” she chuckled “I know how crazy it must sound, even for one as old as me, but time is short and must resort to desperate measures.”

---

Obviously you are free to describe the person and world you borrow from as you wish, nothing too crazy just yet though...

[Sir Lazeabout]

This is ridiculous. This is crazy. Just invent another version of herself and borrow her skills? Why not just wave a hand and make the 'Hell-maiden' disappear in a flash of rainbow-coloured wonder?

 

But ridiculous and crazy seemed to be the order of the day. So Jane tries.

 

She imagines a great knight, a warrior maiden clad in steel astride a mighty charger. She is the champion of a thousand triumphant victories, a slayer of men and of dragons, a hero to the people and a peer of bishops and dukes. Jane imagines the weight of armour around her, the clatter of chainmail and the motions of her powerful steed beneath her as she rides onto the tourney field...

Edited August 13, 2022 by Sir Lazeabout (see edit history)

[Thot]

Akhtar Mubarak, Cultured Diplomat Akhtar had to acknowledge that if nothing else, Lady Fiona knew how to make a point. So far, and as strangely as it had seemed, what she had said that could be verified had held true. Since what she was saying now was also something that could be verified - and didn't require to make a fool of oneself - the diplomat complied in silence. A "What if" kind of experiment, which apparently yielded interesting results when backed with the Blood of Amber...   The "What if" part was easy. Akhtar was very much aware of his adoption, and had often wondered exactly about that. "What if" he had never been adopted by anyone... or what if he had been adopted by a farmer, a soldier, by a public servant... for this mental exercise, he picked another option. What if he had never been adopted, and had instead run away to live off the streets....   And in his mind he could picture it... a thinner, nimbler version of himself, clothed in ragged clothes. A pickpocket, a conman, a convicted petty thief, going back and forth between the jail and the street, in a downward spiral that could only end badly...  And he could feel it in his fingers too, now, the quickness, the tension, the coiling...   Lady Fiona was right once again...

 

[jabberwock]

The magical fridge trick had been enough to convince Telly that the asian women was telling the truth about shadows and worlds, if not about her intentions.  The thought of a new trick was sort of exciting to the technician.  He imagined what sort of persona might be exciting, but ultimately it came down to testing the impossible.

 

All his life, Telly had never been able to whistle.  He'd had friends instruct him, watched online tutorial videos, practiced for hours, but it never worked.  In his head, he imagined he could whistle.  He pursed his lips and blew.

 

It was not what he expected.

 

Suddenly, his mind swirled with new thoughts, new memories, of a person he had never been.  Recollections of discovering how to whistle at a young age, of whistling as he grew up in the orphanage.  He had been adopted by a different family, one who found joy in music.  He remembered after school jam sessions with his new family, playing in a band in high school, and then attending Julliard to continue his training in music.  He remembered music theory, dramatic history, and classmate study sessions that he had never attended in his real life.

 

His lips issued not just a single whistled note, but a rising slide that hit high C, followed by an impromptu concert complete with staccato claps and table drumming.  When the last note faded, so did his skills and abilities, though the memories settled somewhere into the back of his mind.

[matt_s]

Tim closes his eyes and tries to imagine the heroic version of himself. Himself, an accountant, a presser of keys, beholder of computer monitors, consumer of coffee, driver of some beatup compact car. How the blazes was there a heroic double of himself out there even in the most fevered imagination? He was a chump through and through. Then, an idea began to percolate in the depths of his desperate mind. He reached deeper, and imagined himself ...

 

As the Fates, bound up in one by invisible spider silk draped from origin unseen...

 

As a Judge, placid and all knowing, without mercy and without hatred...

 

As the Architect, sculpting infinite domiciles below the placid expanse of the stars...

 

These were nothing more than imagination but then again, nothing less.

[Anthr4xus]

Rachel gave Fiona a skeptical glare but for the life of her, she could not figure out where this scam was going.  Fiona had said to imagine other versions of herself.  Several of the others were obviously trying this exercise, many standing with their eyes closed, although one of them was whistling and tapping.  Maybe leaning into the game would get to the purpose. 

 

She had a sudden thought and closed her eyes.  She pictured herself as a mastermind, a controlling spider in the center of a web of information.  Almost unbidden additional details began to fill in the scene in her mind.  She had excelled in college, of course, beginning a network of professional and personal contacts.  She became a influencer on social media, and her sorority contacts lead her to make some successful investments.  She had turned her sisters into information agents, building a library of secrets and blackmail information.  Finally she stumbled on the truth of the secret cabals that managed society, and through luck, persistence, careful planning, and judicious application of pressure, rose in the ranks of those cabals.  Eventually she found the truth, that she was merely a shadow, a powerful yet limited version of herself and there was a moment of strange self-reflection as she realized that she was the Her that could be more and she was simply looking at this shadow-self.  She remembered her own life, yet it was overlayed by this other life, a richer more interesting life where she had skills and knowledge that she could not really have.  In a moment of confused panic, the connection to this shadow version of herself snapped like a phone dropping a call, the details falling away into mental static as she fell back into herself.

 

She looked to Fiona with a confused expression.  "What was that?" she asked, in a quiet voice lacking the accusatory confidence that she had had previously.

[TiffanyKorta]

"You of all people should know a good performer never reveals there tricks!" Fiona grinned, a look at someone that knew something everyone else did not. "Talking of such I believe it's time for the next lesson..."

 

Each of you felt that suddenly something was off, that feeling of déjà vu that something was familiar and yet not at the same time. Then nothing, or at least for anyone that didn't notice that instead of sunlight the windows let in the softer glow of moon light. 

 

"We have one more stop before we get back to the problem you left behind, but it will involve a little journey and a final lesson in just what you will be able to do."

 

With a flourish she threw open the doors of the building, seeming unworried that they'd not been open in some time, revealing what looked to be a fairly normal small town street. it was a little more overgrown than the one you left behind and a few of the building had minor differences, but nothing that would catch your attention unless you were looking for them. And despite it being daylight not a few moments before the streets were bathed in a beautiful full moon, something that those kept track of such things wasn't due for a few more days.

 

"Being plants you'll be fine in the darkness, but until I say just try not to touch anything plants just in case!"

 

 

 

[Sir Lazeabout]

"This is trippy..." Jane mumbles. She actually looks down on herself to see if there are any traces of chainmail, but she seems to still be wearing her regular sturdy shirt and jacket. She takes a few steps out into the moonlight, glancing around with wide eyes.

 

The funny thing is, being told not to touch anything kind of makes her want to touch something, just to see what will happen...