xinoehp512

"Information cannot be contained," stated Three simply. "It simply... cannot. It is against its nature." "Yeah!" said Four.

"It is completely unthinkable that an Empire of that magnitude could or would have prevented you from obtaining any information about itself. That would be not only impractical, but also impossible. Not only would it be of limited utility to conceal the magnitude of one's forces- fear is a useful tool, after all - it would also be vulnerable to even a single slip of information. I mean, you could just walk up and look at what their forces are, surely?"

"But there is! Simply perform reconnaissance."

"That doesn't bother you?"

"Probably. Probably." Echo Three shook his head. "Your ragtag group is nestled in one the busiest, most strategically important locations in this Empire and you have no idea what your enemies are capable of. You don't know what worlds they have under their control. Even if you did know, you don't know how fast they could be summoned to this location, because you don't have a map. You don't know what magic systems the Clan might have turned to its advantage. You don't even know that the Clan isn't watching you right now and just hasn't attacked because you aren't even remotely a threat!"

"The universe was called the Colonies, right?" interjected Echo Four. "And we were in Colony Fourteen, which is a planet, I think?" Echo Six drew a blue circle in the air. The label COLONIES/COLONY FOURTEEN appeared inside of it, as well as a few lines leading off with little "???" at the ends. "You mean you can't account for it?" Echo Three's eyebrows shot up. "As in, we could be raided at any moment?"

"Area-specific, hmm?" Echo Three tapped his chin. "Maybe you know more than I gathered. Echo Six, would you mind assisting?" The last two Echoes split apart, leaving only a tall, disdainful figure where the Echoes had originally materialized. (Anyone listening who had been keeping count would be able to deduce that this was Echo Five.) Echo Six, who was even more ghostly-looking than the other Echoes, floated over. Flashes of light danced at his fingertips and in his eyes. "Echo Six here will order information holographically as you describe it," explained Echo Three. "Now. A good place to start would be where we are now. What is this world called? Which universes can you access from here (that you are aware of)? What sort of magic warriors and/or elites does the Clan have stationed here?"

"Clearly the Fenon Clan has managed to do the impossible, if they have set up an empire. Such would require the establishment and mapping of consistent routes between nodes- such as the ones that exist from this junction universe to many others." Echo Three took a breath. "However, if you do not currently have access to the records of these routes, we will have to make do without for the time being. What other sorts of information do you have on the empire at the moment?"

Echo Three frowned. "Surely not," he posited. "Universal cartography is no more complicated than a standard mathematical graph, with each node representing a universe, and each edge a path between them. A map of ten thousand existences would certainly be larger than a typical cartographical chart, but certainly no match for a visualization tool of proper caliber. Such a tool would be essential for the continued existence of a political entity of this magnitude, and equally essential for any rebellion aiming to overthrow it."

"Can I see a map of the Empire?"

"Really? Cool! Do you have species from a bunch of different universes, then? What are some of the magic systems that exist here? Would it be possible to invent a magic system?" "Does that make it important, strategically?" interjected Three.

"But this is just one world."

"How is it possible that there could be so many?"

"If you have control over all of that, wouldn't that give you control over practically anything?" "Are there more than one magic system? What kinds are there? How many?"

"Suppressed in what way? What elements can you control?"

"Who are the locals you mentioned? Are they human? Do they have their own type of magic?" "What sort of magic is that?"

"What is the Clan? Who are these locals?"

"A piece of a planet?"

"Colony Fourteen," repeated Echo Four. "Is that the planet, the whole universe, or..."

"So," exclaimed Echo Four, glancing around. "Where are we, anyways?"

Well, I would like to hear votes from @Condensation and @Ookla the Bunny before finalizing the results.

The letter A.

"He is Echo Two," reiterated Echo Four in a whisper. "Leave him be. He will lose interest eventually."

In the blink of an eye, Echo Two was there. The scratches over his eyes flickered like a TV with a broken antenna. "Yes," replied Echo Four. "...Mostly."

An illusion of soft, silent static reverberated throughout the camp. "Be careful," murmured Echo Four. "Two is... dangerous."