Channelknight Fadran

"I don't even know if you could count that first outing as a date; we just went and did reconnaissance together."

"Umm... lots of stuttering, wincing, and no shortage of staying up late and overthinking everything I said to her."

"Okay, okay!" Fadran grinned. "I asked her out for the first time about a year after I met her."

"What is there left to tell? For about a year, I was just her boss. A boss with a scudding crush on her, might I add."

"I like Queen, though!"

"You started with Q, you stay with Q." Fadran stood up to act out his conversation with Icona, clearing his throat and deepening it about two octaves. "'Fadran... you said no love arcs.'" He spun around, raising his voice up higher. "'This one's different, Icona!'" "'You have a crush on someone. That doesn't count.'" "'It does so! You don't get to tell me how to live my life, Icona!'" "'I'm not. I'm just saying that if--and when--you find out that this girl isn't 'the one,' expect me to say I told you so!'" "'It won't be that way.'" "'Humph.'" Fadran stuffed his hands into his pockets, then turned back to Queen. "It probably went something like that."

"Don't you dare change your letter or I'll get back with Ayia."

"Her name was Audrey and I thought she was pretty. Moving on." He stood up. "I'ma act out the exchange I had with Icona, if that's okay with you."

"I hadn't ever really liked anyone before.... well," he waved his hand dismissively, "except that one girl at the Arcane Academy, but that doesn't count. I assumed that because I had a crush on this one person... it meant that it was 'true love.'" Fadran included air quotes, an eyeroll, and a sarcastic tone.

"Well... I did say I was stupider back then, didn't I?"

"You know how when you first see someone, and you just get an instant crush but you think it's love at first sight?"

"Anyways... we grabbed a couple Linecasters, some scholars, and not a small number of angry peasants. I was feeling pretty good about myself until Ayia joined."

"Welp... so I come to this one universe, right? Don't remember what it was called; never bothered to learn the name, really. I walk up to the guy in charge, and I'm like 'hello there. I'm from another universe!' "But apparently that's not okay there. See, this universe is actually really Macrosmos-aware, but the lordship is really strict on what information is allowed out. They think that if their people knew that there was anywhere else to be, that they might revolt against the leadership... and to be fair, they weren't wrong. The king was making plans to execute me and whatnot, but I'm sure you've figured out by now that escaping prisons is kinda second nature to most of us here, so I was outta there quick." He thinned his lips to a line as he continued. "Anyways... I took one look at the people this king was ruling, and it was clear that they weren't exactly being treated well. The king had absolute power over everything, he was a tyrant; y'know? If you had magic, you were taken away and never seen again. If you knew anything about the Macrosmos, you were taken away and never seen again. "So, being the hazardously noble weirdo I was, I decided to find some revolution--some freedom force--to join. I met this guy named Iode; a Macrosmostic scholar who had hidden himself and his knowledge for years. With his help, we decided to throw together a little something to take the government down."

"Curious, evil; tomato tomato. Welp... guess I'm stuck, now." He put his hand out in the air. "Flashback to a few years ago; picture a younger, stupider, and potentially better-looking Fadran off on his own in the multiverse. All he's got is his backpack, an annoying god pestering him in his brain, and a disobliging sense of optimism. It's right after [Iconar Collective spoilers ], and he's just learned that there's a massive world out there that connects stories together."

"Ohhh... you're evil."

"I don't know... I'm trying to segue into a vent and it isn't working."

"But... well, by then, we had a big group of folks, and more kept coming. Including you."

"Probably not well. Never saw him again."

"He eventually tried to steal everyone's Investiture... y'know, the magic from the Cosmere?"

"Well... this crazy professor guy challenged me to a duel, Nath decided to appear out of nowhere and spectate, I think Kindness joined at some point... I don't remember much."

"Ehh... no. I was an inter-dimensional everything."

"Well... it all started when I was looking for a treasure chest on a beach in a pocket dimension."

"It was kind of accidental." Fadran sat back. "Did I ever tell you how we started the Fellowship?"

Fadran smiled. "What'd I do that was worthy enough for fate to toss you in my path?"

"I don't rant on command. Not usually, anyways."