The Bookwyrm

The Clinic: Room Y49 A thought struck Bookwyrm. Or perhaps a vision. He flipped through his tome until he found the pages of the Sixth Archive. He found a page detailing a distant world. The relevance of that planet was hidden from him, though it seemed to be connected to another Archive. But it also held connections to Kaos. I can't just sit here and feel sorry for myself. They'll call you a coward. Maybe I am a coward. So be it. Bookwyrm gathered the few things that he would need. Then, before anyone in the Clinic could come looking for him, he opened a Wyrmhole and stepped through. ??? Bookwyrm stepped out of the Wyrmhole and onto a mountaintop. He was on the tip of a volcanic island, though the volcano seemed to have been dormant for quite a while. The island was fairly large, and covered in a vibrant jungle in many colors, not just green. Twin suns hung in the sky near the horizon, one a brilliant yellow, another a faded red. There were also two moons; one was fairly large and had a latticework of cracks and canyons on it's surface. The other was more distant, and had an unnaturally smooth surface. The sky was a brilliant blue, and fluffy white clouds drifted through it. The deep blue ocean gleamed in the light of the twin suns. Bookwyrm looked around for any sign of where to go. He didn't find anything. Hm. He looked around the island again; there was another mountain on the other side, though that one was shorter. And in between the two mountains, connected to the ocean, was a vast lagoon. Good as any place to start, or at least set up camp. Bookwyrm began his hike down the mountain.

Avi turned and summoned a cloud of tiny "stars" that would automatically shoot themselves at the wyvern if it drew close. Then she began climbing up Il'anque's vine ladder. She arrived at the peak, but any feelings of triumph were extinguished by the attacking monster. She shot the rest of the stars at the wyvern, the glittering cloud chasing after the winged beast.

The Clinic: Room Y49 Bookwyrm sat, numb. He'd barely managed to get himself to upload the data of the Sixth Archive into the Clinic's Library. Then he'd retreated to his room. What now? What's even the point? I...with everything that I can do...couldn't save her. Emma...Insa...Thaidakar too, apparently... What now?

Well, Avi thought as her ears rang from the explosion, I guess that answers that question. "Is everyone at the top yet?" she yelled as she fired another beam of light at the furious wyvern.

The Clinic: Lobby Bookwyrm felt himself ripped from Insa's mind, then pulled to a familiar dimension. Latent tendrils of darkness faded into his mind. He fell to his knees, numb. I...failed.

Insa's Mind I... The darkness continued to advance. Logic spoke to Bookwyrm, and yet eluded him at the same time. He froze in that moment as darkness enveloped the mindspace around him. @The Wandering Wizard

I scudding love that movie. Christopher Nolan is a genius. TPBM nerds out about the same five or so movies consistently.

Insa's Mind Bookwyrm ignored her. He desperately tried to call the Darkness to him, trying to get it to leave Insa and enter him. Please, he said. I can't...I can't lose you.

Insa's Mind Bookwyrm began to panic. No...why? Why can't...just... Let it come into me... @InfiniteInsanity

Insa's Mind Bookwyrm understood the nature of this darkness. Kaos was corrupting Insa's being. Not just her actions. Her very self. No, he thought. I can't...I don't even know how I met you. But I can't let this happen. An idea formed. It wasn't the best idea. But it was the only one he could think of. Bookwyrm extinguished his light and instead turned on a power akin to gravity, pulling the Darkness towards him, clearing Insa's mind and soul. Ravelast: Sixth Archive Gateway Bookwyrm stared into Insa's eyes and gave a sad smile.

Insa's Mind Bookwyrm latched onto that mental string, letting it pull him through the darkness. He sent out bursts of light, trying to clear Insa's mind. I'm coming! he sent.

Insa's Mind A thick darkness covered everything, hiding memories and thoughts. Bookwyrm gathered light and tried to push through. Insa? Are you there? Can you hear me?

Ravelast: Sixth Archive Gateway Scud, Bookwyrm thought as he dodged Insa's strike. At least...she's holding out. No permanent corruption "I'm sorry," Bookwyrm said to Insa. "This won't exactly be comfortable..." Bookwyrm touched Insa's arm, and increased the gravity around her, forcing her onto her knees. He used that same gravity to restrain her arms, then knelt down and put his fingers on her temples. Then, Bookwyrm pushed himself into Insa's mind. @The Wandering Wizard

Ravelast: Sixth Archive Gateway As Calano charged Emma, Bookwyrm burned Electrum and moved to dispatch Layra. He swung his sword at her legs. At the same time, he gathered Light in his mind before shoving it into Insa, melting away the temporary corruption. @InfiniteInsanity @CalanoCorvus

That didn't answer my question. And I don't know about infinitely better. They're both good songs and we'll leave it at that.

Ravelast: Sixth Archive Gateway Bookwyrm met Insa's eyes. I'm. Not. Leaving. You. He turned his gaze to Calano for a brief moment and nodded his appreciation. Then he looked back to Emma. "Why?" he said. "Why would you let this darkness corrupt your soul? For so long, you were able to wield it, as a tool, for good. Now you've become the weapon in the hands of something else. I thought you were strong, Emma. Why did you let yourself fall?" @CalanoCorvus @The Wandering Wizard

Ravelast: Sixth Archive Gateway Bookwyrm heard the plea, but ignored it. I'm not leaving you. Bookwyrm left Ravelast, entering the interdimensional space for a brief second, before pulling himself back in; but this time, within the dome of darkness. A sword of many forms fell into his hand; though at the moment it held it's general shape, forged of blueish black metal. "Emma," he said, sadly. "What happened to you?" @CalanoCorvus @The Wandering Wizard

Dreamscape: The Sixth Archive Suddenly, one of Bookwyrm's visions of dread made sense. Darkness is corrupting... "I see," he said after a pause. "But we should talk about this back at the Clinic. Or at least somewhere safer and less...dimensionally unstable." Bookwyrm concentrated his mental powers and pulled himself out of the dream realm. Ravelast: Sixth Archive Gateway Bookwyrm snapped awake on the cold, hard ground. The storm-covered sky above swirled with powerful winds and the occasional burst of lightning, but it was calm here on the surface. Bookwyrm stood up and turned to see a black dome of darkness. He felt three minds inside. One, completely unfamiliar. One, a twisted version of a soul he knew. And one a close friend he didn't even remember how he met. His eyes widened. @InfiniteInsanity @The Wandering Wizard

Dreamscape: The Sixth Archive "I don't know yet," Bookwyrm said. He held up his personal tome. "But if this Archive has any information on Kaos, it's now in here, for us to access as needed." He tucked the book away and turned to the group. "We have what we came for. Let's get back to Ravelast." @Thaidakar the Ghostblood @UnfortunatelyNamed @Shadowed

Quick: What's the square root of the answer to the trolley problem when inserted as a deus ex machina into a hypothetical creation story of a world 2874 XKCD "Alternate Histories" levels from ours? ...No. But we have fabulous cabbages!

If you could hie to Kolob in the twinkling of an eye, and then continue onward with that same speed to fly, do you think that you could ever throughout all eternity find out the generation where gods began to be? Also, what would you do if you could hie to Kolob in the twinkling of an eye?

I think my religion has helped me overcome most of my impending existential crises. Which is nice, because the mind I have is ripe for potential existential crises. They sometimes come anyway. TPBM has a weird worldview.