The Silver Sphinx

 

"Public violence is strictly forbidden at all times and in all places in Sigil. Any kind of violence against inhabitants of the City of Doors will be punished immediately by the responsible authorities (Harmonium or Mercykillers). (note: by the Mercykillers only if there is no Harmonium nearby.) Assaults on the inhabitants of Sigil will result in shame sanctions, corporal punishment, imprisonment of varying duration or even the death penalty, depending on the severity of the crime. Acts that indirectly and negligently endanger or harm inhabitants are punishable as well."
point 1 of "The Five Major Violations in Sigil", as enacted - 496 HR

 

 

Third Low Day of Regula, 126 HR

Thoughts raced through Naghûl's head as he climbed the stairs to his factol's Private Sensorium for the second time in a few weeks. Actually, everything had started quite well. Marinda. The Harmonium's factol's daughter had been the subject. She was a little too enthusiastic about the Blue Jay. And since the latter was fortunately - though widely unknown - the same person as Naghûl Ka'Tesh, the Sensate could have a little influence on what Marinda got to see of him. What exactly she was to see, was an affair of the musician with a handsome young fellow. That should make her wonder at least a little bit whether the man should really be the focus of her interest personally, or whether she'd rather just concentrate on his music. Raralia, his wife’s sister, had warned him, of course. Possibly this might stimulate a young girl's imagination all the more and even increase her interest. Well, he couldn't see into Marinda's heart, but he had to try something so as not to test Sarin's patience too much. So he decided to chance it. He got a young actor and explained to him - in the Blue Jay persona - that he was going to turn away a young admirer through a staged but passionate and very public kiss. Thanks to Marinda's roster, he also knew when and where the interlude would best take place. When the time came, he positioned himself at a fountain in the Guildhall Ward in his flamboyant costume, along with his alleged lover. Sgillin had made it a point to watch the scene from the nearest street corner, feeling deliciously entertained even before it began. He had also brought his girlfriend, a young woman named Lereia. At first glance she seemed quiet, almost reserved, but Naghûl knew that there was more to the delicately built, pretty woman with the long white hair: she was a white weretiger. The Sensate had already seen her transformed and had been very impressed. But that afternoon, she stood by the half-elf in her more inconspicuous human form, watching the scene at the fountain as intently as the half-elf. At first, everything went according to plan. Marinda passed the square with another triaria on her patrol, spotted the Blue Jay at the fountain, was about to run to him excitedly and then saw at close range the passionate kiss Naghûl exchanged with the hired actor. Sgillin, who had closely observed her reaction as Naghûl had requested, later described her as amazed and slightly confused. The girl exchanged a few words with the other soldier, then they continued their patrol, not without casting a glance or two back to the fountain. So far, so good. Naghûl thanked the actor, who left in a good mood after the successful performance. After Marinda was at safe distance, Sgillin and Lereia came over, a few friendly words of greeting and some jokes were exchanged. With that, it could have been good. They wanted to go to the Limbo Bar and let the early evening end comfortably. But no ... Fate had other plans. A dabus approached them - and to their great astonishment, he spoke to them. If one could dabus language even call speaking. The little pictures and symbols that floated luminously in the air above his head kept swirling around, as he apparently tried to arrange them into a riddle, the solution of which would have revealed his purpose to the three at the fountain. The very fact that the dabus was actively approaching them was eerie. Normally, the dabus did not pay attention to the inhabitants of Sigil - as well as vice versa. Only rarely did one speak to a dabus, but almost never was one approached by one. As if that wasn't enough, this one also seemed to be excited or nervous. Since the behavior of the dabus was said to reflect the mood of the Lady, this was really a reason to be alarmed. Lereia and Sgillin were too inexperienced in Sigil’s ways to understand dabus language. But Naghûl also had his difficulties. On the one hand, because he had never liked riddles - and the dabus were known to speak exclusively in riddles. On the other hand, because the images and symbols above the dabu's head were constantly moving and changing position. A house ... two eyes ... a question mark ... hands that covered the eyes ... Then look away, Naghûl advised the dabus, annoyed, when he just couldn't figure out his message. Then the dabus seemed to give up and floated away. When they did not follow him, however, he stopped and turned to them. They were obviously supposed to follow him, and curiously they did. The dabus led them to an older house not far from the Great Gymnasium. At the door, various images appeared above his head again, but the three friends still could not make sense of them. The dabus looked confused and worried. When no one understood him, he finally shook a key from the sleeve of his long robe, which he dropped clattering on the pavement at Naghûl's feet. Then he simply floated away. The invitation was as clear as it was haunting. With mixed feelings, Naghûl picked up the key and, as feared, it fit the lock of the front door. The friends did not enter a residential house, as one would have expected in the Guildhall Ward, nor a workshop or storage room. It was a cool, old masonry of gray stone - and it was completely empty. Just bare walls and bare floor. And yet there was something alive in the house. A scorpion about the size of a cat scurried out of a shadowy corner. They recoiled in alarm, but the animal did not behave aggressively, calmly crawling back and forth in front of them. On closer inspection, they discovered a humanoid eye on its back ... Now and then it would close briefly, but otherwise it seemed to scrutinize the visitors intently. Naghûl loved new experiences, but this one sent a shiver down his spine. And he could tell by the look on Sgillin's and Lereia's faces that they felt the same way. The scorpion crawled conspicuously slowly to a door that led into another room. Like the dabus, he seemed to want them to follow. They entered another empty room - but here, something was different. A vortex of white energy swirled in the center and suddenly strange things happened. On the wall opposite the door, Naghûl could clearly see three numbers glowing slightly in a bluish light: 3 - 5 - 3. But it turned out that neither Sgillin nor Lereia saw them. Lereia, on the other hand, was sure to perceive the scent of wilting white roses. But neither of the other two noticed this. Sgillin, at last, suddenly seemed confused and excited. I swear to you, I just switched bodies with that scorpion, he assured. This is no joke! I was in its body, for a very brief moment! But before they could even try to make sense of these strange happenings, seven tombstones appeared before them out of nowhere. Each one bore a carved inscription, the three read with a shudder: Grave of the Factions - Grave of Reality - Grave of the Gods - Grave of Time - Grave of Dreams - Grave of Life - Grave of the Planes. And then, like a breeze, a voice wafted through the room, whispering: Who is the Seeker and who is the Keeper? Who is the Dreamer and who is the Thinker? Who will create and who will destroy? Who will see the past and the future? Who is the Dancer? And who, yes, who is the Healer? Just as the voice ended, so did the rest of the haunting: the tombstones, the vortex, the scorpion ... everything was gone, the strange house completely empty again. Only the key in Naghûl's hands proved that they had not simply dreamed all of this. As much as the Sensate loved new experiences, this one was too bizarre and felt too meaningful to keep to himself. This had to mean something, and something important, he realized, even without really understanding it. He needed to talk to his factol about it. And since Sgillin and Lereia were obviously in on it, too, he took them straight to the Festhall. Lady Erin was not to be found in the main hall, but as usual her consort, the half-elf Cuatha Da'nanin, usually just called Da'nanin, was present. He greeted Naghûl in a friendly manner, but quickly realized that something important and also disturbing weighed heavily on the tiefling's mind. Without much ado, he brought Naghûl, Lereia and Sgillin upstairs to the Private Sensorium. Factol Erin was surprised but pleased to see the two men and to meet Lereia as well. She asked the three to sit across from her while Da'nanin took a seat at her side. Naghûl took one deep breath and then told in detail what they just had experienced in the mysterious house. Lady Erin and her deputy and companion exchanged meaningful glances several times during this report, but did not interrupt the tiefling. Then Lady Erin - as surprisingly as relievingly - was able to give them at least a little more insight into what they had experienced. She eyed the group seriously and with some excitement at the same time.

"There are many legends surrounding our city," she explained. "Some are all too familiar, some are more hidden. And some are almost completely dark. One such legend tells that there is something hidden in Sigil that could change everything : space and time, minds, dreams, even reality itself."

Sgillin slumped a little in his chair. "And we have found it ..." he murmured softly. "Great."

The factol acknowledged his remark with a brief smirk before continuing. "It's an artifact or ... something similar. It is integrated into the city, a part of it. But nobody knows where exactly it hides. No one knows how it works or is activated. This legend is shrouded in many mysteries. I can only tell you that this artifact is called Deus Machina. In turn, this legend is connected with another one, an old prophecy: When once the time comes, when the Machine could be brought to life, the Chosen of the Ring will wake. The Ring is probably a metaphor for Sigil, but perhaps also for the entire ring of the Outer Planes. It is said that these Chosen have special abilities that no one else possesses and that they themselves have never noticed until the day ... when it begins."

She ended and looked into partly astonished, partly overwhelmed faces. Da'nanin seemed less surprised - he had obviously been familiar with the legend. It took a while until Erin's words completely sank in. Then Naghûl sat up straighter, alarmed.

"Wait ... wait a minute," he interjected. "But we … aren't those chosen ones, are we?"

Erin's smile could almost be called serious. "I fear so."

This was hard to digest, even for a Sensate. Naghûl leaned back and looked at the ceiling. Lereia, on the other hand, lowered her head. "But ... what are the Chosen supposed to do with a machine?"

Lady Erin sighed, appearing a little helpless herself - something Naghûl had never experienced before. "I don't know. Unfortunately, we know very little about this legend overall."

"And the nine people mentioned by the voice?” Lereia pondered. “The Thinker, the Seeker and so on? Are they the Chosen?"

"It could be interpreted that way," Erin replied. "The question is, why nine in particular."

"Perhaps the nine alignments?" Da'nanin assumed.

"Forgive me, factol," Sgillin intervened. "But may I ask how you learned of this legend?"

Erin threw the half-elf the same smile she had skillfully used to fluster him at their first meeting. "The factions of Sigil have many sources of information, the Sensates not the least." She left it at that and then looked to Lereia, who was now raising her hands in a somewhat overwhelmed manner.

"I can't make sense of these abilities we suddenly had in the house," the young woman explained. "It was so jumbled ... And it doesn't fit the nine titles either – if we may call them that."

Erin looked at the three of them with undisguised curiosity - after the initial surprise, excitement was now obviously winning out. "That's what we're going to find out," she stated. "Which of you is the Seeker? Or the Healer?"

"Or the Dreamer?" Da'nanin added with a smile. "Or who knows?"

Naghûl, too, now felt curiosity stirring after the initial fright and a Sensate’s excitement made itself felt. "For my part, I think the Dancer would be quite nice," he remarked. "But I don't think I can choose that, and certainly it doesn't fit with the figures I've seen."

"That sounds more like the Thinker," Lereia commented, and Naghûl sighed deeply. "Please don't." That really wasn't a role he was eager to play.

The young woman raised her shoulders and then asked a question that had obviously been bothering her for a while. "Are these gifts or the machine a bad thing?"

Lady Erin weighed her head thoughtfully. "Just as a weapon is good or bad depending on who’s wielding it, I think it will be the same with the machine. I suppose so."

"Factol," Sgillin spoke up. "I have one more question. When did you learn about the legend? I am only concerned with the connection between the time of your information and today’s happenings."

Lady Erin smirked as he again tried to elicit information from her about this matter, but nodded as he adjusted his question a bit more. "We've known about the Machine for a while, but about the Chosen only since a few weeks."

The half-elf didn't let up yet. "And how did you find out about it? By chance, that is, someone read about it in an old book? Or did something happen?"

Erin smiled again, but this time with a certain adamancy. "It may be too soon to spell this out."

"How did you make the connection?" Lereia wanted to know. "That what happened to us might be the fulfillment of the prophecy?"

"The prophecy describes the abilities of the Chosen," Erin replied. "But it doesn't name them. At least not the part that we have."

"However, only six abilities are mentioned," Da'nanin added.

"How are they described?" asked Lereia.

Erin crossed one leg over the other and her dress rustled softly. Apparently, she could recall the ancient lore effortlessly from her memory. "The prophecy says: the child who sees the invisible signs and the child who knows the scent of the planes." She looked first to Naghûl, then to Lereia. "There is no mention of Sgillin's ability, however. The other four are: the child who knows the Old Tongue - the child who sees into the past and future - the child who walks through dreams and the child whose blood makes the razorvine bloom."

Sgillin raised his shoulders. "But maybe what I experienced is not an ability at all, but was just coincidence. Caused by the vortex or its appearance and disappearance."

The Sensates' factol smiled inscrutably. "Maybe. But I don't really believe in coincidences. Not in this matter.

Lereia drew lines in her notebook and kept tapping her finger here and there. "Difficult to assign them," she muttered.

Da'nanin nodded. "Yes, even more so since there seem to be nine Chosen."

Sgillin, meanwhile, seemed to be preoccupied with an entirely different question. "Hm, I wonder … if what I experienced really is one of the gifts ... Then where is the spirit of the creature I switch bodies with?"

"Perhaps within you?" Lady Erin speculated.

Sgillin looked to Lereia. "Did I act like a scorpion when I possibly switched spirits with it? So, was I clacking my hands or was I flapping my ... well, never mind."

Erin had to laugh at the question but Lereia frowned. "I wasn't paying attention to you at this moment." Then she slowly closed the book. "I'd like to sleep on it for a night. And then maybe try to learn more about the legend of the Machine and the prophecy that goes with it. By the way, what does Deus Machina mean?"

"It means God Machine," the Sensates’ factol explained.

"That sounds powerful," Sgillin remarked.

Da'nanin nodded. "And here in the Cage ... also dangerous."

Sgillin looked to Naghûl and Lereia. "Do you think we can train these skills?"

"A good question," Naghûl replied. "I don't know about mine ... How could I be able to affect it?"

Lereia rubbed her forehead. "It's all a bit much right now. I'd like to know what it all even means. At least learn a little bit more about it."

"Yes, that's understandable," Lady Erin replied. "However, you should get comfortable with the idea of becoming part of something bigger than all of us. Much greater."

Naghûl clutched his forehead as a certain thought suddenly occurred to him. "She wanted us to get there - didn't She?"

Erin's look was uncharacteristically serious and her answer unusually brief. "Yes."

Sgillin exhaled audibly and Lereia shook her head. "But why would She allow the gods to do that? Allow it at all?"

"What do you mean?" the factol asked.

"That something is happening to Sigil. That something is rising here."

"You mean the Lady?", Sgillin wanted to know.

Lereia nodded slightly and Erin was now smiling again, though this time it could be called thoughtful rather than excited. "There are things that are in the dark," she explained. "Possibly the Lady wants the Machine to be found. Or possibly not. And what role you or the other Chosen are playing in all of that we don't know yet."

"How can we find the others?" asked Naghûl. "Or will they find us?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know that either," Erin replied regretfully. "It seems to me, the most promising way is to look out for people with the gifts we know of."

Sgillin suddenly had to grin. "The God Machine ... Let's see what gods cross my path."

"Pray there aren't too many," Da'nanin replied with a grin.

Naghûl now felt excitement clearly taking over. "I need my own secret sensory stone for this," he blurted out.

"Approved," his factol replied with a laugh, apparently pleased with her factotum's enthusiasm.

Lereia, on the other hand, still looked thoughtful. "How can we find out more?"

"We'll use every source of information that we have, of course," Lady Erin promised. "Maybe we'll find out something. You can, of course, investigate yourselves, too."

Naghûl laughed. "Get ready for me to keep asking all of you if you see this and that."

"Then someday I'll take over your mind so this constant asking will stop," Sgillin threatened with a wink.

Naghûl grinned broadly and leaned back in his chair, more relaxed now. "I wonder what the numbers 3, 5 and 3 mean ..."

Lereia raised her shoulders. "I apparently perceive … the scent of planes? I don't think that sounds all that important. Seeing invisible signs, though, I'm sure you can work with that."

Erin eyed the young woman closely, her expression not quite indicating what she thought of her remark. "The planes are what makes up our multiverse," she explained calmly. "Make no mistake."

Naghûl nodded in agreement, but before he could add anything, Sgillin snapped his fingers. "Perhaps you sensed something from the plane to which the vortex led. That would be like an early warning mechanism for unknown portals."

"I can’t even tell, what the scent of a plane is supposed to be," Lereia objected.

"Well, if it smells like sulfur, you should probably think twice about going through," Sgillin said lightly.

His remark elicited a smirk from Erin and this time Da'nanin turned to Lereia. "Prophecies often paraphrase very vaguely. Who knows what your ability holds."

Lereia leaned back. "It's all very cryptic, but I also think we'll understand it better with time. I just hope we don't make any mistakes or miss something or anything like that. It's just still too obscure."

Again, a troubling thought occurred to Naghûl. "Oh no ... could this mean for me that I’ll have to deal with cryptography?"

Erin laughed heartily, but Sgillin didn't even respond to his friend, as something had apparently crossed his mind as well. "Well, we could go to a known portal tomorrow and see if anything happens. Maybe we have these gifts near portals only."

Lereia nodded, a little exhausted. "A good idea, Sgillin."

"One more thing ..." Erin added. "It is imperative that we stay in close contact from now on. I would therefore like to schedule another meeting for next week."

Naghûl nodded. "I will probably have to abandon my county, albeit grief-stricken."

The thought certainly depressed him, all the more so because he knew how important his wife Morânia considered her county on the Material Plane. And yet he had the strong feeling that his further path would lead him away from there and permanently back to the planes.

Erin seemed to guess his reasonings, for she eyed him sympathetically. "We don't know how quickly all of this will unfold. But it will have a lasting effect on your lives, yes ..."

Naghûl was grateful for her frankness, that she did not try to downplay or gloss over the situation. But perhaps that sounded too negative. After all, a unique and magnificent experience awaited him. And what Sensate’s heart would not have beaten faster at that?

 

(played January 28, 2012)