Chess, Theatre, and Dragons

Of course, that was debatable and something beyond the scope of today's story.....

The shuttlecraft lands. The Star Trekker and Jarlath group gets out.

They all note the shaky conditions of all those people who'd come out to greet them (with he exception of the smiling dragons....who are still in dragon form).

"What happened?" Astra asks the dragons before anyone else could ask.

"Tiamat happened," a shell shocked preist (high ranking from the looks of it) said off to the side.

The poor fellow then, in a stuttering sort of way, told of visions visited upon him and the entire population of Babylon (the city and the lands belonging to it) where every Babylonian god had....basically told their believers that they were.....no longer gods but rather servants of Tiamat now and they were ceding their temples over to Her. Then the vision switched to Tiamat, a lovely....elegant dragoness of power might....and surprising to all....compassion.

To say all were shocked would be an understatement. Some died of heart attack...only to find themselves rising again.....as dragons!

And all this happened even BEFORE the dragons had arrived here via Slipgate....

"We arrived to find them here to greet us and ask questions," Malachi explained, "That was, after our wedding ceremony."

"Which by right outshone even the one held for me," the King of Babylon said softly, eyes shining at the memory...caught up in the glow of it all.

"Similar religious miracles are happening all over Nantucket Earth," an Ensign whispered in the rear, "even in the churches on Nantucket."

Oh pashaw, Jarlath muttered to himself.

He might not have been the most feverant of believers in Christianity, but he had visions of how the staid Yankees were handling THIS. As for the Star Trekkers....they were looking at each other like they didn't know WHAT to think of it all.

"We were just teaching them the clergy the finer points of the Church of Tiamat when you called," Synizn said, in a most satisfied manner, "Now, what can I do for you?"

And so the adventurers tell of their plight.

Nodding, the dragons shift to their human form, excuse themselves from the others from Babylon, and take the adventurers to a nearby inn (took a bit of doing, but they manage).

"Let's begin," the Dragon Mage said simply as he takes out the amber Altanian gem.

Without even a gesture, the three mind alteration victims are asleep on their feet! They rise and then become vertical to the floor, hovering four feet off the floor.

"For best results we need them out and them not tensing up in anticipation," the mage explained in a scholarly manner.

He then paused, frowning down at the magic item in his hand.

"Must give this thing to the Rules and Agents sometime," he said worriedly, "Think of the terrible things such a powerful item could do!"

His brothers had told him about the reasons why they'd destroyed their Crystallic. At the time, he'd been more appalled by the tales of the demifox versions of himself in how corrupt the Council of Wyrms had become. Who'd have thought they'd grow so brazen as to say that once a dragon was infected by lycanthropy that he was no longer a dragon...and as such should be put to death as a pretender! Something about to many human elements being introduced into their minds....and as such not living up to the standards of dragonhood set down by Tiamat. The ideals of dragonhood they'd quoted him made his blood boil. Tiamat would NEVER had said anything like that twaddle. Of that he was sure.

But now, after seeing how powerful this thing was...how easy magic was handled by it such.... It was too powerful for anyone to have.

He wanted it out of his hand ASAP!

Or maybe I can get it to destroy itself along with that travesty of a city down where the Omecs had been, he thinks to himself, If that's possible.

Right now, to the task at hand!

He works on each in turn, starting with Velus. As he worked, Malachi was told of how the adventurers had figured out how these three people's memories had been altered.

"I believe I see," the dragonness says in admiration, "Very good with comparing the book to their tales! Nicely done indeed, but....I fail to see how this drawing of Fred was indicative of was another indication that Thessamar's memories had been altered."

It was pitched towards Joan as a question in the form of a statement.

"No really good answer to that one Malachi," Joan answers, "It was just that hands are not in the habit of doodling pictures on their own. I saw that far away look on Thessamer's face. A look of her mind being on other things, but her hands drew like she'd been concentrating REALLY hard on this task I, being familiar with Astra, figured that it was something akin to a nervous reflex or something like that. Something in the same catagory as Astra scratching her nose when she lies, see. Thessamer can lie (I think) without scratching her nose, but maybe the give away manifests itself in another way, as I see it. At first I thought that it had to do with the hidden feelings that Thessamer had (even though she doesn't admit it....the others can see) was manifesting itself in the *unusual* activity of drawings.

"But.... when Jarlath mentioned stuff about memory alteration and such," Joan finishes, sighing a little in disappointment at the memory, "A side effect of that alteration could very well be that drawing. Who knows for sure, but it's a working theory...."

"If nothing else," Andra chuckled softly, "It was just so useful to finally convince those recalcitrant folk about this mind alteration stuff."

"Could see how that could work," the dragonness agrees.

Synizn then chose this time to come over. He has the oddest look on his face as he glances back at the three people still floating and sleeping behind him.

"The story revealed that the young teenage boy mutters as I stimulates and restores various neural connections to isolated portions of the memory portion of the brain wasn't radically different from what he'd been bespelled to believe," he begins, "I see that the alteration was minimal. Just enough to hide the truth. With one exception which I'll get to here."

"But the other two....." Synizn says, shaking his head ruefully, "I'd like to shake the dragon's hand who'd done this to their minds.....just right after I tore out the fiends heart!

"They're newlyweds," the dragon mage continues, causing the others to blink in surprise, "Not only are they wed, but madly in love with each other! But the alterations done to them were.....very...well done and very convincing to the victim."

Jarlath and the others could hear the utter anger in Synizn's voice.

He goes on to tell of the them of a Great Kingdom that was made of two sections of lands named Allaria (the northern part) and Aqualaria (the Southern part). They were separated by a long mountain chain where the dragon made it's lair. Originally they'd been two kingdoms, but by first an alliance that soon led to a marriage between the two ruling families cemented the proud Amazonian nation together with the warriors of the north. The thing I got from Thessamer, as an aside, was that the ruling Queen of Aqualaria realized much earlier than any of the various Astra's Aqualaria that their isolationist tendencies, while holding changes to traditional values and customs at bay, was holding them at a standstill while the other nations about it grew more advanced and powerful. Not a good thing. Longer it goes on the longer it would take to catch up, if possible. Well, the dragon had taken the memories of history lessons of the time before this time and made Fred and Astra basically believe that now was then. They're living in the past and not knowing it. A very well known and tragic tale from history, in fact (with a few unimportant, harmless anachronisms thrown in to liven things up).

But that aside, Thessamer being as proud as she is even before this tampering (memory alteration can go only so far folks....strong personalities like these shine through), saw her romantic side as a decided embarrassment and almost overcompensated, mix in false memories of betrayal of Sir John that was only found in history (the memories of what John looked like was purely those of Minestus)....causing bad feelings that the leading to a somewhat abrasive first impression with people. The false memories of Sir John were also useful in directing feelings of love (emotions were much more difficult to alter) into a route that perpetuated Thessamer's distrust of men in general. Stop her from falling for others. Keep her romantic side in check, I think. Especially when she met Fred again for the first time!

Don't get what I'm saying? Well, Thessamer had felt a stirring in her heart when she laid eyes on Fred for what she'd thought had been the first time, but memories of Sir John made her hide and try to suppress them.

Thessamer's rather abrasive nature had sure done a number on Fred's initial adore for her, that's for sure. Only through their hearts of hearts knowing the truth were those feelings for each other still able to manifest even this much.

As for Fred, his memories had been altered to think himself a knight on a quest to kill a simple beast that had been mistakenly called a dragon before true dragon's existence were discovered (dragons were rare on Fred's world).....in the very same play of events from the past that the two had been playing out before!

"I believe that this dragon had been enjoying a re-enactment here," Malachi mutters darkly, "But dragon's liking chess as well as theatre.....the introduction of new players such as yourselves is also interesting to it's game."

"Be careful," Synizn says, "Now, despite you all knowing the counters to this mind alteration, this dragon has....I believe....facilities and time enough to break through. When that happens..... Well, I don't have to tell you what then."

"I also didn't want to mention this....but I also smelt the stench of youth potions on them," Malachi added, frowing, "Seeing that they aren't the fiends who'd harvest the components from other thinking/feeling beings, I was sure I'd been mistaken....but now?"

Malachi then explained how, on her world, some desperate mages wishing to extend their pitiful lives made powerful elixirs to turn back the aging on their bodies. With the stuff she'd said about "harvesting".....the others got the reason why Malachi didn't like those who use (or make) "youth potions."

"But....who's to say that this dragon wouldn't have your reservations, love." Synizn said softly, brushing Malachi's cheek, "If that's the case, then who knows how old they really are? Could be centuries, really. I get the impression of long time....if not a firm sense, from the first time they all were captured. Mayhaps even their Great Kingdome is....gone."

"Cheery thought," Joan muttered darkly.

"Well, I'm game at killing a certain Dragon of the Southern Caverns," Jarlath said in an almost cheerful voice. His eyes, however, were NOT cheery.

"Wake them," Astra says.

It was not a request....

There was probably some things for them to talk about....after these two lovers got to know each other again.

But whatever the case, the dragons here had to stay behind to: (1) see to the proper dispensation of wisdom of this new Church here in Babylon, (2) stay by those who Synizn had sworn his life to, and (3) dragon's had a way of detecting other dragons when they are getting too close to Hoards (i.e. it would be like a flair in the night).

"Right after I give them a magic necklace to scramble any scrying/spying spells on them," Synizn says, "Didn't find any, but after seeing the level of skill of memory alteration on these three......"

It would make them stand out in to a spell of detection, but nobody could listen in on conversations!

This whole business had the potential of getting a bachelor Champion just as frustrated as this business of any future lovers remaining mortal while any children can be Champions..... Oh, love would happen between Champions and non-Champions, no doubt, but still....

1. That done to all three. Synizn puts them back on the ground. They all stand back as the three stir....and Thessamer's eyes fall upon Fred (and vice versa).....

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