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Mixed Family (SFW, SI, Slash) - A Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness 2e Crossover Story.

Chapter Five: Born of Two Worlds
Chapter Five: Born of Two Worlds

"To be a Mage is to have seen the Supernal Realms, the underlying truth behind Reality, the meta-concepts which in turn form the higher 'Root' which is the foundation of this world," the Magus giving us a tour around the Mage Consilium's prime meeting spot. "You may know this already, have seen it for yourselves when you Awakened, but it is important to stress this: We Mages have seen metaphysical truth for ourselves. Other supernaturals have their own perspectives and otherworlds and those are not entirely invalid, but they are parts of a much greater whole."

Right now, all I could think of was, I know this already from the game books, and This guy looks like Wodime from FGO.

C0VGh7f.png

Originally Kirstachia Wodime from Fate/Grand Order.

Of course, the name he gave was 'Prometheus', and he had introduced himself further as a 'Magister of the Silver Ladder's American Convocation', marking him as of very high rank in the Order of the Silver Ladder, which in turn was the most elitist of the five Pentacle Orders, yet at the same time, voted to allow the fifth Order, the Free Council, to join the 'Diamond' (the previous conglomeration of Orders) in order to form a united front against the Seers.

As he led us and Erisse toward the Consilium's meeting hall, 'Prometheus' said, "Note by the way that the existence of a world in which the 'Chronicles of Darkness' are fictional and most of our deepest secrets are well-known does irk many members of my Order and others who claim that it undermines the entire philosophy of Magic. So make sure to be tactful when bringing up your Reincarnations from that universe."

He then smiled warmly at us and spoke as we reached the large oaken door which led to the meeting hall, "After you've been introduced to the various high-ranking Mages of the Consilium, I'll also give you a refresher on the Silver Ladder's philosophies so that you can compare them with the Free Council's; who knows, maybe I can debunk some myths and misperceptions…"

-------

The meeting hall was, in fact, a covert convention center hidden within the depths of a five-star hotel, a convention center that legally existed and was paid for but was never used by those unaware of the Supernatural. It had a stage, a podium, seats, and well, all that boring stuff. Oh, and a buffet close to the side, which is great as I'm hungry.

Honestly, maybe I should skip the internal description of how we were introduced before the assembled Magi of Infinity City; it was a chore anyway.

Yes, someone can make a meeting between Magi who can shoot fireballs boring, okay?

-------

Brodime Prometheus' lecture, with Erisse accompanying him, was much more entertaining and worthy of record, with Prometheus creating a whiteboard made up of pure, congealed Mana (Tass, which is also a term used in the other Mage, Mage the Ascension) while Erisse just took out a mundane erasable marker and began writing on it.

"All right," Prometheus said in a warmer, softer tone which nevertheless echoed through the small room which had been reserved for the four of us beforehand, "Let us begin; how much do you know of the Silver Ladder from your previous incarnations?"

His eyes and posture were relaxed, in a way that made him look more like a dork than a properly elegant and refined man even as he held a cane with a top of pure electrum and used it as a pointer.

I raised my hand like the dutiful schoolboy I am (of course it was difficult not to cringe internally, I probably looked too eager and ridiculous in that respect) and said, "Well, to summarize, the Silver Ladder are descended from the alleged Priest-Kings of Atlantis, the ancient civilization of Awakened that most Magi claim their heritage from, and believe that Mages should lead Humanity but all Humans should be Mages and that the difference between them and the Seers of the Throne, their enemy, is that they want the entire Human race to be 'uplifted'... Under their leadership."

Prometheus chuckled at that and said, "Well...you aren't wrong, but the phrasing you've decided to use...It draws a clear line between 'us' and 'them'. Making the other side appear to be little more than megalomaniacs, barely removed from the Seers."

The congealed Mana which made up the whiteboard began forming letters that assumed a matte-black color, letters which spelled out: The Elemental Precepts of the Silver Ladder.

"Diamond; the Awakened are one Nation," Prometheus spoke as he twirled his cane theatrically, catching the glimmer of the electric lights above, "Diamond is earth, purified and strengthened under the crucibles of fire, hardship, and time. A natural transformative process that forms the foundation of our philosophies - that Mages have a common bond, descending from the Awakened Civilization of Atlantis. They are then further united by the struggle of exaltation, guiding mankind beyond divinity."

Erisse then wrote down on the whiteboard, Drawback: The Silver Ladder believe themselves to be above all mundane laws, which is dangerous when people who hunt 'Witches' are more powerful here than they are in other versions of the setting and have technology which is equal to Magic. Or in other words, Hunters are very strong in this 'continuity'.

Prometheus nodded gravely, acknowledging the point before smiling and taking a step back, "This is valid and true, but we have more to gain than we have to lose. Dual citizenship to both mundane and magical nations is always an option, of course... Not that I have ever had to worry about such things before. Now, for the second tenet."

He cleared his throat and said, "Thunder: Imperium is the Birthright of all Humanity. No God or Metaphysical Personification of any given Concept has the right to control Human Destiny and there is no Original Sin, no deserving of the punishment levied by a Fallen World. That phrase I emphasized is in the sourcebook you've read in your previous lives, by the way, 'Mage the Awakening Second Edition', right?"

We cringed at that, considering how before we got reincarnated into the Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness 2e, we did believe in some form of 'Original Sin' as it made sense to us, more so than the restrictions on who we can love.

After all, before I and Leon died the first time, we saw enough of our own world to know that Humans are not innately good and that it is as naive as a belief in any God to believe that Humans have an innate goodness that will cause them to help each other when every 'impediment' to doing so is destroyed.

This is only my personal opinion; I am not going to preach to you guys - Find your own path.

Prometheus' eyes glinted as he looked at me and Leon and said, "Point is, all Humanity has the right to Awaken and become Mages and the Silver Ladder shapes society so that more people can Awaken, become Mages, and then Ascend, retaking Reality from the Seers and the Exarchs and breaking this cycle of futility, death, and despair."

Then he gave an exaggerated sigh as he wiped his brow with the head of his cane - How impractical! - and admitted, "Note that this effort is undermined by the fact that no one knows what exactly causes people to Awaken as Mages; some people say that the 'Oracles', allegedly Atlantean Mages who defied the Exarchs and their minions, the Seers of the Throne in order to retain a presence in the Supernal Realms and keep part of Reality free, created the Watchtowers which act as a mechanism for Mages to Awaken. Of course, as a member of the Silver Ladder, I do not disbelieve in this dogma as the 'Supernal' portion of Reality is literally malleable and subject to multiple entities who can literally rewrite reality so that their intended changes were already part of the universe since their origins…"

Erisse interrupted by raising her hand and saying, "Uh-huh. Enough with the suspiciously specific denial and allow me to write down the Free Council's compatible yet competing tenet."

And she wrote down on the whiteboard: Humanity is Magical.

"By Humanity," Erisse said sternly, "I mean mundane Humanity; unawakened Humanity, in groups and as a species. Human culture, science, technology, and art already reflect the Supernal Realms, corresponding to new symbols which they themselves create in 'Supernal Reality'. Note that like the Silver Ladder, we seek to make all Humanity worthy of Ascension, but we do so not by teaching or 'leading' individual humans or groups of them but by destroying the Capital-L Lies which crush the Human soul so that all Humans, everywhere, can Awaken simultaneously in a revolution!"

Prometheus blinked and said, lightly tapping the whiteboard with his cane, "And that is not actually in opposition to our own beliefs; most of us just disdain Sleeper, aka mundane human, culture, science, and technology and that holds us back." He then made red writing appear on the whiteboard, Blood: The Sleepers Follow.

His tone turned firmer, more serious, "If Diamond is Earth and Thunder is energized Air, Blood is living Water. Sleepers are wounded by The Lie, which keeps them from becoming Mages themselves. Until we create a Utopia where everyone becomes a Mage, the Silver Ladder must lead Humanity."

He then stood aside to let Elise write the next countervailing creed of the Free Council on the whiteboard with her marker: Democracy fosters the Trurh.

"Yes, you can be skeptical," Erisse spoke as she waved her right index finger in a tut-tutting way, "But one must remember that the people using lies to get an advantage in democratic politics are those who believe in Hierarchy, and Hierarchy innately dilutes the power of the Supernal World, power shown by Humanity acting in groups, even if the Hierarchy is led by Mages. Thus, we preserve the potency of Supernal Truth by making group decisions, taking on collective responsibility, and electing temporary leaders based on current needs."

Prometheus cleared his throat and said, "Which nevertheless leaves room for cooperation as said temporary leaders are often experienced Mages."

Then with a flourish of his right hand and a twirl of his staff, the entire top section of the whiteboard turned into floating liquid mana which floated up and congealed into the glowing, blue-white words: Star: The Silver Ladder is the Path to Victory.

"The Ladder is made up of the stages of enlightenment, and all Humans have the right to select which rung they want to be on, even if it's not at the top. Despite the Free Council railing against Hierarchy, freedom means the right to choose not to be on top. Of course, this also means that the Awakened, or Mages, have the obligation to uplift Humans towards Awakening, which leads us to…"

He glanced at a faux-offended Erisse, who wrote on the bottom of the board, Destroy the Followers of the Lie.

Erisse then intoned in a solemn tone which sounded like a gothic mausoleum, "The Lie represents the hostile forces keeping Humanity from Awakening, and which forces the artificial divide between Mage and mundane Human by existing. The Seers of the Throne, our enemies, want to keep said divide existent because they are literally motivated by wealth, power, and pleasure. Note that due to the Silver Ladder being arrogant like the Seers and even making occasional common cause with them 'to save the Awakened as a people, some among us see the Silver Ladder as 'Followers of the Lie' too."

Prometheus then spoke, "Which I assume is a notion I've disabused you two of. So, I presume that you two will at least consider being part of the Silver Ladder?"

"Not me," Leon was blunt and unhesitating, "I've already chosen."

Then he turned to me and saw, in my eyes, that I was not going to share his choice.

"Daniel, please no. Don't get taken in," he implored, even as I turned to Prometheus and said:

"I will seriously consider it, yes."

I am not afraid of thinking differently from my brother. As explained by Prometheus, the Silver Ladder's creed didn't sound that bad anymore and they were one of the five Orders of Magi non-villainous PCs can choose to belong to for a reason…
 
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Right now, all I could think of was, I know this already from the game books, and This guy looks like Wodime from FGO.
This did make me Crack a smile of amusement.

"Note by the way that the existence of a world in which the 'Chronicles of Darkness' are fictional and most of our deepest secrets are well-known does irk many members of my Order and others who claim that it undermines the entire philosophy of Magic. So make sure to be tactful when bringing up your Reincarnations from that universe."
I bet that annoys the fuck out of tons of mages. The guardians especially.

Prometheus chuckled at that and said, "Well...you aren't wrong, but the phrasing you've decided to use...It draws a clear line between 'us' and 'them'. Making the other side appear to be little more than megalomaniacs, barely removed from the Seers."
Indeed. I know many don't see too terribly much difference between the silver ladder amd the seers. Which... is.

Drawback: The Silver Ladder believe themselves to be above all mundane laws, which is dangerous when people who hunt 'Witches' are more powerful here than they are in other versions of the setting and have technology which is equal to Magic. Or in other words, Hunters are very strong in this 'continuity'.
The same could be said of all mages, but thats only a half truth.

This is only my personal opinion; I am not going to preach to you guys - Find your own path.
No worries here :V also very silver ladder of you.

Prometheus' eyes glinted as he looked at me and Leon and said, "Point is, all Humanity has the right to Awaken and become Mages and the Silver Ladder shapes society so that more people can Awaken, become Mages, and then Ascend, retaking Reality from the Seers and the Exarchs and breaking this cycle of futility, death, and despair."
There's the idealism.

Prometheus blinked and said, lightly tapping the whiteboard with his cane, "And that is not actually in opposition to our own beliefs; most of us just disdain Sleeper, aka mundane human, culture, science, and technology and that holds us back." He then made red writing appear on the whiteboard, Blood: The Sleepers Follow.
Naming this blood was probably a bad move, but. Well. All orders have their flaws.

Star: The Silver Ladder is the Path to Victory.
Ominous worm noises intensify.

I am not afraid of thinking differently from my brother. As explained by Prometheus, the Silver Ladder's creed didn't sound that bad anymore and they were one of the five Orders of Magi non-villainous PCs can choose to belong to for a reason…
I mean yeah. For as maligned as they can be they have an important job and a valuable role in mage society. They are also. Fundamentally still trying to do and be good.
 
In other news, I am going to buff Hunters to be able to take on Mages as well; would it be reasonable to give them 'Essence Cannons' which convert Willpower Points into anti-magic blasts?
Doing some light catch up, when I stumbled upon that line of thought. When one 'Lightsaber' enough isn't going to cut a 'light' through a compromised hunting organisations, conspiracies, your influences.

So 'buff' wise. Way I see it. It'd likely be on three 'lines' of thought;
  • "40k Wham" the Conspiracies, such as "Task Force VALKYRIE" and "Division Six" (to the woe of all)
  • "Boost" the Compacts, so they've got "Trinkets & Baubles" from allied supernaturals (and 'influences')
  • & "Buff" Hunters to say, God-did-it "Vigil" levels of guidance/competence, at essense minimum.
Give or take, "Deviants" as a new CofD could be the "Super weapon surprise" Hunters are going all "Web of Pain" over, just to nudge/tailor. And if all else fails...

There's always BIG D! When the alternative line is "have Veteran Gamer Hunters", totally survive/d some "End Times" from the Old World of Darkness. And have set up 'some' rapports to "we're going to gun down those conspiracies and DARKNESS. Over you... For now."

That. And of course, got one other "grave" in mind, if twiddling on a maybe "Hunter OC/Omake". But hey, gotta love how Princess: The Hopeful has many cases of say; "how to setup/raise your own conspiracy Company", Light conspiracy Compact at that!

-

Ultimately. It's all the lens of "XCOM: Dating Simulator (GoTY Edition)", if you want to buff vampires Hunters, at a more 'acceptable' cost than DARKNESS the likes of Vampires, and the like.
 
Doing some light catch up, when I stumbled upon that line of thought. When one 'Lightsaber' enough isn't going to cut a 'light' through a compromised hunting organisations, conspiracies, your influences.

So 'buff' wise. Way I see it. It'd likely be on three 'lines' of thought;
  • "40k Wham" the Conspiracies, such as "Task Force VALKYRIE" and "Division Six" (to the woe of all)
  • "Boost" the Compacts, so they've got "Trinkets & Baubles" from allied supernaturals (and 'influences')
  • & "Buff" Hunters to say, God-did-it "Vigil" levels of guidance/competence, at essense minimum.
Give or take, "Deviants" as a new CofD could be the "Super weapon surprise" Hunters are going all "Web of Pain" over, just to nudge/tailor. And if all else fails...

There's always BIG D! When the alternative line is "have Veteran Gamer Hunters", totally survive/d some "End Times" from the Old World of Darkness. And have set up 'some' rapports to "we're going to gun down those conspiracies and DARKNESS. Over you... For now."

That. And of course, got one other "grave" in mind, if twiddling on a maybe "Hunter OC/Omake". But hey, gotta love how Princess: The Hopeful has many cases of say; "how to setup/raise your own conspiracy Company", Light conspiracy Compact at that!

-

Ultimately. It's all the lens of "XCOM: Dating Simulator (GoTY Edition)", if you want to buff vampires Hunters, at a more 'acceptable' cost than DARKNESS the likes of Vampires, and the like.

I like it. Also, Chapter Six is completed and just needs beta reading.
 
Chapter Six: Quarrel(s)
Chapter Six: Quarrel(s)

We went back home, not even bothering to try and meet up with Ken again. It probably didn't help that Leon continued to be sullen, refusing to look me in the eye after I said that I was going to give the Order of the Silver Ladder the benefit of the doubt and refusing to budge.

"You can't do this… You can't do this…" he muttered it over and over again on the drive back home - graciously handled by the Principal - and I felt more than a little irritated by the whiny way he drew the words out each time he repeated them.

By the time we were one step past the door and back home, Leon wasted no time in running up to our parents to throw me under the bus, "The meeting with the Mages only went half-well; Daniel got taken in by the sub-faction of Mages who are most biased against other forms of supernatural creatures."

With politeness out the window I didn't bother to hide the glare I sent his way before shooting back, "The lack of nuance in that view aside, shouldn't you focus on your oh-so-clever-plan to seduce the person who almost killed us both?"

Leon whirled at me and threw his hands up with an exasperated yell, acting as if he was the one being wronged. "Argh! You can be so aggravating! Don't you remember how you ranted and raved against the Silver Ladder when we thought they were fictional?!"

I froze at that. Was Leon assuming our parents already knew we reincarnated from another universe?

"So you guys know that we knew all along now," Mom observed cooly. "To be honest, we weren't sure that we'd love you two when you were born, knowing that your spirits were booted here from another world where we were the stuff of fiction."

She then smiled and said, "We're glad we - I and your father - gave you a chance."

Dad then interjected and said, "I never actually doubted. Prophetic dreams give me an edge with these sorts of phenomena."

Mom's smile grew wider as she turned towards Dad and said, "Dear, you really need to stop sounding like you know everything beforehand.."

We both chuckled at that, and I saw my brother forget about his irritation for a moment, before sighing and saying to me, "Please don't screw yourself over, Daniel."

Then he paused and said, "But if you really must, just know I'll be behind you, to catch you when you fall."

Then with a faint smile, his first since our quarrel began, he went off to the upstairs bathroom to shower…

-------

When we met up with Ken after classes, things weren't looking so good. That time of needing the safety net Leon offered was closing in... But the silver lining -thin as it was- was that for once it wasn't my fault.

"Are. You. Serious." Leon's tone was practically arctic in its bite as he stared down Ken. Suffice it to say his opinion of my boyfriend's intentions was negative to put it lightly. "Do you have a death wish? Because you're going to get yourself killed and drag the both of us down with you while you're at it!"

I gave Ken a glance, who had told us up front without much hesitation that he wanted to go to flippin' Arcadia of all places... You might be thinking 'Oh that doesn't sound THAT Bad', but what you haven't figured out was that my adorable dumbass of a boyfriend basically said he wanted to go into that dimension - Not the Supernal Realm one mind you but the one that was basically the neighborhood where back alley stabbings are basically the go-to for recreation. And as if THAT wasn't bad enough? He wanted to extort - not cajole or bargain - literally extort a boon from the True Fae to take away the Queen of Tears's position and redeem her Kingdom by making him the 'King of Cups'. He's taking the do crimes part of being gay/bi a bit too hard.

Now, why was this a bad, no good, absolutely terrible idea? Well from leafing through the pages of Changeling the Lost (not to be confused with Changeling the Dreaming, try and keep up, folks) What I remembered about the True Fae was that they're pretty much Cthulhu Lite that are railroaded into existing on pure narrative of the grim persuasion... And if you think THAT'S bad, wait until you hear how they make little Fae! Because the kids they pretty much lure into the fairy vans with promises of candy and adventure? Well assuming they get stupidly powerful and removed November from their Calendar to become absolutely nuts, the changelings born from the intense torture of said kids graduate to become True Fae and continue this whacked-out cycle of terror ad nauseam.

Now that's bad enough already... but wait, there's more! For the low low price of absolute insanity, the True Fae can operate out of multiple bodies - there are their Actors who are basically their meat world Mazdas and essentially ambulatory dicks for the dickheads to torture people into becoming more True Fae, their Titles aka their True Names which is basically their phenomenal cosmic power... And let's not forget their domains - the literal supervillain lairs where they literally control the rules and they are Old Testament God. Complete with the smiting. Oh dear lord, the smiting...

Now I love Ken dearly, he's my perfect sunshine adorable boy who can do no wrong. But for what's probably the first time in my life I feel the need to break out the disciplinary spray bottle for this misbehavior. In this metaphor, the spray bottle is my fist, applied to the top of his head and vigorously ground against it until he retracts said stupidity he made us hear. But as much as I would like to beat some actual sense into the dumbass... Well. Love helps motivate and restrain one's anger. All I could do is just pinch the bridge of my nose, let out a long suffering sigh, and asked the damning question. "When do we have to go?"

My boyfriend shuffled in place, looking away with an expression of such guilt and embarrassment that the part of me that wanted to hug him and tell him it'll all be okay kicked my anger right in the ass and off a cliff. Biting his lip for a moment as he rubbed the back of his head, Ken's smile was that of someone desperately trying to go 'it wasn't me' despite all evidence to the contrary. "Eeeh... Give or take a week." It was then my affection found out too late that my anger and tied a rope around its leg and pulled it down the cliff too.

If Leon's fists could curl any tighter to make fist-squared they probably would have... Pretty sure it isn't healthy for someone to look that red either. "Daniel."

I blinked when he called my name instead of Ken's. "Yeah?"

"Daniel." Leon spoke my name again with barely restrained fury, he was less grinding his teeth at this point and more sandblasting them against each other. "I really suggest you hold me back unless you want your absolute dumbass of a boyfriend to meet my fist at terminal velocity ... And I swear to FUCK I will paint the damn walls with him."

I nodded, wove my hands in gestures, and muttered some High Speech (Mages' Magic 'Atlantean' Language), and the air around my twin solidified into a cage.

"I didn't mean use your Magic, geez!" Leon protested as he pounded the walls of hardened air. "But fine - How do we win?"

Ken smiled and looked at me, then Leon, before saying, "The Time Arcana cannot normally be used to summon our future selves, only travel to the past as the present is set. However, if we move what counts as 'the present' to the future, via using 'Story Magic' a time skip, we can get around that limitation on a technicality."

His grin widened as he continued, "And 'Story Magic' is what True Fae and Changelings run on, and my mothers have been trading favors to get enough of it…"

------

When I and Leon met Erisse and Prometheus once more, the latter asked, "Umm, don't Temporal Irises exist?"

From the Mage the Awakening 2e Rulebook: An Iris is basically a portal that leads to another universe, dimension, or very rarely, another timeline entirely (Temporal Irises). Formed either spontaneously or in response to some epic event, Non-Temporal Irises could also be artificially made by Master-level spells. Oh, and in Salamanca, Spain, portals that seem to be Temporal Irises do exist and people regularly dive there to get magical and mundane information but cannot bring living beings back.

Erisse quickly looked at Prometheus before saying, "Prommy, I think that what that Ken boy is planning will be epic enough to create one… Or lead to the utter unwinding of this timeline." Then she sighed and said, "Then again, considering who you look like, you might not have scruples towards that."

Prometheus gave her a pointed look, almost a glare, then said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, "I am not endangering the progress I did make in this life, thank you very much."

Then he turned to us and said, "Remind Ken about the existence of Temporal Irises - A phenomenon no doubt related to Reincarnates like him and you two. If Changeling and Awakened Magic working together can do that, it is a worthy line of inquiry. In fact, to prevent such an experiment from undoing this timeline as Erisse fears, I personally offer my help."

And so it was confirmed; I had made the right decision to consider the Silver Ladder as the Mage Order I'll be joining…

Author's Note:
If Daniel's monologue was slightly different near the middle of the chapter, that's because I got a pre-reader to look at it but he didn't have time to read all of the chapter draft.
 
"You can't do this… You can't do this…" he muttered it over and over again on the drive back home - graciously handled by the Principal - and I felt more than a little irritated by the whiny way he drew the words out each time he repeated them.

By the time we were one step past the door and back home, Leon wasted no time in running up to our parents to throw me under the bus, "The meeting with the Mages only went half-well; Daniel got taken in by the sub-faction of Mages who are most biased against other forms of supernatural creatures."

Dad then interjected and said, "I never actually doubted. Prophetic dreams give me an edge with these sorts of phenomena."

Now that's bad enough already... but wait, there's more! For the low low price of absolute insanity, the True Fae can operate out of multiple bodies - there are their Actors who are basically their meat world Mazdas and essentially ambulatory dicks for the dickheads to torture people into becoming more True Fae, their Titles aka their True Names which is basically their phenomenal cosmic power... And let's not forget their domains - the literal supervillain lairs where they literally control the rules and they are Old Testament God. Complete with the smiting. Oh dear lord, the smiting...
The Fae. Not even once :3
"I didn't mean use your Magic, geez!" Leon protested as he pounded the walls of hardened air. "But fine - How do we win?"
Asking a mage not to use magic. A losing prospect :V

Ken smiled and looked at me, then Leon, before saying, "The Time Arcana cannot normally be used to summon our future selves, only travel to the past as the present is set. However, if we move what counts as 'the present' to the future, via using 'Story Magic' a time skip, we can get around that limitation on a technicality."

His grin widened as he continued, "And 'Story Magic' is what True Fae and Changelings run on, and my mothers have been trading favors to get enough of it…"
Hng. Maybe? I don't see why not. Though I imagine the timeline will be very annoyed by it.

Then he turned to us and said, "Remind Ken about the existence of Temporal Irises - A phenomenon no doubt related to Reincarnates like him and you two. If Changeling and Awakened Magic working together can do that, it is a worthy line of inquiry. In fact, to prevent such an experiment from undoing this timeline as Erisse fears, I personally offer my help."
Oh this can only go weeeellllll.
 
Of course they are the second best order after all, directly behind the mysterium.

How do you rank the various Pentacle Orders?

1.Mysterium
2.Silver Ladder
3.Adamantine Arrow
---
Guarding and Free council are on the same level, but I tend to not like them (for different reasons), so I will really need a character idea that really would gain anything (either fitting well or some good conflict one can explore) to use either of them.

Here is my ranking:

1.) Free Council.
2.) Silver Ladder.
3.) Guardians.
4.) Mysterium.
5.) Adamantine Arrow.

Quoting this discussion from the NSFW (for violence, not sex) version of Mixed Family so that people who don't have a QQ account can read it!
 
Just discovered this story, and very happy to read it.

Chronicles of Darkness needs more love, IMHO. :)
 
Thanks for being a fan! Have a Discord account? I have a server for QQ stuff (including SFW) which needs more love!
The offer is appreciated, but posting here (and SB/SV) is the closest thing I do to social-media. My specific brand of autism turns me into a nervous wreck when I try to do anything like joining Discord groups and the like.
 
The offer is appreciated, but posting here (and SB/SV) is the closest thing I do to social-media. My specific brand of autism turns me into a nervous wreck when I try to do anything like joining Discord groups and the like.

That's okay! We can talk here or in PMs!

Favorite Sphere/Arcana from either version of Mage, btw?
 
Yes.

Now that the Red Mage joke is out of the way (even if there is some truth to it), I'd say probably Fate and Life.

Edit: That said; were I to be Awakened, I'd want to study them all. =3

My favorites will always be Prime and Forces.

Also, I presume you're all right with the M/M crushes and relationships in the story?
 
Chapter Seven: The Mangled Margrave
Chapter Seven: The Mangled Margrave

Exactly one week later, and after we made sure not to talk to our parents about what exactly we were doing, our little party, with Prometheus and Erisse in tow, was in the mixed-use building that the local Changeling Freehold lived in.

We were being guided to the basement by the current Summer King, a tall and heavily-built South Asian man who, behind the illusionary mask all Changelings wore, had been transformed by his captivity among the True Fae into an ogre-like being who resembled one of his people's mythology's 'Asuras'.

Fun fact about Changelings; to throw off the True Fae's scent and prevent themselves from becoming True Fae, they intentionally share power between four different 'Seasonal Courts' that alternate rule over the local Freehold every, well, season. And as it's summer, the Summer King was the one ruling -

A low growl was the sign that our host had reached the basement door, which despite having no access to sunlight, was covered in faintly luminous blue-green brambles whose thorns were as large as an adult man's index finger.

"The Hedge Gate," the Summer King said as he looked at us. "You three, Magister Prometheus, and Miss Carpenter better be careful behind it; we do not want to be blamed for any more missing person cases, you hear me?"

Prometheus spoke in his clear, honeyed tone, "Loud and clear, o glorious Summer King."

The Changeling grunted, muttered a few words under his breath, then took out a literal key from his workman's belt and put it in a lock that only seemed to appear just now. Then he said gruffly as the doors opened on their own, "Enter."

We walked into the brightly-lit landscape beyond, and our feet found themselves stepping on a cobblestone trail that led through a forest of thorny trees and vines, each thorn sharp enough to cut even our Awakened souls. This was The Hedge, the dimension that lay between Earth and Changeling the Lost's Arcadia, and it shone bright with powers strange even to a Mage like me.

As we walked on, Erisse took out a small orb of finely-cut quartz and muttered a few words in High Speech, and I felt my body and soul blanketed with a tingle of exhilaration that slowly bubbled into a feeling of invincibility like I can take on the world -

Ken lifted up a hand to interrupt Erisse, saying, "You'll have to cast the spell a second time for my Magical Boy form; my two 'modes' count as two different people for the purposes of receiving spells or being scried on."

"I knew that!" Erisse protested with a pout, before looking toward Leon and asking, "Why don't you try it for your brother's boyfriend? You need to learn how to cast a warding gesture, anyway."

Leon nodded and lifted his silver ring as Ken transformed into the dashing modern soldier whose gear and kit looked as good as his face. As we kept on walking the road toward our destination, my brother cast not just the protective ward on Ken's Magical Boy form, but also a spell of serendipity to see if our path to Ken's destination was the correct one.

Soon, we reached a fork in the road, a fork which led to a well-traveled, paved path and another to a trail overgrown with… Wait, was the grass made of chrome?

"My spell of serendipity says to 'go this way'," Leon spoke, before continuing, "Isn't that right, Ken?"

Ken nodded solemnly and said, "Yes; the Charlatan - I mean, the Mangled Margrave, should be that way."

"Then it's time to meet our contact," Prometheus said before remarking, "You know, the Fae here are very similar to -"

Then he blocked an arrow with his cane.

"Ambush!" Erisse shouted as various humanoid creatures, either Changelings that had adapted to life in The Hedge too well or Hobgoblins, creatures native to this land that were sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile -

Leon yanked me backward as a javelin barely missed my throat, "Stop expositing and fight already!"

I nodded and passing my ring hand over my eyes, I cast a spell that allowed me to see the potential and kinetic forces of the arrows, javelins, and darts being thrown at us, before shouting, "There are only a dozen of them hidden throughout the thorns!"

Prometheus was already casting a spell in High Speech as fast as the human mouth can speak, and glowing hexagonal barriers of light blinked into existence all around us, providing cover where there hadn't been any. He then said, "They are trying to lure us into the thorns; my deepest apologies for being obvious!"

A glowing ball of fire had appeared on Ken's right palm, its red-orange glow resembling that of the sun. He then asked me as he ducked behind one of Prometheus' glowing shields, "Which side of the road has the most foes?"

I pointed toward the side closest to the paved road, and my boyfriend pitched his fireball in that direction with the skill of an Olympic athlete, lighting up the area in an explosion that caused the thorny trees to scream as though they were sapient, which they might be - The Hedge was that strange, after all.

The scurrying of small figures away from the scene showed that the enemy had left the scene, and not without more than a few casualties.

"They've routed," Ken said, "Let's move on."

Leon mused as his ring hand's fingers wove a spell of divination, "Nothing is coincidence in The Hedge. This was a test, one which we passed."

We then walked through the chrome-grassed trail, finding our steps shadowed by little plastic-winged birds with a single glinting camera eye for a beakless head, whose chrome legs and mechanical talons would have struck most ordinary people as 'eerie'. As the trail wound on, its twists and turns giving me time to think as I walked, I opened my mouth to speak to 'Prometheus' and say the fateful words:

"I've decided; I want to join the Order of the Silver Ladder."

Leon glared at me and said, "You just had to say that now, didn't you? Just because your prospective mentor looks like a fictional character from another franchise doesn't mean that -"

Prometheus raised a hand and said, "But the other franchise isn't -"

I grasped what he was trying to say, but before he could finish, we reached our destination.

"The lair of The Mangled Margrave," Ken said as he gestured at the mansion/cathedral/museum of tall chrome pillars, perfectly ordered sheets of unknown polymers, silken carbon-fiber streamers, and gears, gears everywhere behind walls of clear fiberglass. "A former True Fae reduced to a 'Charlatan' by finding the God-Machine and being treated by it the same way it treated its Changelings."

Footsteps could be heard, a clear metallic tapping on the stainless steel floors, as a figure walked towards us, a tall but crooked humanoid, his skin made up of copper and brass, even as his crystalline eyes glistened with shallow mirth. He was wearing a pinstriped suit of maroon and black, with a necktie of silver with moving patterns shaped like gears and cogs.

His smile was wide but almost robotic as this 'Charlatan', the Margrave, walked over to us and said, "Greetings, greetings! Welcome to my humble mysterium; no relation with the Mysterium, aka the out-of-focus branch of the Pentacle Orders! Travelers, I know what you wish to bargain for, and I must say, your band of true companions has brought me a more than adequate payment!"

He gestured us into the building's lobby, where various mechanical automatons - Which I double-checked to make sure were actual constructs and not Changelings twisted into inhuman forms - served us tea, honey, and bread around the table, saying, "Eat, eat! This is not the kind of Faerie Food that will bind you forever into my service - That's for if you truly wish for an extended stay!"

The Mangled Margrave then continued, "I know your overly complicated plan to Talecraft your way into being capable of summoning your future selves, and I must assure you that the idea for that most curious gambit comes from the right place; the True Fae you seek, The Maker of Crowns, is too powerful for the three of you as you are now, but not too powerful for your future selves… Or the Silver Ladder's Magister of the American Convocation as he is right now."

His eyes glittered and his skin turned chrome, while his suit turned blue and silvery-white as he faced 'Prometheus', ready to reveal a truth I had already guessed but held back from even putting into coherent thoughts.

The 'Charlatan' chuckled as he said, "My dear Nasuverse Magus, why go through with this plan revolving around Temporal Irises and changing the definition of the 'present' or bringing these children's future selves to this era? Are you afraid of compromising Humanity's future like you had done once for your section of the Multiverse, Kirchstaria Wodime?"

Leon and Ken's eyes opened wide in surprise, then wider when they saw that mine had not. I shrugged and said, "You two act like this is impossible. Isn't that a bit arbitrary?"
 
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Chapter Eight: Crossover
Chapter Eight: Crossover

Erisse obviously knew already; she was friends with Prometheus/Wodime for a reason. As for myself, I started to guess it sometime after our first meeting, probably when he and Erisse offered to help with our quest, and it was confirmed during our trip here. Either way, I had fun watching Leon's face grow red with mixed anger and worry before my brother exclaimed:

"Fate/Grand Order is fictional in this world as well as ours' - This Crypter knows what he did just as well as we do!"

Before I had a chance to monologue and exposit in my head about what exactly was a 'Crypter', Leon pulled on the collar of my jacket and dragged my face to just a few inches away from his own before he howled out, "Daniel, he nearly destroyed his own timeline and gambled with the future of Humanity just because 'Proper Human History' wasn't going his way! Just because he found an organization whose official goals are for the Awakening and subsequent uplifting of Humanity to work with does not mean that he is satisfied with this timeline's history and won't repeat his mistakes!"

Prometheus/Wodime cleared his throat, looked at Leon, and said, "You do realize that I'm here, right? If you really wanted to act on your suspicions, you wouldn't have publicly ranted about them where I can hear, so it is clear you want to make a point towards your brother so as to warn him of the consequences of associating with someone who courts the level of danger I do."

Leon glared at him and said, "Take care of my brother when mentoring him. If I hear that you hurt him in any way, I will make what you suffered in your original universe seem like a bed of roses in comparison."

Then something occurred to me, "Wait, Zelretch isn't a troll, despite his common fandom characterization - Why would he have transported your soul to this universe?"

My new mentor had the nerve to grin and say, his eyes looking away guiltily as he whistled a tune before saying, "...He didn't. In fact, he loudly objected to my soul going anywhere before Razi convinced him it was in the best interests of both our worlds. Porthos Fitz-Empress from the Old World of Darkness helped in the diplomacy as well…"

Welp, the stakes just got higher, maybe even too high for someone like me who hasn't had the chance to train and grow stronger yet. So as Leon let go of my jacket collar, I turned to Wodime (no longer calling him Prometheus unless he orders me to) and repeated the Mangled Margrave's question.

"Why did you go along with Ken's plan to bring our future selves or some form of them from a 'Temporal Iris' or some sort of mix between Changeling and Mage powers?" I already had a guess; was it accurate?

Wodime looked at us and said, "I wasn't. Nor am I here to solve your problems for you, despite what I said earlier. I can provide what help I can, but you three - Daniel, Leon, and Ken - have to learn not just to pull your own weight, but also how to take on enemies stronger than you in raw capability and win, just like the Master of Chaldea won against me back in my section of the Multiverse."

Ken looked at me and said, "Daniel, do not get flattered that we three all got compared to Ritsuka - Wait, Mr. Wodime, is the Master of Chaldea a male or female, and have you played Fate Grand Order as you got reincarnated into a world where it is fictional?"

In response, Wodime showed his smartphone and turned on the FGO app (the smartphone worked in The Hedge because my new mentor had ranks in Prime, Forces, Space, Spirit, and a whole bunch of other Arcana/Spheres that made him only somewhat less powerful than when he fought the Master of Chaldea/Rituska Fujimaru).

Apparently, he was playing the Master of Chaldea as a male, had named him RitsukaMaster, and had gotten to the part where his former self was killed (not by Ritsuka, but by one of his own friends and compatriots who betrayed him) and because he was playing in the North American Server, had gone no further unless he had an account in the Japanese Server too.

Then he looked at Leon and grinned a little, saying, "You didn't get past when I defeated the Master of Chaldea and his friends in Atlantis - Not the one in this universe, the one which may actually just be an invention by Magi reassuring themselves that no, the world was not always ruled by the Exarchs/Supernatural Concepts of Tyranny - but the cooler one with Mechanical Zeus and Super-Magitech, haven't you?"

My brother scowled and said, "No, I didn't, but you were pretty smug in that fight, so…"

The Mangled Margrave cleared his throat and said, "So, now that you three have been tasked to take on the Maker of Crowns with your own power, and not borrow from others' own, at least not without payment… What is your plan? What would you seek to buy from me to give yourselves a fighting chance?"

"I…" my mind had hit a wall, and from their expressions, Leon and Ken looked stuck in a rut as well, unable to think of an idea or a plan, although I did have a vague idea for a cloak of invisibility or some other way of sneaking into a True Fae's domain for the purposes of stealing from them.

Then I had a very basic idea. I pulled out my own smartphone and spoke, "And as FGO is actually a recording of things that happened in another universe, I can transfer my FGO account to you as, unlike the other True Fae, you seem to be acquainted with Human technology and its principles, including what is needed to use a smartphone."

The Mangled Margrave's face lit up with small glittering lights at that, which I knew were a sign of agreement. His next words as he grinned widely, showing copper teeth, were, "Perfect, perfect! This will do nicely! Now, which of my many marvels and wonders do you ask for?"

I nodded and asked, "I want a cloak of invisibility that can deceive even the 'Maker of Crowns'... As well as all the knowledge you have of that True Fae's capabilities."

The copper teeth turned into electrum - white gold - as our host's grin continued and he said, "Very well, once the smartphone is handed over and my FGO journey has begun in earnest, I will tell you all I know and give you the Cloak of the Fire-Thief; a relic that would fit your stated wish."

I nodded, then began deleting and transferring everything my smartphone had except for basic apps, the Microsoft Play Store, and my FGO game. The Mangled Margrave was nonplussed as he took the gadget and began playing, and we all waited for him to make progress with the game itself; he also alternated between that and watching cutscenes.

Leon whispered to me, "I cast a spell on myself to see what our host is doing; he's altering time so that what are hours for us here are only seconds outside of his lair. This means we can afford to wait."

Some hours of waiting later, the Mangled Margrave gave a loud whoop, before whirling around and saying to us, "Good news, my lovely folk! I am prepared to keep my end of the bargain - Not that I was capable of not doing so, anyway, as you so faithfully kept yours'. Now listen closely, as you have not read the relevant books during your former lives…"

------

Here's what the Mangled Margrave explained to us:

A True Fae is not a physical being, but rather a conceptual one made of a True Name and a Title (or multiple Titles, all Capital-T). The number of Titles a True Fae has indicates how much power they have; a True Fae with zero Titles and only a True Name is almost nothing, and a True Fae with five Titles is an incredibly powerful being even by the standards of its own kind, Godlike in its own domain.

Each Title manifests as either an Actor (a body, usually humanoid, used for direct action), a Prop (a magical object that is nigh-invulnerable to a specific weakness), a Realm (a miniature world within this other Arcadia, think a sapient location), and a Wisp (a swarm of minions; confusingly, the magical energies Princes/Princesses' use for their powers are also called Wisps).

The Maker of Crowns had two Actors, the King and the Goldsmith, a Realm, and two Props, an Anvil and a Hammer which churned out Conceptual Crowns; magical items which allowed one to magically usurp anyone who called themselves a King or Queen regardless of whether they were actually one or had any real power. That was what Ken needed to usurp the Queen of Tears and become the King of Cups, Cups being what Tears were before it became morally dubious.

Not just that, but the Maker of Crowns, like all True Fae and Changelings, was weak to Cold Iron, aka iron unworked by machinery and heat… As well as had the unique frailties of being weak to the common substances of fire and blood, as well as professions of attraction and romantic affection between people of the same gender (aka me and Ken), tears from a person thrown into desperate circumstances, and something which roused my suspicion a little later on… Parallel Universe Reincarnates (aka me, Leon, Ken, and Wodime himself).

We were also told the Maker of Crowns' True Name, which even if it was unpronounceable to Human ears, can still damage a True Fae if someone knew it and used a substitute name, image, or symbol which was close enough to represent the True Name.

As for the strengths of the Maker of Crowns, well, it's almost omnipotent in its realm, and anyone caught in their realm has to spend precious willpower to resist any arbitrary attempt to alter their shape, minds, and nature… Or just blink them away from existence; that was why the Invisibility Cloak I asked for was important.

But, this struck me as odd; nowhere did the Mangled Margrave mention that the Maker of Crowns kept Changelings as slaves…
 
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Chapter Nine: Point of View Shift (Leon and Ken take the lead)
Chapter Nine: Point of View Shift (Leon and Ken take the lead)

Author's Note:
After talking with one of my readers, I've decided that I should include Leon and Ken in the 'Main PoV' Chapters instead of just Interludes, in order to prevent the story from being too centered around Daniel and above all to show that the latter is not infallible, nor is his perspective the only valid one.

Greetings, this is Leon Palaiologos, Daniel's twin brother. If you're wondering why I (and with my reluctant permission, Ken) are the main point of view right now, it's basically because The Hedge and Arcadia, our destinations, are places of narrative… And we used that to hijack the position of 'narrator', from him.

Don't get us wrong, we both cherish Daniel, but it was clear that the latter was getting a mite smug at being correct all the time and the arrogance from being factually correct is one hell of a drug. One that makes one reject the arrogant guy's factual correctness. As for why a position of 'narrator' exists?

We're not blind; most 'Self-Insert Iskeai' stories involve the protagonists having perfect memory of the franchise/canon/fandom they got inserted into even when they got reincarnated as babies (sometimes their memories return gradually, but stay perfect once they are regained except for one or two moments when it was convenient for the story, and even then they are too good to pass as normal human memory).

Conclusion: We received a few mental enhancements from the Demon Agency that used modified God-Machine parts to whisk our souls to this place and who are probably in correspondence with Zelretch, the Archmaster Razi from this setting, and that guy from Old World of Darkness (Porthos, that really ugly nerd). These enhancements, in turn, give us better memories and almost perfect recall of information; 'quality of life upgrades' that most Reincarnates take for granted… But not us.

One does not play with different major templates of Supernatural Beings, each with its own unique sets of mechanics, magical abilities, and extradimensional shenanigans, and not expect unintended consequences. Thankfully, I am on their side… If they are telling the truth about their claimed goals.

Now, where were we? Ah, yes; we were out of the Mangled Margrave's Lair, and good riddance, too; Charlatans can only be trusted when their reason for losing their Fae nature is falling in love with a Human and trying to understand Humans as a result. And the Mangled Margave is not that sort of Charlatan.

Ken had improved my mood (which had been sour toward him) when just before we went to the local Freehold, he went to me in private, apologized, and above all, offered information on the Mangled Margrave that Daniel could not be trusted with (yet).

First up, the Mangled Margrave did keep Changelings as slaves; merely three, but three was too many to merit any trust. Second, those three Changelings were in Ken's mothers' freehold and were the ones who told Ken about him in the first place. And Third, Ken clarified that in Changeling the Lost Second Edition, it was retconned that only some True Fae, the craziest and most depraved, were interested in abducting Humans to turn into Changelings that eventually become True Fae should they get powerful and crazy enough.

The fact that Ken was willing to risk his goals by bringing up the prospect that we were going to steal from an innocent target (as innocent as a True Fae can be) warmed my heart to the point where I can consider him a potential brother-in-law for the rest of our lives. That didn't change the fact that we both saw that Daniel, my brother, was getting puffed up with pride about being right every single time there was an argument between us three and that meant that even if he continued being correct, he was going to be insufferable.

So as the Mangled Margrave confirmed our suspicions, I asked Erisse if she'd teach me how to prepare a contingency just in case everything went wrong. Note, I said teach - Mr. Wodime was right that we can't rely on other people to do everything for us!

What was said contingency? Well, remember how my Magic focused on Fate, Time, and a little Death? That means that with enough aptitude in the Time Arcana/Sphere, I can literally rewind time up to one or two hours ago safely and do even more if I risk Paradox and letting in pieces of Anti-Reality which can screw me and those I care about more.

A difference between me and my brother (and obviously Ken) is that I am open to that possibility if it means saving them, which is alarming as the Queen of Tears became the Queen of Tears (instead of the Queen of Cups) because she was willing to do immoral acts for the safety of her people. But a corresponding similarity is that we are willing to countenance immoral acts only if we've looked for a moral solution first; hard decisions must be made for those who've looked hard enough for other solutions first.

"We've reached the end of the Equinox Road to Arcadia," Ken interrupted my internal exposition, internal exposition that clearly had a purpose; the ones behind our self-insertion clearly wanted someone to read this internal narration - A Capital-M Mystery I plan to pursue if I don't get obsessed with something else first.

"I said, we've reached the end of the Equinox Road to Arcadia," Ken spoke a second time even as Daniel blinked at me, realizing that I had blanked out as he sometimes did.

My twin nodded in acknowledgment, accepting the change of point of view, then we gazed out at Arcadia, the homeland of the True Fae…

-------

I, Ken Illustrious Ikari, have arrived at the moment of action - Here is where I win a Crown, the Crown which will allow me to grant the Queen of Tears the peace she deserves, turn me into the King of Cups, and redeem the City of Alhambra so that it no longer siphons hope from the world.

I owe it to my mothers and my birth mother. I owe it to myself, too. And so as Daniel handed me the Cloak of the Fire Thief, a large sheet of silken cloth that shimmered like a light peach sunset, I said to my boyfriend, "I'm glad that you're doing this with me."

Then as we, Prometheus/Wodime, and Erisse looked over Arcadia's landscape (currently rolling hills and grass with nary a tree), I kissed Daniel full on the mouth, knowing that it could be our last time. And as he kissed me back while Leon and the others looked away, he said, "I'm happy too. Also, I noticed that the cloak is big enough for only three teenagers; it seems that the Mangled Margave is with Wo - Prometheus on this."

I looked at my boyfriend's chosen mentor, the Reincarnate from FGO, and bowed deeply, before saying as the three of us vanished under the cloak, "Thank you. For everything."

Then it was off to the realm of the Maker of Crowns.

Arcadia was a place where even time was subject to narrative convenience, so it only took long enough for us to feel a little tired before we reached The Halls of Coronation, a vast maze of arched tunnels, well-lit by bright torches which gave off little to no heat, with locked side doors which I instinctively knew contained 'Conceptual Crowns' that can transfer mundane and supernatural beings' powers to the wearer as long as the target called themselves a King or Queen (thankfully, Princes and Princesses are exempted).

My eyes flickered from blue to orange as I used my own extrasensory abilities to try and find out where the Crown I sought was through the now-transparent cloak. Reflected Light, I thought to myself as I invoked the Charm (Princesses/Princes call their specific powers 'Charms' like Exalted from that other White Wolf game line does), allowing me to see supernatural phenomena as Mages can.

The Crown I sought was deeper inside the Halls, near the center of the Labyrinth where the Conceptual Crowns were forged by The Smith as The King, the primary Actor used by the Maker of Crowns, moved on. There, I would find out if the Maker had Changelings in his 'forced employment'.

"Leon," Daniel said, "I don't see anyone alive except the Halls themselves and two beings who are merely the 'Actors' the True Fae uses as its 'extensions'. Wait, four beings, including the capital-p Props, used to forge the Concept Crowns."

I dropped the bombshell as we entered the forge room, where the heavy bronze-skinned, brass-haired figure wearing an apron made of draconic leather was crafting the latest in a pile of bright golden crowns, "There was always a chance that the Maker of Crowns isn't actually in the 'abducting humans' business; I had to make sure before abandoning the quest for a Conceptual Crown, though, because the Mangled Margrave has ways of betraying us without having to lie."

My boyfriend caught on, "If the Maker had abducted Changelings, the plan could have continued on as intended. But now that it does not seem as though anyone has been kidnapped yet, we're not going through with the plan, right?"

I nodded and said, "Definitely not. And we will have words with the Mangled Margrave -"

The King, a figure of stainless steel and gold who wore clothes of platinum cloth and had a spiked crown of white stone and onyx gems as he sat on his tall basalt throne, turned at us with glowing eyes, even as the Cloak of the Fire Thief suddenly shattered into motes of light.

"Leon, now!" I shouted.

With an uttered word and gesture, Leon rewound time back to the last hour, only for us to find ourselves still in the corridors of the Maker of Crown's living labyrinth.

We felt it, the Realm radiating the Fae within's feelings at us. Thoughts of outrage, amusement, then intense, obsessive interest. It planned to keep us captive, then 'acquire' more people for the further expansion of its forges.

And at the back of my head, I could hear the Mangled Margrave laughing as the Maker of Crowns was woken up to the delights of 'involving' itself with the Mortal world…
 
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Chapter Ten: The Bite of Failure and a Sudden Rescue (Leon and Ken’s PoV)
Chapter Ten: The Bite of Failure and a Sudden Rescue (Leon and Ken's PoV)

It's me, Leon Palaiologos; the point of view has shifted again, it seems.

The Time Travel/Reset Magic I and Ken set our hopes on had failed us, and if not for the fact that our very existence was a capital-b Bane to the Maker of Crowns, we'd have died or worse.

As it is, we were in Arcadia, inside a True Fae's body that was also its home, and we had to will ourselves not to die, as the Maker of Crowns was constantly using the reality-warping powers it had in Arcadia to, well, try and get rid of us.

My brother, Daniel, had launched a counterattack, weaving a spell strengthened by speaking aloud the True Name of the Maker of Crowns, striking it with winds made up of pure Mana itself. His quick thinking bought time for me to chant a spell that slowed down my personal time so that I can have more room to gather my thoughts.

We had a decent chance to win due to the Mangled Margrave (damn him) stacking the deck in our favor by revealing the enemy's True Name and the fact that our own nature as Multiversal Reincarnates was personally anathema to him. Question was, can we do so?

<Miscreants, sent by the Purveyor of Discovery, now the Mangled Margrave, you have piqued my desires; lit a fire in me.> The True Fae's thoughts were projected directly into their minds, even as Ken shouted the Maker of Crowns' True Name once more, throwing a fireball at one of the walls and blowing it apart, only for the stonework to begin melding itself.

A True Fae cannot be defeated easily, not by damaging only one of its Titles, aka the Realm it used to forge new 'Conceptual Crowns'. We're going to have to -

"Charge!" my brother said, "Seek out The King and The Smith, the Hammer, and the Forge! Then the Maker of Crowns will perish!"

I couldn't help but 'tch' at Daniel's presumption, even as I instinctively followed; his suggestions were based on good advice, after all.

<My domain is my self!> the Maker of Crowns' words echoed in our minds as we felt ourselves grow heavier, each step slower; this was not an illusion - The True Fae controlled our surroundings as though it were his personal dreamscape. We swam through an invisible sea, our vision growing blurry as we spent valuable willpower to try and prevent the effect from warping our bodies.

"Daniel!" Ken shouted as his hazy arm grabbed my brother; this was enough to count as a gesture of affection between two members of the same sex - One of the Maker of Crown's Capital-B Banes. The two then drew each other into a kiss, which caused the labyrinth to shake as the True Fae's very being was damaged.

Running into the central forge, the three of us cast spells once more, with Daniel shouting, "Burn!" once more to cause the flames of the forge to leap onto The Smith, causing him to run around howling incoherently as the fire he had used melted his metallic skin.

I wove webs of gestures with my hands, mimicking the performers and magicians I saw as I shouted, "Fate and Time are as clay molded by my fingers; coincidence becomes reality!"

A feeling of icy cold sliced through the back of my head, followed up by a sense of nausea as everything seemed… Wrong somehow. I had tested my magical strength one too many times; tempted fate and thrown aside wisdom.

Or to put it less poetically, I had invoked Paradox, which in this world was from the Anti-Reality called the Abyss. This was a very bad thing because it means that my Magic is going to be tainted if I don't contain it within my soul; this paradoxically (no, I am not going to quip) damages my body with wounds Magic cannot heal.

I made my decision; I decided to release the localized Paradox onto the surrounding area, hoping against hope the corrupted spell would harm the True Fae more than it'd hurt anyone else.

Daniel looked at me in shock - I wondered why until I saw that he and Ken had been frozen in place, their personal time paused as The King and The Smith laughed in unison.

<What a price to pay for hubris!> their collective voice echoed in my head. <Now we truly will have a menagerie of captives!>

As I faced my own shock, I felt tears well up in my eyes and drip down to the ground; another Bane of this monster. I allowed them to flow, and with each drop, I sobbed causing the floor below to smoke. I cried and cried, the narrative nature of Arcadia itself boosting the flow of tears until The King gestured, and I was unable to stop my tear ducts from drying up of their own volition.

<Boy,> the True Fae's avatar, its Actor, spoke as its eyes looked at me with undisguised malice, <You can keep your 'Awakened' nature even in this place; I won't warp you into a Changeling if you but bow down to me and pledge your eternal service in the endless struggles of Arcadia.>

My brother and his boyfriend were not mentioned in his proposal; that made it a non-starter. I shook my head, and it was not him who answered, but a very familiar voice from out of nowhere.

"It seems you three truly need me," echoed the voice of one 'Langa Nikiforov', Prince of Tears and Dark Magical Boy extraordinaire.

Six portals of darkness opened all around us, and from five of them, a Ghost Princess held back from their 'Template's' cycle of reincarnation floated through. 'Langa Nikiforov' skated through the sixth, tapping Ken and Daniel with a Spell-Shattering Palm to break them out of the time freeze I mistakenly put them in.

"For the Glory of the City of Alhambra!" he shouted, as the five Ghost Princesses charged The King and The Smith, drawing spectral weapons that nevertheless shone with The Light, the force which empowered Magical Girls/Boys.

I looked him in the eyes as I walked toward him, saying, "You came in the nick of time; let me guess, you wanted to stop Ken from usurping your Queen, right?"

"The Queen of Tears will brook no successor who cannot bear the burdens she has placed on herself, the misery and suffering she has visited on the Rebellious Provinces to protect the last true remnant of the Kingdom, Alhambra," Langa explained to us, "Those who would claim her throne, her status as guide, judge, and ruler must be made of sterner stuff than what you showed."

He then looked at Ken and said, "But your idea was sound, your plan, beautiful. I should know, as I helped you think of it."

A whisper blew in our ears; I remembered a name.

"Alex," I uttered as the sounds of battle receded into the background. "You're Alex."

------

I remember now. I, Ken illustrious Ikari, remembered the trip to Bangor, Maine, to meet another 'Reincarnate' under the shadow of the maple leaves. Alex had been reincarnated as an orphan, an innocent left behind just like I was, and adopted by an orphanage ran as a front for Alhambra's 'enclave' in the city.

If this plan is to succeed, you must forget that I am a friend, Alex had told me. We must treat each other as enemies, and should you meet Dan-dan and Lenny, they must do so as well. You cannot be allowed to remember until it is time and the Conceptual Crown is within reach. Open your mind to my mind-wiping Charm; trust me to help keep this a secret.

It seemed that Alex, now in their 'Langa Nikiforov' form, had kept their word.

"The Maker of Crowns will have to be destroyed; Titles and True Name both," Alex was saying, their voice interrupting my musings. "They cannot be allowed to prey on normal humans; thankfully, the Queen of Tears isn't all hypocrisy in saying that we do what is needed even when it makes people morally uncomfortable."

I sighed and said, "But this True Fae wouldn't be a threat if not for my actions; I bear the responsibility for making him a danger."

Alex's reply was curt, "Then destroy him and take the Conceptual Crown. That's the plan, right?"

Nodding at that, I gathered my power, concentrating Wisps - What we call the gathered energy of the Light - as The King and The Smith blasted two Ghost Princesses back into their portals before looking at where I was, their eyes opened with shock as I was wreathed in a pure white fire that, with a whisper, expanded outwards, gaining the power to harm the Maker of Crowns as I uttered its True Name one more time.

I Am Become Light, I thought to myself, That's the name of this Charm, and the boost Princes and Princesses got in this world has made this much more powerful than the homebrew's creators back on Earth intended.

As The King and The Smith and the Hammer and Anvil they carried burned along with the Maker of Crowns' living realm, I ignored my increasing exhaustion to pick up a platinum crown with purple gems; the embodiment of the Queen of Tears' royalty.

The remaining Ghost Princesses howled at me; they clearly were not aware of Alex's and my plan. Too late; I put the crown on, and my world forever changed.
 
Chapter Eleven: Alhambra
Chapter Eleven: Alhambra

I'm back! And by that, this is Daniel again, monologuing in my head about what the heck is going on now.

After Ken put on the Conceptual Crown we fought so hard to get for him, he was engulfed in a gigantic column of golden light, and I could see the otherwise-invisible rivers of metaphysical energies that flowed to join the gleaming pillar.

"Alhambra is quaking," Alex said as they walked over to us while Leon, now joined by a miraculously-arrived Prometheus/Wodime and Erisse, was engaged in a standoff with the Ghost Princesses who were moaning about how Alex had betrayed them and the Queen of Tears, soon to lose her position.

But Alex seemed nonplussed as they continued, "Soon, the Queen's burden, the burden of sin she took on to protect her people, will be taken away from her, and she can die in peace. It was her belief that there was no alternative, a belief she clung to because she would have been fully corrupted if she found out that there might have been one and she merely didn't see or try it. And indeed… There wasn't one - I speak from the past tense for a reason."

I caught on and said, "So there is one now, a solution she cannot use but Ken can?"

Alex smiled and said, "Yes, oh so very much yes. But now, we must go to Alhambra itself to see it at work."

And with a gesture, they opened up a gate of purple shadows, then gestured all of us in, including Prometheus/Wodime and Erisse.

As the last wreckage of the Maker of Crowns' domain fell apart in white fire, I walked to what would hopefully be the last leg of our adventure - Even I have had enough trouble for one day.

-------

Alhambra, the last remnant of The Kingdom, was a city of paper walls, narrow streets, and lamps lit with stolen hope, of streets where the smallest instance of darkness was feared. Protected yet choked by the Queen of Tears in her determination to protect her people, sending agents to Earth's cities to create and sustain 'enclaves' dedicated to sucking up light and hope to send back to the lamps keeping Alhambra lit in the very midst of the Dark World - A realm filled with the corruption of Humanity turned into the blackest magic.

And now Ken was taking over.

We had directly emerged from the portal to the Grand Palace of the Queen of Tears, where flashes of purple and golden light can be seen from the Throne Room as the Queen cried out in anger and grief, shouting, "You believe you can take on this burden?! Protect my people better than I have for the past millennia?! I can't believe it! I refuse to believe it!"

Ken's voice was calm, confident, and reassuring as he said, "All burdens must come to an end, including yours'. What you did may have been necessary in the past, but now, you can rest - There's a reason I am taking the crown, so you can sleep."

A tearful howl sounded, one that shook the city's columns to the core, "My people cannot leave this city, cannot leave the Dark World, not when the Rebellious Provinces hate us and everywhere else is even less safe - Tell me how?!"

Ken was unshaken by this outburst; similar ones had wrenched away dedicated followers of other Queens/Spiritual Guides into defecting to her allegiance, but he, who was already in the process of usurping her power, plus had a plan, only continued to reassure the Queen, continuing to be calm, "There was no other place for Alhambra to be other than the Dark World for millennia, but now, a new one has been prepared over years and decades, one where those who hate it cannot reach easily and where the Darkness' hold is loose."

We entered the Throne Room then, finding the Queen of Tears in full dark purple armor, wearing a heavy crown of silver and amethyst, and her smooth white cheeks stained by black tears (hence her name) once more. Her hair was long and flowing, reflecting the bright light of the lamps that flanked the chamber.

Even there, however, narrow windows opened outward to the dark depths englobing Alhambra, barely kept out by the city's lights and stolen hope.

And before the Queen could say anything more, the view from the windows changed for the first time since recorded human history.

Where once there was pure darkness there were now stars uncountable. Where the earth below had been in danger of falling apart because of the capital-d Darkness eating away at it, there was now firmer ground that glistened with the light of the stars and the Sun - Our Sun.

The Queen of Tears was shocked, her tears slowing down as her mouth gaped wide. She was tempted to ask what had just happened, but I knew that even now, she was of superhuman intelligence and capability and was able to deduce it.

"An asteroid. Not one in the Asteroid Belt, but one close to Earth and orbiting it just like the Moon. Magic keeps gravity here the same as on Earth; the air likewise. But how? Not even 'Supernal Magic'," she glanced at me and the other Mages in the room, can 'connect' to objects outside Earth orbit, especially not something so obscure as this celestial body…"

Ken answered warmly, "Supernal Magic cannot do it alone, but when combined with Princess Magic, the power of the Light, as well as the Embeds and Exploits of the Demons, the Gifts of Werewolves, and other forms of supernatural power, its limitations are overcome. Such a combination has only been possible in the last few decades, but during those decades, a new way was forming - Now, you can rest."

"I…" the Queen of Tears wavered between rejection and hope, but one look at the stars and she said, "King of Cups, I yield Alhambra to you. At long last, the heavy crown is no longer mine."

And she collapsed, falling apart into motes of light.

The Ghost Princesses who had earlier condemned us now circled around Ken, who glowed brighter, sparks of electricity flashing all around him like an aura. Their expressions were wrathful, then resigned, but then, they were joyful.

Alhambra was no longer in the Dark World. It was now lit by the sun and the stars. The people within no longer had to send people to Earth to steal light and hope. At long last, their nightmare was over.

I looked at my boyfriend with my 'Mage Sight', not recognizing the energies now scintillating from him. Despite him not having access to 'Supernal Magic', as the King of Cups, he dwarfed me in power just as an ocean dwarfed an island - But he still loved me, just as I still loved him.

"Ken," I said as I realized a sharp, sad, truth, "Is this goodbye? After all, you're going to be busy ruling - No, guiding - Alhambra and casting aside the habits of the past that you're not going to have much time for the Academy -"

Alex coughed as they said, "Ahem. Why do you think I chose this complicated plan involving messing around with Ken's memories as my way of saving Alhambra, if not to have time and space for a few side plans that allowed me to give him time to enjoy his childhood?"

They smiled, "And by that, I'm serving as his Regent in Alhambra as I think I'm unwelcome in your Academy anyway. Guess you'll just have to delay your plans to seduce me, right, Leon?"

Leon chuckled at that, walked over to Alex, and took their hands in his own before saying, "If you grant me a pass to enter Alhambra whenever I want, I can help you with your work. Now that I know who you really are, I'm not letting you go - As I love you."

"Kiss me, then," Alex dared him to, and Leon did so, smooching them full in the face as I turned away because, well, he was my brother and who wants to see close relatives kissing?

Prometheus/Wodime cleared his throat behind me, then said, "So, when are we going back home? I would like to bring you and your brother back home before your parents hunt me down and flay my hide for putting you in danger. Not that I don't want to explore the wonders of Alhambra now that there's been a regime change, but that would be irresponsible of me, right?"

Erisse, meanwhile, said, "I don't have as good a sense of meta-narrative as an actual Changeling, but I can literally feel this story arc coming to an end and a new set of destinies waiting to be born. Alex, can you open a portal back to Ken's house?"

"Sure," Alex said, "But let me hand Leon his pass first."

They then handed Leon one of those fancy metal Imperial Chinese passes with a fancy tassel passing through a ring and said, "This allows you to access New Alhambra from any dimly lit but not totally dark place. Use it well."

"I love you," my brother said again in an uncharacteristically sweet tone as he kissed them again. And as a new portal opened to dump us back to the building where Ken lived, I was finally ready to eat, have a warm shower, then maybe sleep over with Ken now that Alex will serve as his regent and allow us time to bond.

We'll probably hug each other when we have nightmares over this; it was inevitable that this would affect our dreams…
 
Nice chapter, came from general wod thread and wasn't disappointed.
Now to actually read the rest of chapters, ciao!
 

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