[ hello magnus!!! the downpour has started to increase exponentially in the past hour or so... now that the main meal time has passed and it's gross outside, yin yu is hoping that perhaps he'll be able to grab something to eat away from others. it's no one's fault in particular, but after a rough memory share on monday, he's learning the first thing to do is to run the opposite direction from others if he wants to avoid it.
so! naturally, on this tuesday evening, when he opens the door, it is only sheer instinct that keeps him from running almost straight into magnus. yin yu's masked, today, face covered-- he startles backwards like a surprised cat, doesn't greet him verbally, and does a quick, apologetic bow.
[Magnus smiles, not wanting to give him any trouble, but then a memory starts.
Magnus, Merle, and Taako stand outside ancient ruins of what appears to have once been a temple, but has collapsed to dust. They stand with two men - a skeleton and a bandit wearing a bandana over his mouth. The two men kneel and begin to pray -
Luca and Redmond: Lady of Fate, Mother Istus, author of the story of life, and the nurturer of passing time, we beseech these things in your name. Raise this temple so that--
As soon as they say “raise this temple,” it starts to rebuild itself in a hurry and it starts to de-age. The walls rebuild themselves. The curtains that were laying on the ground lift themselves into the air and they snap perfectly over the windows. And the steeple starts to right itself, casting a shadow over the party.
And as it’s rebuilding itself, you hear the clock start to chime behind you. The final piece, two double doors facing the town, snap into their frame right as the clock chimes, the ground begins to shake, and there's a roar beneath the ground that feels entirely familiar to you - you've watched the purple worm destroy the town of Refuge again and again, in many different timelines. And from your vantage point, you see Refuge start to buckle and collapse in on itself, and then the double doors swing open and you hear a voice beckoning you from within.
You - Magnus - rush into the temple, and Taako and Merle follow. You're all aware that the entire town is about to be destroyed. An explosion appears to ripple across, shaking the ground beneath your feet.
But as soon as you cross through the threshold of the door, there is no explosion, there is no calamity. And when you look back through the open doors you can see the two brothers still kneeling, backlit by fire. But in here, inside the temple it’s completely still. You see the rows of pews lining an aisle leading up to a fairly humble pulpit. Behind that is a tapestry showing a city of happy, busy people all nestled in the embrace of a beautiful woman with long, flowing, white hair. And that woman is in front of you, in the flesh.
Magnus: Hail and well met!
She is sitting on the steps leading up to the pulpit, knitting something. And as you call out to her, she looks up and says,
Istus: Well, the three of you are just in time.
You're standing before the goddess Istus. She laughs and runs her hand through her hair which is shimmering silver with a tinge of blue.
Istus: Oh, thanks, I’ve had it for a while.
Merle: All hail mighty Isthmus.
Istus: It’s, uh, it’s Istus, actually. [laughter] There’s not --
Istus: I don’t blame you for not knowing about me. I’m sort of an older goddess in this realm. My followers are few and most of them are somewhat lacking in devotion. It’s hard to get behind a goddess who’s all about enforcing the whims of fate when, you know, the whims of fate deliver nothing, but mass destruction upon you. But it’s good to see the three of you.
Magnus: [In a charming, rustic voice] It’s good to see you as well, m’lady Fate.
Merle: [Embarrassed] Oh god.
Magnus: [loudly whispering] Just go with me on this!
Istus beckons all of you to come in through the entryway and motions for you to sit down in the front row of pews and have a chat with her.
Istus: Look, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know but this town is sick. Obviously, the whims of fate aren’t being obeyed as much as they’re being made a mockery of, and the force that’s wielding the Temporal Chalice is forcing everyone in this town to relive the same horrible day, the same horrible hour, over and over again. That’s not right. And you may find this upsetting, boys, but you are dying. Time isn’t- isn’t rewinding every day at noon, it’s repeating for everyone. But for some reason the Temporal Chalice, or whatever’s wielding it is allowing you to remember the loops.
Taako makes a sarcastic comment towards her, and she reaches into this white tunic that she’s wearing and she pulls out a small pair of scissors, and she cuts a loose string out of the scarf that she’s knitting in a vaguely intimidating way. That string falls to the floor. She tucks the scissors back, and for once in his life Taako looks intimidated. But she puts her knitting down, and smiles at them.
Istus: The three of you are just so special. You know that right? Our existence is made up of countless realities where the same people are just doing the same actions at the same time in parallel worlds throughout the echoes of creation— except for YOU! The three of you are the only three of you that there are, doing the things that the three of you do here in this world. When I say that you’re unique, I’m not being flattering, I’m being quite literal.
Taako: I think we assumed that the way we were different was just because we weren’t here when this spell got cast.
Istus: I’m not even talking about this town, Taako. I’m talking about all of it! The world, the plane, the planar system, reality, existence, all of it! The three of you are anomalies! I certainly have god-like powers, I don’t like to brag, but I’ve never known anything like the three of you. And I don’t know why that is, but I’m intrigued. Because whether you realize it or not, you’ve been serving as my agents for longer than you could ever remember.
Magnus: How far back?
Istus: Really, really far back! I mean—
Magnus: Like two weeks?
Istus: Much farther than that.
Taako: Don’t say three— not three weeks!
Istus: Almost your entire lives, the three of you have been preventing things that go against the designs of fate from happening; stopping powers that would reshape reality used by people who shouldn’t be using them! And that’s my whole jam.
Magnus: But, Istus- I’m sorry, but there is some really shitty stuff that’s happened in all of our lives! Like— I dunno, Phandalin? That kinda shit— that’s what's supposed to happen?
Istus: No, it wasn’t. That was one that you kinda goofed up on.
All three: Oh.
Istus: But you tried to stop it! That’s what I’m saying! The three of you have been serving as my agents for so long and you’ve done so much great work here in Refuge, probably the most fucked up, fate-defying place that ever was or ever will be. And you’ve done so much to try to stop it. So I want to ask you to make it formal. I want you to become my emissaries in this world. And if you do, I will grant you my blessing.
Magnus: What’s that, uhh, what’s that entail?
Istus: Just keep doing what you’re doing.
Taako: [interrupting] Cool!
Magnus: [also interrupting] Done! You got it!
Istus: - Just keep standing in the way of forces that want to reshape creation in their image, following their will, and not the will of fate.
Magnus: What kind of bennies do we get?
Istus smiles.
Istus: Many bennies.
Magnus: I’ll take it! Yeah! Where do I sign? How 'bout we do this as like a trial basis, we make this one the test run of how this goes. And if we make it to the other side of this whole time loop thing and survive, we’re good to go.
Merle: [muttering] We really ought to have our lawyers look at this.
Istus: I mean, I guess I can live with that, I haven’t seen you do anything so far that has defied Fate’s will so you’ve earned a certain amount of trust, I suppose.
Magnus sticks his hand out, but Istus doesn't take it.
Istus: ...we don’t have to hand shake. You actually — in fact, you shouldn’t touch me.
Magnus keeps his hand out.
Istus: I think you might explode.
Magnus nods, and instead holds his hand up for a high-five.
Istus: That would double explode you, yeah, that’s a super duper bad idea.
Taako: Is it more work? And let’s talk God powers.
Merle: Is there judgement involved?
Istus: No! As long as you don’t, you know, cross me, I guess.
Magnus: So - okay, so hold on. The one thing we can’t do, is do what we're not supposed to do, but we don’t know what that is?
Istus: You'll know what it is.
Magnus: Cool. I’m still on board. You had me at hello.
She knits, she pulls out a new colour of thread from her tunic, and knits it into a scarf. Which you now see doesn’t end, it just fades into another plane. She knits the scarf, and edits time, to create gifts for them. Magnus receives a lance, shaped like a clock hand, that can reverse through time.
Slowly, however, the explosion outside has begun to catch up with the temple. The walls begin to buckle.
Istus: It looks like our time is here is almost up, my dears. Do you--
Magnus: [seriously] Is there--is there anything else you could edit in our past?
Istus: I can’t. What you need to understand is that the big picture stuff, Magnus, I can’t touch that, because if I do, I’ll cease to exist. I’ll cease to be. I can only help you out in small ways but I can’t affect that big picture, and I know that’s hard to hear.
She becomes increasingly anxious as the temple begins to collapse.
Istus: I have one last blessing for you, my emissaries. Your fate is guiding you, not today, not tomorrow, but to a moment that will challenge you in a new and horrible way. I cannot make the difficult decision that lies at the end of your quest for you, but I can grant you the time that you need to make that decision.
And then she just disappears for a couple of seconds and when she reappears, she is wiping a tear from her eye and she says
[ i went back and listened to this scene and my heart was instantly warmed.
magnus's memories are more familiar than some of the others that he's seen. there's some sort of fantasy camaraderie that's hard to pinpoint, but, gods and fate, choosing warriors and destinies... that's so unbelievably familiar.
the memory stops him in his tracks. when it all fades, he's left standing in the mess hall, stilled completely, the building coming down rebuilding into the mess hall, the camp, and magnus.
god like powers, huh.
for a moment, he stays still, as if sorting through everything that just happened. these memories are difficult to process, and there were so many details in there that it's hard to start--and he has many questions, but. yin yu won't forget his manners, either. it is not in the duty to ask, for a servant, and... the worst thing about these memories is that they just happen, and as a private person, he hates being made so easily vulnerable.
shifting, yin yu turns to magnus, locks his fist to his hand, and gives him a proper bow. ] ...I apologize, sir. I didn't mean to see.
[Oh, if I'd known, I would have just linked it instead of making you read all of that! Anyway, he shakes his head. It's not a bad memory at all? Just nice.]
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week 3; tuesday
no subject
so! naturally, on this tuesday evening, when he opens the door, it is only sheer instinct that keeps him from running almost straight into magnus. yin yu's masked, today, face covered-- he startles backwards like a surprised cat, doesn't greet him verbally, and does a quick, apologetic bow.
...hopefully it's not too late. ]
no subject
Magnus, Merle, and Taako stand outside ancient ruins of what appears to have once been a temple, but has collapsed to dust. They stand with two men - a skeleton and a bandit wearing a bandana over his mouth. The two men kneel and begin to pray -
Luca and Redmond: Lady of Fate, Mother Istus, author of the story of life, and the nurturer of passing time, we beseech these things in your name. Raise this temple so that--
As soon as they say “raise this temple,” it starts to rebuild itself in a hurry and it starts to de-age. The walls rebuild themselves. The curtains that were laying on the ground lift themselves into the air and they snap perfectly over the windows. And the steeple starts to right itself, casting a shadow over the party.
And as it’s rebuilding itself, you hear the clock start to chime behind you. The final piece, two double doors facing the town, snap into their frame right as the clock chimes, the ground begins to shake, and there's a roar beneath the ground that feels entirely familiar to you - you've watched the purple worm destroy the town of Refuge again and again, in many different timelines. And from your vantage point, you see Refuge start to buckle and collapse in on itself, and then the double doors swing open and you hear a voice beckoning you from within.
You - Magnus - rush into the temple, and Taako and Merle follow. You're all aware that the entire town is about to be destroyed. An explosion appears to ripple across, shaking the ground beneath your feet.
But as soon as you cross through the threshold of the door, there is no explosion, there is no calamity. And when you look back through the open doors you can see the two brothers still kneeling, backlit by fire. But in here, inside the temple it’s completely still. You see the rows of pews lining an aisle leading up to a fairly humble pulpit. Behind that is a tapestry showing a city of happy, busy people all nestled in the embrace of a beautiful woman with long, flowing, white hair. And that woman is in front of you, in the flesh.
Magnus: Hail and well met!
She is sitting on the steps leading up to the pulpit, knitting something. And as you call out to her, she looks up and says,
Istus: Well, the three of you are just in time.
You're standing before the goddess Istus. She laughs and runs her hand through her hair which is shimmering silver with a tinge of blue.
Istus: Oh, thanks, I’ve had it for a while.
Merle: All hail mighty Isthmus.
Istus: It’s, uh, it’s Istus, actually. [laughter] There’s not --
Merle: Merry Chr-Istus. Merry Chr-istmus, mighty Istus.
Istus: I don’t blame you for not knowing about me. I’m sort of an older goddess in this realm. My followers are few and most of them are somewhat lacking in devotion. It’s hard to get behind a goddess who’s all about enforcing the whims of fate when, you know, the whims of fate deliver nothing, but mass destruction upon you. But it’s good to see the three of you.
Magnus: [In a charming, rustic voice] It’s good to see you as well, m’lady Fate.
Merle: [Embarrassed] Oh god.
Magnus: [loudly whispering] Just go with me on this!
Istus beckons all of you to come in through the entryway and motions for you to sit down in the front row of pews and have a chat with her.
Istus: Look, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know but this town is sick. Obviously, the whims of fate aren’t being obeyed as much as they’re being made a mockery of, and the force that’s wielding the Temporal Chalice is forcing everyone in this town to relive the same horrible day, the same horrible hour, over and over again. That’s not right. And you may find this upsetting, boys, but you are dying. Time isn’t- isn’t rewinding every day at noon, it’s repeating for everyone. But for some reason the Temporal Chalice, or whatever’s wielding it is allowing you to remember the loops.
Taako makes a sarcastic comment towards her, and she reaches into this white tunic that she’s wearing and she pulls out a small pair of scissors, and she cuts a loose string out of the scarf that she’s knitting in a vaguely intimidating way. That string falls to the floor. She tucks the scissors back, and for once in his life Taako looks intimidated. But she puts her knitting down, and smiles at them.
Istus: The three of you are just so special. You know that right? Our existence is made up of countless realities where the same people are just doing the same actions at the same time in parallel worlds throughout the echoes of creation— except for YOU! The three of you are the only three of you that there are, doing the things that the three of you do here in this world. When I say that you’re unique, I’m not being flattering, I’m being quite literal.
Taako: I think we assumed that the way we were different was just because we weren’t here when this spell got cast.
Istus: I’m not even talking about this town, Taako. I’m talking about all of it! The world, the plane, the planar system, reality, existence, all of it! The three of you are anomalies! I certainly have god-like powers, I don’t like to brag, but I’ve never known anything like the three of you. And I don’t know why that is, but I’m intrigued. Because whether you realize it or not, you’ve been serving as my agents for longer than you could ever remember.
Magnus: How far back?
Istus: Really, really far back! I mean—
Magnus: Like two weeks?
Istus: Much farther than that.
Taako: Don’t say three— not three weeks!
Istus: Almost your entire lives, the three of you have been preventing things that go against the designs of fate from happening; stopping powers that would reshape reality used by people who shouldn’t be using them! And that’s my whole jam.
Magnus: But, Istus- I’m sorry, but there is some really shitty stuff that’s happened in all of our lives! Like— I dunno, Phandalin? That kinda shit— that’s what's supposed to happen?
Istus: No, it wasn’t. That was one that you kinda goofed up on.
All three: Oh.
Istus: But you tried to stop it! That’s what I’m saying! The three of you have been serving as my agents for so long and you’ve done so much great work here in Refuge, probably the most fucked up, fate-defying place that ever was or ever will be. And you’ve done so much to try to stop it. So I want to ask you to make it formal. I want you to become my emissaries in this world. And if you do, I will grant you my blessing.
Magnus: What’s that, uhh, what’s that entail?
Istus: Just keep doing what you’re doing.
Taako: [interrupting] Cool!
Magnus: [also interrupting] Done! You got it!
Istus: - Just keep standing in the way of forces that want to reshape creation in their image, following their will, and not the will of fate.
Magnus: What kind of bennies do we get?
Istus smiles.
Istus: Many bennies.
Magnus: I’ll take it! Yeah! Where do I sign? How 'bout we do this as like a trial basis, we make this one the test run of how this goes. And if we make it to the other side of this whole time loop thing and survive, we’re good to go.
Merle: [muttering] We really ought to have our lawyers look at this.
Istus: I mean, I guess I can live with that, I haven’t seen you do anything so far that has defied Fate’s will so you’ve earned a certain amount of trust, I suppose.
Magnus sticks his hand out, but Istus doesn't take it.
Istus: ...we don’t have to hand shake. You actually — in fact, you shouldn’t touch me.
Magnus keeps his hand out.
Istus: I think you might explode.
Magnus nods, and instead holds his hand up for a high-five.
Istus: That would double explode you, yeah, that’s a super duper bad idea.
Magnus: [disappointed] Okay, cool. Cool, cool. Cool.
Istus: Taako, Merle, you- are you interested?
Merle: [long-suffering sigh] Okay!
Taako: Is it more work? And let’s talk God powers.
Merle: Is there judgement involved?
Istus: No! As long as you don’t, you know, cross me, I guess.
Magnus: So - okay, so hold on. The one thing we can’t do, is do what we're not supposed to do, but we don’t know what that is?
Istus: You'll know what it is.
Magnus: Cool. I’m still on board. You had me at hello.
She knits, she pulls out a new colour of thread from her tunic, and knits it into a scarf. Which you now see doesn’t end, it just fades into another plane. She knits the scarf, and edits time, to create gifts for them. Magnus receives a lance, shaped like a clock hand, that can reverse through time.
Slowly, however, the explosion outside has begun to catch up with the temple. The walls begin to buckle.
Istus: It looks like our time is here is almost up, my dears. Do you--
Magnus: [seriously] Is there--is there anything else you could edit in our past?
Istus: I can’t. What you need to understand is that the big picture stuff, Magnus, I can’t touch that, because if I do, I’ll cease to exist. I’ll cease to be. I can only help you out in small ways but I can’t affect that big picture, and I know that’s hard to hear.
She becomes increasingly anxious as the temple begins to collapse.
Istus: I have one last blessing for you, my emissaries. Your fate is guiding you, not today, not tomorrow, but to a moment that will challenge you in a new and horrible way. I cannot make the difficult decision that lies at the end of your quest for you, but I can grant you the time that you need to make that decision.
And then she just disappears for a couple of seconds and when she reappears, she is wiping a tear from her eye and she says
Istus: You're going to be amazing.
And then the building comes down.]
no subject
magnus's memories are more familiar than some of the others that he's seen. there's some sort of fantasy camaraderie that's hard to pinpoint, but, gods and fate, choosing warriors and destinies... that's so unbelievably familiar.
the memory stops him in his tracks. when it all fades, he's left standing in the mess hall, stilled completely, the building coming down rebuilding into the mess hall, the camp, and magnus.
god like powers, huh.
for a moment, he stays still, as if sorting through everything that just happened. these memories are difficult to process, and there were so many details in there that it's hard to start--and he has many questions, but. yin yu won't forget his manners, either. it is not in the duty to ask, for a servant, and... the worst thing about these memories is that they just happen, and as a private person, he hates being made so easily vulnerable.
shifting, yin yu turns to magnus, locks his fist to his hand, and gives him a proper bow. ] ...I apologize, sir. I didn't mean to see.
no subject
Hey, it's not your fault. It's fine, anyway.