Sable/Aurellis
Mid-October SY154
I'd had one of those busy "I declare this building open" kind of days which come as part of the job of a constitutional monarch, and was looking forward to putting my feet up and enjoying a glass of whisky in front of the fire before dinner, when I felt the stirrings of a Trump call. I checked my mental Trump deck and after identifying the caller as my brother-in-law, I opened the contact.
"Evening, Roland...everything OK?"
"I don't always call you with a crisis," he answered, "and actually, this time I've had a thought I want to run past you, which might help you out with a long-standing problem."
"Fire away."
"Better if you came to me," he replied, and offered his hand.
Comfort and laziness warred briefly with curiosity, but curiosity won and I got to my feet. I took his hand and stepped through to a sitting room, and I suddenly felt to be a whole universe away from where I'd started out. I guessed we were in Eboracum from the Roman-style decor. I looked around the room, and saw Rupert off to one side, reclining comfortably on one of the couches, a glass of wine beside him and Rikart Schultz standing protectively nearby. We caught each other's eye, and I gave my brother a perfunctory nod. He was still far from my favourite person, and our recent monthly meetings had been strained at best.
"What's this about?" I asked, returning my attention to our host.
"I think I've come up with a solution to your body-swap problem," he replied, gesturing for me to sit and ordering a servant to pour a glass out of the wine flagon for me as well. She did so, then made herself scarce without a word.
"I'm all ears," I said, as I took a sip from the perfectly chilled light white.
"As am I," Rupert commented.
"How much do either of you remember from when you initiated to the Aurellian Logrus?"
The first time I'd walked the Logrus, I'd ended up in a pretty bad way. I didn't do enough to dampen down my own affinity with the Pattern, and it had had both mental and physical side-effects, which I'd had to take a time out in Eboracum to recover from. The other couple of times, I'd been better prepared, but it had still been a struggle and I think I'd blotted quite a bit of it out.
"A lot of obstacles and mind games," I answered, "much of it's blurred, though."
"It was certainly an odd experience," my brother supplied, "if I remember rightly, body and soul don't necessarily take the same path through the obstacles which it throws up in front of you, which made it very uncomfortable and more than a little disturbing."
As he answered Roland, I wondered if his memories were clearer and less unpleasant than mine because he was the counterpart, rather than the actual creator, and so had been less affected by contact with a Chaos-based Power. Or if it was because he'd learned from my mistakes. Or worst still, if it was because he and Gaia (the spirit of Roland's daughter who occupies the Power and acts as a far from unbiased referee of who should live, who should die, and what they should get out of it in return) had come to a mutual arrangement on his aspect, rather than it being assigned apparently randomly, as mine had been. I'd hated the idea of him becoming God of Protection when he'd first joked about it at our first monthly meeting after his near-fatal encounter with Andrew the previous April. I'd hated the idea even more after he'd gone through with his plan, and Gaia had given him exactly what he'd wanted in which respect, I suspected that the personal brand of bedroom diplomacy which had successfully won him allies in the past (including Frida, when she had still been Queen of Leipzig) had been involved.
"You understand what I'm getting at, then," Roland said to him, and I pulled myself back from my musings to concentrate on the conversation at hand, "I'm willing to bet that if both you felt capable of traversing it again, and did so at the same time, there would be a good chance that your souls would end up back in the correct bodies."
"Intriguing idea," Rupert mused, "and theoretically, it might well work."
"I can't say I'm jumping up and down with joy at the prospect of going through the Aurellis Logrus again," I countered.
"You make it sound like a common occurrence," my brother commented, then shrugged, "on the other hand, have you come up with a better idea in the months you've been looking? Because I know I haven't, since I decided to put some actual thought into it."
"Unfortunately not."
"What would we need to do?" Rupert asked Roland.
"Nothing any different to before. Go in, walk the course and come out the other side."
Roland sounded confident that it would work and Rupert was obviously tempted. For my part, I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but as my brother had said, I hadn't come up with a better one.
"When can you set it up?" I asked.
"Now, if you want."
"Get it over with, eh?"
"Something like that," Roland said with a chuckle, then looked more serious, "having two of the Pantheon metaphorically and physiologically scrambled isn't a situation it would be good to maintain. Sure, when you both reinitiated in the immediate aftermath of your... experience...it staved off trouble for a while, but it would be better to get it sorted out once and for all. For the both of you, as well as for the Pantheon."
"I'm game," Rupert commented, although from where I was sitting, I could see that Schultz was far less enthused by this idea than his principal.
"Robert?"
"Sure..." I said, admittedly with a lack of enthusiasm, "why not?"
"Then why don't we head down there," Roland suggested, and got to his feet. The three of us joined him, and a few moments later we were in the ante-room outside the Aurellis chamber.
"I imagine you'll need a few minutes to prepare yourselves," he suggested, "but please don't kill each other in the meantime. It's a pain getting blood out of the stonework."
And he headed into the room to do whatever it was he needed to do to prepare his Power for visitors.
I moved to one side of the ante-room, and Rupert to the other, with the long-suffering Schultz playing Geneva between us, and I concentrated on damping down the Pattern as much as I could, so it would be safe to proceed. Across the room, I could tell that Rupert was doing likewise. Schultz observed us both as if his life depended on it, and from his body language, he was obviously very unhappy with the whole idea.
Roland returned about fifteen minutes later.
"Ready?"
"As I think we're ever going to be," I answered.
"Pater Deorum," Schulz said, finally breaking his silence, "I've decided that I wish to accompany the Great Protector into the Logrus."
All three of us looked at him in surprise, as he continued.
"I would be derelict in my duty if I did not voice my concerns about my principal and His Majesty being within a Power which is alien to both of them at the same time. If I go with the RFSS, I can protect him."
"I'm not sure you understand what you're asking, Colonel Schultz," Roland replied, "as we discussed earlier, body and soul travel separately. How would you even begin to go about protecting him?"
"I believe that through my link to him as a Priest of Protection, I can shadow him in whatever way I would be required to," the younger man answered.
Had I realised that Schultz was an actual priest of Rupert's aspect? I suppose it made sense, given his position, but it wasn't something that was common, even within my brother's organisation. I only knew of two declared Protection priests who had been associated with the SS: one of them was solidly retired and now Rupert's high priestess in Eboracum, and the other was nothing like as retired as I would have liked.
"It doesn't work like that," Roland stated, firmly.
"With due respect, Pater Deorum, has a situation like this ever come up before?"
"Well, no..."
"Then how do you know that it wouldn't work?" he asked, and it looked for a moment as if Roland didn't immediately have an answer for him.
"Rikart, you'd be taking a Hell of a risk," Rupert said to him, and even he seemed startled by Schultz's dedication.
"For a start," Roland said, finding his voice, "the Logrus doesn't allow anyone who isn't of my bloodline to initiate to it, unless I'm actively trying to protect and support them. That means all my concentration is going to be focused on keeping Robert and Rupert alive. I won't be able to help you."
"But the Great Protector can," the younger man replied.
"This is insane," Rupert protested, "I can't ask you to do this."
"And I refuse to let you enter the Power without me," he answered, underlying his objection by moving between his principal and the entrance to the chamber, "my duty is to protect you from yourself if necessary - and I have faith that you will protect me in return."
As gestures go, it was an impressive one, even if Rupert could have brushed him aside at will had he chosen to. My respect for Schultz rose, even if I thought he'd taken leave of his senses and was firmly of the opinion that the young man was signing his own death warrant. This went beyond just following orders, and as so often in the past, I couldn't understand how a tyrant like Rupert had engendered this kind of loyalty. Moreover, I was pretty damned sure that if it had been August de Lyon standing there, I would neither have expected him to walk into the fire for me in the same way, nor would I have expected him to offer.
"You have my word, both as Great Protector and as Master of the Brotherhood, that I will protect you to the best of my ability," Rupert said to him, quietly, and the younger man nodded.
"Thank you, Herr Reichsführer."
Roland looked at them both, obviously unhappy, and then shrugged.
"On your own head be it, Colonel. But for your sake I hope your faith isn't misplaced."
Schultz acknowledged what could well turn out to be a hollow victory with a nod.
"One last thing," Roland said, "before either of you take a step further, I'd ask you to remove the daggers from your belts."
Schultz hesitated, but Rupert did not. He unclipped his honour dagger and handed it, still sheathed, to Roland, obviously having been asked the same question in the past. And of course, it was a Pattern item, which rather made the potential for destruction far worse. Schultz took his cue from his boss and did the same.
"You don't normally carry black magic tainted ritual weaponry around with you, do you Robert?" Roland asked me, as he brought a box to himself from somewhere and slipped them inside. Rupert's magical proclivities are about as popular with my brother in law as they are with me.
"Not so much, no."
"Fair enough. Then let's go."
We headed into the chamber, where the Logrus was waiting for us. It still gave me unpleasant shivers up and down my spine: my life is just too bound to the Pattern. Still, I'd done this before. I could do it again.
"Step inside when you're ready," Roland suggested, and before I lost my nerve, without waiting for my brother, I took a deep breath and did as I was bid. The last thing I saw was Rupert and Schultz exchanging some last minute words.
What can I say about traversing the Logrus? For a Pattern creator, it hurts like Hell. I lost contact with my body almost immediately, feeling as if it had been sheared off, but as I made my transit, it could subconsciously feel it being blown about as if it was in a tornado. As for the perceptions my mind offered, it was as if I was struggling against almost insurmountable obstacles, both mental and physical, as the Logrus - or I suppose, more accurately, Gaia - tried to prevent my journey. Moreover, as I walked, it bored into my deepest thoughts and resentments, and I could feel it picking at the issues I had with Rupert regarding his aspect, worrying them like an itching scab. And equally, I could feel someone else chipping away at my own self-image in return.
Then finally, after what seemed like forever, I became aware of the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. I walked towards it, and as I did, I felt my body and soul rejoin. Three steps later, I re-emerged into the chamber which housed the Aurellis. My body felt like it had been through a hurricane, and I was cold, exhausted and naked (physical items always have a habit of losing to the Logrus). I was also bothered by the ghost of a memory of actually meeting Gaia and being asked my price. My lasting impression was that I hadn't been willing to pay, but who knows whether that was true, or whether my mind had been tricked. I took a deep breath to centre myself, conjured up some clothes, dressed and then glanced around me, to see who was there. Roland was sitting on a stone bench off to one side, near the entrance, looking a almost as exhausted as I felt. Presumably whatever it was he had been doing to make sure Rupert and I made it safely through the process was taking its toll on him as well. The box holding the daggers was on the floor beside him.
"Have either of the others made it out yet?" I asked, going over to him.
"You're the first," he replied, distracted, "did it work?"
I sat myself down on the bench beside him and started doing a self-check. Physically exhausted and bruised all over, but in one piece. And more importantly, no dark-side markers.
"It looks like it, but I won't know for sure until Rupert comes out."
He nodded, and returned his full concentration to the problem at hand, ie keeping Rupert alive long enough for him to finish reinitiating, and therefore hopefully reintegrating into his own body. About ten minutes later, he stood up.
"He's out...round the other side."
Together we strolled round the chamber, in time to see my brother turn towards us, having dealt with his own modesty issues. He looked tired and angry, and he was alone.
"How are you doing?" Roland asked him.
However, instead of answering, quick as a flash, Rupert rounded on me, fury in his eyes, "What the Hell were you playing at, you arrogant, self-righteous bastard?"
I felt myself knocked backwards as he hit me with some kind of burst of energy, and I staggered under the weight of the blast. It felt...odd. Like nothing I'd ever experienced, although in a strange way it reminded me of Trump energy, and it left the air sizzling and stinking of ozone. I just avoided stepping back into the Aurellian Logrus, before regaining my balance. I looked at him, surprised, and realised that whatever he'd just hit me with had caught him out as well.
"I have no idea what Gaia was on when she made you God of Protection..." I blurted out, "...no doubt you screwed her brains out to win her over. But it was a fucking stupid idea, and I was trying to fix it."
My turn to be surprised. Whatever my feelings on the matter, I sure as Hell hadn't meant to speak out either so crudely or so bluntly. It was as if it had just...happened.
"Well congratulations, you son of a bitch," he answered, angrily, "you've not only got your wish, but you've killed Rikart in the process. I felt my link to him break, and then he was gone. And whatever you may or may not think I deserve, he deserved better."
I felt him bringing up another bust of energy, and used the Logrus to shield myself, but Roland stepped between us (brave man!) before Rupert could attack.
"Enough!" Roland snapped, "Both of you, calm down."
Rupert glanced at me with a look of pure hatred, then took a deep breath and consciously tried to mentally step back from the conflict.
"You know his wife's pregnant, don't you?" he said, his voice at a more normal volume.
"No, I didn't," I answered, slightly chastened, although I couldn't help wondering if it would have made any difference if I had, "I'm sorry."
"Rupert, he understood the risk when he stepped into the Logrus," Roland was saying, quietly, "I made it very clear to him."
"He trusted me to protect him, and I failed," came the answer, and to my surprise, I could hear guilt underlying my brother's voice.
Rupert turned away from us both, anger giving way to sadness, and looked back at the Aurellian Logrus. I wondered if he'd ever felt this way about any of the other members of the Honour Guard who'd died for him. Somehow, I rather doubted it. With Schultz, he'd moved beyond taking him for granted, possibly because of his parentage, and grown fond of the younger man. The trouble was, given the latter's position, death in service had been an almost inevitable end condition. Very few heads of the Honour Guard had lived long enough to retire, and of those that did, most had been invalided out of service. Then it dawned on me. If Rupert no longer had the aspect of Protection, which certainly seemed to be what he was implying, what did he have instead? Roland's Logrus doesn't let anyone out without giving them a job, as it were, and yet here was my brother, large as life. I glanced over to Roland, who seemed to be concentrating once more, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Well, well," he said, finally, his tone a combination of surprise and amusement. It was enough to cause Rupert to turn back towards us, "I didn't even realise that was possible."
"What?" I asked, suspicious.
"Neither of you has come out of unchanged."
"That was the point," Rupert said, his eyes narrowing, "the whole idea was to get us back into the bodies we belonged in, although I'll admit I can detect one or two changes from when I last resided in this one. Still, at least you've been keeping it rather fitter than your own model, Mein Bruder."
"And you haven't filled this one with junk," I retorted.
"Amusing as this is," Roland commented, "that's not what I meant. You've both changed aspects: not just Rupert."
"How is that even possible?" I asked.
"Damned if I know," Roland replied, "Rupert, despite trying to take a slice out of Robert for what he did, were you trying to do a little realigning yourself?"
He looked at us, then shrugged.
"It may have crossed my mind. And you know me. Gaia always did have a soft spot for me."
"Gaia has a soft spot for anyone willing to sleep with her," I snapped, wishing I was surprised at his hypocrisy.
"Do you know that from experience, or reputation?" he replied, smoothly.
"Reputation. I've tried to avoid falling into that particular trap."
"Probably why neither of us is God of Protection now, then," he answered, coldly, then turned back to Roland, "at least, I imagine that's what you're about to share with us?"
"Correct," Roland replied.
"So?"
"Robert appears to have lost the aspect of Trump and gained the aspect of Truth, to add to Investigation and Teaching...which I guess, in a twisted kind of way, makes sense. Or at least as much sense as Gaia ever makes."
I was trying to get my head around that when Rupert burst out laughing. It wasn't a pleasant sound.
"Robert...sanctimonious, self-denying, self-deluding Robert...God of Truth. That's priceless. That almost makes up for what the bastard did to Rikart."
"It gets worse," Roland replied.
"How?" I asked, cautiously.
"It seems Rupert has the Trump aspect."
That didn't sound good. Not at all.
"Which means what?" Rupert asked, curious.
"I don't have a clue. I've never dabbled with drawing Trumps, so I have no idea what taking an aspect related to them might even envisage. Although I still find the concept of one Power giving the aspect of another one mind boggling."
"It didn't really do anything for me," I commented.
"But equally, as you were focusing in other areas, you didn't really do anything with it, either," Roland replied.
"Perhaps Gaia thought she ought to trade you in for a new model," Rupert said, his earlier anger slowly superseded by amusement.
Definitely not good. I could almost see the cogs whirring as he figured out what he might actually be able to do with that aspect. Previously, he'd been no better as a Trump artist than I was, but then I thought of the attack he'd made on me earlier...My though process was interrupted by a weird, almost animal cry from the other side of the chamber. We looked at each other, and then moved rapidly in that direction (without stepping back into the light!), to be met by the sight of a hideously distorted creature writing on the floor. A shape shifter who had been so badly hurt that their body had switched into automatic survival mode.
"Surely not..." Rupert said, cautiously.
"Why not?" I asked, guessing what he was thinking, "he's blooded, he's a shape shifter..."
"But I felt the link break."
Rupert knelt beside the writhing, screaming thing and laid a hand on it, trying to calm it. I glanced at Roland, who seemed genuinely surprised, and then shrugged. Thinking what the Hell, I joined my brother.
Rupert looked up at me, our eyes met, and then he nodded and we began working together. On top of our earlier exertions, it nearly did for both of us, but eventually the creature began resolving into the familiar form of Rikart Schultz. Soon he was fully human again, although his breathing was laboured and his heart was racing. There was also a bat-shit crazy look in his eyes, as the effect of traversing the Logrus took its toll. I believe I looked rather similar the first time I took the Aurellian Power, and it was a hard walk back to sanity. Rupert took one look at him, and then put him into an induced coma.
"Now that's unexpected," Roland commented, mildly, studying the body intently.
"What?" Rupert demanded, getting to his feet.
"He's survived the Logrus," I answered, joining him, "which means..."
"...He's now a member of the Pantheon," Roland confirmed, "would either of you care to guess which aspect?"
"Protection?" we answered, pretty much together.
"Correct," he confirmed, and I began to smile. So did Rupert.
"I'd say he deserves it more than either of us," I commented to my brother, "given that he's dedicated most of his life to protecting your scrawny hide."
"It does seem strangely appropriate," Rupert replied, obviously relieved, "he went in there in full and certain faith that I'd protect him, and ended up protecting himself."
"Don't tell me you actually both agree on something?" Roland said, looking at us in mock surprise.
"I rather think that just for once we do," Rupert answered.
"He's going to need help," Roland commented, "if only to get him through the madness. But if he can survive that..."
"He should do a very creditable job," Rupert finished for him.
"Robert, I need to talk to your brother on how to deal with the first stage of this," Roland said, "after all, he didn't go through it in quite the way you did."
"Thanks for reminding me," I commented, noting with some satisfaction that at least sarcasm wasn't beyond me. Whether I was able to lie, however, given my new aspect, would be something I would need to figure out.
"Is that likely to be a problem?" Roland continued, looking at me.
I shook my head. While the idea of the aspect of Protection still being under Rupert's influence, if not within his person, wasn't ideal, if I had chosen anyone in his organisation to take up the mantle, it would have been Rikart Schultz, who understood the sacrifice of living to protect others.
"No problem," I replied, "and afterwards..."
"Afterwards...well, this is going to be the first time when an aspect has changed hands, and the previous incumbent is able to guide his successor," Roland answered, "with the Seas that wasn't possible."
"And it didn't turn out well for any of those concerned," I answered. The waters at the Aurellian end of the universe had been tumultuous after the passing of the Aurellian God of the Seas a few years before, and it had taken a while for the new incumbent to gain control.
"Quite."
I looked at them both, then glanced at Rikart, and much as I hated to admit it, between Roland and Rupert, he was in good hands.
"I need to be getting back to Sable," I said, finally, "good luck to all of you."
"Hopefully, we won't need it," Rupert answered, and for once there was no trace of sarcasm as he said it.
I nodded, and with a last glance at the group, I reached out for Sable using a Logrus tendril, and took myself home. I didn't even bother to check the time: just undressed and collapsed into bed. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, and the last thing I was aware of as I faded out was the sound of a howling gale.