Hey, Pants people. I just wanted to stop real
fast and say thank you so much for listening.
We love getting to know you guys and interacting
with you, whether it's on the Discord, social
media, anywhere. So this one's for you. I'm sure
most of y 'all know the story. 56 years ago,
when Keter Kamal made the miraculous discovery
that the auroral diamond was a magical transmitter,
he also discovered another one of its properties.
That places in the innermost regions of the auroral
diamond, which we now call Auroral Town, could
bless other diamonds with the ability to record...
and store images and sounds. Not just any fragment
of diamond could work. It has to be of some size
and quality that's the type to run you around
300 gold. This base level can store around four
hours of content, though large and finite diamonds
can store even more. Those holding a recording
diamond can use the commands record and stone
through a controller when it absorbs information
through its largest facet. Holders may then mentally
search through information stored on it and cut
out anything they wish. They may also, upon touching
the recording diamond to another, transfer records
between them with a simple transfer command.
This allows the holder to transfer exactly what
bits they wish to. This also works on the auroral
diamond itself, which transfers anything transferred
into it to each of our concord worlds through
the connected type of gemstones, the very basis
for the crystal network we all enjoy. So while
these wonderful gems can begin to seem mundane,
Poppy as they are throughout the world, one has
to respect just how thoroughly they've shaped
our lives. Beyond the network, beyond our luminary
craze, imagine the moments captured every single
day and stored in stone. And imagine the stories
these moments could tell. So, what? What are
you laughing at me for? Out of all that? What?
All that I heard was respect. What? What'd you
hear? What? Stop picking on me. I'm sorry. I
just, I kind of stopped listening after you said
transfer bits. I don't know why. That just got
me. See, I had one line I hit with a hard British
accent. So I'm not the only one. So let's all
fuck on David here. Shit on David Knight. Respect.
All right, so we get a tell from this right here.
This is going to be a weird episode. I don't
even know what timing is going to look like in
this episode because I want to spend an episode
exploring the world through the lenses of various
diamond recorders, recording diamonds. See the
fallout and impact of this last arc through many
eyes and set up for our next big thing. So there's
going to be a little self -indulgence that I
typically like. Be a lot of me talking and doing
things. Kind of doing a little bit of a show
here, but it's really important for the story.
It's going to give a whopper of context for these
gentlemen's next big decisions. Because seriously,
we have to catch you up on the immediate aftermath
of the shit that just went down. Because believe
me, there is an aftermath. Things have changed.
As I said last time, the worlds have changed.
So let's see just how much. Let's wait. Hang
on. Let's even this burp out. Go ahead. Let it
out. Release it. I was very respectful. I turned
away. I put my hand up. You need to fucking show
about it. You're like, hold on, everybody. Let
me turn. Burp. You want me to leave the room?
The whole burp dance. You wiggle your butt. You
boom. Actually, yes. I'd like you to leave. Yeah,
okay. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Permanently.
No, no. Leave the state. Ready? Are you ready?
Are you ready? Let me get some music on. Not
until you transfer my bits. Record. We open on
for a very uncomfortably close -up shot of a
big freckled face, very selfie style. You see
like sort of wide sort of gap teeth and this
big smile. You see crazy red hair. You see Chester.
Hey, yo, this is Chester. Chester vlog number
three. They have vlogs? I sure hope Jules doesn't
find numbers one and two on this diamond. Oh
my. I'm nicked off him again while he's, um,
while he's, uh, sleeping. And he kind of like,
the diamond sort of pans out a little bit and
we see sort of behind Chester, the whole first
floor of the ugly coyote, the whole bar floor
sort of panned out around him. He's sitting at
a corner table, uh, kind of looking into it and
you see his face goes very somber. My, uh. So
my girlfriend, uh, she's actually right here.
Hey, say hi, Jeans. And kind of points the camera
over to the side. You see Jeans at the tip of
the side and just kind of waves sort of politely.
And she, uh, says this can be good for me. You
know, talking about my feelings and stuff. And
so, uh, here I am. I'm, uh, oh, hold on. He looks
over at Jeans, kind of, she gives him a thumbs
up as he sort of moves under the table. Kind
of puts a cable cloth over him, kind of where
he's a little more secluded. Gets real close
to it. I'm, uh. I'm a little scared. All this
stuff happening. The Pearls fall. Umizu's gone.
Arlon says Jules and Blanche nearly died fighting
the Storm Eye. And that the Storm Eye is an incarnate.
I don't know. I wasn't listening to all of it.
And Jules. Something happened to him during the
fall. Like he fell asleep and he won't wake up
no matter what we do. He's fitful too. Like he's
having a nightmare and it won't let him go. But,
but. But yeah, he's Jules. So he'll be fine.
So let's see what everyone's doing, huh? Come
on, come on. And he pops him over the table.
It's like, come on, Jeans, we're going on a little
adventure here. And Chester begins to move across
the coyote. Moves over to a nearby table where
you see a very sullen -looking Arhalon speaking
to Fibro. There's books and notes all over the
place, as Fibro usually has. And Arhalon is kind
of describing everything he's learned and experienced
in this recent adventure to Fibro. Kind of giving
an official report. And you said which eye was
the gem in? Oh, it was the... Why did I ask that
question? I don't remember the answer. Right
one, I think. Let me think all that. I'll get
back to you. All right, well. And they're kind
of just doing their little thing. Arlan's just
kind of laying it all out. I think Chester sort
of looks at them, but they're clearly locked
in. Turns the camera away. Turns to the fireplace
where we see Akio sleeping deeply on the floor
just before the roaring flame. Round stuff is
like snuggled into his fur of his belly and laying
on top of them both. is jamal the pangolin all
rolled up he kind of turns from them turns the
camera over and barely catches a figure peeking
around the table who just dips away he's like
ah caught you miskin no you didn't no okay what
didn't catch you all right uh well let's see
how you're just doing kind of moves over to the
behind the bar to hear like some muffled sort
of fighting as you get closer and closer like
i told you not every pot is a chamber pot i how
many times well i was i was naked i don't want
to walk all about the place don't be naked in
my kitchen well you know it's my bedroom uh it's
my kitchen oh well let's not get over there um
turns around like well uh what's real blanche
is doing Dresden. And as the camera turns around
in this main dining floor of the El Coyote, do
we see Blanche or Dresden here? I'm curious.
This is, I will tell you, a few hours after the
fall of the diamond. You made it off okay. We
saw Dresden moving with Jules as like Jules kind
of went under. Dresden, you took control of the
rod of flying. You were able to kind of move
it with him. You got him to safety and you, I
imagine, brought him here where you know he'd
be the safest. Blanche, you helped children,
helped everyone you could get off. You were probably
one of the last refusing to go until almost everyone
was cleared off the Pearl. But they took you
last. And so you find yourself safe. The rest
of Omizu is apparently gone, but you're safe.
Would you be here? Jules is in the coyote. Jules
and the coyote, he's been having a, like, just
sleeping, sweating, like they're having a horrible
nightmare. Dresden probably told you there was
one of the celestials broke off. The strangest
thing, came over to him, said some words to him
about sharing a burden and touched him. And Jules
immediately just, like, collapsed, almost fell
off the rod. Dresden was there to protect him,
but... Yeah, I think Blanche is... Sitting, you
said that Akio and everybody were cuddled up,
did you say near a fire? Yeah, right by the fireplace.
Perfect. Blanche is sitting in an armed chair
by the fire, overlooking them, reading through
some of her tomes, trying to figure out what
she can learn about this mystery affliction that's
taken Jules. Hell yeah. We'll see. Are you down
here, Gresden, too? He's not inside. Okay. I
think he grabbed a drink and is kind of squatting
down, sitting down with his back against the
brick wall in the back alley. Oh, shit. Okay.
And just kind of drinking. Hell yeah. He's thinking
about how things have changed and how he can't
be so far from Jules anymore. Yeah. They need
to work a little closer together. I mean, everything's
changed. You were working for Shully, but you
were working for Shully through Crispin. You've
lost another partner. And here you are, waiting
to see what's going to happen to Jules. Trying
to decide if Chester would want to. I mean, clearly
you're in a place. I don't know if he wants to
come bother you. And you're reading a book. What
do you think? Do you give any informant you want
him to come bother you, or should I just keep
on going? I can't imagine that Blanche in this...
building full of children ever gets more than
10 or 15 minutes at a time to read without being
interrupted i think i think it's probably expected
hell yeah all right if she wanted to read uninterrupted
she would probably do so across the street at
the pale moonlight in one of jean's rooms okay
okay you can try with dresden but dresden just
is not going to say anything how you doing dresden
you all right out there The camera's like, there's
like a diamond, like, in a hand, out a window,
just looking at you. He just turns to the camera,
stares for a second, then turns back to stare
forward. Oh, yeah, all right. It just makes it
sound like two rocks rubbing together. Spins
around, runs to you. Yo, Blanche, what you reading
about? I'm trying to, I'm trying to decipher
what's happening with Jules. Oh, any luck? Not
yet. I can't remember ever. ever reading about
anything like this. I'm flipping through old
books that I've read before, and I went next
door to see Penny, and I got some new ones. Uh...
Dresden said it was a party, right? You know,
done the touching? Yes, one of the... one of
Artash's angels. I've heard things in the streets.
The party, they, uh... supposed to, like, be
able to see the future? You know, prophecies
and whatnot? Some of them, they've taken, I guess...
Make you do it too? You think it's crazy talk?
Well, if a Pari angel can see the future and
share a vision with you, then why... How long
will it take? I can't imagine that a vision would
be this prolonged. True. It's weird. You hear
a lot of things on the streets, Chester. Do you
know or expect if... Should I make an appearance
here at the Ugly Coyote? I've never seen her
here. I mean, she never leaves a royal town before
I hear about it. Not really. She's the type to
keep to herself. Well, I wonder if it'll be appropriate
to pay her a visit then. There'll be time for
that. I'm not ready to leave Jules' side yet.
Yeah, same. the diamond kind of like almost like
you can see like the nod uh yeah and the sort
of uh screen as Chester nods to boy just kind
of steps away turns around to jeans again and
just so I think that's everyone right wait where's
Kiana I haven't seen in a bit I oh she's staying
with Uncle Coley for the last few days they've
been uh been a lot more time together it seems
oh good for them so then yeah I guess that's
and we suddenly hear like Boom! The sound of
doors bursting open, slapping against the wall,
along with this sort of Harriet sort of breathing
sound. Chester's diamond whirls around to the
front door, the saloon door, sort of where a
figure has knocked them back. And we see just
looking totally exhausted. Dance macabre. Ooh.
What is he? Where? I just ran. Down the whole
city. I have a luchadora friend stalling the
jewel before it departs, but I don't have long.
I need to get back to my world. Where is Jules?
He's upstairs. He's sleeping, though. And she
just blasts past Chester. Whoa, hey, whoa! Up
the stairs, just like moving with this incredible
grace, this incredible dexterity, just leaping
the stairs five at a time. And she's just around
the corner. Whoa, should we? Do we do something?
I'm going up there. Just through the zeitgeist,
Blanche knows that Jules and Dan are together.
They're like a power couple. You want some kiss?
Yeah. Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting that
they've met. So Blanche wants to be respectful
and keep her distance, but also be close enough
in case she's needed. Okay. So maybe she'll stand
at the top of the stairs, sort of down the hall
from Jules' room, in case Dan has any questions
or wants to talk. Hell yeah. Chester goes, like,
rushing up the stairs behind. She doesn't even
see the door, like, kick open. Dan's looking
in, and he catches the moment where her eyes
sort of, like, soften a little bit. She takes
a deep breath, and he hears her say, You're awake.
Good. Oh. She moves you to the room, and this
is where you have just awoken, Jules, at the
end of our last episode. Chester's diamond sort
of whirls around the corner and catches you kind
of in the bed, kind of. Slowly rising as dance
enters the room. What are you doing, Jules? What's
your immediate, like, oh shit reaction to everything
you just saw? To everything you just experienced?
I don't know if Jules says anything right off
the bat. I think he just stumbles over and grabs
whoever he can. So that would be dance is the
one that's right there. And pulls, yeah, pulls
dance in. And then after a hug. Where's round
stuff? I saw her as I ran in. Downstairs, sleeping.
And Jules runs past Dance. Okay. To round stuff.
You just run down. Dance kind of just like whirls
around. You don't, the camera catches what you
don't. This like immediate glare. dances around
to follow you. Everyone kind of stumbles down.
Chester's, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Following
you, following dance. Everyone goes downstairs.
Where round stuff is sleeping on top of a Keo
or Blanche. You're probably up in Adam now. You
hear Jules is in. Dresden probably hears a commotion,
pops his head over, sees that Jules is awake.
I imagine it's like everyone's kind of coming
together here. And he gets up to round stuff
and just puts a soft hand on her and then pulls
it off and turns around and grabs a drink. As
you turn to get a drink, I think, like, you would
just feel a hand go under your shoulder very
firm. Dance just says, It seems you have your
energy back. Good. And she just grabs you and
throws you up against the wall and says, Now
I can knock you out again. Running off to a crisis
situation, vanishing on some secret mission,
and not a word to me. Not to mention, I have
not seen you since before you ran off to Nowari,
and I'm sure almost got yourself killed. You
are damn lucky that I think you are very, very
cute. Hey. Yes. What? He kisses her. Fine. She
backs up. She's like, takes a breath. I am glad
you're okay. I heard. I'm following the news
from Momizu. When I came, I did not even know
if you made it back. But I had my say. And you
are not dead, so I need to run. I have some of
the lead jewel to catch. I have to get back.
And you realize, she, like, the jewel docked
from San Satyan. And she ran across the day to
get to here. And she's going to catch the jewel
before, like, and everyone's still loading onto
it. Like, she must have had, like, this entire
trip of hers must have required such a physical,
like, exhaustive sort of journey to get here.
And, like, such a stressful amount of, like,
sort of time catching. She looks very harrowed.
Jules just looks at her and says, This is just
the beginning. I know. They're scared, Jules.
They're all scared. And I'm scared of what they're
going to do. I have to get back. To stop them
from doing something stupid. Go. She brings her
lips near yours again, waiting for you to respond.
Yeah, he moves in. And she immediately just puts
a finger up, pushes you back. Ah, ah, ah. I have
another long run to get back to the fire, Opal.
Choose LaRoche. I will not have you leaving me
breathless. And with a wink, she just is gone.
Immediately moving out of the room, out the door,
just feeling her skirt sort of flapping as she
just, with that sort of monk's agility, runs
away. Blanche's in there with her hands outstretched.
Well, I was going to offer her haste, but...
Damn, that'd be great. Oh, she's hastin'. And
everyone's, like, looking to you, Jules. Jules,
you're right. What happened? We should talk about
what happened, Jules, unless you needed another
kiss first. Justice, justice coming in. I think
where you're about to like, maybe this voice
is everyone's sort of moving in this sort of
wacky little scene. A smile on Jules face, despite
it all, despite his like extremely weary eyes.
We'll cut it there. Save you the need to go and
retell everything you just saw live. Unless you
want to. Well, I just imagine that he. calls
for Blanche and Dresden and Arhalon into another
room, and he just says, What the fuck? No, not
Chester. Damn, poor Chester. Goddamn. I thought
he was your partner. He's also recording everything.
He's recording everything. Chester, put that
toy down. All right, fine, fine. All right, you
can come in. And stop. I said, all right, you
can come in before you stop, just so that's canon
now. It's canon now. He's in. But he did stop
recording. And now you see, dear listener, how
our episode is going to go. Record. We look upon
the radiant citadel. The main plaza just before
the great iron doors that lead into the auroral
diamond. In this central space, we see Atash's...
hovering off the ground. His aura of light is
like this floating bonfire before a massive,
massive crowd filling the streets, filling the
plaza all around. We are in this crowd. We are
in the thrum and screaming and cheering. We are
watching him. Through our lens, we can barely
see another figure that stands behind Atash.
Other features are obscured by the brightness
of the flame -feathered wings that adorn his
back. With an easy gesture, Atush brings a sweeping
silence to the gathering. And with a booming
voice, he begins to speak. Today, we have bore
witness to another unprecedented tragedy. The
fall of Umizu. The deaths of well over a hundred
thousand souls pulled callously into the dark
heart of the Keening Gloom. Just as Tithos before.
And just a sweeping sound. Everyone's dead silent,
but you can see in their eyes the breaking of
hearts. His words laced with so much pain. I
am wounded by this. I am wounded doubly for the
knowledge that it could have been stopped had
my own agents been on world watching for that
monster Ozen Yoshikatsu. We trust our friends,
our families, our worlds to their own defenses
and to our luminaries. But why? Why, when we
have seen failure after failure, one of the very
kings of coin of Zinda dead, two now with the
sudden tragic passing of Grand Messer Amos near?
And let us not forget the heirs, slaughtered
in secret by a serial killer. My heart goes out
to the people of Nuari. And then there is Sansa
-chan, a people crushed by oppression, forced
to feed the ambitions of those in power. Those
that should have been protecting them, caring
for them. As a king myself, I know well that
my duties are to my people. Ah, George, here
goes up all around us. And my people, they are
so much more than the populace of Ankara and
Sankar. I am beginning to think that a time for
great change has come to us all. Many have come
to resent my mission on Sansatyan, calling it
unlawful. But look at the good we have done.
I prefer to consider that event to be the advent
of a new age of law, an age where we consider
the needs of our people, their safety and care
over concerns for our individuality in governance
and policing. Imagine, if you will, a series
of new luminaries bolstering the rakes, immortal
celestials, pari even. who can foresee dark events
before they happen. In such a world where my
loyal stand guard at every conquered gemstone's
bay, we can ensure an end to these tragedies.
I'm murmuring everywhere around. I know and understand
the concerns over this. Ever since my appearance
in these worlds, there has been a fear of me
and my celestials becoming too influential. Because
of this, the Speakers for the Ancestors, advised
by Speaker Sholay Brass, had disallowed the rise
of any other celestial luminaries. Yet unbeknownst
to them, there was nearly another. Ramin Rasool!
Celebrated hero who died to free Sansatya was
in fact a celestial himself. And did his presence
cause an imbalance in our worlds? Or did it work
to fix imbalances? Do we begrudge the life and
death of this shining star? I think not. And
so I have a proposal for the speakers and for
our conquered worlds. I would introduce more
celestials, tested heroes of Anchor and Sengar
to be considered as luminaries. I have one of
them here by my side. A powery angel proficient
in prophecy who can foresee coming evils in whichever
world she may walk. This! And he... Steps to
the side or floats to the side, revealing the
figure that stood behind him. Now sort of engulfed
in his light, a spotlight shining on her. We
see a party angel that we've seen before in this
show with sort of intricate gold makeup on her
face. This is Salome the Sight Weaver! I think
it's time to roll some stats. What do you think,
Steven? Ooh, baby, some dice? Let's hear about
Salome. Are you kidding? We are rolling stats.
All right. Got my 4d6. Salome! Before you roll
your stats, real quick, we know you're a party
angel. We're running this as an ass on our stat
block, but I am giving you fly speed because
I don't care. We've never balanced your characters.
Your fucking Crispin was ridiculous. We still
killed him. Take your fly speed for free. Yay.
Because it would be weird if a party angel couldn't
just fly. You're a badass. You are a badass celestial.
And what's your class? Salome is a cleric. We
foreshadowed it last episode. Yeah, very excited
to play a cleric. Let's get into some stats.
Let's get into some stats. I should note, Salome
will be coming in at 7th level. Hell yeah. Oh
yeah. We got... They're kind of all under here.
Let me pull them out. I'm going to drop that
one for sure. 13. That's not bad. For the first
roll. That's not bad. You rolled so bad once.
After that, you've been hot every time. This
one, this is still okay. That's... 14. Oh, my
God. 13 out of 14 is more than okay. 13, 14.
Yeah, exactly. I know. Everything else now. I'm
not going to say it. I'm not going to say it.
Hold on. Let me take a drink and get that out
of my mouth. Yeah, get that out of your mouth.
I know, like, Crispin. I don't remember if Blanche's
stats were better than Crispin's, but I remember
feeling, like, bad at how good Crispin's stats
were. I don't anymore because you still killed
him. I see a couple fours and a six. Some might
say I cheated, but. So that's another 14. Oh,
my gosh. Very nice. Oh, no. Yeah. High stats
and a cleric. We'd love to see it. Love to see
it. We're only halfway done. I really want some
banger for my wisdom here. It's not that. That's
just eight. Ooh. We got a stinker. What a loser.
We got a stinker. Wow. Come on. Stupid weaver.
Dude, I need something huge for wisdom. It's
only the stink weaver, right? No, it's not that.
That's... Six. That's a six. Ooh. Okay. Probably
the shit weaver. I got one more. I got no more
of those. I got one more. What do you got? Come
on, man. Come on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's 13.
13. Okay. So two 13s, two 14s, and eight and
a six. And a couple of stinkers. Yeah. Not too
shabby, though. Yeah. Do you know where you're
going to put those now, or do you want to wait
and tell us later? I know where I'm going to
put at least some of them. All right. I wonder
where that six is going, because that's funny
to me. Yeah, the six. Well, I think there's...
She real stupid. I don't know. Maybe. But I think
I picked one of the, not traits, something that
I picked through the character creator, because
I picked a... Tempest Cleric. I picked something
where she could wear heavy armor. So I think
I might be able to dump decks because the AC
bonus won't matter as much. But I'm going to
take a little time to think about it. I know
I'm going to put one of my 14s in Wisdom, of
course. We'll see if that other 14 goes into
Con. That's what I'm thinking, but I don't want
to commit to anything yet. Make sure you get
that prereq strength you need to wear heavy armor.
Right, yeah, exactly. A couple of 13s kicking
around. Cool. Yeah. Well, it might be a minute
before we see this character fully in action,
but it'd be kind of cool to hear her speak again.
So as she steps forward, Atash, again, just gesturing
towards her, towering above her, sort of naturally
sort of floating above, just calls out, Speak,
Salome! Introduce yourself to the worlds! I have
a script and you don't. This is funny to me.
Right, yeah, exactly. I have a lot of... Not
everything's a script. I have a lot of script.
Okay, then. Who am I but a simple servant to
protect and defend? our Concord world. As the
first Pari angel luminary, I say greetings. Just
a... They're excited. They're excited. Tell me
a little more about this. What is your expression
as you look over everyone here? Do you stand
with confidence? Do you stand with... I don't
know. Are you nervous? Yeah, she's sure -footed.
Salome stands strong. But her facial expression
is slightly aloof. Not very focused. I think
she's kind of always seeing... Some even partial
vision in the edges of her, her peripheral vision.
Maybe sometimes it's even difficult to focus
on one task at a time. I think here in this moment
that I will say is so crucial to the stream of
events to come. Those senses must be going wild
and perhaps like, you know, you have this, you
say this, but we're cheering and Atash kind of.
Waves you back. Not like in an aggressive way,
but you kind of move backwards behind him again.
And he once again sort of, boom, bursts to light,
sort of taking the center stage. With the advent
of these new luminaries comes another opportunity.
For too long, the speakers have held a loose
command of our luminary adventurers. This system
too often leads to delays in action and the loss
of lives. Our protectors need to be guided, and
they need to be held accountable for their failures.
The speakers will say that this is their task,
but where were the speakers when Tithos fell?
When Urizo fell? I cannot answer this, but I
can tell you where I was. Holding back the keening
gloom. Granting precious time to evacuate the
falling gems. Saving the lives I could. I say,
let my hand be the one that guides our luminaries.
Let my eyes be the ones that discern and my words
condemn. In times of such darkness, we need to
look to our brightest lights for salvation. I
will reform this system. I will remake the luminaries.
Go to your speakers. Make your demands to let
Atash, the hand of the sword weaver, take the
reins. If they deny this, deny your safety, that
would be tyranny itself. Push them with everything
you have and help me. to save your lives! And
just, yeah, this uproarious, explosive cheer.
He just takes a moment, looks around, and then
just sort of nods, and once again waves him down.
This, I think, is a step in the right direction
for our worlds! But I fear it will still not
be enough should Ozu and Yoshikatsu appear again!
I would further ask for the leaders of each world
to consider allowing my personal forces to protect
their people. Watching over each of the docking
bays and working with the forces of law to investigate
criminal matters. Together, we can bring radiance
to every corner of every world. Together, we
can drown out the darkness in glorious light.
Together, we can unite! And again, just everyone,
boom, explodes. Any further words completely
drown out in these screams of joy and excitement
and approval. Stop. Record. We open on a large,
lavish inn formed of dark mud brick. A gilded
sign hangs above the main door, lizard -shaped
and carrying the words, The Salamander's Sucker.
We are standing in a sort of group of paparazzi
guild members waiting. A buzz of client members
suddenly raises an explosion of cacophony of
shouted questions as a figure steps out of the
front doors. And we see a tiefling of average
height, but extraordinary presence. We see deep
red skin matched by intense red eyes. This creates
a striking contrast with his black clothing,
a mix of formal attire and leather armor. Black
rim -like horns curve from his head, seeming
to blend into this long black hair. An ornate
crown rests atop these horns, adding to an air
of oppressive authority. This is Luminary Rory
King! Yeah, it's a thing! We're doing this! Hell
yeah. Amidst the chaos of the shedding paparazzi,
one voice in particular can be heard screaming
out towards Rory, Rory gang, in the wake of Omiju,
do you have any comforting words for the people
of the worlds? In a firm gesture, Rory's hands,
the crowd's clamor sort of quiets down, his eyes
fall upon the question asker, and though this
paparazzi guild member we see smiles, he seems
to shrink away beneath that stare, and Rory speaks.
I say to the people, have no fear, for I, Rory
King and the rest of my luminary compatriots,
we shall ensure your safety and well -being.
A cheer goes up throughout the crowd. Another
voice booms out. Another question. Rory King!
Rory King! What are your thoughts on Atash's
plan for luminary reform? Will you pledge yourself
to his cause? And this time the Norse ceases
without a gesture. There's an anticipation palpable
waiting for this answer. I couldn't agree more
with Atash's plans. We have too many luminaries
running around and going rogue just to fulfill
their own sense of duty and morality. But I,
Rory King, do so pledge my powers to help Atash
in this noble plan to ensure peace and order
throughout just not the luminaries, but the worlds
as well. And the crowd goes absolutely wild.
Stop. Rory King, the schemer. It's Hunter! Thank
you, Hunter! Hunter, you sneaky son of a... Oh,
I love it, too. I love this, because he plays
his character as a sort of ambitious, sort of
social ladder climbing. I mean, it's the right
words to say, and man, I love it. Thank you,
Hunter, for bringing your voice into the show,
for helping us fill out our world. That was awesome.
And it might not even be the only one this episode.
We might see more voices, more luminaries weighing
in on events. Record. We see the white walls
and golden streets of the city of Zinda. A stage
in the central city surrounded by dark flowers
that still brings massive profit to the kings
of coin. We see the eyes of one person in a churning
mass once again. This figure is close enough
to this central stage to make out all that stand
upon it. The kings have coined themselves, along
with chosen families stand behind podiums. We
see Samira standing alone, Margus and Xenia together,
Ledoux and Jean Franklin behind theirs, hands
clasped together, faces set firm. Two other solitary
figures stand at their podiums, expressions grim.
We have never met Messer Solon Avim and Madame
Kitmata as their grief at the loss of their firstborn
children had kept them from the recent celebrations
in Zinda. Yet they stand here now, still facing
that grief in the wake of something so new and
so dire. Notably, the central podium here is
only one figure behind it. Larissa Nier. And
before all of them, speaking into a conical glass
apparatus that enhances his voice, we see Sturgeman.
I have finished my investigation into Amos Nia's
death. I can say with absolute certainty that
it was an accident. Any rumors that this was
the result of a further assassination or a bloodier
plot are falsehoods. I have also found copious
evidence to prove that Larissa Rin is indeed
the true heir to the Nia house and fortune. As
the world's greatest detective, I pride myself
in judging character. In my investigations, I
have found Larissa to be a font of intelligence
and strength. Look to her leadership and prosper.
So tense. And also my sister. Hey, shut up. It's
a quiet part. He steps away. And another round
of clapping applause. And he's sort of leading
it to kind of go in clapping as he nods over.
It's very strange to see Sturgeman in this sort
of casual way. And we see the reason Moose take
his place. This is a trying time for all of us.
And for many reasons. We people have seemed to
have lost so much. I have felt this loss personally.
My father was not a perfect man. His leadership
brought us wealth, but did not distribute it
with care. This mistake left many of us starving
and all of us at the edge of revolution, policed
by only a mercenary force from another world.
I know that you fear, as we all must fear, that
our world will be taken next by the keen and
gloom. But we can fix all of this. with one decision,
my decision, which I humbly ask my fellow kings
of coin to agree with. We will open our world
and our city to Atash and his forces. We will
place ourselves beneath his protective wings,
and we will shift our laws and adherence to his
ancient wisdom. In the middle, you see the other
kings of coin and attendants shoot up behind
their podiums, attempting to scream out their
defiance, and their voices are drowned by the
sheer magnitude of roaring applause that greets
Larissa's words. Wow. Calvin is just like, And
cowed by all this, we see each figure behind
the podiums shrink back, and following the example
of a staring Sturgeon, begin to slowly clap as
well. All but two figures. One that storms away
from the stage, hurling insults that we cannot
hear above the crowd. Jean Franklin, the Fisher
King, followed by King of Coin, LeDou Montelio,
actually. Together, hand in hand, the two tortles
leave the cheers behind. Stop. I remember, I
told you, I told you, Angus was going down. Sturgeon
told you he was going to kill him and put Larissa
in charge. He just did it very quickly. If anyone
doesn't remember, that happened. It seems out
of nowhere. Record. And we see a similar scene
in Fiesta Town, another stage centrally located
around all the sort of casinos in this vibrant
part of the city. Upon it, we see Art of Vazda.
We catch him sort of in the middle as our diamond
sort of focuses in. It was a little slow to come
up. The end of his sort of speech, just screaming
out, We must bring back our celestial protectors
and we must take great care here. While I was
chosen to represent this world as its speaker,
there is still no solid structure of governance
during the re -election of the Tressina. This
power vacuum will make Sansa Char the ideal place
for Ozen's collaborators to strike next. And
so we must hold firm to the laws and grant freedom
of investigation and prosecution to the Celestials
for the safety of all. And I think you hear this
crowd much more divided. There's an undercurrent
of free Sansa Char, free Sansa Char that's getting
overtaken by more cheering. Bring them back,
bring them back. And we see a figure. darts onto
the stage, rushing over, sliding up like, you
know, maybe there's another one of those conical
speaking box like before Art of Asda. We see
Dance Macabre. No! She screams a voice echoing
out above all. Can't you see that this is wrong?
Can't you see that we are being fed lies? Switching
one oppressor for another. This is now my brother,
what Mateo died for. Remember him! And remember
Zebulon, my brother's messenger, who he sacrificed
his spark in order to send. Zebulon told us the
truth. That Tithos and the Inconnectional Mizu
are not gone. They were not killed. Atash is
the sole voice that speaks this falsehood. Atash
is lying to us. In believing him, we spit on
the graves of our heroes. And again, just murmur.
I know this is terrifying. I know you feel helpless.
But we must put our beliefs in them. Those who
have proven themselves worthy. Those who have
passed on, but whose echoes yet inspire hope
and condemn villainy. Echoes that will carry
on forever. We need to believe in justice undying.
And she raises a fist into the air. I'm bringing
it back. It's still not cool. How dare you? I'm
kidding. It's cool in this instance. You just
made it cool. And we just hear like some people.
Justice Undyne! Justice Undyne! You know, a small
undercurrent is kind of growing and growing.
She's watching them, smiling, and a hand, a firm
one, falls on her shoulders, this large party
hand, Artavazda grabbing her, trying to force
her away. No, you can't do this! You have no
right to! She kind of, like, kicks him, and he
kind of steps back, stunned, and then with one
gesture points, and you see other angels flying
towards the stage, grabbing Dan. She's fighting
them. And she cuts off as a fist, radiant with
angelic power, crashes hard into her face. Stop.
Record. We see a red flag bearing an emblem of
cross, sword, and pickaxe, each of their handles
curving into the last segments of a scorpion's
tail. The word FREEDOM IRONWORKS is displayed
over the top of this image and below it in small
lettering. We see, we don't make chains. A podium
stands before this flag. and a small -framed
old man stands behind it, his face is shaven,
his gray hair is slicked back, his tan suit,
while quite fine, shows signs of wear as if it
had been worked in. The suit also notably has
been tailored to only have one full sleeve, as
it's wearer's left arm has been severed at the
elbow. It's all grindy, looking much better than
the last time we saw him, almost kind of posh.
As a representative from Freedom Eye Works, I
feel I have a responsibility to speak freely,
right from the heart. Now we all owe Artavazda
a great deal. He fought for us all by Artash's
side. Many of his allies being returned to their
original plane and lost to ours in the struggle.
Our debt to the Celestials is deep and our gratitude
profound, but even so, his treatment of Gabriela
Cortez, a hero of the people of Sansachar, cannot
be ignored. Her stolen freedom cannot be ignored.
Her words and the words of Sepulon Black, who
died saving my life, cannot be ignored. And so
we echo her words and hope to hear them echoed
back throughout our world and every world. He
raises his one fist into the air and yells, Justice
Undying! Stop. Record. We see a background of
smooth crystal, light pink and faintly glowing.
Our camera is turned suddenly to show an uncomfortably
close face. A woman with a wild mess of blonde
hair and a ghastly pale face. Her eyes are streaming
with tears, bleeding black makeup down her cheeks.
It's Cirilla LaRoche. Jewel's cousin, former
Speaker of Tythos, and I think even he would
struggle to recognize her as she is now. So broken.
Please, listen to me. I am the former Speaker
of Tythos Cirilla LaRoche. And I have a message
for all of you. My family is innocent. Atash
and the forces that serve him have been harassing
me. I can't leave my home. They stripped me of
my role as speaker, giving no voice to my world.
They want to silence Tithos because they know
it's still out there. Help me, please. Stand
against Atash. Stand for Tithos. Believe in Zebulon.
Just as undying. Stop. Record. We see our old
friend Pepper. standing in a very familiar pepper
field, one where our heroes almost fell. Facing
a prop of diamond screen that is both offset
and shaking, and you hear, uh, is it on, Gammon?
Uh, oh, oh, good. Uh, hi, I'm Pepper from Pepper's
Peppers, and we here at Pepper's Peppers, we
believe in honest growing and honest pricing
and honest everything. And we learned that honesty
from the best luminary our conquered worlds have
seen, Jules LaRoche. You know him? We're proud
to sponsor him. And we stand by him still. We
stand by his honest words that Zebulon, his honest
friend, and that the people of Tithos are still
alive. And you hear, like, behind the camera
as it shakes, like, yeah, Zebulon's the coolest.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he is. Yeah, so if Jules is
honest, and Zeb is honest, then the way I see
it, Atash must be lying. So, um, uh, you slowly
raise a trembling fist. Uh, justice undying?
Yeah, justice undying! Stop. Record. The morning
jewel is feeling fun and fun. Blah, damn it,
it's always so hard. No, I got this, I got this.
Keep it. Keep it. The Morning Jewel is filmed
in front of a... Fuck! The Morning Jewel is filmed
in front of a live studio audience. Close enough.
And we, boom, pan to the cushy sort of couch
and seat, little coffee table of the Morning
Jewel. We see Fubo Mei smoking from her usual,
like, long pipe, wearing her usual, like, purple
garments, very overly makeuped, kind of looking
around. And she just turns towards our cameras.
We're looking at her and says, Welcome to the
morning, Jewel. We always start our days off
brilliantly. As always, I'm your host, Fubo May.
Now, I know there's a lot to be afraid of right
now. We're all still reeling from the events
of the last few days. I start with the fall of
the pearl, but I hope we can lighten some moods
and inspire some hope with our special guest
today. Ladies and gentlemen, the hammer -swinging
heartthrob, the muscle man metal worker, the
fire -forging fella that makes me want to yell
-a, the one and only... Mr. Mage Smith! The fire
-forging fella that makes me want to yell -a?
People should pay for this show. What the fuck?
And we see on the couch beside her a stout dwarven
man with thick red hair and a long red beard
tied into metal rings inscribed with various
runes. He wears the clothing of a blacksmith,
a heavy brown apron along with heavy red gloves
and boots. Sheathed in his back are a set of
long tongs and a fine looking hammer. It's metal
shining in a rippling Damascus pattern. And we
see the mage smith gives a friendly wave to our
camera. His piercing green eyes then flash to
Fubo Mei. And he speaks! Ah, well, thank you
for having me, Fubo -Mate. People say you don't
really make it as luminary until that famed bot,
Gith Yankovich, tells your story. However, I
think it might be when you do. She just goes
on, Oh, Mr. Matesmith, you do know how to light
a forge fire and me. Well, we've all heard about
your many heroic exploits. Let's start off hearing
about something a little more personal to you.
through all the marvelous magical armaments that
you've made. Do you have a favorite creation,
something you're more proud of than the rest?
My favorite forged creation is probably this
here hammer. But everyone's heard about my lovely
hammer, Ursula, and her ability to create fire.
I'm sure your ratings would prefer something
new that I'm making. Oh, well, now do go on.
This is the wildest thing to be doing to myself.
I love this. I've been making some gifts for
luminaries I quickly became fans of, and one
I wish I had the chance to know. I'll give you
some options. A trident, a crossbow, a longsword,
a special set of tuning pegs, or a memorial.
Ooh, well a memorial certainly sounds intriguing.
I'd love to hear a little more about that. The
memorial. Interesting choice. The memorial is
a symbol... that was created in honor of young
Zebulon Black. It's to be delivered to the Ugly
Coyote, where young Zebulon and his friends would
frequent as a memorial to a true hero. It does
bear a secret, but I can't share it here, or
it wouldn't be a secret anymore. And she looks
like she's almost like, like... As the answer
was going on, she was starting to sweat a little
bit, and kind of looks like, wipes her brow,
looks like swallows a little. Well, that's just
lovely, but we should move on. Umidu's fall has
come to a shock to all of us. A lot of people
lost friends and family, and well, I'm sure it
could be helpful to hear the wisdom of a hero
who has faced much the same. Tythos was your
home, and I'm sure you lost people you cared
about during the first fall. Would you care to
share anything about them here? To celebrate
the memories, or to help us understand how you
cope? I lost me. at the fall of Tythos. However,
to save time, let me just give you one name.
Forge Master George William, who taught me everything
I know. On the mountains of Tythos, we would
wake up before the dawn to start cleaning out
the forge for the new day, and any other chores
we needed to complete before starting the coals
for the day. It's his methods I preserve, and
hope to one day teach to another, forged in the
fires of my own experiences with him. Though
some are saying there's evidence Tythos isn't
gone, I'll be anxiously keeping an ear out for
more information on that. And again, we see just
a reaction from her, those last words, kind of
eyes sort of wide, and again, just sort of wipes
her out. Oh, I see. Well, we have a very good
authority that, and I'm so sorry to say this,
that, well, Tythos and Amizu both are very much
gone. Forever. You mentioned a memorial gift
for the dearly departed Zebulon. Are you Mr.
Magesmith a believer in this Justice Undying
movement? It's rubbish, all of it. Arthas has
personally investigated the state of Umizu as
well as Tythos and confirmed that everyone has
indeed perished. The clip of Zebulon that was
only ever publicly played, it was played here
on this very show, and I can personally tell
you the whole thing, whole thing, faked by Jules
LaRoche. Can you feel the weave, Miss May? Can
you feel the threads of magic that permeate our
worlds, ourselves, and even this crystal network?
I can. I can manipulate those strings to make
wondrous artifacts, and I can listen to those
same strings as they tell the story of our worlds.
I felt the passing of Zebulon Black. I felt the
thread of his life cut short and watched the
weave take his unused magical potential and build
a vessel to keep his soul around long enough
to give you that warning. I can tell you, Fubo
Mei, that threads of the weave shine brightest
when they're the threads of good people and darkest
when they're threads of those who are evil. Zebulon's
thread was the brightest I'd ever seen. He didn't
have an ounce of dishonesty within him, and the
recording that was played here was very real
indeed. His threat alone inspired me to believe
in him, and Justice Undying has my full support.
And she just, again, like, almost looks like
she's going to fall out of her chair, sort of
fidgets for a second, and looks, I, and she looks
somewhere past the camera, like somewhere up,
perhaps into like the stands around, and just
swallows hard. I'm sorry, it looks like that's
all the time we got for you here. We gotta cut
to those commercials. Well, thank you so much
for joining us, Mr. Mage Smith. May spark empower
you and flame protect you. Hell yeah. If Fuomei
just turns from him there to wave at the camera,
then suddenly she cocks her head in confusion
towards our screen as if looking at whoever's
holding it and says, wait, who are you? And the
voice behind our camera says, you're up, big
sister. And then we see Fuomei jumps, starts
a voice, rings out through the studio. See her
fear at the honored mage -smith's words. People
do not fear lies. People fear truth. A truth
inconvenient. A tall figure dressed in loose
black robes, a face covered by a veil, appears
suddenly on the stage, standing between Fuomei's
lush chair and the mage's position on his couch.
We see where Fuomei stumbles away from this form.
The mage -smith looks on, his face a mask of
stoicism. So I ask you, who has to gain from
lying about our world's fates? from the illusion
of a coming doom, perhaps the very being that
has made moves towards dominion over these worlds.
I knew this Zebulon personally, and our friend
the mage made us right to trust in this justice
undying. I also know one who now assists Atash,
a malevolent blackmailer with connections all
throughout our crystal network. Trust nothing
you see or hear. And you see like security just
rushes the stage attempting to grab this mysterious
speaker. Their arms phasing through the blurring
form which continues to speak unbothered. Arms
kind of going out to the side. As you can see,
I know a thing or two about illusions. And those
arms sort of raise up, up, up towards the spotlights
as she shouts out her last words. So to Atash
and to you, my secret foe, who pulls strings
for him behind this crystal network. I'll be
coming for you both. You can call me. Never.
Oh, God. Never lies. And I will have no lies
from you. Why did you make it worse? Dammit!
And this completely mysterious figure vanishes.
Who could she have been? Leaving a shocked Fubo
Mei peeking over behind her chair. She slowly
just turns towards our camera and sort of working
her mouth to try to find any words to say. In
a dry voice, she finally just chokes out. Holy
shit. This show is so canceled. Stop. Thank you,
Andrew. Hooli Ford. Dude, yeah. That was cool.
Our first luminary. Oh, that was so fun. That
was so fun. Oh, my God. Yes, that was awesome.
I also can't gloss over, how did you make Mesmerize
worse? What? Mesmerize isn't here. What are you
talking about? That was never lies. It shall
have no lies from you. I thought of that today.
I added that today. Oh, my God. Like, at work.
Record. A white background and a gaunt, dark
-skinned man in a wide -brimmed straw hat. And
we're back. Stoics of the Oren here again. Here
on Journeys Through the Radiant City, we are
due our dauntless to shine a light on those figures
that bring hope into our hearts. This is my mission
above all else. I may not be able to stand tall
as a luminary myself, but I can be inspired by
them. And I can inspire all of you in turn. And
I know we're all scared. Tithos was bad. Or tragic
unlike any we've ever seen in the conquered worlds.
We'd all hoped that that was it. And now it has
happened again. My heart goes out to the lost
for me to over 133 ,000 souls that didn't make
it onto the gym. Taken to whatever fate awaits
in the gloom. I'm so sorry for all of them. For
all that they've left behind. And now we know
that none of us are safe. That those in your
Shikatsu could appear anywhere on any world.
That the king in gloom hungers for all of us.
And that's why. I firmly believe that we must
listen to Atash. He alone has been able to hold
off the gloom's pull at least long enough to
save what lives he could. He alone has a resource
to safeguard all the conquered jewels and ensure
that nothing like this ever happens again. I'll
tell you the truth, I believe Atash when he says
this could have been prevented. Did you know
that following the recent events on Saint -Étienne,
someone's been considering bringing party angels
in to watch for Ozen? To hopefully foresee another
coming tragedy. Umizu was one such world, but
yet the powers of Umizu decided against it. And
why? Because of a particular episode of the Morning
Jewel. Because of a brazen attempt to discredit
Atash through lies, leading to a call to free
Sansatyan. Free them from what? Atash protection?
And you see he takes a deep breath here. His
eyes focusing hard on the camera and you see
something sets in them. Something locks into
place. His jaw going tight. And who was it, I
ask, that first pushed for this outcome? Jules
LaRoche, Blanche Trudeau, Jean -Franck Lamontelio.
A group that has seen enormous praise in recent
days, portrayed as the brightest shining heroes
of our conquered worlds. And this was largely
my own doing. A mistake that I tend to rectify
now. Blanche Trudeau, the first pupil of Ozen
Yoshikatsu, that's who we'll trust the safety
of our neighbors and family with. Forged from
the fall of the Pearls was Blanche wielding Ozen's
very blade, a blade stained with the blood of
luminaries. Before that, she carried a Marfil
-branded blade gifted to her by the pig man.
Though she was supposedly one of those that stood
to defy Marshal's corruption to the good people
of Sansatian, she supports them and their monster
with her every battle. Just listen to this clip,
taken from the moment Atash arrived to save her
from the creature. And we hear a voice clip overlying
everything else. I won't make you read it, Steven.
I think you'll know what this is. That is my
pupil. That is my charge. Atash, you bring him
in. You save him or you answer to me, and you
answer to the people of the Concord. My pupil.
My pupil. So smug in her treachery she does not
even hide it. And let's not forget Dresden Kellick,
her staunch ally, who wields a pig -man branded
blade as well. Even though he has been sponsored
by the very folk that took Martha's place. Just
freedom ironworks realize the dark heart of the
one they support. And Jules. Has anybody investigated
the rumors that have come from his battles on
God's Breath and Sansa -chan? Dark magic, his
own body misshapen in payment for vile powers.
What's hiding under that glove of yours, Jules,
huh? We all paid you for your supposed torment
at the hands of your demon -worshipping family.
But perhaps the apple didn't fall so far from
the tree. Now a lot of people have wondered what
exactly happened on Omizu. Well, I can tell you
my theory. Jules, Blanche, and Dresden plotted
with Ozen to bring Omizu into the gloom. Crispin
du Bois blessed his godsfolk soul, tried to stop
them, and was murdered by his former allies.
He managed to dispel the storm up until the poor
left, but he fell on the end and the storm came
back. Now think about the events in Zinda, too.
The real perpetrator, this Diva Luma, was killed
in battle, didn't even leave a body behind, all
eaten away by what, magic moss? So there was
simply no way she could be brought back to life
and questioned. Interesting. And sure, there
was video evidence of a confession, but this
evidence was submitted by most of the same group.
Not suspicious, if you all ask me. Who's to say
they weren't really behind the murder of the
heirs, huh? Or to say they weren't really in
cahoots with Marvel artworks, turning their coats
on them so they could avoid the downfall that
should have been coming for them. And this new
movement, this Justice Undying, now I know I
sang the praises of Zebulon and Jules before,
following our time on God's breath. But it's
time for me to come clean, to tell the truth.
I was scared. I was terrified to defy those two,
my saviors. You know, I saw the pure -hearted
Zebion Black shooting an innocent man through
a window, unprompted. He's yawning jewels, slaughtered
good people, locked under the control of the
evil Wee Hunter. They killed them without even
trying to save them. I told them at the time
it was wrong. But I didn't care. No, anything
for the spotlight, anything to get famous. I
never told you why Zebion decided to help me
save my niece, did I? No, I have a sense of goodness
or decency. No, no. He demanded I give my support
as a luminary, my patronage in trade. Now, do
these seem like the actions of a hero to you?
A luminary to be trusted? Artax has come to us
all with hand outstretched to guide us into a
better future, to reform our luminaries, to clean
the deceivers out of their roster. Well, I say
we support him in full. Push the speakers to
vote in his favor, granting full powers of prosecution
in our world so he can get to work, bringing
his justice to those that deserve it. And I have
four names to top off his list. Jules LaRoche.
Blanche Trudeau, Dresden Kellogg, Jean Franklin
Montelio. In my opinion, some of the worst villains
our conquered worlds have ever seen. But that's
all the time we have tonight, folks. We'll call
it there. place, a great stony cavern vanishing
into shadow. The impious echoes with a sound
of screaming. Jules screaming. Jeremy, can you
give me some sound effects here? What? You want
me to pinch you, make it real? Ah, but in the
distance. Come on, give me, give him something.
You're screaming. Jesus Christ. You're screaming,
you're in pain. Oh my God, David. Yeah. Ah! Ooh,
damn, that was hot. We see a few things here
come together in a central location in the room
far ahead of our watching lens, a scene lit only
by a faint red glow. In this red we can see it
reflecting off the bars of a silver cage, an
ornate thing like a wealthy man's prized birdcage.
And inside, Jules LaRoche writhes in agony, his
bones cracking as his body is twisted, his face
pressed up against the bars. This can end in
a moment. We see Cerise Laroche dressed in a
dress of elegant maroon, the fingers of her left
hand open to hold the pages of a black -bound
tome, the fingers of her right gesturing towards
her screaming son, slowly curling together, shaking
with a violent force of their own. He's in pain.
You can stop it. Just kill him. She turns her
case downwards, where we can see a scrawny, dark
-skinned child with wide eyes. Paul, the young
boy's eyes reflect a red light. Tears running
down his cheeks. No. Then his torture continues.
And he has you to blame. More screaming. No.
Kill him. No. Use your power. Reach out. No.
Do it. You see Paul's eyes narrow and seem to
burn with a scream of his own. He reaches out
a hand and drives it down into the solid earth
below on the floor. cracks into sharp spikes,
ripping themselves free and driving upwards towards
the sky. The ceiling matches, doing the same,
and the cavern becomes a closing maw of gnashing
stone teeth, crushing down on Cerise, who watches
in sudden horror. The sound of splitting stone
rings through the cavern, deafening. Fragments
move towards our lens of our camera, but are
rebuffed by an invisible force field that protects
us. And just as suddenly as it began, all go
still, the spikes retreating, leaving only a
few small ones left, jutting from the earth.
We see Cerise impaled by these, blood gushing
from her gut, her shoulders, her mouth. She looks
to Paul, shuddering, terrified, whispering words
we cannot hear. But Paul does not seem to hear
her, his wide eyes locked in the silver cage,
bent and broken and covered with blood. Jules?
No, no, no, no, no, no. Cerise reaches out a
single grasping hand towards Paul, a pleading
gesture in her suffering. And even through his
shock, Paul seems to see this. His eyes turning
towards her, tearful eyes that harden, becoming
cold. Hands turn to shaking fists and his breathing
slows. He watches Cerise. He does not look away.
He does not blink. He just slowly watches her
die. That is, until the woman before him vanishes.
Paul stumbles backwards to coldness and his eyes
flood over by shock once more. He looks back
to Jules, the cage, where the cage is empty,
the blood is gone. He drops to his knees and
screams again, bringing in his shaking sobs.
This time, the earth does not respond to his
cries. And we hear a voice behind us. Excellent.
Our camera responds to this, spinning around
to see Cerise LaRoche. unharmed and watching
along with a number of other robed figures, many
of whom seem to be scribbling down notes under
parchment or holding diamond recorders of their
own, all protected by that same barrier that
stood before us, a barrier, it seems, that hides
us from the crying child. As I explained, this
will be an easy turn. The child is taking to
his powers quickly. His emotions flow so easily.
I wonder from whom he learned to hate. Like that.
Their perfect pearly smile seems a response to
some private joke. He'll be ready soon, Mistress
Calypsania. What acts he commits in accident
he will soon commit with purpose. In one stroke,
we will claim the two weapons we need to break
the chains that bind these worlds. To be free
at last. Once this Monsieur Dracon kills my beloved
baby boy. And our camera moves up above Cerise,
above the crowd, into the blackness above this
group, where we see a yellow eye staring down,
accompanied by two turned -up rows of glittering
fangs, a draconic smile hanging beneath a curling,
twisted horn. And stop.