A Cultural Exchange

by Illiad_Easle

An Exchange of Selena

Selena could feel Silver's mind - and it was deathly afraid... but not of ancient draconequui, oh no.

Silver Studs was afraid of her OWN mind.

She was asleep on the floor of her usually tidy shed... except now, there were reams of paper everywhere, each and every one covered with diagrams and charts and blueprints and sketches and concepts and fabrications... and every last one of them shared one thing in common:

They were ALL machines of war. Every last one.

When she'd been touched, Havoc/Redd had gotten her after she had left Dax's company upstairs, almost immediately after the meeting with Luther. She had instantly been overpowered by an aspect of her constructive genius that she had never, ever dared to explore... and it wanted to express itself AS FULLY AS POSSIBLE.

She had frantically drawn and written and moved like she was possessed, the drawings nearly vomiting from her mind onto page after page after page... until the spell finally broke, and she passed out from extreme exertion.

Selena could read all of this in the mind and aura of the restlessly sleeping Silver Studs... but it was what was outside that was the worry.

Silver Studs, a sweet and peace-loving gearhead, was surrounded on all sides by plans for some of the most brutal war machines ever designed. Most of them injured others quite badly, and more than a few actually killed opponents. They weren't torturous devices - they were just deadly effective ones. And each and every one had come from Silver's own mind.

Selena had a bad feeling that Silver might not take this very well...

Selena was now close enough that she could initiate another dreamshare, so she did so, pulling Silver from the dream she was in and taking her to the same white room she had been in when they first met, only this time the chairs were replaced with the typical psychiatrist's long couch. There would certainly be some talking here to help Silver get through what had happened.

Selena only hoped she would be up to the task.

What came through the door was NOT what Selena had expected.

The door to the small office SLAMMED open, and what strolled through was horrific to look at: four large, spiderlike, clockwork-driven legs extended out from a harness that was fastened around the waist of a gray mare. The legs suspended the mare in the air, which added to the creepy vibe.

Each hoof wore a horseshoe that was riddled with different fine tools, as if she had an entire toolkit on standby at any moment. There was some sort of contraption on her back that looked like it was a fancy lightbulb with straps, only the light inside the bulb was a dark crimson, running jagged arcs across the inner surface.

Topping this off was the gas mask that covered her muzzle, long tubes reaching from the mask itself to the back behind her. The eyes of the mask were a solid, glowing red and a loose, scraggly orange mane hung down around her, putting the finishing touch on this macabre steampunk nightmare.

Her cutie mark was a pony's skull, with tubes coming from it's sockets and winding behind it.

The spidery legs left small holes where they struck the floor, and she drifted her way over to the couch. She lowered down onto it, then the mask tilted up to face Selena directly. However, no matter the horrific sight before her, Selena could NOT mistake the voice from within - though it sounded somewhat warped and metallic, there was no doubt of who was in control of this terrible thing.

"I'm... I'm a m-m-monster..."

She simply sat there.

Well... THIS is certainly not what I was expecting.

Selena pondered for a moment what possible route she could take, she could try to get Silver to defend herself by confirming her feelings, she could try to one-up Silver and come up with something more despicable, or she could try to turn what Silver had done around.

The last option was the most difficult, but would yield the best results if done correctly. "Are you though? Designing weapons hardly makes you a monster, after all the guard aren't murderers for defending their towns from attackers now are they? Besides, what you've designed, with a bit of alteration, could easily bring quite a bit of good to the world. What really matters is why they were designed, not their purpose."

Selena settled in to a more comfortable position. "I after all plot catastrophes and how one would go about causing them. Do you know how easy it would be to topple a large portion of Canterlot off the mountain? Too easy. But does that make me a monster for knowing exactly where to place the bombs? No. Because I plot both to respond against these sorts of threats, and to keep the world in balance. So you've designed a rather disturbing quantity of weapons, the way I see it you're only a monster if you designed them because you wanted to use them to hurt, to kill. But I don't think that's why, is it?"

She materialized a notepad like any psychiatrist would have, this session would no doubt reveal some interesting things about her that Illiad would like to know. "Tell me Silver, do you remember why you designed what you did?"

The red glowing eyes turned to look up at Selena, filled with fear - fear of herself.

"I... I recall thinking of what I might invent - what we spoke of?"

She recalled Selena; one thing to note.

"And when Redd brushed by me, I... I was thinking about what was said about... about war..."

She looked down at her self, then gave a watery sigh.

"... and it was THERE... all right THERE THERE in my face THERE in my view THERE it was, I couldn't see a thing because it was THERE THERE THERE..."

With each utterance of the word 'THERE', one of the long, spidery legs stomped on the floor enough to leave more divots. She was visibly shaking, and seemed simultaneously scary and sad.

"... this stuff was in my MIND, Selena! I've never gone looking for it, but THERE t was the entire time... and now, everypony can see it!"

Selena made a placating gesture, though with a slightly stern expression, "Silver, Relax. You were affected by the Jinx curse, though in a different way than the others were. It was quite the epidemic before Illiad saved the day. The Jinx curse made it so the very smallest part of your personality was amplified many hundred times greater than the biggest portion. Revealing that, in truth, you are hardly a monster, but the furthest thing from it. What happened then was the manifestation, basically, of something the very opposite of yourself. You are not a monster."

She sighed as she noted down something on her pad, "So, we can conclude that you were in fact NOT designing what you did for any particular reason, but rather because it was all you could possibly think about. What you did, putting it down to get it out of your head, was really the best solution. The fact that you consider what you've designed to be horrific is proof in itself that you are not a monster. A monster doesn't feel remorse."

She sat and pondered a bit, "But I suppose we still have the problem of what you see yourself as, I'll let what I've said sink in first before we move into that."

Silver took a moment of silence, wondering aloud in a soft, muffled voice.

"... I'm fairly certain Redd did something, at the time... but... but those things didn't just appear in my head out of nothing, did they? They had to have come from my own head... and that... that..."

She looked up at Selena.

"You didn't SEE the worst of them... you don't KNOW what they were... w-w-were capable of. Horrible things. Gruesome things. Things that would turn even Sombra's face pale. I... I designed those things, whether I was under a spell or not makes little difference; they now exist, and they never would have if I hadn't imagined them."

Her head drooped... but Selena saw some of the tools on her shoes began to fade and vanish, little by little.

"... but I don't have to build them, do I? Maybe I can find some solace in that - I do NOT have to put any energy toward such a terrifying concept. I would never... WILL never do anything of the sort!"

The harness around her waist loosened its' tight grip, and the tubes leading into the gas mask began to retract back into the mask itself.

"And I can BURN what I have created... before anypony ever lays eyes on it. Destroy it before it taints another pony's mind."

Before the harness completely fell apart, however... the entire process froze, as if someone had cast a time-stopping spell on Silver.

"Oh... oh Selena, Illiad can never, NEVER see what I've done here! NOPONY can! Please, help me to destroy my terrible blueprints - and don't tell him about this! If he knew what I'd done here..."

The harness tightened, ever so slightly.

Selena gave a slight smile at the progress she had made, noting down that Illiad should likely never mention the designs. She nodded, "You can destroy what you've done, but I cannot help you. Not because it's the sort of thing you should do yourself for it to be a therapeutic purging of yourself, but because I have a very limited influence on the real world without Illiad's assistance. And since you don't want Illiad to know... I won't tell him about the designs, you can be sure of that."

She thought for a moment, "Though the thought comes to mind, some of the designs you made could be easily re-purposed for good. That water cannon for example could make firefighting efforts much more effective, and many of the others could be used to help explorers and caravans protect themselves in dangerous environments like the Everfree and the San Palomino desert."

She shrugged, "It's up to you, Change them, Destroy them, whatever you need to find peace with yourself, though my advice would be that changing evil into good might be the most therapeutic. You're a smart and kind mare, Illiad knows that for a fact which is why he loves you as much as he does, even if he knew of the designs he wouldn't love you any less. He sent me here to help you because he was worried about you after all."

"Change them..?"

The thought rolled around in Silver's head for a moment, then she sat up.

"Some of them... yes, I COULD change them... well, certain ones, I'm sure... I could..."

As she spoke, the spider-like mechanical arms simply fell to the floor, vanishing as soon as they struck it, without even so much as a >clang< to accompany their departure. The harness she wore seemed to simply melt into nothing, and when she wore nothing else but the now harmless-looking gas mask, she reached up and pulled it down, revealing her slightly teary-eyed but pretty face smiling.

"Yes, that would be wonderful! Oh Selena, THANK you! I don't know if I would hav-"

She vanished. Simply vanished from the dream sequence.

Of course, there was a good reason for it...

Selena gave a wide smile as the changes occurred and Silver left the dreamscape, it really had gone much better than she had anticipated, given she was planning on getting Illiad to find a professional psychiatrist once she assessed the situation; but it seemed like that would not be necessary.

The room began to fade after Silver left, leaving Selena alone in the torus shaped edifice resting comfortably on Silver's head.

"Silver! Silver, wake up!"

Dax shook at the mare who was sleeping in a pile of paperwork. Silver gave a start, then sat bolt upright.

"... have done so without-... uhm..."

Silver looked around as if she had no clue where she was... then she turned to Dax.

"Dax..? Where am-"

She remembered.

"OH SWEET CELESTIA! DAX, GET OUT! GET OUT!"

"Hunh?"

Silver got to her hooves, gave a frantic glance around at all the horrific machine-plans on the floor, then back at Dax.

"NO NO NO - OUTSIDE! NOW!"

Silver shoved a bewildered Dax out the door, then slammed it shut and stood against it, as if she expected the Blackwater to kick it down. But Dax only stood there staring at the door that had been so rapidly shut in his face.

"Uhm... okay... are you all right in there?"

From behind the door came the sounds of paper being hastily shoved around.

"YeahnothingtoworryabouteverythingisfinehereI'llbeoutinaminutejusthangon!!!!!"

Dax scratched his head. "Huh... what'd I say?"

The influx of energy from the massive spectacle earlier had changed Illiad somewhat... he had suffered, yes - but from that suffering had not only come a larger reserve, but it had also netted him an entire family of friends... not to mention the gratitude of an entire quarry.

Of course, with Illiad's link to Selena... and with as much power as he had been manifesting... it was inevitable that lovely Selena would also receive a bit of a boost, so to speak. Her own channels had been opened a bit wider, her reach just a bit farther, and her reception was clearer.

... hello?...

It was an echo, a distant ripple against the wind - but she heard it. It was so faint, it wouldn't have ever been possible to have even caught the smallest call... and this call was indeed small - yet the desperation in the emotional signal was at a fevered pitch.

... is anypony there?...

She recognized the voice; it wasn't quite as she remembered it, however. It felt soft. Alone. Afraid. Yet hopeful.

... hello?...

It sounded a LOT like Redd Handid... but there was no snark, no anger, no vinegar in it; it was scared and meek.

... please, I need help...

And apparently, Selena could hear that voice.

Well, isn't that different.

Silver felt something shift atop her head as something ran down her head by her ear like water, before it shifted its course and wrapped around her ear, yet it didn't restrict its ability to move. Something seemed to enter her ear, dampening the sound she could hear in that ear, until she heard a familiar voice from that ear. "Silver, it's Selena again. So you've missed out on a bit since you were here in your shop, but Redd went missing soon after the battle. Anyway, I think I've found him, at least I heard him calling out. Since Illiad's asleep to recover from the fight and I just so happen to be perched on your head I'm going to need your help to find Redd okay? I'll just need you to walk around the quarry a bit so I can get a fix on his location okay? I know that means you'll have to leave the designs but I hope you can recognize how much more important this is at the moment."

She heard a sigh. "If you can't bring yourself to leave then just pass me off to another who can help me find him, Dax for example is nearby if you want."

Silver gasped. "No no... of COURSE Redd is more important! Hang on..."

She finished shoving the pile she'd been working on underneath her cot, then turned and went for the door. Stepping outside, she saw Dax looking over the Gem Refinery... and Silver saw the damage.

"Oh NO! Number six! It blew, didn't it?" She sighed sadly, then shook her head. "No no, REDD now, repairs later!"

She went over to the Blackwater and spoke to him directly.

"Dax, I'm hunting for Redd - and I have help. Go let the others know that I'm on the case!"

Dax gave her a look... then his sharp eyes saw the slight twinkle of Cloud Diamond in her ear, and put two and two together quickly.

"Right! Good luck, you two!"

With that, Dax headed off to the manor, while Silver started looking around.

"Alright, which way do I go?"

... oh Celestia, how did I get so far UP?...

That came from farther up, towards the manor itself.

Selena smiled, a map of where the signal was coming from forming over the map of the quarry from Illiad's memories.

Silver heard the voice speak again, "Thanks, I knew I could count on you. The signal seems to be coming from the manor itself, up high though, either atop the manor or up on the manor itself."

Nodding, Silver made her way up the path, casting a sad look at the ruined Refinery in passing, and made her way uphill towards the manor. Reaching the front lawn, she glanced around a bit.

"Where now?"

... please, I'm scared of heights! Help me...

The feelings were coming from further along the mountain; in fact, it felt as if those vibes were based out of Blackwater Ridge. Directed by Selena, Silver made her way through the overgrown pathway to the somber cemetery.

"Further up it seems, perhaps all the way up on the peak. That would explain at least why no one else has found him yet. Is there a path that leads up there?"

Selena silently hoped there was, this would be much more difficult if there wasn't. With the amount of material she had, she could only carry one safely if it came to that.

Silver looked around the graveyard and shivered a bit.

"I... don't know; I've never been up here before - cemeteries worry me."

She looked around for a bit, stumbling across the path leading back down which Illiad, Dax and Taps had taken earlier, but eventually finding a scant trace of rusted and fallen iron fence that seemed to lead around the side of the mountain peak.

Silver took that path, hoping beyond hope that this was the right direction to go.

... wait, is somepony there?...

One thing was certain - it was closer. This WAS the right direction after all!

The trek took about a good fifteen minutes, having to take her time along the thicker brush, and she eventually came to a small clearing where there was a blackened stump jutting out of the dirt, and nothing grew around that stump for roughly fifty feet in a radius. It was HERE that Selena was feeling the biggest draw... and something else, as well...

"... please, who's there? Somepony? ANYpony?"

It took a moment before Selena realized that those last words weren't thoughts, but actual spoken words. What's more, she was also getting a residual sensation of some Cloud Diamond nearby. Directing Silver, they eventually came to the edge of the clearing - and almost fell right off the side of the mountain!

The cliff was sheer, and it was a loooooooooooooong way down... but amongst the crags and chunks sticking out of the wall, there was what appeared to be some sort of cage down below, made of diamond and containing none other than Redd Handid himself.

At least, he LOOKED like Redd... how he acted, however...

"Oh, sweet Celestia, PLEASE get me out of here! I am HORRIFIED of heights! Oh please oh please oh please..."

His emotional state was absolutely panicked, fear coming off him in waves... yet dulled to a very dim register by the Cloud Diamond's presence. Apparently, Havoc had taken a bit of the Cloud Diamond for himself, and had fashioned a holding pen for Redd that utilized his biggest fear to keep him held.

Now, this acrophobic Earth Pony had been stuck here for at least an hour or two, staring down into the yawning chasm below him and FREAKING OUT.

Silver looked down the cliffside at Redd's position and gasped.

"WOW that's a long way down! HANG ON, REDD; WE'RE COMING!!!"

She then stepped back, and addressed Selena directly.

"Uhm, I could possibly come up with a machine to retrieve him... but it would take DAYS to complete it; any ideas on how to get him back up here?"

Selena thought for a moment, "well, you could simply grab the cage with your magic, cloud diamond is magically malleable after all, and without an active supply of magic to resist you it should respond and mold like clay. Or, you could throw me to it and I could try to manipulate it myself. If there is an active source then that would have to be what we do. Other than that? We could get some pegasi up here."

Silver looked down at the small cage on the cliffside.

"Well... I've never really done ANYTHING with Cloud Diamond before. I'm not sure I want to risk Redd's life trying... though we might be able to fetch Taps; she might be able to get down there and bring him to safety... but I don't think Redd would care to wait much longer."

Silver began to pace as she spoke, speaking to both Selena and herself simultaneously.

"So I don't find trying to mess with the cage itself feasible for me... and getting a pegasi or two would take far longer than I'd like..."

She stopped.

"I don't exactly feel safe throwing you down there... but I could levitate you down, for certain! Maybe we could try that?"

Beneath them, Redd began gibbering and weeping, screaming for his would-be rescuers to hurry, hurry, PLEASE hurry.

Selena thought for a moment, humming slightly in Silver's ear. "That could work, the question is more whether I have enough magic to lift him on my own... Oh! I could tap your own magic, provided you have enough to say, lift Redd. You wouldn't even need enough telekinetic strength, just energy due to the nature of cloud diamond. Once you levitate me down, just keep me in your magical grasp, you'll feel a drain on your energy, but it shouldn't be too bad. Do let me know if you think you're running low though."

Silver grinned widely.

"That is a can-do from me, sister! You take what you need - just get him up; the poor fellow sounds as if he's about to start crying... and I don't know if I could stand to hear that sound coming out of THAT stallion."

Ever-so-gently, an orange aura appeared around the portion of Cloud Diamond in her ear, and lightly began to lower it down the cliff. She was careful, and never once bumped the side. When she was low enough, it became obvious what had happened here.

The cage was really nothing more than bars crossed at intervals; there wasn't really even a floor... and it was set sideways into the mountainside. It was exceedingly crude, but it was solid enough. Redd, however...

"What's that? What are you doing? Will it help me? PLEASE HELP ME!"

... wasn't exactly being a pillar of strength right now.

Once Selena was close enough she latched on to the cage, attaching it to her own network of mass. She evaluated how it was laid out before she started to draw on Silver's magic before she started the cage moving. One bar at a time would dislodge itself from the side of the cliff and grab back on higher up the mountain. Step by step raising the cage up to the edge of the cliff.

Redd gave a squeak as the cage began to climb itself up the cliffside, then went wide-eyed and silent as he saw he was being rescued. There was no incident, and the cage-thing made its' way to the top, pulling itself onto the ledge. Silver clapped her hooves, then made her way over to Redd.

"Redd! Are you all right?"

The unicorn stallion looked as though he'd just been released from a seven year sentence at a haunted prison. He slowly turned to look at her, and his voice was tiny and high-pitched.

"... no..."

He slowly laid himself on the ground, and began to kiss the dirt beneath him.

"Oh Silver, thank you thank you SO much! Oh, I never want to go through that again, no way no how nuh-uh! Oh, sweet SWEET ground! Terra Firma! Earth! Dirt! Solid walking substance!"

Silver blushed a bit at the spectacle Redd was making, but luckily there was only the two (three) of them - so there was no harm done. Now there was a gathering of Cloud Diamond bars here, as well as a very grateful stallion and an embarrassed mare; what Selena did next would be her own call... but Silver didn't seem to be in any hurry to explain what she (or more accurately, Selena) had done to Redd Handid.

Given Selena was no longer in Silver's ear she couldn't make much noise, and she didn't want to use up more energy to move herself into position, so she simply allowed her diamond to form back into its glowing diamond shape and wait to be picked up, silently hoping that Silver would remember to bring her back down the mountain with her.

Silver carefully reached down and scooped up the diamond, nonchalantly slipping it into a pouch on her toolbelt before tending to Redd, who looked quite shaken.

"Oh Silver! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!"

Silver nodded and put on a worried smile; she had NEVER seen him act like THIS before! Redd moved over towards the pathway, then stopped and looked back at the mare. "Can we go back now, please?"

Silver walked over. "Thank you..? Please..? You know, Redd - that doesn't sound much like the Redd that I know."

Redd sighed and closed his eyes. "I know; it's for my sister. ALWAYS for my sister."

Silver quirked an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean?"

Redd sighed.

"My sister has always been a fine actress, and she relishes playing the heroes - and she's GOOD at it! You should see her Spitfire impression!" He grinned pleasantly (another strange activity for Redd Handid), then continued.

"Anyhow, she wants to build her own studio and make her own plays and such. However, she wants ME to be there with her onstage - she wants me to play the villain roles. And because I love my lil' sis SO much, I couldn't tell her 'no'... so, I went looking for some sort of profession where I could practice being... well, being a villain, so to speak."

Silver stared for a moment.

"Wow, that is... you REALLY aren't mean, spiteful, hateful, asinine, or egotistical? But those are hallmarks of who we know you to be! Are you saying you've been pretending to be somepony else just to help learn how to be a meaner villain?"

Redd nodded.

"Well isn't that the bee's knees? Actaully, not that bees actually HAVE knees, but more like their legs have appropriate hinges... so you're not a brat of a unicorn- I MEAN, uhm..." Silver blushed a bit - she didn't mean to insult him, unlike previous times of having to deal with the stallion she'd thought of as trouble since she started here. Now to learn he really wasn't mean, but simply acting?

Silver may have to have some words with Selena about this later; it was getting confusing. The two (three) of them began to head back for the manor.

Arriving at Blackwater Manor, Silver and Redd (and Selena) made their way inside and into the foyer, where Illiad was sleeping while Ziggy, Beck and Call were waiting.

Silver gasped when she saw Illiad, and started to go to him - had Ziggy not raised a hoof.

"Your Trojan friend is resting well; he's been through much, I'm sure you can tell... but the wounds you see aren't truly bad; it only took some stuff I had - to fix him up as good as new, and to this end I have been true; your sweetheart here is gonna be fine... and don't worry for thanks - the pleasure was mine."

Silver blushed hotly at the doc's mention of Illiad being her 'sweetheart', but she didn't correct her, either. Instead, she turned to Beck.

"Do you two think you could let the rest know that Redd has been found, and that he's okay?"

Beck and Call both bowed in unison, and spoke such as their reply.

"Most certainly, Miss Silver."

With that, and a final glance at Ziggy, the two of them walked off. The pegazebra shook her head as the twins left.

"I've gotta tell you - I can never figure out which one of those two is which... do you have any idea?"

Silver smiled. "As long as they don't mind, should we?"

Ziggy thought on that for a moment, then shrugged. She then began to gather her unused supplies together.

"Well, I think any effective work I can do here, I have already done did." She giggled at her little grammar joke. "I'm sure I'm leaving Illiad here in good hooves. I'm glad nopony got seriously hurt... REALLY glad. Okay, you two - I'm headed back for the shed; if anything changes for the worse-"

"... you'll be the FIRST to know, Ziggy - thank you for all you've done here."

Ziggy grinned. "Illiad's the one who needs thanking; he saved the entire quarry today."

With that, she trotted her way out the front doors. Once they were alone, Silver moved up next to Illiad and laid down beside him, snuggling and nuzzling up against his chest before settling her head next to his and wrapping one of his hooves around her.

"Good night, Illiad..." She smiled sweetly, kissed his cheek and closed her eyes. "I love you." Within minutes, she was asleep in his embrace.

Twenty minutes later, Oglevy was curled up at Illiad's back, sleeping peacefully as well.

Ten minutes after THAT, Dax was sleeping on a large pillow he'd brought from a couch in the hallway, close enough for Illiad to feel his breath.

Fifteen minutes later, Vylia came through and draped blankets over them all, then headed for bed where she felt in the mood to do a little snuggling as well.

The foyer was quiet as Illiad slept, surrounded by care and love.

Selena crept out of Silver's pocket and made her way back to the rest of her mass which was still regulating his magic. As she sat at the base of his neck she contemplated bringing everyone into a dream together, but decided it would be best if they all just had an undisturbed night's sleep.

She siphoned off some of the incoming energy to replenish her own stores before returning her efforts to ensuring Illiad healed at the fastest possible rate.

Meanwhile, Illiad's dreams were hardly as peaceful as they looked from the outside.

What started as a dreamless rest quickly fell into a nightmarish view of some possible future. Selena was usually there to protect against such visions, but she wasn't here today.

In the dream Illiad stood, the wind and the sand feeling just as real as in the last dream of this kind. He was garbed in the red outlined robes of Consul, and he could feel the office's helm resting on his head. The sun and moon moved erratically as the wind blew fitfully across the cratered landscape of the desert. Behind him stood the impressive walls of Troy, heavily damaged, but still standing strong.

In the wind he could faintly hear laughter, the laughter of a twisted and demented being.

In his magical grasp he held three items, to the left the sword of Troy, the blade shining with a sickly purplish glow, to the right a sword made of cloud diamond, a bight light glowing in the center of the hilt, and before him, a long staff made of obsidianwood and topped by a large mass of cloud diamond.

The laughter was growing closer, taunting him to make a move.

"Discord. The time has come to end this." He spoke without thinking it, as if seeing the events unfold from within himself though his actions were not his own.

The laughter only grew louder as over the shifting dunes an innumerable army of the spawn of Tartarus came into view.

Author's Note:

In which Selena gets to be the star of the story,

Four chapters in Four days? Now this is just getting ridiculous. Anyway, like the last chapter I thought it would be nice to take the focus off of Illiad for a bit, see the world from a slightly different perspective while Illiad was down for the count.

Now, that concludes day 5 of the quarry, leaving day 6 before Illiad and Dax leave for Troy on day 7 to become night 1 of Troy. These next chapters will come out as Randimaxis and I write them, so they will take a bit longer to come out than this last set of chapters.

Who knows what the last full day in the quarry will have in store for them? The dream at the end is a reference to Four Score Divided by Four.

Comments

[Randimaxis]

This, to me, was practice for scenes that WON'T have Illiad in them... as well as a chance at some exposition on Redd Handid, who turned out to be something different as well. Eh, you know how it goes by now, that quarry mantra: NOTHING is what it seems to be.

I like the concept and Illiad's portrayal of Selena; each time, I get a sense of a godlike entity that exists yet doesn't exist... a lovely song with a melody, yet no notes... an exquisite play with no actors. It's surreal, the sense of her being there; Illiad's story of how she came to be appealed to me, and got me interested in Illiad's sense of storytelling... which is QUITE good.

All in all, I'm normally not one for pseudo-gods; Illiad tells a great story, and he balances and works with his characters to make them acceptable and believable - regardless of the apparent power levels present.

Gee... Illiad balancing things out. What a surprise.