Meta Gamer in Equestria: The Blight of Bane.

by reflective vagrant

Hard Answers to Swallow (Chapter 26, Battle for the Rift, part 7.)

Author's Note:

For those that do not want an info dump that mostly covers just technicalities, feel free to jump to the first horizontal rule.

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I looked at the human on the other side of the rift with a swirl of confused emotions while he looked back at me with a look that tried to comfort us, but still showed a sense of unease.

The priest closed his eyes. "I can see as much anger in your face as I do questions."

With a calm and slow hand, he took off his shield, tossed it behind him, then plucked the mace from his side with just his thumb and index finger and did the same with it.

"I will give as many answers as I have."

When I wasn't quite able to form my words due to the shock, the prince came up beside me and asked, "Why are your forces here at the rift instead of Bane's forces?"

The priest glanced at the prince, then back at me. When he saw I couldn't form a question, he turned back towards the temple with a sense of unease then looked directly at the prince.

"Because you are here. My master chose to approach his challenge to Bane in a less conventional manner than sending his army to fight over the lands directly. He knew your people were strong enough to fight back, and any army we send would likely do more harm than good, being far more like your enemy than yourselves. Instead, we've been working on this side of the rift, trying to hinder the forces of Bane before they even reach your world."

He looked at me and Archimedes.

"When we discovered you were attempting to close the rift, we coordinated our forces to hold this side for you, to aid you in sealing it. But know that we will not be able to hold it forever. We can give you another day before we will be forced to retreat, maybe two."

The prince gave a stoic face, but his tense body gave away the distrust in his next question. "How were you able to see into our world to discover our plans?"

The priest nodded in respect.

"A wise question. There is one rift long forgotten by your ancestors that has been open for a few thousand years due to being unattended. It was the sky rift. Our fore bearers under my master found the rift and guarded it quietly while also watching. When Bane's conquest of your world started, we knew the rift would no longer be safe. So when we sent our champion through-" He gestured to me. "We sent with him a sealing device with my delayed command to seal it just as he passed through. The sheer amount of raw quintessence donated by..."

He paused while gesturing to Archimedes, unsure as to what to call him.

"I've come to call him Archimedes."

The priest gave a smile as if he had just discovered a kitten with a bow tied to it. "Oh? That is the nickname they have stuck you with, old friend? That is positively adorable."

Archimedes puffed his feathers out in irritation. The priest stifled his grin and pressed on.

"Yes, well. The seal was forged just on your side of the sky rift with the inscriptions on the stone we sent through, then the raw quintessence shed from Archimedes was able to seal the rift up strong enough to keep it from being opened from our side, should we lose the rift."

He looked at a pony taking notes next to the prince and smiled again.

"It is a shame an immortal cannot aid such a seal directly without causing permanent harm to themselves, is it not, Discord?"

The pony rift specialist that came down with us stopped in his recording, looked up and slowly grew in size, changing shape and eventually forming the body of a furious draconequus.

"Come over to this side and I'll rip your throat out, priest." Discord's mere presence seemed to darken the room as he said this.

"That won't be necessary." The priest backed up a step and put his hands out apologetically. "And do not worry. None here, not even myself, know your original name. We only know the one that the Animus Mundi of that world gave you. We cannot force you to do anything as long as you remain on that world."

He turned back to the prince. "As for why we can still see through the seal, it is because my master knows the name of the one who made the seal. That is to say, my name. Even though it is now closed off, we can still observe simply by placing my name into the scrying spell. Though do be at ease, we cannot scry to places that cannot be seen from the rift."

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The conversation prattled on between the priest and the prince. Meanwhile, Discord became more and more elaborate with his threats and taunts to the point that Fluttershy had to come over and ask him to stop.

"Just one last question," the prince called to the priest, "Why are you even helping us? What do you have to gain?"

The priest positively beamed at this question. With a hand to his chest he gave a brief bow.

"An excellent question indeed. In short, it has to do with my lord's namesake. Oghma is the god of ideas. Every rebellion, every feat of ingenuity, every song ever written or sang, indeed even every prayer ever offered all start with an idea. Every populated world has ideas in it, but so few we can observe are absent of what you would call the 'taint' of the gods for very long. They are quickly conquered and many of the ideas that can only form in the absence of the gods are destroyed or otherwise lost in the process."

He gestured out to us.

"Your world, however, is in a unique position. It is devoid of gods, and well fortified enough to have the potential to prevent any gods from returning. We wish to see it continue in this way so that we may observe it from afar through the rifts. Resources and temples are fleeting trifles in the scope of my lord's view of time, but the chance to observe the ideas you have formed, untainted by our observations, has been a truly rare treasure for him. Now that it has been threatened, he seeks to preserve as much of it as he can."

I decided to use my good luck charm to check for deception. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and settled as I pressed my amulet.

"It seems too good to be true," I called to the prince, "But either he's telling the truth or he's so good a liar that I can't even detect it."

The priest looked at me oddly. "You also doubt me, champion? Why did you agree to the mission if you do not trust us?"

My blood pressure practically shot through the roof at his statement and I lost all composure. "I didn't agree to diddly squat! You guys kidnapped me!"

It took a set of four talons and paws from Discord to keep me from jumping through the rift. I had a nice solid idea of some thick bear fangs at the priest's throat passing through my mind at the time.

The priest, meanwhile, was aghast at my statement. Although, judging by how he hadn't even stepped back, he was clearly not phased at my attempt to leap at him.

"I had no idea. My lord does withhold information from time to time, even from those highest in his order like myself. He spoke so highly of you and why he selected you as he prepared you for your travels. It never occurred to me to ask him if you had come willingly."

He shook his head and bowed apologetically towards me. "However, calling each other out on our actions is encouraged in our order, provided it is not done with malice. While I cannot properly atone for my lord's wrongdoing, I will at least let the entire order know about this. I hope that this knowledge will bring you some level of closure."

With Discord finally letting go, I folded my arms with a stern glare on my face.

"Not. One. Bit." I answered him coldly, before moving the conversation forward. "But why me? Why did you guys pick me?"

The priest smiled with a glint in his eye, almost as a grandparent would get when their grandchildren would gather for a story.

"My lord said your heart was practically made for this mission. You had no strong ties of loyalty to anyone, but still cherished life. You were a practical mind keen on finding useful situations, but disillusioned to the temptations of paths leading to quick gains. You also were strong in spirit and ready for battle, but not prone to do so. This combination had the best odds of you managing to make friendly contact with the natives and be willing to help them, while also having the least likely chance of being turned to the enemy's side should they approach you."

My jaw dropped as far as it could go. My fingers felt almost electric and a fire went up my body, ultimately collecting in my eyes as I processed him saying this as if praising me.

Catching my breath for a few moments, I barely managed to center myself enough to speak.

"In other words, I was just some tool. I was some puppet that you knew would do exactly what you wanted!"

The priest looked down and pondered on my words, ultimately giving a slight tilt of his head, acknowledging the validity of my argument.

"That is another way to see it. I cannot apologize any further, though, just acknowledge. Do you have any further questions?"

The prince and I shook our heads. With this understanding, the priest stepped back and away from the rift.

"I think it is time we start closing the rift then."

Every creature looked at me, expecting me to fetch the device I needed to get the seal started from my pocket. But I didn't go for my pocket. I just stood there and contemplated on what I needed to do. What I needed to do.

...Nothing happened as several moments of contemplation and indecision passed.

When I finally decided, I didn't go for my pocket. Instead, I went for the sleeve containing my wand.

I pulled it out, pointed it straight at Speaks with Talons and looked at him with the coldest hearted glare I could muster.

Comments

[Who cares]

I pulled it out, pointed it straight at Speaks with Talons and looked at him with the coldest hearted glare I could muster.

Oh shit!

[toshibafox]

thanks for explaining his character up to this point along with him making sure they know he was forced into this conflict.