Expedition to the Whirlpool of Rizack (1)

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Andreas the Wise
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Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:40 pm

Expedition to the Whirlpool of Rizack (1)

Post by Andreas the Wise »

Bayen climbed up the ladder into his treehouse. Alone at last, he thought to himself. With a swirl of his cloak, he transformed into his natural, Skyrin form. It's good to be out of that clumsy human body, he thought. I don't know how I ever stood it for all those years before I became a Skyrin.

In preparation for the expedition, Bayen had been using his inherant Skyrin ability to store mana over the days. He had maxed out his storage capacity with two days worth of mana, and was ready to go.

Wondering when and where the expedition would start, he reached out to make a telepathic link with Andreas, as all Skyrin can do.......
... when a strange conciousness touched his own. It felt ... oddly familiar, but it was no one he knew. He wasn't even sure it was a "someone". Then he suddenly felt a stabbing pain, heard the rush of waves, and fell unconcious.

Meanwhile, Andreas was also preparing for the expedition. He'd really enjoyed the last expedition to the dragons with Bayen, and was looking forward to working with the more experienced Tokidoki mages again. Best of all, he could take Sophus with him! He went down from his office to the research labs. "What have you got for me, Q?" he asked.
"I told you, my names not Q," the small, old man said. "Its Qzcmmxxlyxry."
"I know, but Q is easier to pronounce," Andreas replied cheerfully. He had known Q since before he was Lord of Magic, and was glad to have him in MANA. The military didn't need to know he had their best ex-researcher.
"Fine," Q grumbled. "But I do have these," he added, beckoning Andreas over to a table. As he began to discuss his latest inventions, his tone changed entirely. "This is a Pot o' Sunlight," he explained. "Instant sun."
"I'm going to the ocean," Andreas said. "You don't need sun underwater."
"You never know," Q said, packing it into a large bag. "And here's one of each of our new runed swords ... mind the fire and ice ones stay apart when on, the last two that clashed exploded." Andreas nodded calmly. He'd been wondering why part of the training ground had become a crater. "And here's our latest healing and mana potions, and two vials of invisibility." He added them to the pack, then slipped in a jet black liquid. "What's that?" Andreas asked.
"No idea," said Q, "but it may come in handy. Oh, and here's some food, I know Sophus gets hungry." He proceeded to pack a turkey, a ham, three pheasants and a whole roast boar into the pack.
"How am I meant to carry it?" Andreas asked.
"It's enchanted you fool," Q replied. Andreas just took this ... he may be Lord of Magic, but Q was too valuable to risk annoying. "Every pocket shrinks its contents to 1/100th of the size. You could carry and army in there and you wouldn't break a sweat."
"Thanks Q," said Andreas, taking the bag and returning to his office. Now there remained one thing to do ... find transport. His mages had recently researched a giant turtle that had rooms in its shell. He took his Palantir down and began to locate one, when he saw ....
... ...nothing. Just dark, swirling blackness. It swirled faster and faster, Andreas tried to look away but could not, his gaze was trapped, he could not cry for help, it was -

The door opened loudly. The spell broke, Andreas's gaze fell to the ground. Quickly, he covered the Palantir. He looked up and saw Bayen at the door.

"What happened to you?" asked Bayen, concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"Look." Bayen muttered a simple incantation, and the air before Andreas became reflective. Andreas looked at his face. He looked exhausted.

"I... don't know," replied Andreas finally. He noticed that Bayen looked similarly tired. "Something blocked my Palantir, and it tried to trap me."

"Something similar happened to me when I tried to establish a telepathic link with you," said Bayen. "For now, let's not risk opening our minds at all. Waiting until after the expedition seems prudent."

Andreas replied, ""I wonder if we can do that ... I have a suspicion it has something very crucial to do with the expedition."
"Are you sure?" Bayen asked.
"No," Andreas replied. "But I'm begginning to wonder if we should take the others, or just Magic Matt. It could be too dangerous for them."
"If it's to do with the whirlpool, they deserve to know," Bayen replied calmly. "Besides, if it could do that much to you, we need all the magical support we can get. Look how tired you are."
"Agreed," Andreas said wearily. "Let's get some sleep and then go in the morning."

But as the mages slumbered ...
...the consciousness came again, in their dreams.

Strangely, Bayen and Andreas seemed to be together in the dream. They looked at each other.

"What is this?" asked Bayen. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," said Andreas. He looked around. They were standing on a sandy beach, with the wave lapping at their feet. The dream was strangely serene.

Suddenly, there was a movement offshore. A huge wave rose over the horizon, towering above Bayen and Andreas. It came down with a crash, enveloping them in swirling darkness...
It surrounded, darker and stronger. Andreas remembered what Q had given him and, struggling against the flowing darkness of the water, pulled out the pot o' sunlight, ready to envelop them in light. Then they both awoke, and found themselves back in Andreas' cave.

"That was weird," Bayen said, getting up.
"Obviously, something doesn't want us investigating the whirlpool," Andreas replied.
"So now we should definetly go?" Bayen prompted.
"My thoughts exactly. Now you're thinking like a wizard," Andreas replied. As they walked out, Bayen began to protest "But I've used magic longer than you ..."

As they walked out through the waterfall, they looked out at the bay just past Andreas' house, glittering in the morning light. "We'll fly on Sophus back to MANA, and get the others," Andreas said. "Matt can meet us at the whirlpool." He whistled for Sophus, and they could see him flying towards them. But as he got closer, they realised it wasn't Sophus but ...
"A dragon made of water?" Bayen said. "But that's impossible. How could you turn Sophus into water?"
"That's not Sophus, and that's not a dragon made of water," Andreas called out, alarmed. "We're still dreaming ... Duck!"
They both fell to the ground as the 'dragon' swooped past. "How can you tell?" Bayen asked, spitting out the sand.
"The pink elephants in the sky were a hint, I can tell you," Andreas began.
Suddenly ...
...the world began to blend together, swirling into a dark mass of color.

Quickly, Bayen's hands formed the somatic component of a mental resistance spell. Andreas did the same.

Slowly, with their combined powers, they pushed the spin counterclockwise, and eventually their vision returned.

"I don't think IT wants us to wake up," panted Bayen.

Andreas breathed in sharply. "What gave you that idea?" he said sarcastically.

"We need to get to the bottom of this in IT's terms," said Bayen.

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to the whirlpool - in the dream."
"Alright," said Andreas, grabbing the bag of items Q had given him, "we'll play its game, but we'll play by my rules."
"What do you mean?" Bayen asked.
"We're in a dream, right? Well lets dream ourselves better, then. For example, in some dreams I can fly. So I'll fly here." With that, he rose up into the air, and began whizzing around.
"Umm, Andreas, two things." Bayen said, "One - you could already magically levitate on Novatainia."
"Oh, yeah," Andreas said saddly, landing back down. "What else?"
"And there's still a giant dragon behind you."
"Right, that does it," Andreas said. He turned around and held his arms in an X by his face, as if shielding himself, then pulled them apart. The water dragon ripped in two, and fell back into the ocean as a puddle of water.
"Silly dragon wannabees," he muttered, as he began trudging along the shore. "Let's go back to the academy and get some dream weapons."
"Ahh, Andreas, we're Mages. We can teleport."

"Oh yeah..."

"Alright, to MANA!" began Bayen.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"We're still in a dream. We can make our own dream weapons right here."

"True," admitted Bayen. He concentrated, then a sleek, black quarterstaff appeared in his hands. "Sweet."

Suddenly, he was holding nothing. The staff had disappeared.

"Apparently we aren't alone in this dream," noted Bayen. "Our attempts can be blocked."

"Uh oh."
The uh oh came from Q, standing near by.

"Q, how did you get into this dream?" Andreas asked.
"This is a dream?" Q asked. "I always thought the Lord of Magic would have more exciting dreams."
"It's not my dream," Andreas replied, "but we got stuck in it. So how did you get in?"
"Well, I was just having a quick rest ... and found myself here."

"That's bad," Bayen said. "It means the dream is drawing more people in."
"Pity Sophus doesn't sleep much ..." Andreas mused ...
"I think we need to be more worried about the rest of Novatainia appearing, than whether you get a dragon or not," Bayen snapped.
"Shows you don't have a dragon," Andreas retorted. Bayen was about to reply angrily when Q stepped in the middle.
"Look here boys, if we're in a dream, and somethings drawn us in here, then we need to stop fighting and work together to get out." Q said. "It's probably setting you against eachother." Bayen and Andreas both tried, and now they felt the magical force that had brushed against their minds, and forced it to retreat. But before it did, ....
A dark tentacle shot out of the water and grabbed all three of them and was about to pull them into the ocean when a voice shouted an incantation and a bolt of white light cut the tentacle in half. The part holding Andrea, Bayen and Q dropped to the ground with the men inside it. The remaining part of the tentacle retreated into the waves. Matt came striding up to them. "Hello boys what's new?" he asked cheerfully. "Matt? How'd you get here?" Andreas said, spitting out sand. "I was meditating and saw you three being pulled here." came the reply. "Where is here?" asked Q, looking around. "A parallel dimension. And we''ll be having company soon, everyone else is getting ready back home before they go to bed." Matt said. "Wonderful" Bayen gasped, finally pulling the sand crab off his tongue...
"What now?" asked Bayen.

"Shall we teleport to the Whirlpool?" suggested Q.

"Won't work," replied Matt.

"He's right, if you think about it," added Bayen. "Teleportation requires opening a dimensional portal and crossing through that space instead of the space on our own dimension, shortening travel of any distance to almost no time at all. However, since we are already trapped in this dimension, we cannot slip through any other and shorten travel. We're going to have to rough it."

"I see you've been doing well in your studying," said Matt with a smile. "However, you still have a bit more to learn. This is the dimesion of Karn."

"Oh!" said Bayen in sudden recognition. "Karn! How could I have missed it!"

"What's Karn?" asked Andreas.

"We haven't gotten there in your studies yet," replied Matt. "And although your raw magical talent is unprecedented, you are still fairly new to Magic. Karn is a realm created by Mages for Magical experimentation. Any powerful Mage can bend reality to his will - just like in a dream. However, if more than one strong Mage exists in Karn at one time, it will be a clash of wills to determine what is real and what is not. For some time, I have noticed another presence in Karn, watching me. I can sense ITs sheer power. If I am correct, IT is what is opposing you."

"Is there then no hope?" asked Bayen.

"Perhaps not," said Matt. "However, Karn's current reality resembles Micras very realistically. That is how IT wanted it when you arrived. However, if we combine our wills, we may be able to force IT to a standstill, keeping reality as it is. Then, we will have a chance to find IT and what IT wants."

"This all has something to do with the whirlpool," reasoned Andreas. "Let's start there."

"Very well," agreed Matt.

As the party of four began to set off, they suddenly felt a terrible presence attack their minds, and the first clash of wills began.
Andreas stood still, muttering slightly under his breath. Bayen and Matt sat down on the ground in a meditative pose, and stayed silent. Q calmly got a helmet out of the sack he was carrying, and hummed merrily. The others concentrated, battering ... what felt like waves crashing against them.
In your mind eye, look at it like a film ... Andreas standing still, muttering :o . Cut to Bayen and Matt, sitting :x . Cut to Q, humming merrily. :D Cut to Andreas ... Cut to Bayen ... Cut to Matt ... Cut to Q, humming merrily.
Cut to moment of humorous recognition, and then ...
"Q, want to help," Andreas said.
"Do you powerful mages want help?" Q said merrily.
"No," Andreas replied wearily. "Three very foolish boys would like help."
"Ok," said Q, his smile growing broader, then took three more helmets out and put them on. Instantly the mental assault ceased.
"What are these?" Matt asked, trying to examine them magically, and failing.
"Well, you remember those silence helms we invented after we found the screamers? I updated them a little ... you can now hear people close by, and it has anti scrying capabilities."
"Useful," Bayen said.
"Quite," said Q. "They're even better here ..."
"What do you mean?" Andreas demanded, aware of some of Q's inventions ...
"Well, they weren't quite working back home ... had a tendency to make the wearer go insane ... but of course, in my dreams, all the bugs are ironed out." Andreas groaned at the last phrase ... he remembered it in a very literal sense ...
"Well, let's actually go to the whirlpool then, shall we," Matt said, unaware of the reminiscense ...
"If we can't teleport, are we going to fly?" Bayen asked.
"You can tell Tokidoki hasn't examined all the creatures we have ..." Andreas said cheerfully. He dropped a small ball into the water, and watched as a large shape emerged from it. "What do you think Giant Sea Turtles are for?"
Suddenly, the attack returned, doubly strong.

"What happened?" grated Andreas slowly, straining mentally.

"I don't know," replied Bayen in the same tone.

"I do," said Matt. "How could we forget? Nothing is permanent here. The helmets have been tampered with by IT. Now IT is trying to change reality again to be different. If we win this battle, reality will stay the same. If we lose, we will probably be trapped here forever."

"It's stronger than I'd thought," admitted Bayen, breathing heavily.

"Stop talking and concentrate," ordered Andreas. This was no time for idle chatter.

IT pushed harder and harder, forcing the Mages back further and further...
Even Andreas couldn't see an amusing and simple way out of this, unless ...
He stepped up, leaving Matt and Bayen struggling against it. Breathing deeply, he twirled his arms. "My rules, not its," he said. He did something, and Bayen and Matt felt the blow lessen.
"I'm trying to change reality to make you guys stronger," he said, at their questioning look. But in a moment IT leapt back, stronger than before.
"Won't work," Matt coughed. "Have to play by its rules."
"Fine," said Andreas. "We're in Novatainia, yes? Novatainia will answer my call." His arms rose again, and a determined look appeared on his face.
The sand on the beach formed into figures, and clouds started swirling towards them. A rumbling started, and from deep underground, beings of magma rose up to join the army amassed around them. Only the water refused to form into elements.
"These are formed in the real world, not modified by dreams, and so are allowed here!" Andreas said triumphantly. He turned to the massed army. "Go on boys, you know what to do."
"They do?" asked Bayen quizically. "I don't!"

"It's simple," said Andreas smugly. "We attack."

"We attack what?" said Bayen.

"Do you think Andreas would attack without a plan?" returned Matt. "Come, now, Bayen. You're better than this. Reason it out."

Sighing, Bayen turning his mind to the situation. They had been accosted by IT every time they tried to start their expedition to the whirlpool - wait. The whirlpool! That was it! Bayen smiled.

"I see now. To the whirlpool!" he shouted.

"What whirlpool?" asked Q.
"It's over there, to the left," Andreas said dissmissively. "But we don't need to steer exactly ... what are Giant Sea Turtles for?"
The giant sea turtle he had summoned earlier now swum up, and Andreas began issuing orders. "Alright, all you air elements who can fly, set off now - race you there. Earth, troop into the turtle, but make sure she can carry you fine, and theirs room for us. Magma, turtles tend to dislike having their stomach burned through with lava, so can you go back to the MANA in this dream, and get as many of them as you can to come help."
As one, the elementals nodded, and they did as bid.
"There," said Andreas. "Now to board the turtle." He, Q, Bayen and Matt did so, and set off, unaware of the danger lurking just beyond the bay ....
Bayen, Andreas, and Matt glanced warily around, keeping a keen eye out for any ambushes, traps, or the like. For some reason unknown to Bayen, he kept glancing up into the air. Every time he did this, Bayen would snap his head back down to the ocean, muttering angrily to himself.

As the sky began to grow dark, Bayen began to look up again. He cursed at himself in anger, but he caught something out of the corner of his eye. When he concentrated on the vague object, it seemed to be nothing but a blob of darkness.

"Matt, Andreas, do you see that?"

"I think i do, you mean that blob of darkness?" Andreas answered.

"Yah. What do you think?"

Matt made no reply, only firing a blast of magic at the thing. Surprisingly, the thing swerved to the side, nimbly dodging the blast. Matt furrowed his brow in annoyance, and tried again. And again, and again, until he had shot 5 blasts at the thing. The swirl of darkness was almost upon then by this time, and Matt prepared to fire off what could be his last spell, when suddenly a voice rang out from the darkness.

"Hail, my Duke! Cease fire!"

"Frump?"

"Who else has a shadow-born dragon? Come on, a journey into the center of a magical whirlpool, possible death, unknown ventures, how could i resist? you might need us."

"Your help is greatly appreciated man, come aboard."

"I'm on my dragon Matt. I don't need a turtle."

"good point."
"I really need Sophus," Andreas said.
"Try reaching for him with your mind," Frump yelled down from the air ...
"Oh yeah ..." Andreas said. He began to reach out, when Bayen grabbed him. "No!" Bayen yelled. "Open your mind, and IT will attack."
"Knew there was a reason I didn't do it," Andreas said.
Frump was having trouble with his dragon. Since he couldn't speak to it with his mind, he was forced to shout out commands. Even though dragons are very intelligent, they are not very good at the Human languages, due to the pointlessness of it. Eventually, Frump gave up and had to ride on the Turtles with everyone else.

As they progressed towards the Whirlpool, mental battles to make sure IT does not change reality became more and more frequent. Luckily, the Turtles knew where they were going and needed no guidance - otherwise they surely would have gone off course by now.

They were in the middle of another clash of wills when lightning struck. The storm began.

"How are we supposed to concentrate in this weather?" shouted Bayen in frustration.

IT pushed them back, further, further.

The mages stood in a line: Andreas, Matt, Bayen, Frumpmaster.

IT pushed harder.

Bayen and Frumpmaster crumpled to the ground, leaving only the two Lords of Magic.

"Tyr glam untge luso," muttered Matt, and Andreas felt his vision go dark.

...

Andreas felt himself floating... not in water, but in light. What is this, he asked himself silently.

You are in a dream state, said the voice of Matt, although he was nowhere to be seen. I have cast us into this state, so our minds and bodies will fight IT on autopilot, so to speak, while our spirits find refuge here.

I'm here, too.

And me!

Hello, Bayen, Frump,
thought Andreas.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Outside of the dream state, the Elementals had finally reached the whirlpool... and the dragon ...

My rider's instructions were making no sense to me, undoubtedly because of IT's interference. So i deposited frumpmaster on top of a turtle, and followed from a safe distance. As we neared the whirlpool, I felt a strange pressure on my mind, I shook my head, and the pressure abated, only to return again. I had to repeat this several times, until i was doing it constantly as we got closer to the whirlpool. Angered, i blew a great belch of flame into the air, trying to incinerate the air above me to make the pressure abate.
...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
There has to be something more we can do Andreas said.
These endless mental struggles are merely holding off the seemingly inevitable, nothing more
Apart from fighting the thing physically
Matt said, I can't see anything to do.
Suddenly there was a jolt that they even felt in the dream world. The pressure abated, and the dream, tied to the mental attacks, began to fade. They found the turtle diving to avoid a huge wave splashing towards them ... no, not towards them in particular, towards everything!
"The elementals have got there!" Andreas said joyously. "They must be taking it head on!"
"And so's my dragon!" Frumpmaster said, having renewed his link the moment the mental attack ceased.
"There's only one thing to do now, boys," said Q. "Full speed to the whirlpool. Let's finish this off!"
The mages stood with their forces surrounding the whirlpool.

"Prepare for attack!" ordered Andreas. He began to raise his hand, then cringed as he felt IT touch his mind again. Quickly, he began to set up mental defenses.

Wait! said a voice in Andreas's head. He didn't know why, but he listened. Please, we mean no harm, pleaded the voice.

"We"...? stated Andreas questioningly.

Yes, we. The Krynii.

Slowly, Andreas lowered his hand. Who - what - are the Kernee?
Kry - Nee, IT - or more accurately, THEY - corrected. We are what create currents in the water. It takes tremendous magical strength to cause such huge bodies of water to move. Only the strongest Krynii have the power to help maintain this whirlpool.

You mean, you control all the water currents in the world - by magic? asked Andreas incredulously. I thought it had something to do with heat and pressure and -

Hogwash,
THEY said dismissively. Magic is the only thing strong enough. Without our support, there would be no currents, which in the end would be the end of life on Micras.

Who is your leader?

We have no leader. We are all one, and together, we are the Source of All Magic.

Source of all magic? Andreas said incredulously. I find that hard to believe.
Why?
asked the voice, though the tone was more grated, as if barely containing anger.
I can believe you are a magical race. I can certainly believe you control all sea currents ... makes a lot more sense than the scientific explanation. I can even believe that you are magical enough that some of your magic has been imparted to the neighbouring lands, of Tokidoki and Novatainia, and that is why we were the first nations in Micras to develop magic again, Andreas said calmly. But the source of all magic? Dream on.
You think you know more than us, impudent mortal? the voice said, clearly upset.
No, Andreas said cheerfully. I'm sure you know a great deal about ocean currents that I don't have a clue about, a lot about mental warfare, and maybe even more about Heart Magic. But I have visited worlds other than Micras Andreas continued. Enough to know that, whatever sort of magic you have imparted to us here, magic is not something that just stems from a race, or even from a land. Magic is both a power, and a way of looking at the world. I do not have time now to explain the seven types of magic I have discovered. But anyone so deeply embedded in the element of water, as you are, is only practising Heart, maybe a bit of Strength. You are not all the magics, and just because you are older, stronger, and possibly wiser than me, does not mean I have to believe every thing you say about you, and I will not submit to anything less than the truth, or my God. Besides, if you mean us no harm, why all the mental assaults?
That's it impudent mortal,
the Krynii said. Prepare for ...
The roar of dragons cut off the Krynii's tyrade.

Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred dragons streamed from the skies, moving in to hover about the whirlpool.

YOU! roared a voice Andreas recognized as the leader of wild dragons'. KRYNII! STOP THIS AT ONCE AND RELEASE OUR HUMAN ALLIES!

Allies? scoffed the Krynii. We do not associate with the lesser beings.

YOU UNDERESTIMATE HUMANS, stated the dragon.

"What's going on?" asked Frumpmaster. "Ladon, why are your kin here?"

It's very simple, said Ladon, broadcasting his thoughts for all to hear. We dragons are the sworn enemies of the Krynii. We are of fire, they of water. Apparently they heard of our alliance with you humans and wanted to stop us dragons from gaining the upper hand in our eternal struggle by gaining some humans of their own. So the Krynii fueled Magic in nearby lands and brought them here, no doubt to find out what we Dragons find so appealing.

ENOUGH! shouted the Krynii. My battle is not with you, humans. Let me settle this once and for all, King of the Dragons...

... A great roar rose above the waters, with Ehecatl bellowing out his challenge.
'Wait a second, how do i know his name?' Frumpmaster thought to himself

'It is instinctive for one bonded so closely with a dragon to at least touch upon each other's memories.'

'Oh well then-' Frumpmaster was suddenly cut off from Ladon by a tremendous mental attack.

"Ladon! help!" He screamed aloud, "Help..." The pressure only built at a steady pace, slowly crushing the hastily erected defenses around Frumpmaster's mind. The feeling halted abruptly, and did not continue, for which frumpmaster was glad. The pressure eased off until it was totally gone, at which poinjt Ladon's mind touched his again.

'Do not worry little one, you brethren are likewise protected. At least one dragon is aiding each in their mental struggles.'

'Thank you'

'no need little one.'

The dragons hovered in a circle around the whirlpool, silently waging their mental battle against the Krynii.

We're close to defeating them, reported Ladon to the Mages. It won't be long now.

That's what you think!
shouted the sudden voice of the Krynii. Prepare to face the wrath of the element of Water!

The water making up the whirlpool slowly began to change its course, as the currents that had driven it for thousands of years moved. Soon, it picked up speed, and finally the entire whirlpool rose into the air, creating a hurricane of water.

The Dragons tried to fly out of the way, but to no avail. They were all engulfed.

OATHBREAKERS! roared the dragons at once. THIS IS AGAINST THE RULES OF OUR ANCIENT WAR! "OUR BATTLES SHALL BE OF THE MIND, TO AVOID THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD BY FLAME AND WATER!" YOU AGREED TO IT!

Never trust an enemy, laughed the Krynii.

"It's over," whispered Andreas.

Not quite, said Ladon. I have a plan...
Ladon breathed a great gout of fire upon the water-twister, evaporating it, aided by his kin on the inside.
Suddenly, the water rose up again, recreating the twister. This time, the dragons were ready. Only about half were trapped.

I have a better plan,
stated Ehecatl. YRL CNA UNRL PIYRCANOUS! There was a blinding flash, then it faded away. Nothing had changed, except that the twister was gone.

"What happened?" asked Frumpmaster.

Ehecatl brought us out of the dream-world Karn, replied Ladon. We're back in the real world

Not so strong in reality, are you? taunted Ehecatl.

The Krynii strengthened themself in the false reality of Karn, the dream world. That's how they were able to fight the dragons for so long. On Micras, they are not nearly as strong as us, explained Ladon.

Noooo! screamed the Krynii as the dragons all breathed flame at the whirlpool together. We surrender!

"Don't trust them," said Matt instantly.

"No," said Bayen. "Sorry to contradict you, Master, but there is a way."

"I think I know," said Andreas. "Make them swear a magically binding oath not to hurt us."

"Almost," said Bayen, smiling. "That oath has too many loopholes. Make them swear never to return to Karn."

"Stop them from going to the dream world?" asked Andreas incredulously.

"Yes. As you can clearly see, the Kyrnii are not nearly strong enough to be a threat if they are here on Micras. Only in their reality-strenghtened state are they powerful enough to challenge anyone, and they can only get to that state in Karn. Simple."

...
"Thank you Ehecatl." Frumpmaster said. Suddenly a thought struck him.
"Hey Matt, Bayen, Andreas. We never actually found out what was at the bottom of the whirlpool. Sure, the Krynii are down there, but what else? Its a whole new world down there..."
But that was an adventure for another day. The Mages' mana was all but used up, and they were exhausted. They headed back to MANA, where Andreas allowed them to rest. Someday soon, they plan to have a SECOND EXPEDITION
The character Andreas the Wise is on indefinite leave. But he does deserve a cool war ribbon.
Image
However, this account still manages:
Vincent Waldgrave - Lord General of Gralus
Manuel - CEO of VBNC. For all you'll ever need.
Q - Director of SAMIN
Duke Mel'Kat - Air Pirate, Melangian, and Duke of the Flying Duchy of Glanurchy
Cla'Udi - Count of Melangia
Vur'Alm Xei'Bôn - Speaker of Nelaga, Minister of Interior Affairs, and a Micron

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