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- Nov 3, 2021
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Hauptman's Veil
Cathedral of Autumn
The swirling mists of proto star-stuff known as Hauptman's Veil was home to dozens of young stars and would be the birthplace of many more. Observed from a distance, the colors melded together into a vibrant, if off-putting purple.
Within one stretch, the merged purples gave way to roiling ambers, blues, and yellows. Flashes of light like distant lightning traced through the gas, but even without them there was plenty of light. For certain cultures, the scenery here could easily be mistaken for the realm of the gods.
And that's what it was.
Structures, impossible both for their scale and the absurdity of their construction, stretched as far as one could see. There was no thought for keeping out the cold of space or keeping in atmospheres here. The structures were connected by bridges with intricate facias and frescoes. It all looked to be made out of some gray-white stone that caught the nebula's light in subdued rainbow hues.
Within the largest of these structures was a chamber. Its walls, such as they were, were made of impossibly tall sheets of gold and platinum. The nebula outside peeked through the gaps between the sheets, casting a hazy light on a large, round table within the chamber. Three figures sat at it. Each wore a mixture of black, white, and gold, but that was where their similarities ended.
One wore mostly black across its insectoid body. Strips of fabric made up its 'clothes', for any normal garb would never fit onto the multitudinous blades that covered its form. Its hands, surprisingly humanoid in shape but clearly anything but, were one of the only parts of it that didn't seem designed to rend flesh and slice apart its enemies.
"The Dirge," it said, with a drawn-out voice that had echoes of hundreds of buzzing insects, "does not wish to wait around forever to see our glorious purpose fulfilled. The slow collection of souls-"
Another figure, this one wearing pristine white robes with only the faintest hints of blacks. Three pairs of angelic wings sprouted from her back. Her limbs were too long to be human, the many eyes on her head and the upper part of her bare arms and chest clearly not, but something about her ethereal presence that could only be defined as beauty.
"-the slow collection of souls," she continued in a sweet, melodic voice. The insect-man scowled at her, but he allowed her to continue. "-has been our way for quite some time now. We have many farm worlds. The worlds we seeded so long ago are beginning to bear fruit, as well. The last confluence of the new Gate candidates showed promise. They will fight each other and we shall offer them succor, at the cost of joining our great unity."
The third figure, a human woman who mixed sensuous covers with a motherly maturity, herself dressed in a mix of whites and blacks, with gold trim. Gold wings stretched around from behind her head, their feathers splayed into something like a mask that covered her face.
"Atrax 23, Bellafina 62," she began. Her voice was smooth, sonorous, and full of loving warmth. Its power, however, crushed any thought the other two might have had about speaking out of turn. "The Sector is large and, as Bellafina 62 pointed out, full of many seeds. A new harvest has dawned upon us, full of new opportunities to collect the wayward fragments of the dying light. We can each pursue our agendas without fighting each other."
The woman looked towards Atrax, the bladed insect man. "I believe you had a project or two you had been pursuing? How are those?"
Atrax huffed, but drew himself up. They might have equal seats at the table, but all knew who was in charge. "Lady Hera 450, I believe you're asking about the 'soul grinders'," he said with delightful malevolence. "They show promise. I believe that if we can inflict enough strain upon the individuals while they're alive, there will be nothing left of their ego once they die. For souls who retain too much of their egos to continue the cycle naturally, I've created a subversion that will crystallize the souls into mementos from their lives. These ... mementos have certain unique properties that others on their worlds will find appealing. By using the memento, the natives will slowly strip away the ego traces for us."
Hera listened impassively, but Bellafina looked appalled. "The sanctity of the soul- only through a willful, true offering-"
The insect man scoffed. "You would have felt bad for the logs in your fire when you were mortal, Bellafina. These souls are fuel for our great purpose, nothing more, and I am merely ridding the fuel of impurities."
The winged woman started to stand, but a hand from Hera stopped her. "Atrax 23 is correct that, at the end of the day, all that truly matters is that we achieve our goal. The Dying God must be revived."
Bellafina gave her report next, discussing how she had created an entire system full of magic and wonder, where the people lived rich, full lives while offering up their prayers to the conduit she had created. She spoke of a world that had once held much promise, but was on its way to ruin due to unforeseen circumstances. Both of them were wonderfully efficient soul collectors.
When the winged woman finished, Hera spoke for her turn. "I continue to seek out the remnants of the Precursors. We can ill afford another incident like the last one. None can be allowed to take control of what they left behind or discover the secrets of Hadal. Beyond this, I have anchored more realities to our own. Whether they will be useful sources of Fragments or not is yet to be seen, but it never hurts to bring more in."
Atrax and Bellafina nodded. They were each powerful - enough to guide the destiny of entire systems or see them snuffed out - but hauling entire realities into their own was far beyond what they were capable of. Atrax was eager to reach such heights one day; Bellafina simply wished for her gardens to grow nicely.
~~~
Hera walked through the sacred halls, the day's meeting barely a footnote in her mind. There were many Choirs, but they represented the three most prominent ones. Others might take their seats if they proved themselves better able of acquiring fragments. Bellafina's predecessors had always performed very well. Atrax brought fresh ideas and a new perspective to their work. He had been incarnated a number of times, but only recently had Hera taken note of him. Whether or not his 'soul grinders' would do more good than harm was yet to be seen.
She stepped onto a grand balcony, looking over the nebula. The ruined gate within it. And the gargantuan, bloated corpse of the God she worshipped, that filled up so much of the sky in that direction that you had to turn your head to take it all in.
Cathedral of Autumn
The swirling mists of proto star-stuff known as Hauptman's Veil was home to dozens of young stars and would be the birthplace of many more. Observed from a distance, the colors melded together into a vibrant, if off-putting purple.
Within one stretch, the merged purples gave way to roiling ambers, blues, and yellows. Flashes of light like distant lightning traced through the gas, but even without them there was plenty of light. For certain cultures, the scenery here could easily be mistaken for the realm of the gods.
And that's what it was.
Structures, impossible both for their scale and the absurdity of their construction, stretched as far as one could see. There was no thought for keeping out the cold of space or keeping in atmospheres here. The structures were connected by bridges with intricate facias and frescoes. It all looked to be made out of some gray-white stone that caught the nebula's light in subdued rainbow hues.
Within the largest of these structures was a chamber. Its walls, such as they were, were made of impossibly tall sheets of gold and platinum. The nebula outside peeked through the gaps between the sheets, casting a hazy light on a large, round table within the chamber. Three figures sat at it. Each wore a mixture of black, white, and gold, but that was where their similarities ended.
One wore mostly black across its insectoid body. Strips of fabric made up its 'clothes', for any normal garb would never fit onto the multitudinous blades that covered its form. Its hands, surprisingly humanoid in shape but clearly anything but, were one of the only parts of it that didn't seem designed to rend flesh and slice apart its enemies.
"The Dirge," it said, with a drawn-out voice that had echoes of hundreds of buzzing insects, "does not wish to wait around forever to see our glorious purpose fulfilled. The slow collection of souls-"
Another figure, this one wearing pristine white robes with only the faintest hints of blacks. Three pairs of angelic wings sprouted from her back. Her limbs were too long to be human, the many eyes on her head and the upper part of her bare arms and chest clearly not, but something about her ethereal presence that could only be defined as beauty.
"-the slow collection of souls," she continued in a sweet, melodic voice. The insect-man scowled at her, but he allowed her to continue. "-has been our way for quite some time now. We have many farm worlds. The worlds we seeded so long ago are beginning to bear fruit, as well. The last confluence of the new Gate candidates showed promise. They will fight each other and we shall offer them succor, at the cost of joining our great unity."
The third figure, a human woman who mixed sensuous covers with a motherly maturity, herself dressed in a mix of whites and blacks, with gold trim. Gold wings stretched around from behind her head, their feathers splayed into something like a mask that covered her face.
"Atrax 23, Bellafina 62," she began. Her voice was smooth, sonorous, and full of loving warmth. Its power, however, crushed any thought the other two might have had about speaking out of turn. "The Sector is large and, as Bellafina 62 pointed out, full of many seeds. A new harvest has dawned upon us, full of new opportunities to collect the wayward fragments of the dying light. We can each pursue our agendas without fighting each other."
The woman looked towards Atrax, the bladed insect man. "I believe you had a project or two you had been pursuing? How are those?"
Atrax huffed, but drew himself up. They might have equal seats at the table, but all knew who was in charge. "Lady Hera 450, I believe you're asking about the 'soul grinders'," he said with delightful malevolence. "They show promise. I believe that if we can inflict enough strain upon the individuals while they're alive, there will be nothing left of their ego once they die. For souls who retain too much of their egos to continue the cycle naturally, I've created a subversion that will crystallize the souls into mementos from their lives. These ... mementos have certain unique properties that others on their worlds will find appealing. By using the memento, the natives will slowly strip away the ego traces for us."
Hera listened impassively, but Bellafina looked appalled. "The sanctity of the soul- only through a willful, true offering-"
The insect man scoffed. "You would have felt bad for the logs in your fire when you were mortal, Bellafina. These souls are fuel for our great purpose, nothing more, and I am merely ridding the fuel of impurities."
The winged woman started to stand, but a hand from Hera stopped her. "Atrax 23 is correct that, at the end of the day, all that truly matters is that we achieve our goal. The Dying God must be revived."
Bellafina gave her report next, discussing how she had created an entire system full of magic and wonder, where the people lived rich, full lives while offering up their prayers to the conduit she had created. She spoke of a world that had once held much promise, but was on its way to ruin due to unforeseen circumstances. Both of them were wonderfully efficient soul collectors.
When the winged woman finished, Hera spoke for her turn. "I continue to seek out the remnants of the Precursors. We can ill afford another incident like the last one. None can be allowed to take control of what they left behind or discover the secrets of Hadal. Beyond this, I have anchored more realities to our own. Whether they will be useful sources of Fragments or not is yet to be seen, but it never hurts to bring more in."
Atrax and Bellafina nodded. They were each powerful - enough to guide the destiny of entire systems or see them snuffed out - but hauling entire realities into their own was far beyond what they were capable of. Atrax was eager to reach such heights one day; Bellafina simply wished for her gardens to grow nicely.
~~~
Hera walked through the sacred halls, the day's meeting barely a footnote in her mind. There were many Choirs, but they represented the three most prominent ones. Others might take their seats if they proved themselves better able of acquiring fragments. Bellafina's predecessors had always performed very well. Atrax brought fresh ideas and a new perspective to their work. He had been incarnated a number of times, but only recently had Hera taken note of him. Whether or not his 'soul grinders' would do more good than harm was yet to be seen.
She stepped onto a grand balcony, looking over the nebula. The ruined gate within it. And the gargantuan, bloated corpse of the God she worshipped, that filled up so much of the sky in that direction that you had to turn your head to take it all in.