ULTRAMagic Babel - Chapter 11
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“So, kid, what did you think of your first major mission?” Tusk asked as he tapped Yoshihiro’s arm. The group was waiting in a Victorian-styled parlor while that night’s dinner was being prepared.
Yoshihiro sighed and slouched a little on the sofa. “That was something else and I never want to do it again…”
“Well, until we get rid of The Eternal Order you’re going to have to keep grinning and bearing it.”
“I know… You know? It’s kind of surreal to know you guys were off hunting The Lich of Old back when I saw Blood and Drago at the Lake Outskirts all those years ago…”
“Er, not quite, as that was right before they met Leif. To be fair, I did sense Blood pop into existence and probably would’ve gone to meet him had the forest been near The Iron City…”
“You’re sure about that?” Serjiel questioned with a subtle, cheeky smile as he stepped away from some relics on a shelf he was observing.
“Well yeah, I…” Tusk took a second to process what had been said, and then it hit him. “Oh haha, very funny. Yes, I would’ve gotten off of my roots for Blood-Wraith.”
“Mads could definitely relate to your plight back then,” Adriana stated as she took a sip of her tea, across the coffee table from the two. “With the great burdens and uncertainties on your shoulders…”
“So I trust he also butted heads with you?” Serjiel put in.
Adriana exhaled. “Oh so now it’s a night for witty banter I take it?” Everyone else chuckled, including a couple of the stewards. “While we never butted heads as it were, Mads definitely needed encouragement to get a job done sometimes, and to merely leave his house in general.”
“It was the lack of training, wasn’t it?” Tusk replied.
“Undoubtly, considering he had to be drafted into ENCOM in the first place.”
Buster stepped away from the fireplace, as his side was quite warm. “I remember Odo being a bit all over the place when he first became a knight…” He then took a biscuit from the plate with the teapot and spread some jam on it. “I wanted to help him, but then he showed me the goliath of a book he had to study and… well let’s just say I don’t envy him in the slightest.”
A steward was called to the door, and stuck her head into the hallway for a brief second. “Everyone? A guest will be joining you…”
“Oh, really?” Adriana questioned with utmost curiosity. “Well send them in…”
Stepping into the cozy parlor was a strong woman in a blue trench coat, with long, dark brown hair and green eyes. “Hey, guys!” she said with a wave.
“Hey, Dragoslava!” Tusk welcomed. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, just checking in on all of you since you went a bit radio silent. The whole guild’s worried sick-and speaking of which…” Dragoslava pulled out a flip phone and dialed a number. “Hey, Blood… Yeah, they’re all good… Well of course I made it to the tower! Why else would I be calling you?” She paused for a second, realizing her gaffe. “Er, okay, okay, good point… Yup, see you tomorrow, bye.” She then closed her phone, with a kind steward taking her coat for her. “And apparently Ozymandias would like me to write down his story.”
“Really now?” Serjiel noted. “Such an archival will be quite the undertaking. Are you sure you’re ready for his no doubt storied history?”
She shrugged. “Can’t be any worse than the reports I have to write up for The Central Unlight Explorers Guild.” Dragoslava then turned to Buster. “Hey, Buster. Long time no see”
“Hey, Drago,” he replied as he accepted a hug from her.
“How are you doing, buddy?”
“Great-safe and sound, thanks to Odo and the others.”
“That is fantastic to hear, even though you probably had a few close calls,” she said as she patted him on the shoulder, receiving a nod in response. Following a round of greetings from the others, Dragoslava went right over to Lia. She was sitting by the fireplace, having been reading a leather-bound book. “Lia, it’s been a while…”
She set her book aside and got up with an awkward smile starting to creep across her face. “It’s… I… Dragoslava, I am so sorry for the cult’s activities in The Valley of Eons all those years ago. I know it’s a lot to ask and it’s debatable if I deserve it, but can you forgive me for my sacrilegious behavior back then? I mean, it was my idea to raid the valley…”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s in the past,” Dragoslava said as she shook her hand. “Besides, you guys didn’t actually do that much damage. Also consider yourself lucky I didn’t have my metal skin or R1 Voidcannon back then, haha!”
Lia paused as she took her hand back. “Metal skin? What do you mean by that?”
Dragoslava smiled and metalized her arm, it turning metallic black with silver veins. She then closed her hand a couple of times, the metal stretching and flexing like normal skin. “Surely your intel told you about that little shindig with The Lich of Old at the Metal Oasis?”
Adriana had to chuckle a little. “Lia, out of all people, you should know about that…”
Lia nodded as she looked at the arm, recalling those bygone days. “Ah… Ah, okay, I remember now. Sorry, it’s just that it’s been so long and we never really acted on the intel as there were bigger things to worry about. Is the metal really indestructible like those insufferable lackeys I used to command had claimed? You know how those cowards could get…”
“Want to give it a whack?” Dragoslava asked as she held up her arm.
“Oh my, really?”
She nodded. “I can take it.”
Lia hesitated as she put her fingertips together, took a breath, then turned her right hand fingers into talons. “Alright then, if you insist…” It felt so strange to take a swipe at Dragoslava given that they were allies now. As Lia raked her fingers across Dragoslava’s arm, nothing happened save for a sudden, sharp pain she felt in her appendages. “OW OW OW,” she exclaimed as she took her hand back and shook it, catching everyone’s attention and concern.
“Lia, are you okay over there?” Waramunt called out from the far wall bookshelf.
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m fine… ow ow…”
Dragoslava wanted to feel proud over that, but it was overridden by pity. “Jeez, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No no, I just whacked my fingers,” Lia answered.
“Yeah, I know that feeling…” Dragoslava then noticed something was off with Lia’s arm and went to inspect it. “Hold up a second, I shouldn’t have hurt you that much… I thought these were gloves?”
Lia sighed and rolled up her sleeve, revealing that the glove had fused with her arm. The polymateria was snaking up to her shoulder like veins would, a state of affairs that would have been impossible for her to inflict on herself. “It… it merged with my body. There’s no reversing it, as these are my arms now. And we don’t know why.”
Serjiel stepped over and gently twisted Lia’s arm, with it stretching like rubber. “Strange, but it’s not the worst fate. Polymateria is a blessed substance after all. Perhaps these gloves sensed your plight once you turned your back on The Eternal Order?”
“Waramunt and I have been wondering the same thing,” Lia said with a nervous, yet hopeful smile.
“Speaking of which, is that him over there?” Dragoslava inquired with a chuckle.
“Yes-Waramunt, dear? Could you come over here? You need to meet Dragoslava…”
“Coming, my darling,” Waramunt said as he put an old, thick book back on the creaking shelf. “Make a note of that, Ensio; Will and Bethany need to read that one…”
Tusk had to do a double take on that comment as he turned around and placed his arm on the back of the sofa. “Will? You know Will, Waramunt?”
“Yeah, like our Will?” Yoshihiro added as he also turned around.
Waramunt froze, realizing the gravity of his blunder. “I… I know… I know of Will, yes! I’ve heard great things about him… like how he enjoys reading books containing esoteric knowledge.” His nervous chuckle was followed by an exasperated squawk from Ensio, indicating they had discussed this issue before.
Dragoslava could see Adriana’s frustrated look and quietly snickered. “Nice to meet you, Waramunt,” she said as she held out her hand. “Thanks for helping Buster, Odo, and Lia.”
“It was an honor, Lady Raynot,” he replied as they shook hands. “And it is a pleasure to meet you too.”
“You’re from Universe-23, aren’t you?” she asked as she took her hand back and inspected it.
Waramunt froze again. “How-how do you know that?”
Dragoslava gave a slight, mischievous giggle. “I can sense it, as I’ve been to Universe-23 before and it’s where Desislav is from. Plus I’ve also been to Earth-23 and met Will on one of his Liger Brigade missions, specifically the Ireland mission…”
“Wait, really?” Adriana interrupted. “Why did neither of you bring that up last year?”
With a groan Dragoslava went and prepared herself a biscuit. “Do you know how badly I wanted to catch up with him? We couldn’t bring anything up as Schwarzes, Zal, and Beorhtric weren’t sure how it would affect the timeline. Freaking annoying…” She then took a bite of the biscuit, the strawberry jam pleasing her taste buds.
“Well surely you two chatted in the future?” Serjiel reasoned. “Given how talkative he was I’d be surprised if he didn’t.”
“Yeah, probably…” Dragoslava then went over and sat next to Tusk on the sofa. “Hey, Waramunt? Why do you guys even put up with democracy in the first place? It sounds like tribalist nonsense, especially given the ‘activists’ I encountered on the Ireland mission…”
Waramunt sighed and slowly facepalmed. “Well firstly to clarify, no country where I’m from is a true democracy. That would be an utter nightmare. Secondly, would you believe that as a person in his 90s I still don’t have an answer to that issue? A noble king humble before God is truly invaluable, but as rare as buried treasure. Elections can serve to enact the right leaders, but there are so many bad actors solely motivated by money… and only run for office to make as much money as they can, screw everyone over, and then get out with their golden parachutes while we have to clean up after their messes!” Waramunt was audibly angry by the end of that.
“Not to mention the tribalism Drago brought up…” Serjiel put in. “Waramunt, do you have religious conservatives and socialist-leaning liberals in your timeline?”
“They’ve changed over the decades and never adhere to a consistent ideology, but yes.”
“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD,” Serjiel cried as the flames of the fireplace roared for a second, startling the others. “I HATE human politics! I was just trying to fight in the wars to defeat The Lich and they were getting in the way! The religious wackadoos kept accusing me of being in league with that degenerate Satan and the liberals used me to browbeat the conservatives while sympathizing with The Lich!”
“All while all of them claim to be fighting against the system whilst screaming and crying for the politicians to protect them?”
“YES! MOTHER OF GOD, THEY ARE HYPOCRITES LIKE THAT! Ha, I’ve heard horror stories about timelines where people abandon belief in God and start putting faith in money and their governments…”
Waramunt gave a hearty, sympathetic laugh. “I mean, that literally is my timeline in certain regards. So many people claim that they are ‘progressive’ and don’t believe in those barbaric religions any more… despite putting stock in materialism and-or postmodernism, which I’d argue is more backwards than being a man of piety…”
Serjiel facepalmed and groaned. “Why do humans have to be so petty? No offense, Waramunt…”
“None taken. And don’t even get me started on how both sides accuse you of being the worst of the worst when you don’t agree with them… ignoring the fact that I have been dedicating my life to killing a certain despotic member of The Eternal Order who needs to die…”
Buster looked utterly appalled over what he was hearing. “How… how do you guys even put up with that nonsense?! All of those people sound like the kind of thugs Milosh would recruit.”
“Milosh was from Universe-23, Buster,” Lia pointed out with a chuckle.
“And people wonder why The Great Uncity is having so many problems, given the people from all over the Cosmos they let in,” Dragoslava added. “I’m not saying don’t let people in, I’m just saying be mindful of where they come from.”
Waramunt then crossed his arms, with the look of a proud father about to bestow sagely advice. “Well if you ever want to rustle the jimmies of both sides, Buster, tell the liberal you love your country and the conservative that their elected official could do better-it works every time…”
“That sounds more like you were antagonizing them, Waramunt…” he rebuked.
Dragoslava snicked, unable to hold it in. “I mean, he’s not wrong. You should see Captain Briggs and Lieutenant Irons when they have to deal with anti-Liger Brigade activists. Surprisingly they attract ire from both sides.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll admit I am a bit of a court jester in that regard,” Waramunt conceded. “Allow me to give you some more practical advice: If you want to win any argument, let your opponent speak. Let them speak until the cows come home. Get out a cigar or a glass of wine while they tire themselves out. Not only will you have time to formulate your argument, your opponent will be too exhausted to disagree with you when it's your turn.”
Buster looked disheartened, averting his gaze as he leaned against the wall. “I mean jeez, Odo wants to send me to Earth, but I don’t know how I feel now… It all sounds soul crushing…”
Waramunt stepped over and patted Buster’s shoulder. “It is, lad. It’s certainly a massive headache, but you’ve always got an indomitable strength within you. My late Uncle Ensio once said that when a despot demands you bend the knee, you put your foot down and say no-and if enough people follow suit, you’ll have a revolution on your hands. A strong man says the things he truly feels, unfaltering in his path in life. And if you deviate from the path? Keep moving forward and you’ll find the light you need either way.”
Buster smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Waramunt. Universe-23 can’t be all that bad if it has people like you, Desislav, and Will. Still sounds like a mess though…”
A steward then entered the parlor with a respectful bow. “Ladies and gentlemen? The feast is ready.”
“Most excellent,” Waramunt replied. “Let’s retire this conversation for now and go eat.”
“That’s a shame,” Adriana said as she and the others began to leave the parlor. “As I’d love to hear more of your philosophies. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had a rousing poker night with Brigadier General Dryden, as he has similar reservations about politics as a whole. Thankfully the majority of our ideologs got swept up in the apocalypse at the coils of The Reverse Serpent.”
“Haha, really now? I mean I’ve certainly heard good things about General Dryden. We’ll have to continue this conversation some other time then, as I am starving from the earlier battles.”
Next: Chapter 12
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
“So, kid, what did you think of your first major mission?” Tusk asked as he tapped Yoshihiro’s arm. The group was waiting in a Victorian-styled parlor while that night’s dinner was being prepared.
Yoshihiro sighed and slouched a little on the sofa. “That was something else and I never want to do it again…”
“Well, until we get rid of The Eternal Order you’re going to have to keep grinning and bearing it.”
“I know… You know? It’s kind of surreal to know you guys were off hunting The Lich of Old back when I saw Blood and Drago at the Lake Outskirts all those years ago…”
“Er, not quite, as that was right before they met Leif. To be fair, I did sense Blood pop into existence and probably would’ve gone to meet him had the forest been near The Iron City…”
“You’re sure about that?” Serjiel questioned with a subtle, cheeky smile as he stepped away from some relics on a shelf he was observing.
“Well yeah, I…” Tusk took a second to process what had been said, and then it hit him. “Oh haha, very funny. Yes, I would’ve gotten off of my roots for Blood-Wraith.”
“Mads could definitely relate to your plight back then,” Adriana stated as she took a sip of her tea, across the coffee table from the two. “With the great burdens and uncertainties on your shoulders…”
“So I trust he also butted heads with you?” Serjiel put in.
Adriana exhaled. “Oh so now it’s a night for witty banter I take it?” Everyone else chuckled, including a couple of the stewards. “While we never butted heads as it were, Mads definitely needed encouragement to get a job done sometimes, and to merely leave his house in general.”
“It was the lack of training, wasn’t it?” Tusk replied.
“Undoubtly, considering he had to be drafted into ENCOM in the first place.”
Buster stepped away from the fireplace, as his side was quite warm. “I remember Odo being a bit all over the place when he first became a knight…” He then took a biscuit from the plate with the teapot and spread some jam on it. “I wanted to help him, but then he showed me the goliath of a book he had to study and… well let’s just say I don’t envy him in the slightest.”
A steward was called to the door, and stuck her head into the hallway for a brief second. “Everyone? A guest will be joining you…”
“Oh, really?” Adriana questioned with utmost curiosity. “Well send them in…”
Stepping into the cozy parlor was a strong woman in a blue trench coat, with long, dark brown hair and green eyes. “Hey, guys!” she said with a wave.
“Hey, Dragoslava!” Tusk welcomed. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, just checking in on all of you since you went a bit radio silent. The whole guild’s worried sick-and speaking of which…” Dragoslava pulled out a flip phone and dialed a number. “Hey, Blood… Yeah, they’re all good… Well of course I made it to the tower! Why else would I be calling you?” She paused for a second, realizing her gaffe. “Er, okay, okay, good point… Yup, see you tomorrow, bye.” She then closed her phone, with a kind steward taking her coat for her. “And apparently Ozymandias would like me to write down his story.”
“Really now?” Serjiel noted. “Such an archival will be quite the undertaking. Are you sure you’re ready for his no doubt storied history?”
She shrugged. “Can’t be any worse than the reports I have to write up for The Central Unlight Explorers Guild.” Dragoslava then turned to Buster. “Hey, Buster. Long time no see”
“Hey, Drago,” he replied as he accepted a hug from her.
“How are you doing, buddy?”
“Great-safe and sound, thanks to Odo and the others.”
“That is fantastic to hear, even though you probably had a few close calls,” she said as she patted him on the shoulder, receiving a nod in response. Following a round of greetings from the others, Dragoslava went right over to Lia. She was sitting by the fireplace, having been reading a leather-bound book. “Lia, it’s been a while…”
She set her book aside and got up with an awkward smile starting to creep across her face. “It’s… I… Dragoslava, I am so sorry for the cult’s activities in The Valley of Eons all those years ago. I know it’s a lot to ask and it’s debatable if I deserve it, but can you forgive me for my sacrilegious behavior back then? I mean, it was my idea to raid the valley…”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s in the past,” Dragoslava said as she shook her hand. “Besides, you guys didn’t actually do that much damage. Also consider yourself lucky I didn’t have my metal skin or R1 Voidcannon back then, haha!”
Lia paused as she took her hand back. “Metal skin? What do you mean by that?”
Dragoslava smiled and metalized her arm, it turning metallic black with silver veins. She then closed her hand a couple of times, the metal stretching and flexing like normal skin. “Surely your intel told you about that little shindig with The Lich of Old at the Metal Oasis?”
Adriana had to chuckle a little. “Lia, out of all people, you should know about that…”
Lia nodded as she looked at the arm, recalling those bygone days. “Ah… Ah, okay, I remember now. Sorry, it’s just that it’s been so long and we never really acted on the intel as there were bigger things to worry about. Is the metal really indestructible like those insufferable lackeys I used to command had claimed? You know how those cowards could get…”
“Want to give it a whack?” Dragoslava asked as she held up her arm.
“Oh my, really?”
She nodded. “I can take it.”
Lia hesitated as she put her fingertips together, took a breath, then turned her right hand fingers into talons. “Alright then, if you insist…” It felt so strange to take a swipe at Dragoslava given that they were allies now. As Lia raked her fingers across Dragoslava’s arm, nothing happened save for a sudden, sharp pain she felt in her appendages. “OW OW OW,” she exclaimed as she took her hand back and shook it, catching everyone’s attention and concern.
“Lia, are you okay over there?” Waramunt called out from the far wall bookshelf.
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m fine… ow ow…”
Dragoslava wanted to feel proud over that, but it was overridden by pity. “Jeez, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No no, I just whacked my fingers,” Lia answered.
“Yeah, I know that feeling…” Dragoslava then noticed something was off with Lia’s arm and went to inspect it. “Hold up a second, I shouldn’t have hurt you that much… I thought these were gloves?”
Lia sighed and rolled up her sleeve, revealing that the glove had fused with her arm. The polymateria was snaking up to her shoulder like veins would, a state of affairs that would have been impossible for her to inflict on herself. “It… it merged with my body. There’s no reversing it, as these are my arms now. And we don’t know why.”
Serjiel stepped over and gently twisted Lia’s arm, with it stretching like rubber. “Strange, but it’s not the worst fate. Polymateria is a blessed substance after all. Perhaps these gloves sensed your plight once you turned your back on The Eternal Order?”
“Waramunt and I have been wondering the same thing,” Lia said with a nervous, yet hopeful smile.
“Speaking of which, is that him over there?” Dragoslava inquired with a chuckle.
“Yes-Waramunt, dear? Could you come over here? You need to meet Dragoslava…”
“Coming, my darling,” Waramunt said as he put an old, thick book back on the creaking shelf. “Make a note of that, Ensio; Will and Bethany need to read that one…”
Tusk had to do a double take on that comment as he turned around and placed his arm on the back of the sofa. “Will? You know Will, Waramunt?”
“Yeah, like our Will?” Yoshihiro added as he also turned around.
Waramunt froze, realizing the gravity of his blunder. “I… I know… I know of Will, yes! I’ve heard great things about him… like how he enjoys reading books containing esoteric knowledge.” His nervous chuckle was followed by an exasperated squawk from Ensio, indicating they had discussed this issue before.
Dragoslava could see Adriana’s frustrated look and quietly snickered. “Nice to meet you, Waramunt,” she said as she held out her hand. “Thanks for helping Buster, Odo, and Lia.”
“It was an honor, Lady Raynot,” he replied as they shook hands. “And it is a pleasure to meet you too.”
“You’re from Universe-23, aren’t you?” she asked as she took her hand back and inspected it.
Waramunt froze again. “How-how do you know that?”
Dragoslava gave a slight, mischievous giggle. “I can sense it, as I’ve been to Universe-23 before and it’s where Desislav is from. Plus I’ve also been to Earth-23 and met Will on one of his Liger Brigade missions, specifically the Ireland mission…”
“Wait, really?” Adriana interrupted. “Why did neither of you bring that up last year?”
With a groan Dragoslava went and prepared herself a biscuit. “Do you know how badly I wanted to catch up with him? We couldn’t bring anything up as Schwarzes, Zal, and Beorhtric weren’t sure how it would affect the timeline. Freaking annoying…” She then took a bite of the biscuit, the strawberry jam pleasing her taste buds.
“Well surely you two chatted in the future?” Serjiel reasoned. “Given how talkative he was I’d be surprised if he didn’t.”
“Yeah, probably…” Dragoslava then went over and sat next to Tusk on the sofa. “Hey, Waramunt? Why do you guys even put up with democracy in the first place? It sounds like tribalist nonsense, especially given the ‘activists’ I encountered on the Ireland mission…”
Waramunt sighed and slowly facepalmed. “Well firstly to clarify, no country where I’m from is a true democracy. That would be an utter nightmare. Secondly, would you believe that as a person in his 90s I still don’t have an answer to that issue? A noble king humble before God is truly invaluable, but as rare as buried treasure. Elections can serve to enact the right leaders, but there are so many bad actors solely motivated by money… and only run for office to make as much money as they can, screw everyone over, and then get out with their golden parachutes while we have to clean up after their messes!” Waramunt was audibly angry by the end of that.
“Not to mention the tribalism Drago brought up…” Serjiel put in. “Waramunt, do you have religious conservatives and socialist-leaning liberals in your timeline?”
“They’ve changed over the decades and never adhere to a consistent ideology, but yes.”
“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD,” Serjiel cried as the flames of the fireplace roared for a second, startling the others. “I HATE human politics! I was just trying to fight in the wars to defeat The Lich and they were getting in the way! The religious wackadoos kept accusing me of being in league with that degenerate Satan and the liberals used me to browbeat the conservatives while sympathizing with The Lich!”
“All while all of them claim to be fighting against the system whilst screaming and crying for the politicians to protect them?”
“YES! MOTHER OF GOD, THEY ARE HYPOCRITES LIKE THAT! Ha, I’ve heard horror stories about timelines where people abandon belief in God and start putting faith in money and their governments…”
Waramunt gave a hearty, sympathetic laugh. “I mean, that literally is my timeline in certain regards. So many people claim that they are ‘progressive’ and don’t believe in those barbaric religions any more… despite putting stock in materialism and-or postmodernism, which I’d argue is more backwards than being a man of piety…”
Serjiel facepalmed and groaned. “Why do humans have to be so petty? No offense, Waramunt…”
“None taken. And don’t even get me started on how both sides accuse you of being the worst of the worst when you don’t agree with them… ignoring the fact that I have been dedicating my life to killing a certain despotic member of The Eternal Order who needs to die…”
Buster looked utterly appalled over what he was hearing. “How… how do you guys even put up with that nonsense?! All of those people sound like the kind of thugs Milosh would recruit.”
“Milosh was from Universe-23, Buster,” Lia pointed out with a chuckle.
“And people wonder why The Great Uncity is having so many problems, given the people from all over the Cosmos they let in,” Dragoslava added. “I’m not saying don’t let people in, I’m just saying be mindful of where they come from.”
Waramunt then crossed his arms, with the look of a proud father about to bestow sagely advice. “Well if you ever want to rustle the jimmies of both sides, Buster, tell the liberal you love your country and the conservative that their elected official could do better-it works every time…”
“That sounds more like you were antagonizing them, Waramunt…” he rebuked.
Dragoslava snicked, unable to hold it in. “I mean, he’s not wrong. You should see Captain Briggs and Lieutenant Irons when they have to deal with anti-Liger Brigade activists. Surprisingly they attract ire from both sides.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll admit I am a bit of a court jester in that regard,” Waramunt conceded. “Allow me to give you some more practical advice: If you want to win any argument, let your opponent speak. Let them speak until the cows come home. Get out a cigar or a glass of wine while they tire themselves out. Not only will you have time to formulate your argument, your opponent will be too exhausted to disagree with you when it's your turn.”
Buster looked disheartened, averting his gaze as he leaned against the wall. “I mean jeez, Odo wants to send me to Earth, but I don’t know how I feel now… It all sounds soul crushing…”
Waramunt stepped over and patted Buster’s shoulder. “It is, lad. It’s certainly a massive headache, but you’ve always got an indomitable strength within you. My late Uncle Ensio once said that when a despot demands you bend the knee, you put your foot down and say no-and if enough people follow suit, you’ll have a revolution on your hands. A strong man says the things he truly feels, unfaltering in his path in life. And if you deviate from the path? Keep moving forward and you’ll find the light you need either way.”
Buster smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Waramunt. Universe-23 can’t be all that bad if it has people like you, Desislav, and Will. Still sounds like a mess though…”
A steward then entered the parlor with a respectful bow. “Ladies and gentlemen? The feast is ready.”
“Most excellent,” Waramunt replied. “Let’s retire this conversation for now and go eat.”
“That’s a shame,” Adriana said as she and the others began to leave the parlor. “As I’d love to hear more of your philosophies. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had a rousing poker night with Brigadier General Dryden, as he has similar reservations about politics as a whole. Thankfully the majority of our ideologs got swept up in the apocalypse at the coils of The Reverse Serpent.”
“Haha, really now? I mean I’ve certainly heard good things about General Dryden. We’ll have to continue this conversation some other time then, as I am starving from the earlier battles.”
Next: Chapter 12
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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