croiduire:refuge:space:beyond_arvandorsphere
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision | |||
croiduire:refuge:space:beyond_arvandorsphere [2014/11/15 21:59] – Croi Duire | croiduire:refuge:space:beyond_arvandorsphere [2015/01/09 01:22] (current) – Croi Duire | ||
---|---|---|---|
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
+ | ====== Beyond Arvandorsphere ====== | ||
+ | While travelling at the relatively slow speeds needful for a ship to thread through the dweometric lattice that forms the boundary of a Sphere, the crew of the //Astalwa// at first didn't notice a great deal of difference between space within and space without. That perception changed abruptly as they moved out through the Everflowing and felt for the first time the raw, untempered power of the primal dweomer. Even those with no training in or affinity to magic shivered in the onslaught of the thaumaturgic storm, and the very air was illuminated with an eerie blue light. On the second day out the Helmsman felt a tugging sensation, and the Navigator perceived a concentration of energy. They manoeuvred closer to investigate... | ||
+ | Suddenly they found themselves weightless, tumbling through a maelstrom of light and colour, flashing, strobing, and scintillating at every frequency of the spectrum, through a cacophony of sounds blaring, squealing, roaring, soaring up above audibility so high that an itch was felt in their nerve endings, descending so low that the thudding hammered their bones like cudgels. Every piece of glass on board trembled and sang, adding to the din, while the sails boomed and the lines thrummed as if in a gale. And then...abruptly, | ||
+ | |||
+ | They were motionless in space and completely disoriented, | ||
+ | |||
+ | They slipped through the matrix of the spheral barrier without undue trouble and gratefully plotted a course for home. However, within a tenday they knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong. The sun. What had happened to the sun? The light was...white, | ||
+ | |||
+ | With growing trepidation they continued their journey to ports unknown, but even the youngest and most optimistic crewman couldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | She saw first a pretty good representation of the // | ||
+ | |||
+ | With growing excitement, she watched as a bipedal creature about four and half feet tall entered one of those mounds. He was covered in greyish-brown fur and had a long bushy tail banded with alternating light and dark rings and a triangular face with black fur around his eyes that contrasted sharply with the white fur that covered the rest of his visage. His eyes were kind and knowing, but apparently rather short-sighted, | ||
+ | |||
+ | By such psionic means, over the next twelve days, through trial and error, but powered by good will and determination, | ||
+ | |||
+ | They touched down with barely a ripple to disturb the placid sea and sailed up to a wharf where a colourful crowd had gathered. At the end waited the mage the Helmsmen had seen so often telepathically, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Captain stepped forward to meet him, not quite sure what was expected of him, but willing to try, dropping his innate resistance, allowing the dozens of divinatory spells he felt flicking at him to work. The mage made a small chirring sound that could only have been laughter, reached out and took the Captain and the Dignitary by their respective wrists, and guided them through the local greeting, touching palm to palm, then cast // | ||
+ | |||
+ | When the //Astalwa// finally left Nexhan three months later the numbers on the manifest had been augmented by a delegation of mages and sages. A small part of their purpose was diplomatic--if they were successful they were eager to further trade and education between the two spheres. However, the main part was altruistic. Nexhan curiosity about the universe, and the divinatory skills they had developed to study it, far exceeded the expertise of the Arvandorians. Procyonid technomancers had long speculated about the confluences of dweomer and energy that existed outside the Nexhansphere. The appearance of the //Astalwa// had confirmed the most widely accepted explanation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | They started searching for the one the Arvandorian ship had emerged from. They were fortunate in that the point (now know as DP: A1-N1 on every Dominion stellar chart) was a singularity and not a polydiscontinuity nexus. They were beyond fortunate that the Nexhan diviners knew where to look and what to look for. Still, this was brand new to everyone. They searched for over a month and a half before they found it, and spent another half a month analysing and planning, considering consequences and contingencies. They decided to go ahead. As the crew said privately to each other, if they wanted to see home again, what choice did they have? The Nexhan astronomers had located their home star, a tiny twinkling spark in the eastern sky, and calculated the distance. Four light years. Almost a lifetime, even for an elf. None of the dwarven crewmen had a dream of a chance. They sailed forth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This time, braced, with sails trimmed and everything battened down, neither the noise nor the sense of dislocation were quite as bad, but no one could deny they were plenty rough enough! However, their discomfort was forgotten when they saw a star precisely the right colour and exactly where it should be, a huge gas giant surrounded by a hundred moons...a flotilla of familiar ships keeping station where the //Astalwa// had vanished. They'd made it home! |