Era's Prologue- Threads of Fate, Intertwined

The stillness of the air is cool, but you can almost taste the magic on your tongue. You can hear the sound of falling water from a distant waterway, and the sheer serenity of it is entrancing. With your eyes closed you can feel the radiating arcane energies across your body, as if it's almost caressing you. Caught in a daze of pure euphoria, you feel at peace right now, not a stress in the world, the only thing on your mind is the harmony that you feel. But suddenly young woman's voice calls out:
Professor Hallow?

You snap back out of your daze, and look around you. You're in the first layer of Ourania- The Shell. You can see the beautiful crystalline cavernous walls reflecting bits of light around the chamber. It's as if the lights themself dance around to illuminate the cavern. Tiny half dragon- half dragonfly like creatures, about the size of your palm, slowly flutter around the chamber, giving off small rays of light. They're known as "Luros". They're exceptionally friendly and feed on the residual arcana within Ourania, they seem to be native to only this place. One lands on your shoulder and you can see a small smile on it's face as it looks up to you.

In front of you, you can see the eyes of around two dozen young men and women all looking at you expectantly. They're seated in stone benches crafted from the stone within Ourania, in a loose lecture hall style format, with several rows extending upwards as you look on at them, this classroom was crafted by mages to look as if it naturally formed here. Papers strewn about the room, and many voices all talking quietly amongst themselves, whispering things to each other as they look on at you. You recall you were in the middle of a lesson on the history of the Ourania Shell, but your mind wandered. All of the young adults in front of you are students at the Zalteeri Magical Institute. You were stuck with a few arcane history classes this year round. The young lady who called out to you before calls out again.
"Professor Hallow? Sorry I just wanted to know how the Runic Spans were actually overcome. You said that The Glades were fully mapped out now, and that expeditions into The Heart were in the works? The Runic Spans stopped progress into Ourania for almost 700 years right? So what exactly happened?"
Another student yells back at her: The Professor already went over that, weren't you listening? Ariane Spria was the one who diffused them all. She's the only one that actually made some progress in the Glades because she wasn't afraid of dying. She blew the whole thing wide open. She found the Arceuus, and set everyone else up to actually go down even further. Ariane was incredible!
At least someone was listening. Ariane Spria- one of the previous World Guardians, was the sole reason progress into the deepest regions of Ourania was even made. She learned that the maps left behind by the Arceuus were hidden key of sorts to passing through the tunnels. It seemed for a long time that many of the carvings were simply leading to dead ends or looping to previously known areas. An order to the maps would eventually be uncovered and it seemed to be a long list of a complex series of movements through the tunnels to manipulate the shifting of the tunnels to reach different regions of it. She eventually encountered the strange ethereal beings, whom were thought to be the "Arceuus". They can't leave the lowest regions of Ourania though, and seem to be relegated to some of the deepest sections of The Glades. They claimed that a great parasite was leeching the energy of their home even deeper in. ZMI has been working closely with the Arceuus to try and uncover further mysteries of what lies below.

Thanks to the assistance of the Arceuus though, travel through The Glades is now easy, but the dangers of The Heart, are well beyond what was ever thought possible. Most of the information regarding The Heart, isn't even publicly available, and only select ZMI faculty has even been informed of the findings. The higher up ZMI staff are extremely tight lipped about any details surrounding The Heart. While you've heard murmurs of beings of immense beings of raw arcane energy being down there, not even you are privy to the truth. Thankfully, the Arceuus were happy to share some arcane secrets of their own. It's allowed the expedited advancement of arcane technology in the recent years. In the modern day people often refer to it as "Magi-technology" a blend between the arcane and machine, and it's introduction to Siridia has been wildly successful, with ZMI being one of main development centres of it in the world.
You begin to carry on through the lecture, explaining the history of how the initial challenges of even just the Precipice were conquered. The desire for progression through Ourania has been the catalyst for a lot of magical study and advancement in the arcane world. Many of the modern day spells used across Siridia were actually developed specifically to overcome the unique obstacles of Ourania. Whenever a new challenge would arise, if solution couldn't be found amongst the known magics- new ones would simply be developed. There was a time a few hundred years ago where new spells were being rapidly developed, it was an era called the "Arcane Amelioration", and would soon become widespread as their uses extended well beyond just use in Ourania. A familiar voice calls out from the students, but it's the charismatic voice of a middle aged man- a familiar one.
"Personally I believe that we never left the Arcane Amelioration. New magics and advancements are being made everyday. We can't just give all the credit to the old guys!"

He's a man in his late 30s, known for always taking great care in his appearance. He keeps a well groomed beard, and is always dressed rather formally. His name is Professor Jhallan, and he's been teaching at ZMI for a bit longer than you have. He's smart, and shares a lot of the interests into the same arcane fields as you. He likes to attend your lectures for fun- especially when you don't realise he's there. At times you thought he might have just been looking for partner in a relationship in, but he actually seems to only take a strictly academic approach when speaking with you. He's an interesting man, who's managed to make his own mark on The ZMI quite extensively. He specialises in Conjuration magics, and is the head of that department. Though in his spare time, he studies a variety of other fields.
"Apologies for the interruption Professor Hallow, I just couldn't help it."
You've known him long enough, that he likely has something he wants to talk about. It's around the end of class time anyway, so you dismiss the students and remind them to study up on the history of both the first and second levels of Ourania- The Shell, and The Pools. As the students file out, Jhallan approaches, and begins making small talk, the usual garble asking about how classes are going and whatnot. But eventually delves into what you would have assumed he came about.
"Were you planning on doing any work on the Chronal Displacement Device tonight? I figured I didn't have any plans tonight, and if you wouldn't mind some company- it's good to have someone to bounce ideas off of."
Not many people know about it. It's a project that you've been working on in your private time for a few years now. Through the arcane secrets shared by the Arceuus, entire new schools of magic were developed, which the surfaces of have barely been scratched. Chronurgy- The ability to bend and manipluate time. To be able to break and weave reality to your liking is an incredible concept, but so few are even capable of understanding it. You are one of the few individuals who is well versed in Chronurgy enough to actually use it on the regular. A few years back the idea of manipulating time enough to the point of being able to jump to an entire different time period became a lot more than just a fairy tale. You began development on a device that could shift you to a different era, and everything just seemed to be falling into place. Your understanding of Chronurgy has allowed you to actually make progress on it, where other researchers have failed. It's your brilliant mind alone that has pushed it so far. A few months back, Professor Jhallan had walked in on the development of it, and his curiosity led him to act as a sort of assistant through it's development. You had no intention of informing the higher up ZMI faculty about the project, and Jhallan was content to keep it a secret- as long as he got to tag along for it's creation. Blackmail? Kind of. But he's a nice enough person, and admittedly his knowledge of a few other arcane fields has been extremely useful in the machines development.
He already knows the answer to his question. If you aren't doing lectures, than you're working on the machine. He's more just inviting himself over to your workshop when you're finished at the Institute for the day. You don't really have a choice in the matter, because if you say no, he's probably just going to show up anyway. You agree, and he begins to walk you out of Ourania. The two of you making small talk for awhile- mostly led by him, as he complains about his disappointing students- to the point of needing to stop and catch his breath sometimes. He's charismatic, and always well dressed, but in truth he's a man of very low constitution. Just walking for extended periods of time can leave him exhausted. Jhallan has always been a bit of a hypochondriac as well, as he suffers from frequent illnesses- often taking time off of work to recover. He's been like this since you met him, brilliant mind, but a weak man. Walking with him out of Ourania, only slows you down, as he frequently stops due to coughing fits or to catch his breath.
Jhallan isn't one to seek medical attention though, and he doesn't like people trying to "diagnose" him. He always just says "I'm sick, so what?", at times his condition has worsened to the point that he's bed ridden for even weeks at a time, but even than- refuses to have anyone examine him. He uses some basic illusory magics to fix his complexion a bit as well, normally he's always extremely pale, and has sickly skin. The way he dresses is probably also just a front to make people think he's actually alright. When it's just the two of you though, he seems to be okay to let his guard down a bit, and you've seen the more sickly vulnerable side of him a lot. It's almost like taking care of an old grandparent sometimes- except that he's only a few years older than you. He's said that he's always been like this even as a child, and claims that it's just some sort of genetics thing. Regardless, as the two of you make it to the central lift to enter back into the institute, he says that he'll swing by later that night. He probably needs to go take a nap or something.
The two of you break apart once you get to the grand interior of the central ZMI building. The institute itself is essentially one larger central tower, with a few smaller towers surrounding it. Most of the classrooms for actual teaching purposes can be found in the central tower, whereas the others are for more specialized purposes. It seems that even in the late afternoon, there's a lot of students still around, and looking down the circular hallways at the base of the central tower, you can see clearly through the large opulent windows into the surrounding garden spaces. It's dark and cloudy out today, and there's a light rain out right now. But the rain itself doesn't actually reach the streets of Yanille. At the top of the central ZMI tower, is a power source that creates a protective barrier around the city. It draws out arcana from Ourania and it acts as an exceptionally powerful defensive measure against outside threats. The concept of the idea has been around for a long time, but it wasn't until recently that the ZMI saw it as a major necessity.
You look up high into the sky around the clouds. Some days you can see it better than others, but even now in a sky filled with rain clouds: The burning red crack that hangs in the sky high above Siridia. As if the sky itself was made of glass, and a several hundred mile long crack through it. It burns with a strong intensity, and occasionally lets loose light that blankets the land. It appeared around a hundred years ago, and many believed that it was a rift to another dimension- possibly Infernus. That was the popular theory for a long time as soon after it appeared, demons began to descend to Siridia. A demonic incursion swept many country sides, but soon many other non demonic creatures began to descend through the rift as well. Approaching the Sky Rift as it's called is extremely dangerous, as swarms of many beings stay close to it, but studies into it have indicated something that many thought wasn't possible. The Sky Rift was actually slowly leaking divine energies into the Siridian atmosphere, and it continuing to expand- much as a crack in normal glass would. A popular new theory began to spread like wildfire. It wasn't a portal, or rift at all, it was a crack in the World Gate. It doesn't seem big enough for the Gods to actually bypass it, but the beings that have been entering through it are believed to be the chosen warriors of the Gods themselves attempting to continue the wars and conflicts that were stopped many millennia ago. Nations across Siridia have allied together to fight back threats that enter into Siridia now, but it's more of just a band aid solution.
No one knows how to actually repair the World Gate, it was believed that it was the duty of The World Guardians to ensure things like this don't happen- the very reason for their existence is to uphold the World Gate, but it seemed they failed to do so. The current World Guardians are actively fighting on the front lines, hoping to find a solution. Even worse though, is that no one seems to know what even caused the crack to appear- or at least it isn't public knowledge; things like this don't just happen. You and many other Siridians only hope that eventually it can be resolved, as every day the crack grows larger, allowing more and more entities to enter through. You have to place your faith that there are those out there en route to making progress into resolving it. This is part of the reason why you thought the ability to travel to the past could be useful. If all else failed, maybe it's possible to change the course of history. That comes with many of it's own complications though. There isn't even any leads as to where to begin in trying to stop the crack from appearing in the first place. Even if your study into the machine fails, maybe someone in the future could pick up where you left off. There's too many unknowns in this world and focusing on all of them is too much for one mind- even yours. You wander the streets heading home, and always take notice of the people on the streets who look up at the sky concerned about what the future holds for them. You arrive home- a small residence, but it backs onto a large warehouse where you built your workshop. You toss some of your work supplies aside, and a familiar robotic voice greets you.
"WELCOME HOME MISS! FINISHED WORK FOR THE DAY? SHALL WE RESUME WORK ON YOUR PERSONAL PROJECTS?"
An artificial intelligence that you created when you were younger. At your home and in your workshop, it's an almost omni-present entity that works alongside you in your work assisting you in anyway possible. Genetic Intelligence Data Encryption Output Nanodrive, or just "Gideon" for short. The AI is compatible with a gauntlet of your own design, for when you want to take it on the go. Though Gideon is much more than just an AI by your design, working in tandem with magi-technology within your Gauntlet, it's also acts a central catalyst for the casting of spells and various other magics. It's a unique design, known only to you. You tend to keep it's existence quiet, as to not create a big stir- it's not like you're looking to sell off the technology right now- it's your personal design and you've grown quite accustomed to it.
You take some time to clean yourself up for the night ahead, and make your way to your workshop. Upon heading in, the lights slowly- one by one turn on and you see all the familiar sights. Hundreds of small magi-tech devices hanging from the ceiling, some of which are failed prototypes for other ideas you've had in the past, others are simply small trinkets that you make for fun. But the ever present sound of mechanical ticking and whirring machines and engines rhythmically resonates through the air. The voice of Gideon echoes through the workshop asking a variety of questions, mostly to prepare the various sets of tools you'll be needing to continue work on the Chronal Displacement Device for the evening. You begin wandering around while Gideon is in the process of collecting the necessary equipment- and begin to notice something a bit strange. A few things seem out of place. Were you robbed? If there was a break in while you were at The ZMI, you would have been alerted by Gideon. You check around for a few of the more valuable items- everything is where it should be. If someone was here, they certainly weren't here trying to take anything. You call out to Gideon and ask about any activity in the workshop or in the house over the course of the day.
"AT APPROXIMATELY 10:30 AM, A SMALL MOUSE WAS DETECTED IN A CORNER OF THE WORKSHOP, BUT WAS SAFELY REMOVED FROM THE PREMISES- NO ANIMALS WE'RE HARMED IN THE REMOVAL OF THE MOUSE. AT APPROXIMATELY 2:30 PM PROFESSOR JHALLAN WAS DETECTED AT THE FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE. HE KNOCKED EXACTLY FIVE TIMES WAITING FOR A RESPONSE. HE THEN PROCEEDED TO THE FRONT ENTRANCE OF THE WORKSHOP, PEEKED INSIDE FROM THE GLASS LOOKING FOR YOU"
A small voice clip was recorded of Jhallan calling out to you while looking into the workshop. It's just him calling out your name a few times. Gideon proceeds to detail Jhallan's actions while he's on the property but at no point is there ever an indication that Jhallan entered into the workshop. Based on the recorded audio from Gideon, it seems like Jhallan was simply looking around for you, and when he couldn't find you- he left. There's no irregularities in the audio, though Jhallan is also a skilled wizard. Perhaps he found a way to evade Gideon watchful eye? Basic invisibility would be seen through instantly, even just the presence of a warm body should be enough to set off the censors. You take the security of your workshop very seriously, and it's stopped thieves in the past before- never once has someone successfully made it inside without a level of detection. Jhallan also spends a good deal of time inside here with you though- maybe he saw a weakness in the defences? Is he playing you?
To be safe, you have Gideon do a full scale inventory and scan of the entire workshop looking for any signs of activity over the course of the day. You also manage to pull up visual footage of the interior from Gideon's data banks- a recently developed feature that is probably going to come in handy. While Gideon is busy picking through every nook and cranny of the workshops you begin to sift through the recordings of inside the workshop. Focusing first around the time Jhallan arrived, you watch as he enters the premises, knocking on your front door as Gideon said- and than heading over to the workshop, peeking inside- it looks like he calls out a few times and tries the door, but of course it's locked. Afterwards he leaves, and heads down the street, out of view- in the direction of the ZMI. The time frame would also match up with when he arrived at Ourania to talk to you. Was it really not him? Part of you actually wanted him to have found a way to break in- it would mean he exposed a weakness that you would need to fix. The only other detected movement was the one small mouse. You play the footage of the mouse, and watch as the tiny critter enters in through a small hole in a wall, but is chased by a few of your automatons. The mouse nimbly runs ahead and actually does a good job of not getting grabbed by your security bots, at point one of them even tumbles over- Gideon apologises over the speakers for his less than impressive performance. But it's just as Gideon said, the mouse was caught and released outside. You thought for a moment it could be a sneaky shapeshifter trying to pull the wool over your eyes, but you're smarter than that. None of the two instances show anything of interest.
You begin to watch through the entirety of the footage since you left the workshop the night before. Look for maybe any floating tools or something. Maybe there's a ghost? Are you just being paranoid? What if you just misplaced tools last night? You did stay up late working on the CDD after all. Maybe it really was just a small lapse in your memory. You can't shake the idea of someone breaking in and messing with something though. They could have tampered with a device without your knowing, it could be unsafe. It's extremely frustrating, but you're going to have to wait for Gideon to confirm if any devices in the workshop have been altered in anyway. It could take all night though- this isn't a minor job by any means. You hear a knock on the door to the workshop, and the familiar voice of Professor Jhallan calls out to you, you look over and see him waving to you from the door. Can you even trust him right now? He's a potential suspect still- even if the footage says otherwise. You could just ask him though.
"I know you can see me Aika! Stop pretending I'm not here!
Reluctantly you head over to open the door. He's got a small basket with him, looks like baked goods of some kind, a few sweet breads, muffins and cakes. You forgot to eat earlier and it all smells pretty good. Jhallan really came all this way through the rain to see you tonight- he lives on the opposite side of the city to. He heads in and pulls up a chair. He watches as the various Gideon automatons are scouring all of your devices, and pretty quickly asks about whats going- as he sees you aren't busy at work with the CDD. You say it's just some spring cleaning- not wanting to just blatantly explain just yet. But you do mention that Gideon picked up his presence at the workshop earlier.
"Oh. Yeah I was just looking for you. I wasn't sure if you were at the workshop or in class earlier, my apologies- I didn't mean to trespass."
You spend enough time together that he should have some idea of your work schedule, it seems a bit suspicious that he wouldn't remember that you'd be doing the the Ourania History class around that time. But If Jhallan wanted to break into the workshop- knowing that you weren't going to be there, he would know that attempting the front door isn't the way to go about it. It would only paint him as a suspect. He's smart enough to know that you would find out. So maybe it's was just a genuine lapse in his memory? Or could it be a ploy to form an alibi to trust him? What if he knows right now what you're thinking about. The baked goods could be a bribe. You're paranoid. And now it's just a baseless accusation. There's no evidence to actually suggest he did anything wrong. Even now as he looks at you, he looks a bit concerned.
"Are you alright Aika? You seem a bit off."
You shrug it off, and you get a quick idea to go look over where the hole was where the mouse came in. It's still there. It's tiny, but you tell Gideon to go scan around that area. Jhallan follows you as you investigate the mouse hole, and gives a curious look.
"Now I know something's wrong, it's just a little mouse hole, what's going on?"
There probably isn't any harm in at least telling him- maybe he'll just own up to it? You hesitate a bit, but eventually fully explain the situation with the slightly moved equipment. He laughs a bit, and understands why you would think it's him. He assures you that he didn't have anything to do with it. You scan him over closely looking for any tells that he might be lying to you. It's just the same old Jhallan. Part of you is almost annoyed that it probably wasn't him. Someone outsmarted you somehow, and its frustrating not knowing who they are, how, or why they even did it.
"I wouldn't ever try to break in here, knowing you, you have death rays pointed at every window and door for anyone who comes in, I'd rather not be a pile of ash thank you. ... Aika? I don't normally do this but, please. You have to believe me. I really wouldn't, I swear on my mother- my family.
Jhallan takes a small charm from his pocket and holds it to his heart. It looks to be a made from an old iron or silver, it's a circular shape, with 4 small pieces jutting out from it's sides, inside the circle is the shape of an x. You've seen the charm once or twice before, and he's always claimed it to be a good luck charm of sorts, that he keeps on him at all times.

"I swear on everything I hold dear to me Aika. Please you have to trust me that I wouldn't break into your workshop."
Jhallan looks a bit pathetic pleading his innocence to you like this. But regardless of what he's saying- it probably wasn't him. You let out a sigh of relief and he follows. You still keep a careful eye on him though. You apologise to him, and he's understanding of the situation- believing he'd be suspicious of him in your shoes to. While Gideon continues to investigate the machines, the mouse hole and every inch of the workshop Jhallan eventually starts to just make small talk with you. He's still interested in the CDD and wants to know more.
"As a specialist in conjurative magics, the idea of being able to turn back time or teleport to another time period seems strange but the more that I thought about it, the more that I think it might actually be possible. I was thinking about the universe and it's connection to the Abyss, and realised that by utilising the Abyss we might actually be able to transfer directly to certain time period."
It's something thats been on your mind for awhile to. It wasn't that long ago that a major arcane discovery in the conjuration field was made. Jhallan played a major role in it's discovery to. They learned that whenever one teleports, no matter how short the distance, for a brief moment you actually leave the plane of existence and enter into another place called the "Abyss", before being redirected to your chosen destination. The Abyss is what Jhallan has called a "Negative Plane" it exists in the space where nothing else does- which would of course mean that there is something that exists there, but according to Jhallan- it's in a constant state of both existence and non existence, while simultaneously be infinitely expanding. It's always been a popular belief that such a place existed as there's been reported occurrences of people seeing another plane for very brief blips of time, but it's existence could never truly be confirmed until a way to enter into the abyss was discovered. It's a well kept secret that not even you're aware of, but chances are, Jhallan would know something about that.
"When something doesn't exist, there's no space or time present, which means that you can actually manipulate that negative space and bend the very fabric of space and time for when it does come. Arcane Laws of Physics only dictate how things should are supposed to work under normal conditions. But what about when the laws are non existent? You'd be free to bend time to your will. You understand what I'm saying right?"
Of course you do. You've already thought about all of this, a lot of the time manipulation magics thus far are more or less an off shoot of conjuration magics. They share a lot of the same properties and principles. But what he's saying is much harder to actually do than he's suggesting. You can't just connect directly to the abyss, and access it like some kind of data bank- it doesn't work like that. But that doesn't solve the biggest issue standing in the way of time travel. The idea of Paradox; and just as it enters your head, Jhallan gets a smile on his face. The two of you often think on the same wavelength.
"Avoiding a paradox is going to be the biggest challenge for someone travelling through time. There's the classic "What if you went to the past and killed your grandfather". But I'd like to think that even minor continuity errors could arise- ones that you couldn't even account for. It's the butterfly effect. The idea that one minor action could cause a chain reaction to affect something so far from the original point of paradoxical contention, that you could cause major changes in the world. I can't imagine such a thing isn't real, I feel that the very life that we live now is really all just one large butterfly effect is it not? Or perhaps the butterfly effect is really what "fate" is. People might be destined to do a certain thing at a certain time, but can it be stopped? It's hard to say for sure. Major events through history always have big affects on the world as a whole. I just can't help but wonder what the world would be like if they ended differently. I'm curious to see as to how much of the future is predetermined for us. What if we can't change the future- no matter what we do? It would mean our actions are useless would it not? If someone told me that every breath, every moment I make in life was also determined- written down in some hypothetical book, that'd be discouraging wouldn't it? It would mean that we aren't our own person, we're just extensions of fate- pawns on a hypothetical game board."
Jhallan loves talking about theoreticals when it comes to anything. He's got a good mind for it. He's right though. Even if you could go to the past, can anything actually be changed? What if going to the past was a predetermined action? Is it possible to even break fate? What happens when the very threads of fate and destiny - if they even exist; are broken? That's what Paradox is all about, you can only assume.
"And what if Paradox was something tangible, something that we could manipulate, and create paradoxical magics from!"
And now he's gone off into the deep end. Jhallan is entertaining at the very least, but just getting that last sentence out, seemed to really take it out of him. He's exhausted, and you have Gideon grab him some water. He has a hard time even keeping it down, as he struggles to catch his breath. He really is a weak man. Almost passed out from just talking and thinking. It's sad but also keeps him grounded in reality. The prospect of time travel really is something though. Gideon's voice rings out through the room.
"ANOMALY DETECTED WITHIN CHRONAL DISPLACEMENT DEVICE, UNKNOWN ARCANA PRESENT, WILL BEGIN FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS INTO IT'S PROPERTIES"
There was something than. Someone actually broke in here? Part of you is almost glad to know that your paranoia wasn't misplaced. But suddenly you feel a sinking feeling in your stomach. It feels like you're being watched. Your eyes quickly scan the perimeter of the workshop looking out the windows where you can, but the dark of night has reduced visibility heavily. Jhallan finally catches his breath.
"Than how did they get in? You have magical detection of all kinds fully around the property don't you? There's no way someone could actually make it through the defences without Gideon knowing. It isn't possible."
There has to be something you missed. Something obvious. How could this have possibly happened? Your mind wanders to all of the individual functions of your security system. You paid top dollar for this, and most of it you developed yourself. It's perfect. You aren't one to make mistakes. It should be able to detect all known ways of movement. What if thats it though? What if whoever did this is just beyond your capabilities, they have to know magic that you don't. ... ... ... Out of the corner of your eye you see movement outside of one of the windows. It looked like a shape just walked by. It causes your heart to skip a beat, and you jump from your chair. You call to Gideon, and immediately flying from across the room the gauntlet attaches itself to your arm, various lights on the gauntlet begin to glow, as the metallic pieces continue to readjust to your hand, fitting snugly and comfortably. Jhallan looks startled, but from you jumping up- it doesn't seem like he picked up on the presence outside. All of the lights in the workshop begin to flicker, and one by one they each begin to shut off. Someone just cut the power. Many of your magi tech devices in the workshop operate independently of an electrical source, and they continue to click and whirr through the darkness. You look to Jhallan and tell him to ready himself, and stay close.
A voice rings out through the workshop. It's a deep and gritty masculine voice.
"Jhallan. You thought you could hide didn't you? You really are a coward you know that? Surely you don't think were stupid enough, that we couldn't find you? You didn't even think to use an alias?"
A crimson smog, begins to apparate about 15 feet in front of you, it rises and condenses into a humanoid shape, and slowly the smog rolls off of the being, unveiling him fully. He stands around 8 feet tall, with gray skin, but the face itself looks almost skeletal, the skin is extremely sallowed, and decrepit. The being has a turquoise jewel of some kind affixed to, what's left of it's forehead. He has a set of robes, though elements of it are reinforced heavily with bits and pieces of armour, all darker tones. The appearance of this individual almost looks borderline undead- but at the same time, the saggy bits of exposed skin don't seem rotted like that a zombie, wraith or even a lich might have. Whatever this being is- it's something else entirely.

You immediately activate Gideon, and there's whirring from inside the gauntlet device, an arcane spark is unleashed, and you watch as a variety of your magi-tech devices begin to move, and float in the air, now under your command. Jhallan lets loose a wave of of a sickly green looking fog on top of the being and calls out:
"Dammit! Zemouregal! Are you really so desperate that you would come seeking me? Surely theres another, what of Enakhra? She's hardly even a threat!"
A burst of flames erupt from behind you both, and leaping from them you see a feminine figure, gray flesh like this being: "Zemouregal" as Jhallan called him. She stands at around 6 and a half feet- much shorter than Zemouregal- but still quite tall. The woman wears very form fitting crimson robes with golden trims around the edges, and a violet jewel embedded into her forehead. Her flesh is like Zemouregal's and it seems to be heavily worn down, and on elements of her exposed chest, you can see that the flesh is sunken in heavily, allowing you to see the imprints of her ribs- she bears a lot of resemblance to Zemouregal; she's likely the same race as him. As she jumps down from the burst of flames in the air behind you, in both her hands are balls of flame that rapidly twist around her arms to form two sets of long fiery claw like weapons. She lands about 10 feet behind both of you and lets out a snarl like a fierce animal and has a stark look of sadism in her eyes- she lunges forward in the direction of Jhallan. She yells out in a gravelly voice:
"NOT A THREAT!? You would dare insult me Jhallan!? Are you suggesting that you have any power over me!? You're lucky I can't kill you right now!"

She begins to swipe angrily at Jhallan- her flame claws extending and bending seemingly at her will ensuring not a single strike misses. The flames lurch and burn into Jhallan's back. It's a deep cut, there's a spray of crimson from him- but out of the corner of your eye, you notice that the wounds that this woman just created get seared from the intense heat from her claws; cauterising the wounds shut. Jhallan falls to his knees and cries out in agony. This woman must be the "Enakhra" that Jhallan just spoke of. Who are these people? Why does Jhallan know them? Why are they targetting him? They must be arcane assassins of some kind- Jhallan was never a fighter of any kind though. You're outnumbered like this- you reach down and attempt to take Jhallan with you through a dimension door. You swing the gauntlet over to Jhallan placing it on his shoulder. Zemouregal looks down to you and laughs.
"You're getting in the way, let go of him. I'm feeling generous and willing to let you go. Walk out of here and don't speak a word of what happened."
... The spell didn't work. But he didn't counterspell it. You would have seen it- and counterspelled him back. What's going on? You look around and your animated objects have all fallen to the ground. Were they dispelled? No- again it wasn't even perceivable, Zemouregal hasn't even cast a single spell yet. Is he stopping your magic somehow? Gideon hasn't even spoken yet. You whisper to Gideon, looking for an answer of any kind-... nothing. It has to be some kind of anti-magic field in that case. Enakhra's flame claws are still going though, and Jhallans' cloudkill is still active- that means he's at least conscious. If it was a traditional anti-magic field spell, none of this would be working- it's soley targetting you. How though? There's no time to think. If it's a space around you, you just need to leave it. You grab Jhallan by the collar of his shirt and try to pull him away. Enakhra calls out:
"Zimmy, I'm not going to just let her go- look at her she's so desperate and confused; it's adorable! I want to taste that desperation!"
"No. Bilrach was very clear when he said no casualties. You'll have your fun later. If it was up to me shed be dust in the wind already. We've waited long enough for Jhallan. Grab him and go.
Enakhra was about to lunge for you on the ground- but seems to follow the order of Zemouregal- she isn't happy about it though. You watch as in her frustration, she stomps the ground, and lets loose a wild surge of flames around her. She drops to the ground and begins wailing about wildly. She has a mentality of a six year old child... Enakhra is really throwing a tantrum over not getting to kill you. ... And who is this "Bilrach"? Enakhra looks to Zemouregal and in a brief moment of composure yells back at him:
"If it was anyone but Bill, I'd char her bones-"
"Well it was Bilrach who said it- so it's time to go."
Jhallan weakly opens his eyes and looks to you. "I'm sorry Aika. Please just let me go. It's fine. I... I knew this was coming. I wish I could explain but if they're going to let you go- don't throw your life away. In my bag... theres something I'd like you to give to my wife.
Enakhra quite literally bursts out laughing at the sound of Jhallan having a wife- as flames spit from her mouth and fingertips: "A WIFE!? YOU HAVE A WIFE JHALLAN!? How far you've fallen!
Zemouregal speaks up again: "I must agree with the child, you're an embarrassment- all the more reason to go now.
He begins to cast a spell- it looks like some sort of conjuration based magic. He's probably looking to teleport away. So now his magics are perceivable? What is going on? You almost instinctively want to counterspell the teleport, and you even go as far to hold Gideon out at him- but it just doesn't seem to function. Zemouregal and Jhallan disappear in a puff of crimson smog. Enakhra is left behind and steps over to you, and grabs you by your hair, lifting your face up to her.
"If I see you again, not even Bill is gonna stop me. I'll rip you apart and cook your bones."
You open your mouth to respond- but before you do so, you watch as she places her lips on your forehead, and you feel an intense wave of heat burst through your very mind. You almost feel your very brain melting from the intensity of it. A fire burning inside your head that you can't put out- no matter how hard you try. Through the agony you catch a glimpse of Enakhra laughing hysterically to herself before a flaming gateway opens behind her and she steps into it. The flames blow away and nothing remains. You're left alone in the chamber. The burning in your head slowly subsides, and you look around at the workshop. No sign of Zemouregal, Enakhra or Jhallan. The lights begin to turn on again slowly. And you see a few parts of the gauntlet begin to move again. Gideon's voice calls out:
"REBOOTING SYSTEMS PLEASE STANDBY..."
What just happened? Who were those people, and what did they want with Jhallan, it's almost shocking that they were okay to let you live, you have this "Bilrach" to thank for that though. You do a quick scan of your body to make sure you don't have any injuries, and everything seems to be fine; except for some strange black markings on your legs. They're faint, and continuing to fade even more as you watch them, but they almost look like blend between a black bruise and a tattoo- in the shape of vines climbing up your legs. They itch a bit, but otherwise don't seem to be affecting you any. You don't recall anything in the brief encounter with the two of them that could have caused it. Could this have been what stopped your magic? You haven't seen anything like this before, but after a minute or so of examining the marks- they're gone, and it's just healthy skin. There was still no perceivable effect though- he created them without you even noticing- damned cheater.
You replay the events of the encounter over in your head and remember that Jhallan wanted you to give something to his wife. It's strange, but you weren't aware he even had family in Yanille- never even really thought about it. You look over the things he left behind, the only thing he actually had with him was that basket of baked goods. You look in there, and inside you find what looks like a small journal or diary. It has no title and has just a plain black cover. It's strangely very light though, even for a small book. You quickly realise that there is one singular page inside the book, only the very last one. The rest of it looks torn out. All that's written on it is a name and a number: "Terry Belando, 169." It could mean anything. Maybe his wife would know more. Frustrated and confused, by everything that happened, you call out to Gideon to clean up the mess- thankfully it wasn't that bad. You decide to head over to Jhallans residence on the other side of Yanille, and flag down his wife- and possibly the remainder of his family. You'll have to be the bearer of bad news. What do you even say? "Your husband was just kidnapped by some mysterious people; I'm sorry for your loss."? There might be ways to track Zemouregal and Enakhra- there must be, this is practically the arcane capital of the entire world. Family first though.
You begin to weave through the streets, the rain over head still hasn't stopped, but the protective barrier around the city stops you from getting soaked by it. It's always a beautiful sight to watch as the rain drops get evaporated in the air high above from the barrier. You still see the crimson scar in the sky- it's always easier to see at night. You arrive at Jhallan's residence and the lights are on. Convenient. You knock and a young half elven woman pokes her head out curiously. You ask if she's Jhallan's wife, but she shakes her head no, she's apparently just a cleaning lady. She than claims that she's not aware of Jhallan having any family in the city, and was also seemingly unaware that he even had a wife. She invites you inside and even shows you around- theres no pictures of family or anything. He definitely did say it was for his wife. It hits you. Maybe he was trying to tell you something. He isn't close with anyone else- not like he is with you anyway. Is it possible he intended that message be for you? Maybe in the heat of the moment saying "wife" was the best way to get it across to you. Those two probably wouldn't take kindly to him passing a secret message to you after being a witness to what happened. You apologize to the cleaning lady, and tell her that Jhallan left town- so her services will likely no longer be required, and that she can talk to the ZMI about securing a payment from his funding. He probably won't need it, and it's only fair to the young girl.
You head back to your home...Terry Belando 169, It's obviously a name, but is that a year? You arrive at the workshop and call out to Gideon for his archival indexing capabilities, and ask for him to search the name up.
"TERRY BELANDO. FAMED ARCHAEOLOGIST AND SENIOR MEMBER OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AVAROCKA. NOTABLE DISCOVERIES INCLUDE THE PYRAMID OF JALEUSTROPHOS IN THE YEAR 158, AND MANY OTHER MENAPHOSIAN BASED RUINS OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT DECADE. HE IS LARGELY TOUTED AS AN EXPERT OF HIS TIME AND HELD A STRONG LOVE OF ANCIENT HISTORY WITH A PRIMARY FOCUS ON THE HISTORY SURROUNDING THE SECOND AGE OF BOTH SIRIDIA AND GIELINOR. TERRY BELANDO, AND HIS ENTIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CREW TRAGICALLY PASSED AWAY IN THE YEAR 170 AFTER A RUINOUS COLLAPSE, WHILE WORKING ON AN EXCAVATION. COMMEMORATIVE STATUES CAN BE VIEWED AT THE AVAROCKAN MUSEUM OF SIRIDIAN HISTORY BETWEEN THE HOURS OF-...
What's Jhallan trying to say? And he brought this book with him to the workshop. Did he know Zemouregal and Enakhra were coming for him tonight? He must have- there's no other reason why he would carry something like that around. He seemed really enthralled about the idea of changing the future- even more so than normal when you were talking to him earlier today. Is this what he was talking about? Gideon's voice rings out through the workshop.
"MISS IF I MAY. IT SEEMS THAT THE CHRONAL DISPLACEMENT DEVICE IS FUNCTIONAL AND READY TO USE. DESTINATION HAS BEEN SET TO THE YEAR 169, YOU WILL ARRIVE AT AN UNKNOWN LOCATION UPON ACTIVATION. AWAITING YOUR COMMAND."
It's... ready? You delve into the innards of the CDD immediately- it's a massive machine, and opening all the various hatches and segments could take awhile. You carefully examine everything and see that everything you've worked on is still in place. It's unchanged; except for in the heart of the machine, in it's directory you a ball of condensed arcane energy. It's a black, darker than anything you've ever seen, it almost seems to absorb the colour of the surrounding parts- though an ominous crimson glow hangs around the orb. You've never seen anything like this before. You almost forgot about the intruder into the workshop earlier today- before Zemouregal and Enakhra broke in. Is whoever who broke in, the one who put this here? Jhallan. There's no way that it wasn't him. He had to have figured a way around your security, and put... whatever that is, into the machine. You had your suspicions before, but with the journal, and this- he's asking you to use the time machine. All that talk before about paradoxes and the butterfly effect. It was a warning to you. If you activate the machine right now and it actually works, you'll be launched right into the centre of the world an entire century ago. There's no telling what could happen there. Jhallan didn't seem to know if it was even possible to change the future, but what if you can. Though are you really going to do all of this for just Jhallan? He's a good person and a brilliant mind, but going this far for him? No. It isn't just about Jhallan and whoever those individuals were. This is science. Seeing if this works alone is reason enough to do it. Every fabric of your body wants to pull the trigger on this. You're probably one of the singular most intelligent people currently in Siridia, and are still in pursuit of knowledge. This is just a natural step for you. There isn't a single thing that could stop you from activating the machine right now.
"THE CHRONAL DISPLACEMENT DEVICE IS STILL UNTESTED AND COULD BE DANGEROUS. MISS, PLEASE BE COGNISANT OF POTENTIAL ADVERSE EFFECTS ON YOU"
Thats maybe one thing that could stop you. Maybe. ... ... ... No not enough. You pull a few levers, and immediately heavy whirring erupts from within the machines. The sounds of rapid turning of cogs, beeps and blinking lights, and warning chimes all flood the workshop. Surges of strange light begin to radiate from the centre of the machine, and you watch as the entirety of the workshop itself is wreathed in a deep violet and crimson glow. A blinding light fills the workshop and you lose all sight of everything around you. Your maintain your consciousness through the distorted transition, you try to open your eyes but all you see is darkness, yet you feel yourself twisting and churning in a never ending loop. You lose track of time. It could be days of spinning, months, years? You have no sense of self through the experience, until eventually, you feel yourself hit a hard surface.
You open your eyes and the world is spinning. Fast, and you immediately retch from the sight- but nothing comes out. You look down, and you're kneeled on a mix of grass and mud. Great. You weren't dressed for this. A quick look around you and all you see is a a spanse of trees. Sparse, but it's definitely considered a forest. It's a bit hilly and mountainous- the air is thin, given all of those factors you most likely are in... ... ...Who are you kidding you have no idea where you are. There's a even a chance you aren't even in Siridia right now. Gideon did say you'd be dropped off at a random location. Gideon? You look down at your gauntlet and the pieces are still functioning. You give it a light knock, and call out to him.
"GREETING MISS. ARRIVAL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. THE YEAR IS CURRENTLY 169. I AM STILL ATTEMPTING TO GATHER DATA AS TO OUR CURRENT LOCATION. I RECOMMEND YOU SEEK OUT SHELTER, FOOD AND WATER TO MAXIMISE YOUR RATES OF SURVIVAL. IN ADDITION, MY SYSTEMS HAVE SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGE FROM THE TRAVEL HERE. MANY OLD OPERATIONS WILL CEASE TO FUNCTION. GIVEN TIME I MAY BE ABLE TO RESTORE PREVIOUS FUNCTIONALITY."
Gideon is in shambles, and you have no source of food or anything. You were hoping you'd be dropped off near a city or some kind of settlement, though that clearly isn't the case. Gideon did say that that the travel was successful though. Just a minor bump in the road though! You're one of the most brilliant minds to have ever graced Gielinor, a small test of survival will be no match for you. You find a breath of fresh air here, it's exciting to be in an entirely different time period, the technology of this year is definitely going to be well behind what you're used to, but hopefully you'll find some comfort-... when you find some civilisation. You look at your things, and all you have is whats on your back and Gideon- and Jhallan's book. Strangely as you hold it, it feels different now. The books pages have been once again filled. They seem empty though- save for the first page. You can see a crude drawing of a mask with a smiling face on it. You tuck it away for now, and look out to the trees ahead of you. Alright... What now?