The Traveler's Account of the Shimmering Ones

The weary greying man slumped into the fireside seat, running a tanned and weather-worn hand across his equally weather-worn face. He glanced around the roadside inn and its archaic and quaint wooden structure. The candlelit room bustled with activity as barmaids flitted amongst the patrons with practiced grace and ease. Seated by the fire were several other middle-aged to elderly males who were discussing the most recent war of the Gremfai Empire. They may be across the sea, yet these men knew the growing terror of Gremfai as well as those that shared the continent with it. A grim look passed the traveler’s face as he remembered a different rise of an empire upon this same planet. The first empire. He shivered and bent forward to hold his hands out to the flames. This was a cooler planet than his last stop, and his body was slower to adjust than it used to be. He smiled as the men began to invoke the names of those they called “Shimmering Ones” or “Immortal Ones”. While they were not inaccurate names, the beliefs that the races on this backwater planet held were far from accurate. “The Shimmering Warrior will aid us if we ever have to fight the Empire! The king recently held a feast in Daiunt’s honor after all,” one of the men said with confidence. Another shook his head, “Ye think they don’t offer sacrifices and feasts to him or others? And since when have they been reliable to call on. I tell ye that them beliefs of yours are never going to help ye none. We go ‘bout our business, and they about theirs.” Several of the other began to speak up in protest, but they all stopped as the traveler began to laugh just barely loud enough to catch their attention. They looked at the stranger bewilderment. The first speaker spoke to the traveler, “What be so funny?” “You are both wrong about them,” his simple statement made several unhappy harrumphs and the first speaker to lean forward with an aggressive expression. “You think you know better than us? Better than our forefathers? What makes you so much better than even the long-lived Seflonn that share these beliefs?” the first speaker spat out. “Relax. I mean no disrespect to you or your beliefs. I simply have knowledge and experience you and your people do not.” With that he turned his gaze from the fire to the men, and they gasped or recoiled at his pupil-less grey eyes. “Who or what are ye?” one of them asked. “I am a simple traveler. And I have met those you call Shimmering Ones. Many of them in fact. And I have seen things you would barely be able to conceive.” “How are we supposed to believe that you aren’t just some tricksy carmenite using a bit of illusion upon yourself to fool us?” “Could any cykamancer do this?” the traveler grasped his staff and caused it to disappear in a flash of color that resembled cyan yet was completely foreign to their concept of color. It reappeared in front of the skeptical man with a similar flash, denying gravity by standing on end. “I neither used sugar or said an incantation. If I recall correctly, I would require both to perform carmenism. Likewise,” the staff flashed twice more, back into the traveler’s hand, “I have yet to hear of any cykamancer using teleportation magic.” A smug grin covered his face at the stunned expressions upon the men’s faces. They knew of magic, but every world had its own, and he was a master of several. He set his staff down across his lap and leaned back towards the fire, hands imploring it for heat, “Do you believe me now?” “Who are you?” “A simple traveler.” He got a few laughs in response, “Would you care for me to share my stories?” After they nodded their confirmation, and several leaned forward with expectant eyes, the traveler smiled faintly and launched into yet another of his tales, “I am mortal like any of you, but my lifespan has been long compared to those on this planet. I come from a planet far from here. There I do not go by traveler but instead by Jayal. It is one of the few planets where teleportation magic is common. I have only found three other planets where it is common,” Jayal chuckled softly and adjusted a silver chain that hung from his neck, “You cannot imagine the difficulty of convincing them that I was not just some fraud. “I spoke of the Shimmering Ones, and that is what probably will interest you the most, so let me tell you of them. They refer to themselves as the Feiagaoln, which I discovered means they are from a planet just like any of us mortals. They are far more plentiful than you imagine, and they are not deities as you would believe. Though their immortality and grasp of magic lends credence to that belief. Hmmm, perhaps the story of my second encounter with the Feiagaoln shall suffice for tonight.” Jayal nodded to himself and began to create small illusions depicting his scenes as he spoke.
I had mastered teleportation eons ago and I had enjoyed travelling from planet to planet to discover what differed between each. Yet what really struck me was that almost unanimously they knew of or worshipped the Immortal Ones. So, I had set about finding them in hopes of conversing with a divine being. I had come across one on a planet called Gartoth. A lush planet teaming with sentient flora and fauna, but that was only one Immortal One. She blatantly ignored me, so I was unsatisfied, and my questions of their nature remained unanswered. Thus I arrived on the moon of the planet of Yirithnol. A barren moon with a rather toxic atmosphere. Luckily, I had learned enough of magic to be safe no matter my environ. I walked for nearly a day across the wretched craggy landscape, through the acrid purple mists. Finally I saw what I had been searching for. A group of five Immortal Ones with their metallic hair and crystal skin just as all the stories told of. They were deep in discussion facing Yirithnol, although I somehow sensed they knew of my presence despite my approaching them from behind. I halted a mere 5 or 6 feet from the giant immortals and waited and listened. “I say that we grant the boy the same powers as his sister. He is power hungry enough that the two will inevitably fall out. It would be a truly spectacular collision when they would battle,” the one in the middle said with gusto. “You must learn to use your mind, Daiunt, before you actually cross them, and we all perish for your misdeed.” the furthest right spoke softly but firmly like the wind that slowly erodes the mountain. “Nonsense! Your fear of retribution always stops you, even when the Overseers are unlikely to do so,” Daiunt retorted. The one to Daiunt’s right shook her golden hair, “No, Daiunt. Liaolp is correct. The overseers decreed this planet off limits for at least 300 more of their cycles. If we cross them on such a firm decree, they will not be gracious with us.” Her voice was smoother than honey. Liaolp nodded firmly, “It is final than. As voted of 4 to 1, we shall not interfere with Yirithnol for the next 300 cycles. If any of us break this, they will face both the judgment of the collective minds of Feiagaoln as well as whatever judgment the Overseer’s deem fit. They will face this judgement alone.” Daiunt growled and dissolved before my eyes, using a form of magic I had never come across in my life. With that Liaolp and one of the others dissolved as well. Leaving me stunned as my mind desperately tried to analyze and categorize the magic that seemed so far beyond everything I had discovered. The two remaining Feiagaolites turned to face me, and I was mesmerized by their eyes. The golden-haired female had soft eyes that reminded much of opals with their white yet multi-colored sparkling. The other was a slim man with Silver hair and harsh blue eyes like that of an angry sky. He spoke first, “What brings you to our presence mortal male?” Their gaze was crippling, I could feel wave after drenching wave of power pouring out from them and crashing against me and slicing through me. The force was unbearable and I felt something warm and wet running into my mustache, but could barely register it as my eyes felt like they were burning and my mind began to scream as the power began to ring through it, ricocheting back and forth endlessly. My muscles spasmed through my whole body uncontrollably as if every nerve of my body was constantly sending signals. I must have looked like a trembling wide-eyed fool, terror-stricken as any other would be. “Just another pathetic mortal I see. Pity.” The male’s voice held no compassion for me. It was hard and snapped out like crack of lightning followed by the thunderous boom of power that washed over me. His eyes grew even colder and he began to turn from me. I glanced from him to the softer eyes of the woman. Although they were by no stretch soft or comforting, and I opened my mouth to speak. No voice could I find. Not a sound managed to wrench itself out of the stupor the magical never receding wave was causing me. I felt shame, and I felt weak. In my entire life I had never met anyone that had made me feel useless before. I had always been a keen and savvy learner, able to grasp new concepts both arcane and mundane as swiftly as any genius of any planet. Yet here I stood. Unable to even make a sound or stay my muscles in the face of their raw power. I felt tears spring to my eyes as I gasped out in pain, “I need…” I could get no more out as my brain exploded into even greater pain from the effort. A second stream of warm sticky wetness ran into my mustache unchecked and ignored. The man paused his motion. His cold blue eyes narrowed. The woman smirked, “For all your effort to dumbfound him, he has managed to speak. Perhaps you should let up a bit? He clearly desires something greatly. Even needs it.” Her words gave me hope, but also despair. I had presumed this was the combined force of both of their power cascading over me, but it was just his. I was rendered inert before only one of them casually flexing their metaphorical magical muscle. The man began to chuckle. It was not pleasant or cheery. It was dark and looming. It grew like a raging storm and as he laughed louder and louder his magic drenched me more and more thoroughly. My wide eyes began to see spots of darkness, and the edges of my vision grew fuzzy. I knew more than felt that my spasming body was swaying like a tree in a torrential downpour. My mind was so flooded that it registered only two things. His cacophonous thundering laugh, and that it was dying from the raw energy that crackled through the air. As abruptly as a summer storm moving on, the laughter and the magic subsided. The power still pattered against me incessantly, but it was manageable now. My muscles steadied. The ringing ended. I could hear and see clearly again. I finally realized my nose had started bleeding and I quickly wiped at my damp lips and mustache with the back of my hand. I was rewarded with a large red smear across it that warned me of quite an undertaking to clean it up later. If they allowed me to live. “I need to know of you and your ways.” I stammered. My voice sounded weary and I was panting like someone who had just risen from a deep dive to the bottom of the oceans of Hilioph. “You presume much to ask us such things,” her words were like daggers twisting in my guts. “Please. I know I am not as powerful as you. You need not prove that or prove your worth above mine. I am not worshipped like deities by the races of over three score planets. I simply am a traveler that has visited many places and observed their differences, yet there is a consistency across all of them. Your race. They call you by many names and have many beliefs about you. Some even conflicting with one another. I seek the truth of who you are. Is it so much to ask a few moments of your immortal lives?” I kneeled before them, imploring them to share themselves with me. The man chuckled. This time it was more akin to heavy but not unpleasant rain. His power stop beating upon me, and I unconsciously sighed from the respite. He spoke, “You are lucky Daiunt has left already, or he would have forced you to intercede upon Yirithnol on his behalf in exchange. That would have ended very poorly for you.” He placed great emphasis on the very. I shivered involuntarily. He nodded, “Very well. There are worse mortals to inform, and most will not believe a word you say of us. Especially if it does not line up with the image we crafted of ourselves to them. Inquire mortal male.” I leapt to my feet, “Who are you?” “I am Neialk, and he is Weianw,” the female said. “What form of gods are you?” Weianw rolled his eyes and said, “Pseudo-gods at best. We are immortal and powerful, but we are not deities of any sort. No truly there is one. The Creator,” he said the word with such reverie that I felt in my soul the awesome truth of what he had said. “The Creator does have many servants that to us are as powerful as deities, just as we are to you,” Neialk informed me, “They are called overseers. They cover a vast variety of the universe in many specific ways. Some of them care for specific races, others for nature, or for stars. They deal with the micro-managing of the universe as the creator has deemed fit for them. Some of them are kind and gracious, while others impassive, and still other cruel and vindictive.” My mind was spinning. They had upturned every religion I had come across. They had a religion of their own. Those we had believed in as deities and cosmic powers for millennia worshipped others as such. “So, if you are not deities, what are you?” I asked. “Immortals from a planet called Feiagaoln,” Weianw replied. “Jayal,” it seemed natural, until later reflection, that she knew my name, “we are travelers much like you. We learned millennia ago how to become immortal beings and became so in tune with the magic of the universe that we ascended. This has allowed us to travel through dimensions and to new planets as we please. We are immortal beings than spend our time by learning more of the universe, attuning our selves to the magic that courses through it, observing mortal races, and occasionally interacting with mortal lives,” Neialk said. “Thank you. My mind has been opened to so much. I do not suppose you would impart your knowledge of immortality or any other magical secrets to me?” I asked sheepishly. They both shook their heads. At least I had tried. “Well can you tell me more about your physiology?” I implored. Neialk nodded, “We can. Our reproduction runs much like your own, but we can choose whether or not we have children.” “We, like all creatures of Feiagaoln, are made of an organic crystalline substance that was impervious to many physical attacks even before our ascension. Our eyes often correlate with who we are at our core. The spark that the Creator gave each of us shows up in our eyes. At least that is how Tauohb explains it, and I am inclined to agree with him,” realizing the name meant nothing to me he added, “Tauohb is the oldest of all of us, and frankly the most powerful, though many will argue Zeiugd is. She is the second oldest and is far more reasonable than Tauohb.” “You say that because you have argued with Tauohb more frequently. She can become quite aggressive when angry,” Niealk said. Weianw shrugged, “True but she at least is still logical when she gets upset. How terrifying she is when crossed is partially because of her level-headed aggression,” he waves his hand dismissively, “This is all needless for Jayal. Suffice it to say, she also agrees with Tauohb’s summation of our eyes and souls.” “You are most gracious for sharing so much with me. Please allow me another question,” I said. “Very well,” Weianw said. “One more only though. We have another pressing matter. Waeint is close to consuming yet another world,” Niealk said this so non-chalantly that I nearly continued without giving it a second thought. I gazed at them in shock. Weianw rolled his eyes, “An off limit world no less. By order of Tallion no less. No matter we shall prevent it. What is your question mortal male?” he waved his hand as if swatting away an annoying fly. How could they discuss the Shimmering Nightmare about to consume an entire world as easily as I would a sunny afternoon. Despite being flustered, I sped into deep contemplation over what my final question would be. I had to decide quickly since, they obviously would not be patient for long. I decided upon a request, “Would there be any means by which I could communicate with you or your people in the future? Beyond my spending decades tracking you done on wild comet chases.” Their unfathomable eyes connected, and I sensed them communicating in that brief moment of eye contact. They returned their gaze upon me, and for a brief moment I felt terror. Had I overstepped my bounds? Had I insulted them? Would they kill me for requesting such a thing of them? Niealk spoke, “Very well. Your ambition and sincere curiosity shall be rewarded this day. Here,” a small disk formed in her hand, “A locator. Much like a compass, it shall direct you towards the closest Feiagaolite by magically transmitting directly to your mind. To any other mortal, this will appear to be worthless piece of metal. To try and convince them otherwise will be fruitless. No other mortal shall be capable of using it, and when you die, it will cease to exist.” I took it with grateful hands, and before I had a chance to look up from it, they dissolved from my peripherals. Just like that they were gone.
Jayal sipped at the ale that one of the men had acquired for him and stared into the fire, “I have never managed to cross paths with Niealk again, but I have spoken with Weianw. The Feiagaoln have treated me far better since that first encounter. I know not if they simply can sense the magical disk or if Weianw and Niealk had informed the others of me. Either way I am very grateful for their trust and the growing friendship I have formed with several of them. They are just like us, only far more advanced.” A few men shook their heads in disbelief, a couple others looked speculative. Jayal was used to this type of response. Most places he visited reacted this way, or worse. He did not mind. He knew the truth, and the people usually enjoyed the stories he told even if they were as simple as his conversing with someone they saw as a deity. Weianw had warned him how other mortals would respond, and Weianw was seldom wrong. He leaned back in his chair as the men bombarded him with questions. He simply smiled and sipped his ale. “I could perhaps tell you a story of a planet where they use metal machinations to move, without magical aide, or of a great sentient lizard that could wield magical powers nearly to the destructive scale of a Feiagaolite. Or perhaps you would prefer a love story between an Immortal and a truly ordinary mortal? Or would this night be better suited to the tale of the great war the Feiagaoln fought amongst themselves that caused drastic changes on a few planets and the mortals who lived there?” the traveler had them hooked again. They began to bicker amongst themselves over which story they wanted to hear next. To them the stories all seemed as fantastical as his last. Luckily for Jayal, men in taverns loved wild stories and would keep a steady supply of ale going to anyone who could supply one. He leaned forward, setting his empty mug aside, and crossing his fingers, “Yes the story of the great sentient lizard Daskarat shall suit tonight quite well I believe.”