Silas Green

Silas, the Man

Silas Green is known as the venerable shopkeeper of The Pen & Ink Stationers in the New City of Churiss. It sells paper, inks, and various writing implements to school children and adult academics alike.
Silas loves to talk with old and new customers when they come into his shop, so much so that many have now found it best to allow for a longer stay than would be expected for simply making their purchases. He is particularly keen to speak to the students that enter his shop, but he is mostly left disappointed in what he hears and observes.
The Stationers is an integral, if somewhat sentimental, inclusion in the newly built complex of The Library of Learning & Culture. The architect and owner of the Library, Seth Hedra, has a very fond affection for old Silas. He will make sure that he has a place to live where he can continue to talk to the students, professors, and tourists as he lives out his final years.
Seth invites Silas for dinner and drinks to his own home, also within the Library complex, twice per week, on Tuesday and Friday evenings. There, Seth will sit patiently and listen to stories that his friend gladly relates to him, many of which he has heard a number of times before! However, he has for some time now had a sense there is more to Silas than meets the eye, but so far he cannot put his finger on what.

Silas, the Truth

In Churiss, Silas is thought to be one hundred years old, when in fact he is closer to 900,000 years. He is in fact a cosmic observer, sent to worlds to assess their progress and report back regarding the likelihood of an Ascendant being produced and what, if any, actions he recommends.
Silas is also more than the shopkeeper at his stationers; he holds a number of jobs, which he carries out simultaneously. He is the chief administrator for the Ruling Council of the city of Agano, advisor to King Agran of Ascadia, and the janitor at the University of Magic in the nation of Volaris, and many other roles.
He records the history of Acuthan as it happens in tomes and journals that litter his cellar in the Pen & Ink. He also runs a number of news outlets that publish chronicles and articles about important events. He tries to retain an objective air to his writings but occasionally he lets this mask slip.

"It is impossible stop the Sight from emerging on occasion; and these are very rare incidences indeed. Besides sometimes the mortals of this world need a sharp kick where it hurts most - their egos".

The Fate of Acuthan

In the case of Acuthan, his mind is almost set on recommending the destruction of all sentient life, assuming they don't destroy themselves first. This would wipe the slate clean for a fresh start, this time with different species that may prove to be better stewards of the planet.

"This world once showed promise, but now that has almost perished. Its peoples' have failed in their stewardship. After the first Devastation the world managed to heal itself. But what did these people do with their second chance; they have repeated the mistakes they made the first time round. Their natures are set.
The young, who should be the hope of any world, have a unique blend of ignorance and arrogance. They unquestioningly believe in their own views, acting to silence or cancel out any opposing ones, and take up pseudo-moralist positions on subjects they don't understand, aimed more at impressing their friends and followers than actually improving the lives of others in the world.
And the elders are equally to blame, allowing the young to lead in matters they know too little of and with no criticism of their shortcomings or failures, allowing them to wallow in their own self-righteousness. They should know better".

Silas has had enough of listening to the mewlings of petty fools. He has learned much of the world that Acuthan built, listening to peoples of all ages, and his despair at their idiocy, the order of which he has not encountered anywhere else in the universe. It is close to the time to see this virus destroyed.
He blames the choice of Acuthan as Ascendant. She was too young and naive. She made her world based on a perfect balance; a wonderful thought but one that could not work in practice. It didn't allow for the nature of the beings on this world, with their vanity and selfishness. The balance was too easily upset.

"Seth, on the other hand; he is a good and intelligent man. I'm sure at times he has the Sight to see beyond this world but doesn't know what it is that he beholds; maybe mistaking it for a dodgy pie at the Dancing Lights, or eating cheese too close to his bedtime. Others like him have died before their potential is reached and the multiverse will not perish as a result - but he is a special man. And I will miss my friend".

Silas has little to no hope for this world and would have made his recommendation already except for one beautiful thing; perhaps the most beautiful in all the universe.

"And yet I continue to wrestle with a dilemma. I suppose instead I could nudge a few people in the right direction. Seth and Athrene Lurenne have their heads screwed on right, and the Watcher that's on his way here - he's strong and has a wisdom about him not usual among his kind. Now that would be a convenient meeting to gatecrash!
Anyway that's for tomorrow; right now there's one of Anna's butterfly buns with my name on it; wonderfully light buttercream like no other in the multiverse. If this world does go down in a ball of flame I'll see if I can sneak Anna onto my transport out of here".

Because of the rhyme implicit in the name of the old shop, Silas has gained the affectionate nickname of Stinky among those in the City of Churiss. It is not a name he has tried to quell, and in fact he himself finds it rather amusing.