Wizard's House

[wizardseason]

"Hey"

The Wizard greets the evil-allured knights the same way every night, with the same word, while casually sitting on the steps of the porch outside of her little home. The building looks handmade, like it was built by people who cared about the place they were going to live. Surrounding it on all sides are fields as far as the eye can see. Vegetables of all kinds, with fruit trees and bushes placed throughout the landscape. Closer to the home are bigger trees, willows and others, providing shade from the strange three suns above. Wherever this is, it isn't the world that the knights know.

Plunged into the ground a mere few feet away from the steps leading up to the home is a handwritten sign that states the following:

Knight Rules:
- Tell others if you want
- You can't reveal others
- The world ends this year

Comments

[sustainer]

Gyre stands immediately when she steps into the space circle. He hesitates just briefly outside the edge of it, takes a deep breath and steps in. He wants answers more then he cares to wait anymore.

His hands splay out when he feels the slide underneath himself, and he ends up in the perfect position to catch himself as he hits the ground. He lets his balance return to him before he stands and scans the room. His attention catches on Web and he stays there, staring at their body with this slowly growing anxiety.

"What happened to them?"

[wizardseason]

"They were defeated." She answers, simply, her own gaze drifting away from the three monster bodies and towards the floating body of the Rooster knight.

"No one saw it, but the third monster got lucky." She pauses, before clarifying: "They are alive, but only barely."

[sustainer]

His attention darts from Web to her when she says they're still alive. His skin begins to pickle, his eyes widening a little. He... has given her the benefit of the doubt up until now, but the fact she presents this to him so calmly is extremely alarming. He tenses, on guard, but he's not going to assume the worst just yet.

"Why are they here? You should hand them off to a hospital or... or even just to Garrot if you really want us all to live."

[wizardseason]

"If they leave here, they'll die. They're alive because they're here." She answers, waiting for him to process through his feelings here. She turns away from the Rooster knight and fixes her gaze on Gyre. She gives him several moments to consider it before she follows with a more technical explanation:

"It's stasis. They're frozen in time."

[sustainer]

"Why?" he asks immediately. He had taken her pause to process as much as he could, but he just doesn't understand the end goal. He doesn't understand these pillars or the bodies floating above them. He doesn't understand why she'd save Web in the moments before death when she hasn't in the past.

"What is all this for?"

[wizardseason]

Unfortunately, Gyre had misunderstood. She'd saved numerous knights in the past, she'd done countless things that no one else knew about. She'd admit it, too, if he asked.

"They are all pieces." She answers, starting to walk in a slow circle around the platform.

"If the pieces aren't returned here, willingly or voluntarily, they can't be whole again." She watches him, curious what he'll make of what she's saying. How much does he suspect? How much does he know?

[sustainer]

He's avoided making a lot of assumptions, but she says they're pieces and he begins to slot things into place. His mouth tightens into a thin line. He has so many questions and he's already dreading her withdrawing information like she always does.

"Did they come here voluntarily? Even though they were nearly dead?" he asks, tilting his head slowly at her. He looks at her for just a moment, and then past her, counting the pedestals with a little twitch of his eyes for each one.

"Are we the seals?"

[wizardseason]

Now, Gyre, why would she withdraw information? This is an important moment in an important place.

"They weren't in a position to choose." She answers honestly, watching him for how he'll take that bit. But at his other question, if he's watching he could swear her smirk widened just a little at his inquiry.

"You have parts of some of them, yes."

[sustainer]

Well that's a juicy bit of information, but his face darkens significantly to that first bit.

"You didn't give them a choice? Or they chose you?" he asks, and it's clear in his tone that this difference is significant. To be denied the ability to die is just as sickening to him as killing a person, and he's going to need some explanation if she did decide to deny Web that final choice.

[wizardseason]

"They weren't conscious to make a choice." She answers, waiting the briefest of moments before adding:

"Though they would have ended up here even if I didn't act."

[sustainer]

That makes him tilt his head, retreating out of his disgust almost as quickly as it had come. That's not as bad as a straight denial of their will, but it's not great. More importantly, he feels like he doesn't understand anything here.

"Why? Don't you bring them here?"

[wizardseason]

"I don't have to." She answers, first, letting that sink in before she offers more details.

"But I'm going to, this year, because it's the end. Every spot has to be filled."

[sustainer]

He frowns very slightly, but doesn't have much to say. She doesn't have to bring them but she does anyway. It's the second statement that concerns him more.

"It's the end? Why is it the end?" He pauses, and then circles all the way back to the beginning of the conversation. "What will happen if every spot is filled?"

[wizardseason]

"When they're all here, the ones standing here make a choice." She answers, watching his face.

"Continue for another year, or let the cycle end." She offers, letting him take a moment for it to sink in before she explains the twist.

"There won't be one person there alone to make the decision this year."

[sustainer]

He glances towards the monsters floating over the pedestals, and he wonders how she hasn't been able to end the cycle earlier if it came down to a vote between everyone here. He doesn't understand, and this is clear in his expression.

"How is that different from most years? I thought you said this was the end."

[wizardseason]

"Every previous year the only one left standing here has been the Protector." She answers, watching him.

"After I'm defeated, the companions return here and the decision is made."

[sustainer]

"Does he kill the companions? Or are they on his side?" he asks, frowning deeply. He's trying to pick through what she's saying and he just can't piece it together at this point.

"Where do the monsters go?"

[wizardseason]

"They're pieces on a game board." She answers, vaguely, watching how he's trying to piece this all together.

"They can't die, they're at the mercy of the cycle."

[sustainer]

He covers his face for a moment, frustration rising up into his throat. He hates this. Why doesn't she just explain it if she wants him to understand??

"I... yes, I understand that part. Why aren't they here after you're defeated every year? What about this year means they'll be here when they're not normally?"

[wizardseason]

"They're always here." She clarifies, watching the way he riles himself up in front of her.

"But they don't make the decision, they watch, and they forget."

[sustainer]

He sighs deeply, gritting his teeth as he tries to figure out where to go next with this. His fingers run through his hair and he scratches unhappily at his scalp.

"What are you trying to tell me? You brought me here for something, right?" he says, clearly exasperated. He doesn't want to keep coming up with questions that she can answer in the vaguest way possible.

[wizardseason]

She's just giving him all the pieces, what else would she do? But she can read the exasperation on his face and in his voice. She glances at all the platforms again, letting her gaze linger briefly on each one before she turns towards him at the end.

"I want you to know the cycle, so when you choose a side you don't regret it." She pops a mug of hot cocoa into existence near her hand and takes it.

"The world is going to end by its own hand when it chooses to end the cycle, and you'll meet them tomorrow."

[sustainer]

This is not informative. He wants to know the cycle but she refuses to explain it, and he is so utterly frustrated with her. He looks it too, his eyes going dull and irritated when she throws away the most open ended question he could possibly think of.

"Are you going to explain the cycle at all then? Who will I meet?"

[wizardseason]

The Wizard turns her gaze away from him, shifting up towards the vague space in the air above them. At first, there's nothing. But, slowly, square panels of images start appearing in the air above him. Every one of the images is moving slightly, showing the tiniest bits of movement.

The first is of a planet with glowing rings surrounding it as fire rises up from its surface.

The second is of this room, but the center of the platform is a flaming orb wrapped with those same glowing rings.

The third is glowing flaming orbs floating above all but three of the platforms in the room, with two orbs floating in the middle and the central floor piece glowing too.

The fourth is of a clearly artistic depiction of the first year. Blue on one side, with someone holding a big shield, surrounded by heroes with weapons and a princess with a crown. Red on the other side, with a wizard-hat'd person surrounded by masses of monsters. In the center is a lightning bolt signifying conflict.

The fifth is back in this room, with a vague figure that could be anyone standing in the middle. One hand has a thumbs up and the other hand is severed, laying on the floor in a thumbs down.

The sixth is two panels. One, smaller, has a line trailing to the severed hand and just shows a pair of burning eyes. The second is bigger, with a line trailing out from the thumbs up, and shows the planet aflame, with the glowing rings starting to come into existence around it.

The images all start to circle, and the sixth one links up beside the first to show it's a loop.

[sustainer]

He watches the display, taking in as many details as possible as it cycles through once, twice. On the third go around, he reaches up to point out the flaming orb.

"What are these rings around the planet?" All frustration has vanished from his voice now that she's provided him with something. It's a clearer vision of what goes on then he's gotten so far, and he's still looking at each panel even as he asks the question.