The scene that everyone saw was something that no one had ever seen before; excluding of course the two involved. It was a simple moment, when Jonathan and Klarington parted ways for the last time.  The people of Travance could feel that their journey through Travances mind was at an end and they were being pulled back to their bodies, but not before a brief pause to witness his last memory before going into stasis… 

 

There was a thick fog on the ground. It was late at night and the chirping of night bugs could be heard in the distance. Jonathan stood staring down at a stone slab in the middle of the glade, while Klarington walked the parameter of the grounds gently gliding a glowing magical wand through the air. 

 

After a while, Klarington walked over to Jonathan, put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “It is done your Excellency. We are now in a temporal vault. Time will advance at a snails pace giving us plenty of time to get you well. You will lie down on this slab and place yourself in stasis so you wont require sustenance. We’ll get to the bottom of this mystery right away and have you back in town in no time!”

 

Jonathan did not seem moved by his words, in fact his face wore a visage of a stone wall. “Klarington, you know the nature of my abilities… You know, that I know, that you are lying…”

 

Klarington broke his eye contact and shifted about nervously “Yes… well I suppose I am then. … Your Excellency I don’t know if a cure will ever be found. We might have missed that boat for good, and you may just die down here in a thousand years, unknown about and forgotten.” The admission of this grim truth looked like it lifted a little weight off of Klarington’s heavy soul, and he sighed unsure of what else to say.  “There it is then…” 

 

The air seemed stale and uncomfortable. There was an unsettling silence that lasted many a beat.  Jonathan looked around at his surrounding, a slight smile curved up on the edges of his mouth, and a he let out a quick burst of laughter… “You know, I wish you would have told me that you were a powerful sorcerer earlier, it could have made our time here a lot easier I bet…”

 

Klarington smiled a little. “Yes, well I was under the Kings orders not to… I still am actually… but I realize that this is important… It had to be done.” Klarington shifted his stance and got back to business.  “In a month or two, I'll make it official that you are missing.  I’ll council with the King and only he and I will know the truth. I’ll see that everything is in order in your lands. This is a great thing that you have done and your legacy will not be destroyed, nor need you worry for your people.” 

 

“Thank you Klarington, you have served me well, despite our obvious differences. I guess this is goodbye.”

 

Klarington shifted awkwardly and looked as if he wanted to crawl out of his skin. “I don’t do goodbyes, your Excellency.”

 

“Please, it’s Jonathan.”

 

Klarington cleared his throat. “I don’t do goodbyes, Jonathan. I never have…” Turning his back he began to walk away, but paused for a moment and addressed Jonathan for his final time without turning to face him.  “Well then …  rest well, I'll see you later I’m sure…” With that he raised his arms into the air and with his wand appeared to pull a beam from the moon down before him and into a shape of a gateway. The gate opened, and he walked through. 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

As the people of Travance leave the created world for the real world, a flash image of Jonathan Travance standing before a burning alchemy lab is seen. In his hands he has a journal, in which he thumbs through the pages quickly and disinterestedly tossing it then over his shoulder and into the flames. The journal is seen burning as the great doors are closed and locked…

 

The knowledge of the Meristics they found flowed through their consciousness and they could hear it being read to them in Jonathans voice. 

 

 - With Xualla’s insight, I have devised a way to take out these invaders’ leader. Jonathon has a strange power to alter himself and the world through the use of his mind, beyond that of any psion I have ever come across.

 

- In order to study the effects of his power, I dug up and restored the body of a man Jonathon had killed using his power. Remnants of the essence of his ability still clung to the corpse, and though I wasn’t able to extract it, I was able to manipulate it, mutate it inside the corpse.

 

- With the mutated essence of his ability in the corpse, I rose him from the dead and performed a ritual to further corrupt the being and the essence within him.

 

- Xualla provided me with a demonic parasite that feeds on the energy of the human mind. This parasite forms links between the victims so that as long as one victim remains un-cleansed, the parasite will re-infect the victims through the link.

 

- Injecting the parasite into the animated corpse, it became coated in the mutated essence. Once this parasite is transferred to Travance, as long as the creature remains infected, any attempts to cleanse him will be futile. As the parasite spreads, the chances of Travance being restored decreases.

 

- The creature was released, and Travance is infected.

 

- Further attempts to spread the parasite were unfruitful, it seems the parasite can only exist in the creature and Travance.

 

- The creature has fled, it should not have enough will to flee its captivity. This is most interesting. I wonder where it has gone...

 

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