A Brief Memoir from the Ale

[Jent]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• The New Millenium[C'mon, we aren't that old-Yes we are.]
• Not The Kinda Girl To Bring Home
• Exchanging Pleasantries
• Brutal Nuisance
• ???[How many sections will this be?-However many we can write down from memory.]

REFERENCES

• Xartus Immortals[I'm pretty sure Vegoia will be upset for us posting her private records.]

Final Note - This memoir will be distributed to every ACTIVE member and select INACTIVE elders of the Evil Council.

[Jent]

The New Millenium

In the days of old, where deities governed the material world and spiritual world with near absolute rule, few dared to question their judgment. To the eastern domain of this unshaken realm, forces beyond time itself arose. They existed prior to the foundation of this pantheon's golden era. Nightmares subtly stirred among the mortal populace upon arrival, and the gods of old were unable to recognize the threat until their doom.

To say my former colleagues merely annoyed me by starting this particular meeting early would be an understatement. We were flying through space at gods know what speed, and they were hung up on me being on time? I walked in an hour late to the stylish chamber designed for our discrete meetings. Of course, my adopted daughter followed along at my side to record the minutes for today. This particular incarnation of Vegoia was rather steadfast to maintaining order, more so than her past life. Odd coming from someone who barely appeared to be a teenager at the time.

“As per usual Särwāna, you forgot to lay out the snacks. Again."

That might have been a bit much to let myself dwell over, yet that banished spirit kept filing my temper with holding back like that. She's rich, beyond mortal wealth. A nice few plates of roast boar too much to expect? Särwāna kept her manifestation to its usual statuesque proportions, towering over even myself while seated. Her light brown hair curled just past her shoulders, with matching tattoos which swirls along the immortal's face. The spirit from the former Xartus pantheon held some sway among mortal affairs. She gathered quite the number of rioting pieces of the former divine empire, establishing her own protected roads from throughout end to end. Her affluence radiated through the exotic materials weaved into her crimson dress; representing the lifeblood of her new empire, and the people slain who provoked her wrath.

"I can see to your request after the two of you seat yourselves first."

Very well... Wasn't going to sit besides her this time for that comment, even though Vegoia floated over beside Särwāna as per custom. The nymph gestured a chunk of oily glass up from the high wall, beckoning the sphere to levitate down in front, which transformed into some sort of fancy typewriter. Whatever. All I remember for certain was my daughter looking adorable in the little pink dress, with her brown locks pulled into a bun. Even suggested Vegoia to wear a pair of glasses, but she declined.

"Now Aaron, with our secretary and her lazy caretaker here, could you repeat the reports once again?"

That man smirked, clearly enjoying the remarks aimed my way. I could never get him to reveal his true name, as he only went by 'Aaron.' Always imagined the demi-jinn to boast something more... outlandish? A title which signified his importance to our ranks.

"Of course, Särwāna. While it took time cultivating the proper contracts between some of the less agreeable spirits, I managed to make do," he calmly explained before sliding the folder to Vegoia. My daughter picked up the contents, running the various pages through her odd machine to record the information. The originals were neatly arranged back in place for Särwāna to collect.

This Aaron fellow rarely came in alone. Seated to his right hand side, the desert kingdom ruler kept a personal bodyguard who even I had to show respect for. At first I believe her to be the same stock of human as the demi-jinn's mortal half, yet my nose revealed things far more interesting cues. The sorcerer-king in his vibrant purple robe rescued some of her people from being lost to time. Shahapets, not possessing that certain odor of dragons, were an engineered species in human guise. Her stoic gaze matched intensity of power in the scale-mail suited on the woman, actually skinned from a fire dragon. Ha! Take that you arrogant brute!

... Right, her handler. Lost track. His craftiness must have came from his mother's side to be capable of harmonizing the other clans of jinn under his rule. Still minor compared to the immortal's domain, though still quite impressive-

"And you've gathered the off-world components for the project, sorcerer?"

How could I have forgotten about this old coot? He clearly should have been dead by now... Didn't he smell like, two hundred years old? It must be due to the weird machine hooked up to his body. Mr. Aznar, having discarded the need for a personal name for having outlived them all, could barely move his own arms while stuck in that wheelchair. Liverspots dotting across the swathes of wrinkled skin, it wasn't hard me to tell he was afraid of death waking him in his sleep. Probably why he kept the youth around him to forget about his future.

"I am, Mr. Aznar. I've already told Thea earlier-and where is your apprentice?"

"The boy went down to the docking bay. Apparently we had a stowaway."

Someone sneaked onto the ship? From the last planet we docked at? Couldn't be. Yet the french woman seemed confident in this fact, with her sweet smelling hair, like waves of honey running down from head to toe... This Thea Karst looked nothing like the one in Pax, and held no magical scent to her. Too bad her boss wouldn't part with that worker.



Notes:
Vegoia - My adopted daughter (a nymph), who currently lives in the 'Mirror Pax' universe with her underlings.

Särwāna - An ichor-based immortal from the Xartus Realm. Only recently remembered her existence once my memories returned from being sealed. I can only guess where the banished spirit resides nowadays...

Aaron (and his bodyguard) - A demi-jinn who at the time ruled over other denizens of his homeworld (of his father's side). His protector is the Shahapet, an engineered reptilian species who appear human in base form

Mr. Aznar (and his offscreen apprentice) and Thea Karst - Come from an 'Earth' world, supposedly with no magic, yet used the technology devised by the former to reach our side of the multiverse.

[Jent]

Not The Kinda Girl To Bring Home

It is rather amusing to recall my first memory of Tracy Valens. An arrogant little alchemist dragged in by her hair to the meeting, still snarling like some trapped animal. Such rags she wore with her first impression. Tracy flung dust along the floor, arms and legs bound with some spare rope probably found in the cargo bay. The pre-teen's unkempt blond hair laid frazzled from her short-lived brawl, with green eyes darting around at the rest of us. Sorta looked like a third-cousin of Thea's, assistant gave an expression of surprise at the brat. I guess not.

“Lemme go already!”

Heh. And I nearly forgot to speak of her captor. The latest apprentice of Mr. Anzar, about the same age as the stowaway he restrained. Couldn't be that difficult given his opponent appeared quite malnourished. Zacharie Campion, or fondly called 'Champ' by most of us. Definitely not a relative of Miss Karst despite coming from the same country on that Earth. More of a light brown, with darker shades in his short hair and determined eyes. Either due to Mr. Aznar's insistence or possibly Thea's suggestion, the young man works his charcoal grey suit excellently while handling the intruder.

“After those bombs you popped out of the crates, not a chance.”

Even back then, Champ shown potential to be the successor of Aznar Tech-provided the founder actually stepped down on his own. Sarwana transfigured the center of our table to incorporate a cage for the pesky girl. Metal bars clamped straight to the floor once her body got shoved inside, provoking Tracy to rear herself upright on both knees. “If my teleporter didn't malfunctioned, I wouldn't be stuck on your crummy space ship! Now give it back,” her young voice shrieked in protest. Champ, procuring the small pyramid-shaped teleporter device from his side, calmly presented it before the immortal. None of us knew what it was that day, but later on we discovered it something created by the 'Shee.' Never heard of those aliens. Apparently they raised the child on their own massive flying saucer after relocating her from a doomed planet.

“Not technology I've encountered before,” Sarwana mused in deep fascination. She kept eyeing the Random Teleporter throughout the entirety of the meeting, and no doubt for a month or two afterwards. It utilized warp mechanics to transport the user to a generally safe location upon activation. The rough mechanics internally indicated it had been recently modified to allow a better degree of control to where the teleportee landed. Didn't stop Tracy from stumbling in Sarwana's ship.

“We're not going to make a pit stop to the previous planet. Just jettison the girl in the air lock so we can resume our discussion.”

Harsh some might say. Mr. Aznar held no sympathy for troublemakers, taking a breather from his life-extending machine in disgust. “No. She might know more in her under-developed skull, Aznar. We'll keep her around for now. If she hasn't provided anything substantial, the girl can just be sold off to a slave colony in the approaching star system.”

“Like hell I go there!”

Perhaps the immortal should have crafted the confinement cell with better materials. Following with a brilliant flash of blue light, the vagrant broke free as her bindings were reconstructed to the alchemist's favor. Bars warped away as the newly fashion ropes pried open a large enough gap for Tracy to dash through. A few shouts of frustration, including myself, erupted as she bounded down the hallway to search for a means of escape. Her magic wouldn't be able to pilot an escape pod, though known of us knew the child's potential in this incursion. “I'll handle her,” Champ retorted, racing after the unfortunate girl. We made sure in the coming weeks to restrain Tracy with materials she didn't know the chemical composition of.



Notes:
Tracy Valens - An orphan who was adopted by a group of five Shee. Can't for the life of me remember what the planet she was born on, though the village's was called 'Bahyrst.'

Zacharie 'Champ' Campion - Mr. Aznar never liked the boy. Must been some private deal with an investor to have him tag along, even when traveling off-world.

Five Shee - Learned after some interrogation on the alchemist. Apparently they were traveling ecologists checking on planets they encountered, taking samples of local fauna and flora. Very strange names like 'Whimwham' and 'Wyrd'...

Random Teleporter - One of the objects confiscated from her of importance besides a book regarding alchemy. It was gifted to Tracy by these Shee, so she could explore worlds they visited more safely.

[Jent]

Exchanging Pleasantries

Two months had passed since the alchemist graced us all with her presence. Fortunately for Tracy, the administrator for the CHARM project decided to grant her leniency for now. Sectioned off in a personal, secured prison cell, she willing traded enough information for continued stay aboard the ship. Not that she ever showed much appreciation. Tracy continued to be a nuisance for most on deck.

“Here's your dinner...”

I carried a glassy tray on my way to check up on the brat. If my mind couldn't figure out how vitrum flexile worked, there was no chance a mere child be able to fashion this into a means of escape. That is when I noticed Tracy huddled off in a corner. Normally whenever someone visited her, for whatever reason, she spew every known curse in that immature brain of hers. Yet she sat there. Staring into a wall in her orange two piece jumpsuit. “Hey! I said I got food here,” my shout apparently went unheard, given she barely moved an inch.

Still kicking myself, figuratively speaking, of entering her saturated grey cell. Sarwana infused her very essence into this particular room to better contain the slippery captive. I know a thing or two about shape-shifting. Though this was on a whole other level in complexity. Damn immortals with their fancy bag of tricks.

“I'm not hungry. Go stuff your face and shut up.”

… Seriously. I so wanted to see how this kid could escape when flung into the bars. Yet, my emotions relented, laying the tray down on the floor as I collected her old one. As usual, no weird transmutations on the vitrum flexile. Good thing that old scarecrow knew how to make something unique. “If you wanted to starve to death, then I'd be dealing with your corpse a month ago.”

Ah, there was that string of expletives I remembered.

“And you aren't getting your stuff back any time soon. That teleporter of yours already in countless pieces, reverse-engineered as we speak.”

“... What about my book?”

“Still intact. Aaron trying to decipher the texts today.”

Difficult to say how she reacted back then. Anger for us meddling in those hidden pages? Relieved that her precious hardcover still together? Tracy gave no exact answer, and I didn't bother prodding into it. Whoever wrote the original pages knew things even I couldn't comprehend. “... So what's your game plan? Waiting for your foster parents to whisk you away?”

A twitch of frustration. Clearly I struck a nerve in the alchemist when bringing that up. “No. They are gone. Everyone I ever knew that cared about me are gone,” Tracy growled, eyes narrowing in pure contempt. “All I have left to cherish is. My. Book.”

“... Perhaps I show take it with me for late night reading? Or tinder to light up my scented candles.”

Finally the inner restraints snapped at my suggestion. The child lunged forward with the tactical mind of a mad beast, climbing up in order to strangle my neck. Not that her puny grip could do much to me. The windows to her souls burned with uttered fury, I half-expected her heart to croak on the spot. “I'll ram that tray down your throat!” Tracy violently shrieked. Although being the superior species, I simply waited until she drove herself into exhaustion.

“Done massaging my neck?”

Panting, she slowly slide back down to my feet, where Tracy belonged. I planted the heel of my shoe right on her back, causing her to gasp in pain. It wouldn't take that much effort on my part. Factor in more of my true force, fracturing her spine, crushing organs beneath my sole. Or a turn of my leg. Snap the neck in two-

“... You won't kill me. You won't burn my book.”

I glared at the brat's refusal to comply, twisting my leg harder. How dare she even speak what I would or wouldn't do!? I am an Ala; demoness of the storms and ravager of lands. No amount of books Tracy seen in her young life could amount to all the knowledge I amassed in my many long years. One of the most educated scholars of my homeworld-

“Gah... Your... Administrator would not be pleased... Her assistants are watching us both...”

Damn it. Reluctantly, I released her from the domination of my foot, letting the insubordinate child sit up to breath. Before my words left to ask how she knew all of this, Tracy spoke out of turn. “The walls... Sarwana 'flesh and blood' flows throughout, ever present... Spirits spawned from her essence keep tabs on me, as I keep track of them,” she explained, herself surprised to not be coughing up blood when covering her mouth, pointing to another corner. That's how. The alchemist saved up bits and pieces of food, garments, and whatever else that was left behind she could get her fingers wrapped around. Tracy had tried to tunnel through one of the walls. A charred boring tool laid partially melted on the floor from the ichor that spilled from a wound on her prison cell.

“Impressed you didn't suffer any third-degree burns from that attempt.”

“There were some marks... 'Just patched myself afterwards.”

Intrigued at this, Tracy presented one of her arms. Still some signs of damage, yet the spread along the skin either meant she suffered droplets of ichor splashed on, reducing them to mere scars. Or she eventually mend away that as well once her skin fully healed. Maybe the child be of some use in field work? She clearly capable of slipping around unseen, most of the time.

“I might have a job offer for you later. To pay for your rent here... and possibly your book being returned.”

Smirking in delight at this reveal, I began to walk away with this information in tow. Unfortunately for myself, Tracy got the final jab that day. I should have known. With my back turned away after closing her cell door, a loud clap sounded off in my ears. Turning to address what magical trickery pulled, my nose was violated by an explosive bomb of concentrated ammonia... Should be painfully obvious how she saved up the chemical elements for that transmutation.

Notes:
Alchemy Book - Owned by Tracy since her time on Bahyrst. Wouldn't expect the Shee to be knowledgeable in magical matters.

Sarwana's Assistants - Spawned from her divine being, a goddess in only fame created her own spirits to held manage affairs she couldn't bother herself.

[Jent]

Brutal Nuisance

Promoting the child to field work in under a year was not the best decision, but not due to her effective success rate being too low. She actually managed a rough seventy percent after six months of preparation. No. Tracy's problem being she caused too much of a mess.

The former vagrant left behind tracks of her handiwork. Her alchemy, while impressive, often retained some residual marks in her rushed work. Typically a flake pattern outside the finished product. Which lead to locals in the mission area becoming aware of those tell-tale signs. Or obvious patches of missing matter pulled up for her transmutations scattered about. It wouldn't be long at the current pace before some mercenary picked Tracy off in the middle of job. Forget suggesting espionage for the little psycho.

“Again.”

I sighed, sitting down a bench in the gym. Shahapet continued to tutor the child in her own techniques, right now focusing solely on physical training. The sorcerer's bodyguard knew numerous tricks-likely passed through generations in her family-that eventually proved to be effective in refining the alchemist's future performance. But not today.

“Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.”

She toppled Tracy's legs with a fierce low sweep, knocking her straight to the vinyl floor. This teacher did not approve of the 'cheap' tactics hauled out intermittently in the sparring match. No alchemy. Each time the child attempted to transmute, the Shahapet broke her concentration with a vicious strike. Not surprising to me that it only made the human further disorganized. “Just let-GAH!” she shrieked as the back of her head got smacked swiftly for speaking out of turn. Tracy required discipline, whether she asked for it or not. “Stop hitting me already!”

“Really now? Perhaps Champ could use an extra time-slot for training?”

That seemed to quell her outbursts. The two developed a bit of a rivalry once Mr. Aznar's apprentice caught wind of all the attention she received. From an intern in the laboratory, Champ turned up the heat as he volunteered for similar instruction. “Fine,” she huffed in annoyance, readying herself to break the Shahapet's defensive stance once more. Of course, he hadn't experienced the 'thrill' of missions like she had, but his natural talent cleared through the beginner courses with ease. If Sarwana decided to field him for missions at that point, it was quite likely he dominate the alchemist's record. Along with far less mistakes.



Notes:
Missions - Low rank at first. Usually Tracy, and later Champ, would run errands between stations wherever the ship currently docked itself at. Other times it involve quelling minor rackets in colonies to keep them pacify.

Training - Not only physical conditioning. Aaron, Sarwana, and myself would assist in tutoring the two youths in making themselves stronger in multiple fields. Of course, Tracy dabbled a bit in research with Mr. Aznar in order to challenge her rival there too.