Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-28358106-20160903233916/@comment-28358106-20160906034106

"Huh.  Well, all right.  I'll see you guys later!  Come on, Xena, Ferra learned a new word!  She's been wanting to show you all week."



And with that, Hound watches the two girls leave, Aegis flying across the hillside, Xena running through the grass. He looks upon Ibrahim one last time as the Doctor picks his baffled wife up and spins her around, laughing.



He turns his horse and slowly leaves, the autumn wind mercifully remaining calm as he rides off down the valley.



--



October 21st



''Even now, two weeks later, I still do not trust myself. ''



''Perhaps I shouldn't. Even though when my eyes are closed, and the only sounds I hear are those of my wife's sweet breath, it passes through my mind like a distant memory, like a bad dream. The Crucible made things real, from how I knew them, leaving me to question what happened because of the Crucible and what was happening in the real world. How did life continue here, in my absence? Were there second versions of ourselves here, in our stead? Perhaps when we returned, both personas came together again, split halves once more becoming whole. Two halves. Like myself and Victivius.''



''Victivius. ''



<p style="font-weight:normal;">''I know he lives, that much is certain. I can feel him. Perhaps the Memento Mori still exists, but as a pocket dimension somewhere, where he sits within the Crucible, waiting...''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''I know he is not evil. Wicked perhaps, and fallen, a being of darkness and despair. But not evil...wracked with sorrow. After I discovered  what he had to do to bring Alcamarie out into the open, I can now see why he did what he did. He kept his end of our bargain, though it broke his heart to do so. I failed in mine. In my selfishness and ambition, I sought to bypass the high price of what I believed I had done. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''The mystery then remains of the Glyph, and where it truly came from. In my short time back, I can find no record of its existence, and nothing of its ilk powers neither Regina nor the children. My theory stands that it was made by Alcamarie herself, in an attempt to draw someone to it to use it, someone who would have easily exploitable vulnerabilities. Someone like me. I cannot imagine, then, how old Alcamarie truly is, but if it is to be believed, then it is surely not the last we have seen of her. I have not yet delved into the story of how Regina and I met, for it is a delicate subject, and I may find myself in trouble if I approach it incorrectly.''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''But Regina! And the children! ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''My gods, how beautiful they are. They seem brighter,  somehow. More vibrant. Ferra can speak! Only a word at a time, but she can speak! ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''It took some doing, but I had to find out how the children are powered. It was awkward,  and somewhat difficult,  but I finally found out how they work in this world, the real world, without the Glyph. Apparently,  I had invented an SE converter that distributed and enhanced all SE within Regina, siphoning it to the children. The children still had to be built, but they apparently come from a birthed power core that takes a personality aspect of the mother that the Golem child is then built around. I couldn't believe it, but it was true. Regina can get preganant!''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''And now, she is pregnant again! ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''And so, the last two weeks have been a trying and dizzying array of new facts and revelations. My extended family, my real biological family, is alive, and still in Etrugia. The war still rages there, for the same reasons. But my biological family's existence meant that my family name, Ibrahim,  is now my last name. Apparently,  I have a first and last name now. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''Thomas Ibrahim. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''It was difficult to get used to, and I still don't prefer it. Regina believes me to be ignoring her when she calls my first name, and it takes no end of apologies to set things to rights. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''The children have looked upon me with passing apprehensionas well, if only because I have been asking strange questions as of late, as far as they are concerned. I have found a confidante in Lucida, to whom I told that my memory has been damaged by an anomoly during planar travel. This seemed to satisfy her, and she has been a font of helpful information, and a comfort. Sometimes, when she is asleep, I steal into her room and cradle her, being thankful that I can do so again, to her and to all of them. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''And...I can do so because of the help of others. In my haste to correct myself, I forget what others have done so that I might be here again. And in my haste to forget the terrible path that brought me here, I run the danger of forgetting those who helped carry my burden. How does one repay such a kindness? ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''But was it kindness? Undoubtedly, by some. My mind drifts towards Marcus. He defended my family to the last, though nothing was ever asked of him. But why? In discovering what he did in his past, I cannot help but think that he believes that in helping my family and myself, he is somehow atoning for his terrible crimes. Do I allow this? Do I allow vicarious forgiveness, carried by the deeds of a man who is different than what he used to be? Does he see in my family some sort of path to his own forgiveness? That cannot be true. He believes he has done nothing wrong. If so, then perhaps he simply does it because he has taken a liking to them.''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''Both answers leave me uncomfortable, and uncertain of the man I once called friend. And I have, after much debate, decided that I cannot simply ignore the terrible things he has done, and the lies of omission. I will not forget what he has done for me, but nor will I accept it as some sort of restitution for the thousands of families he has slaughtered. I have decided to gather Regina and the children together tomorrow and explain to them what I discovered. I shall do it in a way that does not give them all the details, but enough that they will be sufficiently aware of who he is. As a father, I owe them no less. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''Tomorrow I must leave for Isla Nebula. I have not yet heard from Cire, and I fear the worst. If I can help him, I shall do all within my power, and I pray that he allows me to help if I can.''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''But for tonight, I shall close this book, kiss my girls goodnight, and meet my wife by the bay window in our bedroom. I will gaze upon her in the moonlight, and drink in her scent and feel her body against mine, and, yet again, rejoice in the present. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Dr. Thomas Ibrahim 

<p style="font-weight:normal;">

<p style="font-weight:normal;">                           --- FIN ---