Some background info




Serias: Phew! I can't believe we managed to beat off the invaders. They're so fierce, I honestly didn't think there would even be a tomorrow for us all.

Mida: Especially that large red dragon. How did the neighboring kingdoms get the help of such a creature?

Serias: Especially that. It makes me think that we may be in grave danger if these inexplicable hostilities keep up, and already my kingdom is in shambles.

Mida, as my loyal wizard of the court and my advisor and dear friend, what are we going to do?

Mida: I... I am unsure, my queen. We should brood over what has transpired in the past few months, and see if there's any exit to our predicament.

Kajiti enters.

Kajiti: That won't be necessary.

Serias: Kajiti, you've come back! I thought you left us.

Kajiti: I did. I had a lot of catching up to do, and surely this is a significant day for all of us. I suppose you have plethora of questions eager to spill out of your mind?

Serias: Yes, I do. You're such an enigma.

Kajiti: That's seems to be a natural reaction for nearly everyone that I've met. Curiosity has not changed over the eons, it seems.

Mida: I've heard many stories about your prowess. Is it possible for you to help us get out of our situation?

Kajiti: I have a feeling that my mere existence in this node of time is the reason for your recent sufferings, however far back it may have went.

Serias: A few months.

Kajiti: Only a few months? Fate must have been kind... but on the other hand our enemy did hit hard.

Midas: Enemy? Not many, but one foe? Surely you saw the multiple banners of various kingdoms in that seige.

Kajiti: Yes. I believe a lecture is in order if we are to get through this together.

Serias: Do tell. We do not know each other very well, and I suspect that half of the things I've heard about you were brewed by beggars and drunkards nevertheless.

Kajiti: As you all may have heard, I am unlike other spellcasters, whether they be magicians, wizards, sorcerers, or natural beings of magical ability. Since I was at a young age of less than a year, I've been hounded by dozens of raiding parties, attacked at every corner and causing untold grief to what few allies I had at the time. I had no idea what they all wanted or why they wanted to kill me. But as me and my kin drew together into the holy lands of the dragons, we eventually learned of a powerful motive that drove the genocide of my kind.

Midas: Genocide?

Kajiti: I'm afraid they were all being obliterated because of me. A deity, Gargamethis, the omniscient eye of time, foresaw my coming into the multiverse and sought to kill me before I had a chance to grow up. But he did not know which individual to kill.

Serias: So Gargamethis chose to kill all of you.

Kajiti: Just to be safe, yes. But the horrendous acts were perhaps his first mistake. It's common knowledge among the nobles and other high folk that gold dragons are a breed of nobility and goodness, and many innocent people would not stand such things. At a certain point in history, all of the world's gold dragons were in one group, from the smallest wyrmlings to the largest about the size of your keep, we decided to migrate and settle into the protective folds of various other races. Gargamethis and a few friends of his waged war against the alliance of the creatures, but were repeatedly beaten back by our forces.

Serias: But when exactly did you realize your true nature? I mean, other than the deformities. No disrespect meant.

Kajiti: It was the Second Great Dragon Wars, and during a latter period of time, it was discovered that I had an innate seventh sense.

Serias: Which is...?

Mida: Don't keep us in suspense, tell us.

Kajiti: Sorry, it's nostalgic. I have the ability to detect magic by touch in all its forms and to discern what it was. Later, I would learn what each particular magic did, and eventually I was able to utilize my magical draconian nature to formulate my first spell. Mida, you know about sorcerers right?

Mida: They're beings that can manipulate their energies and cast magic at will, albeit a limited number of times. They don't require advanced preparation beforehand. It's long been rumored that they were offspring of strange, eloping dragons.

Kajiti: I do not know how true the parentage hypothesis is, and it is irrelevant for now. One advantage that the traditional wizard enjoys over a sorcerer is the variety of tools and spells the wizard can employ over his given lifetime. A sorcerer cannot learn new ways to manipulate magic past a certain age. It is much like behavior of humans; younglings are highly impressionable by their parents, but beyond their prime years, their attitudes change very little.

Serias: I did not know that. I suppose it is true.

Mida: Maybe perhaps you'll listen better when I'm trying to break down your mule-headed anger?

Serias: I'm sorry Mida. I know it's not good for us. You know I don't mean to put the kingdom into peril.

Kajiti: I'm a sorcerer too in many regards, but of a different kind. I suppose you could say I can formulate an unlimited number of spells and spellforms.

Mida: Which makes you quite dangerous.

Kajiti: And additionally, I seem to have unusually high amounts of energy. I'm sure the legends speak that much.

Serias: They do. But what happened at the end of the War?

Kajiti: I do not know.

Serias: What!?

Mida: How could you not know?

Kajiti: ...

Mida: Something happened to you didn't it.

Kajiti: Gargamethis' avatar concocted a plan to harness my power. He managed to get close to me, wear me down a bit, and then he cast his evil spell. He entombed my soul, my living essence, into the black gem that you found Mida. Then he brought the gem back to his master Gargamethis, and Gargamethis cast a spell to ensure that my soul would never escape. Then he threw away the unbreakable gem to be lost in the waves of time, under the watchful eyes of his servants.

Mida: But then how did the gem fall into my hands?

Kajiti: By tampered fate. I'll explain more later. Since that point in history, I was removed for who knows how many ages. Then a ritual was researched and tried, utilizing my sword to be the focus to which I would be temporarily resurrected.

Serias: Your sword... you made it?

Kajiti: Along with a boy, whom I had a very intimate relationship with. It has the capability of absorbing energies in part when it slays enemies, and since it had my unique essence all over it, it was perfect for the summoning ritual.

Mida: But all summoning spells are designed so that the summoner has control over the summoned. How were you able to escape your bonds?

Kajiti: Ah, that's an amusing part. It turns out that the ritual was written in such a way that the sword itself would be the master, and since the sword is sentient and effectively an extension of my being...

Mida: No one ever had complete control over you! That's brilliant!

Kajiti: I am thankful for that. Many kingdoms or otherwise mad magicians ended up being destroyed since they peeved me. I could have let them walk away if they didn't try so hard.

Serias: Something didn't come to my attention. You said the ritual was written later, but wouldn't someone else have fixed this "mistake"?

Kajiti: That is a valid concern, and I thought about that too. If my suspicions are correct, the ritual was written by another deific force. It is troubling, since it was entirely possible for Gargamethis to do a proper summon the way they are traditionally done, and I've taken measures to do all that I could to prevent such a thing from happening. To this end, I believe he wanted to come out as the dominant being of all the multiverse, since there are no others like me.

Serias: So these kingdoms were duped into fighting for Gargamethis and his allies. I don't think they will allow us to live in peace now since they have no reason to believe we aren't trying something suspicious.

Bodyguard: What about that summoning ritual back at Khorval?

Serias: No witnesses. There's absolutely nothing to prove.

Mida: So it would be wise to rest for a few days, since Kajiti's permanent body has just been recently restored and he needs time to prepare.

Kajiti: I also need to take the time to commune with my blade, since it has thousands and thousands of years of memories for me to recall. Presently, I seem to resemble little about what the legends describe.

Serias: But you know about the legends?

Kajiti: The seige was devastating your forces and it seemed like you were on the brink of defeat. The sword returned to me the necessary memories and nothing more, since time was short then. If not, then I would have acted according to what I knew just before the entombment of my soul.

Mida: Just how long ago was that event?

Kajiti: My awakenings between summons are brief and sporadic. There's not much of a way to know how long it's been. But now that I am whole, it's time to-

Serias: This power struggle business... you seemed to be entirely concerned for us, in spite of us just getting acquainted. Are you hiding something.

Kajiti: I've... it's my destiny to bring calamity to wherever I walk since I was hatched. To be honest, I wish that this power would have never come to fruition.

Serias: Wouldn't death be an option?

Mida: My queen, don't speak so brazenly-

Kajiti: She's right, I've considered suicide before. It doesn't work unfortunately. I've met many deities in person before, and they all lord over their domains outside of the material realm. If I were to die and destroy my sword, some deities would work to reverse my destruction. Making my death more complete and irreversible wouldn't deter the most persistent deity. They have another incentive to make sure I stay alive as well, since they fear that the gods of the dead or undead would snatch my soul and attempt to use my abilities for harm.

Serias: So it seems that you're doomed to live an eternal existence of pain and suffering.

Mida: And you've lost all your friends. It must be an awful crushing loneliness for you.

Kajiti: ... First, we have to face the immediate threat of Gargamethis. I can't promise that we'll all come out safe, or even avert a bad ending for some of you, but the least I can do for your act of liberating my soul is to ensure the prosperity and good living of your people. You truly have earned my gratitude.

Serias: A mortal with the magical power to defy the gods. This will prove to be very interesting.