#ehvil goldheart: interdimensional cyborg

[wizardwisenmore]

Love Like A Candle

 Dimensions upon dimensions exist within the manifold scattered across the web of existence, each containing their own wonders. Ehvil has just entered one such dimension, having just cleared the bright light that comes with transporting, they see they see thousands of mushroom structures. Tiny mushroom houses and buildings with all the strange one-eyed, bipedal creatures who live here frozen in awe of Ehvil. They stare up at them, a giant in their tiny world. They sigh in frustration before looking at their Magnum Device, nodding almost sagely at it. Looking up again, they scan the area before spotting the issue they came here to solve. A dark object appears in the sky above the small civilization that has just begun to take action in response to Ehvil’s sudden appearance. They’ve already got a government official involved. Before the attempt to make official contact takes place, Ehvil calmly lifts a hand and proceeds to manifest an energy field that slows down the approaching object enough that it isn’t burning from the atmosphere but not quite enough so it till tweaks Ehvil’s wrist when they catch the soccer ball sized object. Then they nod to the general populace before disappearing in another flash of light.

Once again in their room, they set the near-catastrophic asteroid on a bookshelf among other similar “trophies.” They look through their logs and check it off. While searching for another task, a pile of books and datapads is knocked over which catches their attention. The cause of the commotion is their favorite cousin, Dyson. He’s a strange fellow who portrays the traits of his mother who was a part of species known as Meticules. The Meticules are a mammalian race that are smooth like humans but with flat, pure white features that cause their bright, kaleidoscope-like eyes to stand out, all topped with a shock of white hair. They’re supposed to be very well balanced as they need to scale icy structures quite often. Dyson can be forgiven his clumsiness since he is a Temploculus more than he is a Meticule. He shuffles the items back into place before clearing his throat, hiding his embarrassment. Ehvil quirks an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to gather himself.

“So,” he doesn’t look them in the eye, not a good sign, “How’d it go?”

In response, Ehvil just pats the large lump of rock on their bookshelf.

“Ah, so good then?” Dyson offers as he becomes increasingly nervous.

Ehvil nods.

“Okay, yeah, I’m uh... here to check on you because Great Mother thinks you might be avoiding looking at the list of suitors she’s compiled.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think of them.”

“She likes getting your opinion. Great Mother says it ‘gives her a necessary perspective’ just so you know.”

“Quite the generous compliment coming from our Great Mother.”

“I think you should at least look at one name. You never know... You might like someone she’s picked.”

“All of them will be for their power and to further diversify the bloodline and nothing more.”

“She is very pleased you are a true hybrid,” Dyson stresses making their lineage sound like a gift from the gods.

“Yeah, what use is being a true hybrid if I can’t shift like the rest of you?” Ehvil bites out bitterly.

Dyson sighs as the have the same argument they’ve been having for as long as they could remember.

“Please just look at one,” Dyson begs.

“She’s fifty thousand years old, she should know how to wait for a week or two. You’d think all those years would teach her how to be patient,” Ehvil mutters.

“So, you will?”

“Yeah...” Ehvil concedes, “Hand me the stupid datapad.”

Dyson does gleefully, relieved to be rid of his task. Ehvil quietly scans the list until they glance at a name from a dimension they had looked over just a moment ago. Well, they could kill two birds with one stone this way. They hand the list back to Dyson and casually fling a portal open.

“Tell Great Mother I’m visiting Tenebris Kull in the Oculus Dimension. I’m sure that’ll appease her for now.”

“Will do,” Dyson grins, “ Have fun and... Please give him a chance, you know, for all our sake.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ehvil waves as they disappear through the shimmering portal.

Dark, cubular buildings clustered and stacked together are softly illuminated by the setting sun. Red an purple lanterns decorate the buildings and light the street. Black figures with glowing, solidly colored eyes and four arms dressed in bright fabrics stare at Ehvil as they take in the scenery. The sweet smell of flowers floats through the air of the cool evening. They decide this world is a pleasant one so it might not be so bad to stay here for a while. They move towards the grand structure that is a kind of layered pyramid illuminated from within. Intimidating guards stand at the gate of the wall surrounding the structure wearing little armor over their green tunics but even under the loose fabric it’s clear they’re not to be messed with. So, of course, Ehvil walks right up to them with an easy gate nonplussed. The guards ready themselves, an intimidating display meant to impress visitors and to scare off those that would make trouble. Ehvil looks up at one of them before clearing their throat.

“Ehvil Goldheart,” they introduce themself, “I’m here to see Tenebris Kull. He’s supposed to be here?”

The guards stiffen at their name and immediately open  the gates once they’ve finished. A wide path of opalescent stone pans out before them bordered by bioluminescent gardens interwoven with grassy pathways between slanted planters of the same opalescent stone that makes up the pathway. Jagged, ironwork lanterns contain some kind of free energy that covers the area in blue light. The visiting Temploculus marvels at the dark bushes and trees that have swirls of purple, green, and blue light. The entire scene is undeniably beautiful no matter how much they wish they could look upon it all with indifference, they can’t deny the sheer natural wonder before them as they gaze at the garden. Then again, they’ve always had a weak spot for gardening no matter how technologically inclined they may be. The little violet succulents with tendrils tipped with softly bobbing yellow lights are the last straw and Ehvil accepts they are in love with this garden. They take their time to reach the stairs up to the grand entrance that opens before them  as their arrival was now anticipated. Accompanied by an entire entourage of servants decked out in white and silver, a regal figure in silvery robes and an iron circlet approaches Ehvil in the grand hall. He locks his solid green eyes on Ehvil, unable to make direct eye contact due to the dark glasses they wear. Strong jaw, broad shoulders, a warm smile, muscular, hands that move with purpose; all these traits belong to this monarch. Really, they should be swooning. Ehvil contemplates the individual before them and decides to just let this play out.

“Ehvil Goldheart of Templocula, I welcome you to my home,” each word resonates in a deep tenor so they almost rumble, “I am Tenebris Kull, Liege and Master over this realm. Your Great Mother said we might be expecting you but I didn’t think it would be so soon. This is more than I had dared to hope for.”

“I’m not sure what you’re expecting from my arrival but I am here to get to know you. I hope you don’t think this means a decision has been made.”

“No,” he assures them, “I would never presume without a clear answer. For now, I’d like to ask you to join me for dinner and I can show you the capital tomorrow.”

“I’d like that very much,” Ehvil dips their head, “thank you.”

Tenebris gestures back where he came from in an open request to join him. Ehvil walks over to him and together they walk through the pillared hall over lush carpet with firelight shining on them. The servants trail behind them silently with barely a hush of their robes brushing over the carpet. They must have practiced for years to be so quiet, perhaps, so they might seem as though they aren’t even there. They turn left into a complex of statues that lead to a smaller hall and into a large dining hall with room for at least sixty guests. The hall is mostly dark apart from one end of the long, stone dining table. Mobile lanterns with the same eerie blue glow shine over two set places. Tenebris takes his place at the end of the table and Ehvil sits to his right. The servants quickly serve them from the platters set before them and fill their glasses with a viscous, dark purple fluid. Then they take their leave and the two at least appear to be alone.

“Would it be alright if I skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the heart of the matter?” Tenebris begins, tentatively swirling the purple drink in its glass.

“No,” Ehvil says flatly, “I want to go through all of the boring ‘what a nice evening’ ‘s, ‘how are you’ ‘s, and ‘what a lovely meal’ ‘s then we may begin to discuss the possibility of my Great Mother choosing you to be the one I marry.”

Tenebris pauses with a look that could only mean that he’s at a loss for words. His third and fourth hands weave fingers together and separate them. He gestures with his second, looking for something to say.

“I’m kidding,” Ehvil says and carefully tastes the drink. It’s sweet like over ripe fruit and herbal in an oddly pleasant way.

“Oh, I see,” Tenbris grins, relieved, “How exactly will a spouse be chosen for you? Your Great Mother wasn’t very clear on that matter.”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Ehvil shrugs, “There’s a list of over forty. They’re all from different dimensions with no clear pattern other than they all have some reasonable standing and are intelligent. What system she has for ranking you all, I don’t know. My Great Mother is not one for sharing her full thought process for anything.”

“So, we’re both in the dark then.”

“I’d say that’s accurate.”

#ehvil goldheart: interdimensional cyborg #writing #story #scifi #fantasy

[wizardwisenmore]

Bad Vibes Man

A tour of the capital. That is what he, Tenebris, had said the night before. The night that led into too much of that purple liquor which led to terrible flirting on his end and even greater guffaws on Ehvil’s. They had been a disaster as much as Ehvil can remember to the point they had even gone to cool off in one of Tenebris’s luxurious fountains as servants had to stand nearby awkwardly so they could make sure their monarch would not be harmed in his drunken tom-foolery. Truly a fantastic first impression on Ehvil’s part. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to remember anything past the dessert course and unfortunately for Ehvil a Temploculus’ toleration for poisons and intoxicants is far beyond what they should be to be pleasantly black-out drunk in under five bottles of whatever that stuff was. Ehvil makes a quick mental note to ask for some of it to take home with them. In any case, that was last night which was a much different energy than now as they parade down the main road of the capital.

By the size and grandeur of the event one might guess that this Liege rarely went beyond the walls of his palace as the people of the city roared as they’re greeted by his presence some even falling over, fainting in light of his supposed glory. When Ehvil catches a slight disappointed look when he checked to see how they reacted to the display of power they quickly changed their demeanor suddenly wave widely and smiling at some of the curious onlookers that noticed their unusual presence at their monarch’s side. Tenebris conceals a sigh of relief as Ehvil continues to try to radiate excitement even as they become quickly exhausted by the endeavor. This charade is not what Ehvil had hoped for when he promised to show them the capital but it’ll have to do, besides, they had a pretty good idea as to how to get a closer look at the area. One perk of being in the parade meant that they were seated on a canopied platform atop a lumbering creature-like mech as a sign of prestige and high standing which granted a relatively good view of the buildings in the area. Looking around they spot an odd swirling building that stands out against the ridged architecture of the city. Ehvil taps on Tenebris’s shoulder to catch his attention before gesturing to the tall spire.

“What’s that building over there?”

“Oh,” Tenebris puffs up a little with pride, “That’s where our top scientists do their research. That certainly must be some place you’d take especial interest in. Would you like to go see it?”

“I’d like that very much,” Ehvil offers him a soft smile.

The parade is cut somewhat short so that they can transfer to a private, guarded monorail that leads to and from the palace and the large laboratory. Ehvil had noticed the constant set of eight or nine guards that change out every once and awhile ever present even as they travel along this private line. They can’t see themself living with this level of surveillance for practically almost every hour of the day, the stress would just be too much. They make the monorail tight even if they and Tenbris are seated in the seats that are at the very center of the car for some reason. Everything in the city seems to follow the same sleek, black style with bursts of color including this strange monorail with it’s strips of bright green light that glow within making things look down right ominous as they move through the system of underground tunnels. The guards are still aside from the occasional sway from the monorail making long turns and are completely silent, completely expressionless. Tenebris is quiet and calm next to them used to these pieces of his city, barely acknowledging their very presence. Ehvil’s hair begins to stand on end and a shiver runs down their spine. Something is off but they don’t think it’s the monorail.

They arrive at the lab and are escorted to the underground entrance by a group of guards that now number fifteen as they pass people dressed in sterile, white clothes that bow in the presence of their ruler and his guest. The tour takes them through blindingly white hallways that connect to individual labs for specialized research such as disease and animal behavior studies. Ehvil is distracted for a while when Tenebris introduces them to a Dr. Noyu who has been working on a prototype for an android that acts as a sort of babysitter that can imitate critical thinking from a complex, input-based program that still needed some adjustments since the android’s response to anything raising to a temperature above twenty-five degrees Celsius is too immediately blast it with cool, carbon dioxide gas. That is to say... it treats anything above room temperature like a fire as Ehvil is unfortunate to discover first hand. After the android is successfully shut down, Dr. Noyu apologizes profusely, her four arms twiddling nervously. Ehvil assures her it’s fine and they move on leaving a very dismayed Dr. Noyu. Ehvil’s respite doesn’t last long. When they leave Dr. Noyu’s lab the feeling of dread returns and Ehvil has a hard time paying attention to Tenebris’s explanation of the various departments of the laboratory. Ehvil’s eyes wander over the smooth walls barely focusing on Tenebris as their heart rate begins to escalate and everything becomes too big. The hall is too long, it goes on forever, they’ve been walking forever. The walls are too white, they are in a pocket of infinite time-space. It’s too much. It’s too large. Too infinite. They can’t hear. They can’t- A hand rests on their shoulder bringing them back to reality, they’re back in the hallway next to a very concerned Tenebris just behind them. They had obviously been walking faster than before while in their daze.

“Is everything alright?” Tenebris asks as he places another hand on their other shoulder turning Ehvil towards him fully, “You seem distressed... Did something happen?”

Despite themself, they lean a little into his kind embrace.

“I’m okay now,” they nod their head, “Sorry, I... remembered something and got caught up in it. Is... Is there anywhere we can be alone? A smaller room maybe?”

“Yes, of course,” he wraps an arm around their shoulders and starts leading them down the hall a little, “There’s a room mainly for storage just ahead and to our left. Are you sure you’re alright? Do you want to leave?”

“I’m fine, really,” they pat his shoulder gently, “And no, I really want to be here. I just wasn’t expecting this place to have an effect on me like that.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am, thank you.”

“Always.”

#ehvil goldheart: interdimensional cyborg #writing #scifi #fantasy #story

[wizardwisenmore]

Continuum

Templocula, home of the Temploculi, clever, really. The sky here is ablaze with pink and gold and filled with monolithic clouds floating gently along the world’s eternal winds. The echoing labyrinth of smooth, white stone passageways connected by stairs and bridges above dizzying heights that reveal more and more passageways that become faint outlines in the pooling darkness below. Golden lights shine from the center of the mass, giving shape to the chaos of the grand structure. Many of the twisting paths and bridges lead way to towering buildings with architecture that is all sloping angles and floating orbs.

A lone figure stands on a wide path above the chasm. Cloaked in a long jacket festooned with golden accessory over a dapper black vest and matching pants, complete with a dark yellow button-up. They stand out starkly against the pale path and mystical sky. They step forward from the edge of the pathway on to a translucent disk of golden light and begin their descent, their short mess of bronze waves shifting in the gentle breeze. As they descend, statues illuminated in more golden light rise up from the shadows depicting mechanical marvels, humanoid in stature alongside other beings, some human in form, others entirely alien. The figure sighs, stressed from the responsibility they are about to take on. They wish, silently, to be spared any sacrifice that would be too great to accept under normal circumstances that will come with their coming position, a promotion really.

Finally, they reach the core. At the very center of the constructed planet a towering castle of three towers in cascading brilliant light. Gilded doors of alabaster stone carved with hieroglyphics describing ancient, magnificent feats of science alongside pictures of the grandest events tower before them. The doors open for them to reveal a grand hall, well, more of a court room or a throne room. Members of their esteemed family sit among stone stands that curve together with a break between the two. In the wide space between them  is a throne of glimmering, black wood upon which is an elderly, human-looking woman dressed in deep burgundy. Her form severely contrasts with many of the people in the room looking upon the figure in black. The old woman’s dark eyes look as though they’ve beheld all of time. White hair bound inn a bun is pulled back from her taut face. The doors close behind the figure and their great ordeal begins.

“Ehvil Goldheart child of Cathion Goldheart, you have been called here today to discuss your inheritance,” the woman says coolly, taking in Ehvil with a calculative air.

“Yes, Great Mother,” Ehvil responds respectfully.

“As per custom, conditions are put upon the next in line to prove their commitment,” Great Mother drawls on as she pulls out an orb enscrawled with gold spirals against the transparent surface, “I hope my conditions are not too demanding for you.”

She releases the orb in front of her and it floats like a bubble as it projects screens on which Great Mother enters a few commands then pushes it towards Ehvil. They look over the text and their body runs hot as their heart speeds up, eyes racing over the screen. This is... This is too much to ask, it crosses boundaries they didn’t know they had. Ehvil looks back up to Great Mother, her eyes look impassively back at their pupil less, golden irises wet with frustration. They know they cannot turn this down so that leaves but one choice.

“You intend to decide who I will marry,” Ehvil puts on an air of calm, “Is that it?”

“The line must prevail.”

“I understand. I accept your terms.”

 “Then with completion of this condition you shall receive full rights as head of our family. Until then, you hold limited rights as future head of the family as described in the documents  in addition to regular permissions. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Then I congratulate you, Heir Goldheart of the Prime Line.”

Sudden;y, all those gathered stand up and applaud Ehvil’s official inheritance. They leave the grand hall, leaving the happy family members in their wake. Tucked in a dark corner away from that madness is their home, their sanctuary. It is a bright and warm place with deeply colored rugs in dark  reds and warm oranges. Dark wood furniture contrasts with silvery tech in breaks in the thick, white walls. Floating, digital screens depict  pictures of a young Ehvil with their mother and father in many different paces, some more grand than others. Their father, Cathion was rather human-looking like Ehvil but with bushy, black eyebrows and graying black hair and beard. His green eyes crinkle with his smile while he holds small Ehvil in his arms. A stranger figure stands beside them in the pictures. She towers above Cathion, a slender, gently glowing being the color of daffodils with a kind look in her three eyes and dressed in flowing white robes. Ehvil sighs and kisses their fingers before putting them over the image of their father. They then head up the towering staircase to their room where they shrug off their jacket then walk over to their bed and flop on to it. Framed posters litter the walls and bookcases overflow with novels and textbooks. A wardrobe rests in disarray against one wall next to a large window overlooking the dark courtyard.

“Well,” Ehvil muses, “time to get to the next one, I suppose.”

#Ehvil Goldheart: Interdimensional Cyborg #Story #Writing #SciFi #Fantasy