Volume 5 - Official Prologue (edited - v2)

The Fifth Layer was among the strangest of Layers humanity encountered.  

It wasn’t a grand world teeming with magical life like the Second Layer, nor was it a shattered Plane hovering over an empty Void like the Third Layer, or even a strange, constructed world like the First Layer.

Instead… the Fifth Layer was…

A tree.

An enormous, 68,300 miles tall Planetary Tree, with its own atmosphere, culture, and inhabitants.

The Endall Tree.

It was a world unto itself, with cities and encampments founded on her Branches, formed by hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions of Climbers that arrived at her roots, forced to scale to the very top to escape into the Sixth Layer.

And it was here, on the Fifth Layer, hidden away in a secret base in one of the highest Branches, a dark figure brooded silently by himself.

It was a man, not quite human, but something else, dressed in a suave black suit, lined tastefully in gold and finery. A humanoid that was the very picture of elegance that, if not for the faintly gold tint to his skin, might be mistaken for a Human, with piercing gray eyes, a small, slightly-hooked nose, and thin lips. The man’s white hair was cut short and firmly combed to the side, adding to his confident, regal appearance.

“Every piece has its place.”

The man’s voice sounded out softly, a pale whisper in the still air.

He was sitting in a large, dimly-lit room, a study of sorts, lined with bookcases, a large, couch, a desk, and a chair. Several fine works of art decorated the walls of the study. In one corner, a small bonsai tree grew, planted atop a low desk adjacent to a small window, the only window in the room.

In the man’s hands was a large crystal tablet, glowing faintly with white light. Lines of information appeared upon this tablet as the man scrolled through it, reading various reports.

After several minutes of focus, the man set down the tablet and slowly stood up, walking to a doorway opposite his desk. As he rested his hand on the dark black wooden door’s doorknob, he paused briefly, before opening the door with a sigh.

“Another one arrives.”

The Titled Deity Bosmond Jingleton let out a chuckle.

“…just how many of my peers should I be expecting?”

The Deity received no answer as he walked along a large wooden deck, hewn from an enormous tree branch stretching out for miles and miles. Light filtered in from the canopy above, the golden red streaks emitted from the enormous red Sun that circled the Endall Tree, creating a day and night cycle.

Bosmond admired the view for a few moments, eyeing the gargantuan Planetary Tree more then a hundred miles distant, connecting along the massive, isolated Upper Branch he stood upon. It was always a sight to behold, a mire of green leaves, brown wood, and an unnaturally dark blue sky.

Slowly, Bosmond reached out his open hand towards the sky.

All was still for a brief, tiny moment… and then…

Reality split seven ways.

There was no flash of light, no stirring of air. Existence did not shatter or shake.

It simply was. From one to seven. And seven in one.

Seven different versions of Bosmond Jingleton smiled as he felt the power of his Title come into full force, splitting existence into seven identical versions of reality at the same time, superimposed upon each other yet intangible to those from other versions.

Title: The Jester of Fate

Swiftly, different versions of Bosmond began to branch out as reality continued forward, the relentless march of time trudging ever onward.

The first version of the Deity returned to his private study and activated his highest defense protocols, turning on dozens of energy intensive, but powerful, defensive enchantments. He then continued to sift through reports in silence, valuing his privacy.

The second version of Bosmond immediately leapt up into the air and began to rapidly fly towards the Trunk of the Planetary Tree, warm golden light gathering around his body as he empowered himself further.

Bosmond’s third and fourth versions of himself immediately began issuing orders to a large contingent of his subordinates.

As the King of the Aerdu Tribe of Deities, he possessed a veritable army of followers numbering in the hundreds of thousands on the Fifth Layer alone, spread up and down the entire length of the Planetary Tree, with sizable contingents enshrined in Fallen Leaf City, the Halfway Enclave, and the Sunlands.

Bosmond’s fifth and sixth versions of himself began to gather a large convoy of his Royal Guard, preparing for a rapid descent. The denizens of the Farbeam Branch buzzed into activity as these versions of Bosmond sent their gaze downward.

Finally, the seventh and final version of Bosmond continued his calm walk, entering into a large, interior carved section hidden inside the Branch itself. The King of the Aerdu walked through multiple secured checkpoints, nodding to the alert and armed guards as he passed them.

Bosmond relished in the peace and quiet of this version of himself, a small smile finding its way onto his face.

His Title made it easy to split his focus seven ways at once, keeping his actions in each version of reality distinct. It didn’t, however, make it enjoyable to hold multiple conversations at the same time. It was rather unorthodox for a King to walk unattended, but that fact never bothered Bosmond.

“Your Majesty.”

Two robed figures bowed and offered greetings as Bosmond walked into a large, enclosed Scrying Room. It was a large room, at least 30 meters far and across and 6 meters tall. Painted silver magic glyphs littered the floor of the room, creating a large, faintly glowing magic circle. At the center of that circle was a 3-meters wide silver bowl sitting upon a short, hewn granite pillar.

“Mylo, Selo.” Bosmond nodded at the two Fifth Circle High Mages, the only two Seers his Guard possessed.

The duo bowed again. They were aged figures, one male and one female, with the traditional pale blue skin tone most Aerdu possessed. Their lined faces were drawn in wide smiles as their eyes lit up, eager to serve their King.

“We’ve prepared the Scrying Pool, my liege.” Mylo began as he stepped aside and waved towards the bowl at the center of the room, speaking excitedly for one of his rather advanced age.

“The target exited Fallen Leaf City 11 minutes ago, but has yet to begin climbing.” Selo added, her voice a low, humming drawl. She was the younger of the two Seers, with a motherly, middle-aged appearance.

“Excellent.” Bosmond smiled affably. He’d found, over the years, that simple politeness did far more to beget loyalty than one might imagine.

As the Deity stepped forward, the two Seers activated the Scrying Pool, causing the bowl to glimmer with white light. A flurry of magic glyphs fluttered into the air and vanished a second later.

The white light transformed as it showed a scene taking place many, many miles down below.

Standing atop one of the enormous Roots at the base of the Endall Tree was a lean, blonde haired Toren. The Deity had a long mane of dark golden hair and a large, grizzled blonde beard. He was handsome, with a near perfectly symmetrical face, save for a 3 inch long faded scar, ripping upward to his ear from his right cheek. He was dressed in a pair of sleek, scaled black leather pants and a dark gray metal lined shirt, with three long blades hooked in at his waist.

The Toren moved along the enormous wooden Root with ease, each step smooth and assured, either unaware that he was being spied upon, or just ignoring those watching him, uncaring. Bosmond's intuition told him it was the latter.

“First Ashroth, and now you.” Bosmond muttered, a sparkle forming in his eyes as he began to smile.

“Every piece has its place.” He continued, his eyes narrowing.

The regal Deity slowly reached out and touched the flowing image, sending small ripples throughout the Scrying Pool.

"The Throne of Life waits for no one."

…

In the 7th Month after the Fourth Wave began, Sion Swordsoul arrived on the Fifth Layer.

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