Travels Through Telara


The Story So
Far:
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week1">Part
1
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week2">Part
2
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week3">Part
3
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week4">Part
4
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week5">Part
5
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week6">Part
6
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week7">Part
7
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week8">Part
8
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week9">Part
9
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week10">Part
10
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week11">Part
11
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week12">Part
12
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week13">Part
13
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week14">Part
14

By Padraic




Greetings, dear reader. Today, I have been discussing something of a
philosophical nature with young Bran.



'Have you gone mad', I hear you ask. And the answer is, possibly.



You see, the Ascended have recently stumbled upon a method of viewing…
alternate realities, if you will. Different time streams, where events
turn out differently to what has occurred in our own time. These
alternate realities have been dubbed “slivers”. The theory goes that
every time a decision is made, every time you choose a fork down a
different path – for example, you decide you are not happy and wonder
if you should leave your wife. You waver a bit, then decide yes, you
will leave her. So you pack your bags and leave. But at that moment of
decision, a branch occurs and an alternate reality is created. In one
reality, you leave your wife, but in the other, you stay with her. Two
separate realities. Now imagine that on a scale so vast we cannot even
comprehend the number. Every decision made creating a new reality.




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style="font-style: italic;">A Sliver of Time

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Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers

“I don’t understand!” wails Bran. “Are you saying that every time I
make a choice I’m creating another universe?”



“Broadly speaking, yes,” I say.



“But I don’t even know what to do in this one! I can’t be responsible
for more.”



“Ah, but you’re not,” I say. “These realities are separate from you.
They cast their own shadows, live out their own spans.”



Bran closes his eyes. “I need to think about this,” he says.



While Bran ponders the meaning of life, I look deeper into these
Slivers. It seems that with the sundering of the Ward, some of these
timestreams are threatening to break down, to spill their battles and
events into our own reality. Needless to say, this is not desirable.
But at the same time, there is scope for much research here. Having
access to these Slivers means that the Ascended can view alternate
worlds where the Dragon Cults’ were victorious in the war of the rifts.
Both Guardians and Defiant want to use these Slivers to investigate
these alternate worlds, to prevent them from repeating their triumphs
in our Telara.



Bran’s eyes snap open. “You say I create these alternate worlds with
every decision I make?”



“Y-e-s,” I say.



“That every choice I make brings into being an entire universe similar
to our own?”



“I suppose,” I reluctantly agree.



Bran holds his hands up and stares at them in awe. “I am a God,” he
says reverently.



“Ah. No,” I quickly say, trying to stem this flow of thought before it
gets out of control. “You do not control these events. Or consciously
create them. You are not a god.”



“I think I’ll got and buy some food,” says Bran. He stares at me
expectantly.



“Very good,” I say. “Off you go then.”



“I already have!” he says gleefully. “In the alternate timestream. Now
I don’t have to bother. I’ll never have to eat again!”



“I fear you’ve misunderstood a fundamental point here,” I say.



But Bran does not listen. Instead he gets up and wanders into the
woods. Best just leave him. Hopefully he’ll get bored soon enough and
forget about it.



But forgetting about these Slivers is not something the Ascended plan
on doing. The Guardians think they have been granted access to them by
the Vigil for a higher purpose, while the Defiant think they are
chaotic temporal anomalies that must be studied. I do not know which
side is right, but the Slivers are certainly important sources of
infor-mation that must be studied.




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alt="Rhamm Dragonbane"
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style="font-style: italic;"> Inside an Alternate Reality

Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers

Using differing techniques (the Vigil has granted their Guardians a
talent called Omen Sight, while Defiant researchers have developed a
similar method called Quantum Sight), the Ascended can now see into
some of these alternate realities, and can study them for help on how
to defeat the Blood Storm. As of yet, there are only three Slivers
stable enough to investigate, and they are so dangerous they can only
be accessed by a minimum of ten fearsome Ascended. (Because although
these Slivers open into different places and times, they are very, very
real. Wounds given and received in these alternate worlds will most
definitely carry through into our own reality.)



“Hahaah!” I hear Bran shout from within the forest. “A God, I say!”



Oh dear.



One of the Slivers opens into the ancient Eth Empire. Here Eth priests
were preparing to summon Titan slaves to do their bidding. But
something went wrong and a gate through to the Plane of Fire was opened
instead. Flames swept across Stonefield, warping the sorcerer-priests
and turning High Priest Arakhurn into a raging phoenix. The Ascended
must stop Arakhurn before he spills through into our time.


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alt="Rhamm Dragonbane"
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style="text-align: center;" align="center"> style="">High Priest Arakhurn

Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift
Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers Rift Slivers

In the second timestream, agents of the Golden Maw have captured a
powerful artifact they will use to revive Laethys. The Ascended want to
travel here to discover where this relic is to be found, hoping they
can capture it in our own Telara and thus keeping it out of the
clutches of our own Golden Maw.



The third Sliver is the most terrifying. In it Telara has already
fallen to mad Akylios. Hydriss, the profane dragon’s
sorceress-lieutenant, has discovered the Slivers for himself and is
planning to lead an army through to invade our time. Obviously she must
be stopped. I understand that this timestream is a priority among the
Ascended, and that even now they are massing their best fighters to
push Hydriss and her army back.



I look toward the forest and see Bran fall straight out of a tree and
land on his face. I rush over to him to see if he is all right.



“What are you doing?” I exclaim.



He grins up at me. “I’ve always wanted to fly. Now in one of those
other universes I’m soaring through the air. Amazing.”



I sigh. It looks as though it might be harder to make him forget this
than I initially thought.



The Story So
Far:
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week1">Part
1
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week2">Part
2
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week3">Part
3
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week4">Part
4
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week5">Part
5
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week6">Part
6
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week7">Part
7
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week8">Part
8
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week9">Part
9
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week10">Part
10
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week11">Part
11
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week12">Part
12
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week13">Part
13
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week14">Part
14


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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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