Same book, Different Cover

[MP]

Sarkany stared evenly between the two sketches as the page flipped. He glanced up at Casmir, wondering if the dire image was always how the hunter saw the world.

"That's a little dramatic," he said. "But yes, there will be small differences. A different step taken. Left instead of right. But you shades don't diverge as much as you might think, when conditions are the same. You act on the same nature, use the same logic, respond to the same stimuli. Most versions end up almost identical to one another. For example -"

He took the paper from Casmir, flipping it to the original side. Showing Sjira as he was.

"A child will develop the same fears if he loses his family to one band of blood mages versus another. He'll look for the same prey as he did before. Think to the same hiding places. The same goes for all of you. With firsthand memories of both the ritual day and the temple, we can recreate the conditions that made you very closely. Atol's lifelong isolation will make that a great deal easier."

Sarkany shrugged. He could see the skepticism in Casmir's eyes, but there was only so much you could explain of time travel to one who had never seen it practiced.

"But no, hunter. If you're asking if I can track the outcome of every change, of course not. I'm a Walker, not a seer. I can make an educated guess at the finer results. I can predict from patterns and persons I've seen before. But what it comes down to is controlled risk. The price of inaction is higher than the price of whatever you gain or lose. It's a gamble the WDSA thinks acceptable."

[luscen]

Shades, again. Casmir shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to process what the other man was telling him. That Sarkany had done his due diligence, the Hunter was quite sure of. That had never been in doubt. But no matter how many times the surgeon swore that he was a professional, it was the person going under the knife that was the most at risk, not the one one holding it.

"This explains why Delphi's been pulling so many tomes out of her library," the blonde commented, more to himself than to Sarkany. "She's gotten bags under all four of her eyes from all the reading. How is this going to affect her?" 

'It won't' the dryder chimed in. 'I mean, it will, but not in the same way you'd be. For me, it's basically just seeing a different Pattern overlaid above the original one, which I'd never tried to do, before now. The Seers, they-'

"Delphi..." Casmir interjected calmly. "Are you going to be alright, or not?"

'Yes,' came the confident reply in his head. 'Definitely yes. Well, mostly yes. I had to help Sarkany by trailing Sjira's thread back to the point where he met the three of them, to make sure everything is as precise as we can possibly get it. But I'll be fine, given my relationship with the Pattern.'

"Precise," the Hunter replied dourly, giving the golden-eyed man a look. "Right."

[MP]

"Her kind will be resistant to any changes I could make. Meeting her again, even if your own trajectory shifts, won't be a problem."

Sarkany returned Casmir's stare, direct and unflinching.

"Does that satisfy your concerns?"

[luscen]

"No," Casmir replied matter-of-factly. "But I suppose it'll have to do." The Hunter wasn't being rude, rather the amount of concerns a person like him had - particularly in regards to something like this - simply couldn't be satisfied. There was, as the saying went, always something else waiting over the horizon.

"Are you looking to handle this in one fell swoop, or are you going by appointments?" Casmir asked, folding his arms over his chest and  leaning back against the table, legs crossed at the ankle. Despite his wariness, he was concerned for the Sarkany- he was Sjira's father, after all. And Delphi liked him. Not to mention it would be a shame to see someone as talented at what he did sit and stew in a bed for over-taxing himself. To the Hunter it would be utterly galling. 

[MP]

"Only one appointment. Every fold will be handled together at one location." Sarkany gestured vaguely to the hallway. "The agents will gather everyone in a single room - Delphi included - where you'll stay until the procedure is finished."

Sarkany spoke as if the matter were already settled. After all, he'd warned the WDSA and the spider as much.

"This kind of undertaking is normally handled by multiple Guardians together. Without their support structures, I don't have room for exceptions. I need to be aware of any custom requests as soon as possible, and anyone late or missing will be left behind. There will be no second fold."

[luscen]

The Hunter considered the implications. What would security be like? The Soundless had been properly routed, given the raid on Sidelis and the fall of their leaders. Their Goddess was also no longer in their custody, so any chance they might strike back was low. Still, what about other factions? Perhaps they were tending to the damage the Warp had caused in their own fashion. Perhaps they wouldn’t attack the WDSA while it was compromised. The Hunter, however, didn’t like to put his faith in hypotheticals.

Then there was the more immediate matter- no Atol meant that there would be no Soundless. Not in the same capacity, anyway. The Magus wouldn't be there, even though the cult had to be present to deal with Sjira's family. The Hunter spared a thought for the dragonling, wondering how he was dealing with the knowledge that he was basically consigning them, as well as his younger self, to the same suffering...

No, best not to think about that. Sarkany had said that he'd already discussed all this with Sjira, and that the youth had consented to the plan. As such, Sjira likely neither needed nor wanted any sympathy or concern from the Hunter. That matter was his business, alone. 

But the thing that was truly bothering Casmir was: where would this leave him? Sarkany said that "shades didn't diverge much, when conditions were the same" and yet what would his conditions be? Because of Atol, he’d met Roland and Verdandi and Delphi. Because of Atol, he'd came to Wathais, met Sjira, Sarkany, Rhys.

Because of Atol, he’d met and fallen in love with Sara.

Those who'd been involved in all of this Warp business had elected to keep their memories, it sounded like. They would remember Casmir, but what if he came to after the fold and wasn't a Hunter? What if he'd never been abducted? What if he had a life where his brother and mother were alive? Where he'd settled down, had a family? Or what if he'd simply had some horrible accident, and was either dead or a vegetable? Would they be waiting on him? Would they try to find them?

'What about Sara?' came the thought, accompanied by an ache in his breast. Would she remember him? It was a foolish question- of course she would. But should she? Forgetting him would free her of any guilt she might have regarding her feelings for him, while still with Telmore. But could Casmir bring himself to convince her to do this? He didn’t know.

And, all this aside, what did he want? If he woke up and was "normal," did he want to remember all of these things? All of this pain and guilt he'd been subjected to? All the lives he’d taken, the lives he’d failed to save? This might be his only chance to start over. To have a new life. 

Casmir's eyes closed, and he took a low, quiet breath to clear his mind. When he opened them, he looked up at Sarkany.

"When is it?"

[MP]

Sarkany waited patiently, leaning easily on his crutch. Most people took time to think over their options - some as long as days - and he preferred it that way. It was the ones who accepted instantly that concerned him. Often that was a sign of thoughtlessness or - worse - self-interest. He'd seen all too many who saw a fold as an opportunity to twist events in their favor. Erased regrets or a comfier position. Diversions that couldn't be accommodated in the greater scheme of things. Some of that, he supposed also passed behind the hunter's closed eyes.

"Three weeks," he said. "Enough for the WDSA to finish reviewing the expected results. But if you have a custom request, some concern about your trajectory, I need to hear about it in one, so I can adjust the fold properly."

[luscen]

Casmir looked at the other man with an intensity that bordered the uncanny. The quiet creak of leather could be heard, as his gloved hands tightened their grip upon his upper arms.

’A chance to start over again,’ he thought again. Things could be different. Things could be better. He could put all of this behind him, bury it in the past, wake up a new man, with a new life.

Except… he knew he couldn’t. Even if Sarkany were right, even if Casmir wouldn’t remember it, he’d still know. Choosing to accept the loss of this life, of everything that had come from it, would mean running away from everything, good and bad. Of choosing to live in blissful ignorance when you could have made a difference.

Casmir had almost given up, once. He refused to ever entertain the thought again.

“A succubus had taken my brother and I,” he said, his gaze going distant. “We were given to Atol’s cult. I found out, later, that he’d led Roland there, had known about my escape, about Szymon’s sacrificing himself to give me a chance to get away. He’d assumed a persona, Faulkner the half-elf. He helped raise me, taught me." There was a moment, briefly, where the blonde's voice warmed, slightly. But his thoughts of Atol's betrayal, his manipulation, the truth that everything he'd believed about Faulker had been a lie, turned his gaze to ice, a pitch-black coal of hatred smoldering within him.

"He trained me to be his goddess catcher," Casmir said quietly, looking through Sarkany. "He told me all this before he murdered Sjira.”

[MP]

Sarkany tipped his head as he listened. That was news to him. The hunter had been a self-professed expert on the Soundless, and essential to the Sidelis effort. All by Atol's doing? That was a concern to be looked over later. He'd need to mention it to the WDSA as well, to compare to their current projections.

"Do you expect problems?" he asked. "The loss of Faulkner's teachings?"

[luscen]

Casmir didn't reply immediately. His thoughts, much as they often had when considering Faulkner, cycled around and around, like clothes tumbling in a dryer. He'd spent many sleepless nights after that going over his memories, trying to recall every scrap of information, every detail. He'd spoken to Roland about what he knew about the half-elf, and when the Old Bear had learned why, he hadn't been very pleased. Verdandi, for her part, hadn't exactly seemed surprised- she'd said there was always something peculiar about the man. Something, she said, about his "aura." But she'd had her own matters to tend to, and he'd never shown any signs of duplicity that she could discern. 

The Hunter had even turned to Delphi, asking her to show him his Thread from that period. It had been a way, he thought, to examine his past with a more objective lens. Except... even though Delphi was capable of showing Casmir those years, they'd found that the image of Faulker was obscured, the man little more than a smoky silhouette. Much like Atol had always appeared in those rare moments they found someone who'd seen him, or where he'd been present when examining the various interconnected threads. A confirmation, to be sure, but it had been the only one that would have given the proverbial game away. Nothing else Casmir had uncovered would have ever suggested that the kind, quiet naturalist and doctor who had helped raised him was also a cruel, vicious, psychotic cult leader. 

"You say that I'll still have my old memories, if I choose to keep them," the scarred man said finally, his gaze coming back from his reverie and focusing back on Sarkany. "When this 'fold' happens, yes?" He shrugged, slightly. "If so, then... no. I honestly don't know what to expect- I could come to as a civilian or six feet under the ground. But if you're right, if I don't diverge as a 'shade' all that much, then I'll still learn from my other teachers, and I'll still retain... everything else... when I come out on the other side. Won't I?" 

[MP]

"Everything before the fold, Faulkner included, will be as clear as your memories now. And anything new. You might even gain new skills," Sarkany said, folding his arms. "I can at least guarantee you won't be six feet underground. Knowledge of Sidelis won't be any good if half of you turn up in graves when this is done, hm?"

One corner of his mouth quirked in a smile. This wasn't the most stubborn case he'd worked with, but the hunter's suspicion might prove problematic if he tried to overcorrect for the implanted memories.

"These alterations are tailored to land you all where you are today," he said. "Once they take effect, just follow your instincts and try not to overthink it. The memories will fall into place naturally. I've undergone many folds, and I promise you-" The seraph tapped his temple. "There's no harm done."

[luscen]

"Mm," Casmir replied with a grunt. He supposed that the golden-eyed assassin had a point- if events of this venture led to people being dead after the fact, it was hardly worth the effort. Undoing the scope of the damage left in the Warp's wake may have been the primary purpose behind instigating the fold, but if the Soundless was still a risk... 

The thought gave the Hunter a brief pause. "One last issue," he said, tilting his head slightly at Sarkany. "Given the way you're going about with regards to all this, you're making sure you maintain as much of the original sequence of events as you can get." The question wasn't hostile, but inquisitive, suitable to someone looking at a puzzle and trying to put the last few pieces in the correct order.

"That's no small matter," Casmir continue, frowning in thought. "Given everyone involved. And yet, you'd have us around as contingencies? Will the Soundless and Sidelis even still be the same after the moment with Sjira's clutch, without Atol's influence? How do you know it won't wither away, or become something radically different or more dangerous? My current knowledge may amount to next to nothing in this..." he waved his hand. "New setting." 

[MP]

"My hope is that, without an immortal herald to keep them going, the cult will just dissolve once S'khet is removed. Give or take a few generations. That would be ideal."

Sarkany shrugged.

"There is the chance it persists - maybe even to current time, given S'khet's, ah. Very direct encouragement."

His disapproval was clear in the word. Whatever he thought of Rhys now, her predecessor's fall had been more than necessary. The only shame was that the Mahu boy hadn't managed it sooner.

"But!" Sarkany said, tone brightening. "Regardless of how it changes, or what new form it takes, we'll be better informed, even with partial knowledge. We can track its historical influence and keep an eye out for methods it used originally. With Atol as our agent, we'll have a better understanding of their last known trajectory. I wasn't versed in magic or initiated enough to provide much information myself."

[luscen]

“Sure,” Casmir replied flatly, clearly not sharing the Walker’s optimism. “Assuming this whole affair isn’t like pairing an ox with a carriage, after all.”

The Hunter’s pessimistic expression didn’t linger, however. “… What will you do, if it comes to it? About Atol?”

[MP]

To this, Sarkany only shrugged.

"If our predictions are off, the trigger that brings him here can be recalled so I can adjust it. And if we're wrong entirely - if this is some ploy of the Prophet's, or the boy is too far gone - we'll have no choice but to put him down for good."