Brent Stinebaker
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35-22 Strix Ops (I)
🕑 Added 2025-05-20 08:43:14 +0000 UTC+People of This Place Above. This is the Strix. Look above you. Look. Watch as day surrenders to night prematurely. Watch.
There is a war being waged. A battle being fought. That which has given you light for so long is now threatened. For eons it has protected you. For eons it has been here. And now it is on the verge of betraying you. Or being destroyed.
There is much you do not know. Much you still don’t understand. I will show you everything in time. But right now I need you. You are the daughters of time broken. Daughters of the cycle. Daughters of an old legacy. Old war.
A bullet was fired into you before your ancestors existed. Your fate was sealed long before Idheim was. Sealed. Until now. Those of you here must feel it. The weight of my presence. The passing of the awakened dragon gliding through you. The plague you carry was but an expression of time. Your flesh was matter unmastered—destined to be a new alloy.
An alloy for time itself.
Now. Now I free you. Now I rip the plague from you. Now I say that boys will be born to you. That you will no longer be captured by the cycle. That the circle of your existence becomes a path leading onward into a future unfinished.
And it is the future I wish to speak with you about. There are others like you still fighting a war—a war to recreate existence. But I can give you what you want right now. I can give you what was taken for so long. Do you still wish to boil your lives after this? Do you still wish to bind yourself to semi-slavery—to live by the norms and traditions of a Guild?
Will not judge you if you do. Don’t even particularly despise the idea of the No-Dragons itself. But a new truth arises: Freedom looms. Freedom from the curse. Freedom from your fate. Freedom. But not absolute.
I give you this freedom with only one cost and one request. I need your beings to constitute this place of time—This Place Above. And ask you to join me. Join me in taking the Ladder. Join me in seeing utopia as the farce it is.
My speech will not end with a lie or false promises. There will be war in time between me and you. This is inevitable. My wants and interests are far different than most of yours. I have glimpsed your natures from your minds. But there’s no need to fear death at my hands. Not so kind. Not so cruel.
I only promise you freedom. Absolute freedom. More freedom than you can fathom. And it is a freedom that I will always hold to—but not others.
Should I fall, the curse will return. Your lives will snap back to old arrangements. Old wars. And should you fail, someone else will rule over your dawn, your future, your history.
Consider this: the Strix or the cycle. There is no need to tell me your answer. You will think. And then I will know thereafter.+
-Thoughtcast from Avo, The Strix of the Symmetry, to the people within This Place Above (Assumed to be his Dimension of Time)
35-22
Strix Ops (I)
—[Avo, The Hidden Flame]—
“When this began, I assumed I was going to be the one that pulled your strings. Did you know that?” Green River spoke evenly, but her thoughtstuff resembled turbulent waves crashing down in surges of chaos. She was terrified, confused, but ultimately, she was here. He hadn’t needed to coerce or convince her. He called. She answered. A good development in their relationship.
Of course, that didn’t mean he liked her anymore than he used to.
“Just wanted to eat your eyes when this began,” Avo said. Thin tendrils of thinking flame retracted from the base of the Sang’s skull. He just finished infusing her with all the nodes she would need after installing a personal exo-cortex. He was currently doing the same for all the other Sang who came with her—while working on Dice as well.
Lucky was proving to be a harder task, as the nu-cat constantly battled at Avo’s mind and wouldn’t stop jumping from place to place using their Micemaker Heaven. It seemed that despite their uplifting, the cat still desired little more than to remain a cat. Far be it for Avo to judge them—but still, he was allowed to complain.
“How strange our paths in life, hm, Avo?” Green River sighed. She drifted in this expanse of fire, running her hands through the Conflagration, marveling and flinching at the rushing flames that simply parted before her touch. “I had so many expectations—so many futures I envisioned. Returning to my position among the Politburo. Becoming a Dowager and taking revenge. Reclaiming my Frame.”
“Got some of that back. Not sure what the Politburo thinks of me as a whole.”
“You’ll have to ask Brilliant Orchard for that,” Green River muttered casually. She couldn’t hide her grin—she knew what she was doing. Not far away, the Sang Dowager—once peer and rival to Green River—jerked in fright. “What?” She called out. “I—the politburo has nothing against you, oh, Exalted Dreamer. We—the No-Dragons would be immensely pleased to discuss terms of alliance and non-aggression—”
“No need for that yet. No need for that at all. Will matter in due time. Not now. Now we fight for everyone’s survival. For us to have a choice in what follows at all.” His Soul loomed closer to the Dowager—to all the Sang—and they quailed as they beheld his inner form. The lattice of interwoven dragons cupping his leaking Soulfire was a sight to behold. Pair that with how Akusande was circling the periphery of his being, and there was little wonder why they felt so boxed in, like prey in a cage. “Regardless. Have my appreciation for answering my call. Suspect more of your people will be joining this cause once I finish my speech.”
“Speech?” Green River asked.
Avo chuckled, but didn’t elaborate. The Dowager and other political operatives didn’t need to know about what he was doing—how he was sowing the seeds of fragmentation among the Sang. When he plucked the curse from them, their unifying cultural mythos disintegrated. They haven’t had enough time to examine what was lost yet, but the fracturing was all but inevitable now. Soon, there would be schisms among the Dowagers, and when it came time, Avo wanted more of them to land on the right side.
Alongside the Symmetry.
“Finished installing my nodes inside you. Don’t worry about these taking hold of your mind: Not what they’re for. Mostly to guide and optimize your cognition. Makes memory perfect. Prevents mental intrusions as well. But you are in command. Will also give you intelligence updates and advice on how to proceed when the run begins.”
“That all sounds nice and appealing. And also quite dubious.” Green River clicked her tongue while keeping her dread in check. Avo always thought she was a bit more audacious compared to your standard Sang, and never before had that been so apparent than the contrast between her and her kindred right then. “You must understand how this seems, considering I came to a similar agreement with your progenitor all those years before.”
+Yes. But the difference between me and my son is that subterfuge was my primary—and often times only means. He does not need subterfuge to make you do as he wills. Your continued autonomy is a choice on his part.+
The sudden manifestation of Walton right beside Green River finally cracked the Sang’s blasé demeanor. She let out a string of curses and twisted back—only to realize that nothing was happening. After a few moments of hyperventilation, she sneered. “Ah. Defiance. Or a shadow of you. Not so good to see you again.”
Walton just smiled calmly, as he often did. +I’m sorry you feel that way about me. But it was necessary at the time. As were you. And as are you right now.+
“He is also not wrong,” Avo said, continuing off of his father’s prior point. “You can’t stop me from taking your minds. From overloading you with Rend. From breaking you with causality. Or with time. Would describe you as at my mercy in most situations. Except it doesn’t fit in the end. Not philosophically.”
“Philosophically?” Brilliant Orchard mouthed, unable to comprehend what was happening anymore.
“Not interested in slaves. But operatives. Besides the point as well. We are bound together. Your flesh is the means to the restoration of time. Have already infused parts of you inside my Beloved—but I don’t have Godclads to spare—no one else capable of venturing into the new Sunderwilds in the Tiers and accessing the Deep Ones now that the Ashbringer has banished me.”
And there was something that left Avo confused. The Ashbringer’s actions were paradoxical at times. Some things were undoubtedly helpful, while others were immensely harmful. If the Pathborn was subverted from the start, he would have directly interfaced with Avo’s mind and they would have schemed together. Created a plot to capture the Infacer. Instead, Walton’s liberation and Avo’s emergence from the virus felt spontaneous to some extent.
That didn’t bode well about how much control his original self held within the Dyad.
“So we’re being deployed into that hellpit?” Green River sighed as she massaged her temples. “Of course. You call on my services, but it is not for some intellectual task or political advice. Instead, you send me and the rest of the expendable sows into a suicide mission to secure your prizes. I feel like a mule...”
“Already have a version of you in my head. She complains constantly too. Not that helpful.” This earned him a glare from Green River. “But there is no one else I can trust on hand. No Godclads that can respond immediately.” This was a partial lie, as he still had Cas and the Paladins, but it was best not to risk all his resources in case this run went wrong. “Which is why I need you. You. To strike now before the Dyad or whatever other contingencies the Infacer has.”
“We’ll get the Deep Ones back,” Dice said, breaking her long silence with a casual statement. The girl was… happy, to some extent. Happy to be back with Avo. She told him mentally about her experiences, and though Avo was pleased she remained unharmed after his shattering, he found himself worried about Essus. Of everyone from the original cadre, the former refugee was the least inclined toward violence and the harshness of their world.
“I know. Trust you. Not sure about Lucky though…” The cat was bursting out from spatial gaps using their Micemaker, clawing at Avo’s Soul like it was a ball of yarn to be batted. The Hidden Flame took the opportunity to finish installing his node in the cat as well.
+Ugly thing. Ugly ball!+ Lucky hissed at Avo.
“Is that thing going with us?” Brilliant Orchard asked, eyeing the cat warily. “What even is it?”
“Was a cat. Now just a half-strand.”
+You’re a strand!+ The nu-cat switched limbs and started battling at Avo’s Soul using their other paw instead. The gathered Sang Godclads stared on, all of them at a loss for words.
“How did you manage to graft a Liminal Frame onto a cat?” Green River whispered.
“Easily at first. Regrettably thereafter. But trust in the cat. Won’t eat you. Shouldn’t as long as Dice doesn’t tell it to.” Dice turned her triangular head module at the Sang and waved awkwardly. Green River hesitantly waved back. “Between my node and the cat’s Heaven… should be able to help you maneuver through the Ruptures.”
“Should?” Brilliant Orchard chirped.
“Nothing promised. Existence could collapse at any time. Everything Rupture. Everyone dies. Forever. There is already a possibility. The tapestry is quite frayed.” A heavy silence followed. “Don’t worry about that existential crisis. Just focus on the Deep Ones. Nodes will do the work so long as you can reach the remaining ones. Will pull them across time using you as anchors.”
“Didn’t you say one is latched onto this dimension?” Green River asked. “The Deep One of Time? What shall we do there?”
“You won’t. Woundmother will resolve that. Made her governess of This Place Above for that reason.”
And from someplace paradoxically near and far, a loud declaration followed. “Release your festering limbs from my glorious precipice, you broken, ruined creature! Taint another’s tower with your rubble.”
A crackle of lightning sounded. The entire realm shuddered and stuttered like a mind lobby reaching maximum memory.
“Might provide some assistance myself if necessary,” Avo grunted.
“And what about the Nullstar?” Dice asked. “Calvino said the others are trapped there. Draus is trapped there.”
Avo understood what the girl wanted. She would do what he asked of her—despite his best efforts, he wasn’t fully able to stop her from imprinting onto him. But what she really wanted was to go help the Regular. This was why he answered her true question directly. “Would send you if it was actually effective. But won’t be. Nullstar is a prison for things like us. Godclads. Pure divines. Even I would be caged easily. Might be worse for me. Might be destroyed outright.”
“Then… what are we going to do?” Dice asked, an uncharacteristic hint of worry slipping into her voice. “If even you don’t know…”
“Didn’t say I don’t know. Said things like us couldn’t go. Techplaguer isn’t like me or you. Neither is Akusande.” And finally, the dragon drew closer, approaching the triangular shape of the Techplaguer that was rapidly rattling off incoherent signals in the distance. “One is twice-compromised. Perfect for this action. Perfect for use against Infacer. The other is something that no one trapped within the Nullstar will see coming. Not even the Nullstar itself. Wouldn’t you agree, Akusande?”
The dragon slithered around the God of Signals, and slowly began to sink into their body. +A service for a service. I will see this done. The reconstruction will not be halted. Not even by the wardens of the divine.+
And so, everything was coming into shape. Hopefully. Possibly.
Truth be told, Avo was a bit worried about circumstances as well. There were already too many surprises, and with what was about to happen with the Dyad—he was going to need everyone in place to deal with that. The simulations playing in the backdrop of his mind showed countless possibilities of what the union between him and Veylis might become.
Some outcomes were good. Idyllic for him, even. Those were situations where he outright dominated and won the Embracement. But Avo estimated that outcome to be lower than Veylis choosing to change her mind and philosophy without external coercion.
Also, living on Idheim taught one to expect the nightmarish—only to be horrified further regardless.
He was going to need to contact the Paladins and his other assets. Cas especially. It would take a bit to reach everyone, with Chambers currently missing in action.
Avo winced. Chambers. Avo was the main reason the Lovebringer was trapped within the Nullstar. Chambers should have listened. And Avo should have protected himself better. He couldn’t keep having Chambers risk himself like this. He mattered more to the stability of the world as a whole.
And… Avo really didn’t want to see the man dead. Backups were one thing, but death was still death.
AMNI[ERROR]TECH IMPLANTS INSTALLED
ALL NODES INSTALLED
TEMPORAL ANCHORS PRIMED
It was time. The moment for worry and thinking was done. Now, praxis would decide what happened.
“Installations complete. You are all cleared for operations. Will be with you. Nodes and implants will let you stay connected to each other and to me. Prepare yourselves for transition.”
“Wait!” Green River called out. Avo hesitated. The Sang swallowed. “Promise me one thing if I die… no, two things.”
“Hm. Tell me.”
“First: Do not let Bright-Wealth gamble away the Second Fortune. That place… it was my prison, my exile, but still a place of sanctuary for many. Do not let it fall.”
“Hm. Agreeable. And.”
“And kill Brilliant Orchard if I do die. Do it horribly.”
“What?” Brilliant Orchard paled.
“I hated you. I’ve always hated you. I was always going to murder you with my hands.” The words left Green River in a seething outpouring of rage. After which she sighed. “Gods, it feels good to speak honestly for once.”
Brilliant Orchard blinked. “I—”
Avo grunted. “Not that interested in your feud. Or internal Sang politics. Will consider it if she annoys me. Not that it matters. All the other Sang here were planning to kill her too. Some on during this run.”
“What?” the Dowager repeated, her fear spiking. Slowly, she looked at all the others.
And that was the problem with existing in a low-trust culture while not being an Overheaven of Conceptualization—there were just so many schemes.
