abraxasnet | to: everyone

to: everyone

Hey there, everyone. My name is Steve Rogers and I'm one of the people most recently summoned to the Free Cities. I'm also a good friend of Sam Wilson's — we've worked together for a number of years. I know he's made quite the name for himself here.

I've only been here for a little over a month, but in that time I've noticed a sudden increase in military activity within Cadens. There's increased drills and training exercises, equipment moving in and out, that kind of thing. I went by Fort Wilbridge and tried to ask some questions, but all they really had to say was that they were acting out of an abundance of caution. Almost like they're expecting something.

It seems suspicious, so I was wondering if anyone else has noticed a change in how the factions are behaving, whether it's something I haven't picked up on in Cadens or something going on in Thorne or Solvunn. I figure it might be a good idea to compare notes so we won't be completely blindsided if something else is coming our way.

That's all I've got for now, but it's nice to meet you all. In a manner of speaking, anyway.

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I'm pretty sure all, or at least most, of the ones who're left were upstairs to begin with, so they were already being treated nice. But there's only a few. The rest were all brought after we escaped, and Thorne has always been good to them.

They don't work or anything, unless they want to. The only people left that I know personally are there more because they think it gives them a better chance to study the Singularity.

[ Steve still can't imagine choosing to stay in a place where other people had been locked up for no good reason, but maybe they had some other good justification for it. ]

I also gather that it's not usually that easy to cross the borders, even if they wanted to. For the newer arrivals, I mean.

And yeah, it makes sense to have people in all corners of the continent so we can keep an eye on things. Especially the Singularity.

[ No doubt that's why Strange is there. ]

As far as I know, there's only three Summoned who've crossed the border outside of the jailbreak, and all three did it from outside Castle Thorne. The newer folks don't have a prayer at it. The crown won't give them freedom or money they'd need.

The original portals, how Sam and the others got here, were a fluke. Like friendly terrorists or something, I guess.

So they're stuck there whether they like it or not.

Friendly terrorists? How much do you know about them?

Pretty much. I mean, it's probably not impossible to get out, but it's close. Thorne can track any of their Summoned as long as they're inside the kingdom borders, so even just escaping from the castle isn't enough. There's only three other big-ish cities in Thorne, and two of them would just cart any runaways right back to the castle.

Uh, pretty much nothing. I know the guy's name is Oliver. He had a woman with him. And I know that they're able to do magic bigger than anything else I've ever even heard of here. They froze all of the natives in Thorne for an hour, and they broke through the wards in the dungeons to open portals and let us out. I heard once that he can get close to the Singularity, too. Way closer than any native should be able to. But I think that's pretty much all anyone knows.

How do they track them?

That sounds like some pretty intense firepower. [ Freezing everyone in an entire kingdom for an hour? Steve doesn't think he's seen anything of quite that magnitude. ] There's been no sign of them since then?

What do you think? Magic, of course. I don't know that anyone has worked out exactly how the trackers work though.

Not a hair. But there's other places in Abraxas besides Thorne, Solvunn and the Cities, you know. They could be anywhere.

Not an easy spell to undo, huh?

[ Not that Steve understands much about that sort of thing. He'll need to check in with Strange on that, though he's also pretty sure Sam would have already discussed it with him. ]

True. I know that there's been some recent visitors from places further afield.

Well, we don't even know exactly what kind of tracker it is, so it's kinda like picking a lock you can't see. Plus, the trackers that Cadens and Solvunn are probably using aren't gonna be the same thing, so. Three different invisible locks to pick.

[ She honestly can't imagine that Cadens in particular is letting their Summoned wander around unmarked. Solvunn might be slightly more lenient, but she still doubts it. ]

Yeah, that shit's REAL new. From what I can tell, the vampires and werewolves almost always stay holed up in Nocwich. So who knows what that shit means.

Sounds like we need to figure out a way to make them visible, but magic isn't really my forte. Do you know for sure we're being tracked here too, or are you assuming that's the case?

Vampires and werewolves are one of the few things that stayed the stuff of fiction, back home. Either way, it just feels like another sign that we're on the verge of something.

My world didn't have magic at all, so I'm not the one to ask either. I mean, damn, I already got two from your world trying to help me.

No one official's said so, but come on. They brought y'all in to enlist you, and then they just let you go? Seems like they'd keep a closer eye if they couldn't hunt y'all down at any second. Plus, the government folks around here never seem to have any trouble finding us when they need to. [ Those weird slips that kept showing up come to mind. Julie had roundly refused to return them, and would not so much as open the door when someone came around for her signature. ]

Nah, the vampires and werewolves probably don't mean as much as we think. They were here long before any Summoned. And I know that there's always been a little bit of trade or whatever with them. They just usually prefer to keep to themselves.

Two?

[ Sam must be one, but Steve's curious as to who else. ]

Yeah, it's a fair assumption to make. Summoning people with a variety of abilities and power into your world and then letting them run free would be pretty irresponsible.

[ Of course, they shouldn't have brought them here in the first place. But that goes without saying. ]

Maybe you're right, but the timing just feels off. Why are they choosing to show themselves now of all times?

Well, yeah. I mean, my situation is kinda different from pretty much everyone else's, so I need as much help as I can get.

[ She does not realize that he's lost the thread about magic. Julie has, via sheer persistence and willpower, essentially press-ganged several people into helping her figure out her magic. Strange had been the first to pick up on the fact that Julie's magic doesn't function much like the Academic magic the others study, and had then directed her to Wanda for better instruction. What Wanda lacks in resources like books, Strange seems to have. ]

I mean, I'm sure we have something to do with it. Like if America found out China was playing host for aliens, they would reach out and be like "hey maybe we can meet them too?". But I do think trade in general is probably playing a big part in it. Gold glitters all the same across the map.

Different how?

[ Once she explains, the thread will likely be picked up again. Steve just tends to assume Sam is helping pretty much everyone, and Nadine is clearly a friend of his. It stands to reason Julie is too. ]

True, but some of you have been here for about a year now, right? Maybe it does have more to do with trade, then.

[ But he isn't completely letting go of the possibility that the potential onset of war is a factor too. ]

Well, like... I guess I don't really know the right words for it. My magic ain't like the normal magic in Abraxas, not really. But my world didn't have any magic, so I never knew about it. Wanda's been a lot of help, hers is closest to mine. Stephen usually has books that can sorta fill in the gaps.

[ Which is not to say that Sam hasn't helped; Sam pretty much adopted her almost a year ago. But he's not much assistance when it comes to matters of magic. ]

Sure, but I doubt we're gonna get a straight answer out of anyone. I mean, the Nocwich critters don't seem to snack on regular folks too much, so I don't know if they're the biggest worry right now.

They're some of the two best people to ask, so you're in good hands.

[ If it comes up, Steve will probably just ask Wanda for more details about this. He's curious, but much like Julie, his understanding of magic is pretty limited to start with. ]

Maybe not. I just don't want to get blindsided.

[ And they did apparently make a request for their blood, which Steve doesn't find particularly encouraging. ]

Well, it ain't like they haven't summoned vampires. We've had vampires around since damn near the start of this whole thing. Not sure about werewolves, but that's just two sides of the same coin. At least according to HBO.

[ Which is, of course, where all the most reputable information regarding supernatural beings would be obtained from. ]

I think there's fairies around in this world too. These little girls from Solvunn kept saying I look like one, back during the summit we had. But they kept laughing and saying I wouldn't eat them, so... probably those are the ones to watch out for.

That's news to me. Good to know. I assume... they have things covered? With the whole blood drinking thing.

[ Steve's not sure if fairies sound even more ridiculous when compared to vampires and werewolves. It's hard to be fazed by anything anymore. ]

It's always the ones you least expect, right?

Well, I can't say I ever had "cannibal Tinkerbells" on my Weird Shit bingo card, but honestly, I think it could be worse. I haven't heard of the fairies leaving the place they're supposed to live, so I think we're safe.

At least we're not getting attacked by all these creatures.

Yeah, that's good. There's still no telling if that might change, but it's one less thing to worry about, so I'll take it.

I appreciate all the information, by the way.

[ She took time out of her day to go through all of this with him, when she didn't have to do that. ]

It's not a problem. You're with Sam. He'd've told you all this anyway.

[ While she never met him the other times he was here, she is aware of how excited Sam had been. She knows they're close. ]

True. But you telling me takes some of the weight off of him, and I think he needs that.

There's one other thing I wanted to ask you, since it came up in another conversation.

Sure. What do you need to know?

Is it true that you have reason to believe that if we try to get back home, that it's going to cause this world to cease to exist?

Edited 2022-07-30 20:54 (UTC)

[ There's a pretty lengthy pause before she answers. Like she is very carefully considering her wording. ]

If you're asking for proof that will happen, I don't have it. I believe that the Singularity could start pushing back at everyone using it like a plaything. I believe that if something happens to the Singularity, it will probably be real bad news for this world. For all worlds, maybe.

Playing God with things like this just makes God angry. And the Singularity is damn near close to God.

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