"Onestar did die, Hall. The creature, that 'Steel Shadow' as you called it, did indeed kill him."
Lord Monitor sat back in the wicker chair and took another sip of tea. Hall had brought both he and Onestar up to date on the past few days events. Onestar said nothing but swirled a biscuit in his tea. Hall poured himself another cup, dry from speaking.
"And you claim you didn't revive him?" Hall said, just to make sure he heard Lord Monitor correctly.
"I didn't."
"Perhaps, Monitor, it was time you told us therefore how I am still among the living." Onestar thought for another second. "Or am I some new form of undead who likes Maclear Tea?"
Lord Monitor sighed. "I suppose it is time you knew the whole truth, isn't it? Now that Omnispace is on the verge of destruction, I suppose I'm no longer bound to that oath, am I?"
Both men shook their heads, not knowing what the magi was meaning.
"This is another long story." Lord Monitor finished his cup and proceeded to pour another as he began. "I have already told you the truth of Sphereworld, how gods who wish to develop a following in Omnispace had to sponsor a champion there. If the champion survived the tests they planned, the god could develop a congregation."
"One god, an Oriental Deity named Hachiman desired to form a gathering of faithful on Duranus. Hachiman was presented with the rules of the contest and told he had a half-century to find, or create a sponsor. Hachiman, an honorable god, decided that there were none on Sphereworld worthy of him, so he would create a champion."
"There, he found a strong, powerful, honorable warrior named Liu Chen. He planned to have Liu Chen meet a lovely, intelligent woman named Ryu and make her his bride, figuring that their offspring would be their champion."
Onestar's mouth gaped. "My...parents. Hachiman forced my parents together?"
"There was a considerable attraction," Monitor replied. "He just helped things along. They married, and soon, Ryu was pregnant with a child. However, that child was stillborn. Liu was so despondent at the thought of losing a child, he took certain...measures to make certain he would never have another child again."
"Ouch!" Hall said. "Hachiman wasn't too thrilled with the idea, either. So, he thought of another way."
"Don't tell me," Hall commented. "Hachiman visited Sphereworld in the form of an avatar and impregnated Ryu himself."
"Hall!" Onestar interrupted. "Do you mind? This is my life you're second guessing here."
"Thank you, Onestar." Lord Monitor cleared his throat before continuing. "No, Hachiman didn't send an avatar. There were certain rules he had to follow, and he could not create a demi-god child as a champion. But the rules did permit outside help, so he sought me.
Both Onestar and Hall's eyes grew wide.
"This was about, oh, say, forty years back. I was meditating in this very same zen garden when Hachiman's avatar appeared before me. The avatar informed me of his desire to establish a following in Omnispace, and wanted my assistance, since I was the most powerful magi at the time. Still am, mind you."
"He told me what he wanted, and told me that there was no rush or anything like that. He still had some time to go before his champion had to be born, so that gave me plenty of time. I consulted tomes of ancient arcane lore, trying to determine some way to create a perfect champion. It was at that time I learned of an ancient spell primarily used in Greyspace. A spell which created an exact duplicate of the spellcaster, called a clone."
"I decided to create a clone of a perfect warrior, give it to Hachiman, and have him drop it in the middle of the chessboard, so to speak. That's when he told me the champion had to be born on Sphereworld. It made quite a mess of my plans. I had to think of something else. The clone spell was the perfect choice; I just had to think of some other way of accomplishing the means."
"After a few years of research, I devised a special version of the clone spell. It would need a small patch of skin from the donor, and from that patch, without going into too many technical terms, make a new baby from the donor's original cells. I was ready, but then I learned my intended donor had died trying to capture a dragon on Gobul. Damned adventurers. Present company excluded, of course."
"My time was running short. The spell needed a lot of preparation time and longer casting time. Then, it required me to take the new life form, transport it to Sphereworld, and place it in the woman. All that was left was a donor, but none were worthy. So I used my own skin cells. After altering some of the basic DNA."
"So what you're saying is..." Onestar whispered.
"What I am saying is I am your father, samurai." 'Father' and 'son' looked at each other for long moments, neither one knowing exactly what to say. Hall looked between the pair, trying to think of some way to break the silence. Onestar stood, turned around and stared into the sands.
"Wait a minute," the bard finally said, leaning forward. "I've got a couple observations here. First, I thought magi couldn't have children?"
"You're correct, Hall," Lord Monitor replied. "Technically, Onestar is only my son because he was created from my DNA. I didn't procreate Onestar, nor did I mate with his mother."
"That's another thing. If you're a magi, then why isn't Onestar a magi? Why is he, sorry, buddy, so completely useless around magic?"
Both Onestar and Monitor chuckled. "When I took my skin to create Onestar," Monitor replied, "I did a little magical altering. Hachiman wanted a warrior, not a wu jen. I had to make some serious alterations, but I felt that he needed an edge. Psionics aren't that common in Omnispace, Hall. There is a Psionicist's Guild, and there are many cases of Wild Talents, but have you seen anyone as powerful as him? In lieu of magical abilities, I gave him psionics and also a little trouble understanding the magical nature of things."
"That still doesn't explain why he isn't dead right now," Hall commented.
"Magi are Immortal, Hall," Onestar replied, still looking at the sands. His voice was deep and without emotion. "They cannot be killed, not even by disintegration. Somehow, they always rejuvenate and reform." The samurai turned and faced Monitor. "Does this mean I too will never die?"
"I wouldn't say that," Monitor said, leaning back in his chair. "You will age and die, but not for a long time. I didn't make you Immortal: there's a lot of pressure in living forever, and I didn't want to burden you with that. You will age, slowly, and you will die after a long and healthy life. I'd guess your lifespan will be roughly about twice that of an elf's. Oh, and you're wrong about magis. A magi can be killed, but only at the hands of another magi."
"What about Sphereworld?" Onestar inquired. His voice still showed no emotion. "I died there. Why aren't I still running around like a rat in a cage."
Monitor sighed. "Once you matured, you were set off on many quests, many times more difficult than a normal adventurer would face. Remember the Mind Flayer? The Fire Demon? Those were beset upon you by the old gods, to test you to see if Hachiman was worthy. When you died in the death trap, Hachiman was banned from Omnispace forever. The gods wanted you destroyed, but..."
"But what?" Onestar demanded. "Tell me! I have a right to know!"
"I made a deal with the old gods," Monitor replied. "I agreed to remove your memories from Sphereworld if they agreed to let you live. There was no way I'd let them destroy you. You were to valuable a cre..."
"A what? A creation? A prized possession?" Onestar began to pace, his anger rising with each passing second. "Is that all I am to you, wizard? A blue ribbon creation to be paraded around the sphere?"
"Onestar..." Hall tried to calm the samurai down.
"And now, you retreat from Omnispace when they need you the most! You give up and let those bastard old gods destroy Omni! I have no love for the place, but I won't let it be destroyed!"
"DO YOU THINK I WANT TO SEE IT GO?!" Lord Monitor yelled. "It was my home longer than it was yours! Too many of my friends are buried back there! Too many more are going to die because it has been ordained, and whether you like it or not Onestar, there are some things in this cosmos I can do nothing about!" The two men just stared at each other for a minute, neither one willing to be the first to speak.
"Well, Onestar," Hall finally said, trying to play peacemaker, "I think I see where you get your temper from." The two men separated, and it was at that moment Hall realized how much the two men looked alike. Both had dark hair (although Onestar's was longer), both had large, imposing builds, and facial features were similar. The bard wondered why he never noticed the obvious similarities until now.
"All right," Onestar finally said. "You can do nothing about Omnispace, but I'm damn willing to try."
"I know," Monitor replied, both men quickly calming down. "It's your destiny to try, and ultimately, fail."
"Would you quit telling me that," Onestar said. "You're willing to accept your fate, but I'm not."
"Suit yourself," Monitor replied. "Your ship is being restocked for the voyage. I'll use a version of the hand spell to get you to Omnispace in a matter of days. There is only one thing."
"What?" Hall and Onestar said in unison.
"I've told you your origins, but neither of you can tell anyone else. This includes Belieth and Crystal. I was bound by the old gods of Omnispace not to reveal the information, but with their passing, I could tell you. However, you must give me your word you will never tell another soul."
"Why?" Hall asked.
"Several reasons. One, I still have that spell, and if it ever got loose, it could wreak havoc across a dozen spheres. Two, Onestar holds the key in his DNA. If analyzed by a Necromancer or another Wildmage, they might be able to decipher it. And three, it would be a personal favor. For me. For old times sake."
Onestar thought for a moment. "My sudden reappearance might raise some questions."
"Hey!" Monitor joked, shrugging his shoulders, "Have you forgotten that I am a magi? I just resurrected you."
"Magi can't do that," Hall commented.
"Does your crew HAVE to know that?"
"Very well," Onestar said. "Hall, head back to the ship, get ready for departure. Don't tell them about me, though." The samurai winked when he said that. Hall couldn't help but smile.
"Aye...captain!" Hall turned to leave, but Monitor stopped him.
"It'll take me about a half hour to prepare the spell, so tell them you're leaving in an hour."
"Of course," Hall said, taking the door handle. "I'll see you below." The bard closed the door behind him, leaving Onestar and Monitor alone. The silence hung between them heavily. Finally, Onestar spoke.
"No matter what the outcome, I'll stop back. We still have much to talk about."
"I understand. Before you leave..." Lord Monitor held his hands in front of him, and a black box appeared. "...I'd like you to have these."
Onestar opened the box, and inside were two night-black opened wrist braces. The samurai knew immediately what they were.
"The Bracers of Wildspace?" Onestar asked. "I thought these were in Colicor's possession."
"Well, he doesn't exactly know they're missing. I created them, and I'd like you to have them. They make up for you losing the armor."
Onestar removed one from the box and placed it around his wrist. It closed, and no seam could be seen. He did the same for the second.
"They won't offer you the same protection your armor did," Lord Monitor informed him, "and you know they can't be removed...unless you die." Both men laughed slightly. "But they will do certain things for you the armor couldn't. And you won't have to worry about your magical resistance: they were a creation of mine, so they'll work perfectly."
Onestar reached over and shook Monitor's hand. Monitor grabbed Onestar and hugged him.
"You will forgive me," Onestar said, choking back a tear, "but I don't think I'm quite ready to call you 'father.'"
"That's all right," Monitor replied, letting the samurai go. "I'm not ready to have a 'son' yet anyway. But we've got time. You know you will always be welcome here."
"Thanks, pop," Onestar said sarcastically.
"Don't call me 'pop'," Monitor replied.
An hour later, the crew of The Eternal Wanderer were gathered on the dock in front of the ship. Lord Monitor and Hall had explained that the situation on Omnispace was grave, and they were headed there to try and stop Colicor, whatever his plans might be.
"There is a good chance we won't make it back," Hall said, addressing the crew. "Lord Monitor has agreed to let any who wish to stay remain here on New Glorin."
No one moved.
"Very well," Hall said, nodding to the crew. "All hands, assume launch stations."
Behind them, a lone figure began a descent down the transport tube. Most of the crew were on the ship, but Hall, Belieth, Blaise, Crystal, Kath, Phantom, Ville, Estress, and Zebart were still outside when the figure reached the dock level and began walking toward them. He wore a long black cloak, a tight white shirt open to mid chest, night-black bracers on each wrist, black slacks and high leather boots. He walked proudly to the ship.
Crystal, who saw the figure coming down the tube, stopped and stared at him, trying to determine the figure walking in their direction. Her elven sight keener than the others, when she knew who he was, she began to cry and run toward him.
"Crystal?" Belieth said, getting ready to go after her. Hall stopped her.
"Let her go, honey."
Running faster than she knew she could, she met Onestar halfway toward the ship. She stopped for a second and stared into his eyes, half-crying, half- smiling.
"Hi, Crystal," Onestar said. "I'm home." The samurai smiled. The bard jumped into his arms and kissed him long and hard. Onestar picked her up and, after the kiss was finished, began walking toward the Wanderer. Everyone saw what was occurring, but didn't know what to make of it.
"I don't believe it," Blaise said, as the samurai approached the dock. With Crystal still in his arms, he addressed Hall.
"Captain," Onestar said, "you look like you could use another hand. Request permission to come aboard."
"Granted," Hall replied, "and I really don't feel like being the captain anymore. YOU take the job!"
"If you insist," Onestar replied, carrying Crystal up the ramp. He put her down, but she wouldn't let him go. Never again, she thought. All gathered hugged and slapped Onestar on the back, happy to have him home.
Minutes later, the Wanderer was leaving the dock, while Lord Monitor stood, preparing a spell. He spoke something in magespeak, and suddenly a large orange hand flared into being. The hand grabbed the Dreadnought, pushing it away from the island deep into the phlogiston.
