The golden fields lay ablaze, providing the only warmth and light amid the winter's sun. He first made observation that it should not be winter, than the snows of the far frozen realms of Ymir should not intrude so far south...and that the stench and strewn bodies of the fallen should not be present. Ragnarok was not intended, but the dead and dying lay in the snow - the broken bodies of gods, goddesses, and other creatures, and none of it should be.
He felt it for the first time, that terrible sensation he knew of alarm, but had never had reason to feel it. Although he appeared as a human, it was how he was perceived amid the faceted dimensions...and should not be prone to their failings. Yet, there was something here....something he knew was wrong. It was not scheduled, it was not part of the order. Even when Eclipse seized the Celestial Mechanics of the universe, it had purpose, it made sense...it was foreseen. The view he looked upon made no sense, made no purpose...was unknown.
For a moment, he perceived through dark glasses the dark god Set, standing amid the destruction and chaos, the unmoving director of the shadows which consumed and fed on the Asgardians. The ancient book was quickly consulted, and for the first time since the explosion that brought the myriad into existence, the Chronicler paused.
'Is there something not in your magic book, elder?' The Egyptian God's voice echoed over the battlefield. For a moment, the Chronicler was at a loss....to be perceived unwillingly was something that was rare indeed, but to be discovered while outside the normal din of reality and dreaming was far...different.
'Allow me to repeat...' Set added, 'Something not in your magic book? Something not in your celestial order? Perhaps you need to consult the rest of the endlessly eternal beings for guidance....'
The Chronicler new well enough the pages would be blank...the Egyptian had somehow subverted the order and balance of destiny. Rather than make a show of such to placate the god's ego, The Chronicler nodded,
'Such a disruption will not go unnoticed, Set' The Chronicler said in his matter-of-fact tone, 'No doubt Ra has already Dispatched Apep and the others'
'Always seeing but eternally blind...' Set retorted, turning to face the Chronicler for the first time, 'No...I have no worries of that'
'You should' The Chronicler answered, 'It is doubtful Ra would be so pleasant a jailer next time...'
'I doubt that very much...' Set began, 'Nor would I concern myself with Apep or Aphosis...'
The Chronicler turned his head slightly. Such an answer was certain, no hesitation. The carnage burned around them, and even the other elemental forces of the universe seemed to pause.
'And why is that?' The Chronicler asked, as if bored by the answer.
'For they are in oblivion, Narrator....' Set answered, tossing down the remnants of Ra's eye, 'Where you shall join them...'
The Chronicler was beyond such actions. Like the great Ender, the Dream-Maker, and others, to suggest that the Chronicler was simply an appearance of a function would not be too far from the truth...and yet....pain...a concept the Chronicler had understood and witnessed, but never experienced....until now.
The battle was all-too brief. For the first time, The Chronicler experienced the terrible things that were foretold....and Set....no longer a mad god, stood supreme, the door to Yggdrasil opened. In the fatal moment, the moment of the Chronicler's own ending, the visions were all too clear:
Set was going to destroy them all.
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Destined DI 30th Marscon 2016
www.marscon.net
January 15 - 17th, 2016.
