A New Horizon

It was some time ago that I stepped onto my deck of my Otherworld airship from the landing dock of the Albatross shuttle. Having gotten the word several weeks ago that I was needed on the ship for repairs, I left behind fair Caledonia and my friends elsewhere on the mainland with any real word of my departure. During that time, over two months ago, I first received word via our communicators that an event of massive dimensional proportions was happening elsewhere. What had first started as a simple repair and refit mission had turned, with a simple communique from a trusted friend, into a full blown mission into the Otherworld space. We were headed out and I carried a heavy heart as I charted our course, carrying us out of contact with the world I spent so much time exploring.

I had known for some time that I this would happen, that in our explorations, we would need to pull anchor and set a new course. As I left the aural orbit, I ordered the First-Mate to fire a beacon. Soon afterwards, the sails filled with energy and I could feel the deck beneath my shoes lurch as the crystalline drive began to power up. I did know one thing for certain. We would be back this way again.

Our destination was a dimensional and temporal river whose source was none other then Earth herself. I had ventured through Terran dimensional time-streams before and this one was no different. It took little time to reach and while we traveled I briefed myself as best I could on our new harbor full of the amazing and the spectacular. This is the thing that most cannot get used to in Otherworld travel is the mix of familiarity and strangeness that greets you upon returning to the place you think you should call home. This landing was no different.

According to my information, this particular time stream was about to undergo a massive and chaotic event which would shake its temporal, emotional, and dimensional foundations. The other thing that concerned me was how many dimensional rifts, holes, and portals where constantly coming and going into and out of this world. Upon arrival you would think you had sailed into to a major Otherworld port like Tangyryssis with its curving silica arrival docks and highly proficient handlers. But, this was not the case and I and the crew were greeted with a scene that resembled more of a busy ant nest then an organized dimensional crossroad. Our instruments recorded hundreds of portals being opened, some mystical, some random, and some of a more calculated technological origin.

Anchoring near a Darlson reef, we watched for some time until a safe entry could be charted. However, the randomness was of great concern not only to myself but my first mate. We lay there for several days monitoring the situation before determining it would be safe for me to enter into the worldspace upon the shuttle. As the craft was prepared and I gathered my final supplies, I heard a commotion from my crew upon a deck.

Leaving my cabin, I was impressed to see an astral form in intricate robes hovering over the rough wooden planks of my main deck. He was an older man, thin in the face but with bright blue eyes and still powerful shoulders hidden beneath his garments. He claimed to have sensed the arrival of my ship and its crew and had arrived to speak with me personally. Per his request, I will not speak his name but he did identify himself as an ally to a mystical organization founded in this worldspace which called itself MAGI. He asked what my goals might be and I explained that I was here for observational purposes and to help where I could. He instructed me to land near a place called Paragon City and more importantly, to seek out a mystic by the name of Azuria who would get me acquainted with this dimensional space. He did not say much more and left me with only a simple phrase, "All will be needed."

Since the city seemed to be one of the major centers of dimensional instability, I had already marked it as my main landing. Having him confirm my observations settled my nerves a bit and within the hour my ship had breached a stable dimensional rift just large enough to allow the entrance of my shuttle. With a hug from my first mate and a host of salty comments about my health from my crew, I boarded the Albatross and made for the opening.

At the exact moment I was about to pass through the rift, another portal was fired from within the worldspace which swirled far to close to my own. The portal, a swirling greenish thing that filled my ears with dark chantings and distant screams, slammed into the side of my shuttle and sent me sprawling. Scrambling to find purchase on the deck and quickly lashing my wrist with a line from the main mast, I was able to keep from falling into Otherspace as the Albatross shook and twisted. Within seconds, the rift had become unstable and my small shuttle was being pulled into what had gone from a stable light blue dimensional swirl to a twisting and angry green vortex.

Knowing the only way was through, I pulled myself to my feet and pulled the rudder wheel for all it was worth, aiming for the direct center. I cannot recall what happened next except that I remember the screeching sound of tormented lumber and being flung into the port side gunwale. I heard my name cried out over the communication crystal and then there was nothing but spinning and the feeling that my bones were curdled jelly and being pulled from the pores of my skin.

I came to with my face pressed against thick green grass, the warmth of a sun upon my skin, and the remains of my shuttle and my supplies all around me. Slowly gaining a sitting position and wiping blood from a small cut on the side of my head, I tried the communications and was rewarded with a crackle, static, and then the faint sound of my first mate. Looking around, I could see that I had crash landed in a large and vibrant city. Surveying my items I found that most of my equipment had landed unscathed and as I was offering up a quick thank you to the Universal winds, I realized I was not alone.

A bald man with a well trimeed goatee and wearing a collection of dark brown and orange loose-fitting clothing hovered over the ground near me. A cloak billowed out behind him as he folded his arms and considered me silently. As I gathered my things among the splintered and twisted wood, I introduced myself. He informed me in a deep but steady voice that Azuria was waiting on me and that I should head toward City Hall. And, with that, he pointed towards a large stone building flanked by massive sculptures of human figures all of which were dwarfed by a larger statue of a massive man carrying a massive globe on his back. Finally, with a wave of his hand, an energy settled over me and my forehead cut was healed. "You should head there soon, before someone else finds you." He said simply and then, almost as if he had nearly forgotten, "Welcome to Paragon." He gave a slight smile and before I could tell him thank you for the directions, he was gone, lifting up towards the top of the massive stone buildings.

As I stood, I got my first look at the new world I was to explore. The sights that awaited for me immediately sent me scrambling for my imaging device which I found slightly damaged but nearby. After some quick tweaking, I happily discovered that it appeared to still be working. I took a quick shot of myself outside a massive steel gate as a test shot. If I am able to get it working to its full capacity I will record more pictures as soon as possible. When I am able I will record the events of my conversation with this mysterious Azuria.