Category: Paper Pills (Page 2 of 21)

Memory of the Pontus Dragon (Sea Dragon)

September 2, 2022 / Bear

as dictated by Arethusa Atticus, Emissary of Nethunus

In my time with walkers, I have learned that what they call fire is very different from my memories. Nethunus gifted us with fire to light our homes and aid with hunting for food. Through us, he generously shared it with walkers. In their darkest times, the flames of Nethunus continue to shine.

I never conceived that a fire existed that consumes everything it covers.

My favorite memory of fire belongs to my father's father. He was traveling with the pod to gather fish. He had not yet been called to serve, so he hunted for his own food as well as food for my relatives. I remember that we happened upon a school of fish and tried to push them close together. They were not thinking of us, but were swimming quickly to escape. Through my father's father's eyes, I saw nothing chasing them. He gathered the others to investigate further.

Some time later we smelled the sweetness that only comes from fire, the fire that I know. Sensing ahead, we could make out the unfamiliar shape of a great creature. It was the size of a small whale, its head triangular in shape. There were two great eyes facing forward, a small mouth, and gills to either side of its neck. It had wide fins that spread three lengths and a span[thirty-five feet] with a coiling body. It had not sensed us, yet.

My father's father remembers that this great beast soon spewed fire over a coral reef, filling the sea with a great light. Fish hiding amongst the anemones and the crevasses darted out, each one shining brightly. Disoriented by the light, the fish could not see the sharks swimming towards them. Copying our techniques, the sharks swirled around the fish drawing them into a tighter and tighter formation. The light from the fish shimmered throughout the water in mesmerizing patterns. As they drew close to each other, a ball of light shone from the center, brighter than the fullest moon.

At exactly the right time, sharks dove through the light, feasting on the hapless fish. They closed their eyes as they swam through, thus immune to the blinding light around them as they ate.

We had the numbers to match the sharks, but the addition of the great beast was more than enough to give us pause. Upon returning to the city, a great circle was formed to share memories. As the thoughts swirled together, an ancient herald (an emissary that returned home after his time with the walkers) shared a memory of the Draco Pontus.

The Draco Pontus swam with Nethunus, but it did not have the form it wears now. Was it a brother? Nethunus would not say. All that was shared was that there came a great conflict. While they fought, Nethunus transformed his foe into the Draco Pontus. From that day to this, the Draco Pontus consorts with our mortal enemies.

Questions rushed in. Is there only one? Is this the same ancient creature that swam with our ocean-father eons ago?

At that time, my father's father's city did not know the answers. Since that time, I have my own memories to share. At the right time, I will share them.

Directory of Universes

August 31, 2022 / Bear

There are a few universes that I want to list here and describe in more detail as well as provide more examples of how universes are named.

Disclaimer

I use Elminster as an example, I claim no rights to Forgotten Realms created by Ed Greenwood. Many gamers know of the Forgotten Realms, so this is merely an illustration. If requested, I will take down this post and rework this example with Abraham Lincoln. It's just that I like D&D and this was the first thing that came to mind. Elminster's unique and detailed history lends itself to a full description of the naming system.

Forgotten Realms as an Example

3 Elminster IV - This universe is the Forgotten Realms in 1357 DR. This is the Forgotten Realms at the end of its 1st edition run before the gods were forced to the mortal world. The year is determined by when, in his world, Elminster was discovered by the Compendium. Using pithanoton particles, this was the fourth version of Elminster encountered. The time of the discovery of Elminster is set as a reference point to talk about dimensions four and five more easily.

Referencing events in the past or future of the Forgotten Realms would be 4 Elminster IV. The change from 3 to 4 represents a change in time. Time is relative, so there is no set time. Researchers may add a detail like 4 Elminster IV in DR 1385 (This would represent the beginning of the Spellplague.) or 4 Elminster IV in -2207 DR to represent a time during the golden age of Netheril. Both are 4 Elminster IV because it is a different point in time than 1357 DR.

Referencing alternate events of that world would be 5 Elminster IV. This would include a universe where the Blue Age lasted longer because Dendar didn't eat the sun or the events of the Spellplague never happened. For clarity, all fifth dimensional universe names include references to a year and at least one point of divergence from its third dimensional parent. Fifth dimensional universes are uniquely identified by their pithanoton signature. More on those below.

Pithanoton Particles

Everything has a pithanoton signature that helps Compendium researchers determine the dimensional origin of a specific person, place, or thing. It is also used to distinguish between two or more identical objects and to determine possible relationships between two or more objects. Specifically, this would help determine the difference between Elminster I and Elminster IV. Elminster I belongs to a universe that was created in a slightly different way than Elminster IV. In the Sycarion Continuum, Elminster I's world was created similar to our world, the creation mythology is different, and magic doesn't exist. The Compendium encountered this Elminster as a mathematician and theoretical physicist working in a particle accelerator facility. References to this world would be 3 Elminster I (which is around 2017 CE), 4 Elminster I (any time outside of 2017CE), or 5 Elminster I (an alternate reality where Elminster becomes an English teacher).

Remember that this system is about identifying universes, not individuals. As such, there is a 3 Dendar I where Elminster exists, but he is not the Elminster of any other universe. He has a unique pithanoton signature. The universe is named Dendar because he was the first object from that dimension encountered. Researchers do not trace every individual throughout the multiverse, even the most interesting ones.

There can be mistakes like the false discovery of 3 Elmara I. Elmara was encountered by the researcher, but the pithanoton signature quickly determined that Elminster and Elmara were the same person and that she was in an already discovered universe. Since this was around 232 DR, 3 Elmara I was reclassified as 4 Elminster IV, since it was a different relative time of 3 Elminster IV.

I don't plan to post anything about Forgotten Realms, it's not my world. I hope this serves as a helpful reference that is a bit more fun that using a former president.

Universes that I Will Write About

3 ? ?? XIV - Over 120 iterations of Lu Yùn Sh? have made contact with the Compendium. In this universe, metahumans emerged during their American Civil War. Metahumans feature prominently in their 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Other notable events are the rise of the Axum nation, a substance called Ball Iron, and 19th century planetary exploration.

3 Mordenkainen V - This is the universe of 5th edition D&D rules as written.

3 Ommtala IV is the universe of my family's fifth edition D&D game. It is also where Arethusa Atticus, the awakened dolphin psionic paladin lives. He is a character played by our beloved stuffed toy dolphin.

5 Ommtala IV is the universe of my playing through The Adventurer by James Chip. It is journal writing game for a single player. My progress is kept on Github, but soon to be published here as well.

3 Sanderson II is the real world as we experience it. If I talk about real life, it will be tagged with this as a sort of in-house joke.

5 Sanderson II is the world where the narrator (the in-fiction author of all the posts) lived before working for and moving to 10 Compendium I

1 Inanitas I - This universe is also known as Solitude. Universes in the first dimension are either occupied by a singular being or an inert non-living point of matter. Some tourists visit dimensions like Solitude to find the ultimate sensory deprivation chamber only to discover a cacophony of noise and energy from other tourists. Others visit to discover the ultimate private chat room where nothing exists save for the visitors that meet there and an imperceptible point of unknown matter.

1 Omnis I consists of a singular point perceived as a line. There are an infinite number of 1 Omnis dimensions, but they differ only in the sequence of thoughts of their repetitive sole entities. The Compendium considers this odd effect of perceiving a point as a line to be the origin of the phrase "line of thinking".

Employing protective energy or magic has created a cottage industry for tourists to listen to the thoughts of a creature that has no known capacity to conceive of anything outside of itself. Many in the Compendium consider these tourists as extreme voyeurs.

2 Lotus XVII - This is the dimension that is home to Lotus. Sixteen other iterations of Lotus have made contact, but only this one maintains contact with the Compendium and other dimensions. Hailing from an advanced civilization, Lotus discovered pithanotons to allow travel to outer dimensions. Discovering magic in their travels, they travel by magical means.

Lotus is insatiably curious and enjoys sharing what they know. They hope to make contact with entities in 1 Omnis dimensions. They are the foremost authority on multidimensional travel. They possess a keen mind able to think in dimensions that they cannot perceive naturally. Lotus loves chess and ranks with an estimated ELO of 3600.

6 Phlisihu I - This is the home world of the celestial being, Phlisihu. Specifically, he is a Corrupter, a group of being that appear to enjoy antagonizing creatures in other universes. His favorite targets are elite magic users. He currently resides on a moon in 3 Ommtala IV where he is antagonizing Galen, a salt mage.

Other Universes

There are other universes still awaiting classification, but those will be detailed in other posts. If you made it this far, congratulations. More to come that is actual content, not blah, blah, blah explanation of how things are named.

Dimensions and Universes

August 28, 2022 / Bear

I have a naming system to label all the places these stories exist. Information about all the various universes are stored in a Compendium. To classify the universes, the convention is:

Number of Dimensions + Name of First Contact or Distinct Feature + Number of Times the contact or feature has been encountered. For example, 10 Compendium I, would be the tenth dimension with the first encounter of the distinctive feature of a Compendium. For those that play D&D, the Forgotten Realms could be named 3 Elminster IV, a third dimensional place where the first contact with the Compendium was a mage named Elminster. The number can be anything you like, I chose four to hint that there are at least three other alternate versions of Elminster from worlds different in some way from the Forgotten Realms.

I will say up front that it is based on string theory, but is not accurate to it at all. I took a lot of creative license to make up the psuedoscience that describes how the continuum works.

Dimensions

The Continuum exists in ten dimensions. Our present reality exists in the third dimension as well as the vast majority of known universes. They are the most accessible by 21st century technology and mental capacity to understand those universes.

Black Holes are super dense tears in the strings of the universe. Particles from the dimensions four through six survive in a given universe while those from higher dimensions degrade as soon as they appear. Below are the known particles that allow for travel in dimensions four through six:

Chronoton: Time particle. A field of these particles is used to measure relative time in a given universe.
Pithanoton: Probability particle. A field of these particles can be used to measure relative probability of parallel universes. It is a GPS of parallel universal travel that enables you to arrive safely back at your own universe and know that it is yours with 100% certainty.
Hexaton Fields: combination of Pithanoton and Chronoton particles that allow travel to parallel worlds at any point in time within those worlds.

Higher dimensional worlds, dimensions seven through nine are those that did not begin with the Big Bang. Travel to these dimensions (and their component universes) is available only through the use of magic on the Conduit.

The Compendium

The tenth dimension houses the various Compendiums. As the tenth dimension allows access to all lower dimensions, intelligent species have created repositories of knowledge throughout this dimension. When you exist in the place of all possibilities, storage isn't a problem. As one Compendium encounters another, they often merge. The author of the Sycarion Continuum works in Compendium I as middle management over a team of researchers.

The Conduit

Ylem is defined as the substance of the universe before the Big Bang. Some believe it is composed entirely of neutrons and anti-neutrons held together by gravity and photons. (This is multiiversally dismissed.) Most consider ylem as an idea that allows for a convenient way to talk about the continuum before its existence. If it is a real substance, the ability to manipulate Ylem would allow for creation and destruction of multiverses.

Prevailing theories state that the multiverse began with a primordial force expanding ylem in directions that correspond to the ten dimensions. Expansion in dimensions one through four happened immediately, with expansion into the fifth and sixth dimensions occurring moments afterwards. Expansion into the higher dimensions occurred in the past, present, and future of the beginning of the multiverse and the primordial force expanded ylem through time in all directions. Many of the multiverses were born through a process similar to the Big Bang. Others, though, began in a Solid State, while others began in other ways.

The first sentient beings began in the higher dimensions. They were able to travel throughout the higher dimensions to millions of indescribable worlds, but encountered barriers when traveling to multiverses that began differently from their own. Those in worlds that began with a Big Bang could only travel to worlds that were created in the same way. Despite awareness of the existence of other worlds, travel to those worlds was impossible.

It is not known who discovered The Conduit, but it exists as a way to travel between worlds with different origins. In other words, to travel through dimensions seven through 10. In any given universe, The Conduit appears as an opening similar to a cave entrance. The size will change to accommodate the size of any object (including planets) traveling through it. The Conduit is located beneath the Surface of Mars in our universe, allowing creatures from any world in the ten dimensions to travel here and vice versa. As many traveled to and from our universe, conflict began. At the end of the conflict, The Conduit in our universe was closed. Those travelers trapped in our universe visiting sentient creatures throughout our universe. Some were benevolent, but many sought to exploit this universe's resources to gain power.

The Dimensional Paradox

Dimensions five through ten exist on a subatomic level. We do not perceive them because of their size. However, when traveling to alternate dimensions, once you arrive at one, your home universe becomes subatomic to your perception. Although this seems to be merely a change in perception, study of pithanoton particles confirm this fact.

Category: Paper Pills (Page 2 of 21)

Memory of the Pontus Dragon (Sea Dragon)

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Directory of Universes