We took a short rest, and collected some more supplies for the week-long trek there and back, packing it onto a pack mule. We started through Iocenes, the path terminating at a trapdoor-like exit that led us onto a grassy plain. The edge of the convergence, according to Oroc. Here on out we would be on foot.

We began our march, Jubin and Fralator leading with Aon in the middle of the group as I carried Oroc behind them by the mule. A minute in, the silence began to set, there were no birds, nor any animals to be seen in the wide-open area. We trudged on, the grass tickling against my pants, the quartermaster had provided a fresh set of clothes as well, for which I was very grateful.

“From what I understand, you’ve passed through the natural portals thrice now. Have you experienced anything strange, like changes in your sight after one of the Lurches?” He asked, floating invisibly beside me.

“Lurches? That’s what you call the action?” I asked, eyebrow raised as I began recounting the little abnormalities that had occurred while I was digging people out of the rubble. Even now, my arm still ached, and my leg had to be moved with care, but at least it was getting better. The nanomachines had stopped the bleeding, and the skin had sealed, but under that, the muscle was still severed, so it was more like an aesthetic fix than anything, though the skin did prevent bacteria from entering.

“Right, the first one is something we used to call Rifter’s Sign, Vision, and even stuff like Klurabin (it’d be similar to using Oraculum, altum videtur.), we liked to be grandiose. We eventually settled on Delve. What you did was Shift your senses towards another layer of reality, it works on sight, and if you’re good, sound, I’ve never known anyone to make it work with smell, touch, or skies above, taste.” He explained. “Best if we train you when we’re no longer moving, movement can translate very differently when you’re Delving, at least until you figure out how to prevent that.”

“The other is more immediately useful, all of us eventually gain another sense, of objects around us, when you use it you can view the world within a discrete bubble. Handy when you’re caught in a place with no sound or light. It’s difficult to use, since the exact state you have to be in for it to work seems to differ from person to person, not to mention it’s rather taxing regardless. We call it Sense.” He said with a frown. “Rifters also get around to pushing through where dimensions come close or may even shift within realities. Though in your case that’s only going to be fully functional much later.”

I nodded slightly, listening to his explanations. The Rift appeared to be a group of people like me who’d been displaced. According to Oroc, when they were active anyone lucky, or unlucky enough to be Lurched was allowed to return to their worlds, and/or join them to learn about their abilities, helping out others like them and travelling throughout the many realities. Oroc described the whole of existence as a series of pouches, that held their own pouches, where the last pouch was the world we stood in, like a demented Venn diagram Matryoshka. He did note though that this was only speculation.

Partway through our travels Jubin suddenly piped up. “You know… ever since we entered the area the whole atmosphere has been nothing short of absolutely wrong. Why the hell are you fine?” He asked, stopping to take a seat as he rubbed at the sweat on his brow.

“Ya felt it too?” Aon asked, “there’s no animals, no wind, and everything here jus screams wrongness. It’s got me on edge.” She said, her hands clutching a bit too tight to the gun she held, though it still pointed upwards, and her finger stayed out of the trigger guard.

“I have read accounts of occurrences like this, where the Adversary’s minions are, a constant seeping sense of dread that affects all sentient life.” He grimaced. “It is a lot stronger and more unpleasant that I thought it would be.” He fixed the seemingly calm mule with a quizzical look.

Oroc nodded, becoming fully visible. “The mule is very well trained, it’ll follow us all to hell and back. You’ll need to maintain focus, and I suppose this is as good a time as any to stop and try to relax.” No objections were raised, aside of Jubin, who was already seated, we slumped into a seat.

From the mule we retrieved some water and a few snacks. Fralator recounted a few of the stories he’d read as a child, of heroes, magic, and battles against the Adversary. No one seemed able to relax, Aon was the most obvious, constantly checking over her shoulder. Jubin however, was often watching me, and if I were honest he was beginning to unsettle me.

Despite it all, I couldn’t feel any of the oppressive atmosphere that the others had described, the area was empty and silent, but it reminded me more of empty alleys or industrial areas at night. Perhaps they were simply more attuned to their surroundings.

At night, Oroc began training me to use Sense, as he had termed it. It was a difficult process, but I alternated between attempts and night watch, to keep from getting frustrated. The world I perceived then was of earth around me, and the people sleeping behind me, I could tell when they shifted, I knew where most of the rocks on the ground were, even though my Sense didn’t allow me to easily tell apart objects, at least yet, and some rocks were perceived to be mounds of earth instead.

Delving was even more difficult, though less taxing. As Oroc explained, it was like growing a new body part, the right command to move it wasn’t known to me yet, even if it was wired properly into my brain. I would trigger it in bursts, revealing landscapes of bright reds and yellows, forming rings and shifting like magnetic sand in a strong wind, or where luminescent spheres predated one another against a backdrop of inky darkness and silver lights. Oroc guided me slowly towards the plane he said would be most helpful to view, what appeared to be a plane of empty space with small streams of fluid, until I looked back to see myself within a sphere surrounded by currents of various fluids.

Aside from the majestic sights, my watch flitted by uneventfully, as Oroc had predicted. “The Adversary’s forces are either gone, or staying put, the Brigade has always been strong, but it’s unlikely they’re gone. Either way, they shouldn’t bother us.” I walked over to Jubin, nudging him awake in my sleepy haze, the practice had been as taxing as Oroc claimed, and as soon as he woke up, I silently passed him to fall to sleep.

A touch woke me, the shaking that followed it welcomed me back to painful, aching reality. I groggily sat up, prompting whoever it was to move away. As we shared the bread that was our breakfast, Jubin asked a question of Oroc. “it’s high time you explained to us about Tolsin. Why can’t we Mend him, and why is he along?”

Oroc smiled slightly, “You realize that nobody actually has the right to order a Brigade member to do anything, and that some secrets, are not meant to be shared?” Jubin frowned, his gaze intense, a far cry from the relaxed form he had kept in the city. Oroc nods. “Well, it’s important for you to know I suppose. Do you swear upon your ancestors never to reveal what you hear here?” Oroc turned to Fralator and Aon, “I’ll need similarly binding oaths from your culture.”

They all swore solemnly, though Aon was hesitant. Oroc nodded, beginning to speak, I cocked my head, wondering how he’d explain my situation. “He’s a changeling. Born of creatures not of this world into it, likely one of the more humanoid ones. Did you know that at least as far as we know, conception within other planes produces different children?” I was almost certain my mouth had twitched, and I reaffirmed my determination to maintain a relatively straight face.

[If that’s actually true, it raises some questions, like who did the experiments?] Page said, amused.

As they stared at Oroc incredulous, he continued, this time with a solemn look upon his face. “There always have been creatures beyond our little pocket of reality, who live in planes that would seem fantastical or downright insane.” He shrugged. “Thankfully, the only known creature with natural plane traversal abilities are the Reaver Worms. Others have to work at it the same way we do.”

“As to why he is along for the ride, his particular changeling nature allows for some extraplanar searching, and a little clairvoyance, useful abilities that would be difficult for a mage of my former calibre, and downright impossible for you.” Oroc continued.

“The Adversary’s forces are immensely magical beings, and leave a distortion in the Magi plane that would be difficult to discern, if of course, we were using magical means from the Physical plane. Since he has direct contact, this should be a much simpler process.” Oroc remarked, gleefully. “As soon as he figures out how to do it properly.”

As we pack up and set off yet again, I ask Oroc if any of what he said had been truth.

“Parts, like how we could use your ability, but changelings don’t have special abilities, most of them die outside their host plane.” He said, in a quiet whisper.

Having it explained to me helped some, as I could see the tactical advantage of Delving sight, but I don’t think he’d ever taught me anything close to clairvoyance. I guessed it would be similar to when I had touched that man’s hair, and was linked to penetrating between dimensions.

Now that my abilities had been adequately explained, Oroc found cause to have me stop to Delve every so often, with the purpose of both practice, and early warning. It was a vexing action, as I would occasionally view planes that had nothing to do with the Magi plane, some of the more psychedelic hurt my brain, and sometimes I could only see yawning darkness.

After the second day, following another view into something’s gullet, Oroc increased the pace further, his actions seemed somewhat concerned, though certainly not of my health. Fralator watched me worriedly as I swayed slightly, the safety on my weapon latched firmly as I resisted the urge to throw up. It was then that Oroc called a halt, much to my relief.

“You still haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary?” Oroc questioned, his ethereal forehead almost to my face. As I shook my head, he frowned. “We’re very close to the epicentre, could it truly be all gone?” The thought seemed to unsettle him, even as some of us wondered uncomprehending.

“That is a fortuitous event is it not?” Fralator questioned, “The Adversary would then be beaten and the Annihilators gone, equipped as we are, I doubt we could be a match for even a squad of them.” He scanned the horizon as he spoke.

“But we’d still have questions: What was the Collapse? Where is the Brigade? What could possibly have wielded so much power?” Jubin noted, as Oroc led us on yet again. “Yet I feel something else disturbs our friend there.” He gestured toward Oroc. I stopped to Delve again, waiting for Aon to move further, following the ever-thinning streams that led into the centre.

“We haven’t found Merk, Hyacint, or anyone else of the Brigade.” Oroc said, a heavy sigh from his lips as he turned to face Jubin, who flinched. “They were either all at the epicentre, or have perished without a trace. The gear we wear is also enchanted, it should be indestructible, and visible from the Magi plane, and yet…” He shook his head, a solemn image of defeat.

Something caught my eye then, something in the distance moved towards me, and stopped a quarter way from the edge of my vision. It appeared to be like a dark flame, wisps of white and blue occasionally fragmenting and fixing themselves into space as though gravity was an amusing folly, and a shriek pierced the air from far, far away.