1.17 In the Dark of the Night

I should have known better. The System told me everything I needed to know, to draw proper conclusions. Solar radiation extends beyond the visible spectrum, and different star types have different profiles. If the sole survivor of a planet circling a red sun was sent to a world with a yellow sun, the higher ultraviolet content would quickly poison the baby not render it indestructible. Gamma radiation does not turn mild mannered physicists into green rage monsters, if it doesn’t poison them outright then it will cause chaotic cellar mutation, also known as cancer. At least that is how it would work on Dirt, with interference from the System, who knows what could happen.

-”Mancub, thou art a source of disruption to the Wyld. Poisoning thyself shall not prevent thy death, only thy consumption. We do not want thee poisoning our Land. We have had enough poison from Beyond, and your System is just making things worse. Nature can correct imbalances in Time, but these Dungeons, these Dams blocking the Natural flows of the World, they can only last so long. The Damage done when they Rupture, is far worse than if they never existed. We have felt the Balance shift tonight. Thou calls thyself Neutral. Thou knows not what that means.”

-”With respect, could you repeat that?”

Now don’t get too mad at me. I had just been woken from a deep sleep, had a world shattering Notification that I hadn’t finished processing, just to get that over sized teddy bear to start lecturing me. I was tired, grumpy, and frankly it seemed every step forward was accompanied by two steps back. It was dark, the only light coming from the two emerald eyes staring at me. When the only response was a grunt, I tried again.

-”Ok, forget that. This one is all out of respect. This one has tried, with limited resources, to survive without an undue burden on the Briarwood. This one...I did not choose to be here. I was sent. It seems to this one that your true complaint is with the Admin Janus. Kill me or not, you are free to choose. But don’t complain to this one about the System and its Dungeons, you have the strength to destroy the Apiary, you are as much to blame as the System. You grumble and complain and act all offended, when you have the Power and Authority. I have theoretical knowledge, but neither the Wisdom, Practicality, or Authority necessary to effectively use it. This one is a Scholar. This one is willing to help when called on, but willingness is not the same as competence.”

That was likely too much. I was just upset. I guess I figured that if Smokey wanted me dead, he wouldn’t bother talking to me. His complaint about Dungeons irked me too. If someone has the ability to affect problems and refuses, they have no right to complain about others who also refuse to help.

The roar that followed was enough to shake the giant trees.

-”Thou darest! Thou understandest not! If not for the Names of Power…Thou disemblith! Without Authority thou could not be Recognized when [Invoking] Names of Power!”

I was frustrated, the modes of address in [Wyldspeech] were awkward and oddly formal to my ear. Names were more than just representations in the Realm. There was a power here I didn’t understand.

-”This one comes from a World where all have heard the stories of , called Winnie-the-Pooh by his friends. Each and every name I Invoked, were names known far and wide. They were the Names of Great People and Great Authors. Names of Great Stories. They were Names passed down in Legend. They were Names that came to Symbolise virtues of Honesty, Kindness, Courage, Liberty, Wisdom, Redemption and Imagination. The books were available to all, children of wealth and poverty alike. This one’s Authority is the equal of any child.”

I was interrupted by another roar.

-”Impossible! How could a child know the Secret Names the System assigns to protect access to the Great Spirits of the Wylds. The Public Names, yes, they might be found in the Temples and Libraries of thy People. The Hidden Names known only to the greatest Shamans and Scholars? The Names the System uses to Bind or Loose? The Keywords of Power and Authority? Thou claims the Children of thy World have access? Thy Children have Authority I have not!”

It was a Eureka moment. The damned Translator, when I invoked the names of those I considered to be the Ancestors of my Nationality, and my Callings of Scout and Scholar, they became the True Names of their Realm counterparts. When Janus called me a potential Onomancer, it didn’t really register with me. For the System, True Names were unique identifiers, IP addresses for the Entity in question if you will or maybe Social Security Number equivalents. No, it was more than even that. Keywords, Passwords, PINs. I was beginning to understand the power of [Invocation].

-”. Alan Alexander Milne father of Christopher Robin Milne. The last name, it means mill worker. A poet of that name changed the word with the bedtime stories he told his son.”

It seemed like such a little thing, common knowledge to anyone who had taken a Child Literature course as an elective.

-”Truly thou art an Abomination. Your secret knowledge will be thy Doom. Admins, Spirits, the Great and Powerful Lords and Masters of the System, how can they let an infant roam about with such dangerous Lore spilling from thy lips. The boon thou hast given me, I can not repay with thy Destruction. Seal thy Words mancub. Thou hast no understanding. Truth thou didst speak, thou belongth not in these woods. There is a place of thy kind, long thought lost, that I shall take thee. A guard thou shalt meet. Convince her to guide thee, or not. It matters not, as long as thou leaves before poisoning the Lands of the Wyld...Knowest thou my TrueName?”

It sounded as if I was going to finally get some help, get back to civilization. I had a lot to think about. True Names and Keywords. Fictional characters and their authors. Did I know Smokey’s True Name? I only called him Smokey in my mind because he seemed a Guardian seeking to avoid careless destruction.

-”This one is unsure. This one is reminded of Smokey Bear, or perhaps .”

I could not see Smokey’s response, but I felt the ground quake and tremble. I had thought I must have crossed the line, and was now going to pay.

-”Smokey. Smokey will do just fine. Forget and the other. Thou art not my friend. [Invoke] me at thy peril. Now climb. I will take thee to the pile of stones thy People call a Castle. If She wilt thou mayest find a Guide, or Death. Either will do.”

And that was the moment I realised Smokey had been laughing. It frightened me more than his anger. I grabbed my Staff and climbed the big guy as best I could in the dark. I hoped this Castle was less than 7 leagues from the Glade, so I could Summon the Gear I had left behind.