Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hugo watched Oblivion for a long moment. He shoved his hair out of his face and tried to think what to do. Maybe it was time for a visit to Athan - before Obli ruined something. Right now the wisp seemed as he normally

The wisp was hovering near one of the plants that Hugo had gotten. It's color seemed a little off to Hugo, but the wisp liked it as he stayed in the shadows of its leaves.

Lately a good many of his plants had died, seeming to change and then fall apart as if something had sucked the life from them. He suspected Oblivion, but he was unsure. Was the story of Doran and Xavier true and Oblivion was a reflection of that? Had the nuclear blast done something? He remembered Obli trying to strangle him from the beginning, but he had not tried so since. Hugo suspected that Athan would know if thise were true or not and he needed to know.

“Come on, Obli. We are going to see Athan today. I think it is time,” he said holding out his hand to the wisp.

The wisp hesitated but then moved towards him. Curling a tendril around Hugo’s fingers, Obli just seemed obedient and benign.

Hugo winced as the tendrils touched his hand. Sometimes they were wrapped too tightly, and he pushed Obli into his pocket where he would be hidden from light. He knew the wisp did not like it. But why did it seem like Oblivion intended harm all the time? Was it his imagination? The BBQ had been over for some time and he had enjoyed meeting everyone. It was good to know that Athan might be able to help him and could control Oblivion if needed. It might come in handy during a crisis.

Hugo stared at the door to the shop for a moment. Oblivion was unmoving in his pocket, hiding from the light and the man sighed for a moment. He had not expected so much trouble from a necklace his students had given to him. His hair turned entirely white as he stepped into the building, his eyes going from gray to a silvery white. He did have the original brochure with him about the stone, the one the clerk had given to Jens. He also had a translation of it as well just in case Athan was unable to read the language of his planet. Maybe it would help.

Hugo smiled. He did like Athan and he had the night of the BBQ. “Hello, Athan. I mentioned that I wanted to talk to you about Oblivion. I thought perhaps it was time since I’ve noticed a few strange things about him. And I guess I sort of wanted to warn you about some things I suspect. “ Hugo ran his hand through his hair a moment. “This is a bit harder to explain that I thought it would be. I’m not from this planet as you probably suspect. Oblivion came with me from Nyota. I got this tag with his stone. He was on a silver chain, a present from my archaeology students. This place is very different from my world. Anyhow, I translated the tag so that you have the entire story. When you have finished reading this, I will explain why I think this is important in some way to knowing what Oblivion is going to do. I don’t pretend to know anything much about the fiends, but I do know something about the details in this pamphlet and what legends my world had.” He held out the paper to Athan, having typed it to ensure the man would be able to understand it.

The Pamphlet reads:

~
The stone appeared naturally smooth as if polished when it was found but oddly had what looked to be a dark setting shaped like a serpent. It is suspected that another stone was fused beneath it to create this uniqueness. The serpent like stone crumbled to dust when it was touched so nothing was learned of it. It lay beside the large vein entirely separate from it. It was obviously the same material and was tested thoroughtly for the same properties. It is assumed to have been broken off during the blast and that the power polished it smoother than the rest. The fact that it is a perfect oval is an extremely rare state to have found it in. The stars within seem to be a more perfect formation than the rest of the stone mass.

As the mass itself is considered to be man-made, the oval is considered the same though its circumstances are a bit more unusual. Nightfall's properties are varied. It has been discovered that in the dark, the stone has a glow to it that is often used as a nightlight. There have been those who seem to be able to see better in the darkness after a great deal of exposure to the gem. It has been known to poison in extremely rare instances due to imperfections in the stone's variations. Silver negates this and the gem is most frequently set in silver not only for protection but also for appeal.

After the testing of this piece halted, it was set in silver for protection and released for sale. It is perhaps the most unique piece of Nightfall found to this date.

~
The wisp crawled up Hugo’s pocket, the tendrils slowly peeking out. Then Obli moved to slowly hover in the air between Athan and Hugo. He seemed amused that they were in a new place. He began to explore, glowing softly as he moved, almost excited to be where he was.

Hugo nodded. “The vein of Nightfall, or Oblivion as we call it, that is on Nyota was formed when my people were testing nuclear bombs. The gem glows on Nyota and there are those who have been able to see better at night. Silver settings seem to slow the effects, but it’s never been proven that it stops them. What that pamphlet is not telling you is about Xavier Obli’vier. He was a powerful young man born into a rich family, when the society of the planet was still quite vulnerable to status and wealth. His family was well-known having gained their money over many generations."


"At 21, Xavier decided it was not enough for him. He wanted the city to bow before their wealth and himself. Uncannily intelligent, Xavier began a series of moves that pressured the other wealthy residents as well as his own family to give him what he wanted. It took him no time at all as he kept the pressure on, barely five years, to become the most powerful man in the city. He used the money and resources he had wisely and with calculations that doubled or tripled his assets. With 27, Xavier became the most influential man in his country. His motives were always hidden in anything he did. He was considered a rake and scoundrel to women. In business he was considered a tiger who would as easily play with his victims as outright destroy them after having his fun.”

“The story goes that there were others who noticed what Xavier was doing. His power was not without envy nor was it unfeared. It was then he came to the notice of Doran and others who watched him calculating what they saw within the man. Xavier had a knack for persuasion, manipulation, and an insight that served him extremely well whether in business or sizing up people. One group of nobles thought to bring him down by manipulating their wealth against him. In the end, they lost half of what they had to Xavier's control. It was as if he were waiting on them to try.”

The wisp touched things with his tendrils as if he had not a care in the world. This was a dark and interesting place to explore and his amusement was easily felt by Hugo, who watched him from time to time. He slid along the surfaces easily though was careful not to stray too far from Hugo.

"I was afraid of that. This can't be good which means the rest of the story is likely true," Hugo said softly as Athan's face paled. "The rest of the story is not much better, Athan. Some of the nobles were Xavier's own family. It was a hard lesson learned and only made Xavier more powerful in their lives. It was during this time he met Doran who had heard of Xavier's attitude and manipulative nature. His family approached Doran to try to get Xavier to back off a bit on the people before something worse happened. Doran agreed. At first it was merely to see if Xavier was truly as powerful as people deemed him to be. He gave Xavier who came to consider Doran a 'dear friend' by this point, a deep blue stone that sparkled slightly as a gift. The stone was carefully placed in a silver brooch setting that had a silver serpent twining around and partially over the stone. Xavier was never seen without it.”

“Before Doran left, it was said that he taunted Xavier that they were rivals, not friends. Doran said he just did not plan to let Xavier try and when he left, Doran destroyed half the city in his wake. Xavier’s family buried the broach in the Crystalali Wastes somewhere because it was all that was left of Xavier and they wanted nobody to find it. The Wastes are where the vein of Nightfall is and where the stone that is Obli was found. When I first woke up to find that the necklace was not just a simple stone, he was actually choking me, Athan. He’s behaving most of the time now, but the strange thing is that some of the plants I have are changing then die. I mean their leaves change shape and color and then just die. It almost seems to amuse him. He seems to glow violet at times like he did on my world and around the plants more than anything. I am beginning to wonder if he is killing them.” Hugo scratched his head a moment. “I figured if anyone would see how toxic he might be, it would be you. And what trouble he might cause. How much is he going to remember if he is Xavier? That could be bad. Very bad."

Obli was exploring around the books. He was often found near them. He seemed to like them for some odd reason. Books and things that appeared to be old and valuable. It was as if something about them drew him. It could have been their appearance though he had no eyes or even nose to smell. But there was something.

Ugh, Hugo groaned inwardly. It was as he suspected. Xavier and Doran were rivals and the story was entirely true. He nodded to Athan. “I will mention it no more when he is around then. I do not want him to remember. It was bad enough the first time he was around. But at least knowing we can perhaps direct him another way and counter some of his attitude. And I will try to keep him away from her as much as possible. I will have the silver setting he was in, reshaped into a pendant for me. If the silver used was expected to stop it, then it might be the key to further protection.”

He watched Athan a moment. “I really did not mean to worry you, Athan, although I believe I have ruined your day. I just felt you needed to know what he might be. I don’t know if he was the key to my arrival here or if it was the large vein of Nightfall on my world that was the cause. I understand it is called blue goldstone here. No matter the name, I think our vein was enhanced and even created because of the nuclear blasting there. It could be the key to my return to Nyota, but I have no idea how. And I am interested to learn what I can of this place. It’s not like my world. Our culture has become very… sterile in comparison. If you are interested, I have started writing down things from my world and if you would like a copy of them, I will see that you get them to add to your own information.”

Obli drifted over to the desk where Athan sat. He circled him once or twice before hovering just in front of him. The wisp turned towards the things on the desk and began exploring them. He popped in and out of the shadows in amusement as he searched each nook and cranny. A feeling of playfulness slipped out from him at all the places to appear and disappear and he continued to jump from spot to spot and back again. In the darker areas, he glowed faintly.

Hugo nodded as he listened. “I usually carry the setting with me.” Reaching into one pocket after another, he finally pulled it from the one in his jacket. “Here. “ He handed the twisted metal over to Athan. It looked strange without the gem. “I don’t know if our silver is different than yours but it may be considering it came from another planet. There could be other properties to it I suppose.”

“Most are not, Athan. Some people just change in unexpected ways sometimes. It can’t always be stopped. “ Hugo replied softly as he watched Athan. “It’s not your fault and you are doing your best to correct it.”

Hugo watched Obli a moment. The wisp was having fun. This was going to be a good day maybe. “Maybe just interacting with him in ways that are different than what his family did could help Obli. At the least it would give him a basis that is different than he had before. I will start noting down everything that I notice about him and if anything else unusual happens. I suppose the nuclear blast might have changed something while he was inside the stone. If the plants are changing and then dying, could it be some form of corruption or mutation from the radiation? I might set up a couple experiments with plants to see if something happens. I just don’t know who…. Nevermind. I know the perfect person. Jasa owns a nursery. She might be able to see something I don’t since she knows plants so well. I will see you get the results and the other notes I have. You can keep that portion I translated.”

The wisp moved towards Hugo, tendrils wrapping around a finger as Hugo picked him up. After a moment, he settled back into the man’s pocket, pulling his tendrils around him. Shortly there was no movement from him.

Hugo nodded, grinning. "I think the exploration tired him out. Maybe I can get some work done this afternoon. And I'll see that you get all the information I have on Nyota and what I have observed about him. Maybe between the two of us, we can change him for the better since he is most certainly not who he was before."

Getting to his feet, he added, "I'll drop the notebook by in a few days then and pick up the pendant. And thank you very much for the information." Bowing to Athan, he turned for the door. He had a great deal to think about and more to add to his notebook about Oblivion. Hopefully he would not be Xavier when they were finished with him. He would hate to have to resort to shoving Oblivion back into the stone. And he was somehow certain that Athan could do it, if he could release them.