nexus_sages | Will accept character sheets

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Will accept character sheets

A multiversal plane is not an every day occurrence. Aliens, zombies, sentient robots... they're not a familiar sight either. Despite all of this, Isidor Briar Durant strides into this unfamiliar territory chin up, tailored suit, heels clicking against the ground, as if she owns the place. Viatorus follows nervously behind her, offering her answers whenever the smallest spark of confusion appears in her eyes as she scans area. She takes her time about putting names and terms to the things around her. It is important. She needs to be more than just informed about the Nexus, she needs to be familiar with it.

And then, when she decides she's ready, her intense examination changes with a blink. Isidor clasps her hands together and smiles, becoming the picture of a friendly stranger. "Hello. This is an exciting place, isn't it? Full of interesting people, I'm certain. I'd very much like to get to know you. Your name, a little bit about you and where you come from, maybe."

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I see.

*She considers the question briefly.*

In the Nexus, it's mostly friends or friends-of-friends who ask, but in my home Facet I'm a bounty hunter. The work has occasionally included stress-testing someone's security measures for them, suggesting improvements, that sort of thing. I don't think I'd want to make a desk job of it, but I'm quite happy to help my friends live long and happy lives.

She nods slowly in understanding, taking a second before she continues. "Can I ask how you found the Nexus? How it's been for you?"

I "found" it on the other side of an engineered mishap with a teleporter. Someone tried to kill me, and sent me here instead. It took years from my perspective, and months from theirs, for me to find my way back. As for how it's been...

*She draws in a portentous breath... and smiles.*

It's been wonderful. I've met people I never would have, at home, I've learned things that I needed to know at home before I would otherwise have learned them. I found the child I thought dead, I've saved lives, altered the course of conflicts, even brought peace on occasion. The Nexus has been very good to me.

"That sounds very exciting. Do you think it's kinder to certain types of people more than others? Not everyone is a highly skilled professional bounty hunter. I expect that gives you a few advantages."

The Nexus is kind to the flexible. Every life this place touches is changed somehow; those who adapt can prosper, while those who resist are ground down. It's like flying in high winds, or swimming a strong current.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. It's certainly forcing us to reorganise a few things."

"I-It's wonderful, though," Viatorus adds, managing to get above a mumble. "Lots of... Lots of amazing things. People." Alright, back to fidgeting now.

Isidor hums thoughtfully as she turns from her brother to Samus again. "That reminds me. You've been here for a while. Have you watched anyone learn any interesting lessons about the dangers of taking in or exchanging objects from different worlds?"

*Viatorus gets a nod; he gets it. Isidor's new, so Samus won't blame her for not seeing the charms quite yet.*

A few. If someone offers you a book called the King in Yellow, don't take it, don't pick it up, don't read it, just decline politely and walk away. There are, frankly, quite a few things that could fall under that heading, though not to quite such an extreme, but if I only give you warnings it'll create a very skewed impression, won't it?

*She punctuates that with a brief, wry smile.*

For the most part, common sense and caution are enough to see you safe. Don't take things from people you don't know, understand fully the terms of anything you agree to, don't try to consume an energy field larger than your head, that sort of thing.

Isidor's current relationship with the Nexus is very different from Viatorus', but as Samus has already said, things change here.

"All very reasonable." She smiles, a touch of the apologetic in there. "I hope you don't mind me picking your brain for all of this. It would be a terrible shame not to ask someone who clearly know so much about all of this."

By all means. I have more respect for people who take the time to learn what they're getting into than those who blunder into something and then complain after the fact.

"Considering the potential consequences of blundering into something here... I can't afford to pass up any opportunity to learn a little more. If I could ask one more question? Have you seen effective measures to regulate interactions between particular worlds and the Nexus?"

Ask all you like. If there's something I don't want to answer, I'll let you know, but I've been here too long to be offended by curiosity.

*The idea prompts a brief, wry smile.*

I've seen a few measures, fairly successful. Setting up defenses on the home side of the portal proves quite effective, as anything stepping through is leaving the protection of the AV field. Some soldiers from one world have even set up sort of a border checkpoint on the Nexus side of their door, and warded it with various spells as well. Ask Stratos Caelus about it, he's in charge there.

She nods in thanks for the answer. "Our situation will be somewhat more difficult it seems, but thank you. I'll be sure to ask. Getting ideas from people who are already working on it can only be a good thing."

Oh? What makes yours more difficult?

"Our method of accessing the Nexus is not using a fixed portal that we found. It's using a method of casting that Viatorus discovered..."

"B-By accident."

"That we're obliged to share to other members of the family, but, admittedly, aren't sure we can trust them or the Nexus to mix well should some of them master the spell."

Oh? That's more secure, in many ways. But you feel obliged to share it with people you don't think you could trust with it... why, exactly?

"The short answer? Tradition and politics. Explaining it all would be complicated, but problems would pop up if people realised we were keeping something like this from other family members. And they will realise. They're all dying for our part of the family to do something stupid or offensive."

*Samus' expression grows unimpressed, stopping just short of an actual frown.*

That they'll attack you if you don't is no reason to give people you don't trust a weapon. But if you must share it, I'd suggest burying the actual method a little past the two-thirds mark of the densest, driest, most tedious dissertation on cosmic minutia you can assemble. And leave key parts out, anyway, as a safety measure.

She manages to bite her tongue, to keep herself from sighing. The way their family works is different, complicated, imperfect, but it's the way things are. Debating the matter is something she would like to avoid for now.

"That's a bit risky, but worth a try. I know the Archon is planning to wrap it tightly in as many official requirements as he can. I had been hoping for something we could do on this end though. Tracking, maybe, although that seems impossible in a place as large as this."

*Samus isn't one to accept a bad situation with "it's the way things are." But there are other possibilities to pursue, at present.*

If you were using a technological method, you could install subsystems that signal you each time someone used it, telling you when, where, and whom. Perhaps there's some magical equivalent that could be incorporated into the spell, to give you a ping every time someone uses it?

"That sounds... possible." Isidor is quiet for a moment, thinking, before she admits with a shrug of her head, "I'm not sure how, exactly. That's definitely not my area."

"Maybe someone else has looked into something similar."

"Mm, one of the past Archons, I'll bet. In the meantime we'll have to hope what we have works to keep people out." Viatorus gets a small grin. "You're more than enough trouble for the Nexus." Then she smiles at Samus. "Thank you for your help and ideas."

*Samus acknowledges the thanks with a nod.*

You're welcome, and good fortune.

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