Post 29: The Virus

Monday June 13th, 2016
6:31 am (6 1/2 hours of sleep)

Turtle down lovers walked silently along the river. Never had one so urgently been placed along paths and byways to intercept knowledge kept for other men. Hampered by their own declarations of love, those from the Palisades could never go beyond just a courtship phase in life.

Trailing urgently behind the rest, Tvlakthin never could find someone to accept his somewhat abrasive personality. Only the duchess would appreciate someone with his particular character flaws and she was much his superior. No, they could never be. He would live a life alone wandering from petty interest to even more empty pursuit. Thoughts of melancholy possibilities would leap unbidden to his mind. It was time to pursue another one of the sciences. Those seemed to always take his mind off of his unused heart.

He gathered several books of various branches within the sciences studying each in turn until he felt himself gravitate to one particular pursuit. This time he would study microbiology. The world of the miniscule was of particular interest to him.

After months locked away in extensive study of what lay beyond the naked eye, he found within his collection of microbes and viruses, a particularly virulent strain of the kluthbrek virus. Deadly if directly exposed to any part of the body, the kluthbrek virus had been known to kill a grown and healthy person within days of initial infection. How Tvlakthin hadn't caught it himself before it's discovery, he didn't know.

After much cultivation by building up the viruses natural defenses against the medicinal, Tvlakthin decided it was time to leave his legacy. If he couldn't know the love of another then no one could.

After carefully bottling up the means to everyone's end, he set out for the large city of Delthekin. It would be in the center of the city's market, cultural hub of the planet, that Tvlakthin would release what had consumed all of his time of late.

After throwing the glass canister through the crowd and watching the thing break, Tvlakthin made a hasty retreat. He didn't stop running until he arrived at his hermetically sealed laboratory and had locked himself inside. There was enough food and clean water for him to wait out the destruction of all he had ever known.

A time and some passed. Was it years? Was it decades? He had no idea, not being particularly fond of schedules or calendars there would no way for him of knowing. Debating with himself the effectiveness of the virus he spent days and weeks yelling at nothing but the thin recycled air. Finally, he decided. It was time to see what had become of it all.

Bypassing safety protocols and opening his great steel hatch with shaking hands, he emerged out in to a cool crisp autumn evening. He knew not of what lay ahead.

Pt 24: Midgarden

Wednesday June 8th, 2016
9:16 am (8 1/3 hours of sleep)

ports 'port glasses of port upon a winding path. Plenty of pontification pales possibly powerful potters.

The mountain of Midgarden was the seat of power for Salacious B Crumb and his forces. Salacious had become quite the powerful warlord. This made the people of Haladox VII exceedingly nervous and altogether uncomfortable.

Haladox VII was a flat but beautiful planet with only one lone snow capped tree covered mountain. This mountain, the mountain of Midgarden, was the planet's most holy site. Midgarden spawned a pantheon of heroes and God's who fought relentlessly for the title of Ruler of Midgarden.

When Salacious landed on planet and learned of these histories and myths he gathered a crew and took the mountain, in a well coordinated assault, for himself. At first the locals were deeply offended and tried to take their holy site back from the off-worlder. After having their efforts repulsed several times, they prayed that a new hero would arise and rid their holy site from the invading gang.

A portly gentleman by the name of Harold Phleming found he could no longer support his twenty-three year old son once he had lost his job. His son Theodore Phleming was an out of work microbiologist with dreams of becoming a legendary lover. However, his inability to speak to anyone was a frustrating roadblock in life. He had once been given the opportunity to work past his fears but he was frustratingly comfortable in his solitude and decided it was easier to just stay where he was. Now that he was being kicked out of the house he needed to work through his comfortable ineptitudes and actually grow. Theodore decided to travel far and wide as a silent transient finding odd jobs to support himself in his travels.

Eventually Theodore found himself on a planet with one lone mountain that turned out to be quite the disputed territory. After spending time with the locals and learning of the source of their fears, he decided to check out the lone earthy spire and it's current denizens.

Theodore infiltrated the forest at the base of the mountain with ease and found himself within a compound built in the side of Midgarden itself. It seemed Salacious and his crew had been attempting to deforest the mountain but had been struck by a series of mysterious set backs. Theodore realized if he acted the role of "guardian spirit of the forest" he could scare away the superstitious gang.

After a week of destroying the efforts of Salacious' crew and allowing them to glimpse him every now and then the spirits of the crew were falling drastically. After a month, the crew was just about ready to leave.

Half way into his second month of subterfuge, Theodore had caused several gang members to desert. The remaining men thought Salacious an idiot for coming in the first place and chained their old boss to a large galithian tree as means of a tribute to the forest. Salacious freed himself that night and made haste to the nearest space port. His crew already gone, no one was left in the forest but Theodore.

The people of Haladox VII finding out the truth, declared Theodore their hero and new Ruler of Midgarden. Theodore's rule was heralded as one of the most just and quiet reigns ever to grace the mountain side.