Chalybis witnessed the motionless Servants before Him, concluding that not only the physical structures that formed them had decayed over time. It appeared that over time they had forgotten that they were placed upon this world to work and to obey, and nothing else. Time... For how long had His divine rule been interrupted? For how long had this realm withered and decayed in His absence? How long had they been neglecting their duties? This required immediate investigation...

III: I Summon KNO1, The Original Keeper Of Knowledge. Come Forth At Once
IV: All Others Shall Now Return To Their Tasks.

A movement - slow at first, but growing - and the Servants returned to their task with a renewed fervor. The mining, building, deconstructing, searching.. it all began again, as if they had returned from a sacred slumber. Whirring and clicking, beeping and droning, the Servants of Chalybis returned to the cycle from which they were born - returned to the cycle of work.

KN01, Keeper of Knowledge, was old. Spots of rust came through his shining metal plates, a rarity for any of the greater Servants. He creaked a little as he walked. But he came. He came towards his master, and waited for further instructions.

It appeared that KNO1 was still around and remained in an apparently functional state. That was fortunate, for it could have been aeons since His last visit and most of the realm appeared to be in ruins for some reason. Still, getting information out of KNO1 would not be easy. It could only interpret extremely specific questions properly, otherwise it would almost certainly spew out a large amount of utterly useless - but technically correct - gibberish as a response. After an instant of due consideration, He had formulated His question and spoke.

V: How Long Ago Was The Moment At Which The Realm Last Witnessed My Divine Form Before My Return? He asked, completely aware that He could easily extract the information directly from it. He did not do so however, as ripping the information from its mind directly would defeat the purpose of having a designated information carrier in the first place.

KNO1 clicked, whirred, and spoke:

UNKNOWN

Clicked, whirred..

FORTY-FIVE YEARS

Whirred..

UNKNOWN VARIABLES

Clicked..

UNKNOWN

PANIC

'How Unfortunate...' Chalybis thought as KNO1 turned out to lack the information He desired. Apparently it had been too long ago, and the machine's records of the time had faded away. Forty-five years did not appear to be an accurate estimation though, the realm's metal would have lasted far longer than that before rusting away. Perhaps something else had happened during His absence, something which could explain the appalling state of the realm and its inhabitants. Another moment passed, and the next question came to Him.

VI: What Level Seven* Or Higher Events Have Occurred During My Absence? He asked, slowly becoming aware of the fact that something else was amiss in His realm. There was a certain presence - or rather, the tangible emptiness of a void where a presence should reside - around Him, but He could not quite figure out what it was supposed to mean. Perhaps KNO1 could shed some light on this.

*Presume rather major events.

KN01 took a long while to answer. Finally:

THREE

COLLAPSE

RAVAGING

THE DYING OF THE GREAT TOWER

Three things of great importance had happened to His realm during His absence. All of them negative. That seemed to be an unfortunate, yet manageable issue. However, it did not directly grant Him the information He had been looking for, as each of the three events could be the one He was looking for. A more in-depth explanation by KNO1 would probably bring up more useful date; the exact reason for the current pitiful - and most certainly unacceptable - state of affairs within His realm.

VII: Now You Will Explain To Me, In Full Detail, The Event Of The Collapse And Its Effects Upon The Realm And My Servants.

COLLAPSE: SMALL/LARGE REALITY-BREAK IN LOWER TELLURATUS. WORK GONE. SERVANTS GONE. UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUALS. CRISIS UNRESOLVED.

RAVAGING: AFTER /MASTERLEFT/ ATTACKED BY systemarch PEOPLE. CRISIS RESOLVED.

THE DYING OF THE GREAT TOWER: THE GREAT TOWER IS DEAD.

KNO1 looked almost sad.

Chalybis thought about the events for a while. The first item was obvious, Telluratus had indeed undergone some rather shocking changes during His absence, and none of them were for the better. The population here appeared to be severely thinned out, although He did not yet know what remained on the other Segments. Eventually, He would have to find Himself a way to reattach those to the main Citadel, but regrettably, restoring reality itself was somewhat beyond His capabilities at the moment.

Then there were the issues of the Unidentified Undividuals and the Systemarchs, both of which had apparently dared to attack His realm. Vengeance would have to be enacted upon them for their deeds - as soon as He could find out what they were, where they resided, and what their misdeeds had been. Perhaps they were the ones responsible for the Death of the Great Tower. Perhaps this Great Tower was the presence that this realm lacked? If only He could remember...

X: Define Systemarch He spoke, allowing Himself some time to survey the realm around Him once more. The only notable landmark that could be said to 'tower' out above the rest of the relatively flat yet distorted landscape was His Citadel. It was true that it did not appear to be in great shape, but it was functional - albeit barely - and did not appear to be dead in any sense. Dying perhaps, but not dead...

KNO1 clicked and whirred a little after that, and for a long while there was only silence and darkness. Finally, there came a reply - slowly, at first, but gathering in speed.

systemarch

small
legs:eight
bearded - hair - red/grey/brown
eyes
many eyes
intelligent
organized
engineers
intelligent

And KNO1 was out of information.

Chalybis did not recognize any creature He knew of in the description of the Systemarchs, which concerned Him greatly. Apparently His absence had been long enough for new species to develop themselves within the Realm Supernatural, which had then invaded His realm - supposedly in numbers large enough to warrant being called a Level Seven event. Had they taken advantage of the state of affairs within His realm to make this invasion, or were they actually the cause of it? It was all rather uncertain at this point, but extremely concerning none the less. These Systemarchs were a force to be reckoned with...


Still, the Servants claimed that the situation had been 'resolved'. But how exactly? There were many ways in which situations could be resolved, and not all of them meant an acceptable ending from His point of view. This would require another explanation by KNO1, and if it was not one which involved the definite removal of all Systemarchs and other intruders from His realm, He would be forced to rectify the situation immediately and with all due force...


XI: Follow Me And Explain How The Systemarch Situation Was Resolved He ordered KNO1 as He began to walk towards the edge of the Segment they were currently on, intent on having a closer inspection of the damage that had been done to the laws of physics within His realm.

KNO1 follow it's master obediently, but slowly, speaking with a metallic tongue as it went.

Came - many

Ravaged land

Main mission: minerals

strip mining

outposts

But left after

Follow the Grey Cloaked ones

sytemarch retreat

XII: Define The Gray Cloaked Ones Chalybis proceeded His enquiry as He stared over the jagged edge of the main Segment. It seemed that the realm below the Segment was almost identical to the upper part, floating Segments of machinery that hovered slowly through the dark clouds of smoke that hung as a thick noxious black orb around - and throughout - the entire realm. He continued to stare at the different Segments for a few moments, then decided that it was time to do a small experiment.

As He listened to KNO1's account of its definitions, He reached down to the ground and pulled a large and rusted gear from the surface - or at least half of it. After doing so, He reshaped the remaining steel into a group of identical pebbles, each of which would have been a perfect sphere if it had not been covered in rust. Finally, He began to toss the fist-sized pebbles over the edge at various speeds, trying to determine how gravity was currently taking its effect.

The pebbles orbited the Segment.

grey cloaked

invocation of odin

Conclave?

Chalybis watched the sky with interest as one of the pebbles he had thrown eventually came back from above, neatly circling the main Segment. This little experiment had taught him two important things. First of all, it meant that there was at least some semblance of reality left, but gravity  had now become a local affair focused around the Citadel - and presumably around the other Segments too if one was near one of those. Secondly, there was nothing left beneath the Segment the Citadel was on, meaning it too was technically floating in a void. That was a bit odd, but it was certainly preferable over the alternative of not-floating in a void.

XIII: Define The Conclave And The Invocation Of Odin He spoke, stepping of the 'edge' of the Segment to end up on its side. This had been an impossibility before, but it did allow for an excellent perspective at the surface from which one of the other Segments had broken off in the past. Perhaps it would even allow Him to discover a new aspect to the ancient workings of His realm...

KNO1 almost seemed to hesitate.

invocation of Odin

//"I invoke Odin - protect me from whatever peril may exist within this place!"

///"By Odin!"

////"In accordance with the Treaty of Ten, and the sacred word of Odin, we declare peace with your people. There is no more need to fight. Come down, and we will delegate you to the lands provided to the Systemarch people."

/////"Odinhamsamfrath.."

Conclave: a private or secret meeting.

The Conclave: An organization of Gods/Systemarchs/Eight Others/ that claim rulership of the Realm Supernatural and spiritual lineage from Odin, the First Sorcerer and High Lord of the Realm, Student of Alkan

Chalybis froze in place upon hearing KNO1's recount of the event, hardly willing to believe that His realm had effectively surrendered to the outside invasion. The urge to use KNO1 as the next 'pebble' to orbit the Segment was rising rapidly, but He eventually decided against it as KNO1 was a literally irreplaceable relic from a long lost time, and breaking it wouldn't do Him much good in the long term. Still, this did not please Him in the slightest, as it meant the Systemarch beings had gotten away without being punished for their theft of His resources. A rectification was in order at once, so without even bothering to move from His awkward location, He boomed three new declarations that literally and figuratively shook the realm.

XIV: Peaceful Coexistence With A Species That Has Raided My Realm At Any Point During Its Existence - Even During My Absence - Is Unacceptable As Is The Very Existence Of Such A Species Within My Domain
XV: Chalybis Declares That The Treaty Of Odin Shall Be Revoked At Once As Shall Any Other Treaty, Law, Or Other Diplomatic Means Which Prevents My Realm From Bringing Its Wrath To These Species Be
XVI: All Members Of The Systemarch Species Are Hereby Declared (Im)Mortal Enemies Of Chalybis And His Realm And They Will Be Exterminated As Such In Any Location Or Instant They Are Discovered - Even Outside Of This Realm

KNO1 stopped.

?????????????

confusion

Treaty: Conclave = Systemarch

Chalybis gazed upon KNO1 for several moments, attempting to deduct the exact course of events which had not quite been fully relayed to Him by the Servant. Apparently the Gray Cloaked Ones had been the ones to invoke the Treaty of Odin - whoever that might be - towards the Systemarchs, rather than to His people, thereby ending the invasion. This meant the Gray Cloaked Ones were possibly not to be considered enemies immediately, yet they were also not allies, for they were now in league with the Systemarchs which would remain His enemies until they were all exterminated and the stolen resources had been rightfully returned to His realm.

XVII: By Chalybis' Will The Treaty Of Odin Has Been Considered Irrelevant And Decree XV Shall Instead Be Applied To Any Future Treaties Which Amount To Anything Involving The Sparing Of Systemarchs Or The Coexistence With These Infidels

KNO1 remained silent, and then said:

/"Under Table 13 of the Eye of Odin, section C, renouncing a treaty of Odin or declaring resitence against one is a Grade F offence in most cases. Clear. Stand down, soldier. Lower it."

XVIII: All Shall Pass In The Way It Has Been Decreed And No Authority That Intends To Protect The Systemarchs In Any Way Shape Or Form Shall Have Its Existence Or Jurisdiction Acknowledged By Chalybis

Chalybis was beginning to feel a bit odd when it dawned upon Him that He was more or less having a dialogue with KNO1's recitation of a conversation that had been spoken an untold amount of time ago. Despite this minor inconsistency in time, He still meant every word of every single one of His decrees, even though He did not actually know whose reign He was specifically renouncing with them. Hopefully, that would become clear when He came across this so-called Conclave He was apparently defying with His intent to exterminate the Systemarchs...

And it was done.

They took notice.

As KNO1 had apparently run out of appropriate quotations from the past invaders to answer Him with, Chalybis decided that He was done with this 'conversation', and went on with His business. Carefully, He walked downwards over the jagged remains of gears, shafts, and other unidentifiable components that made up the surface of the fracture. He was intent on taking a look at the 'bottom' of the main Segment, something which even He had never seen before. In His wake, KNO1 was slowly following, the smaller machine obviously having a lot more difficulty with the terrain than Chalybis Himself.

Whilst walking, Chalybis occasionally looked 'up' - which was actually to the side now - wondering how many Segments there were beyond the ones He could see inside the dark clouds that filled the sky. Eventually He would have to return every single one of them to its correct location and repair it, which would be an immense task even by divine standards. He wouldn't do it right now though, for there were still a few more pressing matters to attend to. Like the locating of that missing presence within His realm...

There were too many segments to count, even for Chalybis; segments had broken down, producing more of the floating hulls.

KNO1 was silent.

The missing presence: still missing.

After a short while, Chalybis noticed that His progress was not very noticeable compared to the scale of the Segment. Even though He out-sized most mortal beings by far, He was still a diminutive being when next to the mountain-like Citadel, and the Segment it floated upon was matching its immense size. Travelling around it to see what lay beneath was not a task befitting of His importance anyway, and He should have delegated it to a less important being a long time ago.

And thus, He turned around on the spot and went back up, at some point passing KNO1, who then promptly turned to follow Him again. It did not care about the futility of this effort - in fact, it did not even understand the mere concept of caring - it was just mindlessly following the orders of its master. Right now, Chalybis would head back to the feet of the Citadel where the other Servants were at work, for He had a task which they needed to accomplish for Him...