A Challenge for Chase Alphonse
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:14 pm
The wind ruffled through Acradius's blond hair as he leaned against the flagstaff. Atop this tower, in the early hours of the morning, there was nothing the Time Warrior wanted to do more than curl up with a good book. The ability to do that at the time was very present, in fact. He was lounging atop the tallest tower of one of the greatest structures known to man: the Library of Alexandria. Indeed, although it was quite bright enough to read just about anything a few hours ago, he had something more important to do at the time. The Egyptians of the city were wondering why a man wearing a suit of metal armor in the desert was wandering about the docks, touching each bit of them. Most of them thought he was a scholar from a foreign country, studying their construction. But what he was actually doing was psionically altering their composition. What Alexandria’s docks were made of now resembled wood, but was in fact ceramic in construction. Condensing all the wood molecules was quite exhausting, but it had the desired result.
As he breathed in the fresh sea air, there was a hint of smoke in it. He looked down, examining his handiwork. Caesar’s boats, or rather, the charred skeletons thereof, drifted on the ocean currents, destined to be carried off with the next tide. The people of Alexandria were celebrating in the streets. Had the Time Warrior not interfered, the very tower he was resting on would be conflagrated, contracting flames from the burning docks, and originating from when Caesar had to set his own boats to light. The party going on in the city below was going to be legendary, and even all the librarians were down there, toasting to the joy of a battle well fought. Now, it was time to have a look around.
Swinging in through the window, the man in half-plate armor clanked down the stairs of the tower. Arriving in the main stacks, he couldn’t help but feeling a little marvel, and more than a little proud of himself. All this knowledge was slated in history to be lost. But here he stood, reaching out and touching a scroll. The feel of the rough papyrus, the musty smell of things that have stayed in one place for far too long; all of them had been preserved. Of course, the Library was scheduled for destruction at three later dates. But Acradius had meditated long and hard on this, as well. After its initial survival, Egypt would reinforce its position here in Alexandria. Using the knowledge contained within this very building, they would gain all sorts of power, and eventually evolve into a world power to rival the Holy Roman Empire. It was a scenario that the Time Warrior would have to monitor carefully, but he believed it would bring a great deal of balance into the world.
It was while Acradius was caught up in these thoughts, these plans to alter history to improve the future, that he realized something: he was not alone. Someone else had used the opportunity to sneak into the building and do some late night research. He knew because they thought they were as alone as he was earlier, and made no effort to be stealthy. His eyes lit up as he psionically muted his footsteps, and slunk off between two large shelves of books, determined to ensure that no harm would come to his plans.
As he breathed in the fresh sea air, there was a hint of smoke in it. He looked down, examining his handiwork. Caesar’s boats, or rather, the charred skeletons thereof, drifted on the ocean currents, destined to be carried off with the next tide. The people of Alexandria were celebrating in the streets. Had the Time Warrior not interfered, the very tower he was resting on would be conflagrated, contracting flames from the burning docks, and originating from when Caesar had to set his own boats to light. The party going on in the city below was going to be legendary, and even all the librarians were down there, toasting to the joy of a battle well fought. Now, it was time to have a look around.
Swinging in through the window, the man in half-plate armor clanked down the stairs of the tower. Arriving in the main stacks, he couldn’t help but feeling a little marvel, and more than a little proud of himself. All this knowledge was slated in history to be lost. But here he stood, reaching out and touching a scroll. The feel of the rough papyrus, the musty smell of things that have stayed in one place for far too long; all of them had been preserved. Of course, the Library was scheduled for destruction at three later dates. But Acradius had meditated long and hard on this, as well. After its initial survival, Egypt would reinforce its position here in Alexandria. Using the knowledge contained within this very building, they would gain all sorts of power, and eventually evolve into a world power to rival the Holy Roman Empire. It was a scenario that the Time Warrior would have to monitor carefully, but he believed it would bring a great deal of balance into the world.
It was while Acradius was caught up in these thoughts, these plans to alter history to improve the future, that he realized something: he was not alone. Someone else had used the opportunity to sneak into the building and do some late night research. He knew because they thought they were as alone as he was earlier, and made no effort to be stealthy. His eyes lit up as he psionically muted his footsteps, and slunk off between two large shelves of books, determined to ensure that no harm would come to his plans.